Earth is commonly seen as feminine, the great mother; nourishment, fertility,
infinite creativity, and/or longevity. When juxtaposed with HEAVEN,
earth represents matter, while heaven stands for spirit. As one of the FOUR
ELEMENTS, earth can be the ground, stability, a foundation for life and
for the structures of man and nature. It is represented by the cube or the square,
and the colors BROWN, BLACK,
or YELLOW. As the third planet from the SUN
the Earth has the symbol of a CIRCLE inscribed
with a CROSS, and it can represent the cradle
of humanity, home, and/or a place of origin. Along with hell can connote the
great end of material life, but is also seen conversely as the maintainer of
such. Continuous generations on earth give the feeling of eternity.
An 'earthly' man can have different attributes; he can embody wisdom, meekness "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth", forgivable human faults, and practicality. As a cycle of a man's life it represents birth, maturity, decay and death.
The Northern hemisphere often corresponds to the postive priciple while the
Southern darkness (See: YINANDYANG).
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