JOURNEY BEYOND TRAVEL

Journeys symbolize quests for personal advancement, either material of spiritual, or both. To travel is to tread the (potentially hazardous) path through life in which the ultimate destination is not death but spiritual enlightenment, mythically embodied as a promised land (such as the Isles of the Immortals in Chinese tales or religious sites of pilgrimage) or a precious object with special powers (such as the Holy Grail of the Golden Fleece). Sometimes journeys are subterranean, symbolizing entry into the underworld, and sometimes through the air, suggesting spiritual aspiration.

Sailing ships, boats and canoes are all used to symbolize the journey through life. In ancient Egypt, sails symbolized wind and breath, representing the fickle "winds of fate" that can blow a traveler off course. In Egypt, and later in Rome, a new ship was sacrificed each year to ensure fair winds and calm seas: inscribed with holy words, laden with perfumes and baskets of flowers, it was launched into the sea for the winds to take it.

Voyages across water are frequently associated with death and transformation, and symbolic ships of the dead are common to many civilizations. In Indonesia, the dead are exposed in canoes, and in ritual practice the shaman uses a boat to "travel through the air" in search of his patient's soul. In ancient Egypt, the sun god Ra traveled through the underworld and across the sky in the "boat of a million years", while in China and Japan, paper boats are used as conveyances for spirits. Hindus use miniature flamecarrying boats symbolically to carry solar energy or prayers.

There are also many accounts of heroic journeys in ships such as Argos, in which Jason searched for the Golden Fleece, or the Pridwen, taken by King Arthur and his men on their journey to the underworld. The sea represents the perils of the unknown, and apart from the danger of shipwreck the journey may bring encounters with mythical beasts such as sea monsters or demons.

For island peoples, boats are particularly important. For instance, Maori war canoes are said to bestow mana (prestige) on all those who own or sail in them, an idea similar to one held by the Vikings. Sea vessels are also symbolic containers and emblems of security: in JudaeoChristian belief it is Noah's ark that preserves humanity against disaster by saving a breeding pair of every living creature.

From the image of a god to a sense of the divine, from the winking of an eye to a colorful ritual mask, from the figures in our dreams to the traffic lights at a street junction, signs and symbols are integral to the world in which we live. The use of...