Spiritual Symbols: Salt
Salt is still symbolic today so it not surprising that it has meaning as a spiritual symbol as well.
Today we still say things like:
We can also find salt used as a symbol in the Bible and other scripture. Lots wife becomes a pillar of salt. Leviticus instructed the Jews to salt the grain they gave for an offering. In the New Testament we are warned that salt is good but if it looses it's taste, nothing car restore it (Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:49-50). Mark also says we must "be salted with fire", a phrase considered enigmatic by many Bible students, but I don't find it confusing at all. To me, it seems like an obvious reference to the "baptism by fire" i.e., by the Light of God that is a higher baptism than that of water so "salted with fire" meant being cleansed or purified by the Light of God.
Some churches used to add a bit of salt to Holy Water before blessing it. This symbolically preserves the blessing.
In the Upanishads, a grain of salt dissolved in water symbolized the ego being dissolved back into the universal Self.
Salt was important to many early people as a preservative of food so many sayings about salt mean that something will last a long time, perhaps forever. It is also a disinfectant so some reference to salt indicate cleansing. Sharing of salt was considered proof of friendship and a sign of hospitality. Salt was also believed by some to drive out the devil and salt was used in some exorcism rituals for that reason. Because salt was part of many medicines, it also symbolizes spiritual health.
Today we still say things like:
- Salt of the earth
- Take it with a grain of salt
- Back to the salt mines
- Rub salt in the wounds
We can also find salt used as a symbol in the Bible and other scripture. Lots wife becomes a pillar of salt. Leviticus instructed the Jews to salt the grain they gave for an offering. In the New Testament we are warned that salt is good but if it looses it's taste, nothing car restore it (Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:49-50). Mark also says we must "be salted with fire", a phrase considered enigmatic by many Bible students, but I don't find it confusing at all. To me, it seems like an obvious reference to the "baptism by fire" i.e., by the Light of God that is a higher baptism than that of water so "salted with fire" meant being cleansed or purified by the Light of God.
Some churches used to add a bit of salt to Holy Water before blessing it. This symbolically preserves the blessing.
In the Upanishads, a grain of salt dissolved in water symbolized the ego being dissolved back into the universal Self.
Salt was important to many early people as a preservative of food so many sayings about salt mean that something will last a long time, perhaps forever. It is also a disinfectant so some reference to salt indicate cleansing. Sharing of salt was considered proof of friendship and a sign of hospitality. Salt was also believed by some to drive out the devil and salt was used in some exorcism rituals for that reason. Because salt was part of many medicines, it also symbolizes spiritual health.
Salt is also used in some beliefs to protect people or dwellings from negative entities. It acts as a barrier as not to allow the negative spirit to cross. Sometimes people buying a new house will sprinkle salt around the house. In some of the horror movies out there they show someone encircling them self with salt so the demon can't get them and so on.
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Your right. I should have remembered that. I've seen enough movies and TV shows where people protected themselves with salt. Although the best way to protect a house is to put a quartz crystal near each of the four corners.
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