Cross pendants are among the most ubiquitous signs of Christianity. Cross jewelry, in general, represents several centuries of Christian evolution and, in some religious quarters, piety and the entire practice of the faith.
If you were thinking of wearing cross pendants to express your faith or simply because you like what it looks like or represents, you’ve found the right place.
Xinar has been providing DIY crafters with beads, findings, and sterling silver charms for all kinds of projects for over two decades. We embrace all faiths and would like to provide creatives from all over the charms and symbols they need to complete their projects.
Xinar’s cross pendants come in various designs, each bursting with history and symbolism.
A cross pendant is the ultimate sign of faith and is an empowering symbol, to boot. It bears the same amount of history and esteem as other essential and holy symbols worldwide. If you’re a Christian or believe in the tenets of Christianity, then there’s no harm in trying to craft your own DIY jewelry at home. The depth and weight of the cross symbol can be likened to zodiac symbols, Native American-inspired charms, and spiritual and ritual charms and symbols.
The History and Meaning of Cross Pendants
From the cross pendant to the small cross necklace, the symbols of theology permeate Christian religious jewelry.
Christianity has always placed a premium on the value of the arts. Consequently, an “aesthetic” theology, in which faith is understood reflectively but whose reflection is embodied in artistic modes of thinking and communicating, has always existed alongside Christianity’s canonical texts and conceptual theology.
Preaching and liturgy are the primary settings for the practice of this kind of theology. In that context, understanding how it relates to both words and ideas is simple. The symbolic acts, gestures, and language used in liturgy focus on in-depth analysis and commentary on sacramental theology.
Aesthetic theology is also put into practice in the visual and performing arts, such as architecture, art, poetry, and music, where the relationship between message and conceptual thinking is much more nuanced and multifaceted.
While the iconoclast controversy in Eastern Christianity prompted some theological reflection on the concept of an “image,” there was less theological reflection on the actual practice of religious pictorial art as art.
Jewelry bearing the symbol like the Catholic cross necklace was treated almost as a sacrament in Byzantine theology, and it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that art itself became significant. Westerners typically think of art’s primary purpose as conveying a story; for the illiterate, works of art serve as a means of receiving and understanding the written word through visual representation.
No part of the cross’s rich symbolism can be used to negate or replace its historical significance in Christianity. However, the realities of Christianity aren’t the only thing at play here; the symbolism of the cross itself and the crucifixion itself, or “suffering upon the cross,” is also crucial. Firstly, ross has a fascinating origin story, coming about through a kind of reversal of the paradisiacal tree.
More Meanings Behind the Catholic Cross Necklace
The medieval allegory frequently depicts the cross as a Y-shaped tree, sometimes complete with knots, branches, and even thorns. The cross represents the ‘world-axis,’ much like the Tree of Life. Situating it at the center of the mystical cosmos becomes the rungs on the ladder leading to God.
Some representations of the cross feature seven rungs, like the cosmic trees that stand for the seven spheres. Therefore, the cross affirms the fundamental connection between the heavenly and the terrestrial realms. But it also represents the union of opposites, joining the vertical (or spiritual) principle with the horizontal (or worldly) principle because the cross-piece cuts cleanly across the upright.
Therefore, the cross pendant has come to stand for suffering, resistance, and martyrdom. Sometimes the cross will take the form of a T, drawing even closer attention to the fact that the two opposing ideas are nearly balanced.
According to Jung, the two arms of a Catholic cross necklace may have been associated with the kindling sticks that primitive man rubbed together to produce fire, which he viewed as masculine and feminine, which may explain why the cross is a symbol of fire and the sufferings of existence in some traditions.
The word “conjunction” best describes the cross symbol, though. Using two sutures in the shape of a St. Andrew’s cross, the demiurge mends the shattered pieces of the world’s soul, as described by Plato.
All the words for “cross” share a common etymological origin: the “Great Fire,” which Bayley emphasizes to emphasize the cross’s fire symbolism.
It’s clear that all fundamental ideas—whether ideas or signs—have emerged without prompting from any cultural influence. The cross’s widespread use as a graphic emblem is a testament to Christian influence and the sign’s inherent significance. The meanings permeate what we have in the modern age, including the classic cross necklace for women and the cross necklace for men.
It’s clear that all basic notions, whether they’re ideas or signs, have come about without the prompting of any cultural influence, and the cross’s widespread use as a graphic emblem can be attributed to both Christian influence and the sign’s inherent significance.
Insignia of military orders, medals, and other awards are common forms of cross symbols. The swastika cross is one of the most common designs for crosses. Considering its age, the Egyptian anserated cross is fascinating. It is used as part of the words “health” and “happiness,” and in Egyptian hieroglyphics, it means “life” (Nem Ankh). The animal has a curved, almost circular upper arm.
This hieroglyphic conforms with the symbolism of jewelry, like a small cross necklace in general. Cross pendants have become the synthesis of both the passive and active principles of religion due to their “phonetic significance.”
The anserated cross’s form conveys a profound concept: that of the circle of life radiating outward from the center of Origin and then moving upward toward the infinite.
Its life-symbolic qualities can also be confirmed by viewing it as a magic knot that binds together a specific combination of components to form a unique individual. Additionally, it could represent predetermined outcomes.
From a more universal or macrocosmic perspective, the Ankh-cross could stand in for the sun, the sky, and the earth.
The human head, or reason (or the ‘sun’ which gives him life), would be represented by the circle in this microcosmic sign; the horizontal bar would stand in for the human arms, and the vertical bar would represent the human body.
At its most fundamental level, the cross symbolizes the unity of opposites, such as good and evil, light and darkness, and life and death. The crucifixion symbolizes the agony of life at the crossroads of possibility and impossibility, construction and destruction; this basic idea lies at the very heart of existence and is at the heart of the symbolism of the crucifixion.
The antithesis of the Ouroboros, the serpent or dragon representing the primordial, anarchic dynamism that predated the creation of the cosmos and the emergence of order, the cross is a combination of the different aspects of time and space. It can both destroy and maintain free movement. Since both the cross and the sword are used to slay the primordial ape, they must be closely related.
