People love to decorate their homes, spending years and a great deal of money. Yet, more than “decorating,” they’re actually consecrating their homes, venerating them.
Venerating this home and celebrating the people who live there actually elevates these decorative elements to “signs and symbols.” (Symbols may involve abstract elements, such as totems, artifacts, and other objects, even architectural design.)
Once you begin to see these signs and symbols for what they truly are, you begin to notice they actually start outside, at the front gate, continue up the path to the stepping stone, front porch, threshold, front door, and foyer. In effect, setting the stage and announcing what is held dear by the people who live there.
Every room in the house is decorated with signs and symbols, many tailored to its use or occupancy. In addition to living areas, it also includes the bedrooms, children’s rooms, and especially the baby’s room. The living room is usually the jewel in the crown, lavished with the most attention. Especially the fireplace mantle, where precious family mementos are displaced.
It’s a “mean” house that isn’t adorned with such signs and symbols, casting a poor light on those who live there. Happily, the vast majority of homes are full of them. That’s because the vast majority of people dedicate themselves to enhancing and protecting the sacred space.
The Champion is aware of the role that signs and symbols play in transforming a house into a home, sacred space. Likewise in how they remind everyone to enjoy earthly life, and keep worldly life at a distance, not let it overwhelm their refuge and sanctuary. That’s why he or she devotes a good deal of time and money to getting it right.
Signs and symbols actually begin outside, at the front gate.
Gate, Path, Stepping Stone:
Helping people make a psychological transition from the hub-rub of the world to the peace and serenity of “home,” from the profane to the sacred, is the real purpose of a gate, path and stepping stone, its design and layout.
Fence: Yes, a fence denotes the property line but it also delineates the profane from the sacred, “god’s little acre.” The ability to see into the sacred is one reason that picket fences seem to be the most popular, the most welcoming.
Homeowners also want visitors to get a glimpse of the loving care and attention paid to the grounds, landscape, and gardens. After all, it’s a preamble and preview of a lovely home that awaits them.
Gate: Its purpose isn’t to keep people out but to let them in, welcome visitors. Swinging gates are especially good. Easy to push open, closing on their own.
Likewise to exit. Purpose of a gate and fence isn’t to prevent trespassers, but to provide a demarcation between the public and the private, from the world to a sanctuary, from the profane to the sacred.
Path: In an ideal situation, there’s room for a winding path, not one that goes in a straight line to the front door.
Passing through a beautiful flower garden has special therapeutic value in this transition, since flowers are a traditional symbol for love. They serve as a reminder of sweetness, beauty, and love on one hand, and also reflect well on the family that lives there.
Stepping Stone: At the end of the path, before reaching the landing or porch, there’s either a real or faux stepping stone. Slightly higher than ground level and slightly less than the landing or porch, it can help people with an in between step. More important, it serves as a symbolic transition between the two worlds. The visitor takes a physical step in reaching a higher level of existence.
A Last Word: Even though most visitors and homeowners fail to “realize” the symbolic purpose of a fence, gate, path, and stepping stone, they nonetheless can “feel” it. Which is why homeowners take pains to build the most attractive ones possible.
(City dwellers don’t have the same space as suburban and rural homes, and thus little possibility of a winding path. So they compress the gate, path, and stepping stone into a smaller area. Although smaller, it nonetheless serves as a transition from the profane to the sacred, helping people with the psychological transition from one to the other.)
Landing, Porch:
The landing and porch may indeed offer protection against the elements, but its bigger role is to serve as another transition area. It sets the stage for what a visitor or resident can expect to find inside the home.
Foremost, a place of welcome. In addition to an actual welcome sign, there are other messages that infer peace and harmony, a seasonal wreath on the front door, for instance. Signs of “simpler times” might be evidenced by a milk pitcher near the front door. Patriotic symbols, such as an American flag, can often be found on the porch. A good impression is set by rocking chairs, an invitation to spend some time. The windows are also “decorated,”curtains and stained glass are the most common. The stained glass, in particular, informs everyone that beauty is important to this family. Simply put, homeowners decorate the front porch or landing in order to set the tone, whether it’s a mean or a lovely home. What the visitor sees on the outside is what they can expect inside.
Few of these decorations serve a functional purpose. For the most part, they’re signs and symbols of a lovely home, and of a welcoming family.
Threshold:
Technically, a “threshold” is the plank, stone, or piece of timber that lies under a door. As a matter of popular usage, though, it means the point you cross over and step into a new realm. As it pertains to a home, it also refers to the entryway. Especially the interior area above and on both sides of the door.
That’s where you’ll find the Champion has placed signs and symbols, talisman, from various traditions that aim to bless and protect this home.
Some are for good luck such as a horseshoe, some reflect religious traditions such as Christian fish or Jewish mezuzah. Some are from Native American culture, such as a Dream-Catcher. “Smudge,” serves the same purpose as incense. Some reflect the harvest, harmony with Mother Nature. Totems from the animal kingdom, such as antlers, are fertility symbols. Some are for the simple sake of beauty.
A rifle hung above the door shows a readiness to defend the family. Some symbols, such as the “evil eye” in stained glass aim to prevent evil from sneaking past, getting into the inner sanctum. A faux fireplace serves the same purpose.
There are many other talisman, sometimes unique to that family. Likewise, other cultures around the world have their own preferred symbols.
Whatever their form, they all aim to bless and protect the home and this family.
Blessing and protecting a home is also why a bride is carried “over the threshold.” Symbolically, it prevents the “world” from sneaking into the house by clinging to her clothes as she takes up her responsibility of keeping the “home fires burning.”
Foyer:
The foyer is another transition area, one that’s full of mythic symbols, as well as personal effects. People are making another transition to their refuge and sanctuary, only to the inner sanctum this time. Which explains why so many symbols refer to love, some for the family and others for love in general.
On the functional level, since people are entering or leaving the outside world, it’s where hats and coats, umbrellas, keys, work shoes, briefcases, and other personal effects are left. Even though it serves the same function as in an office building or other institution, it looks and feels completely different because of all the mythic symbols that refer to love, i.e. refuge and sanctuary.
Vestibule: The foyer of a home is like the vestibule in a place of worship, a transition from one realm to another. If certain objects are not to be brought into a place of worship, they’re not to be brought into the inner sanctum of a home. Hats, for instance, are not to be worn inside. All such items are to left in the foyer.
Ducks and Geese: Motifs of ducks and geese adorn a great many foyers. They’re found everywhere, e.g. wall art, ceramics, floor covering, umbrella handles … elsewhere. Why? The reason is ducks and geese mate for life! “Until death do us part …”
Flowers bedeck the foyer, whether fresh cut or dried. As the preeminent sign of love, flower motifs abound in art work. (No coincidence that flower arrangements are placed next to framed photos of the family and other loved ones.)
Table, Walls, and Floor: In addition to providing a platform for functional items, they also provide a forum for objects that reflect sweetness, beauty, and love establishing a tenor for what’s inside. Hence, objects of art, paintings and prints, attractive rug on the floor, sculptural items, foyer table, lamp, among others, are chosen with that consideration in mind.
Faux Fireplace: Victorian homes, and some modern ones too, have a faux fireplace in the foyer. Not for decorative purposes, but for symbolic ones. Fire is another universal symbol for love. As such, a “fire” place is supposed to prevent evil from sneaking into the inner sanctum.
The foyer, as another transition from the world to refuge and sanctuary, reflects a home where sweetness, beauty, and love reins supreme.
Next comes the living room, dining room, breakfast room, kitchen, bedrooms, den, TV room, and other rooms in a home. In terms of signs and symbols, the inner sanctum!
Living Room, Fireplace:
It wasn’t always called the “living room.” Until 1910 or thereabouts, it was known as the “parlor.” But Funeral Parlors started to became the preferred venue for viewing the deceased. Thus the word “parlor” became associated with death. That’s why the editors at Good Housekeeping magazine decided it needed a new connotation. They decreed that all magazine articles shall henceforth refer to it as the “living room.”
Showpiece: Over time, most activities have migrated to the “family” room. Yet, the living room has remained the showpiece, lavished with the most attention. From interior design to furnishings, floor covering, art, colors, “smalls,” and other design considerations, the living room is the crowning achievement. And, the fireplace is the jewel in the crown.
Family Altar: It has more important symbols than any other place in the house. Its mantle is crowded with mementos, remembrances to the family, living and deceased; photographs, awards, trophies, wedding invitations, holiday cards, mementos, newspaper headlines, religious images and relics, souvenirs, seasonal decorations, and other celebrations. In other words, the fireplace mantle is the family altar!
Mystical qualities. Serving as an altar or shrine to the family is another reason why the fireplace has mystical qualities. It’s already mystical because fire is the universal symbol for love, lovers sitting in front of it. It also symbolizes festive times, lit on holidays, social occasions, and romantic dinners. Nothing says “home” like a roaring fire.
If they don’t have a real or faux fireplace mantle, they’ll find another suitable surface to display their remembrances of people and occasions. Yet, putting an actual fire together with an altar or shrine to their family on the mantle is why everyone loves a fireplace.
As the family altar or shrine, the champion pays particular attention to the symbols connected with the fireplace. After all, his or her responsibility is to “Keep the home fires burning.”
And so it goes throughout the house. It’s no wonder it takes years of constant searching to find the ideal “decoration” for certain places throughout the house. Not only must they look good, but they must also be “signs and symbols, which point to home as refuge and sanctuary, sacred space.
The Champion also makes sure that everyone adheres to “good manners” and proper etiquette that reflect these same values.
Customs and Traditions:
Customs, rituals, and traditions, are the behavioral equivalent of signs and symbols. They serve the same purpose, remind everyone that home is a refuge and sanctuary, and people are to be treated like royalty.
Treated like royalty and home as sacred space is why these customs and traditions actually come down from the nation’s castle and cathedral. Etiquette and “good manners” are simply the informal aspect of formal customs and traditions.
That’s why the deference shown to Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace are the same ones shown to “Doris of Dayton, Ohio,” for example. They’re both queens of their realms.
As an example, everyone stands when the “queen” enters a room. A chair is held out when it’s time to sit. Topics of conversation are only those she approves of. Everyone stands at the dinner table until she sits down. When they do, it’s unthinkable that anyone would pick up their utensils and start to eat before the queen does! When the Monarch stands to leave the table, or room, everyone does likewise.
Hence, the origin of the saying, “A man’s home is his castle.” He or she has the same rights and protections as the actual monarch, the same courtesies too!
In addition to the Palace, customs and traditions, etiquette, practiced in a “Cathedral” (Synagogue, Temple, et al.) are the same ones practiced in a person’s home, since both considered holy places.
For example, it’s customary for a vestibule or foyer to be act as a transition area. Religious and spiritual symbols at the entry protect the inner sanctum by intrusions from the world. That’s why men remove their hats, briefcases and other accouterments of the outside world. (Leaving them in the foyer at home.) Voices are lowered. Their host leads the ceremonies and discussion. At the end of their visit, visitors gives thanks and bid farewell at the door.
Indeed, customs and traditions, everyday etiquette, are the behavioral equivalent of signs and symbols, reminding everyone that home is their refuge and sanctuary, sacred space.
The Champion makes sure that everyone has “good manners.”
Remarkably, even though our brain may not remember the reason behind a particular custom or tradition, we can feel in our bones whether it’s right or wrong for the situation and circumstances. And feel good or embarrassed accordingly.
A Final Word
Everyone knows all of this “by-heart.” That’s why they spend so much time decorating their house. It’s a “mean” house that doesn’t have such signs and symbols, and a “lovely” one that does.
These signs and symbols are all part of creating an equilibrium between the outside world and a family’s refuge and sanctuary. The idea is to take advantage of all the modern world has to offer while preserving the sanctity of a home refuge and sanctuary. Once seen for what they are, people notice signs and symbols everywhere.
A Champion is key. In establishing “protocols,” mutual agreements, he or she minimizes intrusions from the outside world and maximizes the joys and pleasures of earthly life. Telltale sign of success is peace and tranquility. No coincidence that peace and tranquility is the theme found on signs and symbols throughout the entire house.
The Champion of Refuge and Sanctuary made it so.
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