The cross is a prevalent spiritual symbol, most notably prominent in the Christian religion, where it signifies the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the cross can also be found in relation to other religions or spiritual beliefs, such as the Ancient Egyptian Ankh and the Hindu and Buddhist Swastika. Why is the Cross such an important spiritual symbol?

The Cross represents separation in unity. It is a symbol for the world, where the world flows outward from the source in the symbolic four directions. The world appears by this magical method of apparent separation. The top and bottom points of the cross stand as opposites, as do the left and right points of the cross. The opposites go out in separation from the central starting point.

Importantly, although it appears that the starting point separates out into four, it nonetheless remains one. The arms of the cross are not truly separate. They only give the appearance of separation. The world is not truly separate. It only appears to be separate whilst remaining indivisibly one.

Both the cross and the number 4 represent this apparently physical hardened world of separation. But unnoticed within it is the centre point that isn't separate. The source is not separate from the creation. The number 4 is often used to represent the weighty dense world of matter. The '4 corners' represents the world. The placing of four-legged animal sculptures at the corners of temples and spiritual buildings represents the grounding of spirituality in the material world. The elephant is a good representation of this, as it is a heavy animal, and the material world is weighty in contrast to the spiritual realms.

This link of the cross and the number 4 in relation to the world and the weight of matter brings in its other link to death. The cross often represents death, as obviously so in the Christian religion, but also in Mayan depictions such as the sarcophagus of King Pakal. The tree of life becomes the tree of death. In this material world we experience death. Death is the opposite of the reality of Life, but here in this apparent world of separation we experience the weighty world of dense matter that culminates in death. Separation, and the division into opposites, brings with it beginnings and ends. Human life seemingly begins and seemingly ends. The Tree of Life seemingly divides to become the Tree of Good and Evil, Life and Death.

But this is all only how it seems. As mentioned, the cross isn't really divided. It remains as one. The spiritual aspect is there within the Cross. Although it represents death, it also represents Life, endless life. Although at first it seems to show separation, it truly shows the secret heart of permanence in all apparently separate life. The centre point remains unchanged throughout any appearance of separation. Although the body may rise and fall, the essence remains unchanging. Although the world may appear to be a World of Opposites, in truth there is only the Permanent One, the Infninite One whom we may call God.

It is God that takes the sacrifice of separation, appearing in the world as one who is separate from the source. Yet God transcends the apparent World of Opposites, of life and death, to show the reality of Endless Life. The cross of separation and death is transcended in the recognition of Infinite Timeless Oneness. None are separate from God. There is only God, even in God's manifestation of separation.