Kara Walling blog 6

assigned class journal article/book: Mircea Eliade "Images and Symbols"

Mircea Eliade discusses symbolism of the center of the world as a reoccurring theme. Eliade believes the cosmic center is a necessary corollary to the division of reality into the sacred and the profane. The sacred is discussed as containing all value through which the world gains purpose and meaning through. There was one quote I found that goes along with what we talk about in class, "In the homogeneous and infinite expanse, in which no point of reference is possible and hence no orientation is established, the hierophany reveals an absolute fixed point, a center"(87). In class we are constantly discussing the sacred and profane. In this article the center is where the sacred lies, because this is where man can orient himself. Profane gives man no orientation in his life, so the sacred must create a space for man to relate to, to reject the profane. The center is said to be the connection between Heaven, Earth, and the underworld. I think this aspect is very true. We depend on what we can relate to, so explaining the center of the world as sacred allows us to explore representation and reflection on Earth. One thing I was wondering, is if the sacred is the center of the Earth and therefore creates order as Eliade states in the book, but what about what lies beyond the center? Can the sacred be present in areas that are unknown to man and have no order? If it is completely unknown, what does that make it?