Observations placeholder
Cirlot on peacocks
Identifier
007057
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
A Dictionary of Symbols – J E Cirlot
On Roman coins, the peacock designates the apotheosis of princesses, just as the eagle does of victors.
The peacock's tail, in particular, appears in the eighty fourth emblem of the Ars symbolica of Bosch as a symbol for the blending together of all colours and for the idea of totality. This explains why, in Christian art, it appears as a symbol of immortality and of the incorruptible soul.
The common motif of the two peacocks symmetrically disposed on either side of the Cosmic tree or hom – a feature which came to Islam from Persia and subsequently reached Spain and the West – denotes the psychic duality of man drawing its life forces from the principle of unity.
In the mystic horology, the peacock corresponds to dusk. In Hindu mythology, the patterns on its wings, resembling innumerable eyes, are taken to represent the starry firmament