T
The_Serpent
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All traditional artwork shows the Saints with Halos. But, what are Halos? Is it merely symbolic to designate a Saint; or did Saints really have them?:getholy:
It is a symbol to designate that someone is holy. I’m not sure exactly how it started, though.All traditional artwork shows the Saints with Halos. But, what are Halos? Is it merely symbolic to designate a Saint; or did Saints really have them?:getholy:
And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. --NAB–
Halos are the Glory of God shining thru the person. Throughout revelations John states that Jesus’s Glory will be sufficient enough for the light of the world.And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever.—DR-----
It started before Christianity. See Halo (religious iconography) and the references in that article.It is a symbol to designate that someone is holy. I’m not sure exactly how it started, though.
I agree with your thoughts… Halo is related with people of great wisdom…Most religious peoples more sophisticated than simple paganism and ancestor worship have a similar concept. It seems universal. I think there may be multiple simultaneous meanings to it. Here are some:
(1) This person is enlightened by wisdom and therefore does not walk in darkness.
(2) This person is illuminated with knowledge which allows them to see more clearly than most other persons.
(3) The person has ideas which, like a flame, can spread. This seems more obvious to me in Muslim iconography and art, where the halo really is depicted as a kind of fire.
(4) This person has experienced some form of transcendence or consolation. Depending upon the tradition that could mean spiritual enlightenment as in the Eastern religions or possibly something like the Beatific Vision in Christian tradition. While I think this meaning has merit, I am not sure it really describes the origin of the symbol, or is necessarily implied in every given example.
That’s just a guess, though. What I do think is that, as humans began to emerge from tribal and pagan worship around the world, they began to intuit and reason out the nature of God. As a person begins to unravel the deeper ideas and mysteries of theology, they do seem to light up as it were. They seem to become more present and aware. The symbology’s true origin might be as simple as that; a simple feeling one gets when observing and interacting with people of great wisdom.
I think of it as a spiritual aura. If you use tomography, you would see this aura on the picture itself; the heads of deeply spiritual people actually radiate this type of heat energy.All traditional artwork shows the Saints with Halos. But, what are Halos? Is it merely symbolic to designate a Saint; or did Saints really have them?:getholy:
I believe that Stephani is St Stephen, but not 100% sure on that.…the nimbus was in use long before the Christian era. According to the exhaustive researches of Stephani it was an invention of the Hellenic epoch. In early Christian art the nimbus certainly is not found on images of God and celestial beings, but only on figures borrowed from profane art, and in Biblical scenes; in place of the simple nimbus, rays or an aureole (with the nimbus) were made to portray heavenly glory. Hence it follows that the Bible furnished no example for the bestowal of a halo upon individual saintly personages. As a matter of fact the nimbus, as an inheritance from ancient art tradition, was readily adopted and ultimately found the widest application because the symbol of light for all divine, saintly ideals is offered by nature and not infrequently used in Scripture.
It’s a gameAll traditional artwork shows the Saints with Halos. But, what are Halos? Is it merely symbolic to designate a Saint; or did Saints really have them?:getholy:
No they did not actully have a literal halo. It’s just an ‘artistic represantation’ of holiness.or did Saints really have them?
No they did not actully have a literal halo. It’s just an ‘artistic represantation’ of holiness.

If they emit more heat than normal then they’ll show up even better on night vision goggles, so would not make good cat burglars or navy seals, although they’d make a welcome heat source during power outages in winter.I think of it as a spiritual aura. If you use tomography, you would see this aura on the picture itself; the heads of deeply spiritual people actually radiate this type of heat energy.