“Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.
Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop.” Black Elk
Finding the Circle in My World View
I’d tightly wrapped the magazine pages into a handmade telescope and peer around my world through its vantage point. I loved seeing the periphery bits come into view as I slowly moved my round eyepiece back and forth. This viewpoint captivated me for hours, years. Even now I still find myself subconsciously rolling up paper to look through it.
From a young age, I noticed patterns. Fruit and vegetables were often round. Parts of the body, from eyes to fingers to belly buttons were round. Babies began as round mass and remained curled up until birth. Plants and animals have so much roundness to their features. And how could I forget sun, moon, and planets?
As on the smooth expanse of crystal lakes,
The sinking stone at first a circle makes;
The trembling surface by the motion stirr’d,
Spread in a second circle, then a third;
Wide, and more wide, the floating rings advance,
Fill all the watery plain and to the margin dance. Alexander Pope
I became fascinated with roundness in the scriptures and scrutinized the roundness that is Facsimile 2.
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.
Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever.
What was the Lord really saying? I couldn’t imagine that He just perpetually went around in circles. I stared at a ring and wanted to know what God’s course really was.
The Circle at the Temple
My introduction to the temple included the large round baptismal font. Of course, I noticed the shape immediately. Baptismal fonts in church buildings are rectangular. Why?
When I went to the temple to receive my endowment, I saw circles everywhere. In the architecture, in the film, in clothing, in fabric and designs. Why?
Circles represent eternity, I was told.
I felt like circles meant other things, too. And I felt like knowing what they were mattered to me.
And so I really began my search to understand symbols. And it’s made all the difference in my faith and worship.
I’m grateful for a chance to share what I’ve learned bit by bit and hope you’ll share what you’ve learned with me.
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