The Vesica Piscis - The Fish as Spiritual Symbol and Bumper Sticker

From its earliest times, Christianity - the dominant religion of the West for the last millennium and a half - has been quietly syncretic; that is to say Christianity has taken over and adopted (usually without attribution) the legends, sacred sites, and symbols of older religions, adapting them to fit its own story. From classical times on, everywhere the missionaries went, gods became saints, holy wells became the scenes of miracles, and symbols acquired new meanings. Holidays were reworked to commemorate central events in the life of Christ and his followers - Passover and other spring festivals became Easter (originally the word for a pagan festival), Yule became Christmas, the time of Jesus' birth.

As time went on, the original meanings of these festivals and symbols were lost, and only the Christian designations remained. It is not commonly known today that 25 December was once regarded as the birthday of the god Mithras, and these days holly and ivy are seen merely as attractive Christmas decorations.

The explanations offered for various items of what is now Christian symbolism sometimes differ sharply from those of the older pagan systems. Although the 'Black Madonna' - originally a representation of Isis holding her child Horus, the 'crowned and conquering child' of Egyptian mythology - is not much different from the idea of Mother Mary and her Baby, the symbol of the Fish, the Alpha, the Christ, the Son of God, has come some distance from its original significance as the womb, the nexus of spirit and matter, the great interface of heaven and earth.