The River As A Symbol (3)

In addition to symbolizing the flow of time and life, rivers also symbolize borders, boundaries, transcendence, mirrors, the subconscious, and persistence.

Rivers as Borders. Since the beginning of time, rivers have served as natural borders. Rivers, such as the Mississippi, Colorado and Delaware serve as borders between states. They can act as borders between countries in the way that the Rio Grande separates a portion of the Unites States from Mexico, and as the St. Lawrence separates a portion of the United States from Canada. Rivers can also act as a natural border between countries and continents in the way that the Ural River creates a natural border between Asia and Europe. Natural borders, created by nature, separate one civilization, or realm from another. In this aspect, crossing a river symbolizes leaving a familiar domain behind in order to enter into, and experience, an entirely new one. To cross a river which serves as a natural border symbolizes "adventure".

Rivers as boundaries. Perhaps the best example of a river as a boundary is Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon with his army. Roman law forbade a returning general from bringing his army into Rome. The general was required to leave his army on the opposite side of the Rubicon and enter Rome alone. When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army he violated the rules of Roman generalship and changed the course of history. In this instance, crossing a river, or crossing the line, represents "defiance" "boldness" and "destiny".

Rivers as transcendence. Charon, the mythological Greek boatman, would ferry the souls of the deceased across the River Styx into Hades. In a like fashion the bodies of the deceased, after ritual and mummification, would be ferried to the west bank of the Nile River to be interned in Necropolis (the "city of the dead"). Necropolis was located on the west bank of the Nile River because the sun sets in the west as it begins its underworld journey which culminates in its eventual re-birth the following morning. In this instance, crossing a river symbolizes "transcending" from a lower form of consciousness to a higher one, thereby "aspiring" to a higher realm.