Knowledge, Information and Experience
Doors and doorways have been symbolic throughout history, whether it is has been due to mythology, religion or literature.
Did you know that the Romans had a god of doors and doorways – Janus! He is usually depicted as having two faces, one looking to the future and the other to the past – a god of transitions and beginnings.
The earliest in records are those represented in the paintings of the Egyptian tombs, in which they are shown as single or double doors, each in a single piece of wood. Doors were once believed to be the literal doorway to the afterlife, and some doors leading to important places included designs of the afterlife.
The most ancient doors were made of timber, such as those referred to in the Biblical depiction of King Solomon’s temple being in olive wood, which were carved and overlaid with gold. The doors dwelt upon in Homer would appear to have been cased in silver or brass. Besides olive wood, elm, cedar, oak and cypress were used. A 5,000-year-old door has been found by archaeologists in Switzerland.
Middle English merger of Old English for “large door, gate,” and Old English duru door, gate, wicket;” both from Proto-Germanic.
The Greek scholar Heron of Alexandria created the earliest known automatic door in the 1st century AD during the era of Roman Egypt. The first foot-sensor-activated automatic door was made in China during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, who had one installed for his royal library. The first automatic gate operators were later created in 1206 by Arab inventor Al-Jazari.
The doors of the mosques in Cairo were of two kinds; those which, externally, were cased with sheets of bronze or iron, cut out in decorative patterns, and incised or inlaid, with bosses in relief; and those in wood, which were framed with interlaced designs of the square and diamond, this latter description of work being Coptic in its origin.
NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center contains the four largest doors. The Vehicle Assembly Building was originally built for the assembly of the Apollo missions’ Saturn vehicles and was then used to support Space Shuttle operations. Each of the four doors are 139 meters (456 feet) high.
Symbolism of Doors:
Doors and doorways have been symbolic across cultures for as long as history has been recorded. A door is both an entrance and an exit, so it has been associated with portals and passageways on many levels throughout history. Doors are closely related to gates and thresholds because the three share some very similar symbolic features and sometimes work together to create passage.
1.. Doors and New Beginnings:
An open door has been a long-time symbol of a new beginning.
2. Doors, Transitions and Passageways
A door or doorway symbolizes the transition and passageway from one place to another.
The theme of Tarot of the 78 Doors is doors, both metaphorically and physically, and the spiritual keys that are used to open them. The doors depicted on the cards are versatile but they signify an entryway to new opportunities or solutions to problems.
Interpreting the meaning of Doors in your dreams:
Seeing doors in your dreams relates to a period of transition or change – whether it is positive and full of opportunity, or representative of a more fearful, apprehensive time in your life.
