The symbolic meaning of water

   Humans have always lived near or by water – either on the seashore or the river-side. Until our modern age of industrial pollution, the seas, rivers and lakes have been venerated and regarded as sacred since time immemorial.

   The Ganges in India, for example, is regarded by the Hindus as the sacred mother and to die beside her is to find union with God. In the Hindu Vedas, water is referred to as ‘Matritamah’ (the most maternal).

   Indeed, in cultures all over the world, water, like earth, is symbolic of the Great Mother and is associated with birth, the feminine principle, the universal womb and prima materia.

   Water is found throughout nature. It is always in motion and, as it moves, it reflects the world, changing its colour in the light of the sun or stars.

   This everflowing element has many transmutations: clear water; spring water; running water; stagnant water; dead water; fresh and salt water; reflecting water; purifying water; deep water; stormy water or calm water.

  It has a voice and can be silent, murmur gently when tranquil or range and roar when it is tempestuous. Water has many powers. It has the ability to refresh men and animals and to restore new life to dried out vegetation. It can heal and purify and also has the capacity to destroy.

   Water symbolises the original fountain of life, which precedes all form and all creation. Many myths and legends are based on a concept of there being a primaeval ocean or watery abyss which was the source of all life.

   It was call ‘Nu’ by Ancient Egyptians and ‘Apsu’ by the Mesopotamians, who regarded it as a symbol of unfathomable impersonal wisdom.

   There are many examples of life or beauty emerging from water as in the Graeco-Roman tradition when Aphrodite or Venus rose from the water. The Chinese regard water as the abode of the dragon, because all life comes from the waters.

  In the Hebrew view of creation it is said that ‘the Spirit of God moved on the face of the Waters’ and that ‘the waters of the Torah’ are the life-giving waters of the sacred law.

   In the Islamic Qoran it is said, ‘From the water we made every living thing’. According to Maoris, paradise is under the waters which symbolise primordial perfection.

   Water is a life-giving vivifying force. Heavenly rainwater moistens the earth and is also associated with the flowing life forces of our body such as blood, sweat and semen.

    In this sense, water is equated with movement, moisture and circulation of blood and sap as opposed to the dryness of the static condition of death.

   Water is also a symbol of fertility. In many ancient or primitive languages the same word is used for water, river or semen, and rainwater is perceived as containing the inseminating power of the sky god.

   As dew, water symbolises a heavenly blessing on the earth or spiritual refreshment.

   In myths, legends and tribal rituals, springs and rivers are the source of holy water with magical powers to enhance fertility. For example, the ancient Egyptians worshipped the fecundity of the Nile as the great symbol of birth, regeneration and fertility symbolised the God Hapi, who pours water from two pots.

  Many religious rituals involve the use of water for purification by sprinkling or immersion. In a baptism, for example, water is used to celebrate and sanctify entry into a new community or life.

   Immersion in water revives the life force and is used in ritual as a means to spiritual rebirth. In this sense the water signifies a return to the preformal state or to a primordial state of purity with a sense of death and annihilation on the one hand leading through water to rebirth and regeneration.

   In Buddhist philosophy, ‘crossing the stream’ symbolises passing through the world of illusion to enlightenment. Sometimes water in the form of a flood or deluge is the means by which the decadence of an entire population is expiated (i.e. Noah’s Flood) after which a new world is created.

   In dreams the everflowing and transmuting fluid quality of water is often interpreted as s symbol of the collective and personal unconscious and the non-formal or motivating female side of the psyche.

   In astrology the water signs, Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces represent the more intuitive, sensitive and feeling qualities of the personality.

   Calm, clear water is a symbol of peace and contemplation. Water has been used since ancient times as an oracle for divination. Visions and reflections in water have been used by seers to reveal the past and foresee the future and this is how the modern custom of using crystal balls for fortune telling originated.

   There is also a transitional quality to water in which its everflowing nature and state of perpetual flux symbolises change or movement. Crossing water often signifies a change from one mode of experience or reality to another.

   Water can be a means of separation from one side to another. The great-sage’s ability to walk on water symbolises transcending the conditions of the phenomenal world. Diving into deep water is a way to explore the mysterious and to search for the secrets of life.

   In the Taoist view, water symbolises the strength of weakness and the power of adaption and persistence in its capacity to flow and fill the given space. It represents unity and the fluidity of life as opposed to the separateness and rigidity of death.

   Water, according to the Taoist view, is the expression of the doctrine of wu-wei – ‘giving at the point of resistance’, it envelops and passes beyond it, ultimately wearing down even the hardest rock.

Water never rests, neither by day nor
by night. When flowing above, it causes rain
and dew. When flowing below, it forms streams
and rivers. Water is outstanding in doing good.
If a dam is raised against it, it stops.
If way is made for it, it flows along that path.
Hence it is said that is does not struggle
and yet it has no equal in destroying that
which is strong and hard.

Lao Tse - Chochod Louis, Occultisme et Magic en Extreme-Orient, Paris 1945

The Ritual use of water during childbirth

   Exploring the nature and character of water and reflecting on its symbolic and cultural significance provides us with many insights and clues as to its power to assist women during pregnancy and when giving birth.

   The birth of a child follows the breaking of the water and the opening of the womb. When a child is born into a pool, water provides a transition between the inner world of the womb and the outer world of the atmosphere.

   For the mother, birth is a rite of passage and a transition from womanhood to motherhood. The pregnancy is left behind and her old identity prior to motherhood changes so that the birth of the baby signifies the birth of a new mother, father and family.

   The mother’s immersion in water during pregnancy, labour and birth has a ritual, as well as practical, value in enhancing her spiritual and psychological transformation. Bathing can be experienced as preparation and purification prior to the celebration of birth.

   The birth of a child is a sacred occasion in family life. When a woman labours in an environment in which this is understood and respected, a rare and holy atmosphere can be felt by everyone who is present.

   The high energy and change of consciousness which occurs during labour is followed by a feeling of euphoria which usually lasts for several weeks after the birth.

   Today, many parents and their attendants, all over the world, are recognising that every child can and should be welcomed in a spirit of respect and celebration. We no longer need to hesitate in saying that birth is also a spiritual occasion and in this sense the purifying and sanctifying properties of water are significant.

   During the long hours of her labour as her body opens to give birth, a woman experiences a tremendous change of consciousness. At this time she needs to let go of her thinking mind and of the phenomenal world to allow the involuntary and instinctive urges of her body to take over.

The qualities of a calm pool of warm water are ideal facilitators of the kind of surrender which is essential during birth.

   During pregnancy as well as birth the healing, vivifying, refreshing and health-giving qualities of water can strengthen and nourish both mother and baby and this continues to be helpful throughout infancy.

   The feminine qualities of water help the mother to access her feminine power and to counteract or dissolve the harsh masculine forces which have dominated childbirth since the invention of obstetric forceps three hundred years ago. Warm water relaxes, comforts and soothes us .

   Its fluid quality delights the senses and brings us into harmony with our sensuality and sexuality. It offers the woman in labour a way to get in touch with the original freedom of her body and to find the inner unity and peace she needs to nourish and give birth to her child.

   When a woman carries a child, gives birth to and mothers her baby, she needs to draw on her inner resources for power, energy, strength and endurance. She can be aided in this by the elemental forces of nature.

  Seen in this perspective we can begin to understand why women who have regained their freedom to give birth are intuitively drawn to water and to the power it has has an ally for childbearing and mothering. This is an era when many of us would like to think that the routine use of obstetric hardware is coming to an end.

  The feminising and mysterious influence of water in the birth room may indeed, as the Taoists believe, ‘have no equal in destroying that which is strong and hard’ and in helping mothers and midwives to regain childbirth as women’s domain.