The Sanctuary Mural

The living tradition that we share draws wisdom from the world's many religions, which inspire us in our ethical and spiritual life. Our mural depicts symbols from many of these faiths.

1. Confucianism	2. Judaism	3. The Ten Commandments
A yin yang--a symbol of the balance of opposites--is surrounded by hexagrams from the I Ching, an ancient Chinese system of meditation and divination.	The six-pointed star of David (the Magen David) has been the symbol of Judaism since the Zionists adopted it in the 19th century.	Two tablets, representing the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, are found in both Judaism and Christianity.

4. Christianity	5. Astro-Worship	6. Universalism and and 7. Unitarianism
A Roman cross evokes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Christian teachings.	A star represents the ancient tradition of worshiping the heavens.	Intertwined circles with a cross and flaming chalice symbolize the merger between Unitarians (a chalice) and the Universalists (an off-center cross) in 1964.

8. Greek Orthodox	9. Zoroastrianism	10. Sun Worship
A Greek Orthodox cross has three branches; tradition states that the cross of the crucifixion included a footrest and a sign above Jesus's head bearing the letters INRI (King of the Jews).	A vase of fire symbolizes the Creator's energy in Zoroastrian tradition.	In Zoroastrianism, the sun represents the eternal war between the powers of light and dark.

11. Egyptian	12. Heart	13. Hinduism
An ankh is the Egyptian hieroglyph for "life," a combination of the symbols for Osiris (male) and Isis (female), the union of two principles, heaven and earth.	The heart is a symbol of spirit and love in many religions.	An om is the symbol of oneness in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

14. Early Christianity	15. Islam	16. Holy Trinity
Constantine's labarum is the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek (chi rho).	A star and crescent symbolize the teachings of Islam.	A delta and trefoil represent Christianity's Holy Trinity.

17. Early Christianity	18. Hinduism	19. Shinto
The letters "IHS" represent a monogram for "Jesus Christus" in Greek.	The lotus blossom, a Hindu and Buddhist symbol, represents the flowering of the human spirit.	Worshippers bow and salute the gods when passing under a torii, or gateway, when entering a Shinto shrine.

20. Greek	21. Early Christianity	22. Buddhism
Crux immissa quadrata, the equilateral cross, is also known as the patriarchal cross or the Greek cross.	The fish was an early symbol for Christ, the fisher of men.	The eight spokes on the Buddhist wheel of life denote the eight-fold path.

Artist: Alexander Girard (1907 - 1993), a mural artist, was a major figure in mid-twentieth-century interior design. A folk art collector and textile artist, he worked for most of his career for the Herman Miller design firm. A resident of New Mexico since 1953, Girard donated his collection to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.

Medium: A wood mosaic, our mural consists of about 5,000 unpainted wood blocks cut from used objects found in New Mexico, mostly in the Jemez mountains (fencing, doors, building sides, and so on). All the color is original to the wood as found.