The life of David of Wales (Dewi), written by Rhygyfarch in the late 11th century, describes a beautiful triad of gifts depicting the saint’s life: a honeycomb, a fish, and a stag. Each one represents an aspect of the contemplative life, drawing on traditional patterns of monastic formation. According to Rhygyfarch, these three gifts allowed him to acquire the saving knowledge of how to overcome demons.
In this essay I will explore the first of Dewi’s gifts, the honeycomb of wisdom. In future essays I will turn my attention to the fish and stag. According to Rhygyfarch, “The honeycomb declares his wisdom, for just as the honey lies embedded in the wax, he has perceived the spiritual meaning in a literal statement.” (trans by Davies)
The spiritual meaning of a literal statement refers to symbolic or allegorical interpretation of scripture and other sacred texts. Just as honey is hidden within the recesses of the comb, the spiritual meaning of a text is hidden within the straightforward meaning of the words. In order for us to taste the sweetness of spiritual honey, it has to be extracted from the literal wax in which it is embedded. We need to look beyond what we find on the surface.
From the modern perspective, this method of interpretation is often viewed with suspicion because it often goes beyond the author’s original intention, allowing the interpreter to discover new meanings with the help of the Spirit. Many people see this as a way to impose our personal desires onto a text. However, symbolic interpretations were pretty much the standard before modernity decided something can’t be literally true and a metaphor at the same time.
In the ancient and mediaeval worlds sacred texts were understood to have multiple layers of meaning. A story can be historically accurate and also have symbolic meaning. The different levels of meaning don’t cancel each other out. Take for instance the way Paul interprets the story of Sarah and Hagar, whom he most likely believed were historical people.
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by an enslaved woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the enslaved woman, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants.” (Galatians 4:22-24 NRSVUE)
A symbol is more than a sign. A sign communicates a concept or instruction but has no direct effect on that which is signified. The stop sign on the corner of your street tells you what to do with your car, but it has no capacity to transform your heart or mind. Symbols, on the other hand, allow us to participate in spiritual realities otherwise inaccessible to our waking mind. A sign is a message, a symbol is an interface.
Language, ritual, social customs, and other aspects of our culture form the grammar of our thinking. No one reading this essay invented the English language, yet it is the foundation of how we think and express those thoughts to one another. The wisdom and folly of our ancestors are tucked away in the hidden recesses of our souls, influencing the way we think and the decisions we make, even if we are unaware of the sway they have over us.
We cannot understand ourselves unless we understand the traditions that formed us. Sacred stories, such as those found in the scriptures and lives of the saints, are living monuments of the past. They carry and communicate the spirit of our ancestors. The symbols contained within these stories are windows into the collective unconscious of which each of us is a part. If we learn how to use these symbols, we enter into dialogue with our ancestors, bringing to light the habits of thought and feeling we have inherited from them.
Angels and demons are often used to symbolise the virtues and vices we have inherited from our culture and created by our own free choice. In many Celtic stories, saints encounter animals as symbols for the inner life of prayer and healing. Here are some essays I have written about the symbolism of angels, archangels, demons, ducks, wolves, fire, the sign of the cross, the springs of life, the rivers of Eden, Jesus’ disciples, Solomon’s temple, and the Paschal Mystery.
Another way to engage with symbolic narratives is by internalising the spirit of the saint. We should not read sacred stories in the same way we watch the Simpson’s, they are not meant as mere entertainment. If we read the life of Saint David symbolically, as the text itself invites us to do, we transform our consciousness. Dewi becomes a part of who we are, his thoughts become our thoughts, his wisdom becomes our wisdom.
If we internalise Dewi, he helps us see possibilities we hadn’t even considered. Seeing through his eyes, we are set free from the confines of our habitual perspectives. His presence awakened within us, our minds open to a new way of being beyond the handful of repetitive patterns by which we have always responded to life. We can invoke Dewi’s wisdom, allowing us to perceive the spiritual honey hidden in the wax of daily life.
When we internalise one of our Lord’s saints, we draw nearer to Jesus himself. As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” A common symbol in the lives of the saints is the way they imitate the miracles of Jesus – Brigit turns water into beer, Canair walks on water, Ninian raises the dead. Through the saints we touch the hem of his garb, who is the Wisdom of God, and receive a blessing.
The gospels are the primary symbols of the Christian tradition, the model to which all others conform. (Again, this has no bearing on whether or not they are historically true). Studying the gospels we put on the mind of Christ. We learn to think like Jesus, love like Jesus, and act like Jesus because we come into real contact with him through the symbolic nature of the gospel narratives.
The classic WWJD (what would Jesus do) is a simple question on the surface but a deeply powerful practice when brought to its full potential. Maybe it’s worth a try.
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