Our Symbols

The Chalice and the Flame

Unitarian Universalists have as their symbol the Chalice and the Flame. In a recent discussion, members of CUUF described the Chalice and the flame in the following ways:

• The Chalice and the flame represents religion for and open to "non-religious" people
• It represents the chance to express beliefs without condemnation
• It represents the support to believe and follow your own spiritual path
• It represents an open spiritual community
• It is the Symbol from World War I humanitarian aid given by the Unitarian Service
• The Chalice is the container of our community, flame the light of our spirit
• Means that we are "Spiritual" more than "religious"
• Represents our not having dogmatic beliefs
• The Flame is ideas, the Chalice the body
• The Chalice and the Flame represent Mind/body, science/faith and no disagreements between them

The Circle of Hands

Circle Fellowship has as its symbol the circle of hands, which represents the connected community that we all desire. It is a symbol of equality - in a circle there is no head and we are all equal; of support - in circle we all support and care for one another; of strength - as a group we can share our strengths to accomplish much more than as individuals; of centering - in a circle we know where the center is, in fact we define it.

Black Elk said:

You have noticed that everything that an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. . . . Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in a circle. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tepees were round like the nests of the birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children . . .