Hand Carved Cedar Wall Hanging - 12 Gates Unification Symbol

MEANING: The Unification Church symbol was designed by Father (Sun Myung Moon) at the Chungpadong Church in Seoul. The symbol was first worn by members on identification badges in Korea. Later, it was used in books, on church signs, etc. The Tongil (Unity or Unification in Korean) mark represents the flag of Cheon Il Gukotherwise understood as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It is created with significant meaning & numbers: The Circle in the center represents God & his True Love, True Life & True Light; Those four elements reach out or radiate from this origin to the whole cosmos in twelve directions. The Twelve lines represent 12 months of the year & twelve types of human personalities. Historically, the number twelve has been important in God's dispensation; for example, Jesus had twelve disciples. The significance of the symbol, then, indicates that truth (the Principle) is able to spread out in twelve ways. According to Father, the structure of the heavenly kingdom is also patterned after this basic system; i.e., twelve tribes & twelve character types. The Square represents four directions, North, South East & West, & the four position foundation centered on God The Circle Around represents give & receive action between the visible & invisible worlds. Each church organization (local, state, national) should use the symbol in appropriate circumstances; for example, in prayer rooms, on the front of the church center, or on signs. THE CARVING: Our carvings are single pieces of western red cedar, designed & carved to be wall hangings. Each carving begins as a 1 X 12 inch cedar board. While we use power tools (Scroll Saw, Rotary shaft Tool, handheld detail sanders etc.), we use no laser's, CNC routers or computer operated cutting machines. All work is done with our hands & eyes... We cut the 2 dimensional blanks with scroll & jig saws (double-sized custom orders have to be cut with jigsaw). Carving is done with rotary shaft tools & disc grinders. The 80 grit sanding is the final phase of the carving process, removing the nicks & gouges from the carving tools, & finishes the shaping of the weave. The next 2 sandings with 120 then 220 grit finishes the smoothing & polishing. They are finished with Clear Danish Oil to seal the piece, bringing out the grain & the color. SIZE: One picture has the piece on a quilting board, lined up on the 1 inch marks. The quilting board, at its simplest, is a one inch grid. So with the piece on the board, you look at the top & follow the line to the left & look at the right side at the widest point & follow the line to the bottom & you have height by width...but wait! It's not that easy! The way this board I have is laid out, if I lined it up on the zero points it would cover up the numbers & on some pieces you wouldn't be able to see them...so, I line it up on the 1 inch marks which means when you get the numbers, you have to subtract 1 inch... TA DA! Measurements may vary slightly from piece to piece. Hand Carved Cedar Wall Hanging - 12 Gates Unification Symbol