Watching the Ten Commandments as a child one Easter weekend, what frightened me most was the thought of God’s curse of killing every firstborn son, the Jews have been told to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb they’ve sacrificed — the Passover offering — and so God “passes over” their homes. Whew! Saved by a door.
Doors close to protect us from what is on the other side. Doors can open to bring in light, welcome friends, or lead to a new adventure. The door often appears in artwork and can symbolize many concepts and ideas.
An open door can represent welcome, invitation, encouragement. Locked doors can symbolize protection or privacy, keeping us safe ‘inside’ from the threat from ‘outside’; doors were once daubed with an ‘X’ to symbolize the presence of plague. Or else they represent imprisonment, even entrapment, enclosure or control.
A door is a portal, acting as an entrance or exit. Metaphorically, a door can lead to almost anything – another world, a new beginning, challenge, or opportunity. On the flip side, a closed-door can represent a dead end with feelings of imprisonment and no way out.
Doors hold the essence of mystery, separating two distinct areas, keeping things apart. They are a barrier, a boundary, which must be negotiated before the threshold can be crossed.
A door serves as a point of welcoming, or as a barrier for protection, a connection between worlds. They’re an entryway and an exit and are affiliated with passages and portals, transition and time.
