I’ve been asked what the symbolic meaning of crossroads is.  The first thing that popped in my head when I got this question was the Eric Clapton Crossroads song, and I wondered what made him “fall down on his knees and ask the Lord for mercy please.”    

Crossroads (the intersection of four roads to make it simple for this post) were considered significant markers for supernatural or non-local activity.  In other words, reports of seeing ghosts, apparitions, spectres at crossroads count up into the thousands.

Primitive South American cultures such as Aztec, Mayan, and some southern North American Indian tribes used crossroads as a place of sacrifice.  Alters, or totem-like poles would be erected at these locations to indicate hallowed ground.

Early Europeans used to bury criminals and suicide victims at crossroads with the thought that when their spirit rose from the dead, they would be confused and return from whence they came and leave the living undisturbed by their presence.

Crossroads are often situated on top of natural ley lines which are intersections of high energetic vibrations from the earth and its atmosphere.  These high voltage spots are often blamed for car accidents at intersections.

Perhaps these ley lands attracted witches as it is reputed they would secretly meet at crossroads to conduct coven work. Then again, maybe the witch association came from Hekate (Hecate), the Greek goddes of sorcery, who was said to appear at earthly crossroads with baying wolf-hounds at her side. 

Hermes, son of Zeus, was also reputed to hang out at crossroads.  In fact, statues of his likeness called herms were erected at crossroads as Hermes represented one of the gods of travel to the Greeks.

It is fabled that if you simply must make a deal with the devil, do so at the crossroads because you have four times better chance of out running his clutches with a choice of four roads (I guess the devil can’t predict which road you’ll choose).

Dreaming of crossroads may be symbolic of confusion, and not being able to see your way clear of a solution to a problem. It may also be a portent of many opportunities on the horizon for us.

Setting superstitions aside, I have to answer this reader’s question from my own perspective, which is:

Ultimately, the symbolic meaning of crossroads deals with choice, consequence, making a selection about the direction in which we want to go (both physically and philosophically).  For many of us, this requires taking a stand for what we believe, even when we do not know what we will encounter upon the road we have chosen.

If we can’t make that stand it’s sometimes helpful to think of the symbolic meaning of crossroads in terms of the equal-armed cross which I’ve written about here.  I rather like the mental picture of four in-roads leading to our hearts with each protrusion representing four perspective beatitudes of the cross:

• Nature
• Self
• Knowledge
• God

In the combining of these four sacred concepts we meet in the middle – the center – which is both the beginning and ending.  No choice in direction need be made when we seat ourselves in this kind of navigational setting.  We wait for the roads to come to us.

Of course, we will each have our own superstitions and opinions on the symbolic meaning of crossroads.  I always encourage folks to discern their own interpretation – this subject is no different.