"My dove, my perfect one, is the only one". — Song of Solomon 6:9
"His eyes are like doves beside streams of water..". — Song of Solomon 5:12
Genesis, Matthew, Song of Solomon, and Noah all use recurring pictorial language—spirit, water, dove, rock, and voice—to depict the inner workings of awareness and imagination. These symbols point to the mind, feelings, and assumptions, showing how inner reality manifests in awareness.
Spirit Moving over the Waters
"At the first God made the heaven and the earth. And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters."
—Genesis 1:1–2
"And God said, Let the waters be full of living things, and let birds be in flight over the earth under the arch of heaven."
—Genesis 1:20
Symbolic meaning:
- Water – feeling and emotion; the flowing streams of consciousness from which life emerges.
- Spirit – Imagination, moving over the waters of feeling.
- Voice – the call or assumption that brings imagined possibilities into expression.
- Birds – thoughts and ideas taking visible form above the subconscious.
Dove Descending
"And Jesus, having been baptised, came straight up out of the water: and the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him; And a voice came out of heaven, saying, This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
—Matthew 3:16–17
Symbolic meaning:
- Water – immersion in feeling and subconscious streams.
- Dove – imagination or Spirit, the perfect assumption appearing in consciousness.
- Voice – the mind reflecting and recognising the assumed reality.
The Rock as the Skull and the Dove
"O my dove, in the holes of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see your face, let me give ear to your voice; for sweet is your voice and fair is your face."
—Song of Solomon 2:14
"My dove, my undefiled, is but one; she is the only one of her mother, the choice one of her that bare her: the daughters saw her, and called her blessed; the queens and concubines also, and they praised her."
—Song of Solomon 6:9
Symbolic meaning:
- Rock – the skull; the house of the awareness where assumptions and consciousness are held.
- Dove – imagination or Spirit, the perfect assumption waiting to be expressed.
- Voice – inner call or thought expressing what is held in the mind.
- Face – the imagined reality becoming visible in awareness.
- 6:9 – recognition of the imagined reality as unique and perfect.
The dove in the Rock mirrors the Spirit hovering in Genesis and descending in Matthew. The Rock/skull holds assumptions and memories; imagination descends and is expressed through voice, revealing the inner pattern of consciousness.
Unifying Pattern
Across these passages, a consistent symbolic pattern emerges:
- Dove – imagination or Spirit; the perfect assumption.
- Water – feeling and emotion; streams of consciousness flowing.
- Voice – the expression of inner assumptions.
- Rock – the skull; the inner mind holding and reflecting assumptions.
These symbols show how the Bible represents the mind, consciousness, and the reflection of assumptions, with imagination and feeling interacting in coherent symbolic ways.