Shaping The Sacred

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sacred |ˈsākrid|
adjective
connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration : sacred rites | the site at Eleusis is sacred to Demeter. See note at divine .
• religious rather than secular : sacred music.
• (of writing or text) embodying the laws or doctrines of a religion : a sacred Hindu text.
• regarded with great respect and reverence by a particular religion, group, or individual : an animal sacred to Mexican culture.
• sacrosanct : to a police officer nothing is sacred.
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My initial reaction to 'sacred' is that it is something related to myths, religion and rites (even before I looked in the dictionary :) ... People are, of course, entitled to define their own meaning of what sacred means to them personally, and so, there is no general, all encompassing answer to what the sacred means to them. Still, I would say that most people probably agree that sacred for most people is connected to the before mentioned myths, religion and rites. Personally, I would define 'life' as sacred, if anything, but no more sacred than knowing that all life has to come to an end. So, for me, the notion of something sacred is almost absurd in that sense, especially because I don't believe there is a life after death. If you actually do believe in a life after death, the sacred becomes much more important. If you believe in eternal life after death, you better be careful not to do things that can upset the Gods. Sacred places, sacred things, sacred rites are all designed to keep the Gods (or God) happy, and to give you an opportunity to think you can do so (keep them happy).

Now to the real problem: How can I use clay to say anything about this? What is it with clay that makes it useful for this purpose? Traditionally, gold and other valuable materials have often been used in the setting of pleasing the gods (Maya, Egypt, Christendom etc...).

Can I make a symbol that resembles the 'religious'? Maybe I can find a symbol for the new religion we encounter today (Apple, SUV, $$$)... This is, of course, to go back to my old friend Cliché again ...

This is not easy ...