The Symbol of all Symbols

Readers of my high fantasy series,Finding Pandora, will know I absolutely adore semiotics. Signs and symbols are really important to me and I wear one of them around my neck every day, as I'm sure most people do in the form of a cross, a heart (or as I've noticed most recently) the figure eight of Infinity.Featured in my series is my most favourite symbol of all, Indalo, which is a simple stick man holding what appears to be a rainbow above his head. I love this symbol for three reasons:1. Its simplicity2. Its beauty3. Its meaningIn her book 'Signs and Symbols Sourcebook', Adele Nozedar says that the symbol is actually Spanish of over 5000 years old, but the arch above its head represents the 'vault of the heavens' and the bridge between God and man or Heaven and Earth. She says the symbol is 'a reminder of the complex belief of man as the microcosm and the Universe as the macrocosm'.So why do I use the symbol inFinding Pandoraand what relevance does it have to my protagonist, Arriette Monroe?Arriette, although unaware in the early novels of this 12 part series, is a symbol herself (why? I can't say without a spoiler!), and her adventures in search of Pandora's Box strip away her innocence, opening her eyes to the evils of the world. She learns that the bridge between man and God is, despite her friends' assumptions,notthe box but rather Pandora as a guardian. Not only is the symbol and its name the password to the Recruit's underground sanctuary (shh, don't tell anyone else...), but in Arriette's religious beliefs it's like Limbo, where a dying Haeyloian soul temporarily pauses to reflect upon their life before moving on.InBook Two: Heaven, we see this happen to the beloved President Andrew Kainesand watch as the ghost of his mother guides him to a painful realisation, before throwing him back into the world for a second chance to impress Zinnyi.Behind this entire series is a poem I have loved since early adolescence by William Blake,Auguries of Innocence, and in it he says:To see a world in a grain of sand,And a heaven in a wild flower,Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,And eternity in an hour.From the above I'm sure it is clear why I chose the names of the first four books in this series:World,Heaven,InfinityandEternity, but in my opinion, both the poem and the symbol's meaning are deeply connected. I believe that an understanding of the Universe comes only when we can see past what's before us every day - the mundane and routine - and realise human beings are tiny, unique worlds within a complex external structure.InBook Two: Heaven, when Sebastian Sky opens the Recruit's lair by whispering the word 'Indalo', he is recognising a system far greater than anything a Haeyloian mind can comprehend, and in return their creator Zinnyi grants him access to the sanctuary.My mission statement reflects that same belief:1. realising our true purpose2. being a significant part of something larger than ourselves3. building a stronger future for the human race4. recognising the planets strugglesBooks one, two and three (World, HeavenandInfinity) are out now in paperback and e-book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Nook. You can downloadWorldfree of charge on your e-reader from any of those distributors, or for just £5.99 order a beautiful glossy paperback in time for Christmas (complete with a map and additional content) from Amazon.co.uk/.com.E. Rachael Hardcastle