Symbols are necessary because ordinary ways of talking about life s most profound truths reduce them to cliche, trivializing them. Symbols speak to the whole human, not just the mind. It is tempting to treat symbols as equivalent to words, to be defined with a fixed set of meanings, obeying a particular syntax. This is one sure route to the trap of certainty. One of the ways profound and natural truths become ethnocentric, abusive, lifeless, and oppressive is through codification into doctrine, whether religious or psychological.
Symbols do more than simply represent something else.
Symbols succeed in showing us the sacred because they provoke an inner, non-cognitive gymnastic. The complexities and subtleties involved here become obvious when we consider the moon as a symbol. Sometimes, in some cultures, for some eras. If you were to ask these questions in one of these cultures, the answer would probably be that the moon is the goddess. When faced with an impossible question, an informant would attempt to satisfy you with the best short answer possible.