This medal represents the openwork Holy Cross.
Diameter of 16 mm and 0.82 grams of gold.
The cross brings about the union of opposites: vertically it connects the poles to the plane of the equator; horizontally it relates equinoxes and solstices.
For the alchemists, the vertical, upright branch symbolizes the masculine principle, and the horizontal, lying branch, the feminine principle; their conjunction is a sign of life.
This cross is not engravable.
Its use as a religious symbol goes back much further than the time of Christ and is therefore not of Christian origin. This shows that the cross of Christians is already universal even before the arrival of Jesus. We have an example of this in the very ancient Indian religion. In Elephanta Caves, a cross can be seen above a figure's head. In another ancient painting, the god Krishna is depicted with six arms, three of which hold a cross.
