The Mother of God of Hodigitria

The Burning Bush Mother of God image was taken from the Old Testament. The bush that was burning but not getting consumed by flames, seen by the prophet Moses on Mount Horeb (Exodus 3:1-5) or Sinai, was a symbol of the virgin motherhood of the Mother of God and the supernatural Incarnation of Christ conceived through the Holy Spirit. Icons of this type have a very characteristic appearance and rich allegorical-symbolic content, see S.12815MŁ, S.12862MŁ. The interpretation of this depiction is no less rich in content. On the Burning Bush Mother of God icons, Hodegetria, see S.12677MŁ, with Christ Emmanuel on her left hand, is placed against the background of an eight-pointed star. Around them, on the background of the robes of the Mother of God, several symbols may appear. Among the most common ones is the ladder touching the arm of Mary - through it, humanity ascends from earth to Heaven. Sometimes, it is a mountain "not cut with a human hand" - a symbol of the virginity of Mary, who remained a Virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ, The figures are enclosed in a star, which in a sign of the birth of Christ. It has eight rays formed by two quadrangles or rhombuses with concave sides. One of them is red and symbolises the colour of flames, the presence of God. The other is green or blue and commemorates the colour of the mysterious bush that did not succumb to flames, seen by Moses. It symbolises purity. In the red fields of the star are four symbols known from the prophecies of Ezekiel and mentioned in the Apocalypse of St. John the Evangelist: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, attributed to the four Evangelists in the Christian tradition. In the green or blue rays and in the fields between the rays, the figures of Archangels and angels worship the Incarnate Saviour and the Virgin Mother. Their number and placement can be interpreted in various ways in different icons, as described under S.12862MŁ. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967