A meditation on art and symbols

Now, I have just read the introduction to a book called "The Secret Zodiac" The hidden art in mediaval astrology by Fred Gettings, and was inspired by how well and clearly the author speaks that I feel I must paraphrase him.

First, a word about history. I find it of absolutely no surprise that so many people do not like history. As presented and know in it's current form, History is the dry restatement of facts about actual events that occurred in our past, with the focus being on the accuracy of the findings.
Now, I understand that it is excellent that we attempt to create an accurate record of history and civilizations, for the purpose of archiving, but, to anyone who's not a historian, history itself would seem to offer nothing than the opportunity to impress others at dinner parties, or avoid looking stupid.
For, we rarely look into what the people themselves felt, believed, and knew. We rarely attempt to put ourselves in their place and feel what they were feeling.

Personally, as much as I have liked music and occasionally literature, art never appealed to me. I always felt that I could look at it for one second, and understand it and register it in memory, and that there was little else. When we look at Art nowadays, the focus seems to be on literature about art, and memorizing what other people have interpreted the meanings of art.

Unfortunately, by doing this, we effectively ...kill... the symbolism itself. For example, in a dream, the symbol of a heart may have a different meaning to each person, ranging from dread to intrigue.
Art in the past was always mean to be experienced, to feel the art and escape into it like a dream. Nearly all pre-renassaince art had a specific spiritual purpose in mind. Art comes from the soul and is meant to be experienced by the soul, anything less is a demotion.

Furthermore, the form of Christianity which has fallen upon us has been complicit in the death of these symbols. For a very long time, any mention of the polytheistic gods, their stories, of astrology of occult symbols could have easily gotten you hung or burnt. Even this century, the idea that all the occult is satanic, has continued, and this fear has kept us from honestly interpreting them, for we feel that any association with them would necessitates the devil having an influence on us.
Now, the VERY recent rise of old pagan religions, has perhaps brought about the re-emergence of the origonal meanings, and maybe even a flicker of the powerful emotional charge they contained.
We as a society, may not live much longer until we begin to feed our own spirit; so exiled by schizophrenic, materialistic, modern society, that it's rebirth is all but assured.