'X' Marks the Person

The second glyph/spell/prayer is a simple “X” in a square. In his book “Ácsolt ládák titkai,” Gyenes Tamás calls this a “slanted cross.” So, it could be viewed as a Christian symbol. (Crosses for crucifixion were sometimes made in the shape of an X, an I or a T.)

Tamás also explains that this symbol could be a “soul” or a “person.” Something that happens at the intersection of two lines.

And that’s the way I explained it to my daughter Katherine. This symbol is on four faces of the legs of her new kitchen table. I said that one line represents her mother, Lucy, and the other represents her father, me. She is the intersection of those two lines.

She liked that.

This week I finished up her table and will deliver it tomorrow. The table is not going to be a project in the final book. There are too many things I would change – actually, too many things that I will change – for the next iteration of the Cottage Table.

But it was a great way to kick off my work on the “The American Peasant.” I built the table entirely by hand, from the stock prep to applying the finish. It was nice to get back in touch with my panel saws and use some muscles that have gone soft.

I’ll post some finished photos of the table when there is some better light.