There’s a little-known story behind the Oryx Desert Salt symbol, one that’s steeped in mystery, history and myth.
Oryx Desert Salt isn’t just a wonderful ingredient in your kitchen, it also has symbolic relevance that we think you’ll enjoy knowing about. It’s the kind of understanding that gives something as every-day as salt, a meaning that goes beyond its ordinary value.
Alchemy was a centuries-old natural philosophy that was the precursor to modern-day chemistry and science. Ancient alchemists valued salt as a crucial element in alchemical processes and its symbol was a circle containing a horizontal line through its diameter.
The circle is a symbol of wholeness which is a perfect fit for Oryx Desert Salt, as it’s an unprocessed wholefood; it comes with all its micro-nutrients and minerals perfectly in proportion to each other according to Nature’s formulation.
We also like the idea of an old symbol from antiquity being reworked into a contemporary design, so representing the enduring nature of salt.
Salt is very stable and doesn’t easily burn or spoil. Its unchanging nature is evident even when dissolved in water, for once that water evaporates, salt crystals reform. In both Islam and Judaism, instead of just giving your word, an exchange of salt sealed a deal because of how immutable salt is. Salt symbolizes a long-lasting friendship and relationship between people and that too, is one of our key values –building enduring relationships within our teams, with our suppliers, business partners and customers.
Today, salt is easily and cheaply available. However, in the ancient world, there was a time when salt was one of the most valuable traded commodities in the world. You may know that our current word ‘salary’ comes from Latin salārium, meaning ‘salt money’. This referred to the Roman practice of paying soldiers in pieces of compressed salt. Hence the phrase: ‘to be worth one’s salt.’
Salt is historically considered to be a sacred substance – it’s mentioned 40 times in the bible as well as in other religious texts – and is still used in religious rituals such as baptism. The belief in the power of salt to connect with the divine can be seen in many ancient cultures. The Aztecs had a fertility goddess of salt named Huixtocihuatl (no, we can’t pronounce that either, even Wikipedia doesn’t attempt it 🙂 ) The Norse believed salt was introduced into the seas by the works of the gods. The Hindu believe that offering salt to the gods will grant you good health.
When salt is given as a gift, it symbolises longevity as it’s been used since ancient times to pickle and preserve meat and vegetables. Our source in the pristine Kalahari Desert is ever self-replenishing and sustainable which makes us believe that Oryx Desert Salt is going to be around for a very long time too!
And here’s an odd little factoid: Margaret Visser, a food writer, tells us that salt is the only rock directly consumed by humans.
Now you know a whole lot more about salt than the average person would even suspect. All of which makes salt a unique and fascinating substance that’s goes deeper than just the way it magically improves the taste of your dinner.
