I thought I’d take a moment to explain why I chose a Phoenix as the logo for Transformers.
The legend of the Phoenix can be found in many ancient civilizations, including early Christianity, for two reasons.
First, because of its symbolism of life, death, and rebirth.
And secondly, because it is a story of transformation from one form into another.
For those of you that may not be familiar with the myth, the Phoenix was a majestic bird-like creature that lived in Paradise and was blessed with a lifespan of 1000 years.
The most common myth of the Phoenix is that at the end of 1000 years the Phoenix flew from Paradise into the mortal world so that it could be reborn. Then it built a nest of the herbs and spices it had gathered and waited for the sun to rise.
The next morning a spark fell from the sky and ignited the nest and the Phoenix in flames. All that was left from the fire was a tiny worm. After three days, the worm was transformed into a new, majestic and AWESOME Phoenix to live another 1000 years.
In one of the Jewish translations of the Book of Genesis, the Phoenix is referred to as “Khol”, the Hebrew word for sand. And in one verse from the Book of Job it says, “Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand” (Job 29:18). These verses are important because a Jewish myth say that Eve offered all the animals in the Garden of Eden to taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and only the animal referred to as “Sand” refused to do so. Because of Sand’s (The Phoenix) decision it was not subject to death like the rest of the living creatures but has eternal life.
The jewish myth goes on to say that after a thousand years of life, the nest of the Phoenix bursts into flames and consumes it, “and the bird is left as an egg and then it grows organs and lives again.”
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Now, I could have used a butterfly as a symbol of transformation, and I’ll admit that butterflies are beautiful, but they’re not as cool as the myth of the Phoenix, and not as cool as our logo.
