About the Logo
About the Logo
Southern Cross Coaching & Development’s logo has a great deal of symbology and also a lot of personal meaning for Simon Smith (link), the founder and Managing Director of SCC&D.
Simon’s personal story of the Southern Cross
When Simon travelled around Australia for 12-months in a beat-up old van in 1995-6, he visited the Observatory at Canberra and viewed the Southern Cross through the telescope. This had quite an impact (see below for explanation of the Southern Cross), although little did he know then that what he saw was to become the symbol for his future coaching & development business.
A few months later, during his 2 years living in Borneo & the Philippines, Simon spent 2 months crewing on a 37-foot yacht, where he regularly took the helm on the midnight to 4am shift, enjoying the solitude and the jet black night sky set ablaze with the sparkle of billions of stars. Most nights he would sit & watch the Southern Cross rise or set, spiralling on its journey in the South, and it became a symbol of direction, freedom & inspiration – and also that it was soon time to get some kip!
Later, when he came to set up Southern Cross Coaching & Development, the Southern Cross & the symbology in it Simon had observed from his travels on the yacht & observations in Canberra were the natural choices for the logo & the name of the business.
Symbology of the Southern Cross & connection to the logo
The Pointers
The two lone stars pointing to the Southern Cross are called “The Pointers” and are symbolic of Coaching focusing on you (the individual, team, business, etc) and also of pointing you in the right direction.
The Southern Cross itself in the logo symbolises you – the individual, team, business etc.
The Jewel Box
To the naked eye looking at the Southern Cross in the night sky, the ‘fifth’ star, just below the far right hand star of the cross, appears to be just one white star. However, not many people know that when viewed through a telescope, it is actually a cluster of several bright, multi-coloured stars, known as “The Jewel Box”” – as depicted in the logo.
The analogy here is that Coaching is the telescope that helps you see the ‘jewels’ inside, helps you gain insight and awareness into you, your business, your leadership, your career, etc.
Coaching, & knowledge in general develops & changes your perspective, helps you see new directions & ideas, and helps you view your life, you, your business, your leadership, your career, etc. and other people in a new, more positive and knowledgeable light.
The Coal Sack
In addition, just below The Jewel Box is a dark patch of sky called The Coal Sack (see note 1 below), barely discernable unless you’re away from the city lights. It is actually a dark interstellar dust cloud obscuring the light of the stars behind and so appears as dark nebulae. The analogy here is that in all of us there is also a dark patch which we can sometimes drift into – coaching & knowledge development can help prevent this, and also get you out of it when you are in it. We know – we’ve been there!
The blue/black background and the rays of light on the logo are analogous of the dawn. In a Coaching context, this is the beginning of awareness and insight, the dawning of inspiration, ideas & direction, which can all come from Coaching.
I bet next time you look up into the sky at the Southern Cross you’ll see it from a completely different perspective with this new knowledge! That’s what Southern Cross Coaching & Development can do for people when they work with us to look at their businesses, their careers, their leadership, and their lives.
Please call us to discuss your needs – our initial consultation is free of charge. (02) 9474 1005
Note 1: The Coal Sack is important in Australian aboriginal astronomy in several Aboriginal cultures. It forms the head of the Emu in the sky (the “Emu in the Sky”, a ‘constellation‘ that is defined by dark nebulae (opaque clouds of dust and gas in outer space) that are visible against the milky way background, rather than by stars) – the body and legs are other dark clouds trailing out along the Milky Way to Scorpius.
Just North of Sydney, in the Kuringai National Park, are extensive rock engravings of the Guringai people who live there, including representations of the creator-hero Daramulan and his emu-wife. An engraving at Elvina Track shows an emu in the same pose and orientation as the Emu in the Sky constellation. On autumn evenings, the emu in the sky stands directly over her portrait, just at the time when it’s time to gather emu eggs.
Amongst the Wardaman people, it is said to be the head and shoulders of a law-man watching the people to ensure they don’t break traditional law. According to a legend reported by WE Harney, this being was called Utdjungon, and only adherence to the tribal law by surviving tribe members could prevent him from destroying the world.