The mill as a sign in culture is distinguished by its special symbolism and a number of metaphorical associations, which, at times, bring the household building to a completely metaphysical level of perception. So, due to the special shape and ability to set the mill in motion, it is often associated with temporary categories. So the allegory of the expression "mill of time" was born.
Mill as a symbol
The mill itself, especially the windmill, has long been an object of many beliefs and traditions. So, for example, the Slavs attributed the noise of the mill, as well as its properties to turn the power of some elements into others, a mystical meaning. Since ancient times, the mill was considered the abode of mermaids, goblin and other evil spirits. In Christianity, the mill is a symbol of humility.
A lot of symbolic metaphors and concepts are also associated with this word, for example, mill blades have long been called wings, since they look like bird wings in appearance. A mill is a certain mechanism intended for successive reduction, grinding of particles and their subsequent mixing into a homogeneous mass. It is from this definition that the following philosophical concept follows, sung by many poets and artists: the "mill of time".
Mill as an allegory
Perhaps, the “mill of time" is that which inexorably absorbs the past present and future, turning it into fine grains, dust, making people insignificant before the very essence of being. "Mill of time" is certainly a concept with a deep figurative meaning. For a particular person, it is something that indicates the futility of his life, the insignificance of small passions and desires.
A time mill can grind all sorrows and grievances, mix together the sorrows and joys that a person has ever thought and experienced, and at the output give a result, a kind of personality, as a product of all events experienced in the past and present. A mill is a kind of arbiter of destinies, which mixes everything and everything, regardless of persons and positions.
The mill, as the basis of the metaphor, was not taken by chance. After all, this is a grandiose structure, which, at times, is difficult enough to stop, and even more so to turn back. It can only go forward, literally sweeping away everything in its path, completely disassembling what gets into it. Typically, such structures have stood for centuries, being unwitting witnesses to many generations of people, tragic and happy events.
