I still would make the same choice. (2024)

A carousel (from French carrousel, from Italian carosello), or merry-go-round, is an amusem*nt ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The “seats” are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gearwork to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music. This leads to one of the alternative names, the galloper. Other popular names are jumper, roundabout, horseabout and flying horses. The earliest known depiction of a carousel is in a Byzantine bas-relief dating to around 500 A.D., which depicts riders in baskets suspended from a central pole. The word carousel originates from the Italian garosello and Spanish carosella (“little battle”), used by crusaders to describe a combat preparation exercise and game played by Turkish and Arabian horsem*n in the 12th century. In a sense this early device could be considered a cavalry training mechanism; it prepared and strengthened the riders for actual combat as they wielded their swords at the mock enemies. European Crusaders discovered this device and brought the idea back to their own lands. A carousel was also a training device for the ring-tilt, consisting of wooden horses suspended from arms branching from a central pole. Riders aimed to spear rings situated around the circumference as the carousel was moved by a man, horse or mule.

Carousel was also the term for large “horse ballet” or Musical Ride spectacles mounted as part of the court festivities for special occasions such as royal weddings or state visits from the mid-16th century onwards. They were developed in Italy, especially by the Medici Grand Dukes in Florence, and the first French example was in Paris in 1605. From the 17th century large decorated floats with allegorical figures were often included. The Place du Carrousel in Paris was so named from 1662, when it was used for such a display by Louis XIV. In 1620 the English traveller Peter Munday described a carousel ride he saw in modern Bulgaria, then part of the Ottoman Empire. By the early 18th century carousels were being built and operated at various fairs and gatherings in central Europe and England. In the 1850s the carousel crossed the Atlantic from Europe to America. The Golden Age of Carousels was the early 20th century. Liberated by success, woodcarvers created ever more fanciful and exotic menageries of animals for their carousels. Zebras, pigs, lions, ostriches, elephants, unicorns and dragons circled the platforms with the bounding horses. The technological advances of the Industrial Revolution replaced human and animal locomotion with steam powered engines and eventually electricity.

The symbolism of a carousel is closely connected to circles and wheels: The circle has always had magical properties. It is said to be the purest and most profound symbol in existence. It has no beginning and no end. Like wheels, carousels imply motion: cyclical, repetitive motion and ups and downs. The carousel, as a metaphor, has several universal connotations generally dealing with the idealised innocence of youth (see The catcher in the Rye: ‘Compared to the fun of a carousel, in which a circle has no sides, and the fun is in the experiencing of the game, the game of life is something different. “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” “Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.” Carousel moves and continues in motion, but the journey of a carousel is an illusion. There is no longitudinal development. It’s the play of childhood and Holden’s fantasy vision of the world.)

As a ride that revolves, (similarly with the ferris wheel), its circular path can also signify of the Wheel(s) of Life & Fortune. Combining these views of the carousels symbolism: innocence lost, the constancy of life and fate, an allusion to the individual and society at large. The origins of the carousel as a device to train medieval royal youth in the ways of war presents another dichotomy in combination with its more well known, carefree nature. As with the yin/yang, eastern symbol for the unification of opposites, it becomes clear how profound yet simple, elemental truths can be. As we face the unknown of the future it is important to realise the essence of some forgotten truths from the past. In the dreams carousel may signify moving around a central object as in becoming aware of true self as going around in circles means not achieving anything. Also may represent memories of the past and childhood freedoms.