 The strategic placement of the ladder which cuts the icon into two complementary triangles, representing heaven in the higher triangular module and earth in the lower.The journey to the top of the ladder where Jesus reaches with open hands is rife with obstacles of sin represented by the demons with bow and arrows ready to take the souls of those who lack perseverance.The imagery is figurative in the sense that the demons represented visually in the icon are the sins that man battles with internally.