The symbol of the sky in myth is representational for transcendence, something that is above us.
It is the realm of the heavens.
%To find the symbolism of the sky in \textit{Empire State of Mind} I needed to turn to the music video.
Throughout the video New York is seen from above as though a god is looking down upon the city.
The backdrop to these visuals is Jay-Z's voice as the narrator imparting the feeling that he is that god.
Supporting this idea, Jay-Z is continuously shown with the camera looking up at him, as though the
viewer has to look up to a being above them.
%who is imparting knowledge of the sacred.
Interestingly, Alicia Keys, the other performer in the song, is not shot in this manner. All images of her
on her own are at the same eye level as the viewer.
%The camera placement puts Jay-Z above us, like a deity.
At one point in the video, Jay-Z is seen physically praying to Jesus in front of a window in a skyscraper
while looking down upon the vastness of the city.  The camera pans back from a close up of him, to allow
the audience to see his reflection in glass praying.  The reflected image portrays him as ethereal, juxtaposed
next to his worldly physical body, planted within this realm.  The dichotomy of this image is with the
words Jay-Z is rapping while praying, that to be immersed in this form of sacredness and divinity, one
must walk away from the Christian church.  This imagery reinstates Eliade's concept of the moon
playing an integral role, by reminding us of the duality of the human condition.  The dual image of Jay-Z
in the glass, represents him existing in both realms, the sacred and the profane.