Category Archives: Symbolism

The humble bee is a symbol of industry and orderliness.  The bee society is highly organized and stratified, with each member of the hive charged with a task that it does each day, all day long.  The bees leave the hive … Continue reading →

One of the most famous stories from Greek mythology is the story of the mighty phoenix that is totally consumed when its sets its nest a blaze and hurls itself on the fire.  A newborn phoenix arises from the ashes.  The similarities between … Continue reading →

Many Christian symbols have been appropriated because of the qualities of the animal or the plant are held up by the religion.  The peacock, for example, became a symbol of the resurrection because the feathers on the male peacock grow back each … Continue reading →

Even in the stylized version of the peacock above, one of the first elements that is noticeable are feathers with the “eyes” that surround the body of the peacock, suggestive of the all seeing eye of God.  The feathers are regenerated … Continue reading →

There are gravestones in which the motif is coupled with the epitaph to help illuminate the meaning of the written word, just as an illustration in a book is often used to reinforce the text.  The rounded-top white marble tablet gravestone of Walter, the son of W.C. and … Continue reading →

The very shape of some gravestones have meaning.  For instance the obelisk, one of the most common gravestone shapes seen in our cemeteries, is an ancient Egyptian representation of a ray of sun.  The broken column represents a life that … Continue reading →

The anvil gravestone pictured above is a near perfect carving of an actual anvil.  It accurately portrays all of the main parts of the anvil, including the level top called the “face” which is depicted with a block of metal and a … Continue reading →

The lovely daffodil sometimes pops up so early that it peaks through the snow as one of the first arrivals in the spring showering the garden with bright hues of gold, yellow, and orange.  The daffodil is in the genus … Continue reading →

On the corners of the gravestone above are two inverted torches.  The flames coming from the bottom of the torches are curling toward the center of the gravestone.  The flame or fire is symbolic of the soul.  Here the inverted torch represents … Continue reading →