Cemetery Symbolism Part 5: Plants

Cemetery Symbolism Part 5: Plants

 Plants, especially flowers beautify our lives and are often used as a symbol of mourning, love, friendship, hope or thanks in the living world, and these same meaning can be conveyed to the dead. They are also used for religious purposes, such as a rose representing the Virgin Mary.

 Trees and hedges also make appearances in cemetery symbolise, as sometimes do fruit and vegetables, and in Australia quite often we see wheat wreaths on our graves in rural areas.

PLANTS

Flowers convey love, grief, happiness and other emotions. These symbolic connections of flowers with emotion are cross-cultural and their origins are unknown. During the 1800s, the use of floral symbolism became so popular that almost every flower known had a symbolic gesture attached to it. The following are some symbolic references to common plants and flowers:

Acacia - the immortality of the soul

Acanthus - heavenly garden. One of the oldest cemetery motifs, acanthus is associated with the rocky ground where most ancient Greek cemeteries were placed. It is the most common motif found on memorials.

Bamboo - the emblem of Buddha. The seven-knotted bamboo denotes the seven degrees of initiation and invocation in Buddhism. On Japanese memorials, symbolic of devotion and truthfulness.

Buttercup - cheerfulness.

Calla lily - symbolises marriage.

Cinquefoil - maternal affection, beloved daughter

Corn (Garbe) - it was a country custom to send a sheaf to relatives on the death of a farmer. It may be used as an occupational symbol.

Crocus - youthful gladness

Cypress tree - designates hope

Daffodil - the death of youth, desire, art, grace, beauty, deep regard.

Daisy - the innocence of a child, Jesus the Infant, youth, the Son of righteousness, gentleness, purity of thought.

Dead leaves - sadness, melancholy

Dogwood - Christianity, divine sacrifice, the triumph of eternal life, resurrection.

Fern - sincerity, sorrow

Figs, Pineapples - Prosperity, eternal life

Fleur-de-lis - flame, passion, ardour, mother

Flower - Frailty of life.

Broken flower - a life terminated, mortality.

Forget-me-not - remembrance

Ivy - memory, immortality, friendship, fidelity, faithfulness, undying affection, eternal life.

Grapes - represent Christ

Grapes and Leaves - Christian faith.

Hawthorn - hope, merriness, springtime

Holly - foresight

Honeysuckle - bonds of love, generosity and devoted affection

Lalla - beauty, marriage

Laurel Leaves - Special achievement, distinction, success, triumph

Lily - majesty, innocence, purity, and resurrection. Often associated with the Virgin Mary and resurrection. Often used on women's graves. The use of lilies at funerals symbolizes the restored innocence of the soul at death.

Lily of the valley - the return of happiness, purity, humility.

Morning glory - resurrection, mourning, youth, farewell, the brevity of life, departure, mortality

Mystic rose - Mother

Moss - merit

Mulberry - I will not survive you

Oaktree - hospitality, stability, strength, honour, eternity, endurance, liberty. It is believed to have been the tree from which Jesus Christ's cross was made. In smaller pioneer cemeteries, it is common to place children's graves near oak trees. The oak tree was the tree of life in pre-Christian times. The Druids worshipped the oak. The oak, oak leaves and acorn can stand for power, authority or victory. Often seen on military tombs.

Passionflower - the elements of the passion of Christ: the lacy crown—the crown of thorns; the five stamens—the five wounds; the 10 petals—the 10 faithful Apostles

Pineapple - hospitality, a good host

Palm - spiritual victory, success, eternal peace, a symbol of Christ's victory of death as associated with Easter.

Pansy - symbolises remembrance and humility.

Pine - fertility, regeneration, fidelity

Poppy - peace, rest, sleep, eternal sleep, consolation

Rose - love, beauty, hope, unfailing love, associated with the Virgin Mary, the "rose without thorns." A red rose symbolises martyrdom and a white rose symbolises purity and virginity.

• Whether the rose is a bud, flower or somewhere in between indicates how old the person was at the time of death:
• Just a bud - normally a child 12 or under
• Partial bloom - normally a teenager
• Full bloom - normally in early/mid-twenties. The deceased died in the prime of life
• Rosebud, broken - a life cut short, usually found with a young person's grave
• Rosebuds, joining - a strong bond between two people (e.g., mother and child who died at the same time
• Rosebuds, several on the same branch - secrecy
• Rosette - the Lord, messianic hope, promise, love.
• Wreath of Rose - Beauty and virtue rewarded

Shamrock - Ireland as a country of origin

Thistle - earthly sorrow, Christ's crown of thorns, Scotland as the country of origin.

Tree - The all-covering love of Christ. Life, The Tree of Life.

Severed branch - Mortality

Sprouting - Life everlasting.

Vine - The sacraments, God's blood, God

Weeping Willow - Nature's lament, a symbol of sorrow and mourning.

Wheat - resurrection, bread and wine (Christian), fertility

Bushel - the body of Christ

sheaves - The divine harvest, Often represents the aged.

Wreath or Garland - The use of garlands, wreaths and festoons dates back to ancient Greek times and it was adopted into the Christian religion as a symbol of the victory of the redemption.

The laurel wreath is usually associated with someone who has attained distinction in the arts, literature, athletics or the military. The ivy wreath is symbolic of conviviality (gaiety or joviality). The wreath and festoon together symbolise memory.

An ancient symbol of victory. memory passed to eternal life.

Bridal -  may signify the grave of a young bride or groom.

Maiden's Garland -  A garland of white paper or linen, embellished with streamers and a single white glove, which was carried at the funerals of unmarried women of blameless reputation. The garlands were hung in the church after the funeral and allowed to decay. Then the pieces would be buried in the graveyard.

Yew tree - sadness, eternal life

Cemetery Symbolism Part 4: Objects

Cemetery Symbolism Part 4: Objects

 Everyday objects, the things we use to make a living, the things we use to entertain others, or ourselves, sometimes things that we consider our passion, such as guitars or pianos for some people, often find a place on headstones or grave markers, even doorways and arches, arrows and anchors can be seen on Graves, all have a symbolic meaning to the person, whether personal, work-related or religious...

OBJECT:

Anchor - Early Christians used the anchor as a disguised cross, and as a marker to guide the way to secret meeting places. A Christian symbol of hope, it is found as funerary symbolism in the art of the catacombs. Often set amongst rocks. It can also be an occupational symbol in sea-faring areas or the attribute of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of seamen, symbolised hope and steadfastness. An anchor with a broken chain stands for the cessation of life.

Arch - Victory of life; or victory in death.

Arrow - denotes mortality

Angels - the agent of God, often pointing towards heaven; guardians of the dead, symbolizing spirituality. Angels are shown in all types of poses with different symbolism.

Two angels can be named, and are identified by the objects they carry: Michael, who bears a sword and Gabriel, who is depicted with a horn.

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Blowing a trumpet (or even two trumpets) representing the day of judgment, and Call to the Resurrection. Carrying the departed soul as a child in their arms, or as a Guardian embracing the dead. The "messengers of God" are often shown escorting the deceased to heaven.

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Flying - Rebirth

• Many angels gathered together in the clouds - represents heaven.
• Weeping - Grief, or mourning an untimely death.

Baby's chair - small, empty furniture symbolised unfulfilled lives of children; represented the child now gone; with small shoes on a chair - connection to childhood, symbolised an inability to achieve adulthood

Bible - connotes a religious layperson or a cleric

Book - faith, learning to read and write, a scholar. A prayer, or knowledge or even memory (where it has a dog-eared page). It may represent the Book of Life and is often shown as a bible. A popular form is a book as a double-page spread.

Candle, with a flame - Life

Chalice – sacraments

Cherubs - the graves of children

Cherub's Head - the soul.

Children - usually represent the untimely death of the innocent. They may be shown mourning a parent, but if holding a skull that means they are dead themselves.

• Sleeping (child) - sleep is the tie between life and death; children are purity, artlessness, innocence

Chrisma - a cross-like shape formed by a combination of two Greek letters, chi (X) and rho (P) corresponding to CH and R of the word, Christ, hence a symbol for Jesus Christ.

Circle - perfection or eternity in the afterworld, life everlasting

Coffin, Sarcophagus, Cemetery monument - mortality.

Column, broken - early grief, end of life, sorrow. A life cut short too soon. Maybe girded with flowers. This image represents decay. It usually represents the loss of the family head.

Columns, with archway -  Heavenly entrance

Cross and Anchor - another early Christian symbol referring to Christ as "hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sincere and steadfast" (Hebrews 6:19).

Crown - immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, symbolic of honour or glory, the glory of life after death. May be shown being offered to those on Earth by Angels.

A crown on a Cross - the sovereignty of the Lord.

Doors and gates - passage into the afterlife. Heavenly entrance

Drapery over anything - sorrow, mourning

Flame - eternity.

Grim Reaper - Death personified.

Harp - Associated with David in the Old Testament; a symbol of St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. Symbolic of worship in heaven, hope.

Hourglass - Time's inevitable passing, an attribute of death and Father Time, represents the passage of time and the shortness of life.

• On its side - that time has stopped for the deceased.
• Winged - time's swift flight.

Keys - Keys stand for spiritual knowledge or if held in the hands of an angel or saint, the means to enter heaven.

Knot - The interlaced Celtic knot represents resurrection and life everlasting.

Labyrinth - The passage of life

Lamp - Knowledge, a love of learning, and the immortality of the Spirit.

Pall, Pick, Spade - Mortality

Pitcher – Jewish symbol - Traditional symbolism for Levites would have been the

pitcher or ewer, representative of washing the hands of the High Priests.

Rod or staff - comfort

Scroll - Symbol of life and time. Both ends rolled up indicates a life that is unfolding like a scroll of uncertain length and the past and future hidden. Often held by a hand representing life being recorded by angels. Can also suggest honour and commemoration.

Scythe - Death, the divine harvest

Shell - The use of shell in burials is pre-Christian in practice and pre-dates even Egyptian burial practices. Shell is symbolic of fertility, resurrection and pilgrimage. Shells, coins and small stones are the traditional objects left at gravesites. There are several meanings given to this act. It may be a symbolic referral to the ancient custom of burying the dead under a cairn of rocks to protect the body from scavenging animals, or a reminder that the individual is not forgotten.

Scallop - a symbol of the Crusades, pilgrim, pilgrim's journey, resurrection, life everlasting, connotes one's life journey. A symbol of birth and resurrection, a traditional symbol of the Puritans.

Ship - the grave of a seafarer

Sickle - death as the "last harvest"

Skull, skeleton -  Mortality, death

Star - Stars stand for the spirit, piercing the darkness as an expression of their triumph against the overwhelming odds of oblivion. Five-pointed stars represent the spirit rising to heaven.

Sun setting - Death

Sun shining/rising - aRenewed life

Sword - a military career

• Swords, crossed - indicates death in battle

Torch - lit or upright torch represents life, the inverted or extinguished - death.

Trumpets - Victory and Resurrection

Urn - Greek symbol of mourning, the body as a vessel of the soul, originating as a repository for the ashes of the dead in ancient times - a popular symbol of mourning. Most represent an ossuary. In several examples, an Angel is looking inside it as if to inspect the contents. A flame is sometimes shown coming from the Urn. They are often draped with a cloth or festooned with a wreath or garland. This fashion of Urn's persisted well into the 1850s at least.

Urn, draped connotes death, often of an older person.

Vessel with flame - the eternal flame or the eternal spirit of man.

Winged face - Effigy of the soul of the deceased.

Winged globe - a symbol of the Egyptian sun god, Re; on Victorian monuments, it is symbolic of the power that can recreate and, with the wings, means, "God, Lord over all, creator."

Winged skull - Flight of the soul from mortal man

Winged wheel - symbolised the holy spirit.

Woman with or without Bible pointing upward - faith

Woman hanging onto Cross - faith. Original drawing accompanied Rev. Toplady’s hymn "Rock of Ages." Also seen as woman clinging to pillar or anchor. The common motif on white bronze monuments and Masonic grave memorials.