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.

Cemetery Symbolism Part 2: Body Parts

Cemetery Symbolism Part 2: Body Parts

It's not just animals that are used to represent the positive aspects of humanity, but human body parts too, some represent the bond between lovers, other represent the place one holds in the family line, other's represent the Angels and God himself.

BODY PARTS:

Arms outstretched - the plea for mercy.

Eye of God/All-Seeing Eye - The Eye of God or the All-Seeing Eye symbolises the all-knowing and ever-present God. During the Renaissance period in Europe, it was common to illustrate the Eye of God surrounded by a triangle (the Holy Trinity). The eye within the triangle, surrounded by a circle and radiating rays of light is used to symbolise the holiness of the true God.

Hands -  The use of hands in some form is very common on grave memorials.
Symbol of leaving.

Hands, clasped - At first glance, these hands all seem to be in the same fashion but a number of interesting characteristics stand out. First, most of the hands illustrate the right hand in a grasp with fingers overlapping the other hand while the left hand is open. This could be the depiction of a man holding a woman's hand and indicate marriage or a close bond between individuals, unity and affection even after death.

Clasped hands are also symbolic of a farewell or last good-bye. Look at the cuff to distinguish between a man's or woman's hand (the woman would have a frilly cuff.) The person who died first holds the other's hand, guiding the spouse to heaven.

Hand of God plucking a link of a chain represents God bringing a soul unto himself.

Hands holding:

•   A chain with a broken link symbolises the death of a family member.
•   A heart - symbolic of charity and is common on 19th-century memorials. It is typically seen on memorials of members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Charity
•  An open book - the embodiment of Faith

Hand pointing:

• Downward - mortality or sudden death. (Possibly a depiction of a secret Masonic handshake.)
• Upward - the reward of the righteous, confirmation of life after death. Heavenly reward, ascension to heaven.
• Hands praying can connote devotion
• Two hands touching at thumbs - The hands are making the "Live long and prosper" gesture that Mr Spock used on Star Trek (Leonard Nimoy is Jewish, and that's where he got it). The Cohen was the priestly caste. They perform a few specific functions in Orthodox Judaism, and have a few unique restrictions: they are not supposed to remarry or touch a dead body, for example. People who are Cohen often have Cohen as their last name, This is the hand gesture made by Cohen at the end of services in Orthodox synagogues, it's a benediction and had come to universally represent Cohens.

Heart - Love, mortality, love of God, courage and intelligence.

Bleeding - Christ's suffering for our sins.

Encircled with thorns - the suffering of Christ.

Flaming - signifies extreme religious fervour

Pierced by a sword - the Virgin Mary, hearkening to Simeon's prophecy to Mary at the birth of Christ, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul." It can also be used to represent charity.

Cemetery Symbolism Part 1: Animals

Cemetery Symbolism Part 1: Animals

As paranormal investigator's, the majority of us frequent local cemeteries on a regular basis. A good investigator will hear the rumours associated with the cemetery and begin their investigation by researching the history of people buried within the grounds and maybe, the history, of the cemetery.

 Most will take hundreds of photos of the tombstones that represent the lives of those buried there,

spending hours looking for the slightest bit of paranormal activity between the headstones...but, have you ever wondered what all those symbols, the hands shaking, the anchors, actually mean?

 In Australia, we have a diverse cultural background, pioneers from many countries across the globe, plus a vast amount of immigrants over the past 200 years. Our cemeteries represent not only the original pioneers from Europe, but now also those from every corner of the globe, and our tombstones and mausoleums reflect this

Below is a small list of what some of the symbols represent.

ANIMALS:

 Animals representing the deceased is a very old tradition going back to the Egyptians. It was also common in Europe.

• Birds in Flight - These are symbolic of the "winged soul." The representation of the soul by a bird goes back to ancient Egypt.
• Wings - Some older burial art features only wings to convey the symbol of divine mission. Often denote the graves of children, eternal life.
• Dove - An important symbolic animal in Christianity representing the Holy Spirit.  The white dove is referred to in the story of the baptism of Christ. "And John bore record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him" (Bible, John 1:32). The descending dove is a very common motif on grave memorials.
• Seven Doves are representative of the seven spirits of God or the Holy Spirit in its sevenfold gifts of grace. Purity, devotion, Divine Spirit. When shown with an Olive Sprig it means Hope or Promise.
• Eagle - suggests courage and possibly a military career, also the symbol for Saint John.
• Owl - represents wisdom.
• Rooster - Awakening, the Resurrection.
• Swallow - indicates a child or motherhood.

Butterfly - The soul, Although quite rare, it is occasionally seen on graves (most often of children).

 It is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ. The meaning is derived from the three stages of the life of the butterfly—the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the butterfly. The three stages are symbols of life, death and resurrection. Short-life.

Dog - Signifying the loyalty and that the master was worth loving.

Dolphin - portrays the idea of resurrection.

Dragon - being defeated by St. George depicts triumph over sin.

Fish - indicates faith.

Frog - depicts sin and worldly pleasures, or may represent resurrection.

Hart (male deer) - represented either faithfulness, thirsting for God, or Christ slaying Satan.

Horse - Courage or generosity. An attribute of St. George, St. Martin, St. Maurice and St. Victor, all of whom are represented in Christian art on horseback.

Lamb - This is the most common animal symbol found on a child's grave - representing Innocence in life. The lamb appears throughout the ages with great regularity in Christian art and because it is a symbol of Christ:

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" (Bible, John 1:29).

 The use of the lamb in religious art pre-dates Christianity and appears to have been used first by the Egyptians.

 It signifies purity and innocence. Christ in his sacrificial role and personifies innocence, meekness, gentleness and humility.

Lion - Symbolises the power of God and guards the tomb against evil spirits.

 Like other guardians, the lion's watch is as eternal as the stone of which it is depicted.

The lion also recalls the courage and determination of the souls which they guard, they manifest the spirit of the departed.

Resurrection

• Peacock - symbolized the incorruptibility of flesh, resurrection, the beauty of soul, immortality.
• Phoenix -  symbolized the incorruptibility of flesh, resurrection, the beauty of soul, immortality.
• Serpent- shown swallowing its own tail it represents Eternity.
• Squirrel with a nut - religious meditation or spiritual striving.