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 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.