New photos at Quotes website (page 2)

How To Interpret Gravestone Motifs

I guess I have become somewhat an student on graves and gravestones. Since my husband and I, are working to try to save the cemetery his mother is buried at ;and all the research that is involved something clicked when I looked at the pictures.

Through out the cemetery, we are working to save, you see all types of grave markers from several eras (it is over 150 years old) and each has a meaning. I have learned a lot from being involved in the research to put the cemetery here on the national register. We are in the process of documenting the meanings and different types of carvings on the headstones. The carvings on a headstone can mean many things. It can represent a frat, religion, belief or even a job, etc. It is sort of like an epitaph of its own for the person, written in stone.

Here are some basic meanings of carvings you may or may not find interesting. If you look at the headstones pictured, you see "other" meanings to them. Here are a few that have some meaning to the pictures that Quotes had posted.

They are not in order:

Crown - Commonly used on 18th century New England headstones to represent the crown of righteousness.

Garlands - Victory in death

Laurel Leaves/Wreath - Victory. The laurel wreath was first worn by the ancient Romans in parades after triumph in battle where it was viewed as a prize and a sign of divine blessing. With the Pythian Games in ancient Greece, the laurel wreath became an emblem of victory. The laurel is an evergreen thought to have purifying powers that could result in immortality. The laurel wreath is often still used as a mark of distinction for those who have excelled in their pursuits.

Lily or Lily of Valley - Light, Purity, Perfection, Mercy and Majesty. In Greco-Roman mythology this flower was sacred to Hera and Artemis. In Byzantium and early France, it was a royal emblem (the fleur-de-lys is sometimes considered a stylized Lilly). Primarily the Lilly has Christian associations, usually attached to the Virgin Mary where it signifies chastity. When Christ is shown as the judge of the world with a Lilly in his mouth, the flower represents mercy. a Lilly and a sword signify guilt and innocence.

Masonic Compass and Set-square - Freemasons combine religious and construction and architectural forms in their symbols. Viewing God as the architect and builder of the universe, Freemasonry intends to build the temple of humanity through self-improvement with stone-masonry work. The compass, used in geometric calculations, symbolizes creation and the spirit. The set-square draws perfect right angles, so represents uprightness and lawfulness. The compass and the square measure things, so they symbolize judgement. They also represent geometry, and the union of the sky (the compass's circle) and the earth (the square). The letter "G" in this symbol represents God, geometry and geomancy. Compasses and a mason's square also were the emblems of the Chinese emperor Fu Hsi.

Palm Tree/Branch - The palm has a variety of sacred and secular associations. In the Kabbalah, it symbolizes the righteous man and was an emblem of Judea after the Exodus. One of the four plants paraded on the Sukkot to celebrate God's bounty, it represents the Jew who studies the Torah but does not obey the commandments. Other interpretations include the spine that bends before God, and God. In Christianity, it signifies righteousness, resurrection, and martyrdom based on Christ's entry into Jerusalem where palm branches were laid in his path. In the Middle Ages, a palm leaf was a badge of pilgrimage to the Holy Land and people wearing it were called 'palmers.' Because of its height and radiating leaves, it was an early fertility and sun symbol. The Babylonians considered it a divine tree because of its association with the sun. In many early Middle Eastern civilizations the palm was a Tree of Life; the Phoenician god Baal-Tamar was the lord of the palm and the palm was the emblem of the goddesses Astarte and Ishtar. In ancient Rome, victors were presented with palm branches and the palm took on victory as its meaning in ancient Rome, Egypt and Greece. The palm has also signified fame and peace. In contemporary, secular culture it represents tropical delights

Pyramid - Symbol of ancient and modern Egypt, it represents the power of the kings and creation. Among the ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayans and Mesopotamians, pyramids represented the cosmic mountain. In esoteric thought, it represents the world axis and enlightenment. The pyramid is a synthesis of different forms: the base is a square representing earth, the apex is the beginning and finishing point of all things, and the sloping, triangle sides that link the apex to its base represent fire, divine revelation and the threefold principle of creation, thereby symbolizing all of creation.

Trumpeters - Heralds of the Resurrection

Urn with Blaze - Undying Friendship

Urn with Wreath or Crepe - Mourning

Triangle - In the Christian tradition, the triangle represents Faith, Hope and Charity, and the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The symbolism of this shape is always associated with its three sides, signifying a variety of triads such as birth, life and death; heaven, earth and human; mind, body and soul; body, soul and spirit; and father, mother and child. In ancient Egypt, the triangle combined will, intelligence, and love to represent man's soul. The ancient Egyptians and the Mayans built stepped pyramids with temples at the top to represent the cosmic mountain. In magic and alchemy, the pyramid with its apex pointing upward represents fire or masculinity and when inverted, represents water or femininity. These two triangles combined signify the unity of the elements in alchemy and, in Judaism's Star of David they stand for the union of opposites. The pyramid can also represent aspiration, the struggle to climb to the top and achieve one's earthly ambition or heavenly ascent.

Torch - Turned upside down, it represents death. Right side up, it symbolizes life and the regenerative power of fire. It has been used in initiation and fertility rites in many cultures and was the emblem, in Greek mythology, of Eros and Aphrodite, symbolizing the flame of love. In Christianity, the torch represents purification through God's illuminating the spirit, and Christ as the Light of the World. Associated with one of the seven deadly sins, it represents anger. The torch is also seen as an emblem of places of learning and signifies truth and intelligence.

Tree Stump w/Ivy - Head of Family; Immortality

Trees - Life

Pine Cone - Immortality and Fertility The ancient Greeks and Assyrians viewed the pine cone "as a symbol of masculinity because of its phallic shape. It formed the apex of the thyrsus staff, which represented both fertility and immortality". As the emblem of Artemis, it represented feminine purity. It was also the emblem of the Roman goddess Venus (Aphrodite). In Christianity, the pine cone forms the crown of the Tree of Life. Because of its swirling form, it is associated with "dynamic generative and cosmic power."

Poppy - Sleep

Portals - Passageway to eternal journey

Open Book / Bible - Deceased Teacher, Minister, etc.

Labarum - This symbol is also known as the Monogram of Christ, Constantine's Cross, the Chrismon, the Christogram and the Chi-Rho. Since the Roman emperor Constantine I used this symbol on his shield, overcame his enemy in battle, and consequently converted to Christianity, the labarum has been a symbol of Christianity. In pre-Christian Greece it signified a good omen. It also represented the Chaldean sky god.

New photos at Quotes website

Quotes

Xandria

Share this