English Department Educational Links
Traditional Symbols
ARCHETYPICAL
(TRADITIONAL) SYMBOLS SEASONS
- spring - birth, newness, youth,
innocence, children , beginning of the quest or journey, rebirth, first
date, thawing, exuberance, cruelty
- summer - mating, loss of innocence,
fertility, vitality, abundance, knowledge, passion, testing (trials),
marriage, utopia
- autumn - parenting, fulfillment,
harvest, fruition, power, start of aging, evil, blocking figures, yearning
for golden age, reality, defeat, ghosts
- winter - old age, wisdom, death,
emptiness, sterility, religious mystery, expectations, metamorphosis, end
of the quest, defeat, imprisonment, and retribution
- dawn - birth, enlightenment, hope,
rebirth, new ideas, opportunities, comprehension
- morning - youth, optimism, energy, hope,
success,
- afternoon maturity, vigor, work, time
running out, completion, loss of power,
- sunset - mortal glory
- twilight - death, mystery, departure,
aging, ignorance, evil, deception
- night - death, the underworld,
unconscious, fear, loss, sleep,
- up - - intellectual, spirit, male,
hopeful, pride, challenge, readiness, purposeful, dominance
- down - physical, chthonic, carnal,
female, depression, mystery, loss, humility, subservience
- east - origins, mystery, change,
religion
- west - adventure, the journey or quest,
death
- north - wildness, purity, sterility,
retribution, cold, spirit
- south - freedom, betrayal, heat,
passion, sensuality
- white - purity, sterility, death,
innocence, sickness, awareness
- black - sorrow, death, evil, power,
mystery, night, perversion, strength, religion, gray - mediocrity,
depression, concealment, change, age, hidden wisdom
- red - - passion, sexuality, anger,
maturity, danger, blood, courage
- green - fertility, jealousy, youth,
nature, the alien
- yellow - sickness, weakness, fantasyblue
- truth, calm, deep thought, quiet, sadness, honor, loyalty
- purple - royalty, wealth, gayness,
power, deep passion
- pink - children, girls, health, puberty
- gold - male power, kings, wealth,
fathers, the sun, intellect, consciousness
- silver - female power, queens, wealth,
witches, the moon, mystery, magic, unconsciousness
- motley - madness, fooling, gaiety,
cleverness, slyness, disloyalty
- egg - womb, source of life, potential
- broken egg -
irrevocable mistake, ruined opportunity
- mushrooms sacred food, god's phallus
(Dionysus), mystery of male sex, visions, prophecy
- wine - blood, spirit, life
- bread - body, spiritual nourishment,
purity
- sun - summer, reason, light, male power,
success, intellect, heat, life, understanding, sterility
- eclipse - evil portent, death &
rebirth, loss of power, diminishment
- moon - night, female power, cycles of
nature, mystery, imagination, magic, female cycles, madness
- full moon
&endash; madness, passion, were-creatures
- crescent moon
&endash; Diana, cradle, potentiality, youth
- new moon
&endash; virginity, birth, possibilities
- stars - children, idealism, immutable
law of universe,
- star of David
or six sided star - union of sun & moon or male & female
principles
- star and
crescent - Greek goddess Diana, purity, Islam, sovereignty, truth,
enlightenment
- comets & (meteors) - messengers,
portents, omens, lost souls
- wind - inspiration, power, ghosts,
messages
- cloud - the sacred, freedom,
carelessness, emptiness, mystery, illusions, fate
- storm clouds -
hostility, war, approaching doom, conflict
- rain - rebirth, renewal, washing clean,
gloom, life, male fertility
- storm - war, discord, pestilence, great
emotional conflict
- thunder and
lightning - warning, approaching disaster, the gods' anger, insight,
bravado
- snow - purity, death, sterility,
tranquility, magic
- snow flake -
individuality, coldness, fragility, beauty, impermanence
- fog - mystery, uncertainty, concealment,
ghosts, confusion, magic
- sky (air) freedom, home of male gods,
heaven, goals, sterility, thought, speed, spirit
- water - change, origins, unconscious,
emotion, life, mystery, mutability, the flow of life
- salt water - tears, regret, sadness,
amniotic fluid, sterility
- horse - masculinity, tamed (or untamed)
male power, god's fertility
- bull - same as horse + violence, desire,
and horns
- stag - same as horse and bull +
competition for females, sacrifice of male for food and fertility, female
infidelity (horns)
- bee - industriousness, citizenship,
communism, sudden death, matriarchal social structure
- insects - alien cultures, souls,
madness, worthlessness, death, rot
- birds - freedom, nesting, female
nurturing, hunting, courage or cowardice
- rat (mouse) secrets, childhood, horror,
hair, sex
- cats - litheness, contained strength,
femaleness, enigma, occult, mediums, reincarnation, courage,
individuality, mockery
- fox - cleverness, wealth, slyness,
deception, quickness, fertility
- reptiles - instincts, heartlessness,
cruelty, evil, horror, deceit, coldness, primitive beings or ideas,
aliens, temptation
- snake - male
fertility, mysteries, evil, temptation, regeneration, rebirth, danger,
medicine
- salamander -
coldness, logic, lost souls
- fire salamander
- righteousness, resistance to temptation
- lion - patriarch, kingly power, sun,
courage, laziness
- bears - mother, nurturing, protection of
home, brute strength, overbearing mother
- spiders - male sacrifice, mothers,
creative force, souls, construction, many paths, confusion, mandala
- octopus - spiders + dark mystery,
primitive god (creator)
- ram - male sexual aggression, high
ideals, distant beauty
- ram's horn
sacrifice, call to duty, cuckoldry, phallus
- beetle - new life, protection, fertility
- scarab - above
plus agriculture, perseverance
- dragon - four elements in harmony, underlying
unity of male/female power, wealth, great wisdom, long life, great
fortune, the emperor, power of the land, evil, dark power, magic, sorcery
- unicorn - innocence, puberty, female or
male power (tamed or untamed), magic, purity, incorruptibility, gentleness,
goodwill, wisdom, immortality, self knowledge, wilderness, magic, druids,
mythical royalty
- unicorn horn -
antidote to poison, protection against evil magic
- centaur - intellect and instinct, male
sexual prowess, teaching, beast in man
- hydra (naga) - obstructions,
distractions, danger
- Minter - baser instincts, hidden sins,
danger from the unconscious
- mermaid - fertility of the sea,
temptations, anima
- siren - temptation of the wild life,
seduction, loss of purpose
- basilisk - death
- phoenix - rebirth, resurrection,
immortality, power of passion, catharsis
- garuda - nobility, sun, life force,
protection
- sphinx - wisdom, enigma, fate, testing,
paradox
- harpy - sudden death, disaster, female
rage or aggression
- griffin - vigilance, vengeance, wisdom,
flights of fancy
- Pegasus - speed, bravery, innate power,
transformation
- trees - organic principle, cycle of
life, family history, ancient powers, nature's secret, protection,
knowledge of fertility & sex, life force
- bonsai tree - mastery of man over
nature, immortality, self discipline
- flowers - female reproduction, love,
life cycle, temptation, forgetfulness
- red rose -
passion, sexuality, marriage
- white rose -
innocence, puberty, courtship
- yellow rose -
racial mix,
- sunflower -
worship of life source, health
- violet -
shyness, delicacy, old love
- marigold -
misdirection of life, forgetfulness
- lotus - purity,
Buddhahood, creation
- flower buds -
puberty (esp. female), innocence, readiness, vulnerability
- roots - sources, origins, stability,
history
- blossoms - fertility, romance
- fruit - the womb (esp. pregnant),
fulfillment, children, knowledge, life
- falling leaves - human death, war, end
of love
- grass - human life, passiveness,
domestication, peace
- seed - universal "om", source,
womb, potential
- bitter herb - slavery, mistreatment,
injustice
- bay &endash; heroism, strength of
life force
- bay tree - immortality, victory,
longevity
- mandrake &endash; magic, poison,
aphrodisiac
- rosemary &endash; memories
- sage &endash; white sorcery, healing
power
- hair - physical prowess & power,
sexuality, identity, maturity
- forehead intelligence, knowledge of god
(3rd eye), male creation
- eyes - consciousness, vision, mirrors of
soul, life
- lips - enticement, gates of truth,
sexuality
- hands and arms - strength, manipulation,
ability, expression, emphasis, protection
- open hand -
honesty, peaceful intentions, 5 pillars of Islam, lack of concealment
- closed hand
(fist) - aggression, dishonesty, concealment, power
- breasts - compassion, nurturing,
femaleness, consolation, emotion, mothering, planets
- heart - love, courage, desire, center
- genitals aggression, propagation,
potency, identity, fertility, duality, nature
- spleen - humors, bad temper, melancholy
- legs and feet - locomotion, reliability,
roots
- footprint - Buddhahood, impermanence of
man's life, effect of man on the world
- blood - life, death, passion, maturity,
violence, family ties, sacrifice, honor
- obesity - abundance, indulgence, greed
- earth - mother, female forces of
creation, home, fertility, evil, materialism, stability, sensuality,
- sky - male gods and forces of creation,
heaven, male power, freedom, enlightenment
- water - life source
- ocean -
origins, eternity, the ungovernable (chaos), deepest instincts, source of
life, renewal, impossible quests, separation
- rivers and
streams - course of life, cleansing, point of no return, sources of life,
history
- river delta -
soul, merging with the absolute, spiritual nourishment
- waterfall - the
feminine, promise, nourishment, safe haven, magic
- springs and
pools - wombs, rebirth, renewal, magic, communion, mysterious energy,
unconsciousness, source
- still water -
mystery, the soul, source of inner life, prophecy
- swirling water
- chaos, illusion
- mountain - obstacle, goal, task,
mystical revelation, home of gods, patriarchs, spirit, vision
- volcano - sacred mountain, fury of gods,
retribution, place of sacrifice
- desert - sterility, impotence, visions,
cleansing by fire, spiritual cleansing, denial, peace, contemplation,
abandonment, banishment
- forest - nature, chaos, freedom from
rules, fecundity, wilderness, home of the beast, seclusion
- dark woods
confusion, loneliness, abandonment, danger, evil, uncontrolled instincts,
primitive
- rain forest -
danger, enchantment, the unconscious, seclusion, mystery, abundance, home
of the mythical beast
- caverns and caves - wombs, female
sexuality, secrets, lust, mystery, entrance to underworld, protection,
devouring, den of monsters
- cliffs - crucial situations,
existentialism, danger
- rocks & stones - the land, bones of
earth, solidity, eternal life, strength, magic power of healing
- well - female sexuality, refreshment,
abundance, womb, magic, fulfillment of wishes
- garden - home of innocence, paradise,
everlasting life, man's control of fertility, illusion, magic, art,
enlightenment, place of delights and pleasures
- transportation -
- automobiles -
ourselves, our families, faith; whatever is moving us through life
- trains &
busses - society, the "system", the culture
- boats &
ships - spiritual journeys, salvation, the microcosm, life (or death)
journey
- airplanes -
freedom, spiritual journey, inflated ego
- motorcycles
wildness, sexual male power, danger, freedom
- roads &
highways - life, our chosen path, society's rules
- bridges -
connections, decisions, new beginnings, romances
- computers the mind, alien
intelligence, technology, rationality, logic, coldness, sterility
- robots - slaves, man as machine,
technology, logic, inhumanity (humanity), rampant propagation, the enemy
- dolls - children, little people,
alternate egos, magic, motherhood, aging
- weapons - guns & rifles -
penises, death, hatred, objects of magic power
- swords &
spears - male power, romance, phallic symbols, magic, duty
- missiles &
rockets male power, escape, gods, destruction
- bombs -
destruction, eggs, failure, god's punishment
- timepieces - passage of life,
approaching fate
- hourglass - time, the inevitable,
approaching fate or disaster,
- clock - movement of the universe,
rigidity, time's inevitable procession
- stopped clock - death,
enlightenment
- compass - moral direction,
Islamic qiblah (direction to
- tools -
- hammer (or
mace) - force of god, breaking of desires, work
- chain -
slavery, worldly illusion, interdependence of living things, desires,
sins
- buildings -
- government building- authority,
societies power
- church - creation, glory, spirit
- house - physical or spiritual
body (windows = eyes, door = mouth, etc)
- basement -
self, past or unconscious
- ground floor -
present or consciousness
- attic - future
or conscience
- hospital - death, sterility,
mothering
- tower - male power, wizardry,
phallic symbols
- skyscraper great ego, finance,
danger
- school - society, rebellion,
knowledge
- dome on a building - arc of
heaven, protection
- inner room (chamber) - womb,
inner life, secret, tomb
- jewelry - rings - female power
objects, cycles of nature, inheritance, royalty, marriage
- necklaces -
slavery, wealth, subservience
- bracelets - see
rings, also slavery, strength
- brooches -
ancestors, inheritance
- clasps - bonds,
secrets shared, secret relationships
- Utensils -
- cups &
goblets - the mother or wife, female fertility, sharing,
- the grail -
holiness, the duty of the king, forgiveness, Christian sacrifice and
values, a promise, spirituality, Christ's love
- silverware -
treasures, culture, manners, ancestors
- fork -
duplicity, danger
- spoon -
measurement, caution, the moments of life
-
- ICONS
- mandala
(wheels) - archetypal symbol of the universal, cycle of life, dharma,
chakras
- swastika - sun,
wheel of birth & rebirth, cosmos, Vishnu, Nazism
- totem pole -
ancestral tree, clan history or identity
- gateway
(Torii)- entrance to spiritual path, marks a place of spirits (kami),
irrevocable decision, beginning of enlightenment
- fire - power, spirit, passion, love,
purification, heat, maleness, consuming, elemental energy, light, heat,
sex, destruction
- earth - mother, warmth, nourishing,
femaleness, womb, substance, materialism, fertility, stubbornness
- smoke - communication with gods,
sacrifice, truth, sharing, prayer, promises, deception, mystery, the
occult, warning
- coral - curative for problems associated
with blood, protection from elements, especially water or fire
- gold - high value, perfection, wealth,
the sun, the king, Apollo, Ra, light, fire, radiance, enlightenment,
excellence, judgement, male power, yang
- silver - corruptibility, female power,
the moon, the Queen, Diana, yin, chastity, eloquence
- copper - connection, warmth, femininity,
status
- lead - weight, heaviness, material
desire, cheapness, burdens, sin
- iron - power, durability, inflexibility,
evil, strength, warfare
- rock - strength, solidity, a great sin,
stubbornness, immovability
- crystal - purity, clarity, foresight,
mystical power, health, magic, light of god
- amber - preservation, entrapment, the
sun, Apollo, tears
- ivory - purity, male sexual prowess,
moral strength, detachment, arrogance
- pearl - beauty, perfection, the
feminine, the moon, seed, patience, chastity, wisdom, immortality, poison
- mother of pearl - fertility, birth,
heaven
- jet - protection, antidote, death,
mourning, lost love, soul
- lodestone - magnetism, sexual
attraction, faithfulness, aphrodisiac
- gems & jewels - great value,
supernatural power, luck and fate
- ruby - royalty,
dignity, passion, power, invulnerability, protection
- diamond -
invulnerability, coldness, wealth, incorruptibility, invincibility,
purity, sincerity, hard truths, perfection, great value
- emerald -
mental power, prophecy, antidote, protection, fertility, spring, rain,
water, ocean, magic places
- sapphire -
heaven, truth, chastity, meditation, faith, fate
- amethyst -
humility, peace, faith, resignation, sobriety, wine, indulgence, cats
- topaz -
curative power, good vision, the exotic
- opal -
inconstancy, prayer, fidelity, zeal, bad luck, fragility
- agate -
protection, courage, preservation, prosperity, constancy
- jade - purity,
perfection, immortality, eternal love (see associations with colors)
- moonstone -
good luck, prophecy, tenderness, female love, mystery
- bloodstone -
magic, weather, peace, vows
- turquoise -
protection, visions, courage, happiness
- lapis lazuli -
heaven, curative power, vision, exotic power
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