While I am often interested in the backstory/history/lives of people and pets buried or memorialized, what really and truly grabs me is the symbolism! I love the idea of an item telling more than one story for those who have passed on.

I adore the language of the fan, floriography, secret codes. A lot of my youth was tied up in British murder mysteries and Regency era romances so it is no wonder that funerary art and symbolism is my jam.

While the stoic skull and crossbones gave way to urns then willows then Egyptian symbolism, the real symbolism evolution revved up in the Victorian era. That’s where the peak of the use of a vast array of imagery, as well as a softening and romantic approach to death and the hereafter, truly shone. And it had some great momentum that has slowly tapered off to today’s stones that are more often without all that fancy flourish.

A while back I made some bookmarks that feature animals, plants and secular/non-secular symbols and their meanings. And I thought I’d share some of them with you since it makes cemetery exploring even more interesting since you get to see the deeper meaning.

Also, I’m alllllllmost finished with my small book on flowers and bouquets, and I had so much fun coming up with insulting flower combos to send to your enemies. Fun twist to just all the lovey dovey sweetness that floriography is flush with!

But on to the focus of the post – plants & animals.

Symbolism

Acorn – strength

Bee – mystery of nature

Bouquet of Flowers – collective grief

Butterfly – life, death & resurrection

Calla Lily – marriage

Corn – farming, rebirth

Deer/Stag – regeneration, spiritual authority

Dog – loyalty, vigilance

Dolphin – sacred guardians of the soul

Dove – purity & peace

Dragonfly – transformation

Fern – sincerity, sorrow

Horses – courage

Ivy – friendship, marriage, love

Lamb – innocence

Morning Glory – affection

Oak Tree/Leaf – honor, endurance

Pineapple – prosperity

Pinecone – regeneration

Rosebud – early death

Snake – eternity

Thistle – sorrow

Tree Stump – life cut short

‘Weeping’ Willow – grief

Wheat – rebirth, longevity

Wreath – victory, memory

If you’d like to read more then I recommend this and this.

And I hope to have a new crop of bookmarks printed soon. There are a few left here.