# List of symbols



## babblingbrook (Aug 10, 2009)

Hey, I'm trying to get a list of symbols together. This is what I came up with so far:

sun
moon
road
hand
fire
water
earth
stairs
dragon
sword
boat
home
door
window
star
horizon
eye
scoop
spoon
lock
anchor
rock
cross
heart
pearl
skull
shield
chalice
infinity
lightning
rain
horse
fountain
wreath
flag
dog
sunflower
lantern
hat
mountain
wing
horn
wind
angel
arrow
butterfly
circle
mask
snake
tongue
wheel
crow
apple
pear
water
river
wind directions
cave
fog
snow
dove
fox
cat
owl
wall
blood
bones
mouth
cape
chain
mirror
bed
bell
diamond
candle
flame
forest
skin

It would be nice if you could come up with some.

I'm not looking for symbols such as the pentagram, swastika or yin-yang, just objects or other things.


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## StandingTiger (Dec 25, 2010)

Any object could be a symbol.


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## skycloud86 (Jul 15, 2009)

Do you have certain criteria for what constitutes a symbol and can therefore be put into the list, because almost anything can be a symbol.


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## sprinkles (Feb 7, 2010)

Coat of arms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## babblingbrook (Aug 10, 2009)

skycloud86 said:


> Do you have certain criteria for what constitutes a symbol and can therefore be put into the list, because almost anything can be a symbol.


Things that are universally recognisable and have symbolic meaning to them. Any sign signifies something, but I'm looking for the things that distinguish a sign from a symbol. Things that carry a symbolic-, deeper meaning. Archetypical things. I hope you can get a sense of what I mean from the things I already put on the list.

A waterfall, shadow, key, balloon or kite might be another one.


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## Eylrid (Jun 25, 2009)

What are you using these for?


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## babblingbrook (Aug 10, 2009)

Eylrid said:


> What are you using these for?


I'm busy graduating, and I want to do something with them, because I usually use some kind of symbol in my art as a way of expressing something. I'm not sure in which way I'm going to use them yet, I might use them as data, but at the moment I'm just researching and trying to lay out my thought process.


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## Eylrid (Jun 25, 2009)

babblingbrook said:


> I'm busy graduating, and I want to do something with them, because I usually use some kind of symbol in my art as a way of expressing something. I'm not sure in which way I'm going to use them yet, I might use them as data, but at the moment I'm just researching and trying to lay out my thought process.


If you are using them in your art you should use symbols that have a personal meaning to you. Only you can decide what those would be.


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## babblingbrook (Aug 10, 2009)

Eylrid said:


> If you are using them in your art you should use symbols that have a personal meaning to you. Only you can decide what those would be.


You might be right, but since symbols are universally recognisable, they loose their personal meaning when they're outside a personal context. Art can be quite personal and I appreciate it when it is, but for now I'd like to see what symbols you can get up with, since symbols are in the public domain. Symbols are a means of connecting people, not setting me apart from you.


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## soya (Jun 29, 2010)

What about animal totems? Associations might vary with some, but some seem to be fairly universal - lion, wolf, deer, owl, etc...


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## Eylrid (Jun 25, 2009)

Another thing to consider is that there are always two parts to a symbol: the symbol itself and what it symbolizes. Without something to symbolize it is just an object.

For example, the sun might symbolize life.


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## Lokkye (Dec 28, 2009)

how about zodiac totems


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## soya (Jun 29, 2010)

Eylrid said:


> Another thing to consider is that there are always two parts to a symbol: the symbol itself and what it symbolizes. Without something to symbolize it is just an object.
> 
> For example, the sun might symbolize life.


I see what you are saying, but by definition, a_ symbol_ must always imply or represent something beyond what it depicts.

A sun that is "just a sun" is not a _symbol_, technically, but rather a "sign".


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## Bote (Jun 16, 2010)

*Visual polisemy:*

arch
beam of light
crown
dawn
dew
dusk
drops
flower (rose, lilly, daisy etc )
halo
night
rainbow
spark
spiral
tree
whirlpool
woods

*Linguistic polisemy:*

day
egg
galaxy
planet
root
seed
turbulence
woods

I categorized them by the type of association I had (visual/verbal). Those are what I came up with in 10 mins while scanning through your list. No doubt there are much more, plus the ones that are made by combining simple ones (cross + body -> martyr). 

Recommended reading: C.G. Jung, Umberto Ecco, Ernst Kassirer, Emil Durkheima but above all - art and ancient myths and tales. Gold mine :wink:


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## Longdove (Jan 4, 2011)

babblingbrook said:


> Hey, I'm trying to get a list of symbols together.


Hey good topic, since I kind of came late into this post I am not sure if some I have in mind have already been mentioned but I'll try to read carefully through them first and then suggest some.


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