Questions tagged [symbolism]
For questions about objects in myths that stand for something else in either the myth or the real world, sometimes for teaching a lesson.
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Are there any examples of gods or people boasting of their ability to engage in multiple acts of sex in succession?
Are there any examples in mythologies of gods or people boasting about their ability to engage in multiple acts of sex (multi-orgasmic) in succession? I am looking for examples in which they specify ...
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What is the meaning of this wooden symbol found in a basement?
I have no idea if this is the right place to ask this, but it felt like the best bet. I discovered this crudely carved wooden symbol/cross in a basement (see picture below). Any idea what it might ...
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What is the meaning of the star symbols appearing on seal VA 243?
Here is the picture of cylinder seal VA/243.
Image credits: Z. Sitchin
This seal was named like that because it is number 243 in the collection of the Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin.
What is the ...
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Why do snake (serpent) and bull often come together as symbols of deities?
The Celtic Cernunnos, the Greek Dionysus, the Slavic Veles and Vedic Shiva have snake and bull among their symbols.
Why do these two symbols tend to come together?
It looks to me as though these ...
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What is a reptile with many heads meant to symbolize?
I'm from Romania, a country where you fill like you are in a trash can in urban zones, but feels like a fairy tale in rural zones. In school we learn about fairy tales (which is a species of very ...
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What does Nausicaa symbolize in the Odyssey?
There was an interesting question in Lit regarding the meaning of her name, and in my research, I came across some interesting speculation on Nausikaa's distinctness. For instance, she is the one ...
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Are there myths, folklore, tales, or other traditions/tales about monsters regaining their humanity permanently?
Maybe I should have slept on this question for a little bit, but here I go.
I am working on a TRPG and a setting that would accompany the TRPG. In my setting all monsters are or were humans, so rather ...
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What bird species is associated with Pallas Athēnē?
The english Wikipedia article about the bird Athene noctua (called little owl in English) claims, without references, that in Greek mythology, the godess Pallas Athēnē was associated with that bird. ...
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What do the Staff God's staffs and pose represent?
The pre-Incan Andean deity known as the Staff God, assimilated as Viracocha in Incan mythology, is the earliest depiction of a deity in the Americas, and representations have been found from Lake ...
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What is the symbolism of horses in Canaanite sun worship?
In the Book of Kings it says:
"He [King Josiah] did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance of the House of the LORD, near the chamber of the ...
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What is the significance of the three stars in Ruben's Saturn painting?
What is the significance of the three stars in Peter Paul Ruben's Saturn devouring a Son painting?
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Are/were there are any culutures where darkness is good and light is bad?
We have an association of light=good and dark=bad, to the point where we even use them as synonyms. There are a lot of pretty obvious historical bases for these metaphors:
Sunlight is the ultimate ...
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Why is Lucifer three-faced?
In Canto XXXIV Lucifer is presented as a winged giant with three faces:
Oh, what a wonder it appeared to me
when I perceived three faces on his head.
The first, in front, was red in color.
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Which (real) birds are most strongly associated with fire?
Birds generally are symbols of high power, e.g. the sun. Excluding mythical birds, which real species are most strongly associated with power, magic, and specifically fire in particular?
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Is there any folklore in non-European culture that may be an attempt to "explain" similar to changeling myths in Western Europe and Scandinavia?
It has been suggested by some authors that stories of changelings in Scandinavia and western Europe are an attempt by ancient peoples used to try and explain developmental abnormalities in children, ...
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Is it Liberty or Columbia depicted in John Gast's "American Progress"?
In the 1872 painting American Progress, by John Gast, is the gigantic female figure in the center supposed to be Liberty or Columbia?
If it is Columbia, were other Columbias of the age dressed so ...
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What is the meaning of the green and red Asian dragons?
A member of my family gave me a scroll with a green and red Asian dragon. Is this particular dragon from a myth in Asia? Or does it have a symbolic meaning?
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What does this pendant/symbol mean?
This has been antagonizing me for months. When I asked my mom what this was, she said, apart from a bookmark, it was a Celtic knot. But when I look it up, I get anything but this.
What is this? What ...
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Cross-dressing Grecian/Hellenistic priests
Background: I'm reading a book in Hebrew called "The Ten Tribes" by Alter Walner, a collection of essays on a number of topics that relate both to the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and to other ...
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What is the symbolism behind Psyche's tasks?
The taskmaster in the story of Cupid and Psyche was Cupid's mother, the love goddess Venus or Aphrodite. Venus had never liked Psyche, so the opportunity of putting her to a series of tests gave Venus ...
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How have ignorance and wisdom been represented in mythology?
Wisdom and Ignorance is a common dichotomy across many religions, and I was wondering if there are any specific examples of personifications or deities of wisdom and/or ignorance in mythological ...
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How did so many cultures come up with their own swastika?
Before two and a half hours ago, I thought the swastika was only in India and World War II. Then my art teacher put on a video about ancient Greek and Roman mosaics. In this video, I saw what was ...
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Why mythical god-like figures share common attributes like wings or lion body parts in different mythologies/cultures
I know some of this mythological depictions are supposed to represent many things like nature forces, and I know Jung's Archetypes theory about symbols founded on the unconscious mind. However I want ...
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Are there any stories or fables in mythology that have an anarchist message?
Most mythologies that I read are used to justify the power structures in society.
Are there any that instead preach democracy, anti-authority, pro-education, or free love?
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What do the four living creatures represent?
From Revelation 4 (KJ21):
6 and before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living beings full of eyes in front ...
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Are forests and trees considered self sufficient and self reliant? Or is there any lore on caretakers of the forests?
With the significance of trees as representations of life in various cultures, do any of them ever mention caretakers of the forests? Or a defense against impurities and corruption?
Or have they ...
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What is the origin of the male order and female chaos trope?
Jordan Peterson (in "Maps of Meaning", I think) associates order with masculinity and chaos with femininity but I don't think he is the original author of that trope. What is the origin?
I also ...
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Did the ancient Egyptians worship Cats and Dogs deities at the same period?
Did Egyptians worship feline and canine gods at the same period in history?
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Why was Nekhbet depicted as a vulture?
Nekhbet, a predynastic goddess that eventually became the patron of Upper Egypt, was commonly depicted in art as a vulture.
Why is that? The vulture seems - at least to me - like an odd choice for ...
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What is the meaning of not giving clothes to supernatural helpers?
There is a theme that I found in several folk tales from Ireland to Russia - although mostly in Irish/Celtic stories. It is where a house has supernatural helpers, who do work overnight. However, the ...
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A unified understanding and description of a "spirit"?
This is something I've been struggling with for a while now, something that I'm hoping someone with a background in mythology, folklore, and/or anthropology might be able to help me with.
I come from ...
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Did a pagan cult remove the gallbladder of animals before sacrificing them?
Rabbi Gedaliah ibn Yachya in his work Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah (Jerusalem, 1962), p. 223 alleges that when sacrificing animals, some pagans would remove the gallbladder (מרה, marah) from the animal in ...
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Which god holds a shepherd's crook?
Which, if any, god(s) in the ancient world is depicted as holding a shepherd's crook? I am looking for gods depicted in such ways in statues, idols, drawings, etc...
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What characteristics of the Māori gods explain the shape of their "godsticks"?
According to the Wikipedia article on Māori mythology, the gods Tūmatauenga (god of war), Tāhirimātea (storm god), Tāne (god of forests), Tangaroa (sea god), Rongo (god of cultivated plants and peace),...
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What culture does this duality symbol belong to?
While browsing today I came upon this symbol tagged as duality, but I am unable to identify it.
Does anybody recognize where this symbol comes from? Is it part of a culture/religion or just ...
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What is this symbol on my necklace?
I bought this pendant in Italy around 10 years ago, I think from Rome.
I’ve always been curious as to what the bird with the sun above it (etched onto the red glossy background) represents. I was a ...
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Trying to find out the meaning of my birthmark
I have a birth mark on the bottom of my right foot. It is a crescent moon reddish in color... it faces the same way a C would. I'm just curious if it has a significant meaning to it because I've ...
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Why is the left-hand path in regards to Baphomet associated with the female side?
Why is the left-hand path in regards to Baphomet(the Baphomet of Levi) associated with the female side? I would like to add the left-hand path is often associated with the denial of God and things ...
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What is the meaning of this rune/symbol?
I found this rune/symbol on Max Neef's book "Human scale development".
What is the meaning?
Here on the stone it was found:
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Why did Hera have so many sacred things?
Theoi has quite the list.
SYMBOLS
Crown, Lotus-staff, Cuckoo
ATTRIBUTES
Lotus-staff; Crown; Cuckoo; Peacock; Pomegranate
CHARIOTS Who cares?
SACRED PLANTS
Pomegranate, Lotus/Waterlily, Willow
...
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Anyone know what this symbol means?
Someone drew this symbol on my arm, and said it was an egyptian one and had some meaning, but I can't find it anywhere. The top that is obscured curls to the left.
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Why is the staff of medicine symbolised by Hermes's staff, Caduceus?
The staff of medicine should be Asclepius's staff. So why is it Hermes's staff used? Example: The sign of the World Health Organization.
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Are there any negative connotations associated with the Caduceus?
The staff carried by Hermes/Mercury, which known as the Caduceus, is one of my favorite symbols. For those that are visual thinkers I have pictured it below:
I am planning on getting a tattoo of the ...
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Why is Dante using Geryon as a symbol of fraud?
In Greek mythology, Geryon was a three-headed (or three-bodied) giant Hercules slew during one of his labors. Dante places him in the seventh circle of hell and presents him as a manifestation of ...
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What is the mythological significance/symbolism of oxen?
There was a question on Lit regarding Thomas Hardy's poem "The Oxen".
The poem features heavily Christian symbolism. It is set on Christmas Eve, features a manger (a "strawy pen"), and vocabulary ...
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How is the Borjgali related to Mesopotamian symbols of eternity?
The Borjgali is a Georgian solar symbol:
Borjgali (Georgian: ბორჯღალი; also Borjgala or Borjgalo) is a Georgian symbol of the Sun with seven rotating wings over the Christian Tree of Life and is ...
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Are there any good Jungian studies of Irish myth ( not generic 'Celtic')?
This kind of stuff is what I am interested in: Myths of Irishness: The Fomorian Connection.
Articles would be ideally the best.
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What deities/creatures personify the universe in the aspect that it manifests as varied duplexity (that serve the same symbolic function as Yin/Yang)?
I'm looking for deities or mythological creatures that symbolize the universe in the aspect that it manifests as a duality (which is for example symbolized by the Yin/Yang), but as a fictional ...
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Why is the Serpent the most common motif as the creator in indigenous Australian cultures?
Related to the question How long ago was the Dreaming?, according to the Wikipedia Rainbow Serpent page, the Rainbow Serpent is an integral part of many indigenous Australian cultures, and ...
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Does Hercules have a tail?
I was astonished when I saw these two tapestries in a museum:
Hercules fighting Centaurs
Hercules fighting a multi-headed dog
In both of them Hercules/Heracles seems to have a well defined tail ...
