Dear Ancestor
Your tombstone stands among the rest; neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out on polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care, it is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist , you died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells in you, in flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled one hundred years ago,
Spreads out among the ones you left who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew,
That someday I would find this spot, and come to visit you.
~Author Unknown
Symbols on Tombstones
Your tombstone stands among the rest; neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out on polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care, it is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist , you died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells in you, in flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled one hundred years ago,
Spreads out among the ones you left who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew,
That someday I would find this spot, and come to visit you.
~Author Unknown
Symbols on Tombstones
Anchor : Hope
Angels : Rebirth, resurrection, protection, judgment, wisdom, mercy, Divine love.
Ankh : Eternal life, peace, truth.
Arch : Victory in death, being rejoined with partner in heaven.
Arrow : Mortality.
Beehive : Domestic virtues, education, faith, abundance in the Promised Land, piety.
Bell : Mourning
Bird : Eternal life, winged soul, spirituality.
Book : The Divine word or one's accomplishments.
Broken or Draped column: Early death, grief.
Burning Flame:Life or resurrection.
Butterfly: Resurrection.
Caterpillar:Life, metamorphosis.
Celtic Cross:Faith and eternity.
Chain With Three Links : Friendship, Love and Truth (Odd Fellows)
Column:Noble life
Conch Shell:Wisdom, reincarnation
Cross:Faith, resurrection
Crown:Glory of life after deathCrown upon
Skull:Triumph of death
Cup or Chalice: The Sacrament
Cypress: Hope
Dolphin: Resurrection, salvation, bearer of souls across water to heaven
Door:Entrance to heaven
Dove:Love, purity, resurrection, the Holy Spirit
Drapery or Pall: Mourning or mortality
Eagle:Courage, faith, generosity, contemplation, military
Eye: Humility
Eye of Ra/Horus Sun/Moon, Life/Death, protection against evil
Female Figure:Sorrow, grief
Finger Pointing Downward: Calling the earth to witness
Finger Pointing Upward: Pathway to heaven, heavenly reward
Fish :Faith, life, spiritual nourishment
Flag: Military, patriotism
Fleur de lys:Perfection, light, life, royalty
Flower: Life's frailty, immortality
Flying Bird: Rebirth
Frog:Worldly pleasure, sin
Garland:Victory over death
Grim Reaper:Inevitability of
DeathGun:Military service
Hair, Flowing:Penitence
Hands Clasped:Farewell, hope of meeting in eternity
Harp:Hope
Heart, Pierced by Sword:Virgin Mary, Christ, repentance
Heart, Flaming:Religious fervor
Heart:Love, devotion, sorrow, joy, mortality
Helmet:Military service, strength, protection
Horseshoe:Protection against evil
Hourglass:Swift passage of time, temperance
IHS:Eternity (Christian symbol: "In His Service" or "In this sign conquer")
Isis:Rebirth, the Virgin Mary
Ivy: Fidelity, attachment, undying affection, eternal life
Lamb:Innocence (typically on a child's grave), Resurrection
Laurel Leaves: Triumph
Lily: Purity, sometimes chastity
Lily of the Valley:Rebirth, Virgin Mary
Lion: Courage, bravery, strength
Lotus:Purity, resurrection, perfect beauty, spiritual revelation
Masonic Compass and Set Square:Freemasons, uprightness, judgment
Memento mori:Symbol of death and reminder of mortality
Menorah: Divine wisdom
Mistletoe:Immortality
Moon:Death, rebirth, victory, sorrow of the crucifixion
Mother and Child: Charity, love
Myrtle:Undying love, peace
Naked Figure: Truth, purity, innocence
Oak: Strength of faith and virtue, endurance
Obelisk:Rebirth, connection between earth and heaven
Olive Branch: Peace, forgiveness, humanity
Open Gates:Afterlife, the soul entering heaven
Orb:Faith
Owl: Wisdom, solitude, a warning of impending death
Pall: Mortality, mourning
Pansy: Remembrance, meditation
Pick: Death, mortality
Poppies: Eternal sleep
Pyramid: Resurrection, eternal life, enlightenment, spiritual attainment
Rainbow: Union, fulfillment of the promise of resurrection
Ripened Fruit: Nourishment of the soul
Rod or Staff: Comfort to the bereaved
Rooster: Awakening, resurrection, courage, vigilance
Rope Circle: Eternity
Rose: Victory, pride, triumphant love, purity
Scallop Shell: Birth, baptism, resurrection, life everlasting, pilgrimage of life
Scarab: Resurrection, transcendence
Scepter: Fortitude
Scythe: Death, cutting life short, the final harvest
Severed Branch: Mortality
Shamrock: Irish descent, Holy Trinity
Shattered Urn: Old age
Sheaf of Wheat: Old age, fruitful life
Shepherd's Crook: Charity
Skeleton: Death, life's brevity
Skull & Crossed Bones: Death, crucifixion
Skull: Transitory nature of earthly life, penitence, mortality
Sleeping Cherub: Innocence (usually on child's grave)
Smoke: Vanity, futility of seeking earthly glory
Snail: Laziness, sin
Snake, Encircled: Everlasting life in heaven. (Also called oroboros)
Spade: Mortality, Death
Spider Web: Human frailty
Star: Divine guidance
Star of David: Unity, transformation
Steps - 3 Tiered: Faith, Hope and Charity
Sun Disc – Winged: Spirituality, everlasting life
Sun Rising: Renewed life, resurrection
Sun Setting: Death
Sun Shining: Everlasting life
Swallow: Motherhood, spirit of children, consolation
Sword - Broken: Life cut short
Sword - Inverted: Relinquishment of power, victory
Sword - Sheathed: Temperance
Sword: Military
Swords – Crossed: Life lost in battle
Tetragrammaton: Four Hebrew letters Y, H, W, H spelling the true name of God
Thistle: Scottish descent, earthly sorrow, defiance
Torch – Inverted: Life extinguished
Torch: Immortality, purification, truth, wisdom
Tree: Life, knowledge, the fall of man through sin, human fruition or frailty
Tree - Sprouting: Life everlasting
Tree – Stump: Life interrupted
Tree – Trunk: Brevity of life, number of broken branches can indicate deceased family members buried at that site
Tree – Trunk – Leaning: Short interrupted life, mourning
Triangle:Holy Trinity
Trumpet: Announcement of the resurrection or the soul's entrance into heaven
Urn: Immortality, penitence, death of the body and its return to
Violet: Humility
Weeping Willow: Mourning, grief, lamentation, sorrow
Wheat: Body of Christ
Wheel: Cycle of life, enlightenment, spiritual power
Winged Face: Effigy of the deceased soul, the soul in flight
Winged Hourglass: Fleetness of life, mortality
Winged Skull: Flight of the soul from mortal man
Wreath: Victory
Wreath of Roses: Heavenly joy and bliss
Wreath on Skull: Victory of death over life
Yin -Yang Circle: Harmony, balance, birth and death
Angels : Rebirth, resurrection, protection, judgment, wisdom, mercy, Divine love.
Ankh : Eternal life, peace, truth.
Arch : Victory in death, being rejoined with partner in heaven.
Arrow : Mortality.
Beehive : Domestic virtues, education, faith, abundance in the Promised Land, piety.
Bell : Mourning
Bird : Eternal life, winged soul, spirituality.
Book : The Divine word or one's accomplishments.
Broken or Draped column: Early death, grief.
Burning Flame:Life or resurrection.
Butterfly: Resurrection.
Caterpillar:Life, metamorphosis.
Celtic Cross:Faith and eternity.
Chain With Three Links : Friendship, Love and Truth (Odd Fellows)
Column:Noble life
Conch Shell:Wisdom, reincarnation
Cross:Faith, resurrection
Crown:Glory of life after deathCrown upon
Skull:Triumph of death
Cup or Chalice: The Sacrament
Cypress: Hope
Dolphin: Resurrection, salvation, bearer of souls across water to heaven
Door:Entrance to heaven
Dove:Love, purity, resurrection, the Holy Spirit
Drapery or Pall: Mourning or mortality
Eagle:Courage, faith, generosity, contemplation, military
Eye: Humility
Eye of Ra/Horus Sun/Moon, Life/Death, protection against evil
Female Figure:Sorrow, grief
Finger Pointing Downward: Calling the earth to witness
Finger Pointing Upward: Pathway to heaven, heavenly reward
Fish :Faith, life, spiritual nourishment
Flag: Military, patriotism
Fleur de lys:Perfection, light, life, royalty
Flower: Life's frailty, immortality
Flying Bird: Rebirth
Frog:Worldly pleasure, sin
Garland:Victory over death
Grim Reaper:Inevitability of
DeathGun:Military service
Hair, Flowing:Penitence
Hands Clasped:Farewell, hope of meeting in eternity
Harp:Hope
Heart, Pierced by Sword:Virgin Mary, Christ, repentance
Heart, Flaming:Religious fervor
Heart:Love, devotion, sorrow, joy, mortality
Helmet:Military service, strength, protection
Horseshoe:Protection against evil
Hourglass:Swift passage of time, temperance
IHS:Eternity (Christian symbol: "In His Service" or "In this sign conquer")
Isis:Rebirth, the Virgin Mary
Ivy: Fidelity, attachment, undying affection, eternal life
Lamb:Innocence (typically on a child's grave), Resurrection
Laurel Leaves: Triumph
Lily: Purity, sometimes chastity
Lily of the Valley:Rebirth, Virgin Mary
Lion: Courage, bravery, strength
Lotus:Purity, resurrection, perfect beauty, spiritual revelation
Masonic Compass and Set Square:Freemasons, uprightness, judgment
Memento mori:Symbol of death and reminder of mortality
Menorah: Divine wisdom
Mistletoe:Immortality
Moon:Death, rebirth, victory, sorrow of the crucifixion
Mother and Child: Charity, love
Myrtle:Undying love, peace
Naked Figure: Truth, purity, innocence
Oak: Strength of faith and virtue, endurance
Obelisk:Rebirth, connection between earth and heaven
Olive Branch: Peace, forgiveness, humanity
Open Gates:Afterlife, the soul entering heaven
Orb:Faith
Owl: Wisdom, solitude, a warning of impending death
Pall: Mortality, mourning
Pansy: Remembrance, meditation
Pick: Death, mortality
Poppies: Eternal sleep
Pyramid: Resurrection, eternal life, enlightenment, spiritual attainment
Rainbow: Union, fulfillment of the promise of resurrection
Ripened Fruit: Nourishment of the soul
Rod or Staff: Comfort to the bereaved
Rooster: Awakening, resurrection, courage, vigilance
Rope Circle: Eternity
Rose: Victory, pride, triumphant love, purity
Scallop Shell: Birth, baptism, resurrection, life everlasting, pilgrimage of life
Scarab: Resurrection, transcendence
Scepter: Fortitude
Scythe: Death, cutting life short, the final harvest
Severed Branch: Mortality
Shamrock: Irish descent, Holy Trinity
Shattered Urn: Old age
Sheaf of Wheat: Old age, fruitful life
Shepherd's Crook: Charity
Skeleton: Death, life's brevity
Skull & Crossed Bones: Death, crucifixion
Skull: Transitory nature of earthly life, penitence, mortality
Sleeping Cherub: Innocence (usually on child's grave)
Smoke: Vanity, futility of seeking earthly glory
Snail: Laziness, sin
Snake, Encircled: Everlasting life in heaven. (Also called oroboros)
Spade: Mortality, Death
Spider Web: Human frailty
Star: Divine guidance
Star of David: Unity, transformation
Steps - 3 Tiered: Faith, Hope and Charity
Sun Disc – Winged: Spirituality, everlasting life
Sun Rising: Renewed life, resurrection
Sun Setting: Death
Sun Shining: Everlasting life
Swallow: Motherhood, spirit of children, consolation
Sword - Broken: Life cut short
Sword - Inverted: Relinquishment of power, victory
Sword - Sheathed: Temperance
Sword: Military
Swords – Crossed: Life lost in battle
Tetragrammaton: Four Hebrew letters Y, H, W, H spelling the true name of God
Thistle: Scottish descent, earthly sorrow, defiance
Torch – Inverted: Life extinguished
Torch: Immortality, purification, truth, wisdom
Tree: Life, knowledge, the fall of man through sin, human fruition or frailty
Tree - Sprouting: Life everlasting
Tree – Stump: Life interrupted
Tree – Trunk: Brevity of life, number of broken branches can indicate deceased family members buried at that site
Tree – Trunk – Leaning: Short interrupted life, mourning
Triangle:Holy Trinity
Trumpet: Announcement of the resurrection or the soul's entrance into heaven
Urn: Immortality, penitence, death of the body and its return to
Violet: Humility
Weeping Willow: Mourning, grief, lamentation, sorrow
Wheat: Body of Christ
Wheel: Cycle of life, enlightenment, spiritual power
Winged Face: Effigy of the deceased soul, the soul in flight
Winged Hourglass: Fleetness of life, mortality
Winged Skull: Flight of the soul from mortal man
Wreath: Victory
Wreath of Roses: Heavenly joy and bliss
Wreath on Skull: Victory of death over life
Yin -Yang Circle: Harmony, balance, birth and death