Literary Symbols

spring

birth, new beginning, youth

summer

maturity, knowledge, adulthood

autumn

old age, physical decline, approaching death, growing old

winter

death, sleep

dawn/morning

birth or youth, hope, renewal, new beginnings, possibilities, innocence and lack of corruption; purity and promise

noon

maturity, adulthood

evening

old age, physical decline, approaching death, growing old

east

land of birth or rebirth; associated with birth, renewal, youth, and love

west

the land of evening, old age, and the descent of the sun; associated with death and funerals

fruit

because of its many seeds, it represents fertility; temptation to sin; ripeness and completed development

fire

sacred, purifying, and renewing; representative of destruction and rebirth; it can also symbolize war, evil, hell, and divine wrath

the sea

because of the waves and tides, it represents changeability and variability

sun

happiness; enlightenment

rain

sadness and/or despair; sometimes new life; fertility

wind and storms

violent human emotions; emotional tumult

lightning

sign of power and strength; associated with the Romantic interest in the sublime, which makes a human being feel small and vulnerable; sometimes associated with the spark of life; can be life giving or death dealing

weeds

evil; wildness

grapevine

abundance and life; in Ancient Greece, it’s sacred to Dionysius and represents ecstasy

red

the color of blood, passion, emotion, danger, or daring

white

innocence; light or enlightenment

green

inexperience, new life, and/or immaturity

purple

royalty; purity; simplicity

brown

the color of earth, ploughed land, and the soil; it represents humility and poverty

dove

peace, purity, simplicity

serpent

temptation, sin, Satan, seduction, masculinity as it is a phallic form, sometimes feminine because of its ability to devour

dog

fidelity

lamb

sacrifice substituting for sins of others in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the children of God; first manifestation of Spring and renewal

blood

guilt

beard

masculinity; strength and wisdom; maturity rather than youthfulness

right hand

the saved and the righteous at the Last Judgment; represents protection; individual strength; often associated with first chosen or the righteous helper

scythe

symbol of death, which destroys all; symbol of the passage of time; used to mow grass; associated with the Grim Reaper

sickle

similar to the scythe; another implement that cuts down plants and produce during harvest; associated with the harvest; represent death and time; sometimes signals hope of rebirth

window

symbolic of desires, often unattainable desires; when a person is inside and looking out a window, she is an observer, not a participant in life; sometimes represents dissatisfaction and longing for what one cannot or does not have

mirror

represents self-knowledge and consciousness

doors/thresholds

transition from one state or place to another