I think gravestones are beautiful. Many of the graves on our cemetery date back to the mid 1800s and many of them are very similar. What does differ is the symbols you can find on them.
Unsurprisingly, the Victorians had their own language for symbols. People weren’t generally cremated back then, and many people were illiterate, so symbols were an important way to communicate thoughts, feelings and information.
This is fascinating when you consider that symbolism is used a lot in Witchcraft. We may carve an image on a candle, use one in our magickal writings, or draw one onto a petition before burning it. Whilst it’s always good to create our own magickal correspondences, you could consider using gravestone symbolism in your magick. These time-worn symbols have been used by many people over hundreds of years.
Scholars still debate the various meanings and interpretations of cemetery symbols, and they may differ from country to country (and even region to region), but here are ten common gravestone symbols and their suggested meanings:
Angels - Messengers between God and man
Bat wings - Death, misfortune
Bone - Death
Candle - Life
Heart - Romantic love
Key - Knowledge, entrance to Heaven
Lamp - Knowledge, spiritual immortality
Oak leaf - Strength, stability, endurance
Phoenix - Resurrection
Winged Death’s Head - Mortal remains of the deceased
