Graveyard Symbols
	Animals	Decriptions		Figures	Decriptions
	Ant	Christian industry		Angel	Messenger between God & man, guide
	Bats (rare)	The Underworld		Angel, flying	Rebirth, guardian angel
	Birds	Souls		Angel, trumpeting	Call to the Resurrection
	Birds flying	Flight of the soul back to God		Angel, weeping	Grief
	Butterfly	Resurrection, Christian metamorphosis		Child, sleeping	Victorian death motif
	Chrysalis	Christian metamorphosis, resurrection		Death’s Head, winged	Mortality
	Dove, descending	Holy Ghost		Effigies, winged	The flight of the soul
	Dove, peace	Innocence, purity, messenger of God carrying soul to Heaven		Father Time	Mortality, the Grim Reaper
	Eagle	Fierceness, ascension; the heavenly conveyor, national emblem of the United States, the military professional, Civil War casualties		Four Evangelists	Matthew (winged man), Mark (winged lion), Luke (winged ox), John (winged eagle)
	Eagle, winged	St. John, The Evangelist		Hand of God, pointing downward	Mortality, sudden death
	Fish	Christ, plentifulness		Hand of God, pointing upward	The reward of the righteous, confirmation of life after death
	Frog	Resurrection		Hands	Devotion, prayer
	Hart	The faithful thirsting for God		Handshakes	Farewell to earthly existence
	Lamb	Christ, Redeemer, meekness, sacrifice, child, innocence, most common 19th century child’s marker		Hands, clasped	In death as in life, the devotion of these two is not destroyed
	Lamb, with banner	Resurrection		Trumpeters	Heralds of the resurrection
	Lion	Strength, courage, royalty, power, guardian, fallen hero
	Lion, winged	St. Mark, The Evangelist
	Ox, winged	St. Luke, The Evangelist
	Peacock	Immortality, eternity, resurrection, incorruptibility of the flesh
	Pelican	Feeds young with own blood, redemption through Christ
	Phoenix	Immortality, baptism
	Ram	Sacrifice
	Rooster	The Awakening from the fall from grace, repentance
	Serpent	Symbol of Death
	Snake	Sin, Satan, fall of man
	Snake, hooped	Eternity
	Snake w/tail in mouth	Called Oroubourus, eternity, unity
	Things	Decriptions		TREES AND PLANTS	Decriptions
	Anchor	Hope, life eternal, may indicate seafaring profession		Almond	Favor from God, Virgin birth
	Arch	Triumph, victory in Death		Apple	Sin, Eve
	Armor	Protection from evil		Bouquets	Condolences, grief
	Arrow	Martyrdom, mortality		Cedar	Strong, faith, length of days, success
	Banner	Victory, triumph		Cypress	Sorrow, death, eternal life, Roman symbol for mourning
	Bibles	Resurrection through the scripture, the clergy		Evergreens	Immortality
	Candle	Flame, life		Flower, broken	Fragility of life, premature death
	Candlestick	Christ, devotion		Fruit	Eternal plenty
	Celtic cross	Circle on it symbolizes eternity		Fruit & vine	Jesus Christ, the Christian church
	Coats of Arms & Crests	Lineage, status		Ivy	Abiding memory, friendship, fidelity
	Colum, broken	Sorrow, broken life		Laurel	Victory, triumph, glory
	Columns, doors	Heavenly entrance		Lily, lilies	Resurrection, purity
	Cross	Salvation		Lotus	Egyptian water lily and ornament
	Cross w/rays of rising sun	Glory		Oak	Supernatural power and strength, eternity
	Crown on Cross	Sovereignty of Christ		Olive	Peace, healing faith
	Cup	Eucharist		Palm	Spiritual victory over death, peace
	Finger, pointing up	Way to Heaven		Poppy	Symbolic of sleep, therefore, death
	Flame	Eternity		Roses	Condolence, sorrow
	Fleur-de-Lis	Virgin, Trinity
	Garlands	Victory in Death
	Gate	Departure from life, entrance to Heaven, Death
	Harp or lyre	Heavenly music, joy
	Horns	Resurrection
	Keys, crossed	St. Peter
	Pyramid	Symbolic of death
	Rosary	Devotion to Mary
	Shell	Pilgrimage, baptism of Christ
	Shrine	Wisdom, knowledge
	Star	Birth, life of Christ
	Sun	God or Son
	Sword	Martyrdom, courage, warfare
	Swords, crossed	High ranking military person
	Winged wheel	Holy spirit