Back to Hearts and
Arrows
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The heart sign
is as old as
 ,
 ,
 ,
 ,
 ,
and
 .
Its meaning for the
people living in
Europe before the
last Ice Age of
course is not known,
but since these
Cro-Magnons were
hunters one can be
reasonably sure it
meant that life
sustaining organ
pumping around the
blood of the
organism every
second of its
lifetime.
Graphically
is related to
 ,
the sign for fire
and for
flight in the
Middle Ages, and one
of the most common
signs in Western
ideography. It is
also related to
 ,
Aries, its
graphic counterpart
among the open sign
structures, and to
 ,
for union or
togetherness.
It is probable
that
began as
 ,
a pictorial sign for
the heart of
a man or an animal.
Nowadays, at least
in Sweden,
is associated with
the behind
and defecation,
as it is an old sign
for a toilet
for both sexes.
The heart
does not appear in
any established sign
system. It is an
anarchistic graph
that has yet to find
a place in any
conventional sign
system. Nonetheless
it is well known
throughout the
Western world as a
sign for
togetherness or
love,
especially sexual
love, making
love,
affection and so
on. One sign that is
often associated
physically with
is
 ,
the arrow, a
symbol for
directed energy,
flow, and
penetration.
This is a modern
sign for sexual
love in general
and for being in
love, hurt by
the arrow of Amor,
without any negative
meaning .
Other ideograms that
often appear
together with the
heart, for instance
on posters for
public events, and
in advertisements of
sales, are
 and
 .
The combination
stands for party,
festivities,
happiness,
and favorable
opportunities.
In connection with
these five pointed
star signs, it is
interesting to note
that
 is
a variation of the
Arabic sign for the
number 5.
The heart sign
appears as a symbol
in all the major
cultural spheres. In
the Christian
trilogy of faith,
hope and charity
stands for
charity as the
anchor cross
stands for hope.
It also appears with
a religious or
positive meaning
among Aztecs,
Hindus, Buddhists,
Muslims, Jews,
Celts, and Taoists.
In ancient Greece
the heart sign
(together with the
flower) was related
to
 ,
the lyre, the
attribute of
Eros, the god of
sexual love, around
600-400 B.C. Later,
the attribute of
Greek Eros, his
Roman counterpart
Amor, and even Cupid
(Latin = desire) was
changed to the
bow and arrow.
On a Greek amphora
from around 500 B.C.
one can see
used
as leaves of a
wreath placed on the
head of Dionysos,
the god of wine and
feasting. The heart
sign is also used in
Africa: see
 and
 .
In early heraldry it
is not uncommon. It
is found, for
example, on the coat
of arms of Magnus
Ladulås from the
thirteenth century,
a Swedish king known
for his work to
ensure the safety
and sanctity of
women, and to put an
end to the habit of
knights and soldiers
to take what they
wanted from the
peasants.
To find graphical
opposites to the
symmetric, soft,
closed
one
has to look for the
simplest of those
structures that are
asymmetric,
straight-lined and
open, with crossing
lines, like
 or
A corresponding
semantic opposition
mirrors the graphic
opposition. One
would hardly imagine
Hitler using
as
a symbol of his Nazi
movement. The
biggest banking
corporation of the
world, the
Japanese D.K.B. has
chosen the heart
sign for its
logo in the form
 .
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A red heart
sign is a symbol
for the highest or
next highest valued
of the four suits of
the deck of cards.
It has appeared in
decks of cards since
the fifteenth
century. Hearts
symbolizes love
(Queen of Hearts),
family life,
and growth.
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This is a modern
sign for sexual
love in general
and for being in
love, hurt by
the arrow of Amor,
without any negative
meaning.
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The lyre was
the attribute of the
Greek god Apollo.
Hermes,
 ,
who later became the
messenger of the Greek
gods and, as Mercury,
became the god of
merchants and thieves in
Rome, stole some oxen
from Apollo. The dispute
was settled when Hermes
gave Apollo his own
musical instrument, the
lyre.
Between 600 and 400 B.C.
the lyre and the flower
were the attributes of
Eros, the god of sexual
love. The Greek Eros and
his Roman counterpart
Amor, and also Cupid
(derived from a Latin
word for desire or lust)
later got the bow and
arrow as their
attributes. |
