Symbol Dictionary Se-Sk
Seasons: Agricultural societies live closely with seasons and break the year’s cycles into a variety of parts. Ancient Greece and Egypt had three seasons, based on the Nile’s rise and fall. Similarly Japan’s seasons are based on the growth of rice. In China the seasons are connected with directions, colors, animals, and flours. See Direction. The ancient Celts marked their year by the solstices and equinoxes, celebrating them in symbolic rich festivals: The Winter solstice and beginning of the year is Samhain; the spring equinox marks Imbolc; Beltane the summer solstice, marks the season of courtship; and Lammas, the Autumn solstice marks harvest and betrothals, according to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002).
Serpent: See Animals.
Seven: See Numbers.
Sex Organs: According to Man, Myth And Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Mythology, Religion And The Unknown (1995), edited by Richard Cavendish, “The feeling that the sex organs are dirty and disgusting has not been shared by most of the world’s population. ‘The powers of reproduction were thought to be among the fundamental potencies of the universe,’ and to represent them in images was to invoke them in activity. From prehistoric times men have made idols and figures depicting the primary sexual attributes of their chief deities.”
Shadow: Often described as one of several souls of a human, the Egyptian name was khaibut and the Romans called it umbra. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), explains, “The shadow was a vulnerable soul because it was external and had to be carefully preserved from accident.” It was believed that the shadow-soul could be given away to either a god or the devil, in which case the person would be shadow-less. According to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “shadows are often associated with the dead.” The Jewish Underworld Scheol translates to shadow and is the dwelling place of the dead.
Shalimar: See Paradise.
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Shamrock: Also called clover. Mesopotamia, Crete, Egypt, Pre-Islamic Arabia, and the Celtic tradition all depicted the trefoil in art. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), states, “Pre-Islamic Arabs called the trefoil shamrakh, the three-lobed lily or lotus flower of the Moon-goddess’s trinity: a design of ‘three yonis’ which appeared on artifact of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.” The Irish worshipped the symbol as the triple “door” of the Triple Goddess, who’s God of the Shamrock, titled Trefuilngid Treeochair of “Triple Bearer of the Triple Key” represented a triple phallus. |
Christianity later adopted the symbol as St. Patrick’s way of explaining the trinity to the pagans, as John Bradner in Symbols Of Church Seasons And Days (1997), explains, “The three-leaved clover makes a good Trinity symbol.” The four-leaved clover was a sign of luck and a good omen to the druids, as it still is today for many people.
Sheep and Shepherds: See Animals.
Shield of David: See Hexagram.
Shimenawa: Sacred straw ropes hung to designate a holy place such as a Shinto shrine. They can contain symbols of the deities such as stones and are twisted to the left for good fortune. According to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “In Shinto legend, a shimenawa was placed behind the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami to prevent her from re-entering the Rock Came of Heaven.”
Silver: See Metal.
Six: See Numbers.
Sky: The masculine counterpart to the earth, the sky is regarded by many peoples as a divine father figure, and the home of the gods. According to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “In China the dome of the sky represents yang, while earth represents yin.” The Batammaliba (From Toga Africa) call their sky god Kuiye and his wife, the earth goddess Butan. For the Maori, the god is Rangi and the earth goddess Papatuanuku. However, in Egypt, the sky is ruled by the goddess Nut, whose earth husband is the god Geb, and in Christianity the sky represents the mantel of the Virgin Mary.