This document discusses the symbolic meanings of various animals, colors, flowers, plants, and numbers in mythology and art. It provides details on how apes, bats, bees, birds, bulls, butterflies and many other animals commonly represent qualities like wisdom, guidance, creativity and more. Colors such as red, blue, green and others symbolize ideas like passion, tranquility, nature and other concepts. Flowers and plants including lotuses, roses and irises carry symbolic meanings of purity, love and other ideals. Numbers like three, seven and ten often have religious or spiritual significance representing concepts like the trinity, completion and foundation.

1. Mythological Meanings Unmasked
Decoding The Symbolism Of Myth
Mythology in Art & Literature
Professor Will Adams
Valencia College

2. Symbolic Animals

3. Symbolic Animals
• The following animals
appear in a variety of
cultures and represent
a variety of things.
• In one case an animal
might symbolize
something good, while
in another culture
might consider it
representative of evil.

4. Symbolic Animals: Apes & Monkeys
• A common ancestor of
human beings, apes and
chimps are often
associated with human-
like quality such as:
• Mischief
• Mimicry
• Cunning
• Benevolence
• Humanity
• Nurturing

5. Symbolic Animals: Bats
• As guardians of the night,
bats are often viewed as:
• Cleaners
• The unknown
• Messengers
• Duality
• Bringers of happiness
• Symbols of good luck,
longevity, & peace
• They may also represent
hypocrisy, melancholy,
revenge, or wisdom.

6. Symbolic Animals: Bees
• Bees, who act as
pollinators, often
symbolize:
• Immortality
• Rebirth
• Industriousness
• Order
• Messengers between
worlds
• Secret wisdom
• Mothers & priestesses

7. Symbolic Animals: Birds
• As inhabitants of the
sky, the realm only
recently accessible to
humans, birds often
represent:
• The soul
• Transcendence
• The spirits of the air
• Communication
• Freedom

8. Symbolic Animals: Bulls
• Although they were also
hunted as food sources by
early humans, cattle – and
especially bulls – wielded
great physical strength.
• As a result, humans have
historically associated them
with:
• Wealth
• Potency
• Male procreative strength
• Kingship
• The taming of the
masculine and animal nature
• Destructive force

9. Symbolic Animals: Butterflies
• Butterflies must pass
through many physical
transformations to reach
their truest, mature
forms; resultantly, they
are associated with:
• Metamorphosis
• Transformation
• Immortality
• Rebirth
• The soul

10. Symbolic Animals: Felines
• Initially, cats were competing
predators, but eventually
humans were able to
domestic cats – at least
partially.
• The cats’ grace, mystery, and
independence have come to
represent:
• Guardianship
• Detachment
• Sensuality
• Stealth
• Liberty
• Magic
• Vanity

11. Symbolic Animals: Canines
• Domesticated dogs,
perhaps the first species
of animal to undergo
that process, are often
seen as symbolizing:
• Guidance
• Protection
• Loyalty
• Fidelity
• Watchfulness

12. Symbolic Animals: Dolphins
• Extremely intelligent
and friendly when it
comes to humans,
dolphins and porpoises
may represent:
• Kindness
• Saviorship
• Intelligence
• Communication

13. Symbolic Animals: Eagles
• As alpha predators of the
sky – again, a realm
largely inaccessible to
humans – eagles
symbolize:
• Divine spirits
• The power of the air & the
sun
• Power in battle
• Clear vision
• Success, prosperity, or
wealth
• Intelligence & courage

14. Symbolic Animals: Elephants
• Long-lived, physically
powerful, and majestic
in their size, elephants
are symbols of:
• Strength
• Fidelity
• Memory
• Patience
• Wisdom & intelligence

15. Symbolic Animals: Horses
• Another species
domesticated quickly by
early humans, horses have
played a vital role in the
evolution of humankind; as
a result, they are icons of:
• Stamina
• Mobility
• Coping under difficult
circumstances
• Love, devotion & loyalty
• Nobility
• Freedom & wildness

16. Symbolic Animals: Owls
• Mysterious and
inquisitive guardians of
the night, owls are
symbols of:
• Wisdom & truth
• Darkness
• Divination
• Solitude & detachment
• Clairvoyance &
mysticism

17. Symbolic Animals: Serpents
• Chthonic creatures like
snakes, that are bound to
the earth and continually
shed their forms, have
earned reputations for:
• Life
• Rebirth & resurrection
• Healing & harm
• Preservation & destruction
• Malice & fertility

18. Symbolic Animals: Spiders
• As nature’s master
artisans – as well as
skillful predators in
their own right, spiders
are symbols of:
• Creativity
• Patterns in life
• Connecting the past
with the future
• The creation of
possibilities

19. Symbolic Colors In Myth

20. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Red
• Red has traditionally
symbolized excitement,
energy, passion, love,
desire, speed, strength,
power, heat,
aggression, danger, fire,
blood, war, violence -
all things intense and
passionate.

21. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Yellow
• Yellow has many different
meanings, depending on
the culture.
• It often represents joy,
happiness, betrayal,
optimism, idealism,
imagination, hope,
sunshine, summer, gold,
philosophy, dishonesty,
cowardice, jealousy,
covetousness, deceit, illness,
hazard and friendship.

22. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Blue
• Blue – a color associated
with the most basic
elements of the earth, sea
and sky – is symbolic of:
peace, tranquility, cold,
calm, stability, harmony,
unity, trust, truth,
confidence, conservatism,
security, cleanliness,
order, loyalty, sky, water,
technology, depression,
appetite suppressant.

23. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Turquoise
• Turquoise symbolizes
calm.
• Teal symbolizes
sophistication.
• Aquamarine symbolizes
water.
• Lighter turquoise has a
feminine appeal.

24. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Purple
• Long a highly-prized
color because of the
difficulty required to
obtain its pigment,
purple is representative
of royalty, nobility,
spirituality, ceremony,
mystery, transformation,
wisdom, enlightenment,
cruelty, arrogance, or
mourning.

25. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Orange
• The vibrant color
orange represents
energy, balance,
enthusiasm, warmth,
vibrancy,
expansiveness,
flamboyance
• It also visually demands
attention.

26. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Green
• Another color associated
with a basic element of
the earth – the land –
green has come to
represent nature, the
environment, health,
good luck, renewal,
youth, spring, generosity,
fertility, jealousy,
inexperience, envy,
misfortune, vigor.

27. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Brown & Tan
• The third elemental
hue, brown symbolizes
the Earth, stability, the
hearth, home, the
outdoors, reliability,
comfort, endurance,
simplicity, and comfort.

28. Symbolic Colors In Myth: White
• The reflection of all light’s
wavelength’s, white is a
shade associated with
reverence, purity, birth,
simplicity, cleanliness,
peace, humility, precision,
innocence, youth, winter,
snow, good, sterility,
marriage in Western
cultures.
• It represents death in
many Eastern cultures.

29. Symbolic Colors In Myth: Black
• Black represents the
absorption of all colors, and
as such is associated with
power, sexuality,
sophistication, formality,
elegance, wealth, mystery,
fear, evil, unhappiness,
depth, style, evil, sadness,
remorse, anger, anonymity,
underground, good
technical color, mourning,
and death in Western
cultures.

30. Symbolic Flowers & Plants

31. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Bamboo
• A symbol for longevity
(it's always got green
shoots) as well as strength
and grace (it bends
readily but doesn't break
easily). In Chinese
philosophy the straight
stem of bamboo
symbolizes the path
towards enlightenment,
the segments of the stem
being the steps along the
way.

32. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Clover
• The three divided
leaves of clover
represent the Christian
Holy Trinity of God the
Father, Christ the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
• Four-leafed clovers
represent luck.

33. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Nightshade
• A highly poisonous
plant (Atropa
belladonna) with
purple bell flowers and
small black berries.
• A symbol of deception,
danger, and death.

34. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Forget-Me-Not
• A low-growing plant
(Myosotis) with small,
usually blue flowers . As
the common name
suggests, a symbol of a
plea for remembrance.
• “Forget-me-not” are
supposed to have been
the last words of young
man who fell into a river
and drowned while
picking these flowers for
his lover.

35. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Irises
• Associated with death as
Iris was a Greek goddess
of the rainbow, which she
used to travel down to
earth with messages from
the gods and to transport
women's souls to the
underworld.
• The three upright petals
and three drooping
sepals are symbols for
faith, valor, and wisdom.

36. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Jasmine
• This strongly scented,
white flower is used as
a Hindu symbol for
love.

37. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Juniper
• Symbolizes chastity
(because juniper berries
are protected by the
tree's thorny leaves),
Christ (an association
with the crown of thorns
place on the head of
Christ), and eternity
(juniper wood is
supposedly never
attacked by bugs or
worms).

38. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Lilies
• Symbolizes purity,
chastity, and innocence.
White lilies represent the
purity of the Virgin Mary.
• The Angel Gabriel was
often painted presenting
Mary with a white lily
when he announced to
her that she would give
birth to the Son of God.

39. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Lotus
• A common symbol in Asian
art, the lotus symbolizes birth
and rebirth through the fact
that the petals open when the
sun comes out and close when
the sun sets.
• Also a symbol for fertility,
creation, and purity.
• The long stem symbolizes our
connection to our origins,
while the flower represents
the enlightenment to which
we aspire.

40. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Roses
• To symbolize love and
passion, use red roses.
• For virginity and purity
use white roses.
• To symbolize jealousy
and infidelity, use
yellow roses.
• In Catholicism, red roses
are a symbol of the
Virgin Mary.

41. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Rosemary
• Included in funeral
wreaths as a symbol of
remembrance and in
wedding bouquets as a
symbol for fidelity.
• It's said that if you
touch a lover with a
sprig of rosemary,
they'll be faithful.

42. Symbolic Flowers & Plants: Thistle
• A thorny plant with a
beautiful flower, the
national symbol of
Scotland.
• Its thorns symbolize
both evil and
protection.
• In Christianity it
represents the suffering
of Christ.

43. Symbolic Numbers

44. Symbolic Numbers: Zero
• Zero was invented in
ancient India.
• Represented by the
continuous circle, it
signifies non-being and
eternity.
• To Pythagoras it was the
perfect form which
contains all and from
which all is created.
• In Islam it is limitless light
and the Divine Essence.

45. Symbolic Numbers: One
• It represents beginnings and the
primal cause.
• It is a symbol of creation and the
human species and is depicted in
the standing stone, the upright
staff and the erect phallus.
• It also symbolizes the oneness to
which all living things must
return.
• In monotheistic religions one is
the number of God, while in
Jungian psychology it is a
unifying symbol.
• A symbol of beginning, the self
and loneliness.

46. Symbolic Numbers: Two
• Many cultures view the
world as made up of
opposing dualities, life
and death, light and
dark, male and female
heaven and hell.
• Others see these pairs as
complimentary such as
the Chinese yin and yang.
• Two is the number of
discord and conflict, but
also of balance and
marriage.

47. Symbolic Numbers: Three
• The most positive number in
symbolism, in Christian thought, it has
a central importance as the doctrine of
the Trinity, God the Father, God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit.
• Number three expresses all aspects of
creation, including birth life and death,
past, present and future, and mind
body and soul and man, woman and
child.
• The symbolism of three is also linked
with the triangle.
• The number 3 is also very mystical and
spiritual number featured in many
folktales, (three wishes, three guesses,
three little pigs, three bears).

48. Symbolic Numbers: Four
• Four is the number of square; the
four elements, earth, fire, water and
air, the four points of the compass,
North, South, East and West; the four
seasons, the four phases of the moon
(new, half-moon waxing, full, half-
moon waning).
• Number 4 is associated with the Earth
and with completeness.
• In Medieval Europe human nature was
characterized by the four humors,
phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric and
melancholic.
• In China, 4 is unlucky because
"she" (four) and "shi" (death) sound
similar.

49. Symbolic Numbers: Five
• As the sum of two, a feminine
number and three a masculine
number, the sum of the first even
and odd numbers. (2 + 3) is 5.
• It is a symbol for man.
• On a figure of man, a line joining
head to outstretched arms and legs
forms a pentagram and also there
are five senses (hearing, smell, taste,
sight, touch).
• In Islam 5 is a sacred number.
Muslims pray five times a day and
there are five pillars of piety -
declaration of faith (shahadah),
prayer, (salat), fasting during
Ramadan, giving alms, (zakat) and
making the pilgrimage to Mecca
(Hajj).

50. Symbolic Numbers: Six
• According to the Bible,
God created the world
in six days and rested
on the seventh.
• Six represents balance,
love, health and also
luck, as it is the winning
throw at dice.

51. Symbolic Numbers: Seven
• Seven is a sacred number
representing the union of divinity
(number three) and earth (
number 4).
• Each of the four phases of the
moon last seven days and there
are seven days in the week.
• In Hindu philosophy there are
seven Chakras or wheels, in the
body.
• These stand for levels of
consciousness, ranging from the
lowest for physical survival to the
highest for spiritual enlightenment.

52. Symbolic Numbers: Eight
• As the first cubic number (2 x
2 x 2), eight is considered the
perfect number.
• Chinese life is ruled by eight:
at eight months a child has
milk teeth; at eight years he
loses them; at twice eight he
reaches maturity and at 64 (8
x 8) he loses the power of
procreation.
• In Buddhism 8 is a lucky
number, possibly associated
with the 8 petals of the Lotus,
a plant associated with luck in
India and a favorite Buddhist
symbol.

53. Symbolic Numbers: Nine
• Nine is a sacred number;
three multiplied by itself to
give eternity, completion
and fulfillment.
• In China, number 9 is the
number of celestial power,
the nine-storied pagoda is
a symbol of heaven.
• Many folk sayings center
around the number 9 like:
• A stitch in time saves nine
• Cloud nine is the ultimate
happiness.
• A cat has nine lives.

54. Symbolic Numbers: Ten
• As the numbers of the
fingers , ten is the
foundation of most
counting systems
including the decimal
system.
• Ten also figures strongly
in the Bible; there are
Ten Commandments and
ten Egyptian plagues.
• Buddhism has also ten
commandments - five for
monks and 5 for laity.

55. To Be Continued…