Hand by the neck: “That actually stands for martyrdom. If a female figure’s hand is a little lower almost on her chest, that stands for charity like nursing.”
Tui SniderA large piece of land for individuals to purchase their own private section to spend the rest of eternity, marked by a simple or elaborate stone displaying their time on earth. That’s probably the initial thought that comes to mind for people when it comes to a cemetery.
One family is buried over here, another over there. Mom and Dad are in a mausoleum, but Aunt Millie is in an older section outside in the ground. Some of the stones are ornate and tall, others are simple — flat, just a few inches off the ground.
But there’s more to a cemetery than just the eternally interred. Just about each stone artistically created to include symbols, images or even a statue — whether it be religious or not — tells the story of the life of the person laid to rest beneath the soil.
“Cemeteries are for the living. They’re there for us, they’re there to comfort us, they’re there to educate us, they’re there to provide peaceful meditative places to contemplate our own mortality and our own life,” author Tui Snider said. “We are not as deeply connected to symbols now as our ancestors were; maybe they were more invested in them than we are today.”
Snider’s book, “Understanding Cemetery Symbols: A Field Guide to Historic Graveyards,” gives insight to all of the uses of particular symbols and traditions that may not be as widely known as they once were. It could be the depiction of a statue, the type of stone chosen to mark a grave or the graphic next to the person’s name — either way, they all tell a story.
Anchor of Hope
This symbol might make one assume the deceased served in the Navy or had a life at sea, and while in some areas that holds true, the overall use of the symbol is more religious.
“That is actually and ancient Christian symbol,” Snider said of what’s properly named the Anchor of Hope. “You might see bumper stickers and they have that stick figure of a fish, that was an ancient symbol when the Romans were persecuting the Christians and it was sort of a secret symbol to say, ‘Hey I’m Christian.’ Well, the anchor was another one of those secret symbols and it actually predates the fish.
“Ninety percent of the time when you see that anchor wrapped with the chain on the base of a monument, it does stand for hope and faith. Sometimes you will see a saint holding an anchor.”
Upside down pentagram
Pop culture has made the image associated with evil or witchcraft, but that’s not the case at all. Some grave stones marked with the upside down pentagram will also have F.A.T.A.L. next to it furthering the pop culture assumptions, yet the history behind it all is rather spiritual.
Bear in mind that “penta” means five, and “gram” means lines.
“If Hollywood has taught us anything, it has taught us that here lies a witch. That really makes my stomach twist because that is so far from the truth,” Snider said. “F.A.T.A.L stands for Fairest Among Ten-thousand All-together Lovely. This is typically an order for the eastern star, which is the female branch of the Masons.
“The star itself stands for Order of the Eastern Star — the eastern star that lead the three wise men to the manger to Christ and Mary. It’s associated a lot with Mary, that’s why the females have this as their symbol. It’s upside down because it was pointing the way for the wisemen — there’s nothing bad about it.
“Each of the five rays of the star, has a different symbol inside of it and all of those stand for different biblical heroines.”
Torches
If there’s a symbol with a long historical story to tell, the use of a torch symbol would have to take the top prize.
While to the naked eye it may seem decorative or even fancy, depending on the way it’s presented, the use of a torch dates back to early post-death traditions.
“Torches are one of the top three misunderstood or misconstrued cemetery symbols that I do come across. Torches are Christian symbols, they’ve been adopted as a Christian symbol and that’s the part that gets people confused,” Snider said.
“The word ‘funeral’ comes from the Latin word, ‘funeralis’ which meant a torch-like procession. And that’s because ancient Romans would bury their dead a night. As time went on, the Christians borrowed a lot of symbols and they took the torch — and when you see it on a headstone the flame on it represents eternal life.
“If the torch is upside down and the flame is burning, upside down was kind of shorthand for dead. So it’s saying this person is deceased, but the eternal flame of their soul burns on in the afterlife.”
Hand pointing down
From positioning to gestures, hands on a gravestone tell more to the visitor than just the deceased’s name, year of birth and year of death.
Additionally, hands on statuary figures — angel or not — can not only tell what a person did in life, but how they lived their life.
“Hands are really a good entry point to cemetery symbols because they’re easier to recognize, but you can start paying attention to the different ways they’re depicted on headstones. It’s a good way to see if you find this fun or not,” Snider said. “The position of the hands can tell you a lot.”
Something easily noticeable is the praying hands image. That stands for faith.
Hand by the neck: “That actually stands for martyrdom. If a female figure’s hand is a little lower almost on her chest, that stands for charity like nursing.”
Shaking hands: Sometimes associated with the Masons. "It's actually much more common for them to indicate a married couple, you can tell this by the sleeves," Snider said.
Hand pointing up: You’re going to heaven.
Hand pointing down: Sudden death. “It’s like the fickle hand of fate reaching down and taking someone unexpectedly. That could be helpful if you’re doing genealogy.”
Mourning figure: “The mourning figure is showing the grief. The hands on the monument would be a blessing.”
Cross
Crosses can mean many things. It all depends on religion, the era of the person’s life, or because of the section in the cemetery where the stone is placed.
“There’ll be a figure clinging to the cross. That’s a reference to Rock of Ages mourning angel. It’s just saying that the person is missed.
“If they’re holding a wreath that stands for remembrance. We’re grieving the deceased, but I’m holding a wreath to show that we remember them.
“The calvary cross, it will be a cross of any sort, but there will be three steps for the trinity leading up the side of it. You’ll notice it’s not on a flat base there’s three little steps of some sort.
“When you see a Celtic cross, especially here in America, it might mean the person was Celtic or Irish. Those can be pretty amazing kinds of crosses.”
Figures with trumpets
Religiously designated burial grounds and grave sites might feature statues boasting a trumpet. Depending on the deceased’s faith, the statue could be one of two religious figures.
“If you see an angel holding a trumpet, generally that’s the Archangel Gabriel. The trumpet stands for the call to resurrection, but if you’re in Utah when you see an angel with a trumpet it’s the Mormon angel Moroni.”
Grapevine
A lot of gravestones feature plants, flowers and others. The stages of particular plants on a gravestone has several indications — for example a grapevine is a Christian symbol for receiving communion.
“Ferns can stand for humility, because ferns like to grow in the shade they’re not actively seeking the sun for themselves,” Snider said.
“Pay attention to what stage of life a plant is in. If its a bud, that stands for a young child. Quite often you’ll see a broken bud on a child’s grave. I’ve even seen a rose that’s fully blossomed to represent the mom, there’s a broken bud to represent one child, and if she has one child still living there’s a smaller bud starting to grow. It tells you about the family.
“Vines stand for friendship and faith. It’s something that clings to you in the best possible way.”
Be sure to remember…
Snider points out that if you venture out to a cemetery, try to avoid standing directly atop the gravesite.
“Everyone thinks that it’s disrespectful to walk across a grave. It’s not really so much disrespectful, it’s just dangerous.”
Some people are buried without a vault encasing the coffin, and the weight of the dirt over many years can cause the coffin to cave-in, thus loosening the ground on the surface and creating a sinkhole.
