Symbolism List

[SirenSon117]

Hey guys Oberon here. I got distracted and took a small break from writing and this site and I want to get back into the fray. To celebrate I thought I would be nice to get another small issue out of the way, symbolism. Rather than simply review like my other posts I'd like for you guys to help me out by dropping symbols I possibly could use in the thread. Anything goes really, I like to think I'm fairly creative so even if your suggestion doesn't fit I can still find a way to use that symbol. Also feel free to take some symbols for yourself in the same manner, I'm not the only one here after all. Anyways, here's what I have so far: Stars represent the otherworldly and the divine even in the more sci-fi entries in the Whiterose Mythos. "Reaching the stars" in this context means crossing the threshold of the gods. The relationship between Positive and Negative is explored deeply all throughout the Whiterose Mythos. Existing not only as a dichotomy, Positive and Negative are the extremes of cosmic scale with many shades of grey in-between. Indeed, the concept of a "Neutral Yellow" between the "Holy Blue and Vile Red" is featured prominently throughout the verse. Mastering both Positive and Negative, the Red and the Blue, consistently leads to Chaos, the Godly Purple. Gears have two symbolic interpretations. As mechanical components they are associated with order and soullessness. As clockwork components they are associated with time. In Mystic World specifically, gears are heavily associated with Tiberius Gear, the Lord of Clocks(time mage spin-off character). In Warlock Drive gears are associated with fate and mindless progress. Crowns represent Godliness in the Whiterose Mythos. In keeping with the ideas of traditional monarchy, the crown is worn by those chosen by the Gods or alternately those who have reached godlike status through their own efforts. The crown need not be worn on the head, the symbol is often featured in clothing similar to how Fleur-de-lis are treated in real-world fashion. Alternatively, the crown is a symbol of dominance and tyranny. Either way, those who bear the crown on their bodies are powerful individuals, worthy of respect and fear. Puppets and marionettes are symbolic of controlled individuals. It's basically an edgier version of the gilded bird. Lita(the love interest character, to grossly oversimplify) in particular uses this symbolism as foreshadowing to her true nature as a Demigoddess.(Allow me to clarify: like the puppet, who is human shaped despite being fundamentally inhuman, Lita's humanity is called into question after the twist reveal of her heritage. This gives the previous puppet symbolism used to symbolize the effects of Lita's abuse a new meaning. It helps that puppets and the Gods both come from nature.) Checkerboard patterns are used in character design to indicate the influence of Chaos. This is because checkerboards are monochrome, black and white. Chaos is a power born from two dichotomous forces achieving perfect harmony. A monochrome checkerboard is a simple visual indicator of this sort of power. Sorry for the block!

 

[WooHooMan]

Do you ever worry that the dualism thing is overplayed?
I got a lot of that in my story too so I’ve been pondering that. And I don’t even go with the good/evil-order/chaos thing.

 

[WooHooMan]

Oh and I’ll guess I’ll list the dualistic symbolism I got going:
Right hand: extroversion and activity
Left hand: introversion and spirituality

Coffee: hot stimulant, drink it in the morning and drink it alone
Alcohol: cold depressant, drink it in the evening and best enjoyed with friends

Cigarettes: materialistic corruption, they make your breath stink
Mints/gum: materialistic purification, they make your breath smell good but only temporarily

Drugs: the darker elements of life, fun but dangerous
Food: the good elements of life but these good elements are easy to take for granted

I also got a color thing going:
- Red is the color of passion and willpower but it can also represent danger and violence.
- Green is the color of knowledge and worldliness.
- Blue is the color of mastery and skill but also indulgence and ego.
- Gold is the color of action and power as well as authority and wealth.
These colors are acknowledged as being in-universe metaphysical forces that are represented by gods and spirits and so forth. So I don’t know if they qualify as “symbolism”. They might just be part of the lore.

And some numerology:
1: beginnings and potential
2: duality and contrast
3: change and conflict
4: balance of all perspectives (two opposites, a third option and a middle ground. Good, shades of grey, evil and amorality)
5: the midpoint or the next stage in a journey
6: evil as it multiplies conflict by duality
7: luck
8: completion and wholeness
9: evil disguised as good or good disguised as evil since a 9 could just be an upside down 6
10: cycles and resets

 

[SirenSon117]

Oh and I’ll guess I’ll list the dualistic symbolism I got going:
Right hand: extroversion and activity
Left hand: introversion and spirituality

Coffee: hot stimulant, drink it in the morning and drink it alone
Alcohol: cold depressant, drink it in the evening and best enjoyed with friends

Cigarettes: materialistic corruption, they make your breath stink
Mints/gum: materialistic purification, they make your breath smell good but only temporarily

Drugs: the darker elements of life, fun but dangerous
Food: the good elements of life but these good elements are easy to take for granted

I also got a color thing going:
- Red is the color of passion and willpower but it can also represent danger and violence.
- Green is the color of knowledge and worldliness.
- Blue is the color of mastery and skill but also indulgence and ego.
- Gold is the color of action and power as well as authority and wealth.
These colors are acknowledged as being in-universe metaphysical forces that are represented by gods and spirits and so forth. So I don’t know if they qualify as “symbolism”. They might just be part of the lore.

And some numerology:
1: beginnings and potential
2: duality and contrast
3: change and conflict
4: balance of all perspectives (two opposites, a third option and a middle ground. Good, shades of grey, evil and amorality)
5: the midpoint or the next stage in a journey
6: evil as it multiplies conflict by duality
7: luck
8: completion and wholeness
9: evil disguised as good or good disguised as evil since a 9 could just be an upside down 6
10: cycles and resets

Interesting! I like the ideas behind 4 and 1 and I think I could maybe use them. I also appreciate the dualism, it's a powerful force of nature in my verse. I don't get six to be honest but to be fair I'm not the best at math. One of my favorite numbers of all time is 0, I think the meanings you attached to 1 could be applied well to 0. All in all this is the exact sort of thing I've been looking for!

 

[WooHooMan]

Interesting! I like the ideas behind 4 and 1 and I think I could maybe use them. I also appreciate the dualism, it's a powerful force of nature in my verse. I don't get six to be honest but to be fair I'm not the best at math. One of my favorite numbers of all time is 0, I think the meanings you attached to 1 could be applied well to 0. All in all this is the exact sort of thing I've been looking for!

I think numerology stuff is a lot less interesting than the other stuff. I don’t even use it much in my story.
Also, 0 is void so it can’t represent anything in my system. That’s my logic for starting with 1.

 

[SirenSon117]

I see. For me nothingness is the starting point and helps contrast the positive and negative. I don't mean to argue of course and I do agree with your point on numerology. It's interesting but not enough to put in in the books.

 

[WooHooMan]

I just find that there’s not a lot of application for it, you know? Like, I can’t really imagine having more than two or three significant numbers. I guess it depends on the story, though.

I've found a lot more application in the hands and addictive substances symbolism. I wonder what that says about my story.

 

[SirenSon117]

I just find that there’s not a lot of application for it, you know? Like, I can’t really imagine having more than two or three significant numbers. I guess it depends on the story, though.

I've found a lot more application in the hands and addictive substances symbolism. I wonder what that says about my story.

I'm trying to work within a young adult demographic because I've been advised that adults won't buy my books. I don't know whether that's true or not but I don't think I'll be able to show my characters doing drugs. I'd use the hand thing as more of a general left vs. right motif which I already use for character design(in my head at least. I'm not good at drawing).

 

[ShadeZ]

I also got a color thing going:
- Red is the color of passion and willpower but it can also represent danger and violence.
- Green is the color of knowledge and worldliness.
- Blue is the color of mastery and skill but also indulgence and ego.
- Gold is the color of action and power as well as authority and wealth.

Also bare in mind it depends on the culture for perception of color for example in Asian color lore
Red-Wealth and good luck
Green-Life and health
Blue-deception
Gold-Kings/royalty

 

[WooHooMan]

Also bare in mind it depends on the culture for perception of color for example in Asian color lore
Red-Wealth and good luck
Green-Life and health
Blue-deception
Gold-Kings/royalty

My color thing is based on my in-universe setting and culture.
So readers would read the book and be like “why is this omniscient deity named ‘Mr. Green’ and why do evil spirits meet in a place called ‘The Blue Room’” but as they read through the book they’ll start seeing all the connections and be like “oh, now I get it”.

That’s the idea anyway.

I think going with common symbolism is a little too telling. It telegraphs a bit too much and they can take away from the discovery process.

 

[SirenSon117]

My color thing is based on my in-universe setting and culture.
So readers would read the book and be like “why is this omniscient deity named ‘Mr. Green’ and why do evil spirits meet in a place called ‘The Blue Room’” but as they read through the book they’ll start seeing all the connections and be like “oh, now I get it”.

That’s the idea anyway.

I think going with common symbolism is a little too telling. It telegraphs a bit too much and they can take away from the discovery process.

I agree with you WooHooMan.

 

[ShadeZ]

I think going with common symbolism is a little too telling. It telegraphs a bit too much and they can take away from the discovery process.

Yup, I have a warrior prince in one of my books who wears white armor and is usually called the White Prince for a reason other than his armor by his people. His lands color culture is based off Japanese perceptions of colors. This character is generally a childish, friendly, and kind guy who travels with a group of freedom fighters. One day though two of his teammates mention to the prince's best friend that they have believed he was called the White Prince was because he is in some way innocent, selfless, generous, or kind hearted, but that they saw him easily kill twenty attacking soldiers and feel no remorse for it. The best friend laughs and explains that in their culture white is the color of death, and that the White Prince is called that because he is the deadliest warrior in their land not for any sort of innocence. The best friend they also assumed was mischievous because he wears a lot of jet black clothes however it is also revealed in their culture black means great wealth and that the best friend is from the richest of the noble families.

 

[Devor]

I just did a Google dive to try and understand this topic more.

It looks like some people use the word symbolism to cover just about everything. :eyeroll: Even if the argument can technically be made that a simile or a metaphor is a symbol, it dilutes the meaning to something that's no longer useful. IMO we want to capture the differences between these three examples:

As I told him how I killed his dog:
...his eyes raged like fire.
...his eyes became a raging fire.
...he pulled out a lighter and lit up a cigarette. I looked into his eyes through the fire.

In the third example there is literally a fire and no comparison is actually made in the prose. Yet we can feel that the fire means rage.

With that in mind, the most cited example I could find is Brontë’s Jane Eyre, which I haven't read, where the frequent use of birds represents her feelings of captivity. Not only are small birds and birds of prey seen throughout the book to represent different characters, but one of the locations is described as a birdcage, which helps to highlight the symbolism of the birds.

As for myself I once used burning a scarf to symbolize the massacre of the people who wore it, but that's the only example from my own work that comes to mind. This has me wondering how I can use symbolism in Smughitter. I'm not going to plan out any micro-symbols, but if there's something that can pop up a handful of times throughout the book, and symbolize some kind of change of what's happening, that'd be kind of cool.

 

[SirenSon117]

I just did a Google dive to try and understand this topic more.

It looks like some people use the word symbolism to cover just about everything. :eyeroll: Even if the argument can technically be made that a simile or a metaphor is a symbol, it dilutes the meaning to something that's no longer useful. IMO we want to capture the differences between these three examples:

As I told him how I killed his dog:
...his eyes raged like fire.
...his eyes became a raging fire.
...he pulled out a lighter and lit up a cigarette. I looked into his eyes through the fire.

In the third example there is literally a fire and no comparison is actually made in the prose. Yet we can feel that the fire means rage.

With that in mind, the most cited example I could find is Brontë’s Jane Eyre, which I haven't read, where the frequent use of birds represents her feelings of captivity. Not only are small birds and birds of prey seen throughout the book to represent different characters, but one of the locations is described as a birdcage, which helps to highlight the symbolism of the birds.

As for myself I once used burning a scarf to symbolize the massacre of the people who wore it, but that's the only example from my own work that comes to mind. This has me wondering how I can use symbolism in Smughitter. I'm not going to plan out any micro-symbols, but if there's something that can pop up a handful of times throughout the book, and symbolize some kind of change of what's happening, that'd be kind of cool.

I like the concept of "symbolism for development". If that's what you're alluding to then kudos to you for bringing it up. I think that would be a better way to use symbolism instead of, "here's a character, here's an animal, look how similar they are!"

 

[SirenSon117]

Yup, I have a warrior prince in one of my books who wears white armor and is usually called the White Prince for a reason other than his armor by his people. His lands color culture is based off Japanese perceptions of colors. This character is generally a childish, friendly, and kind guy who travels with a group of freedom fighters. One day though two of his teammates mention to the prince's best friend that they have believed he was called the White Prince was because he is in some way innocent, selfless, generous, or kind hearted, but that they saw him easily kill twenty attacking soldiers and feel no remorse for it. The best friend laughs and explains that in their culture white is the color of death, and that the White Prince is called that because he is the deadliest warrior in their land not for any sort of innocence. The best friend they also assumed was mischievous because he wears a lot of jet black clothes however it is also revealed in their culture black means great wealth and that the best friend is from the richest of the noble families.

In my verse white is associated with hollowness because it is the state of "no-color". Black is every color put together so it represents the cosmos.