by Vivan Isenberg and Maya Kumar|January 29, 2015
Heart-shaped cookies, mixtapes and red roses. February is coming soon, and love is everywhere. Throughout history and literature, love has taken many forms, ranging from apples to Romeo and Juliet. Love symbols from around their world have found their way into all cultures.
1. The Heart: The most popular symbol of love, a heart is used to represent the center of emotion, including affection and love, especially romantic love.
2. Golden Arrow: Eros (Cupid) pricked himself with a golden arrow, causing him to fall in love with Psyche. Long after the Greeks have come and passed, Cupid is still a symbol of love around the globe.
3.An Apple: No, not the computer. Also from Greek mythology, Gaia gave Hera apples at her wedding to Zeus. Similarly, Dionysus gave apples to Aphrodite to woo her.
4.Osram de Nsoromma: In this depiction, “The Moon and the Star” is a figure of love, faithfulness, and harmony.
5.The Swan: The swan holds a multiple of representations throughout time. Love, grace, purity, beauty and sincerity, the swan has also symbolized chastity. The Celts believed swans were benevolent deities and legend has it that their images were forged into medallions worn around the neck for protection. In Hinduism, the Swan is known as the Hamsa bird, signifying the divine mind and breath of spirit. Likewise, the swan is a symbol of the Virgin Mary and the purity and love she symbolizes.
6.The Starfish: Biblically, the starfish represents the Virgin Mary. She creates safe travel over troubled waters and also a safe emblem of salvation. They represent infinite divine love, guidance, vigilance, inspiration, brilliance and intuition.
7.Romeo and Juliet: They’re probably the most famous lovers, ever. They have become a synonym for love itself. A tragedy by William Shakespeare, their love story is tragic, breathtaking but nonetheless romantic. Two teenagers from feuding families fall in love at first sight, marry, and become true lovers then die for their own love.
Wherever you go in February, the influence of these famous figures is everywhere, in love, in culture and in art.
