What does it mean?
(Puzzle 003)
We haven't just made this up. Honestly!
What does this symbol mean?
With a bit imagination, the figure on the left represents a Patriarchal Cross with splayed ends and a few other bits added.
(Well OK, you need a lot of imagination to see this as an adorned Patriarchal Cross.) What do all those lines represent? And why is the symbol not symmetrical?
- Are these a collection of old European runes?
Is the centre piece perhaps a key, or a skeleton of some sacrificed horned beast? (We cannot think of any three-fingered animal, except the turtle, sloth and dinosaur. None of these sound likely beasts to be sacrificed.)- Is it a monogram? A Christian cross often has the three letters 'IHS', being Jesus' monogram. Are the glyphs on this cross derived from an alphabet such as Tifinagh (see Tuareg Cross) used in north Africa? If so, this piece could be an Islamic amulet. Do you recognise them as an acronym from such an alphabet?
- Are they mystical markings? Are we looking at a sigil (a magical sign) or something copied from an old grimoire (black magic manual)? Charm makers often copy such marks and sell pendants like these as a talisman. There doesn't appear to be any mystical geometry in the shape (for example, the so-called 'golden rectangle' with a 1:1.618... ratio). But could they represent some mystical 'tree of life'?
Face (left) and reverse (right)
- The symbol is found in the photo on the right of a medalion is from Verona, northern Italy. Is there a Romeo and Juliet connection? Or is it a street map of somewhere in central Verona?
- If the main cross is Christian, are we seeing Easter triple-branched candelabra on tripods?
- Double-ended tridents? (Or double-ended toasting forks for the ambidextrous!)
A double-ended trident, similar to the Asian sanko (a.k.a. vajra)
In addition to the Christian fish symbol, tridents are sometimes seen in Christendom, where the three tines represent the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The trident was adopted by early Christians from Neptune's fishing spear. Neptune was the Roman god of the sea, and a trident on a cross could signify that on a stormy journey through life, refuge can be found in the cross of Christ.
But in this case we have double-ended tridents. Plus something else on the left arm.
We'd welcome anyone's opinion on this.
As you can see it's circular, like a coin. Many ancient Christian coins had a Patriarchal Cross, and many ancient Indian coins include a trident. But we cannot find any coin that shows anything similar to the photo. If you are a coin buff and can shed light on this, please tell us.
The reverse of the medallion shows a flaming Sun surrounded by the twelve Zodiac signs - a common design for jewelry. We can either discount this as simply a decorative addition to the pendant, or take is as an important clue to the mysterious symbol shown on the face.
Please let us know what you think in the box below.
