Our
modern world is full of symbols; they surround us every day. A compact form of
communication, symbols convey a lot of information with a few lines and shapes.
One can understand complicated written instructions more easily when
accompanied by images. Studies have demonstrated that babies recognize
images and symbols of people like “mommy” that are familiar and important to
them. The Human Face, a film by John Cleese, reveals the
results of studies that were done with sheep, and images of
other sheep - some that were part of, and some that were strangers to the flock
– familiar sheep were recognized by the test subject sheep, and strangers
ignored. The brain is configured to store and recall familiar images. This is
necessary for survival.
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I Know You Love Me Because Michelle Snyder |
Toddlers’
picture-books are the foundation of reading comprehension. Children’s textbooks
are filled with colorful images to help them learn.

Etwas
von den Wurzelkindern
A
good example is a small book, published in German in 1906, and titled Etwas
von den Wurzelkindern (The Root Children). The colorful
pictures in this little book teach the cycle of plants as they bloom in
spring and summer, then die off in autumn, their seeds and roots
hibernating underground during winter, until the following spring. Mother
Earth cares for the plants, symbolized using cute small children.
Their winter home, for they are seeds that sleep all winter, is under the
ground where they sit with candles, sleep, and wait for spring. When it arrives
the children troop to the surface in beautifully colored dresses to play and
grow in summer’s sun and warmth. When autumn arrives they return to Mother
Earth down into the soil, their winter home. This sequence of pictures
tells the story even if one cannot understand the few German words accompanying
each page.

Although
people acknowledge that contemporary symbolism conveys mathematics and
science, a scholar of symbolism, de Santillana, states that:
He (the modern reader) does not think of the possibility that equally relevant knowledge might once have been expressed in everyday language. He never suspects such a possibility, although the visible accomplishments of ancient cultures - to mention only the pyramids, or metallurgy - should be a cogent reason for concluding that serious and intelligent men were at work behind the stage, men who were bound to have used a technical terminology.
Kisa |
Some
symbols are so commonplace we have developed automatic associations to them,
the brain learning in early childhood to translate meaning. Images, therefore,
take on a language all their own. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a
very familiar expression, but if we think about it - which words?
How many words accurately describe a dog? If two people read or hear the same
description, do they imagine the same thing? How often do we attend a movie
after reading the book on which it was based, and thought, “That’s not at all
what I pictured!”
My First Kitty Michelle Snyder |
Images
depict for us visual properties that cannot be accurately verbalized. Symbols
depict complex concepts that would take volumes of written language to
explain. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a proverb reflecting the idea
that complex stories can be described with a single image, or that an image may
be more influential than a substantial amount of text. This also applies to the
process of visualization where large amounts of data must be absorbed quickly.
Fred R. Barnard, in the advertising trade journal Printers'
Ink, used this phrase to promote the use of images in advertisements that
appeared on the sides of streetcars. The December 8, 1921 issue carries an ad
entitled, One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words. Russian writer
Ivan Turgenev wrote (in Fathers and Sons, 1862), "A picture
shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound."
The quote is sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, who said: "Un
bon croquis vaut mieux qu'un long discours" (a good sketch is better
than a long speech).
This
is not to say that images negate the necessity of words; the combination of
words and pictures is vital in communication. An enormous amount of history was
preserved and passed on through thousands of years using visual symbols and
oral tradition. From these traditions many symbol systems have developed,
some esoteric, some exoteric in nature. Learning symbolism may start with
babies, but it can be a lifetime of adult academic study.
About Symbologist Michelle Snyder
Michelle
earned her post-graduate degree at the University of Wales, decoding
prehistoric images, mythology, folklore, and fairy tales and tracing
them to their roots. She is an
author, columnist, publisher, artist, and teacher. Her artwork, inspired
by her love of symbolism and folklore, has appeared in galleries from
Massachusetts to California. Michelle is co-owner of White Knight
Studio.
Symbology ReVision: Unlocking Secret Knowledge
Symbology: Hidden in Plain Sight
Symbology: My Art and Symbols
Symbology: My Art and Symbols
Symbology: Fairy Tales Uncovered
Symbology: Decoding Classic Images
Symbology: World of Symbols
The Fairy Tales: Once-Upon-A-Time Lessons First Book
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