Sampler Motifs

Sampler motifs can have several and contradictory meanings, here we have compiled an alphabetical list of motifs, some of which can be found in our designs and antique collection.

 

Anchor:

  • Safety, salvation, fidelity, prudence

Angel:

  • imgresThe messengers or attendants of God. A guardian
  • With trumpet – the voice of God

Apple:                            

  • In serpent’s mouth  – original sin
  • Apple tree with seven apples – the seven deadly sins
  • As a gift – a declaration of love

Barley:        

  • Fertility, life after death.

Basket:                          

  • With flowers – hope, friendship and love
  • With fruit – love, prosperity, health and happiness

Bear:

  • Cruelty, vengeance, greedflip

Bees: 

  • Hope, diligence, industry, sociability, selflessness, wisdom, courage, sobriety

Bee Hive or Skep:

  • Maternal protection

Beetle:

  • Blindness

Bell:

  • Divine voice of truth, music, festivity, proclaims good news, warns of danger and tolls for death

Birds:

  • Carrying a letter – declartion of lovesymbolism sampler motif bird
  • On floral branches – love of nature
  • With crowned heart – love
  • A pair of birds – eternal life
  • Blackbirds – temptation
  • Birdcage:
  • Hope

Bows and Ribbons:

  • Romantic love, a secret beau

Bull:

  • Vigor, power, strength

Butterfly:symbolism sampler motif butterfly

  • Liberation, pleasure, inconstancy
  • playfulness, transformation
    resurrection
  • Camel:
  • Sobriety

Candelabra:

  • With seven branches – wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, devotion and fear of God

Candle or Candlestick:symbolism sampler motif caranation

  • Devotion, watchfulness, prayer, hospitality

Carnation:

  • True love, poverty
  • Red carnation – betrothal
  • Pink carnation – maternal love
  • Vase of carnations – good luck

Castle:

  • A challenge, heavenly home.symbolism sampler motif cat

Cat:

  • Deceit, love of ease, freedom, cleverness
  • stealth, witchcraft

Caterpillar:

  • Metamorphism
  • Chain:
  • Servitude

Chair:

  • Hospitality, domesticity, diligence

Chamomile:

  • Health

Cherry Tree:symbolism sampler motif cherub

  • Prosperity, health and happiness

Cherub:

  • Faith

Chicken:

  • Charity

Circle:

  • Eternity, unity,
  • With  a square within – heaven enclosing earth
  • Within a square – divinity in an earthly body

Clock:

  • Temperance, moderationsymbolism sampler motif

Clover:

  • Good luck

Cock:

  • Vigilance, pride, insolence

Colours:

  • Black – Grief, despair, death, disaster
  • Blue – Hope, piety, faith, fidelity, modesty, humility, chastity
  • Pale Blue – Peace, heaven infinity, sky
  • Brown – Humility, poverty, renunciation
  • Gold – Sun, fire, glory, god, divinity
  • Gray – Penance, humility, tribulation, melancholy
  • Green – Faith, immortality, joy, youth, renewal, gladness, faith
  • Pale Green – Baptism
  • Purple – Royalty, magnificence, justice
  • Red – Divine love, charity, life, war, martyrdom
  • Speckled – Diversity
  • Violet – Temperance, penitence, spirituality, transition from life to death
  • White – Light, truth, purity, innocence, hope, baptism, virginity, initiation
  • Yellow – Faith, wisdom, constancy, glory

Corn, Grain or wheat

  • Growth, rebirth, sacramental bread, gift of life

Cornucopia

  • Health, generosity, horn of plenty, fertility

Coronet

  • A type of crown – but one of lesser rank than a crown

Cowsymbolism sampler motif

  • Maternal nourishment

Cowslip – Primula

  • This plant represents the keys of St Peter

Crab 

  • Deceit, cruelty

Crayfish

  • A heraldic symbol

Crocodile

  • Avarice, dissolution, hypocrisy, agent of divine retribution

Crosssymbolism sampler motif cross

  • The four winds, faith in god
  • the four cardinal points

Crow

  • Bad luck, evil, death, war, solitude, longevity, hope – a predictor of the future

Crown

  • Royalty, monarchy, noble rank, badge of authority, dignity, sovereignty, fidelity, innocence

Cuckoosymbolism sampler motif daffodil

  • A good omen – of summer and its abundance

Daffodil

  • National symbol of Wales, regret, the flower of Hades

Daisy

  • Humility, fickleness, deceit

Devil

  • Symbols relating to the devil are: locusts, dragons, serpents, swine.

Dogsymbolism sampler motif dog

  • Loyalty, protection, knowledge
  • Also pertains to the sense of smell

Dolphin

  • Speed, love, diligence, a forewarning of storms

Dove

  • Peace, charity, mercy, tenderness, fidelity, humility, simplicity, meekness

Dragon

  • Evil, sin, chaos, paganism, satan

Dragonfly

  • Speed, lightness, elegance

Ducksymbolism sampler motif duck

  • Deceit

Eagle

  • Majesty, strength, faith, pride, inspiration, lofty thoughts, keen eyesight, courage, ascension of Christ

Eclipse

  • Symbol is a rayed sun with a centre black filling – symbolising an ill omen

Elephantsymbolism sampler motif elephant

  • Ponderousness, temperance, sagacity

Faith

  • Symbols for faith include: anchor, book, lighted candle, chalice, child, church, cross, crown, triangle, unicorn

Falcon

  • Pride, nobility

Fan

  • Romance, flirtationsymbolism sampler motif fish

Fish

  • Symbolises Christ
  • baptised, Eucharist

Fleur de lis

  • The trinity

Flowers

  • Nature, spring, youth, paradise, gentleness

Flysymbolism sampler motif forget me knots

  • Evil, pestilence, insignificance

Forget me nots

  • Loyalty, friendship

Fountain

  • Purification, inspiration, knowledge, life force

Fox

  • Wisdom, cunning, artfulness, gluttony

Frogsymbolism sampler motif frog

  • Heresy, devil, harbinger of spring rains

Fruit

  • Prosperity, abundance, earthly pleasures

Garland

  • Victory, joy of nature, eternity, innocence

Gate

  • Symbolises the passage into heaven

Goatsymbolism sampler motif goldfinch

  • Lust, folly, lasciviousness, Satan

Goldfinch

  • The Christian soul

Goose

  • Conceit, stupidity, watchfulness, folly, gullibility, love, marital happiness

Grapes

  • The blood of Christ

Grasshopper

  • Old age

Griffin

  • Vigilance, guardian, sacred

Halo

  • Sanctity, holiness, divinity

Haresymbolism sampler motif hare

  • Gentleness,
  • faintheartedness
  • timidity
  • melancholy

Harp

  • Purity, poetry, music, harmony

Hart

  • Wisdom of God, gentleness, pride, manliness, solitude, purity

Hawk

  • Superiority, liberty, rapacity

Heart

  • Love, divine, joy, sorrow, compassiosymbolism sampler motif heart
  • Crowned heart – fidelity, love
  • With cross and anchor – faith, hope, love
  • With crosses – faith and hope
  • With tree and cherub – love, hope, faith
  • With key – key to the heart
  • Pierced by arrow – love
  • Winged – prayer

Hedgehog

  • Gluttony, prudence, pugnacity

Heron

  • Good omen, inquisitiveness, conquering the vicissitudes osymbolism sampler motif hollyf life

Holly

  • Winter, hope, joy,
  • Christmas holidays,
  • the resurrection

Honeysuckle / Woodbine

  • Enduring faith, generous, affection

Hoopoe (bird)

  • Filial devotionsymbolism sampler motif horse

Horse

  • Masculinity, pride, speed,
  • grace, ardour, vitality
  • White Horse – Victory
  • Black horse – Famine, death

Horseshoe

  • Good fortune, luck

Hour glass

  • Temperance, mortalitysymbolism sampler motif iris

Household items

  • Domesticity, hospitality

Iris

  • Purity, protection, rainbow

Ivy

  • Immortality, fidelity, tenacity, eternal life

Key

  • Fidelity, authority, entry, initiation, knowledge

Kingfishersymbolism sampler motif kingfisher

  • Fidelity, peace,
  • a righteous man,
  • immortality, holiness

Knots

  • Infinity, longevity

Lamb

  • Youth, innocence, gentleness, humility, charity, sacrifice, purity

Lamp

  • Spirit, truth, intelligence

Leopardsymbolism sampler motif lily

  • Sin, devil, ferocity, courage, pride, speed

Lily

  • Saints, deliverance,
  • chastity, purity, innocence

Lion

  • Strength, majesty, courage, authority, wisdom, protection, steadfastedness

Lizard

  • Resurrectionsymbolism sampler motif lizard

Lobster

  • Contemptuous symbol for a Roundhead (soldier) – also for redcoats (soldiers)

Lotus

  • Fertility, forgetfullness

Lute

  • Music, hearing, harmony

Lyresymbolism sampler motif maple leaf

  • Harmony, music

Maple leaf

  • Symbol of Canada

Marigold

  • Obedience, purity, ray of light, purity, perfection

Mermaid

  • Vanity, temptation

Milk

  • Rebirth, immortality, compassion, abundance

Mirror

  • Pride, vanity, magic, soul

Monkey

  • Devil, folly, lust, cunning, laziness, unclean, malice, idolatry

Mothsymbolism sampler motif moth

  • Pleasure, frivolity

Mountains

  • Holy places

Numbers

  • One – Unity
  • Two – Duality, diversity, strife, evil
  • Three – Harmony, Holy Trinity
  • Four – Power, justice, solidity, square, earth, continents
  • Five – Christianity, senses
  • Six – Justice, union, equilibrium
  • Seven – Sacred and magical number, completion, perfection, wisdom, understanding etcetera
  • Eight – Perfection, regeneration
  • Nine – Mystical number comprising three matters: hell; angels, man and his ages
  • Ten – Perfection
  • Eleven – Sin, danger, conflict
  • Twelve – Union of spiritual and earthly planes

Oak tree

  • Endurance, longevity, might

Oak leavessymbolism sampler motif oak leaf

  • Bravery

Octagon

  • Nature, rebirth, baptism

Olive, Olive branch, Olive tree

  • Peace, prosperity, goodwill, strength, beauty

Orange tree

  • Virginitysymbolism sampler motif owl

Owl

  • Wisdom, learning

Ox

  • Patience, strength, fortitude, pride, submissiveness

Pansy

  • Good wises and good thoughts

Parrot

  • The woman, gossip, loquacity, mocking verbosity

Peacocksymbolism sampler motif peacock

  • Ostentation, pride,
  • vanity, purity,
  • immortality, an ill omen

Pelican

  • Piety, charity, unselfish love

Phoenix

  • Rebirth, hope, charity, resurrection

Pig

  • Gluttony, obstinacy, Satan, selfishness

Pillar

  • Strength, support

Pine tree

  • Fidelity, Christmas

Pineapple

  • Hospitality

Pomegranate

  • Abundance, prosperity

Poppiessymbolism sampler motif poppy

  • Showy,
  • not matched by real worth

Primrose

  • Youth, first love, premature death

Rabbit

  • Timidity, gentleness

Rainbow

  • Hope, promise

Ram or Ram’s head

  • Perseverance

Ratsymbolism sampler motif raven

  • Avarice, destructiveness, foresight

Raven

  • Ill omen, death,
  • infection, bad luck

Ring

  • Marriage, union, eternity, wholeness, authority

Robin9e96bb71e57221b87d3f2249d2e2ec72

  • Trust

Rose

  • Love, beauty, joy, silence, patience

Salamander

  • Courage

Scales

  • Justice

Scallop

  • Hope, pilgrim, resurrection

Sceptre (Scepter)

  • Sovereigntysymbolism sampler motif snake serpent

Scissors

  • Mortality, unpredictability

Serpent

  • Wisdom, healing,
  • envy, cunning, treachery,
  • malignancy

Sheep

  • Meekness, silliness, inoffensiveness

Shell

  • Love, good fortune

Snailsymbolism sampler motif snail

  • Sloth, lazy

Spinning wheel

  • Domesticity, diligence

Squirrel

  • Slyness, rogue like, mischief

Staffsymbolism sampler motif stag

  • Power, authority

Stag

  • Faithfulness, charity

Stairs

Progress to enlightenment

Star

  • Bravery, patriotism

Stork

  • Good luck, purity, spring messenger, constancy, parental love

Strawberry

  • Perfect righteousness

Sunsymbolism sampler motif swallow

  • Vitality, heat, courage, knowledge

Swallow

  • Renewal, resurrection,
  • messenger of spring

Swan

  • Grace, love, a good death, good luck for seafarers

Tablesymbolism sampler motif thistle

  • Domesticity, hospitality, contentment, diligence

Thistle

  • Punishment, emblem of Scotland

Thunderbolt

  • Justice

Toad

  • Lust, avarice, darkness, evil

Tortoise

  • Chastity, determination, slowness

Tree

  • Growth, regeneration, rebirthsymbolism sampler motif rose

Trident

  • Sea power, personification of Britain

Rose

  • Red rose – Emblem of Henry VII (1457 – 1509)
  • White rose – Emblem of House of York

Tulip

  • Love, woman, worldly follysymbolism sampler motif turkey

Turkey

  • Thanksgiving, insolence

Turtle dove

  • Fidelity

Unicorn

  • Purity, charity

Vase

  • Femininitysymbolism sampler motif violet

Violet

  • Humility, innocence,
  • modesty, shyness

Virgins

  • A row of ten female figure; the wise holding lamps and the foolish ones without a flame! Also symbolises imprudence

Water

  • Source of lifesymbolism sampler motif weeping willow

Weathercock

  • Vigilance

Weeping Willow

  • Mourning, loss,
  • sorrow, bereavement

Well

  • Truth, knowledge, truth

Whale

  • Regenerationsymbolism sampler motif woodpecker

Windmill

  • Energy, life, labour

Winepress

  • Contrition

Woodpecker

  • Protection