Elizabeth Eagan-Cox's Blog: Musings on Mystery and the Paranormal, page 5

GRAVE ART, Dig Deep For the Symbolism and Understanding

GRAVE ART

Its symbols and meanings, and how to use it to spice up a paranormal plot.
However... you do not need to be a writer to appreciate Grave Art!

By Elizabeth Eagan-Cox, author of the Shannon Delaney paranormal mystery novels.

Copyrighted.

Death's aftermath leaves intriguing clues to a decedent's identity and lifestyle. Telltale clues found on gravestones and tombs hidden in the artwork and symbols are keys to the decedent's interests, activities and associations.

My use of grave art as a subtext in my cozy paranormal mystery series of novels is by design. I use knowledge gained from treading lightly over burial grounds spurred on by genealogical research. I am a member of one of the oldest lineage societies in the U.S., namely the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Yes… that D.A.R.

In D.A.R. documentation for lineage is stringent, to say the least. Proof requires hard evidential documentation from vital records, military records and official documents, such as census files, court papers, property records and so on. Family say-so and church affiliated files won't hold up to D.A.R. scrutiny. Just so you know… as a person who hunts down her ancestors, I regard the topic of grave art with profound respect… it has revealed a world hidden from the view of documents.

More to the point of this website's focus, grave art can be used in defining a character or plotting a story, so, let's take a journey into Death's art.

Graveyard or Cemetery?
A graveyard is a burial ground connected to or adjacent to a church. A person must be a member of the church or the denomination to rest in eternal peace in its burial ground. On the other side of Death's fence is the public cemetery, available to all and often will have sections designated to specific religions and denominations.

The change between graveyard and cemetery began in the mid-1800s when public memorial parks were born. A catalyst to the memorial park was new restrictions forbidding church burials. Many churches were running out of room, thus burials were one on top of the other with scant topsoil to cover up the dead! In this wake came the less expensive community-public cemetery. To summarize; Graveyard equals a religious affiliation. Cemetery is public and may have sections designated for specific religions.

Plot potential is in the query: Why would one member of a family be buried in a common cemetery while all other family members are buried in a graveyard?

Death's Fashion: Time and space doesn't allow in-depth discussion of this topic. It's too complex and would require a book, not a blog! For the sake of you, the paranormal writer, (and the curious grave art fan) I am giving brief esoteric examples focusing on the 1800s and early 1900s.

And, I finish with three authoritative and free Internet sources!

Grave art of the 1800s was Victorian in sentiment and style.
Key elements include:

· Life-like angels: often portrayed with expressions of agonizing grief.

· Arches in the shape of a gravestone and/or in decoration. An arch symbolizes victory over death.

· Broken column. Three-dimensional or a decoration, a broken column indicates that the deceased was a family patriarch. This tidbit of info is especially helpful when a gravestone inscription has weathered beyond recognition.

· Open book/Bible: the deceased was a highly regarded teacher or ordained minister. Ordained is an important clue as there were hundreds of lay ministers in the 1800s.

· Anchor/ships: Seafaring profession, but not necessarily in the military. This was before military emblems became popular. Don't be fooled, but you can fool your readership, good device for plot confusion!

· Breasts! As portrayed by a pair of gourds or pomegranates. This symbolizes nourishment of the soul. Potential here for all sorts of creative musing and imagery!

· Bugle(s): As tempting as it would be to think military, you'd be wrong (a red herring?). In Victorian times, a bugle symbolized heralding the soul into Heaven.

· Corn: Not a symbol of farming. Another red herring, perhaps? An ear of corn, a stalk or a field indicated the decedent lived to a very elderly age… (Perhaps immortal in some form or another?).

· Portals, usually an archway, door, path, or road indicate the route of an eternal journey. Take note, there is no mention as to where the journey leads to. Heaven or Hell… or another place?

· Snake with its tail in its mouth. Popular in the last decade, and greatly misunderstood, this symbol is rooted in the ancient Celtic beliefs of founding ancestors in America and elsewhere. Right out of Ireland and the U.K., the Celtic Snake represents everlasting life in Heaven. I found the Celtic Snake on graves dating back to the 1700s in Anglican/Episcopal church graveyards of Virginia's historic tidewater region.

Death Goes Deco in the 1900s:
Victorian sentimental art gave way to Art Deco in the early 1900s.
Art Deco style remained popular up to World War II. Key elements include:

· Geometric, angular and stepped patterns such as Greco-Roman lines, Greek key and Egyptian pyramid. Think mythological!

· Birds stylized in Deco motifs to represent: flying = resurrection and/or perched = at peace.

· Butterfly, a short-lived life, most often cause of death was an illness. During the great flu epidemic of 1918, from which thousands of people died in a brief time frame, more butterflies were requested for grave art than any other symbol!

· Sun rising and setting paired on opposing sides of a gravestone represent birth (rising) and death (setting) with a long successful life in-between. This motif was popular in the Southwest and lent itself to Deco Southwest Indian style.

· Tree trunk chopped down indicates a life cut short, often by a willful act of murder or suicide.

· Urn with a lit flame depicts a person of charitable heart and goodwill, a dedicated servant to the community. (Hmm…or was the person just a ruse?)

· Winged face, be it the head of a cherub (child) angel (female) or skull (male) indicates a soul in flight… to where?

The Final List: Many motifs have remained fashionable through all centuries including:

· Lambs, cherubs, sprouting flowers or buds depict children.

· Flowers, especially rose, lily or poppies represent women.

· Botanicals such as ivy, oak or acorn depict men.

· Thistle for Scottish.

· Shamrock for Irish

· Fleur-de-lis (white lily in profile) for French. In the U.S.: particularly in Louisiana.

Additionally, numerous cultural, ethnic, lineage and fraternal societies have art and symbols uniquely attached to them. I advise researching these symbols through a particular society's Web site and I advise not using an all-purpose one-stop source for information. (That so-called encyclopedia that's Online). Conduct an Internet search for the society of interest and look for an official source.

Just the Facts, Please:
Are you ready to dig deeper into the art of Death? Here's some excellent free Internet sources:

To read the entire article, including the free Internet Sources to conduct further research go to my website: It is free, no strings attached, no name requirement.
http://www.ElizabethEaganCox.net/id25.html

Copyrighted material. You may not use, copy, publish or post any part of this article without written permission from Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. Grave Art:

ARE YOUR GHOSTS YOUR ANCESTORS?

I frequently am a guest on talk radio shows, especially in the paranormal community. One of the most popular topics I share information about is the concept that ancestors may come back to haunt us. Now... by "haunt," I do not mean the frightful type of spirit visitation, rather I speak of the guiding spirit. In other words, an ancestor who has passed on and is making their presence known to us in a manner that has our best interest in mind (and spirit).

In a manner of speaking, these ghostly ancestors are the real skeletons in our closet! I have a few websites that are free and easy to use to help you discover the skeletons that might be in your closest. Here's a preview of the article. If you would like to read the full article, just follow the  link to my Website: No strings attached, no registering of your name is required.

Get Those Skeletons Out of Your Closet: Find Your Own Ghosts! by Elizabeth Eagan-CoxArticle written for Denise Robbins web site: Book-A-Week Challenge. September 26, 2009
Copyright belongs to Elizabeth Eagan-Cox.
Use of this material is by permission only. Do Not Violate author's copyrights.

Get Those Skeletons Out of Your Closet: Find Your Own Ghosts!
By Elizabeth Eagan-Cox, author of the Shannon Delaney paranormal mystery Series.

As an author of a paranormal mystery novel series I use genealogical research techniques to bring to life some of my characters… especially the ghost characters, whom I treat as real characters, not mere novelties.

Discovering my own ancestry has been a journey of self-discovery. I believe that when you unravel the facts regarding the births, marriages and deaths of your ancestors, you find intrinsic information about yourself.

I was the first in my family to connect the dots all the way back to Revolutionary War Patriots of America in the 1700s. Because of being able to authenticate my lineage with evidential proof provided in vital records and military files, I joined one of the oldest lineage societies in America: the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, known in American culture as The D.A.R.

I know from having taught genealogy and helping others that my journey into documenting family ancestry of over 300 years ago is not unique! Anyone curious enough to want to know more about where they came from can do what I did. As your time and schedule allow, I urge you to find your own ghosts!

Here's a few easy and free ways to get started taking the first steps back in time to meet your ancestors:

1. Get the facts down on paper. Using some kind of form is the easiest way to
organize and chart the lineage you are hunting for. This web site provides free forms that you can download and print up: www.misbach.org. From the menu on the left, click "Free Stuff."

2. Finding the dearly departed. Start with death records and trace an ancestor's
life from death to birth. If your ancestors are buried near you, go to the cemetery, locate their grave and then go to the cemetery office. Ask for burial records. A cemetery/burial record will provide additional information, you may want to order an official death certificate and a burial record will indicate in which county the death is recorded. Most often, death records are kept at county clerk level. If you don't know the place of burial, try this web site...   TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE GO TO:http://www.ElizabethEaganCox.net/id26.html