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Powerful common human symbols of nature - over 10 symbols and their meanings...

There are some better known symbols of nature among humans. Here is a list of some of these. Check the table of contents.

The leaf, plant, the tree

The tree or a plant is a form of life that evolved naturally in one branch in the lineages of evolution. It is interesting to know that both plants, animals and fungi share an early common form of life as ancestor. There actually was a time in the timeline of the planet earth, where trees and complex plants did not exist, as life was still in origin stages. The algeae, moss and proto-plants emerged into this scene, and later the early form of plants, bushes and trees. The leaf is an intricate and beautiful structure of life that is not man-made, and reminds of plants, forests and wild places. The leaf's function is in photosynthesis and the making of food for the plant. Sunlight is absorbed by the leaf chlorophyll. Oxygen is given out by the stomata on leaf's surface. The tree also forms a symbol of the connection between the human world, the underworld, and the sky world (in an old mythological cosmic sense); as the trees roots are underground, the base at the surface of land, and the crown of leaves are exposed to the sky air. The "world-tree" as the axis mundi, e.g- the Norse ash Yggdrasil, is a significant example. Another folk and religious symbol is the tree of life.

The wilderness or the forest

The wildernesses is maybe tundras, scrublands, grasslands and so on. Forests are usually populated with trees, bushes and undergrowth. Both may be inhabited by various kinds of small and larger creatures. Other relevant places are deserts of snow and sand, rocks. All these places formed first by elemental, sea, atmospheric and geological forces, in combination with various forms of life evolving over time. The trees form forests, and is usually a wild place which urban humans do not inhabit. Though forest settlements could be thought of, the urban mentality is somewhat inconvenienced by the nature of forests. Forests are not extremely ordered (but naturally formed into a rough order), made to be convenient for human living, are dark under the canopies, and could be teeming with various other forms of life in the undergrowth and on branches. Some of that life is "troublesome" to the human, and sometimes the human knowingly or unknowingly damages such life. Human for a long time has lived in cleared spaces and in ordered villages, towns and so on. The forest and bushes spaces also sometimes has an association of being hiding places of outlaws, bandits, distanced people or people living in the borders, and so on. Specific kinds of mythological or spirit figures, characters, deities and spirits were associated with the forest. The old gods Pan (Greek) and Cernunnos (Celtic) being two such. A resident spirit inhabiting and a part of a tree is called a dryad. In parts of south east Asia there is folklore stories of "tree gods" (and demons) which climb up trees and come down from them at certain times of the day or night. The spirit "The Leshy" is a tutelary forest god of old Slavic mythology.

The Soil

The soil is somewhat of a symbol of nature and also of life. The soil is formed consisting of various original minerals, waters, metals, and bio-material from creatures and plants, both living and decayed. There are creatures which actually live within the soil, such as worms. This soil is the fertile base from which plant kinds grow from and take nourishment. In that sense, the soil is a provider of sustenance to a major needed form of life, and it is also where we extract minerals and clay from.

The earth, the land, and gaia concept

The Earth, planet Terra The earth is the planet that is the home of homo-sapien humans and other creatures of earth. This planet is a fairly rare planet in that it can sustain life, and contains an abundance of water. It is in the correct distance from the sun to be a just-right level of warmth. The earth's history goes to the formation of the solar system and it has been present for a very long time, in comparison to how long humans have existed. It has gone through a number of eras in time. From the meteor showers, to cooling of the earth, forming of atmosphere, to presence of water and forming of seas, to presence of first life, to various eras and ages of life. The planet is active, in the sense that the inner forces of the mantle animate the movements of tectonic plates. There is formation of mountains, and rifts.

The land The land is what we see of the earth from the humans' point of view. Land formations such as mountains, rivers, hills, valleys, gorges, canyons, cliffs, lakes, seas, arches, stacks. pillars, volcanoes, forests, deserts, caves, waterfalls and so on, can be impressive and beautiful natural formations. The land is what supports us and other creatures. Things such as earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, gales, sinkholes, volcanoes and so on can be powerful and large entities and events that have a lot of deadly power and influence on the organic living creatures of the land. Gaia theory The concept of Gaia comes from the mythological lore about the earth goddess. The greek goddess Gaia, Indian Bhumi-devi, etc. Interestingly the old Egyptian lore had Geb and Nut. Geb being the male earth god, and nut being the female sky god. I take the Gaia concept to mean the way the earth planet changes to balance itself in various ways of climate, life, geology and ocean contents. The earth's life changes over the characteristic ages according to things such as heat, radiation, pollution, atmospheric gas levels, abundance of food material, volcanism, meteor and asteroid falls, and the competitions between evolving branches of life itself. It is a meeting of life, materials and elemental forces, principle influences to form a complex system. When it is healthy, it may maintain and further the conditions of life on the planet.

The night sky, the sun and moon

The sun and moon is a complete symbol in itself, signifying things such as the long lasting (seemingly permanent) important powerful entities that life depends on or are influenced by. They were usually considered as gods, or as realms of gods. Various sun and moon gods exist in old traditions. For the purposes of us humans living only upto a 100 years at a time, the existence and influence of these celestial near-entities seems eternal. However in celestial, astral, universal scales of time, these entities have their own meeting of changes and "life cycles". In terms of scientific astronomy knowledge, it is generally now held that the formation of the sun from the dust disk of the solar system led to the formation of planets including planet earth. The sun's gravitational influence holds the planets in place, though this is not a completely fixed thing. The sun changes over time, and so do the planet systems. The moon is said to have played a key part in the evolution of life on earth. It has a role in things such as the tides, eclipses and possibly even some mental influences upon some living creatures. The night sky consists of the field of stars and planets, and galaxies. For our ancestors and people of distant past, this was a beautiful sight that was hard to describe or reason about. Even intelligent people of the past where scientific developments had not yet developed, could not say for certain the nature of what is seen in the night sky.

Circle, The four elements, The seasons

The Seasons The seasons are something that remind us of nature, from spring plants to autumn leaves. They have a significant effect on our lives, and the natural effects of them cannot be ignored in some places of the world, as it means difference between life and death. The changes of season are from a number of natural reasons, including the energy from the sun and cold from the void, the alignment of the world's axis, currents of energy and material circulating the earth, sea and air, humidity, and so on… Four elements Each of the four elements are associated with nature. Fire is symbolic of a significant aspect of nature as we know it. The air or the sky, earth or the land, the water or the sea, are all associated with nature as significant entities or worlds. The "four elements" is now a fairly old philosophical or alchemical theory about the qualities involved in the world's energies or materials. There were other developments and changes in such theories as time went on, but the four elements view is still known. The four elements are shown ordered at quarters of a circle, and the seasons are also shown this way. The seasons are naturally seen to be cyclical. The circle or the sphere The circle itself is said to be a symbol of nature. Further from the circle, this also suggests that the sphere could be a symbol of nature. In the case of the sphere, it implies space of the world, or integration of many staves of dualistic principles harmoniously into one whole, with a centrality or a balance. Both the sphere and circle can be seen as a symbol also of cyclical endless beginning-less existence.

The Colour Green

The color green is often associated with nature. This may mostly be from the color of leaves and plants. It is also associated with fertility and life. In modern times it is associated with environmentalism, sustainability and conservation. Green is also a very moderate, harmonious and balanced color that is easy and pleasant for the human's eyes. Being in fields of grass is said to relax people and give them a positive mentality. It may also have a calming effect. It may be associated with easing anxiety and promote feelings of peace and harmony. In meditation and yoga, green is associated with the heart chakra. Sometimes the colour green is associated with ideas of "paradise" or of "rebirth", "renewal".

Motherhood

"Mother nature" is a phrase that is often spoken when nature is referred to. So this aspect may be from ideas such as - we are inhabitants of nature, we have come into being in this world and grow up in nature, if there is no protection and nourishment from nature and the world - we would not thrive as well. It is then seen that our actions and ways of living affect the world, and by that, there is a response of change from the world in accordance with "nature", reasons or the way things are connected and dependent on each other. Generally the response of change from the world may be good - if our ways of living and action are good, and vice versa.

Hands and other such organic forms

Hands are reminding of what nature could form. Since humans naturally evolved to be tool using creatures with skills of the hands. Similar to hands, other interesting creatures, features and forms could be wings of the bird, antlers of the stag, butterfly, bear, the strange platypus, the beak of the Toucan, The kiwi and the dodo, the jellyfish, the draco lizard, flying squirrel, the dam building beaver, the corals, flowers, the water skimming lizard, the elephant, the whale, the peacock, bird of paradise and so on...

Mountains

The mountain is a symbol of nature in that it is a common impressive natural formation. Other than that, a mountain has a broad foundation and a peak at a height. It is like a tower, with the top being the existing manifest world as we know it. That suggests foundational first reasons, maybe many reasons, that support the existing world reality. The great mount Sumeru or mount Meru, is a entity in old south east Asian cosmology and mythology. It is an idea of a great mountain and a set of circular mountain ranges at the center of the world system. It might be another idea associated with "axis mundi", similar to Yggdrasil. In the sense that at the top of mount Meru are levels of certain heavens and heavenly beings, this mountain could also be similar to mount Olympus. There many sacred or significant mountains in the folk lore and mythologies of humans.

Spiral and other geometrical - symbols of nature

The spiral is a symbol to do with nature. It suggests emergence, progression and cycles. The Fibonacci pattern can be visually seen in nature, in things such as flowers, and shells of creatures. Other geometric shapes and patterns could also relate to nature in some ways. Plato's theory of forms (platonic forms) comes to mind. Ideas about some mathematical fractals are sometimes seen set close to images of nature. Mountains are roughly triangular, tetrahedral, pyramidal or cone shaped. Hills are roughly bowl shaped. The honeycomb pattern is found in the work of bees. The crystalline formations such as ice and salt crystals, have straight edges. Light rays have straight trajectory. A branch sector or a tree trunk could be relatively straight. Spider webs have threads which are held taught and straight.

Animal kingdom

Animals are seen to live in wild places such as forests, which are also associated with nature. They can have various non-human forms, which may be seen as aspects of life that are other than the human form. These could be seen to be revealing other ways in which the world could exist in, and be perceived. The minds of such creatures for their own kind of world, which they interact with in their own way. Each animal has its own scope. We are also a kind of mammalian animal. Animals could be less intelligent or more intelligent. However almost all creatures share sensation, pain and pleasure, more or less levels of sentience, and feeling. A lot of creatures share the basic emotions such as fear and desire for survival. In old traditions, such as shamanic traditions - animal, bird and fish images were also linked with a way of how spirits could show themselves to the human, the dreamer, the person in trance and so on.

The weather

The weather is usually associated with the sky and atmosphere. Things such as the rain, sunshine, wind and storms, clouds are seen as signs of nature-reasons manifesting its effects on the land and in the sky. The sky and the weather is also the most volatile and energetic aspect of the human earth world. It could be smooth and gentle (breeze), but also strong and violent (storms). It could be alit with light, or dark in the night. Sometimes the weather changes due to man made causes, such as acid rains, or global warming (and its side effects). Sometimes natural land or space-related causes create unusual weather patterns - such as dust and ash from volcanic eruptions creating conditions of darkness and cold periods. The current weather and climate effects we are seen as of 2020s is of altering climate, and due to pollution and effects upon the earth's systems, the weather. things such as rains, storms and wildfires possibly might increase. The industry, corporations and political groups are still not in good agreement to alter their bad habits.

Natural landscapes

The human sees some kinds of natural landscapes and scenery, and sees beauty in it. So this then is linked with ideas of nature. Natural places as they are, form out of a number of reasons interacting together, and bringing about a stable or slowly changing common state of being and existence. So, some aspects of such a natural place could change, as some reasons and causes involved in those aspects alter. For example, a lake with mossy stones around it and a forest in the background - The reasons could be the change of the original terrain to become bowl shaped, rainfall, access to supplies of water from rivers or streams, moisture in the air, formation of rocks from early processes... The spreading of basic vegetation, right temperature in the climate and seasons, the seeding and spreading of trees to form a forest, the preservation of the forest lifeforms, and so on...

That's it...

I hope this list of known symbols of nature was interesting. These are another way that we can think about nature, and relate to it somewhat better. If you have an idea about nature which you think applies to this list, you can comment below. Read the full article