Symbolism

Texts are good sources of information on ancient cultures, but one must not neglect the images that survived, through art or architecture. And within imagery, symbols take a special place: they are often the distilled essence of a civilization and the key to understand them.

Every culture has its important symbols and icons. We have the Imperial Seal, and its rich meaning is taught to children at a young age. The Triglavians have their triangle, which tells us much about how their society is organized. At a “lower” level, corporations have their logo’s and also these are attempts at summarizing meaning and conveying it.

I have been examining imagery archives to find the symbolism used by the Takmahl. Not much survived. In what remains of architecture, octagons are a theme – however, this may have been a Talocan influence rather than a Sabik heritage. There is also the skull and the pentagram. The skull symbolized power over death, whereas the five pointed star resembles man, strapped and spread-eagled to be bled. It’s meaning may be nurturing, or protection through blood. The double-horned skull appears to have prevailed as a symbol in the Blood Raider offshoot of the Sabik. It can also be found in failed Sabik colonies that somehow survived the millennia in a primitive state but remained isolated from the rest of the cluster.