Victorian Symbols

64 symbols to explore

Meaning & historical context

Browse victorian symbols

64 symbols.

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Engineer Castle Insignia — United States Army Corps of Engineers, c. 1840–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Engineer Castle Insignia — United States Army Corps of Engineers, c. 1840–1918

The turreted castle represented United States Army engineers and fortification, appearing on Corps equipment from 1840 before formal adoption as branch insignia in 1902.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Savoy Cross Military Device — Kingdom of Sardinia/Italy, 19th Century–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Savoy Cross Military Device — Kingdom of Sardinia/Italy, 19th Century–1918

The white cross of Savoy, normally set in a red shield, marked the ruling dynasty and appeared on the standards, uniforms and fittings of Sardinian and royal Italian forces.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Russian Imperial Double-Headed Eagle Cockade or Badge — 19th Century–1917 preview
State Insignia£0.99

Russian Imperial Double-Headed Eagle Cockade or Badge — 19th Century–1917

A crowned double-headed Imperial Russian eagle was fitted to military helmet plates, busbies, buckles and specialist badges before 1917.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Prussian Eagle Helmet-Plate Device — c. 1842–1918 preview
Headgear Device£0.99

Prussian Eagle Helmet-Plate Device — c. 1842–1918

A crowned Prussian eagle plate mounted on Pickelhaube helmets, with line, grenadier and Guard forms differing by inscription, breast device and added star.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Flaming Grenade Badge — French Infantry and Gendarmerie Traditions, 19th Century preview
Branch Device£0.99

Flaming Grenade Badge — French Infantry and Gendarmerie Traditions, 19th Century

A stylised grenade with rising flames identified particular French arms and services, but its flame count and accompanying devices depended on regulation and context.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Crossed Cannon Branch Device — French Artillery, 19th Century preview
Branch Device£0.99

Crossed Cannon Branch Device — French Artillery, 19th Century

Two cannon barrels crossed in saltire formed a French artillery branch attribute, often combined with a flaming grenade or other pattern-specific details.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Austro-Hungarian Double-Headed Eagle Military Device — 1867–1918 preview
State Insignia£0.99

Austro-Hungarian Double-Headed Eagle Military Device — 1867–1918

The Habsburg double-headed eagle appeared on Austro-Hungarian military headgear, with its metal, central number and surrounding fittings varying by branch and regiment.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Bath Star Rank Badge — British Army Officer Insignia, 19th Century–1918 preview
Rank Insignia£0.99

Bath Star Rank Badge — British Army Officer Insignia, 19th Century–1918

The British Army officer’s rank star—or “pip”—is a compact version of the Order of the Bath star, centred on three crowns and its circular motto.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Crown Rank Badge — British Army Officer Insignia, 19th Century–1918 preview
Rank Insignia£0.99

Crown Rank Badge — British Army Officer Insignia, 19th Century–1918

A royal crown served as one component of British Army officer rank, used alone or with stars and crossed devices according to rank and period.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Eagle Breastplate — United States Army Accoutrement, c. 1820s–1870s preview
Accoutrement£0.99

Eagle Breastplate — United States Army Accoutrement, c. 1820s–1870s

A round brass eagle plate secured the shoulder belt of a U.S. Army cartridge box; regulation evidence places the documented pattern in the 1839–1841 uniform reforms.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Crossed Cannon Artillery Insignia — United States Army, 1830s–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Crossed Cannon Artillery Insignia — United States Army, 1830s–1918

Crossed gun tubes identified United States Army artillery from 1834, with regimental numbers, embroidery, metal finish and later specialist additions varying by pattern.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Bersaglieri Horn Badge — Royal Italian Army, 19th Century–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Bersaglieri Horn Badge — Royal Italian Army, 19th Century–1918

The hunting horn identifies the Bersaglieri’s light-infantry lineage, usually appearing within a composite badge rather than as an isolated generic bugle.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Theosophical Society Seal preview
Theosophical Symbols£0.99

Theosophical Society Seal

The composite emblem of the Theosophical Society, combining symbols drawn from several religious and philosophical traditions.

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CommercialWisdomTransformationIdentityHistorically supported
Golden Dawn Rose Cross Lamen preview
Golden Dawn Symbols£0.99

Golden Dawn Rose Cross Lamen

A coloured ritual lamen worn by adepts of the Golden Dawn’s inner order, combining Rosicrucian, alchemical, astrological, and kabbalistic elements.

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CommercialWisdomTransformationIdentityHistorically supported
Ottoman Crescent-and-Star Military Cockade Device — 19th Century–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Ottoman Crescent-and-Star Military Cockade Device — 19th Century–1918

The crescent and five-pointed star appeared on documented late Ottoman Army buttons, belt fittings and badges, with their framing and orientation varying by object.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Infantry Hunting-Horn Insignia — United States Army, 1832–1875 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Infantry Hunting-Horn Insignia — United States Army, 1832–1875

A looped hunting horn served as a United States infantry branch device on uniforms before the Army introduced crossed rifles in 1875.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Crossed Rifles Infantry Insignia — United States Army, 1875–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Crossed Rifles Infantry Insignia — United States Army, 1875–1918

Crossed shoulder arms became the U.S. Army infantry branch insignia in 1875, but the weapon model and accompanying numbers changed before later standardisation.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Crossed Sabres Cavalry Insignia — United States Army, 1851–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Crossed Sabres Cavalry Insignia — United States Army, 1851–1918

Two curved sabres crossed in saltire identified United States cavalry, with period examples varying in crossing point, orientation, finish and unit numbers.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Death’s-Head Hussar Badge — Prussian Brunswick Military Contexts, 18th Century–1918 preview
Unit Device£0.99

Death’s-Head Hussar Badge — Prussian Brunswick Military Contexts, 18th Century–1918

Skull-and-crossbones badges identified particular Brunswick and Prussian formations, but their patterns and institutional histories were distinct.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialIdentityDeathHistorically supported
Cross and Crown preview
Templar Symbols£0.99

Cross and Crown

A Christian cross and crown used in modern Masonic Knights Templar identity, often with the motto In Hoc Signo Vinces.

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CommercialFaithIdentityHopeHistorically supported
Heart in Hand preview
Odd Fellows Symbols£0.99

Heart in Hand

A heart shown in an open hand, documented on nineteenth-century Odd Fellows ceremonial staffs and lodge objects.

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CommercialCompassionLoveHistorically supported
Pythian Falcon preview
Pythian Symbols£0.99

Pythian Falcon

A falcon used in Knights of Pythias insignia as an emblem of vigilance, documented particularly on ceremonial swords.

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CommercialIdentityProtectionHistorically supported
Royal Artillery Gun Badge — British Army, 18th–Early 20th Century preview
Branch Device£0.99

Royal Artillery Gun Badge — British Army, 18th–Early 20th Century

A muzzle-loading field gun forms the centre of this documented Royal Artillery cap badge, accompanied in the complete insignia by a crown and motto scrolls.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Sword and Veil preview
Eastern Star Symbols£0.99

Sword and Veil

The sword and veil associated with Adah, the blue point of the Order of the Eastern Star, teaching duty, fidelity, and moral courage.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialFaithProtectionHumilityHistorically supported
Stringed Bugle-Horn Badge — British Light Infantry and Rifles, c. 1800–1918 preview
Branch Device£0.99

Stringed Bugle-Horn Badge — British Light Infantry and Rifles, c. 1800–1918

A bugle horn suspended by knotted cords served as a recurring badge device for British and British Indian rifle and light-infantry regiments.

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CommercialIdentityHistorically supported
Pythian Myrtle Sprig preview
Pythian Symbols£0.99

Pythian Myrtle Sprig

A myrtle sprig used by the Knights of Pythias as an emblem of enduring friendship and fraternal remembrance.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialLoveMemoryIdentityHistorically supported
Ankh and Serpent Pin preview
Theosophical Symbols£0.99

Ankh and Serpent Pin

A serpent-entwined crux ansata described in an 1886 Theosophical source as an early Society pin forming the initials T.S.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialWisdomRenewalIdentityHistorically supported
Double-Headed Eagle preview
Scottish Rite Symbols£0.99

Double-Headed Eagle

A double-headed eagle documented in Scottish Rite Freemasonry and prominently used in Northern Masonic Jurisdiction 32nd-degree insignia.

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CommercialIdentityStrengthHistorically supported
Honeysuckle preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle was an emblem of generous and devoted affection in late nineteenth-century floriography, its twining growth providing a natural image of close and enduring attachment.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialLoveFaithHistorically supported
Tear Drop Emblem preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Tear Drop Emblem

Reduced to a single tear, grief becomes intimate rather than monumental: a small mark for sorrow, love, compassion, and the way remembrance can condense an entire relationship into one visible sign of absence.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialDeathCompassionMemoryHistorically supported
Wisteria preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Wisteria

Wisteria was a recognised nineteenth-century ornamental climber, but the familiar meaning “welcome” is not securely evidenced in the major Victorian flower dictionary checked here and is better treated as a later association.

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CommercialOriginal Meaning UnknownLoveHistorically supported
Vegvisir preview
Norse & Rune-Inspired£0.99

Vegvisir

Vegvísir belongs to nineteenth-century Icelandic magical tradition, where it was recorded as a wayfinding stave for keeping one's path through storms and unfamiliar conditions—not as a Viking compass.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialGuidanceProtectionHopeHistorically supported
Veil Candle Crest preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Veil Candle Crest

A veiled light makes grief visible without extinguishing hope: mourning surrounds the flame, but the flame remains, creating an image of remembrance held through darkness rather than defeated by it.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialMemoryFaithDeathHistorically supported
Tomb Gate Emblem preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Tomb Gate Emblem

The entrance to a tomb becomes a boundary between presence and absence, giving this emblem a sober language for mortality, remembrance, transition, and the uncertainty beyond a final threshold.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialDeathTransformationMemoryHistorically supported
Black Ribbon Device preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Black Ribbon Device

A simple black ribbon turns private loss outward, echoing the visible mourning dress and armbands through which grief and remembrance could once be publicly recognised.

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CommercialDeathMemoryLoveHistorically supported
Forget-Me-Not preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Forget-Me-Not

A nineteenth-century floral emblem of remembrance, the forget-me-not was explicitly linked with true love and enduring memory in period flower dictionaries.

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CommercialMemoryLoveFaithHistorically supported
Red Rose preview
Botanical & ThornworkFree

Red Rose

A nineteenth-century botanical emblem of love, with period flower dictionaries specifically linking the red rose with beauty and romantic affection.

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CommercialLoveHistorically supported
Rosemary preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Rosemary

Rosemary carried a well-established association with remembrance, reinforced in nineteenth-century flower dictionaries and a much older literary tradition of memory.

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CommercialMemoryFaithHistorically supported
Ivy preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Ivy

An evergreen emblem of fidelity and attachment, ivy appears in nineteenth-century flower dictionaries with meanings centred on faithfulness, friendship and enduring bonds.

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CommercialFaithLoveResilienceHistorically supported
Pansy preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Pansy

In nineteenth-century flower dictionaries, the pansy was characteristically an emblem of thought, remembrance and affectionate reflection—an association echoed by its older name, heartsease.

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CommercialMemoryLoveHistorically supported
Lily of the Valley preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Lily of the Valley

Lily of the valley was a distinctive nineteenth-century emblem of the return of happiness, a hopeful meaning repeatedly recorded in language-of-flowers dictionaries.

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CommercialRenewalHopeHistorically supported
Sweet Violet preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Sweet Violet

The sweet violet was a nineteenth-century floral emblem of modesty, its low-growing, fragrant blooms lending themselves naturally to the period's language of restrained virtue.

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CommercialHumilityHistorically supported
Daffodil preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Daffodil

In late nineteenth-century floriography the daffodil carried the concise meaning “regard,” distinct from the related narcissus and jonquil entries found in flower dictionaries.

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CommercialLoveRenewalHopeHistorically supported
Hawthorn preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Hawthorn

Hawthorn was a nineteenth-century emblem of hope—more particularly a lover's hope in one period account—with its May blossom also carrying older associations with courtship and marriage.

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CommercialHopeLoveHistorically supported
White Heather preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

White Heather

White heather became a late nineteenth-century emblem of good luck, developing a distinctly Scottish association that differed from earlier flower-dictionary meanings for heath or heather generally.

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CommercialLuckProtectionHistorically supported
Fern preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Fern

The fern carried the meaning “fascination” in late nineteenth-century floriography, while period dictionaries treated the separately named flowering fern as a different emblem associated with reverie.

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CommercialWisdomHistorically supported
Myrtle preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Myrtle

Myrtle was a well-established nineteenth-century floral emblem of love, reinforced by older associations with Venus and by its prominent place in Victorian bridal tradition.

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CommercialLoveFaithHistorically supported
Oak Leaf preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Oak Leaf

Late nineteenth-century flower dictionaries distinguished oak leaves from the oak tree itself, assigning the leaves the specific emblematic meaning of bravery.

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CommercialStrengthResilienceHistorically supported
Yew preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Yew

The yew was repeatedly identified with sorrow in nineteenth-century flower dictionaries, an association reinforced by its dark evergreen foliage and long presence in churchyards and burial grounds.

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CommercialDeathMemoryResilienceHistorically supported
Rowan Ward Crest preview
Occult & Esoteric£0.99

Rowan Ward Crest

Rowan has a stronger historical footing here than many plants in modern witch imagery: surviving British charms place its wood at doors and fireplaces as protection against witchcraft and misfortune. This new crest turns that documented association into an emblem of resilience, hope and guarded home.

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CommercialProtectionResilienceTransformationHistorically supported
Spell Thread Knot preview
Occult & Esoteric£0.99

Spell Thread Knot

Thread remembers every turn made in it: once tied, a loose line becomes a structure. This modern knot uses that simple transformation to represent continuity, memory, commitment and the way separate intentions can be deliberately bound together.

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CommercialIdentityProtectionResilienceHistorically supported
Cypress preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Cypress

Cypress was an explicit nineteenth-century emblem of mourning, its long funerary history and association with graves making it one of floriography's clearest symbols of grief.

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CommercialDeathMemoryHistorically supported
Red Poppy preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Red Poppy

In nineteenth-century floral language the red poppy symbolised consolation, while its now-familiar association with remembrance belongs primarily to the twentieth-century aftermath of the First World War.

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CommercialMemoryPeaceHistorically supported
Camellia preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Camellia

Nineteenth-century flower dictionaries linked Camellia japonica with modest merit or excellence, while colour-specific entries gave red and white camellias distinct meanings.

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CommercialHumilityHistorically supported
Peony preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Peony

Peony carried surprisingly uneasy meanings in nineteenth-century floriography: period dictionaries record anger, shame and bashfulness rather than the modern prosperity-focused symbolism often encountered today.

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CommercialHumilityHistorically supported
Primrose preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Primrose

The ordinary primrose was associated with early youth in late nineteenth-century floriography, while red and evening primroses were treated as separate emblems with different meanings.

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CommercialRenewalHopeHistorically supported
Common Daisy preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Common Daisy

The common daisy was a clear nineteenth-century emblem of innocence, while period flower dictionaries gave separately named garden, wild and party-coloured daisies their own meanings.

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CommercialHumilityHistorically supported
Obelisk Shadow Sign preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Obelisk Shadow Sign

An obelisk stands solid while its shadow stretches beyond it, turning a durable cemetery monument into a reflection on absence, memory, legacy, and the traces a life leaves behind.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialDeathMemoryIdentityHistorically supported
Sunflower preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Sunflower

Victorian flower dictionaries did not give the sunflower one universal meaning: Kate Greenaway distinguished dwarf sunflower as adoration and tall sunflower as haughtiness.

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CommercialLoveHistorically supported
Red Tulip preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Red Tulip

Late nineteenth-century flower dictionaries gave the red tulip the particularly direct message “declaration of love,” distinguishing it from generic, yellow and variegated tulips.

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CommercialLoveFaithHistorically supported
Laurel preview
Botanical & Thornwork£0.99

Laurel

Laurel was a clear late-Victorian emblem of glory, continuing an older classical association with honour and victory while period dictionaries distinguished several other plants bearing the laurel name.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialStrengthResilienceHistorically supported
Memory Bone Frame preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Memory Bone Frame

Bones form a boundary around an imagined memory, shifting human remains from a warning about death into a frame for what death cannot contain completely: name, relationship, identity, and remembrance.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialDeathMemoryIdentityHistorically supported
Wilted Lily Device preview
Gothic & Memento Mori£0.99

Wilted Lily Device

The lily is shown after its moment of fullness, making the bend of the stem and fading bloom a restrained image of mourning, impermanence, memory, and renewal.

3 variants9 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialDeathMemoryRenewalHistorically supported
Fouled Anchor Badge — British Royal Navy, 18th–19th Century preview
Branch Device£0.99

Fouled Anchor Badge — British Royal Navy, 18th–19th Century

A cable wound around an anchor appears on documented Royal Navy buttons and weapons, with the route of the rope changing between official patterns.

3 variants12 filesPDFPNGSVG
CommercialIdentityHistorically supported

About victorian symbols

Victorian symbols and their researched historical, cultural, and practical relationships.

Sanctum Hex Journal

Read beyond the catalogue.

Editorial research connected to victorian and its historical settings.

Curated sets

Collections with related symbols.

Collection overlap is shown against the symbols on this meaning page.

25 matching symbols

Botanical Silhouettes — Flowers, Leaves & Plants in Simplified Nineteenth-Century Style

Botanical Silhouettes brings together 25 flowers, leaves and plants rendered as bold, simplified botanical emblems. Inspired by nineteenth-century botanical illustration and decorative arts, the collection focuses on recognisable plant forms translated into clean silhouettes suitable for engraving, cutting and print. Many of these plants also appear in historical traditions of botanical symbolism. Where a historical symbolic association is documented, individual entries should distinguish period evidence from later or modern interpretations.

20 matching symbols

Historically Documented Military Symbols and Insignia (c. 1700–1918)

A curated collection of diverse military rank, branch, and unit insignia reflecting authentic forms used worldwide across the 18th to early 20th centuries.

9 matching symbols

Emblems and Symbols of Secret Societies and Initiatory Orders

A diverse selection of historically documented emblems and insignia used by secret societies, initiatory orders, and fraternal organisations worldwide.

7 matching symbols

Memento Mori Mortality Symbols Collection

Memento Mori Mortality Symbols gathers 25 symbols shaped around hourglasses, candles, skull-adjacent marks, decay and renewal motifs, time symbols, and mortality emblems, with each mark chosen for clarity, historical resonance, and a strong editorial silhouette.

2 matching symbols

Witchcraft Collection

Witchcraft gathers 25 symbols shaped around folk magic, lunar ritual, protective signwork, and the symbolic language of domestic and ceremonial witchcraft, with each mark chosen for clarity, historical resonance, and a strong editorial silhouette.

1 matching symbol

Norse Symbols & Runes

A researched set spanning early Germanic Elder Futhark runes, Viking-age Norse motifs, medieval mythology, and later Icelandic magical staves. Each symbol distinguishes documented historical evidence from modern meanings such as guidance, protection, strength, memory, resilience, and renewal.