'Love makes the world go round'
One of the most sought after symbols is a symbol of love. For many years, I wore a necklace with the word love. However, I prefer the discreet hidden meaning behind the symbols.
The symbols of love and their meanings that currently adorn our jewellery are the Trinity Knot, the heart shape and the chinese character for love 'ai' and the Infinity Symbol.
We all need to express our love for others. Love comes in many forms romantic love, family love and our love of our friends and community. Many of us know that to truly love someone else we must begin with ourselves - Self Love.
Therefore, when designing symbol jewellery with meaning, it would be impossible not include Love Symbols.
The Trinity Knot
‘There is no beginning, nor no end……’. The Celtic trinity knot represents eternity and infinity and declares love, unity and protection within relationships. It's orgins is as a pagan times by the Celts and later adopted by the Christians in Ireland as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The Chinese Love Character
This symbol inspired me to design jewellery. I moved to Beijing, China with my husband (my love). I discovered the love character at Chinese Calligraphy class. I was blown away by the meaning behind the character. If you look closely at the character you can see the heart and body and they believe that Love brings life to the heart and grace to the body. As a result, they believe love to be highly spiritual emotion and it not widely exchanged - it is reserved for true love. I found this amazing and immediately wanted to change my written love necklace to this character and so Liwu jewellery was born!
The Heart Necklace
The heart shape is recognized the world over as a symbol of romantic love and affection, but its historical origins are difficult to pin down.
I like to think when we love someone we feel it in the heart and body. The chinese really do know how to capture the emotion. However, the actual heart is not the same shape as the one found in the body.
Like many symbols, where the heart symbol came from is difficult to know for sure. The Greeks and the Romans used a plant called Silphium as a spice, medicine and even birth control. The seed for this plant was in the shape of the heart form we use today for love. An example of this shape is found on coins, stonework from greek and roman times. However, the plant was extinct from the first century AD. Throughout the following centuries, the heart shape can be found in artworks depicting love and the human heart. Today is the most well known love symbol in the world.
The Infinity Symbol
This ancient symbol can be found in Christan artworks, it was used by Greek philosophers and can be traced back to cultures in Tibet and India. It was named as a mathematical symbol of the infinite in the 17th century.
The symbol is never ending with no beginning nor no end. It is often used as a symbol of never ending love or infinite possibilities.
We hope to add more symbols of love soon. Please get in touch at info@liwujewellery.com with your symbol suggestions.