by Last Updated on March 4, 2023 by Avia
Animals: The Ultimate Love Symbol Love symbol meanings come in many forms. Many times certain animals appear in our lives with a message of love. These special animals serve as reminders of love and convey messages specific to compassion, ardor, passion and tenderness.
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Looking To The Animal Kingdom For Love Symbols
Pay close attention to animals that visit you. They may be trying to send you a love message! A love symbol in the form of an animal is a special gift.
Animals that represent love are not limited to the ones I have described below. As mentioned many times on this website, signs and symbols are everywhere. It is ultimately you who determines their meaning.
Potential Messages From An Animal Love Symbol
♦ A new love interest is on the way.
♦ New love in the form of a pregnancy or new born is right around the corner.
♦ Closer attention to loved ones is required at this time.
♦ It’s time to pursue your passion and do more of what you love.
♦ Self-love is vital – are you loving yourself enough?
If you are looking for more information on love symbols, please visit Love Symbol Meanings Also be sure to visit Animal Totems and Symbols pages for more information on the powerful meanings of animals in our lives.
About Anthropomorphizing Animals
Before presenting these love-symbol-animal heavy-hitters, let me clear the air about one thing. I got nailed in an email about anthropomorphizing animals.
What the heck does that mean? Well, quite simply, it is when we give animals human traits. You know…like ‘clever as a fox’ or ‘lone as a wolf’. I will admit, animals don’t comply with human emotions such as ‘clever’ or ‘lone’ or ‘love’… at least they don’t grasp these concepts as humans do. But that doesn’t mean animals are void of similar human emotions. Anybody who has spent time with an animal knows, without a doubt, they display behaviors like anger, gratitude, love. Just because animals might not have a cultivated palette of all the flavors of emotions – that does not mean they don’t feel. So, my answer to that email is this: Balderdash!! Animals are living. And ALL life feels.
The Human and Animal Love Connection
All things in Nature experience sensation. All things that experience sensation have a level of emotion. It is the way of the soul. This is the way the spirit is designed. Perhaps an emotion in an animal is not as refined as a human’s, but that does not make the emotion less powerful.
So when you see fish, horses, and bugs that appear to be grooving to Bill Withers’ song, Just the Two of Us and getting their passion play on – I guarantee you – they are experiencing just as much passion as we do. Sure, it might be felt in a different way, but animals DO love, they DO crave, need and they DO have passion. Oopsie…I might have gotten a little passionate myself. All I mean is this: Anthropomorphising is natural. It’s a way for us humans to conceptualize and verbalize the behaviors we see in the animal world. What’s more, humans have been attributing human emotion to animal behavior since we’ve been living in caves!
All this to say, when I present the concept of ‘love symbol: animal’ I’m simply recounting observations of humanity over generations. There are simply some animals that represent love a little bit more than others. Well, that’s not really true, all animals put out some kind of love – they have to in order to continue the species. But according to collective human consciousness, there are some creatures that are true, stand-up icons for love, and these are just a few. I hope you enjoy (and thanks for indulging my tirade! lol).
Common Love Symbols In The Animal Realm
The following is a brief list of animals that have been long-held symbols of love. They’ve earned this coveted spot in the collective human psyche for many reasons. Read further to find out why.
Dolphin
Along with speed, diligence and intelligence the Dolphin is also a messenger of love. This is partly due to its association with Delphi, which signifies the love embodied within the womb. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was said to take the form of the dolphin and was also known as the Woman of the Sea. When depicted on an anchor or pierced with a trident the Dolphin is a symbol of the church being guided by the love of Christ. More symbolic dolphin meanings here. You may also be interested in my article on dolphin meanings for tattoo ideas.
Dove
Long admired for being a symbol of peace, the Dove is also a messenger of deep symbolic love. Slavic legend states that upon dying, the soul is transformed into a Dove that wings its way into the loving heavens. In Hinduism the Dove is an emblem of spirit, and the infinite capacity the spirit has for love. In Greco-Roman mythology, the dove was a sacred creature to Aphrodite/Venus. Ancient Jewish practices permitted the Dove to be sacrificed as a love gift which signified the purification of a new mother after childbirth. In the West, the Dove (as well as turtledoves) symbolize love and are frequently seen in wedding traditions. See more about symbolic dove meanings here.
Horse
In the Chinese zodiac, the Horse is equated with practicality and love. As highly skilled horsemen, the ancient Celts attributed the horse to Epona, also known as the Horse Goddess. Among other attributes, Epona was known for abundance, love and fertility. In Mesopotamia there arose a legend that the sun was drawn by a Horse riding across the horizon – the Horse was known as the embodiment of love for the land as it carried life-giving light and warmth with it. See also Horse symbol meanings.
Ladybug
Perhaps best known as an emblem of luck, the Ladybug is a love symbol too. Asian traditions hold to the belief that if caught and then released, the Ladybug will faithfully fly to your true love and whisper your name in his/her ear. Upon hearing Ladybug messages, your true love will hurry his/her way to your side. Ancient farmers of the land have considered the Ladybug a good omen as she controls aphid populations. The number of spots on a Ladybug’s back is said to indicate the number of months to pass before the wish for love comes true. See Ladybug Symbolism (on blog). You might also enjoy reading this article on Ladybug Tattoos and ladybug tattoo meanings.
Starfish
In Christian symbolism the Starfish represents the Virgin Mary (Stella Maris which means Star of the Sea) who lovingly creates safe travel over troubled waters and is also seen as an emblem of salvation during trying times. The star as well as the Starfish are seen as celestial symbols and as such, they represent infinite divine love. In addition to love, the Starfish also holds characteristics such as guidance, vigilance, inspiration, brilliance and intuition. Check out more starfish meanings here.
Swan
The Swan holds a multitude of representations including love, grace, purity, beauty and sincerity. Another attribute of Aphrodite, the Swan also symbolized chastity. The Celts believed the Swans were benevolent deities and legend has it that their images were forged into silver medallions worn around the neck for protection. In Hinduism, the Swan is known as the Hamsa bird and signifies the divine mind and the breath of spirit. The Swan is also another symbol of the Virgin Mary and the purity and love she symbolizes. I’ve written a whole page on swan symbolism, you can view it here.
“There is perhaps no greater teacher of love than the creatures that roam this earth.”
~Avia
The Last Word About Love Animals
I hope you have found these animal love symbols meaningful and helpful. Check out my other Love Symbol page here.
As always, thank you for reading. My only goal is to inspire you to take different paths on the way to love. What I mean by that, is this: It’s my experience that loves comes in many forms. There have been times in my life in which I felt no love could be found. But inevitably, love comes forth forcefully. It almost seems a guarantee. Love pushes into our lives into unique ways. Maybe it is the sound of a coffee maker. That sounds ridiculous, but nothing says love and comfort like a good cup of java. In terms of this page I’ve written, love is constantly flowing through our animals. In truth, my darkest moments have been obliterated by the light of animals. From birds to bees, the behavior of our creatures on this planet is truly enchanting.
If our wild beasties aren’t enough to demonstrate our loving world…then our domestic creatures certainly express their gratitude for us. I tell you what… I really don’t know what I would do without my dogs. If you want to know where I’m coming from, take a look at my blog post: Doggone Awesome Defining Moments. This blog post describes my journey with dogs, and how the love of these lovely canines have changed my life – and also helped me redefine my concept of love.
May all your animal encounters be loving on some level.
Mighty brightly,
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