Thursday, November 10, 2005

Friday Cemetery Blogging

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I took this photo this summer at Forest Hill Cemetery in Livingston, Texas. (I think. I am notoriously bad at labeling my photos.) I took a shot of the front of this grave so I'd have the guy's name. I wanted to do some research to figure out the symbols on the back. Unfortunately the light was bad and all I got was a blank black stone.

This is the back of the headstone. What do you think this is? I am guessing a constellation, but there appear to be other types of symbols as well. All of the white dots are actually five point stars. Any ideas?

17 comments:

Patti said...

Alas. I'm a failed astronomer. When I go out on a clear night and look up the most intelligent thing I can think to say is, "WOH! Look at all them stars!"

Captainwow said...

I'm with Patti on that one... but maybe it's Haley's comet in a constellation? - or something.?
very interesting.
Careful though, it might be a mind control tool with which he might reach back from the grave and snag people into some cult!! aaaaaack!! :)

Headless-in-GR said...

Ohmygosh. I'm going to need some resolution here...do you really not know what it is??? How can you do this to us! I need AN ANSWER!!! AAARGH!!!

Jody Harrington said...

Maybe this is related to the Masons?

Headless-in-GR said...

Ok, ok...I think the arrangement on the far right of the photo is the big dipper...or the little dipper...oh what the poop! All I know is dippers - I'm from Texas afterall!

Running2Ks said...

I see something like an infinity symbol in there.

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

I was there with ya Rach so it had to be Livingston.

I always thought that maybe the family bought a star to remember him by and maybe that is what the map is about.

Anonymous said...

Was his name Scotty?

spookyrach said...

Haaaa!!! Scotty!! Hee hee hee!

You're right, Headless-in-the-clouds, all we learned about in school were the two dippers. Nothing else. Hmmm...

Anonymous said...

Okay, my naivite will show---were these carved into the stone or reflections

spookyrach said...

They're etched onto the stone, PPB, just like the names. One does appear to be a comet and there are some (randomly?) placed stars sprinkled around, as well as a couple of interlocking rings of stars. I have no idea what it could possibly represent.

little david said...

I have to admit, that's harder than anything I ever posted. The four-star figure at the right side looks like the head of Draco (the dragon), but if that is his body to the left, it's going the wrong direction. Do the interlocking circles represent the rings of marriage? I wonder if any of this correlates with the positions of the constellations (and a comet?) when the couple wedded?

Anonymous said...

OMIGOSH!!! My husband thinks I'm a freak for loving cemetaries, but I do, and apparently, so do you. The older the better. The pics are great. Thanks for helping me not feel so alone...I could spend hours in there, imagining the history, the lives before...

Anonymous said...

Hi Rach

I looked at the picture quite a long time (for me!) before I read your post and the comments

to me it's like the hand of a clock

reminds me of Ecc 3
There is a time for everything
a time to be born and a time to die

Ecclesistes is, is some ways, a depressing book in the bible
everything is meaningless:
wisdom
pleasures
toil
advancement
riches
it's theme is that there is a common destiny for all => we all die!

yet among all this is the beautiful passage of Ecc 3 and the teaching that a life that is NOT centered on God is purposeless and meaningless, and without Him nothing can satisfy.

There is hope!

these were my thoughts as I looked at this particular stone. Thanks Rach :)

Headless-in-GR said...

Yeah, everyone I knew was a dipper...

Anonymous said...

it's a shooting star.... i'm going there tomorrow to check it out.

spookyrach said...

Cool!!!

Let me know what you figure out about it, A. Nonymous.