THE GARB

mystery of life and death

This heraldic term is derived from the French “gerbe”, meaning a sheaf of any kind of grain (usually wheat). It represented that the harvest of one's hopes had been secured. Also a symbol of hospitality and prosperity. Wheat is the quintessential nutritional plant. In ancient cultures it was believed to contain the mystery of life and death and thus it became a sacred plant. In Christianity, the heads of wheat symbolized the Eucharistic Bread of Life.

HERALDIC GOOSE

symbol of parenthood

A symbol of resourcefulness; an Egyptian symbol of vanity; an ancient military symbol of imminent victory. The Celts regarded the Goose as a symbol of parenthood, productive power and vigilance. Symbol of the Greek goddess Hera, goddess of women and marriage. The goose was the sacred animal and symbol of the Egyptian god, Amen, and symbol of Saint Martin of Tours.

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NEW MANTLES

Two new mantles this month designed to better allow for shield supporters. This particular one features the very rare front facing frog's mouth helmet.

THE HOLLY TREE

Holly is associated with the death and rebirth symbolism in both Pagan and Christian lore. In Arthurian legend, Gawain (representing the Oak King of summer) fought the Green Knight, who was armed with a holly club to represent winter.

It is one of the three timbers used in the construction of chariot wheel shafts. It was used in spear shafts also.

The qualities of a spear shaft are balance and directness, as the spear must be raised to be thrown, the holly indicates directed balance and vigour to fight if the cause is just; symbol of truth.

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THE HARPY

one ferocious when provoked

A mythical beast with the face and breasts of a virgin, the body, wings and talons of a vulture. In this mythology they are known as 'snatchers' and although found mostly in German heraldry, it will also be found used in other countries. The German name for it is 'Jungfraunadler' and the symbol is notoriously present in the shield of the Rietbergs, Princes of Ost-Friesland. In heraldry it is said they signify one ferocious when provoked. In Greek mythology the Harpy was an implement of vengeance and also symbolized justice. Originally created to signify the horror and fury of the storm, the Harpy has been delivered to us always as a symbol of sudden death and is to some, a symbol of the feminine principle. According to Greek legend there was actually three Harpies, Aello, Ocypete, and Celaeno. They were the children of the sea god Thaumas and the gods used them as their tools of justice to keep their faithful obedient. Should one go against the will of the gods, the Harpies would be dispatched, fly over the offender, attack and violate them, tear them apart and then eat them.

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We are leaving this help tip up, as more and more of you are upgrading

your Corel Draw software to X3 or X4 or X6

Corel Draw has changed some default settings in X3 and X4 that can render your vector images black, do the same for your F9 preview and in the case of X4 display your image excessively dark.

Fixes:

• Top Command Bar/View Select 'enhanced' and not 'enhanced with overprints';

• Top Command Bar/Tools/Color Management Color Mode for Effects-should be set at RGB (not CMYK); 

• Top Command Bar/Tools Select 'Save Settings as default' ;

• When importing AG graphics into X4, make sure you first group your image before using the F9 full screen preview (X3 imports the graphic already grouped).

Popular Free Graphic Design software for the WMF file format.

It's easy to use. AG has prepared a simple tutorial and link to this software. Click on the Serif logo

EMF/wmf THUMBNAIL VIEWER

As of Windows Vista and Window 7, the Microsoft Windows Explorer no longer displays thumbnails image previews of EMF (Enhanced Metafile) and WMF (Windows Metafile) vector graphic images. This Windows Explorer plug-in restores this capability. At this writing this thumbnail viewer is free

Check the member resources page for more thumbnail viewers.