A Publication of Armorial Gold Heraldry Services

THE SHIP

an early symbol of the church

Bearings of ships are often met with in Heraldry. They symbolize some notable expedition by sea, by which the first bearer had become famous.

The single-mast Galley and the Lymphad or Lymphiad seem to be the most prevalent.

There are also full sailing ships, pirate ships, Viking ships and much more. If a ship is borne without a mast it is said to denote tragedy at sea.

The ship was also an early symbol of the church as a place where the voyagers of faith could gather and sail over the rough areas of life to the good destination God had for them.

Other cultures believed the ship was like a planet or star revolving around its centre, it is the earth and the image of life. Man is navigating the ship as a symbol of life, determining both its centre and its course.

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THE TOUCAN

Sacred to the Incas and

revered by the Maya

This beautiful and colorful rainforest bird has been associated with evil spirits, and said to be the incarnation of a demon; the father of a new child must not eat Toucan flesh as it might bewitch the new-born child and cause it to fade away…so the myth goes.

The Spanish weren't too sure what to think of the bird, but they did give it its name.

Sacred to the Incas and revered by the Maya, the Toucan was a mystic symbol and a tribal totem; the medicine men considered it an incarnation to fly to the spirit world.

TORN

An ancient name for a spinning wheel. It is said the spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are obscure. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the European Middle Ages.

The Saxon, or Saxony wheel, introduced in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, incorporated a bobbin on which the yarn was wound continuously; the distaff on which the raw fibre was held became a stationary vertical rod, and the wheel was actuated by a foot treadle, thus freeing both of the operator's hands. Another of the many weavers symbols often found in heraldry.

Other than being an emblem representative of the trade, the spinning wheel has no heraldic symbolism that the author could find.

THE TOWER

A castle tower. The emblem of grandeur and society.

THE SPIDER

symbolizes tenacity of purpose

To Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, the Spider was symbolic of the fates that constantly wove at the web of each person's destiny. To the Christian, the Spider's web was representative of human frailty and the temporary nature of earthly existence and riches. In Greek mythology Arachne, challenged Athene, Zeus' daughter, to a weaving contest, and hanged herself when the goddess destroyed her web. Athene then changed her into a Spider, condemned for eternity to hang at the end of her thread. In heraldry the spider symbolizes tenacity of purpose, heedfulness, and cunning.

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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.