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HORSE AND RIDER ON GLOBE (UNITED METHODIST CLERGY) - Circuit rider is a popular term referring to clergy in the earliest years of the United States who were assigned to travel around specific geographic territories to minister to settlers and organize congregations. Circuit riders were clergy in the Methodist Episcopal Church and related denominations.

MEDICAL DOCTOR - The image of serpents wrapped around a staff is a familiar one in the medical field, however the ancient emblem actually has quite a story behind it.

DR. OF DENTISTRY - The emblem of dentistry is taken from Ascepius, a Greek god of medicine and healing. His symbol is a physician's staff and a snake wrapped around it.

DOUBLE HEARTS - Stylized hearts stand for the love and affection of the living for the dead. Two joined hearts on a stone mark a marriage.

SINGLE HEART - Represents the love and affection of the living for the deceased.

HOURGLASS - The hourglass is symbolic to time's inevitable passing.  The hourglass is a symbol of death, the end of time on Earth, but also a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings when turned over.  The winged hourglass is symbolic of man's fleeting time on Earth. 

WHITE HORSE - Depending on the culture, white horses symbolize purity, heroism or death. White is the rarest color of horse, and white horses have been associated with nobility in chivalry, with the sun in Greek mythology and with the end of the world in Christianity. They are often guides between the worlds of the living and of the dead. The white horse is the traditional steed of a good god or hero, and it is the only creature pure enough to bear the hero to triumph over evil. ​

HUMAN SKULL -  The most common symbolic use of the skull is as a representation of death and mortality.  The skull was popular during the Seventeenth-Century known as "death's head".   A death's head, often with wings and/or crossed bones, was a stylized skull.  Some have speculated that winged skulls were intended to symbolize a combination of physical death and spiritual regeneration.

HEART, FLAMES AND THORNS (SACRED HEART OF JESUS CHRIST) - The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart, shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. Sometimes the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love.

HARP - When harps appear on headstones, it’s usually a reference to heavenly music and praising the Lord. If you see a harp look closely; sometimes it's carved to show one of the strings broken.  A broken string indicates that a person's life was cut short or a break in the family circle.