The Symbolism of Sigils

[The WolfSpider]

I strongly believe there is a symbolism or as some have said a 'code' to the sigils of Westeros.  I believe there is a duality to some or all of the sigils of the houses of Westeros as well.  Each or some of the sigils represent a story of that house, almost a snapshot, and I don't think that's anything surprising but in addition to that the symbolism of colors, animals and heraldry also play a part.  My guess would be that GRRM came up with sigils and then used the symbolism to flesh out details of the house or people.  My hunch is that he gets keywords from the symbolism and adds those words to a pool that he then dips from for the characters or events but obviously I'm not privy to that nor is it going to be "in the text".  

Also where a color or device is on a sigil plays a part as well. GRRM uses a lot of Celtic symbolism rather than Christian though there is some of that too.  

Grey-suffering

White-purity

Blue-trust, loyalty
Red-red blooded
Black- the unknown
Silver- altruism, goodness.  This one is hard to pin down
Gold- Intelligence, probably greed
Orange-hatred though there could be more to it
Green- plenty
Yellow-happiness
Pink- health
Purple- Royalty. In this case Targaryen sympathizers

Examples:

Bolton - The story I see there is of someone being flayed in the snow which would result in that pink.  Pink represents health and you'll see Ramsay is described as fleshy which could be althernatively described as 'healthy'.  Roose himself is the most health obsessed character in the books I think with his drinking in moderation, hippocras and leachings. There's a man in the sigil as well and man's best friend is dog, Ramsay's favorite but I think horse would not be far behind and Roose loves his horses.

Hightower - Grey for suffering and white for purity and indeed they have a long track record of being "good guys" and suffering as well.  They seem to lose people as much as the Starks who share their colors.  Of course tower symbolism is heavy with them as well.  Wizards love their towers, as do maidens and shut-ins.  Other things associated with towers are libraries and in ASOIAF ravens.  Towers don't get around much and neither do the Hightowers in general.  There are exceptions of course.  I do have trouble reconciling Alicent Hightower but then part of the symbolism of the Reach is just that, they reach; they're grasping.  It could also have to do with the mother's family but we don't have that information.  Note that Gerold Hightower, the White Bull, did not get his nickname from his Hightower side as she's most likely a Bulwer.  I wonder if Oberyn's mother is a Wyl? Speaking of which it seems as if a personal nickname overrules a house sigil or augments it at least especially in Oberyn's case.

Tully - Red and blue, red bloodedness and trust which I think we can see.  Edmure while not the best fighter is not shrinking violet.  The trout though is much more suited to rebellion and guerrilla warfare though as they can be hard to catch and in the Riverlands can move around a lot popping up here and then there.  

Blackwood - Black and red and white that would be the unknown, red-bloodedness and purity and the second two would seem to be represented by Titus Blackwood along with the ravens that (like crows) represent war and craftiness. There is much unknown about them still.  

Fossoway - Red on gold.  Red-bloodedness and there were several Fossoways in battle so far in the books though they don't seem to be particularly good at it red-bloodedness is at least partially about inclination.  Too, they ran afoul of someone called Apple-eater, and yes I know that was after but I do believe my point stands; this is literature not science.  This is one that I see as one more about Christian symbolism and so a bit of a rarity.  The apple represents temptation rather than the knowledge I would have thought. See Derrick Fossoway or that fool Fossoway that jumped on the table prattling on about killing a Clegane.

Blackfyre- the black dragon.  Despite their large impact on Westeros there are still so many unknowns about them.

Martell- Red sun on orange with a golden spear.  The Martells seem to have that red-bloodedness again, maybe not Doran but then he's gouty so maybe he gets a pass.  But he certainly seems to embody the slowness of the sun, the all-seeing quality attributed to it and the brightness though in this case more of an intelligence.  The spear I believe symbolized the libido and we certainly see that in the Red Viper, who also has snake symbolism, clearly a man who uses his libido A LOT.  But then Arianne is not bashful about hers nor was Lewyn Martell who was sworn otherwise.  

Waynwood- Black on green.  Unknown and plenty.  The broken wheel is a symbol of death and while I find that interesting this is a poor house to make an example of because we don't have much information we do have the cool sounding Wild Wyl Waynwood who died of course and I expect there will be more to come. 

Baratheon- a black stag on gold and again I have to argue that there is that which we don't know about them and that feels like a copout from a house that plays such a prominent role in the novels but still it is true.  We don't know about Robert and Lyanna, their feelings for each other, we don't know much about Steffon.  There's plenty I could say we don't know about them and I'm sure I'll take my lumps here from those who can't do.  Moving on though we have the stag which is one of those creatures that men love to hunt and that translates into that ability Robert had to inspire loyalty, at least in his prime, and in the Robert's stolen marches (I think that was the term, maybe forced marches?) we see the deer's fleetness. When I see this sigil I can't help think of the deer crossing signs, just kidding! No, I always think of that video from years ago of that guy that put deer piss on himself for......hunting purposes(?)...and then got whipped by a furious stag that reared up on him.  Consider as well that he suffered at the hands of the red-blooded huntstman Randyll Tarly who bears a sword named Hartsbane er Heartsbane.  Of course with the Baratheons you have to mix in the Stormkings symbolism as well which makes them of course a martial force.  

This is a post that has grown in the telling and I fear has grown haphazard as well.  I can do this all day and please feel free to name a house and I'll give you my analysis.  I am aware some people will shout this down as if they earn some points or whatever for doing so and I am ready for it.  I ask though if we are not to discuss speculation on things that aren't stated in the books here then wouldn't this forum turn into 

Person #1 "hey did you read about Jon killing Janos Slynt?"
Person #2 "yeah it was in the text"
Person #1 "that was cool"
Person #2 "yeah it was"

[Giant Ice Spider]

Let me see if I've understood this properly:

Starks: White (purity) and grey (suffering), which is accurate since the Starks are both honourable and devoid of luck. Ned dies, Robb dies, Jon dies, Sansa is tormented by Joffrey, Arya is a mess, Bran is paralysed, and Rickon … gods know.

Lannisters: Red (red-blooded) and gold (intelligence), which I guess is representative of Tywin and Tyrion's cunning, and also of Jaime's martial skills. Cersei though is dumber than Victarion so I dunno how she fits in.

Conningtons: White (purity) and red (red-bloodedness). It seems to me Jon Connington is/was an honourable man (we'll see what he does in the wars to come), and he is definitely martial. And Ser Ronnet is very red-blooded (though hardly pure).

Mallisters: Purple (royalty) and silver (altruism), I'm not so sure. Jason Mallister was at Cat's wedding, so I reckon he sided with his liege lord. It would be for him to side with the Targs thereafter. And we don't know enough about him to say if he's good or altruistic. The same goes for Ser Denys. Thoughts?

Tyrells: Gold (intelligence) and green (plenty). The second is definitely true, but Mace seems to be a bumbling buffoon (unless he's pulling a Doran Martell), and Loras' Dragonstone plan suggests he's hardly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Lady Olenna is clever, but she's nee Redwyne. Margaery strikes me as clever though. Hard to say with the Tyrells.

Is this correct?

[Lynesse]

Nice work and very interesting food for thought. I can see this guideline coming in handy.

Was your assumption for the meaning of orange inspired by the Hornwood sigil and their words ('Righteous in Wrath')? House Peake also comes to mind.

What do you make of the sigil for House Payne? How about House Tarth? House Merryweather?

Do you have a notion what coins (as in the Payne sigil) symbolize specifically?

[The WolfSpider]

3 hours ago, Giant Ice Spider said:

Let me see if I've understood this properly:

Starks: White (purity) and grey (suffering), which is accurate since the Starks are both honourable and devoid of luck. Ned dies, Robb dies, Jon dies, Sansa is tormented by Joffrey, Arya is a mess, Bran is paralysed, and Rickon … gods know.

Lannisters: Red (red-blooded) and gold (intelligence), which I guess is representative of Tywin and Tyrion's cunning, and also of Jaime's martial skills. Cersei though is dumber than Victarion so I dunno how she fits in.

Conningtons: White (purity) and red (red-bloodedness). It seems to me Jon Connington is/was an honourable man (we'll see what he does in the wars to come), and he is definitely martial. And Ser Ronnet is very red-blooded (though hardly pure).

Mallisters: Purple (royalty) and silver (altruism), I'm not so sure. Jason Mallister was at Cat's wedding, so I reckon he sided with his liege lord. It would be for him to side with the Targs thereafter. And we don't know enough about him to say if he's good or altruistic. The same goes for Ser Denys. Thoughts?

Tyrells: Gold (intelligence) and green (plenty). The second is definitely true, but Mace seems to be a bumbling buffoon (unless he's pulling a Doran Martell), and Loras' Dragonstone plan suggests he's hardly the sharpest knife in the drawer. Lady Olenna is clever, but she's nee Redwyne. Margaery strikes me as clever though. Hard to say with the Tyrells.

Is this correct?

You've got it! Thank you for approaching this with an open mind.  

The sigil itself comes into play though I admit Mace is a tough one. The Tyrells remind me of something I heard once in that if the gardener doesn't tend to his garden the roses will take over or something to that effect.  I think the chief characteristic of the rose here is that while it looks good it is grasping. Much like Cersei's metaphor, or was it dream, where she keeps ripping weeds out that were trying to envelop her.  

Keep in mind not every person of the house will have every trait of the house and the sigil applies to the house overall. 

As for Cersei she is not without a low cunning.  She has managed to stay on top for quite a while with no one liking her in a society where women are relegated to an inferior role.  To me she exemplifies best the lioness which does the hunting and is the territorial one of the pride.  The basically lounges around and fights the battles and not much else.  I saw something on Animal Planet I guess it was how a hyenas were prowling around the pride's territory so the lioness caught one and bit it through the abdomen and then carried it around the perimeter of their territory so it's cries would warn the others.  That's Cersei Lannister.

As for the Mallisters, yes there isn't much but I think it clear that they are decent folk. Cat gives little tidbits about Jason that reflect it in a small way.  Denys seems like a good guy as well.  The eagle itself is a powerful animal that can hunt on land or sea and the Mallisters have a small fleet for doing that.  Birds roost high up so as to both survey the land and be away from other predators and you can see that in the houses with bird sigils, they have seats that are very defensible.  Arryn, Fowler and to a lesser exemplified extent the Mallisters.  Seagard seems to be a place the Ironborn have not had much, if any, success at.  I expect we'll see the purple play a factor later. 

As for the Conningtons it's counterchanged.  A pure griffin on a bloody field and a red griffin on a pure field.  The first is Jon and you can see Red Ronnet for the other though I admit to not having a good answer for the field of purity yet. 

Lastly the Starks you've got the colors perfect now the animal.  I have to use the wolf since I know nothing about direwolves.  Wolves are the king of winter because they hunt as a pack and when the other animals get weaker because of lack of sustenance the wolves keep on plowing through, this per yet another animal show.  I used to watch a lot of them! In the pack mentality you see that of the soldier as they are not the baddest animal in the kingdom by themselves but as a unit watch out.  They are great survivors, like a good soldier.  So in this you see despite great suffering to members in the house and plenty of death, as soldiers do, the house survives for a long, long time.  Wolves also hunt at night. 

[The WolfSpider]

3 hours ago, Lynesse said:

Nice work and very interesting food for thought. I can see this guideline coming in handy.

Was your assumption for the meaning of orange inspired by the Hornwood sigil and their words ('Righteous in Wrath')? House Peake also comes to mind.

What do you make of the sigil for House Payne? How about House Tarth? House Merryweather?

Do you have a notion what coins (as in the Payne sigil) symbolize specifically?

I admit to struggling with the orange more than most of the others but I hadn't thought of House Hornwood, good pickup.  You certainly see it with the Peakes though yes.  The Martells have their hate as well.  House Kenning of Kayce probably hates the Ironborn.  Or maybe it's the other way around.  House Farwynd may be more hated than hateful though we don't have enough information yet.  

One thing I haven't mentioned it astrological symbols which correspond to the Seven additionally.  Consequently I think we'll see House Wynch have some sort of connection with the 7 or Andals.  

You can see this with Tarth in that they have a long history with the Seven, maybe longer than anyone but the ruins of Morne still keeps it's secrets for now.  

House Payne and it's gold coins is an interesting one.  I think they must have been paid for something, I feel similarly about House Lorch too. Though maybe they earn money through trade, I think we do not know who has lordship of Lannisport yet and this would make sense for a sigil like Payne's.  Hard to say yet. I'd say they are intelligent with some purity and some Targaryen loyalty though I have no example for that yet, Ilyn did have a brush with the Targaryen's didn't he?  Maybe that's a more accurate way of saying it, purple means Targaryen connection.  Humorously though.......who loves coin more than a whore?  Might this explain Podrick's success in the brothel?

House Merryweather......yeah it's a tough one.  Obviously they have plenty and I think that may be signified by their seat of Longtable which sounds like a feast to me.  Lord Owen of course was known for feasting people

Plums of course are purple and we know that the previous Lord Merryweather was a Hand for Aerys.

An onion represents tears, memories, layers, disguises, evil spirits and jealousy and I imagine Owen did shed a tear after his exile.  I think you can also see the tears very strongly with the Onion Knight, Davos Seaworth who has lost several sons IIRC.

Harvested from the earth as a root vegetable, the carrot suggests that seeking fulfillment may require a bit of digging or returning to our roots along life's way. Maybe Orton becoming Hand was this return to his roots?

Despite that I like this house it's a tough one to quantify.  It's all jumbled up lol.  Like a pile of diverse produce and speaking of diverse they are somewhat with a Myrish woman in their midst which makes them much more diverse than the norm.  

[Giant Ice Spider]

18 minutes ago, The WolfSpider said:

You've got it! Thank you for approaching this with an open mind.  

The sigil itself comes into play though I admit Mace is a tough one. The Tyrells remind me of something I heard once in that if the gardener doesn't tend to his garden the roses will take over or something to that effect.  I think the chief characteristic of the rose here is that while it looks good it is grasping. Much like Cersei's metaphor, or was it dream, where she keeps ripping weeds out that were trying to envelop her.  

Keep in mind not every person of the house will have every trait of the house and the sigil applies to the house overall. 

As for Cersei she is not without a low cunning.  She has managed to stay on top for quite a while with no one liking her in a society where women are relegated to an inferior role.  To me she exemplifies best the lioness which does the hunting and is the territorial one of the pride.  The basically lounges around and fights the battles and not much else.  I saw something on Animal Planet I guess it was how a hyenas were prowling around the pride's territory so the lioness caught one and bit it through the abdomen and then carried it around the perimeter of their territory so it's cries would warn the others.  That's Cersei Lannister.

As for the Mallisters, yes there isn't much but I think it clear that they are decent folk. Cat gives little tidbits about Jason that reflect it in a small way.  Denys seems like a good guy as well.  The eagle itself is a powerful animal that can hunt on land or sea and the Mallisters have a small fleet for doing that.  Birds roost high up so as to both survey the land and be away from other predators and you can see that in the houses with bird sigils, they have seats that are very defensible.  Arryn, Fowler and to a lesser exemplified extent the Mallisters.  Seagard seems to be a place the Ironborn have not had much, if any, success at.  I expect we'll see the purple play a factor later. 

As for the Conningtons it's counterchanged.  A pure griffin on a bloody field and a red griffin on a pure field.  The first is Jon and you can see Red Ronnet for the other though I admit to not having a good answer for the field of purity yet. 

Lastly the Starks you've got the colors perfect now the animal.  I have to use the wolf since I know nothing about direwolves.  Wolves are the king of winter because they hunt as a pack and when the other animals get weaker because of lack of sustenance the wolves keep on plowing through, this per yet another animal show.  I used to watch a lot of them! In the pack mentality you see that of the soldier as they are not the baddest animal in the kingdom by themselves but as a unit watch out.  They are great survivors, like a good soldier.  So in this you see despite great suffering to members in the house and plenty of death, as soldiers do, the house survives for a long, long time.  Wolves also hunt at night. 

Oops, forgot about the animals.

If the bloody field for Jon represents war, then the pure field for Ronnet represents peace, and he will some role in resolving some conflict (though that does seem out of character). On the other hand, the griffin are combatant IIRC, which would symbolise their conflict over Griffin's Roost. The Lannister lion symbolises pride, and every Lannister, maybe except Kevan, that we've met has had a fair dosage of pride.

Speaking of combatant animals, there's Joffrey's banner to consider, and the symbolism of having both stag and lion. The fact the animals are combatant represents the disputed parentage (Baratheon or Lannister), Lions are predators, and stags prey, so ultimately the lion wins out (Joffrey is all Lannister).

I've also watched a lot of Animal Planet in my time. Thinking back on it, I realise that it makes perfect sense for Tywin to lead from the rear: a male lion's sole contribution to the hunt is to deliver the killing blow. Otherwise they sit back and wait. This is also what Tywin does, though I don't know if it's intentional.

[The WolfSpider]

Excellent points!

I think that with Ronnet maybe what we have is purity of purpose.  We may see that he truly believes he's doing the right think in opposing Jon. He could end up thinking he's saving their house.  

I see it going like this.  Grrm looks at the Lannister sigil and says okay:

Pride, roar, lion, lioness, hunting, territoriality, blood, gold - from the lion

brightness, softness, greed - from the gold

[The WolfSpider]

Regarding Tywin: You can see the contrast between him and the red-blooded Reyne's who were great fighters right in the thick of things.  Additionally the Lannisters have gold as one of their colors while the Reyne's have silver, clearly second place.  

[Rufus Snow]

Quote

A Dance with Dragons - Tyrion I

"They had best not say it in my sister's hearing, or they will find themselves short a tongue." The dwarf tore a loaf of bread in half. "And you had best be careful what you say of my family, magister. Kinslayer or no, I am a lion still."

That seemed to amuse the lord of cheese no end. He slapped a meaty thigh and said, "You Westerosi are all the same. You sew some beast upon a scrap of silk, and suddenly you are all lions or dragons or eagles. I can take you to a real lion, my little friend. The prince keeps a pride in his menagerie. Would you like to share a cage with them?"

The lords of the Seven Kingdoms did make rather much of their sigils, Tyrion had to admit. "Very well," he conceded. "A Lannister is not a lion. Yet I am still my father's son, and Jaime and Cersei are mine to kill."

I'm sure some of the choices are wish fulfilment, some become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Some are more difficult than others: House Hoare perhaps (quartered black, white, yellow, blue with four charges), and others might be rather subjective... take House Tarbeck with its 'pure' white, and 'loyal' blue. Would Tywin see it that way?

[The WolfSpider]

22 minutes ago, Rufus Snow said:

I'm sure some of the choices are wish fulfilment, some become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Some are more difficult than others: House Hoare perhaps (quartered black, white, yellow, blue with four charges), and others might be rather subjective... take House Tarbeck with its 'pure' white, and 'loyal' blue. Would Tywin see it that way?

Well of course he would not but then who among us would see him as impartial. The Tarbecks sided with the Reyne's and there isn't much negative to be said about them.  Just that one incident.....of seven murders.

The Hoare's are an interesting one.  Chains are strong yet flexible and they endured all but dragonfire, they are the most progressive seeming of the Ironborn by far.  Grapes for sticking together and by and large they did.  A raven for warcraft.  A pine tree for longevity which with a name like Hoare seems appropriate

 

[The WolfSpider]

19 hours ago, Rufus Snow said:

take House Tarbeck with its 'pure' white, and 'loyal' blue. Would Tywin see it that way?

Perhaps the better question is how would Lord Tytos see them? 

[John Doe]

I think the high tower symbolises an Ivory tower.

[The WolfSpider]

1 hour ago, John Doe said:

I think the high tower symbolises an Ivory tower.

That's a good point.  There's tons of multiple meanings throughout the series.  

[shameeka]

This is interesting. I'll give it a try although I'll never be as good as you guys.

 

House Arryn : a sky blue falcon soaring against a white moon. So there is loyalty and purity. There words As High as Honor speak for themselves. Falcons are known for their fast diving skills, which may be related to how they make people 'fly' through the Moon Door. Their castle name is the Eyrie.

House Greyjoy : gold kraken (I think gold means 'greed' here.) on a black field(unknown). They ironborns are notorious pirates. You can also say that greed caused Balon's Rebellion. A kraken is an octopus-like creature, and octopuses are known to survive even when they are cut in several pieces. (Theon, cough, cough)

I'm confused about House Frey because their sigil is two blue towers. According to OP blue is a symbol for trust and loyalty.... Even before the Red Wedding, practically everyone mistrusted Freys...

House Dayne : a white sword and falling star on a purple background. House Dayne was one of those loyal to Targaryens during Robert's Rebellion. I wonder if Edric Dayne will pledge to Daenerys when she arrives in Westeros.

Can somebody do House Manderly please?