The Optomist's Skull

A lot of people ask why, as a typically conservative guy, I tend to like things with skulls on them… belts, cuff links, etc. Why choose something so scary or morbid they often ask. So I thought I would delve a little into that, and share what the symbolism means for me. There are a plethora of interpretations on the meaning of the skull; it is after all is one of the oldest symbols civilization has, but I am going to just share the ones that work for me.

To me, the skull’s most important meaning, and something that is a current that has always run through my life, is as a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. The skull is a universal representation of death, a clear reminder of our mortality and that our time on earth is limited. For example the skull was used by Freemasons to symbolize the hierarchic structure and the transience of the material world.

Another good way of expressing it comes from the inscription found in the ossuaries of the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione in Rome. Built in the Baroque style with skulls and bones, including a skull and bone chandelier, the inscription reads: “Noi eravamo quello che voi siete, e quello che noi siamo voi sarete.” (We were what you are; and what we are, you will be”).

Many read that and think that the transience of human existence is dark and saddening. To me it is merely a part of life, and the skull a momento mori, a reminder that everyone dies so one must make the most out of every day because you don’t know how many you might have in store.

As a symbol of transience, it has also become a symbol of transcendence. In its representation of the essential finiteness of human existence and the limitation of human knowledge, the skull also represents the higher wisdom that is infinite enough to see the end of Man. of idea is sometimes further represented by a skull that has a serpent winding through it. The serpent, which symbolizes immortality because of its ability to shed its skin and start a new life, is also the chthonic god of knowledge and of immortality. In Greek myth, the serpent guards the Tree in the Greek Garden of the Hesperides which is later appropriated by Christianity as the serpent in the Tree in the Garden of Eden. The serpent in the skull is a symbol of knowledge surviving death.

There are other layers of meaning that the skull has that resonates with me. Perhaps the group of meanings that resonates most is that of power and defiance. Where the skull symbolizes fear for many, the symbol then became co-opted for others to mean that the person brave enough to tempt the fates by wearing the symbol have no fear of death, and that they defy the cold bony touch of that Horseman. Bikers and members of the military use skull imagery in this way, as a symbol of defying death and of machismo. Defying death or at mastering one’s fear of death and of things out of our control, it allows these Men to work through disasters, to accept what fate may have in store and to be steeled in their resolve and bravery. This has also makes the skull a talisman of luck, or a symbol of luck in adversity.

All of this, the symbolism of death, the power of the symbol as a symbol defying death and the mastery of fear, has made the skull a symbol of power. Pirates and the SS chose this symbol as a warning of their power, and their fearlessness. The skull’s other meanings combine to make it an object of power.

There are other meanings too that have sway with me. The skull is also a symbol of resurrection, of passing through death to something more. While I am not convinced of resurrection in the religious sense, the idea that wisdom and spiritual growth is gained through the constant death of old ideas and the rebirth of new ones from those ashes and bones certainly resonates me. The skull is also a symbol of freedom. If death is the ultimate liberation, the freeing of the essential energy of a person into the universe, then the skull is the symbol of being free from the bindings of the flesh. The skull is thus a talisman of hope, a symbol that there is more to be had beyond whatever kinds of death you may find.

As a side note, the skull features largely even in Christianity, where Jesus Christ is said to have been crucified at Golgotha, which translated is known as the Place of the Skull. In the Christian tradition, when Jesus was crucified, his blood washes away Original Sin as it fell onto Adam’s skull that was buried below him. Golgotha is commonly thought to be located under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest place in the Christian world.