File:Vulva symbols.svg

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Vulva_symbols.svg‎ (SVG file, nominally 500 × 600 pixels, file size: 4 KB)

[edit] Summary

Six symbolic abstract representations of external female genitals (i.e. "yonic" symbols) which have been used in various historical/cultural contexts:

1) Upper left: A schematized drawing of the pubic triangle; among other things, this is the earliest archaic form of the ancient Sumerian cuneiform sign MUNUS (meaning "woman"); see Image:Ishtar vase Louvre AO17000-detail.jpg. The later form of this cuneiform sign is no longer pictographic, formed of four wedge shapes:
In other contexts, the upper corners are sometimes rounded. See also the prehistoric depiction at Image:112307-BritishMuseum-Badari.jpg, and the ancient Greek at Image:NAMA Phallus ailé.jpg .

2) Upper right: A composite version of Hindu Yoni symbols. It combines features of various versions of Indian Yoni symbols (such as the one seen in Image:Lingam.jpg), but this particular shape may not itself be an authentic Hindu symbol. (For a somewhat similar symbol in a non-Hindu context, see Image:Vulve stylisée.JPG .)

3) Lower left: One form of the pointed oval encountered in many contexts as a representation or symbol of the vulva (including as part of medieval Sheela-na-gig figures). This particular version is based on a description in the book "Blood Brothers of Gor", using the geometry of the Vesica Piscis configuration (i.e. the overlap between two circles of equal diameter, where the center of each circle is on the circumference of the other). For one variation of this (a pointed oval within a circle), see Image:Dina-gor.svg or Image:Triple-Goddess-Waxing-Full-Waning-Symbol-multicolored.svg .

4) Center: Oval within oval (another variation of the preceding).

5) Lower center: Quasi-original form of an Egyptian hieroglyph used in the spellings of the ancient Egyptian words for "woman" and "vulva" (according to James P. Allen's Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, where it is assigned the number D280a and described as an abstract representation of the pelvis and vulva). In ancient Egyptian inscriptions, this sign is generally merged with or replaced by hieroglyphs N41

and/or N42

of similar visual appearance (drawings of water in a well).

6) Lower right: Czech and Slovak "píča" symbol. The ancient Mesopotamian rhomb or lozenge of Ishtar was similar, but with concentric diamonds (sometimes with slightly rounded corners), instead of a line inside a diamond. See Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green (1992, ISBN 0-292-70794-0), p. 153.

Source: Own work (symbol shapes created by myself from scratch, except that the lower right is taken from Image:Symbol píča.svg ).

For some further prehistoric depictions, see image 060214_cave_vulva_02.jpg linked from http://www.livescience.com/history/060214_cave_art.html ...

Les féminaires, outre les cercles, les anneaux donnent pour symboles des vulves les triangles coupés d'une bissectrice les ovales les ellipses. On peut styliser les ovales ou les ellipses sous forme de losanges, ou bien sous forme de croissants de lune, c'est-à-dire des ovales partagés en deux. -- "Les Guérillères", Monique Wittig, ISBN 2-7073-0042-X

This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this:

Symbol píča.svg.

[edit] Licensing

I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible:
I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

	Date/Time	Thumbnail	Dimensions	User	Comment
current	11:32, 2 September 2008		500×600 (4 KB)	AnonMoos (Talk \| contribs)	(tweaking most-recently added symbol for exact symmetry)
	22:55, 30 September 2007		500×600 (4 KB)	AnonMoos (Talk \| contribs)	(adding further symbol )
	07:13, 4 September 2007		500×600 (3 KB)	AnonMoos (Talk \| contribs)	(adding symbol)
	20:48, 26 August 2007		500×600 (2 KB)	AnonMoos (Talk \| contribs)	(Four symbolic representations of external female genitals as they have been used in various historical/cultural contexts: 1) Upper left: A schematized drawing of the pubic triangle; among other things, this is the earliest archaic form of the ancient Sum)