THE ELEPHANT

This heraldic symbol denotes great strength, greater wit and greatest ambition. The Elephant was the ensign of Cyneus, king of Scythia, and Idomenes, king of Thessaly.

Elephants are the bearers of kings and queens and so a symbol of royalty, prosperity, temperance, dignity, and power. In 250 BC, Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus (now North Albania), with an army of 25,000 men and 20 Elephants won a hard-fought victory over the Romans at Heraclea. At a crucial phase of the battle, Pyrrhus ordered his Elephants to charge and it was too much for the Roman legions. The Romans had never seen Elephants before and called them 'Lucanian Cows'. The Elephant was the totem animal of the god Shiva, the Destroyer, who seeks to banish illusion and to encourage a clearer perception of reality.

CADUCEUS

This staff was first borne by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It was also called the wand of Hermes when he superseded Iris in much later myths. In Roman iconography was often depicted being carried in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars and thieves.

The mace of Mercury, with wings attached, and entwined with two snakes; denotes balance and the union of opposing forces. It is a symbol of peace and healing. The caduceus is sometimes used as a symbol for medicine, especially in North America, due to confusion with the traditional medical symbol, the rod of Asclepius, which has only a single snake and no wings. Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, symbolizes renewal of youth as the serpent casts off its skin.

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THE DOVE

A symbol of innocence, gentleness, and affection and in art and in the Scriptures, the symbol of the Holy Ghost. Ever since the Dove returned to Noah's ark carrying the olive branch, it has been considered the messenger of peace and a harbinger of good tidings. In church windows the seven rays proceeding from the Dove signify the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost.

It also symbolises the human soul, and as such is represented coming out of the mouth of saints at death. The Slavs and Greeks pictured the human soul as a Dove, which helps to explain why Doves are found on some pagan monuments. Doves with human heads are also found on Greek tombs. Since the Dove was believed to be incapable of malice towards any creature, it is said that Jesus sent His disciples into the world after instructing them to "Be as wise as serpents and harmless as Doves". Over the centuries, the Dove has been used to represent many things. It is the emblem of temperance, the symbol of innocence, the token of inspiration, and the ensign of peace. The Dove also represents fidelity in marriage, chastity and patience in suffering.

THE EAGLE

A noble device signifying a person of action, ever more occupied in high and weighty affairs, and one of lofty spirit, ingenious, speedy in apprehension, and judicious in matters of ambiguity; true magnanimity and fortitude of mind; a symbol of power and sovereignty. The Eagle also symbolizes courage, freedom, and immortality.

It proudly served as an emblem of the might and unity of empire for Babylon, the Caesars, Charlemagne and many Holy Roman and Byzantine emperors as well as for Russian czars, Aztecs and Napoleon.

The heraldic Eagle appeared in Persian and Egyptian battle ensigns and on the flags of the Roman legions.

The Romans called the Eagle the "bird of Jove, and carried it on their standards, into battle. If a legion lost its Eagle, it was in disgrace until the Eagle could be recovered.

It was the Roman custom to let an Eagle fly from the funeral pyre of a deceased emperor, bearing the god's soul to heaven after a period of earthly incarnation as the emperor.

Early Christians honoured the Eagle as a symbol of hope, of strength and of Resurrection. The latter is based on the early belief that the Eagle, unlike other birds, periodically renewed its plumage and its youth by flying near the sun then plunging into the water.

The majestic Eagle was central to many mythologies and sacred writings of humanity. The ancient Greeks revered the eagle as a symbol of the god of lightning, and it is said they nailed Eagles to the peaks of temples to serve as magic lightning rods; Scandinavian myths also associate the Eagle with lightning and storm.

The Hittites (an ancient people living in Anatolia and northern Syria about 2000-1200 B.C) used the double Eagle as an emblem of sovereignty.

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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.