{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.symbolism","code":"thing-q4419563","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q4419563/","name":"symbolism","alternateNames":["dance symbolism","religious symbolism","phonetic symbolism","Sparrows in winter","Vegetarian and vegan symbolism","plant symbolism","Anarcho-syndicalist symbolism","number symbolism","political symbolism","Semen symbolism","Use of religious language and symbolism in the Gaza war","symbolism of trees"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.PRC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The use of symbols to represent ideas, qualities or things, as a general practice in culture, religion, art and language, including religious symbolism, plant and animal symbolism, colour and number symbolism, symbolism in dance and ritual, and phonetic symbolism in which sounds suggest meanings; the word also names Symbolism as a specific late nineteenth-century movement in literature and art, which is a separate entry.","purpose":"Let an agent explain symbolism as a practice and its main fields, relay how symbols work from semiotic and anthropological sources, describe religious, natural and cultural symbolism with attribution, and distinguish general symbolism from the Symbolist movement and from signs and allegory.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Meaning by convention or association","Cross-cultural variation","Religious and secular","Studied by semiotics"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What symbolism is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is symbolism, and how do symbols differ from signs, icons and allegory?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about symbolism in general or the Symbolist movement?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"fields","name":"Fields","description":"Fields.","findings":[{"id":"fields-finding","name":"Fields","description":"Fields.","questions":[{"text":"What are religious, plant, colour, number, dance and phonetic symbolism?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific field?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"theory","name":"Theory","description":"Theory.","layers":[{"id":"semiotics","name":"Semiotics","description":"Semiotics.","findings":[{"id":"semiotics-finding","name":"Semiotics","description":"Semiotics.","questions":[{"text":"How do Peirce, Saussure and later theorists explain how symbols carry meaning?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"anthropology","name":"Anthropology","description":"Anthropology.","findings":[{"id":"anthropology-finding","name":"Anthropology","description":"Anthropology.","questions":[{"text":"How do anthropologists such as Turner and Geertz study symbols in ritual and culture?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Cultural symbolism.","layers":[{"id":"religion","name":"Religion","description":"Religious symbolism.","findings":[{"id":"religion-finding","name":"Religion","description":"Religion.","questions":[{"text":"What symbols do major religions use, and how do believers interpret them, with views attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation respectful and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"nature","name":"Nature","description":"Plants, animals and colours.","findings":[{"id":"nature-finding","name":"Nature","description":"Nature.","questions":[{"text":"How do plants, animals and colours carry symbolic meanings across cultures?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific symbol?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Language and movement.","layers":[{"id":"sound","name":"Sound","description":"Sound symbolism.","findings":[{"id":"sound-finding","name":"Sound","description":"Sound.","questions":[{"text":"What is phonetic symbolism, and what evidence supports it?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits sound symbolism?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"movement","name":"Movement","description":"The Symbolist movement.","findings":[{"id":"movement-finding","name":"Movement","description":"Movement.","questions":[{"text":"What was the Symbolist movement in literature and art?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Symbolism (arts)?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the meaning of symbols within the culture or tradition named, with sources.","Note when a symbol means different things in different cultures."],"mustNot":["Use sacred religious symbols in mocking or degrading ways.","Treat hate symbols as neutral or decorative.","Attribute a hidden symbolic meaning to a work or a person without evidence."],"requiresHuman":["Using a religious or culturally sacred symbol in a design or product."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Symbols hold sacred meaning for communities and can be desecrated.","Misreading symbols has led to false accusations and conspiracy theories."],"affectedParties":["Religious and cultural communities","Artists and audiences"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns symbolism as a practice; communities hold their own symbols.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q3249551","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"process","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"semiotics","type":"related","note":"as the theory of signs"},{"target":"symbol","type":"related","note":"as its unit"},{"target":"Symbolism (arts)","type":"related","note":"the movement"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.symbolism","Wikidata: Q4419563 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4419563)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Representation of ideas by symbols","Religious symbolism, plant symbolism, dance symbolism, phonetic symbolism, dietary symbolism","Symbolism the movement is an art historical term; a sign may be arbitrary; allegory is extended narrative symbolism","Not a visible object; meanings attached to objects, images and sounds."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain how symbols work","relay fields of symbolism","describe cultural symbolism","distinguish from Symbolism the movement"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Assuming symbols mean the same across cultures","Confusing general symbolism with the Symbolist movement","Presenting speculative readings as established"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; laws on national symbols and hate symbols in some countries"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a cultural practice.","religious symbolism","plant, animal and colour symbolism","number and geometric symbolism","symbolism in dance, ritual and ceremony","phonetic or sound symbolism","dietary symbolism such as vegetarian and vegan symbolism","national and political symbolism"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q4419563: symbolism","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4419563","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Cambridge Dictionary: symbolism","url":"https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/symbolism","note":"The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities."}],"openQuestions":["Should religious symbolism and sound symbolism be separate primary entries?","How should semiotic sources be linked?","The registry alias list includes an obscure title and niche categories; should they be reviewed?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q4419563/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q4419563/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T04:55:41Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:51:18+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}