Saturday Symbols: the Weeping Willow and Hebrews 4:9

I can't believe there has never been a post about the Weeping Willow tree as a gravestone symbol on the Southern Graves blog, especially since it was one of the first images that slowly replaced death's heads and soul effigies.¹ It's definitely a common symbol.  I found a beautiful example at Walker Cemetery in Bleckley County, Georgia:

Photo © 2013 S. Lincecum

Most assume the weeping willow is a symbol of grief based upon the name and down turned branches, and they are not wrong. But something I think fewer people may know is that the weeping willow is also a symbol of immortality. In Christianity specifically, the gospel teaches the tree "will flourish and remain whole, no matter how many branches are cut off."²

If we want to delve deeper into the above image, take a look at the ivy vines going up the base of the tree. It is another symbol of immortality, as well as loyalty.  Furthermore, the leaves symbolize the Trinity.³

The weeping willow pictured above is part of the tombstone placed for George Walker (1793-1865). Another part of the epitaph is, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of GOD." This is found in the Bible, book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 9. It is one of the promises of God.

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Footnotes:

1. Douglas Keister, Forever Dixie: A Field Guide to Southern Cemeteries & Their Residents (Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2008), 153.
2. Keister, Forever Dixie, 161.
3. Keister, Forever Dixie, 159.