Meaning of the Heartline Symbol

Native American Indians were a deeply spiritual people and they communicated their history, thoughts, ideas and dreams from generation to generation through Symbols and Signs such as the Heartline symbol.

Native American symbols are geometric portrayals of celestial bodies, natural phenomena and animal designs. The meaning of the Heartline symbol was to signify life force. The heartline symbol is often found on the Zuni tribe fetish drawings of animals refer to Fetishism. It represents the breath as the life force of the animal. The heartline is depicted as an inlaid line in the shape of an arrow. This arrow is called the lifeline or heart line. The heartline begins at the mouth where breath gives life and points to the soul, or spirit, where faith and inner strength preside. The following symbol depicts the heartline through and image of a bear. The heartline is an arrow going from its head to the heart and shows the Indian warrior's heart is strong like the bears. Similar images can be found depicting the heartline in other animals.

The Heartline Symbol - Meaning
There were so many tribes of Native American Indians it is only possible to generalise the most common meaning of the Heartline symbol or pattern. Native Indian symbols are still used as Tattoos and were used for a variety of reasons and depicted on numerous objects such as tepees, totem poles, musical instruments, clothes and War Paint. Indian Tribes also used their own Colors for Symbols and designs depending on the natural resources available to make Native American paint.