Earth, Wind & Fire

THE SYMBOLS

Wondering what the symbols means? Look no further! Thanks to Martin Holzinger,
Germany and Iril Kolle, Norway, I can now give you a complete list. Starting from
the front left to back left and returning from back right to front right:

First one is the sign of the planet Jupiter. ("Keep your eyes on Jupiter such beauty in the sky….."). There are two different dates for Maurice’s birthday – 17. or 19. December 1941. In every case he is Archer and Jupiter is the planet of the archers, – spreading positivity to them in right constellation.

This is the sign of Paracelsus, often used as medical symbol. Paracelsus was a doctor who pointed out the need of caring for natural life (own and other life-forms).

Then there is Buddha. The main message in Buddhism is the taking away of personal needs and wishes by meditation to eliminate the personality and reaching a stadium of freedom (freedom of rebirth). Maurice (and for some time, the whole or parts of the band) did and do meditation. A result of that is, that Maurice is able to deal with many of his masterpieces as they would not be important, something what has been done and now it is ready. So he ever was free for experiments and new ways of music.

From Iril Kolle in Norway I got the following:
1) – Mostly known is the Bird Phoenix (from the ashes….) "The phoenix is a mythical bird that represents immortality or the rebirth of hope. It was supposed to be a beautiful, purple-red bird fabled to live 500-600 years in Arabia. It arose from the ashes of a funeral pyre to live through another lifetime" ..and .. "The phoenix just before its death sang a last song and it was then placed upon a funeral pyre. The pyre was made from aromatic herbs and exposed to the sun. The fire was not lit by human hands but by the power of the sun’s energy. When the fire settled amongst the ashes a small worm was born. From this the new phoenix would rise anew reborn".
2) – The bird in general as a symbol / mythological creature: – "The bird is an animal almost universally exalted and accepted as symbolically being associated with the soul, as a messenger of the gods, a carriers of souls, an oracle or seen to possess the spirit of loved ones whilst also being a symbol of good or evil. The Ancient Greeks actually developed a science from the study of birds and their activities called ‘Ornithomancy’ and since then, birds have continued to feature heavily in folklore across the world even in the 20th-century imagination. It is no surprise that the modern Western super hero ‘Superman’ has the special ability to fly and is also given a name that indicates supreme powers. Perhaps this is because man has long wanted to be able to fly. Take the story of ‘Icarus’ as just one such further example."
3) Icarus: "In Greek mythology Icarus was trapped on an island inside the labyrinth. Also within the labyrinth lived the Minotaur, a beast which was half man-half bull. Icarus eventaully escaped by making himself a set of wings from feathers that had fallen into the maze, but poor Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax that held the feathers in place melted, and Icarus plunged into the sea."
4) It COULD also be a BENNU or a BA, from Egyptian mythology: The Bennu bird was an imaginary bird resembling a heron. It had a two long feathers on the crest of it’s head and was often crowned with the Atef crown of Osiris (the White Crown with two ostrich plumes on either side) or with the disk of the sun. Meaning: The Bennu was the sacred bird of Heliopolis. Bennu probably derives from the word weben, meaning "rise" or "shine." The Bennu was associated with the sun and represented the Ba or soul of the sun god, Re. In the Late Period, the hieroglyph of the bird was used to represent this deity directly. As a symbol of the rising and setting sun, the Bennu was also the lord of the royal jubilee.
5) The goose: The goose is a bird with an ancient mythology and a mixture of symbolism. It was a sacred bird in Rome’s temple of Juno. The snow goose is also associated with Boreas, the North Wind in Greek mythology. The snow goose is also the totem for the winter solstice in the Native American medicine wheel.Most people have heard of the legendary Mother Goose whose stories and rhymes were designed to quiet children. Myths, fairy tales, and other stories capture the imagination of children and adults alike. The goose is thus a totem reflecting a stimulation of the childhood thrill and belief in stories and legendary places. The story(s) we most loved in childhood often a reflect the life quest we have come to take upon us in this lifetime.
My guess would be Phoenix or Icarus, since both includes wind and fire.
Iril Kolle

This is the caracter "Ankh", the old Egyptian symbol of life. For Maurice, Egypt was the place where it all started and it all will end, best shown on the cover of Raise! Iril Kolle in Norway says:
PS: There seems to be some disagreement when it comes to the Ankh symbol (read "life");
1) It doesn’t just mean life but resurrection, because the Ankh is put together by a T-shaped cross and death, and that this is supposed to symbolize re-incarnation and is "the key to the gates of life and death".
2) Others mean the symbol is put together by the sun and that the "T" is the horizon over the River Nile. An early version is supposed to symbolize both sunrise and sunset.
3) Eternal Life, and when it’s shown in the hands of royal people it means "the gift of eternal life".
4) The key to the River Nile + the union between Isis and Osiris
5) Life AND immortality
6) Life AND man and woman
7) Holy matrimony between Gods/Goddesses
8) Different combinations of the above

The Hexagram symbol which is (also) the star of the jewish people has many more meanings. Fundamental it is a Hexagram. In the Nsibidi script of West Africa, the symbol meant ardent love. Maybe Maurice knew this. All in all it is a very old mystic symbol in many cultures and religions with a lot of spiritual meanings.

The one beside the star should be the candlestick of the Jewish religion. I do not know what it means, but in the music of EWF there are always songs about fire and sparkles, so light has a big meaning.

The eighth symbol is called Eye Of Horus. Horus was an old Egyptian sun God with the head shaped like a falcon. It’s found frequently in Egyptian art. Also known as Egyptian Eye or Psychic Eye.

The statue of Shakespeare as symbol for the power of words and intellectuality.

The symbol of all Christians.

Then there is Shiva, God of the Hindus. Shiva is the Dancing God, his message is "Everything in this universe is a part of the big dance". Last years physics experiments have somehow the same result. Nobody in our days can say, that there are separated parts in this universe. The actual point of view for this cosmos is, that everything is somehow connected with everything and that everything moves. Forget the protons and electrons, forget the planets and solar systems, they all are only aspects of one and the same thing which is the "Eternal Dance".

This is the well known Kalimba, an African thumb piano. The kalimba is clearly close to Maurice White’s heart, he introduced it to millions of listeners by making it a centerpiece of Earth, Wind & Fire’s spectacular concerts.