Safety pins are supposed to keep your clothes together. But what if I told you that the safety pin is more than just a useful tool for keeping clothing closed? What if I told you that it is in fact a sacred object dating back thousands of years and is a symbol of not only protection but also creation and divinity?
The safety pin consists of a short pin stem and a flat circular head. The stem can be straight or curved and is either attached to a safety chain or clasp or can stand freely on its own. The most popular materials for this accessory are metal and plastic, but there are also many varieties that are made of wood and other materials such as bone, stone, glass and gems. It’s one of the most well-known symbols that dates back to early Roman times. Details about; Safety Pin Cross Meaning, Dream of Safety Pin in Mouth.
Spiritual Meaning Of A Safety Pin
The safety pin is a symbol of protection for many people. It has been used in this capacity since at least the early 20th century, when it was first used as a way to protect workers from getting injured on the job.
The safety pin itself can be seen as a symbol of protection because it makes it easier for people to fasten their clothing and keep it closed, which may be helpful in preventing cuts and scrapes while they are working or doing other types of physical labor.
In addition to its practical use, the safety pin has also become associated with other spiritual meanings as well. The most common one is that it represents fertility and childbirth, since it looks like a baby’s umbilical cord. Another common symbolic meaning is that it represents hope or faithfulness. This could be because a person who attaches the safety pin to something else is demonstrating their trust in its ability to hold up whatever they’ve attached it to; however, some people believe that if you attach an object with two pins instead of just one then this will make sure that nothing bad happens to you or your loved ones (this probably isn’t true).
The safety pin is a symbol of protection. It has been used as a symbol of protection since the Great Plague in 1665, when people would pin a ribbon or piece of cloth to their chest or sleeve to identify themselves as healthy and safe. It was also used during the Black Death in 14th century Europe, when red crosses were painted on the doors of those who were still healthy to protect them from those who were already infected.
In modern times, the safety pin can be used as a personal reminder to be vigilant about your health and wellbeing—it can help you stay on top of any symptoms that may indicate illness, and it can remind you to take care of yourself so that you don’t become ill in the first place.
Spiritual Meaning Of A Safety Pin
Safety Pin Hidden Meaning
- Protection: The safety pin is often seen as a symbol of protection. It represents the ability to keep oneself safe from harm or danger. Just as a safety pin holds things together and prevents them from falling apart, it serves as a reminder to protect oneself from negative influences and maintain a sense of security.
- Inner Strength: The safety pin can also symbolize inner strength. It reminds us that we have the power to overcome obstacles and hold ourselves together even in challenging times. The ability of a simple safety pin to withstand pressure and hold things tightly represents our resilience and ability to stay strong.
- Adaptability: The safety pin’s hidden meaning also includes adaptability. It is a versatile tool that can be used for various purposes. In the spiritual sense, it signifies our ability to adapt to different situations, embrace change, and find creative solutions to problems. Just like a safety pin can be modified to fit different needs, we can adapt ourselves to different circumstances and navigate through life’s challenges.
Safety Pin Meaning in Love
- Unity: The safety pin holds two sides together and prevents them from separating. In the context of love, it signifies the bond and unity between two individuals. It serves as a reminder to maintain strong connections in relationships and work towards a harmonious partnership.
- Protection of the Heart: Love can be fragile, and the safety pin’s meaning in love is to protect the heart. It symbolizes the need to guard one’s emotions and prevent them from being hurt or broken. Just as a safety pin secures something in place, it encourages individuals to protect their hearts and be cautious in matters of love.
- Repairing Relationships: The safety pin’s meaning in love also extends to repairing relationships. It represents the power of forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. Just as a safety pin can mend torn fabric, it reminds us that love has the strength to mend broken bonds and restore harmony in relationships.
Symbolic Meaning of a Safety Pin in Dreams
- Guidance: When a safety pin appears in dreams, it may carry a symbolic meaning related to guidance. It serves as a sign to pay attention to the guidance and messages received from the spiritual realm. The presence of a safety pin in dreams suggests that divine forces are offering assistance and protection in navigating through life’s challenges.
- Support: The symbolic meaning of a safety pin in dreams can also indicate the need for support. It signifies that there might be areas in one’s life where support is needed, whether emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Just as a safety pin supports and holds things together, it encourages individuals to seek the necessary support to overcome obstacles and maintain stability.
- Overcoming Obstacles: Dreams featuring a safety pin can symbolize the ability to overcome obstacles and find solutions. It reminds individuals that they possess the inner resources to overcome adversity. Just as a safety pin holds things in place, it reflects the resilience and determination required to navigate through challenges.
Spiritual Meaning Of A Bobby Pin
A few days after Donald Trump won the electoral votes for president, some people started suggesting that pro-immigrant people in the US wear safety pins in emulation of the movement in Britain after Brexit to signal support for immigrants. A social media debate quickly ensued about what this might mean, some asserting that the safety pin meant that an immigrant could view one as a “safe” White person, some ridiculing the exercise as a “feel-good” effort by Whites to distance themselves from the White nationalist vote, some interpreting its meaning as “I don’t agree with Trump.” (This latter interpretation was offered by both pro- and anti-Trump people.)
My entirely unsystematic observations were that it was African Americans who were mostly negative and White liberals (like me) who were trying to figure out what the “meaning” of the pin would turn out to be. I’m not sure what immigrants thought about safety pins, although I know they are generally frightened by the election results.
Through a neighborhood email newsletter I learned that a family in the area received a racist hate letter using the N-word after the election and that a resident who is also a minister ordered a bunch of yard signs that say “No matter where you’re from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor” in English, Spanish and Arabic. I bought one and will put it in my yard. I really don’t know how this action will be viewed by actual immigrants.
Dream of Safety Pin in Mouth
A safety pin is a useful item that can be used to keep your clothes together. Safety pins are also symbols of protection, security, and healing. Aside from using it to repair clothing, the safety pin is also used as a decorative item. In your dreams, if you see yourself using a safety pin, this could mean that you need to protect yourself from something or someone. You may also be feeling insecure about something or someone in your life.
If you dream about a safety pin in your mouth, this means that you will have some bad news to tell someone soon because something bad is going to happen soon, but it’s not going to affect you personally so don’t worry about it too much because it won’t affect
Dreaming about a safety pin in your mouth suggests that you are holding back something or keeping something secret from others. You may have been hurt by someone in the past and now feel reluctant to trust them again because of their potential betrayal. If you dream of swallowing a safety pin, then this dream may be telling you that you are ready to share some information with others but are afraid they may not believe what you say since it seems unbelievable at first glance.
Safety Pin Cross Meaning
Safety pins are used to fasten clothing. They are also used as a symbol of faith and hope. The safety pin is an important part of the Christian religion. The symbol of the safety pin has many different meanings. It can be used for healing purposes or times of trouble in your life. It can also be used as a reminder that God is always there for you no matter what. This is a great way to remind yourself that God is always with you during difficult times in your life.
The safety pin cross meaning is one of protection, healing and hope. The safety pin represents that someone else will protect you and keep you safe from harm when needed. The cross reminds us that we need to protect ourselves from all negative things in life so we can live a happier and healthier life without any worries or fears about what may happen in the future if we don’t take care of ourselves first.
Dreaming of a safety pin in your mouth means that you are going through a very stressful period in your life. You may be feeling overwhelmed with all of the responsibilities and obligations that you have to meet. You may be feeling like you are at the end of your rope and your patience is wearing thin. You need to take some time for yourself to relax so that you can regain your energy and enthusiasm for life.
The safety pin cross symbolizes protection and salvation from danger. In ancient times people believed that wearing crosses would protect them from evil forces such as demons and vampires who were said to roam around at night looking for victims to kill or suck blood out of their bodies.
Safety Pin Dream Interpretation
In a dream, if you see yourself holding a safety pin in your hand, it means that you will get some profit from a lost investment. If you see others holding it, then it means that they are going to be beneficiaries of someone else’s wealth.
If you see yourself wearing a safety pin cross on your clothes, then it represents your faithfulness to your religion and beliefs. You will feel very proud of yourself and confident about your abilities and skills.
A safety pin in your mouth can also symbolize being stuck in a rut or routine. Your life feels stagnant, like nothing exciting ever happens anymore. There are no new experiences or interesting people entering into your life. This dream could also mean that something inside of yourself needs fixing or healing before you can move forward with your life goals and aspirations.
There are some non-Muslim women who have taken to wearing scarves as a symbol of solidarity with Muslims (one story circulating talks about attacks on a non-Muslim woman who was wearing a scarf due to hair loss from cancer treatment), an action that has received (so far as I know) little endorsement from Muslims and some responses that say that this subtracts from the religious symbolism of wearing hijab. After Trayvon Martin was killed, many Black people put up pictures of themselves in a hoodie with “I am Trayvon Martin,” but also often objected when Whites did the same, because the point was that a White person in a hoodie was not treated the same.
In the 1990s, Madison had a flurry of protests and counter-protests in which out-of-town anti-gay protesters were picketing pro-gay churches. Many Madison residents, including me, put up yard signs distributed primarily through churches that said “Madison supports its gays and lesbians.” About the same time, the KKK came through, and we also put up “Let your Light Shine, Fight Racism” signs in our yards. (I recall having both in my yard in the same winter.) Also in the 1990s, many of us wore rainbow ribbons (I kept mine pinned to my purse so I didn’t have to remember to put it on), again as a symbol of support for gays and lesbians. During the first Gulf War, Madison’s lawns often featured either anti-war signs or “support our troops” signs or, often, both. Earlier this year, after a lot of Black Lives Matter protests here as well as around the country, in addition to the relatively small number of yard signs or flags supporting BLM, some streets blossomed the “Support our Police” yard signs. And, of course, yard signs are a staple of political campaigns, most Decembers see a flurry of “Keep Christ in Christmas” yard signs, and Wisconsin Badger and Green Bay Packer pennants fly all around town on particular weekends.
So how should we think about these visible symbols and the varying reactions they elicit?
Let’s begin with the obvious. Symbols are symbols, and displaying a symbol is not the same thing as showing up for a protest or taking other active steps to pursue social policies you believe in. Wearing or displaying some sort of symbol of support for a minority is not the same thing as being a minority, nor will the symbol necessarily be interpreted by others in the way it is meant. This does not make symbols meaningless. They are visible symbols of adherence to some cause or belief system and, as such, open the wearer to reactions from others. But, as symbols, they are subject to multiple interpretations and their meaning varies with context. So those displaying symbols and those viewing others’ displays of symbols need to do interpretive work to understand the symbol and to assess the consequences of displaying it.
If you display or wear a symbol that you are sure others around you will approve of, you have little to lose from the symbol and something to gain. Signaling support for a cause the majority supports signals your affiliation with the majority. Supporting a beleaguered minority in a context where the majority is at least tolerant is also a low-cost gesture. When I displayed pro-gay ribbons and yard signs, I had no expectation of negative reaction, and I doubt any other straight person in Madison did either.
But that does not mean it was meaningless. Gays and lesbians I knew personally were feeling attacked and the visible support was meaningful to them. The signs and ribbons were passed out at church by people I knew. In that context, I could either display the symbol or not display it but, either way, my action would be interpreted as having meaning. I felt the same way about this latest “welcome neighbor” sign. When confronted with the question, I could either put up a sign or not put up a sign, but either choice carried meaning. I know of at least some instances in the 1990s in which gay and lesbian people stated that the signs made them feel supported and better about living in Madison. Of course, you can “do” support without yard signs or ribbons. After 9/11, Christian churches and Jewish congregations reached out to Muslim congregations (and Muslim congregations for their parts held open houses) and Muslims generally felt supported in Madison, even without yard signs or ribbons.
In places where the symbol is low cost, one can justly be suspected of displaying the symbol just to go along with the majority or as a low cost way of feeling good about a problem you don’t plan to do anything more about.
The same yard signs and ribbons (or safety pins) in some areas would not be safe gestures but would open up a person to verbal or physical assaults, or worse. Whites who visibly supported Blacks in the old rural South or Chicago’s segregated White neighborhoods in the 1950s were violently attacked and had their houses bombed. Displaying pro-gay symbols in areas dominated by conservative Christians in the 1990s could lead to hostile interactions. Even displaying the wrong sports team colors can get you hurt in some contexts.
Displaying a symbol where you know you are an opinion minority, and especially where it opens you to attack, is a very different gesture than where it is safe. In these contexts, it is an act of dissent. It is especially meaningful to dissent visibly in contexts where a dangerous segment of the majority feels empowered to commit violence against minorities. In these contexts, the symbol does not necessarily mean “I am a safe person” but “I am willing to draw the attention of dangerous people” or “not everybody supports those people.” If the intent is actually to shelter minorities from violence, the goal usually is to get as many people as possible to wear the symbol of dissent, to signal to those who intend violence that they cannot act with impunity and cannot count on community support.
Conversely, yard signs and other symbols are sometimes used by majorities to coerce compliance or intimidate minorities. Pro-police, pro-KKK, anti-gay, anti-immigrant symbols and yard signs signal to minorities that they are not safe in the area. When you know that you are in an area where your views are contested, your visible symbol chooses sides.
Another dimension is the clarity or ambiguity of a symbol. This also is contextual. In the US today, it is not quite clear what a safety pin is supposed to signal. Does it merely signal opposition to violent attacks on minorities, or does it also signal opposition to deportations and registries? Can I assume that a safety pin wearer supports DACA and keeping DACA students in the US? Does a safety pin also mean the wearer supports Black Lives Matter? Expanded immigration policies? Or is it merely a signal that one voted Democratic and is vaguely against “hate”? Or that the person voted for Trump (or Stein?) and wants to disguise the fact in a liberal area? In the late 1960s during the anti-war movement I once tied a white scarf to the sleeve of my dark jacket when biking at night across campus so I could be seen. Several people stopped and asked me what my white scarf “meant.” Was it a new anti-war symbol? If so, they did not want to be late to adopt.
But non-verbal symbols can come to have very clear meanings. In Britain, the safety pin has a clear meaning, from what I’ve read, although its meaning in the US is not clear. In the US, a spray-painted swastika can be safely assumed to be the work of neo-Nazis meant to intimidate minorities and not a Hindu religious symbol. Text is often clearer: The phrase “let your light shine, oppose racism” is hopefully a clearer symbol that merely lighting a candle in your window in December, and “Madison supports its gays and lesbians” is also relatively clear. The latest sign about being happy my neighbors are here, written in Spanish and Arabic, also conveys pretty clear meaning in its language choices as well as its content, although could be criticized for its ambiguity about racism (as the impetus for the signs was a hate letter that used the N-word) and immigration policy (as the sign does not mention your document status).
The ambiguity of a symbol can make signaling one’s actual opinions complex. This is a Christian-majority country and there is a strong politicized Christian movement that is affiliated with White nationalism and/or strong anti-abortion sentiments and/or hostility to gays, lesbians, transgender and other sexual minorities and/or hatred of Muslims or, possibly, Jews. This makes any overt Christian symbol (a cross, a crucifix, a “keep Christ in Christmas” yard sign) an ambiguous symbol that is likely to be interpreted both by non-Christians and also Christians one does not know as a symbol of adherence to the Christian Right or at least Republicanism. Muslim women have a similar problem, as their hijab is often interpreted as symbolizing things other than what they think it symbolizes.
The minister who organized the welcome neighbor signs in Madison told reporters that part of his motivation was that as a White Evangelical Christian, he wanted to distance himself from White Evangelical Christians who are advocating messages that he considers hateful. In the 1990s, pro-gay churches similarly sought to distance themselves from the association of Christianity with anti-gay movements.
But even text symbols can “mean” something other than what the user thinks it meant. I interpret the pro-police yard signs in Madison as “meaning” opposition to Black Lives Matter, as I interpret “Blue Lives Matter” to have a similar meaning. I make this interpretation because there were no pro-police signs in Madison before Black Lives Matter, because the only contextual factor that could be construed as anti-police would be Black Lives Matter, and because the last time pro-police signs and bumper stickers were common it was the “Support Your Local Police” bumper sticker campaign launched by the far-right John Birch Society in 1963. In fact, a quick Google search reveals that the JBS has revived this campaign and there is now a movement among police to spread this slogan as opposition to federal attempts to supervise and rein in the excesses of local police. It could be that someone who put up that sign lives next door to a police officer and couldn’t say no when asked to put it up, despite the person’s private support for Black Lives Matter and concern about racial disparities in Madison. But the “meaning” of the sign still encodes opposition to BLM, regardless of private motives. Likewise, some of my neighbors referred to pro-Trump yard signs in the area as evidence of “hate,” a characterization which other neighbors objected to.
Symbols have to be collective to have any meaning at all, and that is why they tend to have a fad-like character and are typically promulgated and distributed by organizations. That is also why people may contest the meaning of symbols. They are superficial and elusive conveyors of meaning. There are no clear guidelines about when to display symbols and how they will be interpreted. But the use of symbols to convey one’s identity and stance with respect to important issues is an important part of how people come to perceive the opinions of those around them. And that is important.