Ukrainian folk symbols
What the motifs on Ukrainian embroidery, pysanky and ceramics mean. Where folk interpretations differ, we give them all — and we mark modern readings as modern.
Plant motifs
GrapevineA plant motif of a grape cluster or a winding vine with clusters, one of the most common fruit ornaments in Ukrainian embroidery and on pysanky.
HopsHops is a plant motif of a twining stem with leaves and cones; in Ukrainian folk songs it stands for a young man, courtship and wedding merriment.
KalynaA plant motif of red berry clusters and leaves; in folklore one of the central images, linked above all with a young woman, love and weddings.
Ruzha (rose)Ruzha, or rozha, is an eight-petaled flower rosette with no clear botanical features; in folk speech the word meant both the hollyhock and the rose.
Tree of lifeThe tree of life is a plant composition with a tree, flowerpot or flower at its center, which scholars see as the main cosmological image of Ukrainian folk ornament.
Geometric motifs
Eight-pointed starThe eight-pointed (eight-rayed) star is one of the most common geometric motifs in Ukrainian embroidery, weaving and pysanky.
Meander (bezkonechnyk)A continuous broken or wavy line with no beginning and no end that encircles a pysanka or runs as a border; the Ukrainian folk name for the meander.
Animal and bird motifs
DeerAn animal motif of a deer with spreading antlers, known from Hutsul pysanky, embroidery and ceramics, and from carols in which the deer has marvelous antlers.
RoosterThe rooster, a bird whose crowing "measured out" the night and announced dawn; one of the most recognizable animal motifs in Ukrainian folk art.
Human figures
Embroidery symbols at a glance
A short guide to the most common motifs on Ukrainian embroidered shirts and towels.