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Available as a print on Etsy

This is a medieval-style coat of arms that was inspired by the throne room scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. If you want to understand the reasons why certain elements were chosen, read on.

  However, before I start, I just want to point out that some of the symbols I picked have different meanings depending on what culture is using them. Some of those meanings may be opposite to the meanings that I intended when I chose them (for example, a dragon here represents evil although in some cultures dragons are a force of good). For purposes of this drawing, keep in mind that almost all symbols used here come from a historic European perspective. With that being said, here is the explanation of the symbolism used:

  I decided to depict Rey as a white lioness and Kylo Ren as a black unicorn. Lions are associated with strength and courage, so making Rey a lioness seemed fitting. The lion is interesting though because even though it is usually portrayed in a good light, lions are also naturally very wild and aggressive. So, the lion can be viewed as being a dark animal that is light-aligned. In this way, Rey’s character is similar to that of the lion. She is the heroic, strong-willed girl who is determined to do the right thing and yet, she sometimes seems to have dark traits. She fights with anger and is unafraid of the dark side. Like the lion, she too can be seen as having some darkness at heart but is ultimately light-aligned. To further emphasize the good traits within the lion, I chose to make its fur white. White typically represents goodness, innocence, purity, etc. I gave the lioness the scar that Rey received in the throne room fight, however I had to move it to the other arm because otherwise it obviously wouldn’t be visible. One final note about the lion is that they are social animals that greatly depend on their pride. Rey’s main concern is her lack of family. It troubles her deeply and she struggles to get past it. A lioness with no pride would be a very sad lioness indeed.

  To see why I chose to represent Kylo Ren as a unicorn, it must be understood that the symbolism of the unicorn as it was originally depicted is much different from how the unicorn is depicted nowadays. The modern unicorn is seen as a gentle, feminine animal. Oftentimes they are colorful, sparkly, and magical. However, in the past, unicorns were affiliated with masculine energy and were considered to be the most dangerous animal on Earth by people of the times. If attacked, they would viciously kill whoever had provoked them without a second thought. They were impossible to capture alive through traditional hunting means. Despite them having a kind of outward darkness/violence, they were actually a creature that represented light. Though they were furious and deadly, they were also seen as being incredibly pure and brave. Though the unicorn was filled with rage, it seems that its anger was directed at the unrighteous (like people who would try to kill it, usually because they greedily wanted its horn). The unicorn was known to be strongly attracted to those who were pure of heart. In fact, the legends say that the only way to calm the fire that burned in the unicorn’s heart was for it to encounter a pure maiden. Upon seeing her, it would be so drawn to her virtuousness that it would walk right up to her, kneel, and set its head in her lap and fall asleep. So, in summary, the unicorn is a creature of the light that has a violent, angry exterior. Its violence can be quelled by light, which it finds itself drawn to. But, what if a unicorn were to be corrupted somehow and got mixed up about good and evil? That would be an extremely dangerous thing.

  Now, let’s turn to Kylo Ren. He is a powerful character full of rage and he directs that anger at attacking those who he feels are wrong. Adam Driver has described Kylo as, “Someone who’s becoming more entrenched in his ideas, almost to a religious fervor, and is so certain that he’s doing the right thing.” But, while Kylo believes that he is fighting the unjust, he actually isn’t. The First Order are on the wrong side, not the Resistance. In a way, he is like a corrupted unicorn. Like the unicorn, he attacks who he believes are unjust with his full fury and is generally extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, he has mixed up right and wrong. Despite his mix-up, in the end, he is still drawn to what is truly light. He tries time and time again to ignore the pull of the light, but it seems that his struggle never ends. He has light within but is dark on the outside. A light character that is dark-aligned. The unicorn’s black coat is meant to emphasize these dark traits over the light ones. Black has historically been representative of darkness, so by making the unicorn black, we end up with a symbolic creature that should be inherently good, that should be valiantly fighting against wickedness, and yet it isn’t doing the things that it should be doing because its nature has been corrupted. It has become dark. Will the corrupted unicorn eventually wake up and realize that it has gone astray and change back to what it was meant to be? That remains to be seen, but I personally hope so.

  Continuing on, you may have noticed that the horn of this unicorn is cracked. The unicorn’s horn was believed to be the source of its power and strength. The crack represents Kylo’s instability and parallels his unstable lightsaber. Since Kylo’s mother was a princess, he technically descends from royalty (even if it doesn’t really mean much). He is, in a way, a dark prince. For his minor tie to royalty, I opted to give the unicorn a small crown above its head. The broken chain on its foot represents that Kylo was bound to his master Snoke, but upon killing him, has broken the chain. From that point forward, all of his choices and actions are entirely his own.

  I want to add at this point that I am aware that the the lion and the unicorn are a symbol of the United Kingdom and I know about their rivalry. However, that whole story in no way influenced my decision to pick these animals because that story is a political metaphor rather than being a part of traditional mythology (which is what I was basing most of this off of).

  The blue crystals between them are kyber crystals, which are the crystals found in the heart of a lightsaber that give the lightsaber its energy. The red thread that binds the lioness, the unicorn, and the crystals together is the ‘Red Thread of Fate.’ It serves to represent that the destinies of Rey and Kylo Ren are entwined. The black and white orbs above their heads are meant to invoke Yin and Yang, a classic symbol of harmony and balance. The colors of their coats also reflect this. Rey, the white lioness, has some darkness in her (black orb) and Kylo, the black unicorn, has some light in him (white orb). The hilts of their swords are stylized after the lightsabers they wield.

  Looming above the main figures is the skull of a dragon. Dragons in European folklore were typically powerful, villainous beasts. They were difficult enemies to conquer and attempts to slay them often lead to the deaths of whoever tried. They were often greedy and lusted for treasure. For these reasons, I chose a dragon to represent Snoke. He seems to have been a guy with a taste for the finer things, seeing that he lounged around his quarters wearing an extravagant golden robe and slippers and all. He was also greedy in his own way through his craving for power. Since he was the Supreme Leader of the First Order (essentially a king), I gave him an extravagant crown to show his status. His crown is adorned with an inverted cross to further emphasize his villainy. Imbedded in the cross is a small black stone just like the obsidian Snoke had in his ring. The dragon’s skull is cracked in the same way that Snoke’s head seemed to have been split open once in life. Its ears are tattered to reflect Snoke’s ancientness. The blood from the dragon is dripping onto the swords held by the lioness and the unicorn to show their involvement in his eventual slaying.

  The six snakes represent the red Praetorian Guards. (I am aware that there were actually eight guards in the movie, not six, but I felt that six snakes looked better. I didn’t want this piece to become too cluttered.) Snakes are often shown as symbol for darkness and these particular snakes are depicted emanating out from their reptilian master, the dragon. They appear as though they were trying to protect or avenge the dragon. They are poised to strike at both the lioness and the unicorn equally, though the lioness and the unicorn have managed to slice off their heads before they could do any real damage. The snakes’ tongues glow red like parts of the weapons carried by the guards did.

  The text on the banner at the bottom is inspired by an exchange of dialogue between Luke and Rey when Luke is teaching Rey about the Force. Rey reaches out to the Force and describes all the polar opposites that she feels (life/death, warmth/cold, etc.) to Luke, and Luke asks, “And between it all?” To which she replies, “Balance.” I feel that this dialogue not only summarizes the central theme of Star Wars in a neat and concise way, but it also summarizes the characters of Rey and Kylo Ren thus far. They are opposites and yet, because of that, they complement each other (as director Rian Johnson said once, they are “two halves of the protagonist”). This ties back into the idea of Yin and Yang. The plant motif emanating from both sides of the banner is meant mostly as a decorative element, but the colors are significant. The blue at the heart of the leaves is the color of Rey’s lightsaber. It changes to purple and becomes red, the color of Kylo’s lightsaber.

(Please don’t try to engage in discourse about how terrible you think TLJ was if you didn’t like it. You’re entitled to your opinion, but I personally enjoyed it. Also, all of this is my own personal interpretation of the movie and you may feel differently than I did regarding certain things and that’s okay.)

Materials: Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils, Caran-D'ache Luminance white colored pencil

Tumblr | Etsy | Horror Prints | Instagram | Instagram (Snail Art)

Description
Available as a print on Etsy

This is a medieval-style coat of arms that was inspired by the throne room scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. If you want to understand the reasons why certain elements were chosen, read on.

  However, before I start, I just want to point out that some of the symbols I picked have different meanings depending on what culture is using them. Some of those meanings may be opposite to the meanings that I intended when I chose them (for example, a dragon here represents evil although in some cultures dragons are a force of good). For purposes of this drawing, keep in mind that almost all symbols used here come from a historic European perspective. With that being said, here is the explanation of the symbolism used:

  I decided to depict Rey as a white lioness and Kylo Ren as a black unicorn. Lions are associated with strength and courage, so making Rey a lioness seemed fitting. The lion is interesting though because even though it is usually portrayed in a good light, lions are also naturally very wild and aggressive. So, the lion can be viewed as being a dark animal that is light-aligned. In this way, Rey’s character is similar to that of the lion. She is the heroic, strong-willed girl who is determined to do the right thing and yet, she sometimes seems to have dark traits. She fights with anger and is unafraid of the dark side. Like the lion, she too can be seen as having some darkness at heart but is ultimately light-aligned. To further emphasize the good traits within the lion, I chose to make its fur white. White typically represents goodness, innocence, purity, etc. I gave the lioness the scar that Rey received in the throne room fight, however I had to move it to the other arm because otherwise it obviously wouldn’t be visible. One final note about the lion is that they are social animals that greatly depend on their pride. Rey’s main concern is her lack of family. It troubles her deeply and she struggles to get past it. A lioness with no pride would be a very sad lioness indeed.

  To see why I chose to represent Kylo Ren as a unicorn, it must be understood that the symbolism of the unicorn as it was originally depicted is much different from how the unicorn is depicted nowadays. The modern unicorn is seen as a gentle, feminine animal. Oftentimes they are colorful, sparkly, and magical. However, in the past, unicorns were affiliated with masculine energy and were considered to be the most dangerous animal on Earth by people of the times. If attacked, they would viciously kill whoever had provoked them without a second thought. They were impossible to capture alive through traditional hunting means. Despite them having a kind of outward darkness/violence, they were actually a creature that represented light. Though they were furious and deadly, they were also seen as being incredibly pure and brave. Though the unicorn was filled with rage, it seems that its anger was directed at the unrighteous (like people who would try to kill it, usually because they greedily wanted its horn). The unicorn was known to be strongly attracted to those who were pure of heart. In fact, the legends say that the only way to calm the fire that burned in the unicorn’s heart was for it to encounter a pure maiden. Upon seeing her, it would be so drawn to her virtuousness that it would walk right up to her, kneel, and set its head in her lap and fall asleep. So, in summary, the unicorn is a creature of the light that has a violent, angry exterior. Its violence can be quelled by light, which it finds itself drawn to. But, what if a unicorn were to be corrupted somehow and got mixed up about good and evil? That would be an extremely dangerous thing.

  Now, let’s turn to Kylo Ren. He is a powerful character full of rage and he directs that anger at attacking those who he feels are wrong. Adam Driver has described Kylo as, “Someone who’s becoming more entrenched in his ideas, almost to a religious fervor, and is so certain that he’s doing the right thing.” But, while Kylo believes that he is fighting the unjust, he actually isn’t. The First Order are on the wrong side, not the Resistance. In a way, he is like a corrupted unicorn. Like the unicorn, he attacks who he believes are unjust with his full fury and is generally extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, he has mixed up right and wrong. Despite his mix-up, in the end, he is still drawn to what is truly light. He tries time and time again to ignore the pull of the light, but it seems that his struggle never ends. He has light within but is dark on the outside. A light character that is dark-aligned. The unicorn’s black coat is meant to emphasize these dark traits over the light ones. Black has historically been representative of darkness, so by making the unicorn black, we end up with a symbolic creature that should be inherently good, that should be valiantly fighting against wickedness, and yet it isn’t doing the things that it should be doing because its nature has been corrupted. It has become dark. Will the corrupted unicorn eventually wake up and realize that it has gone astray and change back to what it was meant to be? That remains to be seen, but I personally hope so.

  Continuing on, you may have noticed that the horn of this unicorn is cracked. The unicorn’s horn was believed to be the source of its power and strength. The crack represents Kylo’s instability and parallels his unstable lightsaber. Since Kylo’s mother was a princess, he technically descends from royalty (even if it doesn’t really mean much). He is, in a way, a dark prince. For his minor tie to royalty, I opted to give the unicorn a small crown above its head. The broken chain on its foot represents that Kylo was bound to his master Snoke, but upon killing him, has broken the chain. From that point forward, all of his choices and actions are entirely his own.

  I want to add at this point that I am aware that the the lion and the unicorn are a symbol of the United Kingdom and I know about their rivalry. However, that whole story in no way influenced my decision to pick these animals because that story is a political metaphor rather than being a part of traditional mythology (which is what I was basing most of this off of).

  The blue crystals between them are kyber crystals, which are the crystals found in the heart of a lightsaber that give the lightsaber its energy. The red thread that binds the lioness, the unicorn, and the crystals together is the ‘Red Thread of Fate.’ It serves to represent that the destinies of Rey and Kylo Ren are entwined. The black and white orbs above their heads are meant to invoke Yin and Yang, a classic symbol of harmony and balance. The colors of their coats also reflect this. Rey, the white lioness, has some darkness in her (black orb) and Kylo, the black unicorn, has some light in him (white orb). The hilts of their swords are stylized after the lightsabers they wield.

  Looming above the main figures is the skull of a dragon. Dragons in European folklore were typically powerful, villainous beasts. They were difficult enemies to conquer and attempts to slay them often lead to the deaths of whoever tried. They were often greedy and lusted for treasure. For these reasons, I chose a dragon to represent Snoke. He seems to have been a guy with a taste for the finer things, seeing that he lounged around his quarters wearing an extravagant golden robe and slippers and all. He was also greedy in his own way through his craving for power. Since he was the Supreme Leader of the First Order (essentially a king), I gave him an extravagant crown to show his status. His crown is adorned with an inverted cross to further emphasize his villainy. Imbedded in the cross is a small black stone just like the obsidian Snoke had in his ring. The dragon’s skull is cracked in the same way that Snoke’s head seemed to have been split open once in life. Its ears are tattered to reflect Snoke’s ancientness. The blood from the dragon is dripping onto the swords held by the lioness and the unicorn to show their involvement in his eventual slaying.

  The six snakes represent the red Praetorian Guards. (I am aware that there were actually eight guards in the movie, not six, but I felt that six snakes looked better. I didn’t want this piece to become too cluttered.) Snakes are often shown as symbol for darkness and these particular snakes are depicted emanating out from their reptilian master, the dragon. They appear as though they were trying to protect or avenge the dragon. They are poised to strike at both the lioness and the unicorn equally, though the lioness and the unicorn have managed to slice off their heads before they could do any real damage. The snakes’ tongues glow red like parts of the weapons carried by the guards did.

  The text on the banner at the bottom is inspired by an exchange of dialogue between Luke and Rey when Luke is teaching Rey about the Force. Rey reaches out to the Force and describes all the polar opposites that she feels (life/death, warmth/cold, etc.) to Luke, and Luke asks, “And between it all?” To which she replies, “Balance.” I feel that this dialogue not only summarizes the central theme of Star Wars in a neat and concise way, but it also summarizes the characters of Rey and Kylo Ren thus far. They are opposites and yet, because of that, they complement each other (as director Rian Johnson said once, they are “two halves of the protagonist”). This ties back into the idea of Yin and Yang. The plant motif emanating from both sides of the banner is meant mostly as a decorative element, but the colors are significant. The blue at the heart of the leaves is the color of Rey’s lightsaber. It changes to purple and becomes red, the color of Kylo’s lightsaber.

(Please don’t try to engage in discourse about how terrible you think TLJ was if you didn’t like it. You’re entitled to your opinion, but I personally enjoyed it. Also, all of this is my own personal interpretation of the movie and you may feel differently than I did regarding certain things and that’s okay.)

Materials: Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils, Caran-D'ache Luminance white colored pencil

Tumblr | Etsy | Horror Prints | Instagram | Instagram (Snail Art)