Stop. What are symbols?
from Webster:
Main Entry: 1sym·bol
Pronunciation: 'sim-b&l
Function: noun
Etymology: in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw -- more at DEVIL

1 : an authoritative summary of faith or doctrine : CREED

2 : something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance; especially : a visible sign of something invisible

3 : an arbitrary or conventional sign used in writing or printing relating to a particular field to represent operations, quantities, elements, relations, or qualities

4 : an object or act representing something in the unconscious mind that has been repressed

5 : an act, sound, or object having cultural significance and the capacity to excite or objectify a response

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