Less Than Three

A question that's been burning inside me all week: why are hearts shaped like this <3, when they don't actually look a thing like that?

I am attempting to challenge myself and do my own research fully instead of pulling from Wiki. Let me tell you, there is a lot of stuff out there on heart lore. So much so that I don't know where to begin or what to tell you and not tell you.

I guess I'll start at the beginning. According to an article called The Shape of My Heart, in the seventh century B.C., there was a rare plant called silphium. I guess it was a form of birth control that was quite profitable for the city-state Cyrene (an ancient Greek colony found in present-day Libya). Being such a core source of income for Cyrene, the folks decided to put a picture of its seed on their coin. The seed apparently had a similar shape to the less-than-three heart we're so familiar with today and because the plant was associated with birth control and sex, it eventually became the symbol of love. Somehow. I think this is all hilarious because each time I read "silphium" I hear "syphilis" (because obviously every word that starts with s and has a ph in the middle and relates to sex is the same word as syphilis) and if that's the symbol of love, so help us all.

Onward, to the Catholic Church. I suppose I should have started with them because they always put themselves first so I should too, right? According to The History of the Heart, in the late 17th century, a Saint named Margaret Marie Alacoque had a vision of the <3 surrounded by a thorn crown. Yet, centuries earlier, the heart was used in many stained glass windows and cloister decorations. Apparently all of this means that in Christian world, the <3 is symbolic for Jesus' soul.

Further inquiry reveals a more down-to-earth heart tale. One of ancient people making a botched attempt at recreating the pumping organ on paper.

So those are my options? An ancient birth control plant, a bad drawing, or Jesus' soul?

I'm beginning to rethink my use of the <3 symbol.