Let Wisdom Guide - understanding the College's Coat of Arms

RCPsych Treasurer Professor John Crichton discusses the symbolism behind the College’s Coat of Arms, exploring its historical and mythological influences and how it represents the role of psychiatrists.

While you may be very familiar with the College’s Coat of Arms, you might not know the extent to which it represents who we are as a community of psychiatrists. The relevance of this heraldic emblem, which will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2026, might at first glance not be obvious, but upon closer inspection it reveals a wealth of symbolism. It is a gift from an earlier generation and, despite being nearly a century old, remains relevant today.

Snakes and butterflies

At the centre of the design, we see the serpent-entwined Staff of Aesculapius, the Greek God of Medicine and Healing. This image is known across many parts of the world as a symbol of healthcare and medical practice and, here on our Coat of Arms, the snake and staff signify our role as doctors. We then have two additional snakes, which feature prominently as the supporters either side of the central shield. Some suggest the significance of the Aesculapian snakes – which are nonvenomous – may lie in their usefulness in keeping vermin at bay in ancient temples of healing. Equally, their periodic shedding of their skin to reveal a new, continuous piece of skin, free of blemishes and scars, may also have led to the creature’s appeal as a symbol of healing.

While it is the staff that identifies us as doctors, it is the four butterflies surrounding it that identify us specifically as psychiatrists. The symbolic importance of the butterfly is rooted in Greek mythology and the story of Psyche, a mortal woman known for her beauty who later became the Goddess of the Soul. In ancient Greek, ‘psyche’ means both ‘soul’ and ‘butterfly,’ connecting the two in a symbolic relationship. Psyche’s story revolves around transformation, struggle and eventual transcendence, and it provides a metaphor for the therapeutic journey.

Egyptian symbolism

At the top of the Coat of Arms, it is perhaps surprising to see an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph forming the crest upon the helm. This symbol is the ankh, a T-shaped cross with a loop on top, which often appeared in ancient Egyptian culture and represented life. In art, it symbolised life or life-giving substances, such as air or water; in medicine, it was believed to possess healing powers, and medical practitioners carried an ankh with them as a symbol of expertise. This ancient Egyptian influence on the College emblem likely reflects the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s burial in the early 1920s and the subsequent popularity of all things Egyptian, meaning such symbology was part of the cultural zeitgeist during the time preceding the emblem’s creation. Notably, the word ‘ankh’ forms the middle part of Tutankhamun’s name.

There is one more Egyptian element on the Coat of Arms, as the ankh is cradled by two black wings of an Egyptian Kite. This is the symbol for Isis, the Egyptian Goddess of Healing. With her wings outstretched, she embodies the caring force that protects life and guides the soul through physical and spiritual realms. The combination of the ankh and Isis’s wings highlights the balance between life and protection. Like a bird of prey mantling over a catch, these wings may symbolise the protection of patients while they recover and are vulnerable. Although Isis’s wings are typically depicted as black, including on our emblem, they have occasionally been shown in rainbow colours, an appropriate alternative given the use of rainbows to celebrate healthcare workers during the pandemic and the College’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Let Wisdom Guide

The final notable element of our Coat of Arms is the College motto, ‘Let Wisdom Guide’, seen in some versions of the design. In biblical literature, wisdom is often personified as a female figure. She is known as Sophia in the Greek tradition and Hokmah in Hebrew. She serves as a source of practical knowledge and a moral compass, emphasising ethical conduct and thoughtful living, and she embodies an understanding of human nature and the complexities of life.

Referring to her as Sophie, a derivation of Sophia, I sometimes will ask a group of trainee psychiatrists: “Have you met Sophie yet?” to encourage them to think differently about their patients or a clinical dilemma. Sophie may represent the patient seen on call, those whose treatment responses are presented in a meta-analysis, or the patient seen in psychotherapy. Our patients are our greatest educators and in them we find guiding wisdom.