{Flowers Revisited}: Rose

Please see the Introduction To Rabbit Hole Legend A-Z post for information about sources and purpose 

 Also, please see "Flowers" for more symbolism of flowers related to the Beatles, the ultimate flower children.
 Rose: Most notably referred to by Paul McCartney's "Red Rose Speedway" album..where he is laying with his head on a motorcycle, with a rose "crammed" into his mouth, like a gag-ball or something, or so it seems from his wide, alarmed-looking eyes. 

 "[...] The rose is a natural mandala or wheel, the layers of petals describing a perfectly symmetrical circle around its yellow center, itself reminiscent of the Sun.

The rose is also a symbol for secrecy, perhaps because of the way the petals hide its center, perhaps for some more obscure reason. To speak of something as being sub rosa- 'under the rose'- means that any information must be kept confidential. Some Masonic lodges and alchemy guilds still conduct meetings with a red rose hanging from the ceiling as a reminder of the private nature of the discussions taking place. There are three roses on the ceremonial apron of the Master Mason, acting as reminders of faith, silence, and secrecy." (ISS)

"Roses were scattered on Roman graves as funerary emblems of mourning to symbolize not only the painful brevity of human life but also the hope of life continuing in a world beyond this" (1,001S)

{Flowers Revisited}: Carnations

Please see the Introduction To Rabbit Hole Legend A-Z post for information about sources and purpose 

 Also, please see "Flowers" for more symbolism of flowers related to the Beatles, the ultimate flower children.

Carnation: In the movie, Magical Mystery Tour, the end segment involves a song-and-dance number called, Your Mother Should Know. In this, the Beatles are seen wearing white tuxedos and all but Paul wear a red carnation in the lapel. Paul has a black carnation...have you ever seen a black carnation? The explanation for this generally given has been that they ran out of red carnations, and only had black ones lying around, so he used that. This is despite the fact that red carnations can clearly be seen in the bouquet in his hand. He is the only one carrying flowers. Again...why did they just have black carnations lying around? You have to go through a lot of expense and effort to acquire black carnations....

"(Red) My heart aches for you, admiration." (CESS)

"For the most part, carnations express love, fascination, and distinction, though there are many variations dependent on colour. [...] Purple carnations indicate capriciousness. In France, it is a traditional funeral flower, given in condolence for the death of a loved one. In France and Francophone cultures, carnations symbolize misfortune and bad luck. Pink carnations have the most symbolic and historical significance. According to a Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross. The Virgin Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight, and carnations sprang up from where her tears fell. Thus the pink carnation became the symbol of a mother's undying love. [...]

Some scholars believe that the name "carnation" comes from "coronation" or "corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others think the name stems from the Latin "caro" (genitive "carnis") (flesh), which refers to the original colour of the flower, or incarnatio (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh." <Follow link to Source>

"[Red Carnations] Their color means love, pure gratifying love. Light red carnations stand for respect and admiration while deep red, scarlet carnations have a deeper meaning, a meaning of desire and passionate love. They are used in fraternities as a symbol of loyalty and survival and they became, in 1904, the official state flower of Ohio.

Red inspires beauty, heat, strength – red is the color of the heart, and mixed up in the blooms of the carnations, it can only express one feeling – love.<Follow Link to Source>

" If you are invited to a German's house, bring a gift such as chocolates or flowers. [...] Do not give carnations as they symbolize mourning. Do not give lilies or chrysanthemums as they are used at funerals.

 Some older French retail old-style prohibitions against receiving certain flowers: White Lilies or Chrysanthemums as they are used at funerals; Red Carnations as they symbolize bad will; any white flowers as they are used at weddings." <Source>

"Black carnations are filled with mystery. They are often associated with negative things, but even though they seem dark and scary, black carnations can be quite elegant and fancy.

Black carnations are not naturally obtained flowers, they do not exist in nature as such. They are dyed or genetically modified, just like blue flowers.[...]

 Black carnations are obtained by using genetic engineering and hybridization techniques. The Australian company Florigene obtained black carnations by taking the blue pigment from the genes of a petunia and insert it in the DNA of a deep red carnation.[...]

 Black carnations are quite rare and avoided mostly because they symbolize mourning and, therefore, death. Also, there are a few stories in the folklore in which giving a black carnation to someone means that you want the death of that person." <Follow Link to Source>

Legend: Hand

Please see the Introduction To Rabbit Hole Legend A-Z post for information about sources and purpose

Hand: Hands are a common "clue" for "Paul is Dead" theorists. There are a number of pictures with a hand above his head, which has led to speculation as to what this might mean. Also, Paul's "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" song features a second half singing about, "Hands across the water, Hands across the sky".

 "Word origins frequently give clues as to the nature of objects and ideas. The Latin word for hand is manus, which carried the same root as the word, among others, "manifestation"; a clear indication that to be "manifest" is to be held in the hand or created by the hand. [...] In the Kabbalah, the left hand of God signifies justice, and his right hand, mercy. Blessings and benedictions are given with the right hand.[...]

This right-left symbolism of the hand occurs several times. The right hand is associated with cleanliness and the left, with dirt, and in some countries to offer someone your left hand is an insult.

Hands, as an extension of the will and of the intention, carry a great power. In the practice of "Laying on of Hands," they are used as agents of healing energies." (ISS)

" Definition of HAND OVER HEAD (archaic) : without heed of what one is really doing : rashly, recklessly" <Source>

"The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms.[...]

In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal method of invoking the Holy Spirit primarily during baptisms and confirmations, healing services, blessings, and ordination of priests, ministers, elders, deacons, and other church officers, along with a variety of other church sacraments and holy ceremonies.[...]

 Aaron and the High Priests who succeeded him symbolically transferred the sins of the Children of Israel to a sacrificial goat by the laying on of hands: Leviticus16:21.[...]

 The laying on of hands, known as "the Royal Touch" or "the Divine Touch," was performed by kings in England and France, and was believed to cure scrofula (also called "King's Evil" at the time), a name given to a number of skin diseases. The rite of the king's touch began in France with Robert II the Pious, but legend later attributed the practice to Clovis as Merovingian founder of the Holy Roman kingdom, and Edward the Confessor in England. The belief continued to be common throughout the Middle Ages but began to die out with the Enlightenment. Queen Anne was the last British monarch to claim to possess this divine ability, though the Jacobite pretenders also claimed to do so. The French monarchy continued to believe and perform the act up until the French Revolution. The act was usually performed at large ceremonies, often at Easter or other holy days." <Source> 

Just a few of the hundreds of Mudras
and partial meanings

Also, I'm not going to go into hand signs and signals in this post, but before people go running around screaming about how the Beatles were making signs of the devil and 666 and whatnot in some of their photos, please do a little research on the Yogic Mudras, which are various hand formations, "When used in Yogic practices, Mudras not only help to focus the mind on abstract ideas and the intention behind the pose [...]." (ISS)