The Dancing Bears

The Dancing Bears logo is my SCA* device, in heraldic terms: "lozengy Azure [blue] and Argent [silver or white], two proper brown bears rampant and reguardant, in chief Gules [red], three crosses couped Or [yellow or gold]". There is a lot of personal symbolism embodied in that logo, and I am proud to use it again.

The short version is that my spirit animal (if there is such a thing) is clearly the Bear. Bears are probably one of my favorite animals, and in Norse culture, the bear represented warriors and berserkers. The bears are standing (rampant) and looking over their shoulders (reguardant) keeping watch. To me the pose is one of readiness and watchfulness.

The Chief of red and gold has multiple meanings, both of them important to me. First they represent the three crosses of Calvary. Secondly, family legend is that my great, great grandfather changed his surname from Christianson in Ellis Island when emigrating from Norway to the US. In medieval heraldry, putting your fathers arms in chief was a way to represent "son - ship", thus representing both my faith and my family legacy.

* SCA - Society for Creative Anachronism