memento mori
Skull in art
Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning "remember that you will die." It refers to any object or symbol serving as a reminder of mortality—a skull on a desk, a vanitas painting, an inscription on a sundial.
The phrase encourages reflection on death not as morbid fixation but as motivation to live meaningfully: The old photograph served as a memento mori, reminding her how fleeting time really is.
Head's bone casing
- skeletonInternal supportive framework
- hourglassGravity-powered sand timer
- candleWax stick with wick
- deathCessation of life
grave · tombstone · coffin · shroud · epitaph · funeral · cemetery · crypt
Head's bone casing
- hourglassGravity-powered sand timer
- candleWax stick with wick
- mirrorReflective viewing surface
- bubbleAir-filled film sphere
flower · fruit · clock · sundial · skeleton · raven · crow · poppy
Quality of not lasting
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- vanitasPainting of mortality symbols
- fadingGradual loss of intensity
wilting · withering · passing · temporal · evanescent · finite · perishable · momentary
Uncomplaining acceptance of difficulty
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- meditationFocused attention practice
- carpe diemGrasp the present moment
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
reflection · acceptance · wisdom · serenity · equanimity · detachment · mindfulness · awareness
skull
Head's bone casing
death · grave · tombstone · coffin · shroud · epitaph · funeral · cemetery · crypt · reaper
skull
Head's bone casing
bubble · flower · fruit · clock · sundial · skeleton · raven · crow · poppy · cypress
impermanence
Quality of not lasting
fading · wilting · withering · passing · temporal · evanescent · finite · perishable · momentary · transitory
stoicism
Uncomplaining acceptance of difficulty
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- meditationFocused attention practice
- carpe diemGrasp the present moment
existentialism · reflection · acceptance · wisdom · serenity · equanimity · detachment · mindfulness · awareness · perspective
testament
Written proof or legacy
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- tributeOffering of respect
- honorHigh regard, moral dignity
deeds · impact · meaning · purpose · heirloom · bequest · descendants · heritage · endowment · estate
- mortalitydeath, death knell, deceased, death rate, death acceptance
- Victorianaseances, Dickens, spiritualism, Sherlock Holmes, phrenology
- death symbolsskull, skeleton, coffin, tombstone, gravestone
- art termspainting, sculpture, drawing, portrait, landscape
- allegoriesallegory, fable, parable, Animal Farm, Pilgrim's Progress
- ancient wisdomVedas, proverb, Upanishads, maxim, Epicureanism
memento moricarpe diem
Grasp the present moment
celebration of life · joie de vivre · vitalism · l'chaim · vivacity
memento moriimmortality
Exemption from death
permanence · timelessness · apotheosis · deification · undying
memento morihubris
Ruinous excessive confidence
triumphalism · death denial · hedonism · reckless abandon · willful ignorance
memory, remember, mortal, memorial, memento, remembrance, memoir, mortify, moribund