Twilight's Cutie Mark 0_o

[Hashi 323]

I thought about her but I was thinking its possibly her siblings, or it could be Granny, Mac and Applebloom without AJ included? 

This actually seems the most likely theory for the three apples... but I don't know anything anyway xD

 

Are there any other significant associations for others of the mane 6?

[Guest]

This actually seems the most likely theory for the three apples... but I don't know anything anyway xD

 

Are there any other significant associations for others of the mane 6?

I can't pretend to be an expert either, just something which occurred to me having read the analysis of Twi's

 

I'm not sure, 3 seems to be a recurrent motif across their cutie marks (Even RD's rainbow consists of 3 stripes) and as its on both sides we get the number 6 on each maybe referring back to the mane 6 maybe? (excluding Twi obviously)

Edited May 21, 2014 by Guest

[NightGlade13 120]

Remember the sonic rainboom, they all got their cutie marks at the same time, destined to be together! Would it not make sense that the princess of friendship has a cutie mark to do with friends

Friendship is magic xD

quite interesting if i do say so myself XD

[SasQ 1,376]

Has anybody else noticed this? (...) There are 5 stars around the main star:

 

Applejack

Rarity

Pinkie

RD

Fluttershy

 

The main star: Princess Twilight Sparkle

 

Is it just me or have other people noticed this as well?

Well, for me it's been pretty obvious since watching the "Cutie Mark Chronicles" episode. I've even mentioned it in my Symbolism thread. Let me quote the relevant fragment for you:

 

"...and Magic makes it all complete..."

 

On the last picture you can also see that although the gems are all the same, these five visible Elements of Harmony are arranged into vertices of a pentagon, and the sixth Element of Magic (the hidden one) is at the center and connects together the remaining five. It connects quite interestingly with Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark:

 

 

and the history from her childhood, when she has received that cutie mark (see Eposode 23 "Cutie Mark Chronicles"). The five white little stars surrounding the central one represent the five Elements of Harmoniy, controlled by her five friends. The six-pointed star at the center is Twilight herself, that is, the sixth Element representing the Magical Power. So this cutie mark perfectly reflects the role of Twilight as the central axis of this magical circle (or the Hub :-D ), which connects it all together and makes it complete.

That is, her cutie mark represents several things at the same time, all of them related to each other:

It represents Magic, due to its resemblance to the six-pointed star (Crowley's hexagram; more on this here), very common in occult magical symbolism. The five little stars around it represents the remaining Elements of Harmony (Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Honesty), which in turn are represented and wielded by her best friends: Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The sixth element, the Element of Magic, is represented by Twilight Sparkle herself, and it is the Element which connects all the remaining Elements together, as well as all her friends, since this is the Magic of Friendship which connect them. Harmony is Friendship (agreement between ponies), as opposite to Chaos (disharmony, disagreement).

 

What's more, the five little stars (=five friends) are the vertices of a five-pointed star (a pentagram), which has also symbolic meaning in Wicca, Paganism and ancient knowledge. Pythagoreans used it as their secret logo, since it is the only figure which consists solely of golden ratios (recall that the existence of irrational numbers was one of their biggest discoveries and the biggest secret). Pentagrams were related to Nature and Humanity (five limbs, five senses) before the Church demonized them as the symbol of devil (it's a common practice to demonize important knowledge to scare people and prevent them from sniffing around it).

 

Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark connects pentagram and hexagram together, which is again restatement of the idea of Harmony. Dark Magic & Bright Magic connected together in perfect balance.

 

I wonder if it was deliberate.

 

I really doubt it. The evidence is immense, and it all fits together too well to be just a coincidence. Even the storytelling restates the same idea, especially in "Cutie Mark Chronicles", where you can see how Twilight's cutie mark has been connected to her best friends' cutie marks already in her childhood, before they all even met, by the incident induced by Rainbow Dash's first sonic ranboom. For me it was so obvious that I didn't elaborate much on that in my Symbolism thread, just giving some hints in the right direction (and to avoid spoiling it to those who haven't seen "Cutie Mark Chronicles" yet).

 

But it doesn't make a lot of sense because she got it before meeting them, during her exam.

It makes perfect sense. Notice that all the events in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" aren't that much separate: they're intertwined. When Rainbow Dash races with her colleagues, Fluttershy falls down to earth. Applejack is in Manehattan at that time, Pinkie Pie is on the Rock Farm, and Rarity is being drawn towards a big rock by her Magic.

 

When Rainbow Dash makes her Sonic Rainboom for the first time, discovering her talent for speed, it scares animals, causing Fluttershy to help them and notice that her special talent is whispering animals and Kindness.

 

Pinkie Pie sees the rainboom and she is being inspired by its colors to make a happy party for her family, to make them smile. This makes her discover that her special talent is making ponies smile (thus the element of Laughter).

 

Applejack sees the rainboom which reminds her that her place is at home, with her family. She discovers that her special talent is apples (the actual ones, and the Apple family). I always wondered what does it have to do with Honesty, her Element, until I realized that this event also taught her to be honest, especially with her true self: she doesn't belong to the city, but to the farm, so trying to fit the big city's elite is not sound with her true self. This event made her to honestly admit it.

 

Rarity is standing next to the giant rock when the sonic rainboom crumbles it, revealing the shitload of beautiful gemstones inside. This helps Rarity discover her special talent for finding gems. But this is only the surface level. I always wondered what is the connection of this one with Generosity (Rarity's Element), too, and with Rarity's fashion interest, until I realized that there is a connection, on a deeper level: The ugly stone had got plenty of beautiful gemstones inside. And only Rarity could track them inside that stone. This symbolizes how she can find beauty in places where other don't see it, then get it out and make it shine. And it's hard to be generous without being rich first, because the more rich one is, the more one can give to others. Rarity's talent for finding gems (and hidden beauty) also helps her in being generous, as generous as the rock was to her

 

And the whole story is again "completed" by Twilight Sparkle getting her cutie mark when the sonic rainboom scares her and releases her uncontrolled surge of Magic, casting an age spell on Spike (remember, it's reserved only for the highest-lever Unicorns!) and omniomorphic spell (i.e. shape-changing) on her parents and examiners (the very spell which Starswirl the Bearded is famous of!). When Princes Celestia sees this, she figures out who's the next Element of Magic.

 

Notice also what happens when Twilight discovers the old legend about Mare in the Moon and the Elements of Harmony: Princess Celestia sends her to the province (Ponyville) to supervise preparations to the Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight sees it as a sort-of punishment, but Celestia is clever strategist: notice how the checklist given to Twilight makes her to meet precisely her new friends, in a very precise order.

She must have known that to check the banquet preparations, she would have to meet with Applejack who was in charge of the food supplies.

To check the weather she would have to meet Rainbow Dash who was responsible for clearing up the sky.

To check music, she had to meet Fluttershy.

To check decorations, she had to meet Rarity.

And it was pretty obvious that Pinkie Pie will spot her and make an invitation party.

 

It was planned all around, and it was their destiny to meet, since the very incident from their past. As Fluttershy describes it, they have this special connection between them before they even met.

Edited May 21, 2014 by SasQ

[Pastel 7,630]

Amazing post @SasQ!

I'm not completely sure Celestia wrote the checklist on purpose. How could she have known about the other 5 ponies?

[K.K. Slider 391]

yerp

 

Turns out it was the writer, Dave Polsky, who said it and it was after production ended but before the episode aired. 

[Nature's Spell 526]

Yeah this has been discussed a lot and especially last year between seasons. Still I appreciate your excitement. Here's something else. The Tree of Harmony more or less matches her Cutie Mark.

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I never would of guessed that Twilight's cutie mark represents her friends, and honestly it does make sense considering in Cutie Mark Chronicles they each helped the other discover what their talents are and in turn helped earn their cutie marks, as for Twilight's cutie mark, design wise it's my favorite next to Cadance.

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

Turns out it was the writer, Dave Polsky, who said it and it was after production ended but before the episode aired. 

Ah, but you see, since you changed your story, now I have to consider you an unreliable source. Therefore I win. 

 

Psych! Give me evidence of Polsky's statement, and if I agree with you about what it means, I will concede you the argument.

(Even though, technically, what I said about writers' intentions not always being what results still stands. )

Edited May 22, 2014 by SolarFox

[K.K. Slider 391]

Ah, but you see, since you changed your story, now I have to consider you an unreliable source. Therefore I win. 

 

Psych! Give me evidence of Polsky's statement, and if I agree with you about what it means, I will concede you the argument.

(Even though, technically, what I said about writers' intentions not always being what results still stands. )

You have the half of it my good man; it's not Polsky (who did a live tweeting rather than a post) but one of the directors, Big Jim.

 

 

Can I go home now?

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

You have the half of it my good man; it's not Polsky (who did a live tweeting rather than a post) but one of the directors, Big Jim.

 

 

Can I go home now?

Indeed, you have defeated me with a mighty slam dunk of evidence!

 

Curses, foiled again!

Well played, sir!

 

PS: Your story changed again.

 

PPS: You win... 

 

 

a "spider in a scarf"! Ain't he cute?

 

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by SolarFox

[Adorkable 2,737]

If I'm not mistaking, I believe that's actually what Twily's cutie mark is intended to mean. ^^

 

But here's a heart-breaking fact, take a look at Photo Finish's cutie mark. ^^"

[Pastel 7,630]

If I'm not mistaking, I believe that's actually what Twily's cutie mark is intended to mean. ^^

 

But here's a heart-breaking fact, take a look at Photo Finish's cutie mark. ^^"

Argh! That animation error!

I guess Photo Finish is now the princess of friendship.

[Adorkable 2,737]

Argh! That animation error!

I guess Photo Finish is now the princess of friendship.

 

Actually, I believe I read somewhere that it was an animation error, because they used Twilight's base to design Photo Finish, or something. ^^"

 

OR she just specializes in the magic of photography! ^^

[chirox the pony 1,336]

If you'll look at her cutie mark you'll see it has a purple star (representing Twilight) and there are five stars around it (representing the rest of the mane six). Now if you type her name into google images (and remember to turn safe search on) and look at her cutie mark you might notice that underneath the purple star there appears to be another white star, a seventh star, is this just the design or could this mean something?

[lelouch. 625]

it might mean spike or sunset shimmer?

[Guest]

@@chirox the pony, as a thread already exists which discusses the symbolism of Twilight's cutie mark,  I have merged yours with the older thread. Please use the search function to avoid posting duplicate threads.

[chirox the pony 1,336]

@@chirox the pony, as a thread already exists which discusses the symbolism of Twilight's cutie mark,  I have merged yours with the older thread. Please use the search function to avoid posting duplicate threads.

I was wondering why a topic like this didn't already exist.

[sweetolebob18 728]

Nature's Spell, message # 57 about Twilight's cutie mark matching the Tree of Harmony (I would quote it if I knew how to make it work )

 

Yes, this was probably Princess C's 2nd clue that Twilight was special. (1st 1 being the dragon's head sticking out of the building.  You've been a wizard that long, you learn to notice these subtle hints that Something's Up ) 

 

But, I've long felt that PC knew Nightmare Moon was due to be released & that it was no coincidence that the Mane 6 were in Ponyville.

[Karma Lightwing 245]

the big star in the middle and the 5 stars around are too perfect to just be a coincidence.  I have been thinking this since I first started the series