I’m talking about the circle with the “t” on the bottom of it representing woman and the circle with the arrow pointing to about 2 o’ clock representing men. Where did these come from (and what are their proper names)?
They are the astrological symbols for Mars and Venus.
The circle with the cross on the bottom of it, according to what I learned in college, is Venus’s hand mirror. The male symbol is supposed to be Mars’s spear and shield.
“Spear and shield” being a thinly veiled symbolism, of course. And the nice round hand mirror, ditto.
FWIW, the male symbol is also the symbol for iron. It’s used on Volvos.
Yes, as iron was used for weapons of war. Venus’ equivalent is copper, since mirrors used to be made of copper, and since copper was found in abundance on Cyprus (=kupros), which was regarded as sacred to Aphrodite.
I’ve seen several anthropology texts that try to explain the anatomical origin of these symbols.
The male is the easiest to accept, looking distinctly like an erect penis, although one must accept that it has been distorted over the years, perhaps in an attempt to reverse-engineer the “shield and spear” explanation. (Either that, or elephantitis of the testes was considered a macho thing in ancient Greece.)
More difficult is the female symbol. Most texts I’ve seen suggest that the circle represents the vagina and the cross represents the anus. One author even suggested that the symbol may even contain subliminal instructions for those just discovering intercourse: the circle is an open, inviting form, while the cross represents a discouraging, closed barrier. (In other words - this hole, dummy - not that one!)
Sometimes I think anthropologists have too much time on their hands. I mean, have you ever heard of an “anthropological crisis?”
Besides Kennewick Man?
Aha, well I’m inclined to view the discovery of a caucasian man’s remains where one would expect to find only North American aboriginals as an enigma more than a crisis.
But then, if you’re an anthropologist, perhaps your crises are my enigmas.
… and the female one is used on vulvas 
[sub]trying to type while giggling[/sub]
Bravo, Manduck, bravo!!
[sub]still giggling[/sub]
Because Cyprus was the island that Aphrodite was born/created out of sea foam.