I believe it is unlikely this is his actual coat of arms and that this has to be another clue dropped in the later edition specifically to “herald” back to PALE FIRE and to suggest alchemy.
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Describing it in SPEAK MEMORY, he corrects himself on his earlier autobiography and says that his family crest has two lions, not two bears. We shall see her multiple reflections later in Fleur’s mirrors (C80). She is often seen holding a mirror and a comb, vain and aware of her allure. Melusina is associated with the moon, silver, but her hair is “crinned’or”, or golden, showing her connection also to the Sun. Jung ,Vol.12 CW, Psychology and Alchemy P.306) Likened to the anima, Jung says the mermaid is “the divine imprisoned in the elements, whom it is the task of alchemy to redeem”. Alchemically, the siren’s two tails represent unity -of earth and water, body and soul- and the vision of Universal Mercury, the all-pervading anima mundi that calls out and makes the philosopher yearn to her". "The same dual-nature symbolism is also at work in alchemy, which employs the siren as a more benevolent emblem of enlightenment: the siren of the philosophers. She is often seen as a negative seductress, but also: Nabokov’s sly twist is to make her a merman, to reflect Kinbote’s sexual orientation. She is a symbol of female sexuality, associated sometimes with Lilith. It is she, with her two tails that is on the Starbucks logo. The mermaid “Melusina” is found on numerous family crests. The Mermaid, also is an alchemical and Tarot symbol: Jung, The Spirit Mercurius, Vol.13, CW, p.211) “The ‘philosophic Mercurius’, this servus fugitivus or cervus fugitivus (fugitive slave or stag), is a highly important unconscious content which…threatens to ramify into a set of far-reaching psychological problems.” (C. Similarly, Jung says this about the symbol of a flying stag: Perhaps early man deemed the reindeer as a messenger - able to fly man's messages to the heavens…In many cultures, including northern regions of Europe and Asia, the reindeer is a lunar symbol” Most of these prehistoric paintings showcase the reindeer soaring through the air.
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“ …anthropologists surmise the reindeer was a kind of psychopomp - which means a 'spirit guide' or 'guide of the soul'. Likewise, the reindeer is an alchemical symbol, which, like Mercury, is a psychopomp and an aerial messenger: The name derives from the Greek “siren”, and is therefore a seductive, alluring figure. The sirin was a fabulous bird, like the bird of paradise, in Russian folklore. Nabokov’s early émigré writing carried his nom de plume, “Sirin”. “Bird of Paradise is an alchemy symbol and is sometimes represented as a pheasant or a peacock…The ‘peacock’s feathers’ were a widespread symbol in all alchemical literature, representing either the Philosophers’ Stone itself, or the stage in the Magnum Opus immediately preceding it.” The silktail resembles a small Bird of Paradise.
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Alchemists used “emblems”, symbolic engraved images, to illustrate their craft. They are based on alchemic images, and this is where more overt references to alchemy first appear. Let’s look at Kinbote’s family crest: There are three heraldic creatures, a silktail, resembling a waxwing (note the word “resembling” as well), a reindeer and a merman. There are interesting hints in the family crests of Kinbote and of Nabokov. Therefore, if you practice releasing those energies with love, then in most cases, they will move on.One of the lines of inquiry in my WIP, “Art, Alchemy and Failed Transcendence: Jungian influences in Nabokov’s Pale Fire” is to demonstrate that Pale Fire is a veiled autobiography the three main characters are parts of one character, “Botkin”, who is the author himself. The Ostrich meaning also teaches you that you must learn to accept these energies for what they are. Make a point of defending yourself against these negative forces by grounding yourself and your emotions. Occasionally, Ostrich symbolism signifies that it is time to protect your energy against the harmful psychic clinging of others. However, you must make sure that when you apply this wisdom that you also take the time to understand this knowledge. Similar to the Blue Jay, Ostrich symbolism also lets you know that it’s time to use your spiritual knowledge and integrate it into your everyday practical life. Thus, this spirit animal teaches that emotions that no longer serve you should also be released. In other words, the Ostrich meaning is prompting you to sort out what is no longer useful to you so that you can let it go. In this case, Ostrich symbolism is letting you know it’s time to clean “house.” This exercise can be the real house that you live in, or it could be the cleansing of your emotions.