How did the heart become the symbol for love?

I’m not quite sure how to summarize this site, but this might help.

♥ was the symbol for the organ “heart” which, originally, scientists thought off as the center of thinking and emotions. much later on, did they actually realize that that center for thinking/emotions was actually the “brain”. but since that was a lot later, the “heart” idea still stuck in phrases and daily conversation. love is a emotion, which is probably why it is related to the “heart” (organ). as for the ♥ symbol itself for the organ, well the organ kind of looks like that symbol, so that’s how that came about.

Disclaimer – I have not studied symbolism in depth. This is just how I think heart became the symbol for love based on my studies of the history of medicine.

@ allie – your link won’t load for me for some reason (the header and background of the page shows up, but not the actual content)

Another answer lies right ‘chere

PnL: Hmm, that’s odd. I don’t know how to fix it because it shows up fine in all of my different browsers.

strange. it works for me now too. i swear i haven’t been drinking

PnL: Haha, well I’m glad it works now.

In ancient Egypt the Egyptians thought the heart was the center or thinking and emotion. Which is why they kept it within the sacred jars. They saw the brain as a useless organ and threw it away. So thats one origin I guess you could use.

The silphium plant’s seed/fruit is that “heart” shape. It was used as a contraceptive. So ancient people associated the use of this plant when they wanted to make love.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium

the two lines of the heart meet at the top and bottom this shows two parts make a whole