God is spoken of in signs-for instance, as the Good Shepherd. But signs can also conjure forces of evil, Satanic images, humanity's dark side. For Christians, the cross is such a metaphor. In earlier centuries it was the sign of the fish, Icthus. For Jewish people the Torah or menorah are root metaphors.
Numbers are signs.
So too are pulpits, altars, domes. In our contemporary world, totemic objects are no longer animals. They are often machines, such as cars, named after animals. America is a sign of speed. Quicker and quicker, we change our cars, we change our ideas, we change our spouses, we change our friends.