Goat, Bull, Cow

goat
The goat is a symbol of practical wisdom and an emblem of a man who wins victories through diplomatic means, rather than by force. It may also represent one who is willing to work hard for high honors. The goat was associated with Christ, since both were partial to high places and had sharp eyes. A man bearing this symbol was thought to have God on his side. The goat is a symbol that is often found in armory. It can be in the positions of passant (walking), statant (standing), salient (springing) or rampant (in the fighting position).

bull
A bull in a coat of arms, on a crest or a shield, represents valor and magnanimity, bravery and generosity. The horns represent strength and fortitude and a winged bull is the symbol traditionally associated with St. Luke. Oxen, and cows also appear on some crests and arms, although rarely and more often as a pun on a names such as Oxford or the town of Cowbridge. Calves are more common. The calf is an ancient heraldic symbol traditionally associated with the characteristics of patience, submissiveness and self-sacrifice.

Cow- Theosophy Dictionary on Cow

The ancients employed certain animals as symbols to convey specific aspects of philosophical and religious teachings to the multitude, and "the cow-symbol is one of the grandest and most philosophical among all others in its inner meaning" (SD 2:470).

Generally, the cow represents the fructifying power in nature -- the Divine Mother or feminine principle. Among the Scandinavians that which first appeared at the birth of the universe was the divine cosmic cow, Audhumla, from whom flowed four streams of milk, providing sustenance to all the beings that followed.

Among the Greeks the founding of a new race was associated with the cow -- as instances, Io and Europa. In Egypt the goddesses representing the aspect of the Universal Mother are associated with cow symbols, principally Hathor and Isis. In India the cow symbol is reverenced: Kamaduh or Surabhi (the cow of plenty) represents the nourishing and sustaining vital and productive principle in nature. The goddesses of lunar type are found to be connected in symbology with the cow.

"The cow was in every country the symbol of the passive generative power of nature, Isis, Vach, Venus -- the mother of the prolific god of love, Cupid, but, at the same time, that of the Logos whose symbol became with the Egyptians and the Indians -- the bull -- as testified to by Apis and the Hindu bulls in the most ancient temples. In esoteric philosophy the cow is the symbol of creative nature, and the Bull (her calf) the spirit which vivifies her, or 'the Holy Spirit' " (SD 2:418n).