Water is a universal symbol of the unconscious mind and is linked to the moon, femininity, and irrationality. Oceans are equated with chaos as they are boundless and ungovernable. The conscious mind is more closely linked to the lake or pond. The ancient belief that the earth was created from primordial waters is a psychological metaphor for the birth of ideas in the unconscious mind.
Water: primordial substance of Goddess Mother; one of the four elements; all four elemental symbols are found in the hands of Kali, the pre-Vedic Great Mother; in Sanskrit "Va" is one of the primary mantras the brought the universe into being; the glyph for water is a circle with a horizontal line, like the sea horizon, called a diameter, which literally means "Goddess Mother"; the primordial Ocean of Blood, the Generative Womb of All, the Deep
Cup: medieval universal symbol of water, the mother element; represents the water of the sea womb which gave birth to the earth and all that lived on it
Fountain: the fons vitae, or fount of life, was the source of the life force, the primordial "nether upsurge" of blood/water from the womb of Mother Earth
Lapis Lazuli: traditionally symbolized water as the primordial element of creation
Lotus: Hindu womb of nature; symbol of the four elements, water being the surrounding support for the stalk of the lotus blossum
Ocean: equated with the Tao as the primordial and the inexhaustible
Pearl: created from the union of male (fire) and female (water); the merging of water and moonlight
River: symbol of purification, death and rebirth; dwelling place of gods, goddesses, water-spirits, nymphs, and naiads (in Greek mythology a type of female spirit)
Sea: the eternal deep; Egyptian name for the sea is Temu; symbol of birth and rebirth; holy baptismal waters; in Scandinavia called "the Mother’s Womb"; associated with ancient goddesses the world over; global universality of the sea goddess
Streams: sacred, life-giving water; curative; restorative
Well: the feminine principle; womb of the Great Mother; sacred portal to the "other world"