Dear Angel13,
Right thank you for that clarification I thought that perhaps occult art was not necessarily the intended genre. In which case the Bhuddist interpetation may be a more appropriate, which I did not cover in my previous reply on the subject.
While similar to Hinduism, where skulls, known as munda malas, are generally portrayed as a necklace around a deity, in a Buddhist context they do not represent either death or loss but the important concept of emptiness.
In Buddhism, emptiness is considered a quality of the universe. In that, the phenomena we experience have no inherent nature by themselves; but instead, we attach a meaning to what we experience.
For example, observing a skein of geese migrating to new wetlands might be construed as a sign of imminent departure on a journey or perhaps at a higher level impending change. And with that last analogy of course, leaps in my own affinity for the natural world.
The overall concept is that all events are neutral, but we choose to magnify their significance in our own minds.
A skull´s four canine teeth are described as symbols of biting through of the four maras (obstructions).
Single skulls adopt various forms and functions in Tibetan iconography.
For instance, a skull-lamp, which burns human fat, with its tongue burning as a wick, while a somewhat macabre illustration, would be described as a purification symbol.
The body (skull) is purified by the flames, as are speech (tongue) and mind (fat).
This example is actually a derivative from ancient Hindu cremation rituals.
Indeed rather gruesome, but to the point, as in life is transitory.
Taking both the Hindu and Buddhist ideologies and their inherent usage of the skull as symbol, both embrace the inevitable conclusion of life and death.
However, they are employed as form of leverage pushing us upward and onward to transcend the human preoccupation with mortality, and seek a much more satisfying and spiritual lifestyle.
Undoubtedly we could all benefit from that!
