I read in the WD from july(I think) about the new rulebook for 40k and it said something about the hidden meaning in the picture of the warhammer and shield. The man in the middle was the Emperor, but who was the two snakes he's fighting symbolizing? And what does the lion and the eagle on the hammers head represent? And what about the 12 pointed star and the little round icons? Some of them look like the icons of some of the armys in the 40k universe like the shield icon beeing the imperial guard and the =I= beeing the inqusition but what about the others?

I think that whole thing was a bit of a wind up.

There are some pretty obvious images there, like the Lords of Terra and the emperor fighting Horus. But beyond that I think it was just a device to increase interest. If there had been meaning then the image would have greater clarity. As it is it is too vague to make anything out. A common techinique in painting and drawing where detail is implied rather than provided.