Where every symbol began
Where cultural, religious and esoteric symbols, ancient scripts and runes come from, and what they have meant.
Where meanings differ between communities, or where a reading is recent, the entry says so rather than choosing one.
Browse ancient symbols, from cave art and cuneiform to the Aztecs.
a An ox head. Proto-Sinaitic ʾalp, about 1850 BCE.
b Turned on its side. Phoenician ʾaleph, about 1000 BCE.
c Stood on its horns. Greek alpha, about 800 BCE.
Religious symbols
- Christian symbolsSymbols used in Christian worship, art and devotion, from the early church to today.17 entries
- Hindu symbolsSacred symbols of Hinduism and their place in worship and daily life.8 entries
- Catholic symbolsThe symbols of Catholic worship and devotion: the papal keys and tiara, the Rosary and the Marian signs, the monstrance, chalice and Lamb of God, the crucifix, and the font, holy water and pilgrim’s shell.14 entries
- Hindu deities and their symbolsThe Hindu gods and goddesses worshipped today and the things that identify them in temple images: Shiva’s trident and drum, Vishnu’s conch and discus, Ganesha’s broken tusk and his mouse, Saraswati’s veena and swan.15 entries
- Zoroastrian symbolsThe Faravahar, the sacred fire and the sudreh and kusti: the symbols of Zoroastrians in Iran, India and the diaspora, and what their scholars and priests say they mean.3 entries
- Taoist symbolsSymbols of Taoism (Daoism), the Chinese tradition of the Dao, and what they mean to those who use them.7 entries
- Jewish symbolsSymbols of Judaism in worship, the home and the calendar.7 entries
- Buddhist symbolsSymbols of the Buddha and his teaching, including the eight auspicious symbols.14 entries
- Islamic symbolsSymbols and forms associated with Islam and Muslim culture, and where they came from.5 entries
Ancient scripts
- Chinese radicalsThe components that organise Chinese characters, and how they grew from pictures carved on oracle bones.21 entries
- Elder Futhark runesThe 24 runes of the oldest runic alphabet, the Elder Futhark, and what each rune’s name meant.24 entries
- Egyptian hieroglyphicsSigns from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and religious art.14 entries
- Egyptian gods and their symbolsThe gods of ancient Egypt as tomb and temple art shows them, from jackal-headed Anubis and lioness-headed Sekhmet to Isis with the throne on her head, and the crowns, sceptres and animals that identify each one.18 entries
- OghamThe early Irish alphabet of strokes cut along the edge of a stone: each letter’s sound, its name, and the “tree alphabet” reading set beside what the names first meant.23 entries
Animals in symbolism
- Animal symbolismWhat each animal has meant across cultures, its omens and superstitions, and the meanings people give it in dreams and tattoos today.16 entries
- Bird symbolismWhat birds have meant across cultures, from the cardinal as a sign of someone who has died to the owl and the raven as omens.8 entries
Cultures and mythologies
- Adinkra symbolsThe designs stamped on adinkra cloth by the Akan of Ghana, each tied to a proverb or saying, and what Ghanaian scholars, printers and museums record of their meanings.20 entries
- Andean and Inca symbolsSymbols of the Andes from the Nazca lines and Tiwanaku to the Inca sun, the khipu and the chakana, and the Quechua and Aymara traditions that keep Pachamama and Inti Raymi today.13 entries
- Aztec symbols and godsThe gods of the Mexica (Aztecs) and the symbols of Tenochtitlan, from Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc to the Sun Stone and the eagle on the cactus.10 entries
- Celtic symbolsThe knots and spirals of Celtic art, where each form comes from, and what it has been taken to mean since.7 entries
- Chinese mythology and symbolsThe qilin, the dragon and the phoenix, the guardian lions at the gate, the Four Symbols of the sky, and the double happiness, bats and knots of Chinese weddings and festivals, and what each one means.14 entries
- Chinese zodiacThe twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, the five elements that turn them into a sixty-year cycle, and the years each one rules, from the lunar calendar.14 entries
- Cryptids and folklore creaturesSea monsters, snowmen and tall-tale beasts: where each story began, who reported what, and how the sources explained it.18 entries
- Greek gods and their symbolsThe Olympian gods and the attributes that identify them in Greek art, from Zeus’s thunderbolt to Hades’s helmet, and Medusa, whose face guarded shields and doorways.16 entries
- HeraldryHeraldry’s charges, colours and their meanings: the fleur-de-lis, the lion rampant, the tinctures, the ordinaries and the rest, and what the heralds and the heraldry books say each one meant.15 entries
- Historical flagsFlags and standards from history, from the Roman eagle to the Jolly Roger and the first flags of the United States: what each one was, who carried it, and what the record shows against the legend.23 entries
- Hobo symbolsThe chalk marks American tramps and hobos were said to leave on fences and gateposts, what each was reported to mean, and what the record shows about how widely they were used.13 entries
- Mesopotamian symbols and godsCuneiform, the gods of Sumer, Babylon and Assyria and their emblems, from the star of Inanna to the lamassu that guarded the palace gates.10 entries
- Mythical creatures of Greece and EuropeGriffins, sirens, selkies and Baba Yaga: what the oldest texts and folk collections say about each creature, how its picture changed, and where it turns up in heraldry.20 entries
- Norse and Viking symbolsThe signs of Norse myth, Viking Age art and later Scandinavian and Icelandic magic, and when each is first recorded.16 entries
- Norse gods and their symbolsThe gods of Norse myth as the Eddas describe them, and the objects and place names that show they were worshipped, from Odin and Thor to Freyja, Loki and the Norns.16 entries
- Symbols of medicineWhere the emblems of medicine, nursing and pharmacy come from: the rod of Asclepius, the caduceus often used in its place, the bowl of Hygieia, the show globe, Florence Nightingale’s lamp, and the red cross and red lion and sun of the Geneva Conventions.7 entries
- Taíno symbolsThe zemís, petroglyphs and ceremonial objects of the Taíno of the Caribbean, from the sun of Jayuya and the coquí to Atabey and the hurricane, and how the Taíno movement keeps them today.10 entries
- Yōkai and creatures of Japanese folkloreKitsune, tanuki, tengu, kappa, oni and the other yōkai of Japanese folklore, as Edo-period books and prints drew them and as the stories tell them, and where modern anime and games depart from that record.12 entries
- Cave and rock artThe oldest pictures people made: the painted caves of Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, hand stencils, carved figurines, petroglyphs, and the signs painted beside them.8 entries
- Japanese symbolsThe torii, the guardian lion-dogs and the kami of Shinto, family crests and the imperial chrysanthemum, Mount Fuji, and the dragon, koi, crane, hannya mask and daruma of Japanese art and custom.12 entries
- Maya symbols and godsThe gods and signs of the ancient Maya, from Kukulkan and Chaac to the calendar and the bar-and-dot numbers, and how Maya communities keep them today.26 entries
- Protective and luck symbolsCharms and signs people have used to ward off harm and bring luck, and where each belief comes from.6 entries
- Olmec symbolsThe colossal heads and the were-jaguar of the Olmec, the earliest of the great Mesoamerican cultures.7 entries
- Symbols across culturesShapes that many peoples made their own, the tree of life, the labyrinth, the crescent moon, the spiral and the cosmic egg, and what each one meant where.19 entries
Esoteric and occult symbols
- Crystal and gemstone loreWhat amethyst, rose quartz, moonstone and other stones have been believed to do, from Pliny and the medieval lapidaries to modern crystal healing, and where each belief came from.14 entries
- Pagan and Wiccan symbolsThe triple moon, the pentacle, the horned god, the elements and the Wheel of the Year of modern Paganism and Wicca, what each means to the people who use it, and how recent or old each one is.6 entries
- Sacred geometryGeometric figures given spiritual meaning, from the flower of life to Metatron’s cube, where each figure comes from and when its meanings were attached.6 entries
- Tarot cardsThe 78 cards of the tarot, its 22 trumps and four suits: a fifteenth-century Italian card game that became a tool of divination.78 entries
- Zodiac signsThe glyphs of the twelve signs of the Western zodiac, where each shape came from, and what astrology holds each sign to mean.13 entries
- Occult and alchemical symbolsSymbols from alchemy and the Western occult tradition, where each came from, and how later movements have used them.6 entries
Flower symbolism
Fraternal orders
- Knights Templar symbolsThe emblems of the medieval Knights Templar, from the two knights on one horse to the red cross and the black and white Beauséant, and the cross and crown of the Masonic order that took their name.6 entries
- Masonic symbolsThe emblems of Freemasonry, from the square and compasses to the working tools, and what they teach in the lodge.16 entries
Holidays and festivals
- Day of the Dead symbolsThe ofrenda, the cempasúchil, the calavera and the other symbols of Día de Muertos, the Mexican days of the dead on 1 and 2 November.10 entries
- Halloween symbolsWhere the symbols of Halloween came from: jack-o’-lanterns, black cats, witches, bats and the rest, and the disputed story of the festival itself.12 entries
- Lunar New Year symbolsThe red envelopes, the upside-down fu, the lion dance, lanterns and firecrackers of the Lunar New Year, and where each custom comes from.5 entries
- Diwali symbolsThe diya, the rangoli and the other symbols of Diwali, the festival of lights kept by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.8 entries
- Kwanzaa symbolsThe seven symbols and seven principles of Kwanzaa, the African American holiday celebrated from 26 December to 1 January, and what each one stands for.9 entries
- Thanksgiving symbolsWhere the symbols of American Thanksgiving came from: the turkey, the cornucopia, the pumpkin pie and the rest, and what is and isn’t known about the 1621 harvest.9 entries
- Christmas symbolsWhere the symbols of Christmas came from: the tree, the nativity, holly and mistletoe, St Nicholas and Krampus, and the rest.13 entries
- Hanukkah symbolsThe dreidel, the oil and the foods of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, and the story of the Maccabees behind them.5 entries
Modern symbolism
- Angel numbersRepeating number sequences some people read as messages, what the belief holds each one means, and where the idea came from.15 entries
- Gender symbolsThe male and female signs, once the planets Mars and Venus, and the newer symbols made from them, with where each came from.4 entries
- Traditional tattoo motifsThe swallow, the anchor, the shellback turtle and the other designs sailors tattooed on themselves, and what the Navy’s historians and maritime museums record each one meaning.11 entries
- Modern symbolsSymbols given new meaning by recent movements, science and culture, and the stories behind them.8 entries
What’s new
- New New: the unalome and the mandala among the Buddhist symbols, and the anarchy symbol among the modern ones. See Unalome and Mandala.
- New New: Historical flags.
- New New: Mythical creatures of Greece and Europe.
- New New: Hindu deities and their symbols.
- New New: Chinese mythology and symbols.