Symbols with curves and waves
Waves, arcs, crescents, petals and spirals.
Christian symbols
- AnchorAn anchor, one of the oldest Christian symbols. It stands for hope, and in the catacombs of Rome it was also a way of drawing the cross without showing it openly.
- TriquetraA knot of three interlaced loops, used by Christians today as a sign of the Holy Trinity.
- DoveA dove, in Christian art the sign of the Holy Spirit, and also of the Christian soul.
Hindu symbols
- TrishulaThe trident of Shiva. The Himalayan Academy calls it the royal sceptre of Saivism, the Hindu tradition devoted to Shiva.
- ShankhaThe conch shell, the special emblem of Vishnu, and a trumpet still blown in Hindu worship.
- PadmaThe lotus flower, held by Hindu deities and used as the seat they sit on.
- KalashaA pot topped with a husked coconut and a ring of mango leaves, used in puja to stand for any deity, especially Ganesha.
Egyptian hieroglyphics
- Eye of HorusThe eye of the god Horus, called the uzat or utchat: one of the commonest amulets of ancient Egypt.
- ScarabThe dung beetle, kheper, made into countless Egyptian amulets: the sign of the god Khepera and of new life after death.
- CartoucheThe oval ring drawn around a royal name in hieroglyphs. As an amulet, Petrie wrote, it was meant to preserve the name.
- TyetThe tyet, called the girdle or buckle of Isis: an amulet meant to bring the protection of Isis to the dead.
- Crook and flailThe shepherd’s crook and the flail, emblems of rule that a hymn to Osiris says the god received as prince of gods and men.
- UraeusThe cobra worn on the brow of Egyptian kings, standing for royal power and linked with the serpent goddesses.
- Feather of MaatA single ostrich feather, the emblem of Maat: right and truth, against which the heart of the dead was weighed.
- Winged sun diskThe sun disk with outstretched wings, carved above temple doorways: the form Horus of Behutet took, in Egyptian myth, to fight the enemies of Ra.
- BaA bird with a human head: the ba, usually translated soul.
Masonic symbols
Jewish symbols
- MenorahThe seven-branched lampstand of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith.
- HamsaAn open hand, often with an eye in the palm, that Jews wear and hang in their homes as an amulet against the evil eye, an amulet they share with Muslims in North Africa and the Middle East.
- Tablets of the CovenantTwo tablets side by side for the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, usually placed above the ark in a synagogue.
- ShofarA ram’s horn blown like a trumpet in Jewish worship, above all on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
Buddhist symbols
- Bodhi leafThe leaf of the Bodhi tree, the sacred fig under which, Buddhists believe, the Buddha attained enlightenment.
- TriratnaThe symbol of the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma (his teaching) and the Sangha (the community).
- StupaA domed monument built over relics of the Buddha or his disciples. Its shape is read as the Buddha seated in meditation.
- ParasolOne of the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism: a royal parasol, for protection from harm and from the heat of suffering.
- Pair of golden fishA pair of fish, one of the eight auspicious symbols. They stand for moving freely and without fear through the ocean of suffering.
- Treasure vaseA round-bellied vase with a lid, one of the eight auspicious symbols. It stands for riches that never run out: long life, wealth and the wealth of the teaching.
- LotusThe lotus flower, one of the eight auspicious symbols. Rooted in mud but flowering clean above the water, it stands for the purity of the awakened mind.
- Right-turning conchA white conch shell spiralling to the right, one of the eight auspicious symbols. Its sound is the Buddha's teaching, carrying in every direction.
Islamic symbols
- Star and crescentA crescent moon with a star, widely taken as an emblem of Islam and of Muslim countries, though many Muslims do not accept it as a symbol of their faith.
- KhamsaAn open hand, the “hand of Fatima”, used as an amulet across North Africa and the Middle East by Muslims and by Jews.
- MihrabThe niche in the wall of a mosque that shows the direction of Mecca, which Muslims face when they pray.