Grimoire of symbols
Decoding esoteric symbols
From ancient signs to contemporary emblems, explore their history, forms and meanings across different traditions.
Understanding the context
Symbols in their original context
This grimoire explores the original meanings of symbols and their documented uses within different traditions. We indicate when an origin or interpretation is debated. Some signs have unfortunately been appropriated for hateful, political or violent purposes: we identify these appropriations and distinguish them from earlier uses, without minimising the history now attached to them.
An A–Z directory
Which symbol would you like to understand?
Alphabetical index
Sacred geometry
What does the dodecahedron mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the icosahedron mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the octahedron mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the cube, or hexahedron, mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the tetrahedron mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the equilateral triangle mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the bindu, the central point of yantras, mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the octagon mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does Gurdjieff’s enneagram mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the heptagram, or seven-pointed star, mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the Pythagorean Tetractys mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the golden spiral mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the golden rectangle mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the golden ratio mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the Merkaba mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does Metatron's Cube mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the Fruit of Life mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the Egg of Life mean in sacred geometry?
Sacred geometry
What does the Seed of Life mean?
Sacred geometry
What does the Flower of Life mean in sacred geometry?
What does the Moon's magic square mean?
What does the magic square of Mercury mean?
What does Venus's magic square mean?
What does the Sun's magic square mean?
What does the magic square of Mars mean?
What does Jupiter's magic square mean?
What does Saturn’s magic square mean?
What does the Moon's magical seal mean?
What does Mercury's magical seal mean?
What does Venus's magical seal mean?
What does the Sun’s magical seal mean?
What does the magical seal of Mars mean?
What does Jupiter's magical seal mean?
What does Saturn’s magical seal mean?
What does the Rose Cross Lamen of the Golden Dawn mean?
What does the unicursal hexagram mean?
What does Lucifer’s sigil from the Grimorium Verum mean?
What does the Triangle of Art mean in the Ars Goetia?
What does Solomon’s Circle mean in the Ars Goetia?
What does the SATOR square mean?
What does the Holy Crown of Hungary mean?
What does the Lion of Bohemia mean?
What do the Columns of Gediminas mean?
What does the Ukrainian Tryzub mean?
What does the double-headed eagle signify in Europe?
What does the White Eagle of Poland mean?
What does the Croatian checkerboard mean?
What does the Slovak double cross mean?
What does Triglav mean in Slovenian symbols?
What does the Lion of Finland mean?
What does the Danish Dannebrog mean?
What do the Three Crowns of Sweden mean?
What does the Latvian Auseklis mean?
What does the Lithuanian Vytis mean?
What does the Austrian red-white-red mean?
What does the Swiss cross mean?
What does the Gallic rooster symbolize?
What does the Dalarna horse mean?
What does the Cross of Burgundy mean?
What does the Cross of the Order of Christ mean?
What does the Vergina Sun mean?
What does the Greek meander, or Greek key, mean?
What does Draco dace mean?
What does the Madara Rider mean?
What does the Serbian cross with four firesteels mean?
What do the four guardians of Iceland mean?
What do the Four Moors of Sardinia signify?
What does the Basque Lauburu mean?
What does the Welsh Awen mean?
What does the Saint George's Cross mean?
What does the Tudor rose symbolize?
What does the red dragon of Wales mean?
What does the Scottish thistle mean?
What does the Red Hand of Ulster mean?
What does Saint Brigid's cross mean?
What does the Irish harp mean?
What does the Irish clover symbolize?
What does the Claddagh ring mean?
What do the Pillars of Hercules and the motto Plus Ultra mean?
What does Portugal's armillary sphere mean?
What does the Buddhist stupa mean?
What does the Bodhi tree mean?
What does Shiva's lingam mean?
What does kalasha mean?
What does the Chai symbol mean?
What does Zulfiqar, Ali’s sword, mean?
What does the Rub el Hizb mean?
What does the ensō mean in Zen?
What does the sacred mirror Yata no Kagami mean?
What do shide mean in Shinto?
What does shimenawa mean?
What does the Japanese magatama mean?
What do Roman fasces mean?
What does the thyrsus of Dionysus symbolize?
What do the Mesopotamian rod and ring symbolize?
What does Sîn’s crescent mean?
What does Shamash’s solar disk mean?
What does Sema-Tawy, the union of the Two Lands, mean?
What do the crook and flail of the pharaohs mean?
What does the feather of Ma'at mean?
What does Saint Andrew's cross mean?
What does the crown of thorns mean?
What does the dove of the Holy Spirit mean?
What do the keys of Saint Peter mean?
What do Buddha's footprints mean?
What does the Buddhist victory banner mean?
What does the Buddhist treasure vase mean?
What do the two Buddhist golden fish symbolize?
What does the Buddhist parasol mean?
What does the Triratna, the Three Buddhist Jewels, mean?
What does Japan’s imperial chrysanthemum symbolize?
What do the tomoe and mitsudomoe mean?
What does the Japanese torii mean?
What does the Star of David, or Magen David, mean?
What does the Egyptian cartouche mean?
What does the Ba, the human-headed bird, mean?
What does the Egyptian Ka symbol mean?
What does the sun disk of Aten with radiant hands mean?
What does the Eye of Ra mean?
What does Saint Peter’s cross mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the omphalos of Delphi mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Athena's owl symbolize?
Ancient traditions
What does the gorgoneion, the head of Medusa, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the cornucopia mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Rod of Asclepius mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Cross of Lorraine mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Jerusalem Cross mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Maltese cross mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the staurogram mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Tau cross mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the pelican symbolize in Christian art?
Ancient traditions
What does Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Christian anchor symbolize?
Ancient traditions
What does the labrys, the Minoan double axe, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Ishtar’s eight-pointed star mean?
Sacred geometry
What does John Dee’s Sigillum Dei Aemeth mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Yggdrasil, the World Tree, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the fleur-de-lis mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Celtic cross mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the laurel wreath symbolize?
Ancient traditions
What does the knot of Isis, or Tyet, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Djed pillar mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Egyptian scarab mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Nazar, or blue eye, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Hamsa, or Hand of Fatima, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Ægishjálmur, or Helm of Terror, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the labyrinth mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Eye of Providence mean?
Ancient traditions
What do Alpha and Omega mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the mandorla, or Vesica Piscis, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Ichthys, the Christian fish, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the lotus mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the endless knot mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Wheel of Dharma mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the triskel or triskelion mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Om or Aum mean?
Ancient traditions
What do the crescent and star mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Tetragrammaton YHWH mean?
Ancient traditions
What do the Masonic square and compass symbolize?
Ancient traditions
What does the Khanda, the symbol of Sikhism, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Menorah mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Faravahar mean?
Ancient traditions
What do the Bagua, the eight trigrams, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Shankha conch mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Phoenix mean?
Alchemy
What does the Rebis mean in alchemy?
Ancient traditions
What does the Rose Cross mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Sacred Heart mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the IHS monogram mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the swastika, or manji, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Egyptian winged solar disk mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Was scepter mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Shen ring mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Uraeus, the Egyptian royal cobra, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Vegvísir mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the valknut mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the triquetra mean?
Stars and cycles
What does Pluto’s symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Neptune symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Uranus symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does Saturn’s symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the symbol of Jupiter mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Mars symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Venus symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Mercury symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Moon symbol mean in astrology?
Stars and cycles
What does the Sun symbol mean in astrology?
Ancient traditions
What does the Trishula, Shiva's trident, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Vajra or Dorje mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Chi-Rho mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Tree of the Sephiroth mean?
Alchemy
What does John Dee's Hieroglyphic Monad mean?
Ancient traditions
What does Yin-Yang mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the Sri Yantra mean?
What does the Eye of Horus, or wedjat eye, mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the ankh mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the ouroboros mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the hexagram mean, and why is it called the Seal of Solomon?
Ancient traditions
What does the pentacle mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the pentagram mean?
Alchemy
What is the symbol of the philosopher's stone?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for earth mean?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for air mean?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for water mean?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for fire mean?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for Mercury mean?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for salt mean?
Alchemy
What does the alchemical symbol for sulfur mean?
Ancient traditions
What does the caduceus mean?
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Esoteric symbols: understanding their meanings and history
Discover symbols and their origins
A symbol belongs to a time, a culture and a practice. This directory explores old and more recent signs, their forms and interpretations. From the Egyptian ankh to spiritual emblems, context matters: the same shape can carry different meanings across traditions.
Pentagram and pentacle: recognising differences
Compare the pentagram and the pentacle to explore their connections and different uses. Points, orientation, circles and inscriptions offer clues, but cannot establish an object’s origin on their own.
Explore alchemy, celestial and protective signs
Explore alchemical symbols, celestial signs and sacred geometry within their traditions. To wear a symbol or place it on your altar, discover Aeternum’s amulets and talismans and choose a material and design that speaks to you.
Continue with our tarot guide, rune guide and all our guides and grimoires.
