Well Known Symbols and their Meanings

Caduceus

The traditional symbol of Hermes features 2 snakes coiled around a winged staff. It is often used in medical contexts. However in this form it is confused with the rod of Asclepius due to the US Army Medical Corps choosing the staff of Hermes as its motif over a century ago. In its true form, the caduceus has ancient associations with commerce, eloquence and negotiation, since Hermes was the patron of tradesmen and merchants.

Evil Eye

Reference to the evil eye can be found in cultures across the world. It is believed to be a curse cast by a wicked glare given to an unaware victim that will inflict bad luck or injury. The earliest known evidence for the belief can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome where it was believed that the evil eye was most likely to strike someone who had been praised too much – a punishment from the Gods to those who had become too proud.

Fleur de Lis
Also known as the Lily of France, it was at first a modification of the Gaulish lily that represented the Virgin Juno. Among goddess worshippers it is believed to have several meanings including the Triple Goddess. More recently the stylised lily motif has come to symbolise French royalty along with perfection, light and life.

Hammer and Sickle
The communist representation was born amidst the Russian Revolution. The hammer symbolised industrial labourers and the sickle the peasantry. When combined they stood for the worker-peasant alliance for society against socialism, reactionary movements and foreign interventions. In the Soviet Union, the symbol took on a gendered meaning with the sickle standing for women and the hammer men. It is now globally recognised as a symbol for Marxism.

Peace Sign

What we now know as the peace sign has had a number of meanings and there have been attempts to associate it with older, darker origins including ‘Neros Cross’ as well as the ‘Death Rune’. However in the 1960’s the symbol was created by a man named Gerald Holtorn to encourage British nuclear disarmament – he saw the symbol as a man outstretched in despair. The hippies later used it to protest nuclear weapons, which brought about its worldwide link to global peace.

Pentagram

The pentagram is an ancient symbol of Witchcraft and is made up of five points. The upward point represents a spiritual being such as Gaia or Mother Earth, whilst the other four embody the basic elements (wind, water, earth and fire). This simple symbol has long been believed to protect against evil and was often found on amulets and forms of jewellery to watch over the wearer.

A mathematical symbol with a whole lot of meaning behind it. Defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is a so-called irrational number. Its exact value is unknowable as there is no recognisable pattern to its sequence. Evidence of pi can be found in all walks of life – from classroom maths, to navigation and flight path calculations, to the procession of radio and TV signals and even sport.

Swastika

It has come to represent the atrocities of the Nazis in World War II, but its actual origins date back millennia. Deriving from the Sanskrit ‘svastika’, meaning ‘good fortune’ or ‘well-being’. It is believed first to have been used in Neolithic Eurasia to represent the movement of the sun through the sky. Even today a similar hooked cross is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Odinism and is commonly found on temples or houses in India or Indonesia.

The Phoenix

Universally accepted as a symbol of the sun, rebirth, resurrection and immortality, the legendary ‘fire’ bird is linked to the worship of sun gods such as Aztec Huitzilopochtli. The Phoenix was believed to periodically die in its self-inflicted flames and then rise again from its own ashes.

The Heart

Synonymous with romantic love and affection, the historic origins of this symbol are hard to trace. Some believe it derives from Ivy leaves associated with fertility, whilst another theory is that it originates from when the ancient Greeks and Romans used silphium, a giant fennel, as birth control. The silphium’s seedpod resembles a heart, resulting in speculation that its links to love and sex may have been what first made the symbol popular.

Ichthys

This early Christian symbol is colloquially known as the ‘Jesus fish’. Before the Christians adopted it, however, the Ichthys was used by the Greeks, Romans and many other pagans. In pagan beliefs, Ichthys was the offspring of the ancient sea and fertility goddess Atagatis and they referred to the fish symbol as the Great Mother and womb, establishing its link to fertility, birth and the natural force of women.

Masonic Square

The single most recognisable symbol of Freemasonry features a square and set of compasses joined together. Both are architects tools and are used to teach symbolic Masonic lessons including that masons should ‘square their actions by the square of virtue’ and learn to ‘circumscribe their desires and keep their passions within due bounds toward all mankind’. When the two are placed together with God at the centre, peace and harmony is the result.

Trinity Knots

The Celtic Trinity Know (or triquetra) illustrates faith, devotion and belief in God and its 3 segments represent the Holy Trinity. The symbol can be found as far back as the 6^th century on stone crosses, architecture as well as art and metal work. Nowadays it is often featured on Celtic wedding and engagement rings as it is seen as appropriate as they make a lifetime commitment before God.

Yin Yang

In a nutshell, this Chinese symbol represents perfect balance and is the basis of almost all Chinese philosophy. Yin Yang is the most known and documented concept used with Taoism and it symbolises two halves, which when combined, complete wholeness. It depicts the ancient opposing but complimentary forces found in all things in the universe including dark and light, evil and good and death and life.

All Seeing Eye

This symbol has long been misunderstood and misused as one of control and surveillance by the elite. However, the symbol for the all-seeing eye of God universally represents spiritual sight, inner vision, higher knowledge and insight into occult mysteries. It has been widely used for centuries in religious symbolism in all parts of the world. In the modern era the eye can be seen on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the United States $1.