circle

This bizarre looking symbol appeared one morning in 1991 on the lawns outside of England’s Barbury Castle. The Barbury crop circle is not so much a circle as a triangle (or two dimensional rendering of a tetrahedron, as has been suggested) with three circular symbols at each point. This symbol, which measures some 36,000 feet across at its widest point, has never been seen before; neither the meaning or origin of this symbol are known.

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This symbol, reminiscent of a yin-yang, is a Mayan emblem of unknown meaning.

In the nineteen-fifties, it was associated in New Age circles with the Mayan God-name Hunab Ku, although there remains little evidence to support the connection.

While the symbol is Mayan in origin, it is most often used in a New Age context, where represents the solar calendar, balanced forces, and universal harmony.

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Music and Pop Culture Symbols:

“Questioning”

“The Artist”

Heartagram

Zoso

Lucifer Sigil

Triquetra

Druid & Celtic Symbols

Triquetra	Shield Knot	Claddagh	Triqueta	Green man	Tree of Life
Brighid’s cross	Celtic Knot	Druidry	Triskele	Shield Knot	Shamrock
Cauldron	Welsh Dragon	Celtic Cross	Awen	Spiral	Cernunnos

More Celtic Symbols

All images copyright Jennifer Emick/Symboldictionary.net, except where otherwise noted

Christian & Gnostic Symbols

Christian Ankh	Jerusalem Cross	Cross Lorraine	Jesus Fish (Ichthus)	Triqueta	Orthodox
Reverse cross	Anchor fish	Alexamenos	Serpent cross	Sacred Heart	Christogram
IHS	Alpha & Omega	Chi Rho	Crucifix	Messianic	Halo

More Christian & Gnostic Symbols

Magick, Occult, Satanic Symbols:

Baphomet	Pentagram	Necronomicon	Chaos	Mendes Goat	Hexagram
Witch’s Knot	Enneagram	Hermetic Seal	Unicursal hexagram	Ouroboros	Kabbalah
Mark of the Beast	Hand of Glory	GD Lamen	Saturn	Babalon Seal	Pentagram

More Occult Symbols

Wiccan/ Pagan Symbols:

Hecate’s Wheel	Triquetra	Pentacle	Green man	Triple Goddess	Pentacle
Witch’s runes	Cauldron	Horned God	Triple crescent	Elven star	Athame
Greenman	Seax	Boline	Besom	Witch’s Sign	Horned God

More Neopagan Symbols

All images/text copyright Jennifer Emick/Symboldictionary.net, except where otherwise noted

Norse, Asatru, Romuva, and Eastern Europe:

Romuva	Odin’s horn	Valknut	Thunder Cross	Shield Knot	Helm of Awe
Hugin and Munin	Mjolnir	Runes	Sleipnir	Gungnir	Solar cross
Irminsul	Jumis	Nidstang	Yggdrasil	Triceps	Wolf’s Cross

More Norse Symbols

Egyptian & Egyptian Pagan Symbols:

Uraeus	Winged disk	Ankh	Isis throne	Eye of Ra/Horus	Scarab
Lotus	Horus	infinity	Djed	Maat	Sistrum
Abraxas	Nuit	Hathor	Ba bird	Akhet	Flower of Life

More Egyptian Symbols

Ancient Greek, Roman Symbols:

Mano Fico	Gorgon	Caduceus	Labrys	Minotaur	Willendorf
Fasces	Orphic egg	labrynth	Tetraktys	Hygeia	Lauburu

More Greek & Roman Symbols

Assyrian/Babylonian, Phoenician, Syrian, and Zoroastrian:

Inanna’s Knot	Assyrian sun disk	Ishtar seal	Tanit	Shamash seal	Farohar
“Dagon”	Mespotamia	Simurgh	Kerub	Tetragrammaton	Tiamat

More Assyrian/Babylonian Symbols

Islam, Judaism, Sufism, & Baha’i:

Star & Crescent	Magen David	Hamsa	Allah	Sufi	YHVH
Druze Star	Baha’i	Menorah	Ringstone	Messianic	Aaronic Blessing

More Middle Eastern Symbols

African, Rasta, Vodou & Santeria:

Akua’ba	Veve	Eleggua	Lion of Judah	Agwe	Chiwara
Riscados	Rasta	Adinkra	Gya Name	Ethiopian Cross	Adinkra

See more African Symbols

Taoist, Shinto, Buddhist, and Asian cultural symbols:

Maneke Neko	Buddha’s Eyes	Torii Gate	I Ching	Endless knot	Om Mani Padme hum
Enso	Buddha’s feet	Tomoe	Yin Yang	Manji	Dorje

See more Asian Symbols

Hindu, Jain, & Sikh Symbols:

Kalash	Garuda	Khanda	Vel	Chakra	Dharma
Jain Hand	Shiva	Tattwas	Omkar	Jainism	Yantra

More Symbols of Eastern Religions

Alchemical & Astrological Symbols:

Scorpio	Venus	Mars	Zodiac	Greek Cross	Water
Alchemical salt	Fire	Capricornus	Sun	Red King	Pluto

See more Astrological Symbols

Shamanic (Native American, Aboriginal, Neolithic):

Wasgo

Shaman

Kokopelli

Man in the Maze

Hunab Ku

Zia sun

See more in this category

Masonic, Fraternal Organizations:

Skull & bones	Compass	Eye	Point in Circle	Pillars	Beehive
A.A.	Cipher	All Seeing Eye	47th Proposition	Double Eagle	Eastern Star

See more Masonic Symbols

Miscellaneous:

COST	Op. Thetan	Scientology	Scientology	Unity Cross	Atlantis Cross
Raelian	Mu	Raelian	Choku Rei	Priory of Sion	Process Church
Swastika	Black Sun	Neo Nazi	“Grail Cross”	Sacred Chao	Unitarians
Romany	Barbury Crop Circle	Healer	Glastonbury	Unicorn	Theosophy

Special: “Da Vinci Code” Symbols:

Vitruvian Man	Fleur de Lis	Rose	Priory of Sion	Ankh	Phi
Greek Cross	Golden Mean	Jumis	Fire	Water	Hexagram

Religious symbols glossary

Symbol glossaries by subject:

Adinkra Symbols

Astrological and Alchemical symbols

Crosses Druid/ Celtic symbols

Egyptian symbols

Hand Gestures

NeoPagan/ Wiccan Symbols

Norse/Asatru symbols

Star Symbols Symbols of Eastern religions- Jain, Sikh, and Hindu symbols

Symbols of Magick and the Occult

Symbols of the Middle East- Sumerian, Zoroastrian, Baha’i, and Islamic symbols

Taoist, Tibetan Buddhist, and Shinto symbols

Tattoo Symbols

Tribal and Shamanic symbols

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The Virgin of Guadalupe is one of many “Marian apparitions” or ‘miraculous’ manifestations of the Virgin Mary, an icon of the Roman Catholic Church. She is especially venerated in Mexico, where she is said to have appeared to the impoverished native

farmer Juan Diego in the early sixteenth century. According to legend, as Juan was on his way to mass one morning, he was distracted by the sound of music emanating from nearby Tepeyac hill, some say in the location of a shrine to the Aztec goddess Tonantzin.

Pausing to investigate, he saw a vision of a glowing clouds, encircled by a rainbow. On the top of the hill appeared a young woman dressed in Aztec clothing, who told him she was the Virgin Mary, and that she desired a church on the site. Juan hurried to tell his Bishop, (The Spanish Bishop de Zumárraga) who was skeptical, asking for proof. Juan returned to the hill, where he discovered Spanish roses growing in the snow. Gathering them up, he returned to the Bishop, who was startled to discover the image of the Lady on Juan’s cactus-fiber cloak

A Basilica was built on the spot two years later, which still displays Juan Diego’s mantle with its renaissance-style image of the virgin. The image of the Lady of Guadalupe is said to be the most recognized catholic image in the world.

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Atheism throughout history has, understandably, been a pretty private affair. In recent years, however, the rise of the atheist/agnostic “freethought” movement has brought active disbelief into the public arena, creating not just a camaraderie of unbelievers, but a sometimes actively anti-religious movement.

A number of atheist, pro-science, and related emblems have been proffered as symbols for nonbelievers, but none have any real consensus so far. I’ve compiled a brief, by no means exclusive list of some of the more popular emblems below.

Early symbols

One of the earliest symbols is not a symbol of disbelief per se. The Humanist movement’s “happy human,” designed by Denis Barrington in 1965 for the International Humanist and Ethical Union. The little figure symbolized the humanist philosophy of people over religious dogma, and while popular with atheists, is not an explicitly atheist symbol.

The earliest explicitly atheist symbol I’m aware of is the open-atom logo of the American Atheists, designed in the early sixties to place an emphasis on scientific curiosity and empirical thinking. While adopted early, it is not popular overall as it is trademarked by the organization.

The “evolve fish,” aka, the “Darwin fish,” a satirical jab at the ubiquitous “Jesus fish,” is one of several popular recent symbols:

The “invisible pink unicorn” symbol was intentionally designed as an atheist identification symbol. The image alludes to a common argument against belief, contained within the mathematical symbol for an ‘empty set.’  The first mention of the IPU appeared in the mid-nineties on Usenet, from author Steve Eley:

“Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorn is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can’t see them.”

So far, the real contender has been the “flying spaghetti monster,” which began as a variation of the “IPU” argument, but proved irresistible once reports of “miraculous appearances” of the parody deity began to roll in. FSM merchandise is abundant, and includes car medallions, t-shirts, posters, and more.

Other noteworthy images include the atheist ” Scarlet A” symbol, designed by Richard Dawkins for the “OUT” campaign, which encourages Atheists to be more outspoken:

The circle/A emblem, somewhat resembling the Anarchist “A” symbol:

The empty set (circle/slash) with or without cross (aka the “Bad Religion” logo), ghost, or other object representing religion:

I any case, the issue is far from settled, at least as far as consensus goes.

Some of the recent debates:

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The Tau or Tav means “cross,” and is the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is numbered 300 in the Greek and 400 in the Hebrew numerical alphabet. The tau corresponds astrologically with the planet Saturn and the concept of finality. The mark was associated with the absolution of sin and may have been the original “mark of Cain” of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew kabbala, the Tav represents the completion of creation and is an emblem of infinity. In the visions of Ezekiel, it is the sign etched on the foreheads of priests and initiates. The Greek Tau is associated with the letter Theta, an emblem of death originally symbolized by a cross in a circle or a skull.

It is assumed the the biblical symbolism of the Tau stems from the ancient cult of Tammuz, a vegetation god whose annual death and resurrection was commemorated by ritual mourners who marked their foreheads with the cross. Tammuz, like Christ, was associated with fishing and shepherding. The Tau cross takes the shape of the letter of his name, and is one of the oldest letters known. The custom of marking the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of mourning dates back to these rituals.

The Tau was adopted as the emblem of the Franciscan order of monks, and during the renaissance it was used in religious paintings to denote monks, pilgrims, and wandering hermits. The Tau was a special symbol of Saint Anthony, considered the progenitor of monasticism, and may have referred to the “T” in the word “Theos,” God. In magic, the Tau represents a supplicating posture. Ritual robes are typically referred to as “Tau robes” due to their shape, going back to the traditional pattern of monastic robes.

Esoterically, the Tau represents a gate or opening, symbolic death. In the Victorian magical Order of the Golden Dawn, the Tau was the “sign of the Enterer,” a posture that symbolized the opening path of the Kabbalistic tree of life, connecting the sphere of Malkuth (earth) with that of Yesod (the moon). It was strongly associated with the World or Universe card in the tarot, and emblematic of the cross of life juxtaposed on the sphere of matter- a symbol of death as initiation.

The tau cross is often used as a variant of the Latin, or Christian cross.

An arrangement of three Taus in a spoked formation is an emblem of the Royal Arch degree of Freemasonry, symbolizing the Temple of Jerusalem. The Triple Tau is said to actually comprise only two letters, for the Greek phrase “Templum Hieroslymoe,” with the H as a pictographic stand-in for the Arch of the Temple entrance; the Tau likely reflecting the death-and resurrection symbolism of the Masonic initiation.

The Greek “Hiero,” or “holy,” is also the root of the word “Hierophant,” an initiator. To add a further layer of symbolism, the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek eta (H) is cheth, a gate. Cheth/eta enumerates to 8 or 800, with the Tav 400, making it truly a double Tau.

A tau cross displayed alongside a rope with knots symbolizes the vows of the order. A tau displayed with crossed arms is called the “Franciscan Shield.”

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