Altho I dunno if I would count myself as an old timer, I wasn't very active on the old site.

Hmmm ok here's one I don't think has been discussed for a while or at least not for this reason : Pagan symbols or images that have meaning to pagans across paths generally without being too cliched. The reason I started to think about this was I've recently begun to get back into drawing and painting again and I was thinking about making cards of a pagan persuasion. Not for making a living by, but for the pleasure of making and also cos I did promise Lion I'd send him some samples to see if he wanted me to make some to go with his runes

Apart from pentacles, the things that sprang to mind were mostly things like the elements, plants, various animals, man made icons like henges and barrows, runes, spirals, circles etc. What symbols have most meaning for you as a pagan, which images particularly resonate ? Doesn't have to be deadly serious, even funny things like comic witch figures work I am asking this from a human interest point of view as well as the lesser aspect of thinking what would work for my own designs !

Noooooooooo made me think of crop circles

I must be blessed by some old god or other cos that's one of the things that did not spring to mind

And on that subject, I have but two words for you, welded into one ..... CelticKing......... *runs and hides*

A good book by the way that might be of interest to you is British Prehistoric Rock Art by Stan Beckensall. See if your library can get it or any of the other ones he did. Good stuff without the neo-pagan interpretations

For info,
This was originally part of this thread.
I split into its own thread so as not to loose a good topic (this one) in the other thread.

For no particularly obvious reason I feel drawn to the Aspects (maiden, mother, crone) type images.
Also the Moon and Orion.

good grief, deebs giving his pagan beliefs away That's a first

Actually the symbols that mean most to me are ones that aren't really seen as pagan. For me at present again it's leaves (usually oak leaves) but labyrinths and circles in the main

for me theres the pentacle, but also the labrys, cobwebs and the hawthorn oh and anything that shows the moon in different phases.

Good topic cat! I've actually been wanting to study more on this.
I hear alot of people carve signs onto their fireplace mantles and just finger sign on windows.. for some reason, and gawd don't kill me, I keep thinking of the symbols from blush.. Charmed, but I like it, lol.

I love the pentagram, hmm (), I really need to study on this. Plus learn signs, for all the elements..

I'd also like to learn some Shamanistic symbols.

Are there symbols for the Goddess/Gods.. esp Aradia?

Anyone know about those ones?

Thanks!
blessings and happy moonnight madness,, now theres a symbol, I'd like to see for!
lol

well in some cases their may be symbols for gods and goddessess (the Roman ones certainly have symbols as there are symbols for the planets too which they share) but in other cases gods and goddesses have things associated with them. Hares for example are associated with many goddessess including Andraste and the semi-mythical Ostara.

The owl is a symbol of Athena and the trident of Neptune for example.

Of course there may be personal cases where you percieve a symbol of a god/dess. For me Andred (Andraste) has given me a labrys, which while I have found no historical link certainly makes it a symbol for me.

I'm very partial to the triquetra as the symbol of the many trinities like the three aspects of the Goddess, life birth and death and even the Christian trinity, but they, lucky for me don't use it.

I like the sprial as that goes back to the stoneage with the stone carvings found and I see this symbol as the precurser to the Celts,who also were fond of circles.


And I like the half moon, don't know why, I just do.

In no particular order;

Pentacles/pentagrams and triquetra.

Sun & Moon symbols, and to a lesser extent the signs for the planets.

Leaves, especially distinctively shaped ones like Chestnut, Oak, Holly, etc

Celtic knotwork (crosses etc)

Green man masks

and too many others to mention!

the spiral is a symbol that is very important to me, i've always doodled them! and they represent the cycle of life and progression - at least to me anway.

also concentric circles have always sort of drawn me to them.

Apart from the pentacle, it´s a spiral.
I love all things round! The circle or the spiral can symbolise a lot of different things to me. The cycle of the year and life. Birth and death in a ongoing circle. The spiral is also a reminder of karma, what goes around comes around. A divine law. A movement towards the centre, as life itself.

Blessings
Deerheart

In anthroposophy, the pentagram symbolising humanity, the rose / apple which is related because it hase five petals, and the lily which is related to the Star of David, six petals, as above so below, healing. Sorry if it sounds muddled - it is. haven't read anything anthroposophical for a long time although I count Rudoloph Steiner amongst my teachers.

Pagan symbols that mean something to me, also in no particular order:
Mjollnir (Thor's hammer)
The runes of the Elder Futhark, plus several bindrunes I've created for various functions, although that is very personal
The Valknut
The pentagram

T

how could I have forgotten the Runes - we really need a 'slaps hand on head' smilie.

Anything from sacred geometry - this includes pentagram, pentacle, Star of David, hexagon, etc. There is so much symbolism bound up in all of these.

Labyrinths are also very very cool.

Moons, stars, suns - I love them!

Celtic Cross is lovely, as are a lot of Celtic motifs.

At present the pentagram is the one for me, because it fits in with so many important aspects in my path.

I'm quite partial to the ankh as well - on my mantle piece we've got a small figurine of Bast with an ankh necklace around the base.

Yesterday I was listening to a relaxation cd, when I got a really clear picture in my mind of an eye in a pyramid. I've seen this symbol before, although I haven't paid it much attention.

I've just looked on Wikipedia and can't find it. All I can find on Google is that it's on the back of dollar bills and is part of a conspiracy theory...

Does anyone have any idea what it means?

A factual answer about the eye, from Answers.com/Wikipedia

And some more information on The illuminati Conspiracy

And some info from the freemasons Freemasonry (Scroll down to Question 3)

Doing a search for the all-seeing eye, or the eye of providence should bring you up some more hits

Things that resonate with me in particular order.

Spirals - particularly double or triple- and Labyrinths. Particularly for meditation/trance work. I'm starting a rag rug to be put next to my alter which will have the design of a prehistoric labyrinth stone carving.

Triskeles - as a physical representation of triplicity (of functions not age)

The Awen(/Imbas) symbol.

"Celtic" knotwork particularly where it has the norse influence - possibly why I enjoy insular style calligraphy.

Ogham (and not the Robert Graves version of it).

The three elements.

An equal arm cross, usually wheeled.

Thanks!

Blessings.
In no perticular order, well ok..

for me is the Ankh, symbol of eternal life and peace from the Egyptians.
The Pentacle, which keep reminding me of the elements and spirit.
The Pentagram which I use to doodle a lot when I was a young girl,( still do today)
Circles, to show the beginning and end runs together for compleatness.
And oh! Celtic knot work...just love the patterens.
I wear a Celtic cross to remind me of my brother, who was a Druid.

Thats about it for me...

Also love some traditional "Crosses", but only because I think some are beautiful.

Love, LadyP
(ps. Im sure there are definations other than I give for the Ankh.) And what types of celtic knot work are there?

It's a bit wiccan but:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5341/symbols2.html

Why is it when I see the symbols they give for maiden and crone do I think man dressing to the left and man dressing to the right?

Some Heathen friends of mine are particularly drawn to the Swastika as before the Nazis defiled it's meaning, it represents the wheel and is still in poplular use by number of cultures.

Chaos magicians are synonimous with the octogram and eight rayed star, lets not forget the eye of Horus as one of the many symbols used by the Egyptian tradition.

Mjolinir, pentacles and triskeles hold a particular attraction for me as do the Ying Yang symbol.

Storm Raven

One of my favourite symbols is the triple moon. I also like triskeles and some of the maiden/mother/crone imagery.

Spirals and circles I like to a lesser degree. Other than that it's plants and animals in pagan art.

I am an nenthusiastic frequenter of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries of London. It's amazing how many Pagan symbols one find on Victorian tombstones and monuments. The Victorian era also saw a rise of interest in Paganism.

I've carried a triskel for thirty years plus and find more and more meaning in it as time passes.

The churches and churchyards are full of symbols, whilst you have to be careful of falling into the trap where the meanings have seriously changed over the years there is so much to be learnt from church and graveyard architecture

Defiantely looking at my previous answer in this, I would say that for me the symbols change as to what draws me depending on where I am with my path or which Gods I deal with. After all one of my Gods is a hammer God so that symbol plays an important part for me and yet most people would assume a hammer God would be a Heathen God when he is not Plus representation of a beehive is very important to me as well

There are many branches of freemasonry and especially in america there are groups calling themselves freemasons when they have no affiliation with freemasonry at all.

freemasonry and illuminati have nothing to do with each other some freemasons lodges dont even think the illuminati exist

if there are any freemasons reading this thread send a pm.

yes i am a freemason and freemasonry was and is in my opinion founded on symbolism

it is still the largest charitable organisation in the world and the oldest fraternity.

but as a witch we can go back much farther in time, to the dawn of creation without symbolism

i spend a lot of my time wandering old graveyards, cemeteries and churchyards looking at symbols
i am also a stonemason and find pagan symbols in the best of places

i was born and lived in a graveyard so i find them very peaceful with only one bad memory.

my younger brother died when my father buried him, gave up his job as caretaker/ gravedigger we moved to glasgow.
its the moving to glasgow thats the bad memory

mine has to be triquetra as i hav it tattooed on my right wrist. It can mean many things, maiden, mother, crone, protection some even say father son and spirit but to me it represents my family, myself my partner and our daughter power of 3 forever.


awwwwwwwwwww

its also john paul jones symbol so it cnt be that bad x

Pentagram/Pentacle.
Moon
Oak Leaves - great big oak trees too.
Broomsticks

And alternative dressing - yes I know many aren't pagan.. but to me the alternative dressing is very symbolic of the acceptance and freedom to express one self (within the constraints of common decency AND civil liberties) that I feel is endemic within paganism.... and sometimes I see it also as, particularly when I see someone who just seems to have gone totally over the top, symbolic of the attitude that because we are pagan we should accept everyone and everything.. which is rubbish.