🔬 Symbol Index

The unity of opposites: dark/light, feminine/masculine, passive/active. Each contains the seed of its opposite. Represents the dynamic balance of the Tao.

Two interlocking triangles: fire/water, above/below, divine/human. In alchemy, the union of the four elements. In Kabbalah, the six Sephiroth surrounding Tiphareth.

The key of life. Combines the cross (matter) with the loop (spirit/eternity). Gods hold it to signify their power over life and death.

The primordial sound of creation. Three syllables represent creation, preservation, destruction (or waking, dreaming, deep sleep). The silence after is the fourth state (turiya).

Eight combinations of broken and unbroken lines representing fundamental principles: heaven, earth, water, fire, mountain, lake, wind, thunder.

A cross with a rose at center. The cross = matter/body; the rose = soul/spirit flowering through sacrifice. Also symbolizes secrecy (sub rosa).

Two serpents entwined around a winged staff. Mercury/Hermes's wand. Represents the reconciliation of opposites, the union of masculine and feminine forces, kundalini rising.

The serpent eating its own tail. Infinity, eternal return, self-renewal. In alchemy: the unity of beginning and end. In Norse myth: Jormungandr, the World Serpent.

The intersection of vertical (divine) and horizontal (earthly). In Christianity: Christ's sacrifice. Pre-Christian: the four directions, the world axis, the meeting of heaven and earth.

The eight-spoked wheel (dharmachakra) represents the Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha "turned the wheel of dharma" with his first sermon at Sarnath.

The feminine principle, water, the descending divine energy. In Tantra: Shakti, the creative feminine power. In alchemy: the element of water.

The masculine principle, fire, aspiration toward the divine. The all-seeing eye within the triangle represents divine omniscience.

The sacred gate marking the boundary between profane and sacred space. Two pillars with crossbar, typically vermilion. Threshold between the human world and kami.

Five-pointed star. Upright: the human body, the five elements (spirit crowning matter). Inverted: matter over spirit. Pythagoras: the symbol of health (hygieia).

The supreme symbol across cultures: Ra (Egypt), Amaterasu (Shinto), Surya (Hindu), Sol Invictus (Roman), Christ as "Sun of Righteousness." Light, consciousness, divine truth.

In I Ching: six-line figures encoding cosmic situations. In Kabbalah: the Shield of David. In alchemy: the union of fire (△) and water (▽).