Adele Nozedar - The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols

The Dharma wheel or Dharmachakra is used as a symbol in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It is an eight-spoked wheel, sometimes rendered quite decoratively. Each spoke of the wheel represents one of the pillars of belief that applies to these Dharmic religions.

1 Right faith

2 Right intention

3 Right speech

4 Right action

5 Right livelihood

6 Right effort

7 Right thought

8 Right meditation

The wheel symbol in general is complex and is covered elsewhere; this particular wheel represents the notion of overcoming obstacles, difficulties, and challenges.

An Ancient Egyptian symbol of stability, the djed is an image of a pillar with four platforms piled on top of it. As with other pillar-like symbols the world over, the djed also signifies the World Axis, the World Tree, and the phallus.

The simple doorway—an everyday object that goes unnoticed most of the time—is symbolic of a transition between one world and the next. Such a doorway may take different forms, as a dolmen, a torii, a gateway, but the meaning remains the same. In C. S. Lewis’s Narnia novels, the wardrobe into which the children step to enter the magical world of Narnia is a good example of this symbol. Both Heaven and Hell lie beyond gates or doorways, and the threshold of such a place is seen as the place where two worlds meet and sometimes collide. Many rituals involve the initiate stepping through a doorway of some kind. The vesica piscis represents a doorway where the world of spirit enters the world of matter.

See Vajra.

See First signs: Dot.

This good-luck symbol, ubiquitous in China or in places where there is a strong undercurrent of Chinese culture, comprises the character meaning happiness, written twice, hence the name, Double Happiness. The meaning of the sign is inferred in its name, and it is a popular symbol for practitioners of Feng Shui. The sign is effective if placed in the sector of the home that relates to relationships. It is also said to be particularly lucky for newlyweds.

The forerunner of the Dreamcatcher was a Native American spider’s web of feathers and beads, a simple little charm made from a small hoop of flexible wood, such as willow, with an interlacement of plant fibers designed to look like a cobweb.

This little amulet was used particularly as a protection for babies and small children. Hung over their cradles and beds, it was thought to entrap any negative spirits that came in the form of nightmares. These malevolent entities, entangled in the web, were sizzled in the heat from the rising Sun. The spider’s-web shape gave homage to Asibikaasi, the mythical Spider Woman, whose magical webs could catch anything.

The elaborate Dreamcatchers of today, an essential part of the kit for any self-respecting New Ager, were invented in the 1960s and ’70s as part of the resurgence in Native American culture and belief.

During the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, the usually strict rules forbidding any kind of gambling are relaxed slightly. The Dreidel is a wooden spinning top, its four sides

inscribed with letters. These letters form an acronym that reminds the players of the meaning of the holiday. The initial letters, nun, gimel, heh , and shin , stand for a phrase which, when translated, means “A great miracle happened there,” and the top is spun to win small treats such as sweets and chocolate coins. The Dreidel is symbolic of fun and of the holiday period but carries a serious message at the same time.

The Drilbu is the bell-like object that appears sometimes in the right hand of Buddhist statues, and is the female counterpart of the male Vajra or Dorje. Its Sanskrit counterpart is called the Ghanta.

The Drilbu symbolizes knowledge, emptiness, and wisdom, and the notes of its bell are a reminder of the transient nature of everything. The actual object is made of an amalgamation of seven different metals, each of which is associated with the planets and is a magical symbol in its own right. The Drilbu is a musical instrument as well as a ritual object. It is chimed three times to focus the attention of the people attending any ceremony. Its sweet-sounding resonant note also welcomes in good spirits and drives away any evil ones.

The Drilbu has the same feminine symbolism as the chalice in the Western tradition. It is called the Ghanta in the Hindu faith.

This five-pointed upright star, comprised of five distinct diamond shapes, is the emblem of the Druze faith, an offshoot of Islam. Each segment is often colored according to its meaning.

The five points of the star remind followers of the religion of the five universal principles of the faith:

1 The masculine element, the Sun and the mind. This segment is often colored green.

2 The feminine element and the Moon, colored red.

3 The Word, considered the mediator between the Divine and humankind, colored yellow.

4 Will and the realms of possibility, colored blue.

5 Finally, the white segment of the star represents actualization, the manifestation of the Word and the Will.

The egg is as powerful in its symbolism as it is potent as a life-force. The World Egg is a ubiquitous symbol for the egg from which the Universe is said to have hatched, an idea that appears in creation myths from all parts of the world. The Celts, Hindus, Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians, and many more all agree about this idea.

The form this cosmic hatching takes is variable though. Often, the egg rises from primeval waters and is incubated by a bird; in Hindu belief, this is the Hamsa, a goose. When the egg hatches, the yolk and the white become Heaven and Earth.