Alternative Religious Symbols

Alchemy wasn't just a quest to transform lead into gold: it was a quest to transform base things into greater, more spiritual things, including the elevation of the soul. Alchemists coded their notes in a variety of personalized symbols. Here is a collection of common ones.

The Greeks proposed the existence of five basic elements. Of these, four were the physical elements – fire, air, water and earth – of which the entire world is composed. Alchemists eventually associated four triangular symbols to represent these elements. In traditional Western occult theory, the elements are hierarchical - spirit, fire, air, water and earth – with the first elements being more spiritual and perfect and the last elements being more material and base.

Because basic geometric shapes are so simplistic in construction, they are found all over the world with a wide variety of uses and meanings.  However, there are a variety of meanings that are more commonly ascribed to these shapes, particular when used in a religious or magical context.

Occultists associate a number of symbols with the planets. These include astrological symbols, which are still in common use today. They also include numerological magic squares, complex seals constructed for those squares, and sigils of the spirits and intelligences associated with each planet.

To see information organized by individual planets, please see: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon.

The ouroboros is a snake or dragon (often described as a "serpent") eating it's own tail. It is present in a variety of different cultures, going back as far as the ancient Egyptians. Today, it is most associated with Gnosticism, alchemy and hermeticism.

The pentagram, or five-pointed star, has been in existence for thousands of years. Over that time, it has had many meanings, uses, and depictions associated with it.