This is a quick overview of the symbols used in magic, these are just a few basic ones as the number of symbols and meanings is almost endless. However, there are many books available on the subject. What I present to you here today is to give the beginner a place to begin to understand the symbolism used in magic and its purpose. I am also including a short meditation as a bonus for anyone interested in advancing their trance or meditative state.
The Circle is probably the oldest known symbol, ever since someone looked up at the sun and decided to draw it on the ground with a stick in one motion. The circle represents feminine energy in Hindu, Buddhist and many other cultures. It is a representation of the border. It also means cycle or completion, creation and manifestation. Represents infinity is sometimes drawn like that of Orebro.
circum pomatum
The Circum Punctum, a prehistoric symbol is a point within a circle. This symbol represents consciousness, both universal and one’s own. In Native American culture this represents the spirit. In Kabala Keter is the most hidden of all hidden things, it is the crown of the Sephirot (spheres) of the tree of life. In Freemasonry it is the symbol of the entered Apprentice and emotional containment. In Alchemy this symbol represents gold and the sun. In many cultures, this is a symbol of the sun and the solar deity.
Ultimately, it is the symbol of creation; the point in the center is the source of the whole; the outer circle is the expansion of growth. This is a mirror of the origin of the universe and of our own spiritual development. Hindus believe that the dot is masculine energy and this symbol is the unity of the masculine/feminine opposites and sexual union. The alchemical symbol of gold, the alchemical hermaphrodite, union of opposite poles, coincidence? Not in Magic.
the sun cross
Another prehistoric symbol is the Solar Cross. This symbol also seems to be in many cultures universally. It represents the spirits of the four angles, the four phases of the year, the four elements, the equinox and the solstice. The symbol maintains its meanings in all cultures that use it.
The vertical line represents the masculine, it also represents the world axis around which the constellations revolve. The connection between humans and divine heavenly and terrestrial.
The Horizontal line represents the feminine, Time (from beginning to end) from birth to death.
Horizontally Divided Circle: In the Greek alphabet this represents the letter theta. In Alchemy this represents salt and material existence. It represented the sun in Chinese calligraphy. A more modern meaning is (STOP). This is a symbol for absolute time.
Vertically Divided Circle: This is the alchemical symbol for saltpeter. It represents the coming and going between spiritual planes.
The triangle
The Simple Triangle, another ancient symbol representing any type of trinity (Isis, Osiris and Horus) Pointing up is masculine (fire) (upward rising force) pointing down feminine (water) (downward flowing). It symbolizes the spiritual world, the manifestation, the stability, the union of man and woman to do something new as the symbol of the right triangle. The sum of the squares of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. Tea
Triangle of the Divine Child
Square
The square represents the four stages of life, birth, childhood, maturity and death. The square also symbolizes almost everything that you can group into four. Elements, directions, seasons, etc. It represents the permanent, the home, the organization, the security and the equality. The power ground or a place to ground the power.
the pentagram
The golden ratio, φ = (1 + √5) / 2 ≈ 1.618, the trajectory of the planet Venus observed from Earth is called the Venus pentagram. It represents the five corners where the seeds of Chronos are placed on earth, which is why it represents the cosmos, time and manifestation.
The five dimensions of reality, the 3 spatial ones, time and thought. The five Platonic elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether. It represents the ascent of the spirit from matter. We will use the pentagram clockwise to send energy to the universe during the ritual and counterclockwise to remove energy or spirits.
An inverted pentagram represents the descent of spirit into matter according to Crowley. Although some have given it an evil connotation as the triumph of matter over spirit. From Eliphas Levi. We will use the inverted pentagram drawn counterclockwise to banish spirits with force. We will use the inverted clockwise pentagram for invocation and evocation purposes.
the hexagram
The six-pointed star the hexagram – It is the symbol of the theosophical society. Known as the Saturn Talisman, we again see the union of opposites when the two triangles come together. Also a symbol to summon and banish spirits. All angles are 60 degrees to make 180 in each. All angles are divided into a full circle (360 degrees) 6 times.
Chronos, the Greek god of time, who is a descendant of Uranus and Gaia, is associated with the planet Saturn and in the Rosicrucian system the star represents planets 6 at the angles and 7 at the center or eye.
I now include meditation as a bonus to this article:
This is a meditation I gave a friend to try. It works fine for me, it might for you too.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself floating in space, you see all the stars and the earth spinning in front of you, then the moon passes in its orbit as the sun rises around the earth to start the day.
You feel the warm rays penetrate the top of your head, warming you, relaxing you and tingling slightly. The rays slowly move down the head relaxing all the jaw and neck muscles, then the rays bathe the shoulders, back and chest.
The warm soothing rays relieve all pain and relax all tension causing your body to finally release all the stress that had accumulated over the years making you feel free and liberated from all burdens.
The rays go down your abdomen and through your lower back releasing all the tension and turning gelatinous, then the pelvis, thighs, over the knees down through the shins and calves releasing all the tension in the ankles turning them to rubber. you feel your whole body slowly starting to turn liquid. the liquid separates, all its molecules begin to separate and separate.
You feel the warm rays of the sun evaporating the water that used to be your body. you start to dissipate and all that is left is your consciousness floating in space. then tell yourself that i am now in a state of deep meditation where i can work effectively on a psychic and astral level all i have to do to get back to this level is to imagine the warm sun evaporating into space.