The symbols from A Magical Journey

Tuesday July 7, 2009

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Some of the ancient magical symbols used in the journal section of
A Magical Journey are explained below.

Triple moon or triple goddess
This pretty symbol represents the three major phases of the moon – waxing (as it increases towards full, appearing as a crescent), full, and waning (as it decreases towards dark, represented by the opposite crescent). It is also representative of the triple goddess, and her aspects of maiden, mother and crone, and the three major stages of the feminine life cycle. In the northern hemisphere the moon cycle does reflect the symbol, with the waxing crescent appearing as a backwards C, followed by the circle of the full moon and the C shape of the waning crescent, but in the southern hemisphere it is the opposite.

Horned god
This symbol represents the horned god of nature and fertility, known variously as Cernunnos, Pan, Caerwiden, Herne and the Green Man. He is the pagan god of the forest, the hunt, wild animals and fertility, and associated with horned male animals such as stags, and erroneously with the devil. He reflects the seasons of the year and the cycle of life, death and rebirth, and is considered guardian of the forests and its wisdom, defender of animals and the masculine half of the divine. The symbol is of a circle with a crescent moon on top, representing the male aspect of the divine, and the horns are symbols of male potency, strength and protection, representing fruitfulness and fertility.

Triquetra
From the Latin tri quetrus, meaning three-cornered, this symbol represents the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth, as well as other threefold aspects, such as maiden, mother crone; and physical, mental spiritual. To the Celts it also symbolised the realms of earth, air and sea that made up their universe – and later the Christians adopted it as a symbol of their holy trinity (father, son and holy spirit). It is also seen as an endless knot, circling eternally on itself like the circle of life. And, more recently, it has come to represent magic due to it being emblazoned on the cover of the Halliwell sisters’ Book of Shadows in Charmed, where it represents the power of three.

Triskele or triple spiral
From the Greek for three legged, this symbol also represents the triple goddess, and all the triple aspects of life – maiden, mother, crone; life, death, rebirth; body, mind, spirit; waxing, full, waning; sun, moon, earth. It’s drawn in one continual line, with no beginning or end, which is how ancient peoples saw life and existence. To the Celts it also represented the three spheres – land, sea and sky – from which all of the world is made up. There is a triplespiral carved in the entrance stone at Newgrange, Ireland’s Neolithic burial chamber, which some believe was an initiation chamber, and the symbol is known to some as the spiral of life.

Yin yang
The yin yang symbol represents the Ancient Chinese understanding of how the universe works, and how everything is interconnected. The outer circle represents all that is, while the black and white spaces within the circle symbolise the interaction of two opposite yet complementary energies that exist within the greater whole. Yin, the black, symbolises feminine, night, passive, cold, introspective energy, while yang, the white, represents masculine, day, aggressive, hot, active, expanding energy. Neither can exist without the other, signified by the dot of the opposite shade within each shape, and nothing is just one way – we all have elements of both within us.

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