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Symbols whose meaning is claimed rather than defined: esoteric diagrams, divinatory marks and the emblems of personal spiritual practice.
Here when a symbol carries a meaning that no body defines and no standard governs. The distinction from religious symbols is institutional rather than sincere — one has an organised tradition behind the reading and the other does not.
Culturally established and historically documented, and the records are written to say who makes a claim rather than to assert it. This is the domain where the catalogue is most careful about the difference.
An ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic sign shaped like a cross with a looped top, signifying life.
A sideways figure-eight (∞) denoting an unbounded quantity in mathematics, and used more broadly as a symbol of endlessness.
A circle divided by an S-curve into a dark and a light half, each containing a dot of the other.
Two curves rising from a single vertical stem and turning outward at the top, like a pair of horns, the zodiac sign for births between 21 March to 19 April.
A circle with a wide upturned arc resting on top of it, like a head carrying a pair of horns, the zodiac sign for births between 20 April to 20 May.
Two vertical strokes joined by a horizontal bar at the top and another at the foot, the shape of the Roman numeral two, the zodiac sign for births between 21 May to 20 June.
Two spirals set side by side and turned through half a circle from one another, each curling inward, the zodiac sign for births between 21 June to 22 July.
A small closed loop at the foot from which a long curve sweeps up and over to the right, ending in a hook, the zodiac sign for births between 23 July to 22 August.
A letter M whose final stroke curves back on itself into a closed loop crossing the third leg, the zodiac sign for births between 23 August to 22 September.
A horizontal line with a second, shorter line above it raised in the middle by a low arc, the zodiac sign for births between 23 September to 22 October.
A letter M whose final stroke continues upward and to the right as a straight arrow, the zodiac sign for births between 23 October to 21 November.
An arrow pointing up and to the right, crossed near its foot by a short diagonal bar, the zodiac sign for births between 22 November to 21 December.
A sharp angular stroke rising to a point and falling again, ending in a small closed loop curling below, the zodiac sign for births between 22 December to 19 January.
Two identical wavy lines set one above the other, each rising and falling twice, the zodiac sign for births between 20 January to 18 February.
Two arcs facing away from each other, joined across the middle by a single horizontal line, the zodiac sign for births between 19 February to 20 March.
A clover with four leaflets instead of three, taken as a sign of luck.
A blue glass disc bearing concentric rings around a dark centre, worn against the evil eye.
A twisted horn-shaped pendant, usually red, worn against the evil eye.
A hand with index and little finger extended, the others folded.
A closed fist with the thumb pushed between index and middle finger.
A six-petalled rosette drawn with a compass inside a circle.
Two overlapping V shapes scratched as a protective mark.
A deliberate teardrop-shaped scorch burned into a timber beam.
A painted circular geometric design on Pennsylvania Dutch barns.
A five-by-five letter square reading the same in four directions.
A word written repeatedly with one letter dropped each line, forming a triangle.
An eight-armed Icelandic stave, each arm ending in a different device.
An eight-armed Icelandic stave with trident-like terminals.
A seated cat figurine with one paw raised in a beckoning gesture.
A small brocade pouch amulet sold at Japanese shrines and temples.
A stoneware or glass bottle filled with pins, hair and urine, buried as a counter-charm.
Two closed loops interlaced with one another in a flat symmetrical figure.
A woven rush cross with four arms and a square centre.
Three interlaced arcs forming a three-cornered knot.
Two rowan twigs bound with red thread into an equal-armed cross.
A small metal votive shaped as a limb, an organ, a person or an animal.
A red string or thread worn on the wrist as protection.
An acorn carried or displayed as a charm, and used as a decorative finial.
Rings drawn inside one another, incised as a protective mark.
The twenty-two trump cards of the tarot pack, designed for a trick-taking game.
A single winding path set into a floor — not a maze.
Nine interlocking triangles in a lotus ring, used as a focus for meditation.
Eight three-line trigrams arranged around a centre, in one of two standard orders.
Cloths, ribbons and offerings tied to a tree.
A sprig of rue in silver.
The sacred syllable and symbol ॐ, representing the totality of existence in Hinduism, and used with distinct meanings in Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.