Neptune symbol

A trident — Neptune.

Also known as: Trident symbol, Poseidon symbol, Three pronged fork symbol

Astrology & astronomyHistorical & archaeologicalScientificStandard profile

Meanings

Neptune's symbol is the trident of the sea god the planet is named for. Like Uranus, it was devised rather than inherited, the planet having been found in 1846.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Denotes the planet Neptune in astronomical notation.
Contexts: History
Common modern usageTradition
Is held in modern astrological tradition to signify dissolution, dreams and illusion; like Uranus it has no classical meaning, the planet being unknown before 1846.
Recorded as what astrological tradition assigns, not as a finding. Symbolwise does not assert that any planet influences anything, and astrology has no empirical standing.
Contexts: History
Historically documentedVerified fact
Depicts the trident of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, making it one of the few planetary symbols that straightforwardly pictures the thing it is named after rather than abbreviating a word.
1846 onward · Contexts: History
Common modern usageVerified fact
Is a trident, the attribute of the sea god the planet is named for, and nothing more than that. Met on jewellery, tattoo work or a piece of decorative art with no astronomical context, it is regularly taken for an occult or religious mark; the trident is a classical attribute and the symbol is an eighteenth-century astronomical convention.
Contexts: Jewellery, History, Tattoo

Variants

Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.

Unicode NEPTUNE
U+2646, the encoded character.

Visual description

A three-pronged fork on a vertical shaft, with a short cross-stroke through the shaft below the prongs.

Symmetry: vertical
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Astronomical symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-22
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a form or a name in common use. Where a standards body or issuer defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22

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Planetary symbols and their older meanings

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Meanings

Neptune's symbol is the trident of the sea god the planet is named for. Like Uranus, it was devised rather than inherited, the planet having been found in 1846.

Common modern usageVerified fact

Denotes the planet Neptune in astronomical notation.

Contexts: History

Common modern usageTradition

Is held in modern astrological tradition to signify dissolution, dreams and illusion; like Uranus it has no classical meaning, the planet being unknown before 1846.

Recorded as what astrological tradition assigns, not as a finding. Symbolwise does not assert that any planet influences anything, and astrology has no empirical standing.

Contexts: History

Historically documentedVerified fact

Depicts the trident of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, making it one of the few planetary symbols that straightforwardly pictures the thing it is named after rather than abbreviating a word.

1846 onward · Contexts: History

Common modern usageVerified fact

Is a trident, the attribute of the sea god the planet is named for, and nothing more than that. Met on jewellery, tattoo work or a piece of decorative art with no astronomical context, it is regularly taken for an occult or religious mark; the trident is a classical attribute and the symbol is an eighteenth-century astronomical convention.

Contexts: Jewellery, History, Tattoo

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Astronomical symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-22
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a form or a name in common use. Where a standards body or issuer defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.
Planet symbols
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for the character's identity, its documented astronomical and alchemical use, and the fact that astrology assigns it a meaning. Never used to support the astrological claim itself, which is recorded as a tradition rather than a finding.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22