How to Identify Occult Symbols

Identify Occult Symbols on Everyday Objects

• 1

  Start by researching common occult symbols. Raymond Buckland's "Signs, Symbols &Omens: An Illustrated Guide to Magical &Spiritual Symbolism," available from Amazon, talks about many of the symbols that you run across in everyday life (see Resources below).

• 2

  Look for powerful, iconic shapes. Pyramids or triangles, pentacles and pentagrams (five-pointed stars, right side up and inverted, respectively), circles, ovals and crosses can clearly be seen on many objects. Also notice the way these symbols intersect, as this adds additional meaning to the symbol.

• 3

  Take pictures of buildings, signs and public artwork to study them further when you are comfortable. You may see things that weren't immediately obvious. Plus, a photo allows you to see the object as a whole or in parts.

• 4

  Study runes (a set of stones with symbols etched into them). Surprisingly, the same symbols used in divination by runes are used in many corporate logos and other objects.

Identify Occult Symbols in Art

• 5

  Read through "Art and Symbols of the Occult: Images of Power and Wisdom" by James Wasserman, from Amazon (see Resources below). Stunning images detail the use of occult symbols both obvious and hidden in artwork throughout the ages. After going through the book, you will be able to easily identify many patterns and symbols.

• 6

  Spend a day at the museum looking for specific symbols in the artwork. If you stay focused, you should be able to identify the symbol in several unrelated pieces of artwork.

• 7

  Look where you wouldn't expect to find occult symbols. Many religious works are chock-full of occult symbolism, as the line between spiritual beliefs often blurs.