To several ancient cultures, the black circle
represented the sun god during his nightly passage
through the Underworld. Sometimes, instead of the sun
god, it symbolized his dark twin brother, a secret, very
wise god who held knowledge about all worlds.
Modern Wiccans and magicians draw a circle about
their ritual area to symbolize protection from negative
astral forces and to represent moving beyond the
material world's vibrations.
CLOVER OR TREFOIL Long before Christianity arose, the
clover, or any three-leafed plant, was an emblem of the
Triple Goddess; among Christians, it became the symbol
of the Trinity. All trinity symbols date back to the time
of the Goddess religions when they represented the
Maiden, Mother, and Crone aspects of the Goddess. As
far back as the civilization in the Indus Valley (c. 2500-
1700 BCE), the trefoil emblem signified a triple deity.
COBWEB Associated with the Fate goddesses and weaving,
the cobweb is the spiral shape of the creative matrix that
leads inward to the center where matter is destroyed
before being reformed. Minerva, Athena, and Spider
Woman are associated with spiders and cobwebs.
COLUMN, TREE, LADDER, OBELISK Symbolic of the connection
between heaven and earth, or gods and mortals, this
emblem has been pictured as a ladder, column, World
Tree, sacred mountain, obelisk of the sun god, or tent
pole of the shamans. It is much the same symbol as the
bridge. When in pairs, the columns signify the balancing
of opposing forces.