Table of Contents

Preface: Primal Signs, Traditional Glyphs, and Symbols

Introduction: A Symbolic World

Part I
Traditional Glyphs, Signs, Sigils, and Symbols in Practice

The Runes
Runic Logos and Defunct Organizations
The Pitfalls of Symbology
New Names, New Meanings
The Public Use of Glyphs

Part II
A Box of Glyphs

1 The Sun, the Circle, and the Sun Wheel
2 The Akhet and the Twin Towers
3 The Eight-Spoked Wheel
4 Crosses
5 The Crescent Moon, Star, and Comet
6 Solar Light and Lightning
7 The Cosmic or Philosophical Egg
8 The Omphalos
9 The Pineapple
10 The Tree of Life
11 The Fleur-de-Lys
12 The Rose
13 The Heart
14 Human and Eldritch Heads
15 The Swastika
16 The Skirl, Yin and Yang
17 The Pothook
18 The Trefot
19 The Horseshoe
20 Tools and Craft Symbols
21 The X, Gyfu, Daeg, and Ing Glyphs
22 The Hexflower
23 Woven Patterns
24 Plaits and Knots
25 Straw Plaits
26 The Pentagram
27 The Hexagram
28 The Checker
29 House Marks, Craftsmen’s Marks, and Sigils
30 Miscellaneous Magical Glyphs
31 Alternative and New Spiritual Glyphs
32 Local Glyphs
33 Symbolic Beasts
34 The Serpent
35 The Phoenix
36 The Cockerel and Weathercocks
37 The Eye and the Peacock
38 The Sigils of Mammon
39 The Death’s Head

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Nigel Pennick, trained as a biologist, has traveled and lectured extensively in Europe and the United States on sacred geometry, the spirit of place, spiritual arts and crafts, and labyrinths. He is the author and illustrator of more than 50 books, including The Pagan Book of Days, as well as numerous pamphlets, scientific papers, and articles. A musician with the Traditional Music of Cambridgeshire Collective, he lives in Cambridge, England.

Reviews

“Symbols are like signposts directing us into the realm of the subconscious and the spiritual; they are flashpoints that stir emotions and trigger deeper--even divine--connections. But they also take on lives of their own, twining across times and cultures, and Nigel Pennick has always had his finger on their pulse. The Book of Primal Signs is a veritable thesaurus of traditional symbolism, spanning from prehistory to today. This is a vital guidebook to a hidden world that is, most thankfully and wondrously, still in plain view.”
*Michael Moynihan, coauthor of Lords of Chaos*

“Solidly referenced and carefully illustrated, The Book of Primal Signs seems to travel everywhere and touch everything . . .”
*RICHARD HEATH, author of Sacred Number and the Origins of Civilization and Sacred Number and the Lor*

“This book is highly recommended to researchers and students of the occult as an immensely valuable survey of symbols from an author with sophisticated spiritual insights and an invaluable multi-disciplinary approach to his subject. Kudos!”
*Facing North, Elizabeth Hazel, July 2014*