1.

Great Goddess From the ancient Middle Eastern tradition, this Goddess image and many like it w ere the earliest known religious symbols and represent the fertile Mother from w hich life springs. 2. African Goddess The Aku Aba is a Goddess symbol used for good luck in many parts of Africa, and is especially worn by women and children as a charm to lend protection, fertilit y and good fortune. It is from the Ashanti tribe in Nigeria. 3. Mayan The Hunab Ku symbol represents the center of the Galaxy. The complex and highly developed Mayan system of astrology is based on our relationship with this cente r at our birth. The Mayan tradition is an ancient Native path from Central Ameri ca. 4. Native American Medicine Wheel The four directions of the east, south, west and north are honored in the wheel of life, hung with sacred eagle feathers. These primal directions represent the stages of energy cycles such as the cycles of time: spring, summer, fall, winter . 5. Hindu Om The OM is the sound of the universal vibration, the primal source from which all creation manifests. It is the mantra mantrika, or "Mother of all sounds" the fi rst of all creative spells spoken by the Goddess. The original meaning was "womb ". 6. Buddhist Prayer Wheel The Buddha taught the eightfold path to enlightenment, represented here by a pra yer wheel. The paths are right conduct, right contemplation, right effort, right faith, right occupation, right resolve, right self awareness, and right speech. 7. Jain Jainism contains many elements similar to Hinduism and Buddhism. The world's alm ost 4 million Jains are almost entirely located in India. They practice Ahimsa: non violence. 8. Taoist Ying Yang The interplay between primal opposites is an eternal dance, such as (light/dark, male/female, day/night, life/death) and within the heart of the light is a core of dark, and within the core of darkness lies light. 9. Confucian The social ethics and moral teachings of Confucius are an ethical system to whic h rituals at important times during one's lifetime have been added. They deal pr imarily with individual morality and ethics. This symbol is a Chinese image mean ing "Joy together". There is no official symbol for the tradition. LOWER ROW 10. Shinto Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion. with no written scriptures. Ancestors ar e deeply revered and worshipped. All human life and human nature is sacred. Trad ition and the family are very important. 11. Wiccan Pentacle Symbolic of life and health in ancient times, the pentacle has been used as a st rong protective charm. In Wicca, a shamanic nature religion from Europe, it show s an image of how energy flows through stages of life, and corresponds to the fi

ve points of the sacred human body. 12. Zoroastrian Flame The sacred fire burns on an altar, representing the light which gives all life. Following the prophet Zoroaster, this tradition emphasizes purity and Divine lig ht. 13. Jewish Star of David The traditional interweaving of the upward pointing and downward pointing triang les, representing the unity of earthly and heavenly energies. It represents the union of God and the Shekina, the male and female energies in harmony. 14. Christian Cross The traditional cross reminds us not only of Jesus Christ's death and resurrecti on, but of the older symbolism as an intersection of two energy flows, one flowi ng between earth and heaven, and the other spreading out from side to side, repr esenting the four directions. 15. Winged Sufi Heart The awakened heart, which contains the star of perfected light and the receptive ness of the moon, becomes capable of soaring to the heights of Spirit. Sufism is a mystical path from the Middle East. 16. Islamic Moon and Star The star of perfected light, which can be seen as the perfected human, and the r eceptiveness of the moon which allows the light of the Divine to fill it. Islam is a tradition from the Middle East, emphasizing devotion and community. 17. Sikh symbol The circle of unity contains the double edged sword representing the power of tr uth, and is surrounded by two curved daggers, representing the act of willingnes s to defend the faith. 18.Baha'i 9 pointed star The Baha'i religion is one of the newest of the religions of the prophets, and e ncourages world peace by teaching tolerance and honoring all paths to God.