Before I made Hermetica, I couldn't find a single complete, cohesive set of symbols to use for my projects. Other symbol resources were an ugly hodge podge of different styles and qualities, scattered across many different sources. What's more, sources often disagreed on the name and design, and no one offered these symbols as vector artwork.
"There ought to be a 'Helvetica' of Symbols", I thought - standardized, simple, beautiful - and vectorized. And so over the course of a few years I devoted myself to researching and designing these 750 beautiful symbols to share with you - graphic designers, artists, tattoo artists, fashion designers, ceremonial magicians, activists, and aesthetes and symbol-lovers of all kinds.
This was an ethical question I asked myself while creating Hermetica. I decided to keep a select few symbols that have come to be associated with hate groups, because the symbols can also be useful to people who are using them to fight hate groups. An anti-fascist group has just as much need for a Nazi swastika as does a neo-fascist. And in some cases, symbols with a long cultural tradition and different meaning in another culture were later appropriated by hate groups.
I tried to be as comprehensive as possible, but after working on this for years, I needed to draw a line (no pun intended) and just finish it. In the future I would like to add more American Indian/Mesoamerican, African, and Indigenous Australian symbols.
I also found that a lot of these symbols don't lend themselves to the "Helveticization" that I employed in creating the other, mostly 'western' symbols. If there is something you would like to see here, please let me know.
My name is Avana Vana, I am a visual and interaction designer, with an educational background in Architecture. I also have a voracious appetite for esoteric and occult science, the earth sciences, mythology, weird music, and language.
I am a freelance designer and web developer with twelve years' experience. I specialize in data visualization, and designing and building highly interactive, intuitive web apps from the ground up.
The full collection of 750 finely crafted glyphs covering 16 categories from astrology, astronomy, and alchemy to cults, world religions, and hobo code. Delivered to you in two formats, svg/vector and jpg/raster.