Witchy Hair Accessories

A crescent moon. A pentagram. A scythe. A serpent coiled around a pin. 🌙🐍

If you love witchy hair accessories, you're not only choosing a look. You're wearing symbols that people have carried for thousands of years, from Greek goddesses to Celtic gods to medieval knights.

But what do they really mean? Online, myths spread fast. In this guide, we explain the witch symbols and meanings behind the most popular hair pieces, with sources from museums, encyclopedias and ancient texts. And we'll tell you which "ancient" meanings are actually modern. 🔍

What's inside this witchy symbols guide 👇

• ⭐ The pentagram and the pentacle
• 🌙 The crescent moon, moon goddesses and moonstone
• ⚰️ The scythe and the sickle
• 🦌 Antlers and the horned god
• 🐍 The serpent
• 🌹 The rose
• 🦋 The moth and the butterfly
• 🐉 The dragon
• 🔱 The trident, the arrow, the feather and the blade
• ✨ How to choose your symbol, and how to wear it

Why Witchy Symbols Are So Popular in Hair Accessories 🔮

Hair has always carried meaning. And a symbolic hair pin sits right on your head, where everyone can see it, and where you feel it all day.

The witchy aesthetic mixes many sources:

• 🏛️ Ancient myths: Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Celtic and Norse
• 📜 Medieval and Renaissance magic
• 🌿 Modern Wicca and Neopaganism, from the 20th century
• 🖤 Gothic fashion and dark romance

Knowing where each symbol comes from makes wearing it even better. Let's start with the most famous witchcraft symbol of all. ⭐

The Pentagram: The Five-Pointed Star ⭐

The pentagram is much older than witchcraft. Here's its long story, according to Wikipedia's pentagram page:

• 📐 Ancient Greece: the Pythagoreans used it as a sign of recognition and linked it to the word for "health".
• ✝️ Medieval Christianity: it stood for the five wounds of Christ or the five senses. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it's on Gawain's shield, each point a virtue. 🛡️
• 📖 The Renaissance: writers like Agrippa made it popular as a magic symbol.
• 🌿 Modern Wicca: the pentacle, a pentagram in a circle, is widely used by Wiccans. As an altar tool, it represents the element of earth.

Upright or Inverted? 🔄

In the 19th century, the occultist Éliphas Lévi gave the two directions opposite meanings: point up for spirit ruling over the four elements, point down for the opposite. That's why an upright pentagram is the classic Wiccan symbol.

🇺🇸 Fun fact: in 2007, the US Department of Veterans Affairs added the Wiccan pentacle to its list of approved emblems for veterans' headstones, after a legal fight reported by the ACLU.

⭐ Wear this protection symbol with our Pentagram Hair Pin, a pierced star with curling vines in antiqued silver.

The Crescent Moon and the Moon Goddesses 🌙

The moon is one of the most loved witchy moon symbols, and it has divine roots.

• 🌕 Selene is the Greek goddess who personifies the Moon. She's often shown with a crescent on her brow.
• 🏹 Artemis and Diana: Diana, the Roman version of Artemis, has a bow, deer and the crescent moon among her attributes.
• 🗝️ Hecate is "the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells", according to Britannica, and she's shown "triple-formed".

The Triple Moon Is Modern 🌒🌕🌘

Here's a myth to bust. The triple moon symbol (waxing, full and waning moon for Maiden, Mother and Crone) is not ancient. It was popularized by Robert Graves in The White Goddess in 1948. Historian Ronald Hutton calls it "a modern creation", as Wikipedia notes. It's a meaningful modern Neopagan symbol, just not an ancient one. 😉

Moonstone 💎

Moonstone glows with a soft blue light called adularescence. According to the GIA, Hindu mythology says it's made of solidified moonbeams, and legends say it brings good luck. Romans linked it to Diana, and it was called the "Traveler's Stone". It's also a June birthstone. 🌙

🌙 For a moon hair pin, try our Moon Hair Pin, a crescent in a branch of thorns and roses, or the Moonstone Hair Pin. Or browse all our moon hair pins.

The Scythe and the Sickle ⚰️

The scythe symbol is linked to harvest, time and endings. Its story starts with a Greek god.

• 🌾 Cronus: in Hesiod's Theogony, Gaia gives Cronus a sickle. He was likely a harvest god at first, and the Romans identified him with Saturn, according to Wikipedia.
• ⏳ Father Time: ancient writers confused Cronus with Chronos, the personification of time. In the Renaissance, this produced Father Time with his scythe.
• 🌿 The Druids: Pliny the Elder wrote that a white-robed priest climbs an oak and "cuts the mistletoe with a golden sickle". Pliny is our only ancient source for this rite.

Where Does the Grim Reaper Come From? 💀

The Grim Reaper isn't ancient. The figure first appeared in the 14th century, during the great plague epidemics. Its scythe was borrowed from Saturn and Father Time. So the scythe means more than death: it's the harvest, the cycle, the end of one season before the next. 🍂

⚰️ Find the harvest scythe in our Scythe Hair Pin, in bright silver or jet black, and the Scythe Hair Stick.

Antlers and the Horned God 🦌

Antler hair accessories bring a wild, woodland feel. Their symbolism connects to an ancient Celtic god.

• 🪨 Val Camonica (Italy): an antlered figure in rock art, dated to the 4th century BC, is often linked to Cernunnos.
• 🏛️ The Pillar of the Boatmen: found in 1711 under Notre-Dame de Paris and dated to 14–37 AD, it carries the name "Cernunnos" above an antlered figure. It's the first time the name is recorded, according to Wikipedia.
• 🏺 The Gundestrup cauldron: its famous antlered figure is dated anywhere from 200 BC to 300 AD.
• 🌿 Wicca: the link between Cernunnos and the Wiccan Horned God came later, through the writings of Margaret Murray.

Why Antlers Mean Renewal 🌱

Antlers are bones that fall off and grow back every year. They're the fastest-growing bone in the world, and elk antlers can grow about an inch a day, according to the US Fish & Wildlife Service. That's why many people see them as a symbol of renewal. 🦌

🦌 Wear this woodland symbol with our Antler Hair Pin, cast in aged silver, tine by tine.

The Serpent: Renewal and Healing 🐍

The snake symbol is one of the oldest in the world. Because snakes shed their skin, they've long stood for rebirth, transformation and healing.

• ♾️ The ouroboros: a snake eating its own tail. One of the oldest examples is in Tutankhamun's tomb (14th century BC). It stands for eternal renewal.
• 🐍 Wadjet: the Egyptian cobra goddess, protector of Lower Egypt. Her image became the uraeus on the pharaoh's crown.
• ⚕️ The Rod of Asclepius: one snake on a staff, the symbol of the Greek god of healing.

A Common Mix-Up ⚕️

The caduceus, with two snakes and wings, belongs to Hermes, god of commerce. In 1902, a US Army medical officer mixed it up with the Rod of Asclepius, as a medical journal article explains. That's why you still see two snakes on some medical logos. 😅

🐍 Coil a serpent hair accessory in your hair with our Snake Hair Clips, with green enamel scales and red eyes.

The Rose: Love, Beauty and Secrets 🌹

The rose symbol is romantic, but it also hides secrets.

• 💕 Aphrodite: the Greek writer Pausanias says the rose and the myrtle are sacred to Aphrodite.
• 🤫 Sub rosa: "under the rose" means in secret. In the myth, Cupid gave a rose to the god of silence. Roses were later carved on confessionals, according to Wikipedia.
• ✝️ The Rosicrucians: this secret movement, symbolized by the Rose Cross, published its founding texts in 1614, 1615 and 1616.

A rose with thorns is the perfect dark romantic symbol: beauty that knows how to defend itself. 🥀

🌹 For a gothic rose hair pin, choose the Rose Hair Stick in antique silver, the deep red Rose Hair Pin, or browse our rose hair pins.

The Moth and the Butterfly 🦋

In ancient Greek, the word psyche meant both "butterfly" and "soul". In ancient art, Psyche is shown with butterfly wings, as a scientific article on the topic explains. That's why the butterfly symbol is so often linked to the soul and transformation. 🦋

And the moth? The death's-head hawkmoth has a pale, skull-shaped mark on its back. For that reason, it has often been seen as an omen of death, according to The Wildlife Trusts. The moth is the butterfly's night-time, gothic sister. 🌑

🦋 Wear the night flier with our Moth Hair Pin, wings engraved vein by vein in aged silver.

The Dragon: Two Very Different Legends 🐉

The dragon symbol means opposite things in East and West.

• 🇨🇳 The Chinese dragon (long): a rain god linked to good fortune and fertility, and the sacred symbol of the emperors, according to Britannica.
• 🌳 Níðhöggr: in Norse myth, a serpent-dragon that gnaws the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil.
• 💰 Fáfnir: in the Völsunga saga, he turns into a dragon to guard his gold, until Sigurd kills him.

Guardian, protector, keeper of treasure: the dragon is the perfect fierce hair accessory for anyone with a little fire inside. 🔥 Read more about Norse dragons in our guide to Viking symbols.

🐉 For a dragon hair stick, try the Dragon Hair Stick, the winged Dragon Hair Pin, or all our dragon hair pins.

The Trident, the Arrow, the Feather and the Blade 🔱

The Trident 🔱

The trident is the tool of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea (Neptune for the Romans). In India, the trishula, or "triple spear", is the weapon of Shiva, and its three prongs stand for the three gunas, according to Wikipedia. 🌊

🔱 Carry the sea god's symbol with our Trident Hair Pin, three tines in antique silver.

The Arrow 🏹

The arrow belongs to Artemis, the archer goddess with a silver bow, and to Diana, the huntress. It's a symbol of focus, independence and the wild. 🌲

🏹 Take aim with our huntress-inspired Arrow Hair Pin.

The Feather 🪶

In ancient Egypt, the goddess Ma'at was sometimes shown as a single white ostrich feather. Her feather of truth was the standard against which a dead person's heart was weighed, according to the World History Encyclopedia. ⚖️

🪶 Wear a feather hair pin that never sheds: our Feather Hair Stick.

The Blade 🗡️

In Wicca, the athame is a ceremonial blade, usually with a black handle. In Gerald Gardner's tradition, it is not meant for actual cutting, according to Wikipedia. It's a tool of focus and intention. ✨

🗡️ For a dagger hair pin in your bun, try the winged Hair Dagger.

Witchy Myths That Aren't True ❌

Let's clear up some popular witchy symbol myths:

• ❌ "The triple moon is ancient." It's modern, popularized in 1948.
• ❌ "The Grim Reaper is from ancient Greece." He appeared in the 14th century.
• ❌ "Lévi drew the goat inside an inverted pentagram." That combination came from Stanislas de Guaita in 1897. Lévi drew the famous winged goat, Baphomet, in 1856.
• ❌ "The caduceus is the symbol of medicine." That's the Rod of Asclepius, with one snake.

Knowing the real meaning of witch symbols doesn't make a symbol less powerful. It makes your choice more personal. 💜

Witch Symbols and Meanings: Quick Guide 📋

Here's every witchy symbol meaning from this guide in one quick list:

• ⭐ Pentagram: health (Pythagoreans), virtue (Gawain), earth and protection (Wicca)
• 🌙 Crescent moon: Selene, Artemis, Diana, intuition and cycles
• 💎 Moonstone: "solidified moonbeams" in Hindu lore, the Traveler's Stone
• ⚰️ Scythe: harvest, time and endings (Cronus, Saturn, Father Time)
• 🦌 Antlers: renewal, the wild, Cernunnos
• 🐍 Serpent: rebirth, healing, eternity (ouroboros)
• 🌹 Rose: love, beauty and secrets (sub rosa)
• 🦋 Butterfly and moth: the soul (psyche), the night
• 🐉 Dragon: good fortune in China, guardian of treasure in Norse myth
• 🔱 Trident: the sea (Poseidon), the three gunas (Shiva)
• 🏹 Arrow: the huntress, focus and freedom
• 🪶 Feather: truth and balance (Ma'at)
• 🗡️ Blade: focus and intention (the athame)

Witchy vs Gothic Hair Accessories: What's the Difference? 🖤

The two styles overlap a lot, but here's an easy way to tell witchy and gothic hair accessories apart:

• 🔮 Witchy: nature and magic. Moons, antlers, herbs, crystals, serpents.
• 🦇 Gothic: drama and darkness. Blades, thorns, black roses, ornate silver.
• ✨ Both: the moon, the rose and the moth belong to both worlds.

Our Moon Hair Pin, a crescent caught in thorns and roses, is the perfect witchy-gothic hair pin: a little of both. 🌙🥀

How to Choose Your Witchy Symbol ✨

Not sure which witchy hair pin is yours? Here's a quick guide:

• 🌙 You trust your intuition 👉 the crescent moon or moonstone
• ⭐ You want protection and balance 👉 the pentagram
• ⚰️ You're closing a chapter 👉 the scythe
• 🦌 You feel at home in the woods 👉 the antlers
• 🐍 You're changing, growing, shedding the old 👉 the serpent
• 🌹 You're romantic, but nobody's fool 👉 the rose
• 🦋 You come alive at night 👉 the moth
• 🐉 You protect what you love 👉 the dragon

The simplest way to find your witchy hair accessory? Browse our gothic hair pins and notice which piece makes you stop scrolling. That's usually the one. 😉

How to Wear Witchy Hair Accessories 💇‍♀️

A witchy hair stick works with almost any updo. Our favorites:

• 🌀 The low twist bun: elegant and dark, perfect for a moon or rose pin.
• 🌪️ The messy bun: effortless, great with a scythe or dagger.
• 🌸 The half-up bun: keeps your hair flowing, ideal for long hair and antlers.
• ✌️ Two crossed pins: a moon and a pentagram, for example, for a dramatic silhouette.

Never used a hair stick before? Our step-by-step hair stick guide on how to wear hair sticks shows every move. 🌀 And for the story behind hair sticks worldwide, read the history of hair sticks.

Want to explore more witch symbols? TheCollector and Otherworldly Oracle have long lists of witchcraft symbols. 📚

Witchy Hair Accessories FAQ ❓

What are witchy hair accessories?

Witchy hair accessories are hair pins, sticks and clips decorated with symbols linked to magic and myth: moons, pentagrams, scythes, serpents, antlers, roses and more. 🔮

What does a pentagram mean?

The pentagram's meaning has changed over time: health for the Pythagoreans, the five wounds of Christ in medieval times, and the element of earth and protection in modern Wicca. ⭐

What does the crescent moon symbolize?

The crescent moon is linked to moon goddesses like Selene, Artemis and Diana, and to intuition and cycles. 🌙

Is the triple moon an ancient symbol?

No. The triple moon was popularized by Robert Graves in 1948. It's a modern Neopagan symbol. 🌒🌕🌘

What does a scythe symbolize?

The scythe symbolizes harvest, time and endings. It comes from Cronus, Saturn and Father Time. 🌾

What do antlers symbolize?

Antlers symbolize renewal, because they fall off and grow back every year. They're also linked to Cernunnos, the antlered Celtic god. 🦌

Can anyone wear witchy symbols?

Yes. Witchy jewelry is for anyone who loves the look or the meaning. Learning the story behind your symbol is the best way to wear it with respect. 💜

Are witchy hair sticks good for everyday wear?

Absolutely. A moon or rose hair pin in a simple bun works for the office, and a scythe or pentagram adds drama for nights out. Remove pointed pins before sleeping or driving with a headrest. ✅

What's the difference between a pentagram and a pentacle?

A pentagram is the five-pointed star. A pentacle is a pentagram inside a circle, widely used in Wicca. ⭐

What does a serpent symbolize?

Because snakes shed their skin, the serpent symbolizes rebirth, transformation and healing. 🐍

What does "sub rosa" mean?

Sub rosa means "under the rose", in other words in secret. That's why the rose is also a symbol of secrecy. 🌹

Your Turn: Wear Your Symbol 💬

Moons, stars, serpents and scythes: witchy hair accessories let you carry an old story in your hair, every single day. Now you know exactly what yours means. ✨

Explore our Antique Hair Pins for moons, blades and dragons, or our Chinese Hair Pins for roses and flowers. Every order ships with free standard shipping in the US. 🚚

🎁 New here? Use code WELCOME10 for 10% off your first order of $25 or more.

Which witchy symbol is yours? Tell us through our contact page. We read every message. 💌