Published : 03/23/2023

Meaning of the Seal of Solomon (Hexagram)

- Categories : All about symbols

The Seal of Solomon is a symbol of sacred geometry represented by a six-pointed star formed by two superimposed triangles (sometimes intertwined), one pointing upwards, the other pointing downwards. The Seal of Solomon is also called a hexagram, or Star of David.

The symbolism of Solomon's seal is rich, which makes it a particularly important sign on the esoteric level, at least as much as the pentagram. In fact, the two symbols are closely related.

A word of history about the Star of Solomon - Star of David

The Wikipedia page is particularly interesting on this subject. Here is an excerpt.

Thesix-pointed star is a symbol that has been universally used since time immemorial for many purposes and initially had no specific name. It has been chosen as an emblem as well as a decorative figure in conflicts as well as in arts, probably because of the geometrical harmony it suggests. From Asia with the Japanese Kagome, its use extends to the Hindu peninsula and later to the Arabian Peninsula and the West.

Thus, hexagram appears in the pre-Islamic Arab civilizations, then Judaic since antiquity. It is found on the lintel of synagogues in Galilee (2nd to 4th centuries), including that of Capernaum, or on a Jewish tombstone in Taranto in Italian Puglia (around the 3rd century). On the synagogues of the time, the symbol was affixed to the mezuzah in order to give it a protective power.

The hexagram was used by Kabbalists to make segulot(amulets and talismans), but without expressly naming it " Shield of David ". It is also used to fill in spaces or to mark the chapter divisions of Hebrew and Arabic manuscripts.

In Europe, at the beginning of the medieval period, this geometric figure appeared in Christian churches as an architectural decoration, before its first known use in a synagogue by the Jews.

Indeed, the use of the six-pointed star as a Jewish symbol became widespread around the eleventh century, notably on the title page of Hebrew Bible manuscripts such as the Leningrad Codex dated 1008 (see below).

The six-pointed star became the distinctive symbol of the Jewish community in Prague, probably in the 14th or 17th century.

Beginning in the 18th century, the Jewish quarter of Vienna was formally distinguished from the rest of the city by a marker with a hexagram on one side and a cross on the other.

It became internationally associated with Judaism when it was adopted as the symbol of the Zionist movement at the end of the 19th century.

From the twentieth century onwards, this star also appeared on the flags of countries seemingly without a direct connection to Judaism.

What is the meaning of the Seal of Solomon?

Symbol of protection

The 6-pointed star is a very ancient symbol sometimes called the Seal of Solomon. King Solomon is said to have worn a hexagram as an energy shield, a magic ring, hence the name given since that time to this powerful tool of protection. It has also been called the Star or the Shield of David when it is represented in a circle surrounding it (Magen David).

The expression "Shield of David" is used from the 11th century onwards in a siddur (traditional prayer book), as an emblem of the God of Israel, independently of the poetic use of the symbol.

It evokes the divine protection of King David, his dynastic house. It appears at the end of the Samkhaynu blessing recited after the reading, on Saturdays and holidays, of the Haftara part of the Book of Neviim / Prophets.

However, this star is not originally Jewish. The Zionist movement that chose this symbol in the 19th century for the flag of Israel borrowed it from the symbolic heritage of humanity. The circle around it is very important, it reinforces the protective aspect of the symbol by sealing it with an aura of control.

Since ancient times, the hexagram has been found throughout the East, in Phoenicia, in Armenia where it is the Wheel of Eternity, in India, where it is traditionally the symbol of Shiva/Shakti, ofharmony and of the heart chakra.

Until the 15th century, the Star of David or Seal of Solomon was a magical protective symbol, represented on Jewish and non-Jewish amulets. It only became the representation of Judaism, as the Latin cross is for Christianity, after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in the 15th century, and thanks to the development of printing.

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The Hexagram: symbol of balance

Hindus refer to 7 chakras which are the main centers of the etheric body. Their attachment points are called "the lotuses" (Padmas). They are located on the central axis of the body and are surrounded by thousands of other small secondary centers. The pranic energy that flows through them uses the 72,000 etheric channels (nadis) to supply the body with energy.

The good circulation in each of the 7 centers allows the activation of the central channel. Each chakra has a particular function and the heart chakra is the center of this sequence.

The three lower chakras are related to material management:

- The 1st, the base chakra, is linked to stability and security;
- The 2nd, the sacral chakra, is linked to sexuality and energy control;
- The 3rd, the solar chakra, is linked to the will to accomplish and formalize.

The three upper chakras are related to spiritual management:

The 5th, the laryngeal chakra, is related to communication and clear hearing;
- The 6th, the frontal chakra, is related to mental synthesis and clear seeing;
- The 7th, the coronal chakra, is related to the causal soul and to spiritual contact.

The 4th, the heart chakra, is therefore located in the middle of the sequence of the 7 chakras. It smoothes and softens the flow of energy at this point of balance.

The heart center radiates around the physical body with a diameter of several meters. It embodies this balance in the energetic body like the hexagram which is also a symbol of balance with the two triangles of matter and spirit which interpenetrate.

The representation of these two triangles, one pointing upwards and the other pointing downwards, symbolizes a double polarity, like fire rising and water falling, or the forces from above (cosmic) and the forces from below (telluric) in a constantly renewed balance. A bit like the symbol of Yin and Yang.

Hexagram and Pentagram: macrocosm and microcosm

In the Kabbalah, the hexagram represents the unity of the macrocosm as opposed to the pentagram which is the sign of the microcosm.

In the Kabbalah, the hexagram represents the unity of the macrocosm as opposed to the pentagram named the sign of the microcosm.

In alchemy, the Seal of Solomon symbolizes the green dragon and the red dragon that oppose and reconcile.

It is also related to the number 7: the six points and the point in the center.

It includes the 7 basic metals as well as the 7 main planets of our sky.

- In the center resides the gold and the sun. The upper point is silver and the moon. The lower point is lead and Saturn.
- The right points: above are copper and Venus, below mercury and Mercury.
- The left points: top is iron and Mars, bottom is tin and Jupiter.

This is an ancient alchemical symbolism that originated long before the discovery of Pluto and Uranus.

The hexagram is a two-dimensional representation of a tetrahedral star, also called the Merkaba, consisting of two interlocking tetrahedrons. It has a vertical central point at the top of the figure (symbolized by the center point) and is superimposed on the same point at the bottom.

To go further, here is the hexagram deconstructed by Eliphas Levi and Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov.

This symbol is the complementary of the pentagram. Traditionally, the pentagram symbolically represents the microcosm, Man (and its five extremities: four limbs plus a head), while the hexagram or seal of Solomon symbolically represents the macrocosm, the World. In fact, the two triangles are supposed to designate, one, Matter rising towards Spirit, and the other, Spirit descending towards Matter, thus the two substances of the Universe (Spirit and Matter) completing each other thanks to two forces (one that brings down, the other that brings up).

Eliphas Levi identifies the hexagram ("Solomon's triangle") and the world ("macrocosm"):

"The great Symbol of Solomon. Quod superius sicut quod inferius [words from the Emerald Table of the Hermetists: what is above is like what is below]..

The unity of the macrocosm is revealed by the two opposite points of the two triangles... Also the universe is balanced by two forces which maintain it in balance: the force which attracts and that which repels... The triangle of Solomon. Plenitudo vocis [plénitude de la voix, en latin]. Binah [lettre hébraïque]. Physis ["nature", mot grec]... These two triangles joined together in a single figure, which is that of a six-rayed star, form the sacred sign of the seal of Solomon, the shining star of the macrocosm. The idea of the infinite and the absolute is expressed by this sign, which is the great pentacle, that is, the simplest and most complete summary of the science of all things

Source: Éliphas Lévi, Dogme et rituel de la haute magie (1854-1861), in Secrets de la magie, Paris, Robert Laffont, coll. "Bouquins", 2000, p. 8, 62-66.

One can, with equal logic, see in the two triangles the representations of the Masculine and the Feminine, in more or less broad senses: active principle and passive principle, plus pole and minus pole, Man and Woman, male sex and female sex. The "masculine" triangle has its point upwards, the "feminine" triangle its point downwards.

One can see the meeting of the two Elements, Fire and Water. The character for Fire is a triangle pointing upwards, crossed by a horizontal line, the one for Water is a triangle pointing downwards, also crossed by a horizontal line. The Fire triangle points upwards because the flame rises; the Water triangle points downwards because the water flows, falls, descends. By breaking down the hexagram, we can clearly see these two triangles.

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov also identifies the hexagram and the macrocosm, and he develops the correspondences. The six points represent successively, going from the top to the right, the six colors: blue (top), green, yellow, orange (bottom), red, violet; six zodiacal signs: Sagittarius (top), Scorpio, Leo, Cancer (bottom), Aries, Pisces:

"The fire triangle contains the three colors: red, yellow and blue. Red corresponds to Aries, golden yellow to Leo and blue to Sagittarius... The triangle of water corresponds to Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. The green corresponds to Cancer, the orange to Scorpio and the violet to Pisces... The triangle of water is that of the woman, that is to say of the heart, of the feminine, passive side, of love. The triangle of fire is that of the man, of the active principle, of wisdom. We must therefore be born of these two principles - love and wisdom - in order to live and enter the kingdom of God. These two principles love and wisdom produce truth..."

Source: Mikhaël Omraam Aïvanhov, Amour, Sagesse, Vérité, Paris, Éditions Izgrev, 1946, p. 21.

How to activate the Seal of Solomon?

Wearing a hexagram will protect all the better if you have established a psychic connection with that symbol. It is the interaction you create with it that becomes a valuable aid, not the other way around.

You can visualize a glowing hexagram in your heart, to strengthen balance, promote peace and develop unconditional love. Activating the hexagram internally allows the symbol to take on its full dimension.

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How to use the Seal of Solomon?

You can hang the Star of David above your front door if you wish, to protect your home from evil influences (it also works with a Pentagram).

You can meditate on this symbol to activate it within you.

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Where to find a Solomon's Seal?

We offer you various articles with this symbol.

Articles that are intended to be useful at different levels and that combine the practical side and the spiritual side.

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How to draw the Seal of Solomon?

You will need a sheet of paper, a compass and a ruler.

The shape is easy to draw without advanced mathematical knowledge other than the ability to measure equidistances (the concept of a circle).

By being composed of two equilateral triangles superimposed, the said star makes a central hexagon appear, each of the six sides of which is the side of one of the six equilateral triangles which constitute its six points.

The visible angles are 60° and 120°. By connecting the intersections or points, subdivisions of 20°, 90°, 10° or 30° can also appear.

The seal of Solomon has various shapes: it can be surrounded by a circle, the two triangles can have lines that pass, at the intersections, once on top, once underneath. One triangle may be drawn entirely in black, the other may have the color white between its lines. The Star of David is often distinguished from the Seal of Solomon made of two intertwined triangles of contrasting colors.

And before finishing this article, did you know that there was a plant with the same name as the symbol?

Solomon's seal polygonatum: fragrant plant or rhizome

Solomon's seal is also a perennial.

The Polygonatum, commonly known as "Solomon's seal", is a rhizomatous perennial that grows naturally in the undergrowth and forest areas of temperate regions of North America and Eurasia. This genus of plant includes about fifty species.

It is also more popularly called grass paronychia, great lily of the valley, false lily of the valley, or even frog.

They are rhizomatous plants: the underground stem lengthens each year. In April, an aerial stem grows to a height of about 70 cm. The scar left by the withered aerial stem leaves a mark mimicking a seal in particular that of Solomon on the rhizome which is permanent to it.

Stems are round or angular. The leaves are alternate or whorled, the flowers are solitary or in groups in the axils of the leaves, the tubular corolla ends in 6 small lobes.

If you want to plant a Solomon's seal, be aware that it is best grown in partial shade, shade or mild sun in rich, cool, humus-rich, acidic and well-drained soil.

Of good hardiness, planting polygonatums can be done in the ground in most regions without concern. Sowing is done in a pot under a cold frame in autumn, but prefer the division of the rhizomes in the spring.

Flowering usually takes place from April to June.