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The use of protective symbols, also known as apotropaic marks, are often part of folk magic traditions, appearing in homes, churches, on personal items, and even graves, across Europe, Australia, and North America. The most common and well-known of these marks is the hexfoil, otherwise known as the daisy wheel, witch hex, or rosette. Hexfoils have a history of use for personal protection and were carved both intentionally or graffitied into church pews and walls, bed frames, doors, and gravestones. This research sheds light on the use of this historic symbol to protect the bodies and souls of the deceased, across several thousand years and multiple countries.
"The wealth of detail in this book will keep the enthusiast dipping back in to deepen their understanding (it even surveys protective marks in modern culture, ranging from New Age iconography of the hexfoil as sacred geometry and the ‘flower of life’, to cults, video games and even tattoos). Its comprehensive and accessible narrative provides a platform on which the reader can base their own exploration of whichever branch of the subject interests them. Robyn Lacy has delivered a book that not only informs but inspires the reader to notice – and perhaps even record – the often-overlooked evidence of life's intriguing mysteries that surround us. We can but look forward to more from this author. " Brislington Community News
“As an analysis of the distribution and Extent of the symbol in northern America this book is a must read for graveyard historians… this is an interesting book which is an attempt to narrate the use of [the W] symbol in funerary contexts over the last couple of millennia.” Current Archaeology
Robyn S. Lacy earned her PhD in Archaeology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She runs a historic gravestone preservation business with her husband in Newfoundland, which takes them all across the island and beyond. Her first book, Burial and Death in Colonial North America, was published in 2020, and she regularly writes about her research on her website, spadeandthegrave.com.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1. Protective Marks & Objects
Chapter 2. Hexfoils in a Mortuary Context
Chapter 3. The Reformation and Medieval Magics
Chapter 4. Survey of Protective Marks on Gravestones
Chapter 5. Results of Survey
Chapter 6. Modern Interpretations of the Hexfoil and other Protective Marks
Chapter 7. Protective Marks on Gravestones – Past and Present
References