Ankh

The ancient Egyptian ankh or crux ansata (Latin) represents eternal life - in vampire fashion. It is therefore made for the Gothic scene. But the reason it became so popular is because of films like "The Exorcist" and the fact that the handle cross - as the ankh is also called - can be found as a character on ancient Egyptian tombs. Here it stands for survival in the afterlife.

Pentagram

One of the most popular symbols in the Gothic scene is and remains the pentagram. There is no clear interpretation. It is a sign of banishment against evil, as we already know from Goethe's Faust. On the head, the pentagram is the dreaded druid's foot. The footprint of the druids, who sit on the chest of sleeping people at night, comes from folk belief. In occultism, on the other hand, the pentagram standing on its tip is said to be the sign of the devil. Goths find all these meanings beautifully creepy and mystical and love their pentagram.

Raven, Bat and Spider

All animals that people associate with danger, disgust or mysticism are loved in the Gothic scene: ravens, black cats, spiders, insects, snakes, owls. But the unrivalled number 1 is the bat, with which we have all been socialised since Count Zahl from Sesame Street. It stands for the uncanny, for the night, for vampires, dark caves, dangerous situations. Goths worship the little vampires in the form of jewellery, tattoos, fabrics and prints. The more bats, the better!

Inverted cross

The upside-down cross that Goths wear as a necklace scares many people. But this is rarely about Satanism. For some, the Cross of Peter is pure criticism of the church as an institution, with its hypocrisy and atrocities from the Crusades to the current cases of abuse. For others, it is a reminder that one must not let religious leaders take away one's decisions and that guilt does not disappear through something like a religious confession. For still others, the upside-down cross is just a means of provocation. The inversion of Christian values associated with the symbol does not play a role in the gothic scene.

666

Gothics like to choose the number 666 for the number plate of their cars. The mystery surrounding this number has its origins in the Bible. In the Revelation of John, it says that 666 is the number of the beast. What exactly is meant by this, no one knows. Scholars argue to this day and have not come to a clear conclusion. The general view is that the Antichrist is meant. In the occult and in number mysticism, many theories surround 666. In the Gothic scene, the number is so popular because "normal people" are afraid of it. As a rule, that's all there is to it.