Vampyre Glyphs & Symbols

Mostly, Vampyres would always have spoken the language or used the writing systems of the Mundane culture in their surroundings, but on occasion, some writing systems and written symbols would have been developed by Vampyre-kind for circumstances where secrecy or privacy have been either a requirement for their safety – or for specific purposes, such as guarding secrets or understanding aspects of vampyric magick.

Like any other written language, or form of coding or encryption, these would take the form of pictograms (hieroglyph-based), or phonetic representations, and still others – the most simple of linguistic encryption – direct letter substitutions. Variances are commonplace, with some being written left-to-right, and others right-to-left. Sometimes a glyph will symbolize an entire word or concept, and other times just a sound or a letter in any particular language in that area. Development of a completely unique language, complete with its own grammar and alphabet, is rare.

This section is divided into the following sub-sections:

Examples of Vampire Glyphs from the real VC
Examples of Vampire Glyphs from Antiquity
Examples of Vampire Glyphs from fiction
The Word “Vampire” In Non-English Languages

Examples of Vampire Glyphs from the real VC:

Some of the examples included here are or were used for personal diaries to obscure the writer’s personal journal entries regarding their vampyrism, others are or have been used more widely, and even within Groups. Some symbols are intended for use in a religious or spiritual context, or to signify membership of a particular group, and not to write actual messages or communications with.

5) Prague 6)

7) 8)

10)

1) Example of a message written using characters from Mintaka Halo, South Africa. This is the precursor of what has been named the Mintaka Code, adopted by the SAVA in February 2012.

2) Example of a “Descriptive”, glyphs (symbols) used to describe individuals or positions held by Vampyres within specific Vampyre Groups within the USA and also affiliates in Europe.

3) Glyphs and runes in use by various Groups in the USA, and presumably parts of Europe (citation needed).

4) The header image from the Path of the Kherete site, a spiritual center for Kheprians. Note the vampyric glyphs on the image.

5-6) Controversy? Does the “Blade” tradition of marking “safe houses” (known to us as Havens or Haevens) come from a real VC practice? These pictures have been circulated on the internet by a curious person asking about the similarity in design and placement to the fictional “Blade” archetype of symbols found in Prague. Is this a case of real life imitating art – or art imitating real life? You tell us.

7-8) Local SA VC glyphs? 7 – a marking on a kerbstone in a shopping mall parking lot, 8 – an unusual and cryptic business logo, 9) – a rather provocative business logo reminiscent of known glyphs.

10) Khorvese, although a feature or development of an Eclipse role-playing game, is also reportedly used by some in the Vampyre Community (Citation required). Khorvese features a fully developed character-set and lends itself well to being hand-written.

Examples of Vampire Glyphs from Antiquity:

The Phaistos Disc and “Belzeil Tablet” – The following images come from the Phaistos Disc, rumored to be similar to a second disc.

Discovered in a Minoan palace by archaeologists in 1908, this disc bears symbols unlike any others found in the ruins of the Minoan civilization on the island. It has been rumored that a second similar disc was found, the so-called Belzeit Tablet, about which nothing can be found – other than the point of the original claim itself. This claim cannot be verified. According to formal archaeological sources, no such second disc was ever found. An excerpt of the claim follows:

“In 1908, a team of Italian archeologists uncovered a relic in the Minoan palace of Phaistos in Crete. This relic was a disc inscribed in an unknown language using stamps, signifying an example of movable type being used around 1600 b.c.e. This relic is referred to as the Phaistos Disc. A similar object was uncovered five years later in an excavation around the city currently called Ismir in Turkey.

Archeologists were excited about the second find, but soon became disheartened as the symbols were not the same. While the Phaistos Disc remains a mystery and possibly a historical anomaly, the second Disc, commonly referred to as the Belzeit Tablet, has been partially decoded in the late 20th century. What it has revealed is both startling and exciting.

For lack of a poetic description, the Belzeit Tablet was created by a unique Mystery Cult operating in the shadow of the ancient Greek city-states with clear connection to Egypt and the Hebrew tribes on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. This cult practiced a ritualistic worship of beings best described as vampires.

Whether these vampiric beings truely existed or were simply a variant on the Bacchus rites that were performed is still left for debate among the scholars. On the disc, there were over eighteen glyphs represented, but only six have been fully translated and understood. Presented, for the first time on the internet, are the six glyphs and their interpreted meanings.

Balance – With balance comes harmony. Keeping things in balance is difficult. For the vampire, there are more personal issues that need to be kept in balance: predator-prey, passion-reason, lust-restraint, and violence-peace. Each needs to be exercised equally or harmony is lost. All of one thing, no matter how well intentioned or how well presented, will throw the balance off, disrupting the harmony, and destroying order.

Beast – Instinct plays a vital role. When a vampire looks at another she can see the raw primal force that lurks. Every calm is followed by a storm. The longer the calm the more violent the storm. Vampire respect the beast, as it is the instinct that drives passion and curiousity. the beast pushes boundaries, tests limits, and throws all caution to the wind. The beast is neither stupid nor intelligent. The beast is pure instinct.

Blood – Blood represents two important things to the vampire. It represents their existence. It is their source of strength and power. But it also represents their greatest weakness. The lust for blood has clouded the judgment of many. Are vampire powerful because of their reliance on blood, or are they powerful because of the control they have over their addiction. No matter which, the addiction is a downward spiral that inevitably ends in personal destruction for the weak.

City – Cities represent the development of civilization and the inevitable collapse of civilization. Vampire have witnessed this cycle over and over. When a vampire sees something being built, she can remember what used to be at that location before and knows that eventually the current structure will collapse over time, or be demolished. No empire lasts forever.

Reaper – Harvest is a time of death and a time of cleansing. The concept of death to the immortal loses meaning over time. It becomes less a time to fear but a time to be cleansed. A vampire knows that once a generation she needs to cleanse herself and begin anew in order to perpetrate her unnatural existence among mortals. Ending are beginnings.

Sun – Contrary to popular belief, vampires do not curse the Sun any more than a man who cannot swim curses the ocean. The Sun to the vampire represents the inevitable. There are many things once cannot have any control over, even if one is immortal. The Sun represents all that cannot be controlled. It is a fact that must be endured and worked around.“

Examples of Vampire Glyphs from fiction:

“Glyphs of the Vampire Nation” – from the Blade movies and TV series (these have become popular as tattoos):

Explanation: “Glyphs are used as the written form of the Vampire Nation’s secret language, and appear on keyboards, binocular HUDs, and computer GUIs. Each House uses a unique glyph to signify ownership of persons (in the form of tattoos) and places (in the form of ultraviolet-spectrum graffiti).”

“Vampire: the Masquerade” – the White Wolf role-playing game which became very popular worldwide in the 1990’s, made extensive use of philosophy, symbolism and borrowed extensively from the real Vampyre Community as it was in New York City at the time.

Below is a collection of just a few symbols used in the extensive “World of Darkness”: