Since the dawn of time, mankind has used symbols to express thoughts or feelings, and to preserve those truths believed to come from a higher sphere. Every culture, in every age, invests the objects, animals and plants around it with a multitude of different meanings. This reference book is a guide to the hidden language of symbols, bringing together all the different symbols of the world. It shows what gold meant to the Incas, what an umbrella signifies in India, why six is the number of perfection and the mysteries of the Chinese hexagram.