A while back I was exploring magical symbols, especially for my hexagram post, and started wondering about one of the simplest ones possible:
What does an upside down triangle mean? ▽
An inverted triangle inside a circle from the 15th century Munich Manual of Magic. The symbol belongs to a ritual in which the practitioner invoked spirits to carry them through the air.
I had already shared forum posts about the triangle with a circle and the triangle with a line through it (the symbol for air) and their sacred geometric qualities, so let’s keep digging!
A triangle is just three lines, but somehow it has accumulated a LOT of spiritual meaning. Depending on the magical tradition, it does not always mean the same thing.
What Does an Upside Down Triangle Represent? ▽
If I saw a plain upside down triangle in an occult context, the first meaning I would think of is Water.
In the traditional alchemical symbols for the four elements: △ represents Fire and ▽ represents Water. 🜁 represents Air while 🜃 represents Earth.
Alchemical symbols as shown in Signs & Symbols of the World by D.R. McElroy
If you see the same inverted triangle with a line crossing it, that traditionally represents Earth instead.
The Spiritual Meaning of Water 
With that in mind, a lot of the interpretations of the inverted triangle started making more sense. The Element Water is associated with things such as:
- Intuition and psychic awareness
- Emotions
- Dreams and the subconscious
- Cleansing and purification
- Receptivity
- Healing
- Flow and adaptability
There is also something interesting about the direction of the symbol itself: Fire rises and Water falls.
The point of the triangle is facing downward, almost like water flowing toward the lowest place.
For me, it also looks a little like a funnel or a vessel directing energy inward and downward.
Because of this, I think the symbol works really well for sigils involving receiving, intuition, emotional healing, cleansing, dream work, or drawing energy toward yourself.
The Inverted Triangle and Shakti
This is where things get even more interesting.
In Hindu sacred geometry, downward pointing triangles can represent Shakti, the active creative power of the Divine Feminine.
One of the clearest examples is the Sri Yantra. It contains nine interlocking triangles surrounding a central point called the bindu.
Four of the triangles point upward and are associated with Shiva. Five point downward and are associated with Shakti.
Together they represent the union of consciousness and creative energy.
The Sri Yantra is especially associated with the goddess Lalita Tripurasundari, who is central to the Shri Vidya tradition.
Note: Do not take the Sri Yantra itself and treat it simply as a generic sigil because it belongs to a living religious tradition.
But I think it is fascinating that the downward triangle has such a powerful association with creation, feminine power, manifestation, and divine energy.
Saturn and the Inverted Triangle
Here’s another interesting example from Western ceremonial magic, found on page 133 of The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult. It shows a downward pointing triangular figure inside a circle as part of an Invocation for Saturday, the day traditionally associated with Saturn.
Around the triangle are the divine names IAH, Elohim and Eloi, while the accompanying invocation calls upon “Saturnian spirits” to assist with the magical operation.
I wouldn’t take this to mean that the inverted triangle itself is a general symbol of Saturn. Instead, it is an interesting example of how triangular forms were used in planetary magic, spirit invocation, and ceremonial magic diagrams.
An Ancient Protective Triangle: Abracadabra
This was probably my favorite thing I found.
Today we associate Abracadabra with stage magicians, but the word has been used magically for almost two thousand years.
The Roman writer Quintus Serenus Sammonicus recommended writing the word repeatedly on an amulet, removing one letter on each successive line.
It eventually looked something like this:
A B R A C A D A B R A
A B R A C A D A B R
A B R A C A D A B
A B R A C A D A
A B R A C A D
A B R A C A
A B R A C
A B R A
A B R
A B
A
From the Canones Graeci Concilii Laodiceni
The word was written in a downward pointing triangle, becoming shorter line by line until it disappeared. The amulet was worn as protection against fever, with the idea that as the word diminished, the illness would diminish too. Variations of this charm continued to be used for centuries.
So now we have another possible meaning for a downward triangle: Reduction. Removal. Something becoming smaller until it disappears.
Notice how the letters progressively disappear toward the bottom point. This one is much older: A medical papyrus from Egypt in the 3rd century CE to protect from illness.
That gives us all kinds of ideas for sigil magic: If we wanted to create a sigil for reducing anxiety, breaking a habit, removing unwanted energy, or gradually releasing something from my life, we could use a downward narrowing triangle inspired by this ancient magical pattern.
What About an Upside Down Pyramid?
I also wondered whether an upside down triangle and an upside down pyramid meant the same thing.
In India, ancient stepwells were built downward into the earth to reach and store water.
Some of them have such strong geometric shapes that they look almost like inverted pyramids. Chand Baori in Rajasthan, for example, descends through thirteen levels of symmetrical steps toward the water below.
Chand Baori one of the largest stepwells - Wikimedia
Even more interesting is Rani ki Vav, an 11th century stepwell in Gujarat. UNESCO describes it as an inverted temple, designed to emphasize the sacred nature of water. Instead of climbing upward toward a sanctuary, you descend deeper into the earth, passing elaborate sculptures and religious imagery until reaching the water.
I really like this connection because it gives the idea of inversion a different meaning. Going downward does not necessarily symbolize something negative or evil. It can represent descent into the earth, approaching water, going inward, or moving toward something sacred hidden below the surface.
Is an Upside Down Triangle an Evil Symbol?
Not necessarily. That particular interpretation comes from a certain Western occult and religious worldview in which spirit was placed above matter. (See: Pentacles and inverted pentagrams).
But it is definitely not a universal meaning of the inverted triangle:
In one tradition the same downward shape represents Shakti and creative divine power. In alchemy it represents Water. In an ancient amulet it could be part of protective magic or a specific talisman.
So if you find an inverted triangle on jewelry, a tattoo, an altar, or inside a sigil, I would not immediately assume it represents evil. I would look at everything around it first.
I really like the simplicity of ▽ because you can give it a very specific intention without making a complicated sigil.
Have you ever used it in a sigil, altar, tattoo, or magical working? And if you saw an upside down triangle without any other context, what would it mean to you?