Recommend A Holy Symbol For A God Of Knowledge

[Celebrim]

I like the stylized quill, but if your players don't, perhaps a stylized transit (the surveying tool), which measures the natural world and helps build cities?

Good call. I like that.

Although, the transit is a 19th century invention, the more ancient devices are appropriate and make interesting symbols when stylized.

See Circumferentor, and Graphometerfor examples.

But taking your idea and running with it, I think even more perfect is a Plumb Bob. It fits think it fits perfectly with the idea of a god of knowledge, cities, and order that he would be symbolized with by a tool used to make things straight. The Compass is another good choice.

 

[Maldor]

a Cuneiformglyph the one that was the first word ever writen in your world few poeple even know what it mean only the most lreaned sages.

or maybe let the priest pick a glyph from the first writen language that repersents him but they must research the glyph and its meaning on their own as a right of passage

 

[Celebrim]

a Cuneiformglyph the one that was the first word ever writen in your world few poeple even know what it mean only the most lreaned sages.

or maybe let the priest pick a glyph from the first writen language that repersents him but they must research the glyph and its meaning on their own as a right of passage

A religion will often have a large number of esoteric and obscure signs such as this that they use in their rites or to identify other members of the religion, but generally its public symbol is one that has to have some easily recognizable meaning to the unintiated. I can imagine a story about a diety giving the first written word to humanity and there are even some languages which represent themselves by a written word, but I can't imagine that word being obscure. It has to be recognizable, even to the illiterate and convey to even the uneducated something meaningful about the deity. Otherwise, you've got a deity that is only meaningful to some stuffy philosophers and is never part of the spiritual life of the community as a whole. I think that's a recipe for a very uninteresting religion.

 

[Trolls]

People have been suggesting something of mathematical significance, simple shapes, and polyhedra. So how about combining all 3 of those ideas?

Metatron's Cube:

It's pretty complex, so it might not work for your forehead tattoos.

Honestly, though, I like the quill idea!

Or how about just a lone key or heyhole? It's simple, and a key/keyhole tattooed on the forehead brings to mind the idea of unlocking knowledge.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

People have been suggesting something of mathematical significance, simple shapes, and polyhedra. So how about combining all 3 of those ideas?

Metatron's Cube:

It's pretty complex, so it might not work for your forehead tattoos.

Tat that on their heads and they will know...PAIN!