Sign of Yog-Sothoth

[irondawn]

What is the origin of the symbol used for this site? How did this tree branch icon come to be associated with Yog Sothoth?

[The_Tatterdemalion_King]

It's one of the Elder Signs.

[PoC]

It's the Lovecraft Elder Sign ("tree"), as opposed to the Derleth Elder Sign ("star").

[LoneKharnivore]

On which note, I mention that I'm reading through the DELTA GREEN novels at the moment, and Dennis Detwiller handles the whole "which Elder Sign is right?" issue quite cleverly. The protagonist sees the Elder Sign but his eyes can't agree on what it looks like - one moment it's a flaming eye, the next it's a tree-branch, while the "star" is just a standard pentagram that surrounds and encloses the Sign itself.

This is, needless to say, how Elder Signs in my games will appear from now on

[The_Tatterdemalion_King]

I usually use the star-stone version; I like to fuzz the line between human occultism and ancient alien technology.

[tanstaafl]

I call the star-shaped symbol "Regular" and the tree branch one "Mint"

[Afraid of the dark]

Mad Arab Syndrome. Hilarious. Just excellent.

[csmithadair]

Specifically, the slightly runic branch version of Lovecraft's comes from his drawing of the Elder Sign he appended to a letter he wrote to Clark Ashton Smith. The one that appears on this site is a reproduction of that drawing.

[Gabriel Syme]

I rather prefer the Lovecraft "branch" version of the Elder Sign. Derleth's is too ostentatiously occult for my tastes.

That video was endlessly amusing, though.

[Emrys]

That video was endlessly amusing, though.

Their Necronomicon one's almost as good.

[Gabriel Syme]

"It's... heavy."
"Yeah! With forbidden knowledge!"

Brilliant.