Alright so here’s how this hippie symbols deep dive started. Was cleaning my aunt’s attic last month – you know, that creepy space full of spiderwebs and old newspapers? Found this dusty cardboard box stuffed with her 1968 stuff. Tie-dye shirts smelling like mothballs, cracked leather journals, and man… those weird pendant necklaces with squiggly shapes. Couldn’t recognize half these symbols. Figured “hell, why not decode these properly?”
The Peace Sign Debacle
First grab was this chipped ceramic badge with the classic peace sign. Thought I knew everything about it – turns out I was dead wrong. Started digging through old protest pamphlets scanned online. Spent three hours comparing sources just to confirm one damn detail: the stick figure inside the circle? Actually represents semaphore signals for “N” and “D” – Nuclear Disarmament. Blew my mind. My notebook looked insane with arrows everywhere:
- Dove drawing from 1963 peace march flyer? Irrelevant
- That British CND group logo? Golden ticket
- Almost used some 2006 Tumblr post – bullet dodged
That Funky Volkswagen Mystery
Then tackled those psychedelic VW bus paintings aunt had photos of. See this eye-triangle thing everywhere in her album? Couldn’t find squat in modern symbol guides. Hit the library’s microfilm room – smelled like despair and dust bunnies. Scrolled through 1971 underground newspapers until my eyes crossed. Finally spotted it in an ad for some dead concert: the All-Seeing Eye. Not Illuminati crap like conspiracy nuts say now. Back then? Just meant “stay awake, see the truth man.” Proof:
- Flyer for Grateful Dead show had it beside dancing bears
- Digger pamphlet arguing against Vietnam draft used same icon
- Zero references to pyramid schemes or aliens – total myth
Yin Yang Disaster at the Flea Market
This part hurts to admit. Saw cheap yin yang patches downtown and thought “easy merch idea!” Made twenty pouches stitching that black-and-white swirl on burlap. Set up shop Saturday morning… total flop. Old hippie dude chuckled at me, “Kid, that’s Daoism – not peace & love juice.” He schooled me hard:
- 1950s beatniks adopted it from Alan Watts lectures
- Actual meaning got twisted worse than a pretzel by ’67
- Sold one pouch to some confused art student
Lost $200 on booth fees. But hey, now I know authentic counterculture yin yang was rare before psychedelia hijacked it.
The Eagle Feather Drama
Here’s where it got messy. My cousin inherited this beaded headband with eagle feathers. Wanted to sell it on Marketplace. Thank god I paused – federal law protects eagle parts since 1940! Called reservation cultural centers for days until Pine Ridge Lakota elder explained:
- White kids wearing feathers at Woodstock? Mostly turkey or goose
- Actual native activists used it strategically in Alcatraz protests
- “Appropriation” debates started way earlier than we think
Told cousin to frame it respectfully instead. Dodged major legal and moral bullets there.
Final takeaway? Most “hippie symbols” were borrowed, botched, or rebelled against within the movement itself. And honestly? Still finding paint specks from recreating that awful VW bus mural in my garage…
