Hex signs are a form of
Pennsylvania Dutch folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
, related to
fraktur
Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up; that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the curves of the Antiqu ...
, found in the
Fancy Dutch
The Fancy Dutch, also known as the Church Dutch, Gay Dutch (old-fashioned), or Church people, are the Pennsylvania Dutch who do not belong to the Plain Dutch Anabaptist churches. Unlike the Amish, the conservative Dunkards, or Old Order ...
tradition in
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
The Pennsylvania Dutch Country ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Deitscherei'' Dutchery', also called Pennsylvania Dutchland ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Pennsylvania Deitschland'', german: Pennsylvania Deutschland), or simply the Dutch Country or Dutchland ( ...
.
Barn paintings, usually in the form of "stars in circles", began to appear on the landscape in the early 19th century and became widespread decades later when commercial ready-mixed paint became readily available. By the 1950s commercialized hex signs, aimed at the tourist market, became popular and these often include stars,
compass rose
A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...
s, stylized birds known as
distelfink
A distelfink is a stylized goldfinch, probably based on the European variety. It frequently appears in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. It represents happiness and good fortune and the Pennsylvania German people, and is a common theme in hex signs ...
s,
heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...
s,
tulip
Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...
s, or a
tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A Hist ...
. Two schools of thought exist on the meaning of hex signs. One school ascribes a
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
ic nature to the signs; the other sees them as purely decorative.
Both schools recognize that there are sometimes superstitions associated with certain hex sign themes and neither ascribes strong magical power to them. The
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
do not use hex signs.
Form and use
Painted
barn stars in circular borders are a common sight on Pennsylvania Dutch
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...
s in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, especially in
Berks County
Berks County (Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading.
The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River, ...
,
Lancaster County and
Lehigh County. However, the modern decoration of barns is a late development in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. Prior to the 1830s, the cost of paint meant that most barns were unpainted.
As paint became affordable, the Pennsylvania Dutch began to decorate their barns much like they decorated items in their homes. Barn decorating reached its peak in the early 20th century, at which time there were many artists who specialized in barn decorating.
Drawing from a large repertoire of designs, barn painters combined many elements in their decorations. The
geometric patterns of
quilts
A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, a ...
can be seen in the patterns of many hex signs. Hearts and tulips seen on barns are commonly found on elaborately lettered and decorated birth, baptism and marriage certificates known as
fraktur
Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up; that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the curves of the Antiqu ...
.
Throughout the 20th century, hex signs were often produced as commodities for the tourist industry in Pennsylvania. These signs could be bought and then mounted onto barns and used as household decorations. Jacob Zook of
Paradise, Pennsylvania
Paradise is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a ZIP code of 17562. The population was 1,129 at the 2010 census.
Paradise, like Intercourse, is a popular site i ...
, claimed to have originated the modern mountable sign in 1942, based on traditional designs, to be sold in souvenir gift shops to tourists along the
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...
. Edward Buchak of
Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania
Gilbertsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwest Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Douglass Township at the junction of Routes 73 and 100. The population was 4,832 at the 2010 census, and the ZIP co ...
designed and produced many Jacob Zook signs via screen printing.
William Schuster, Milton Hill, Johnny Ott, and Johnny and Eric Claypoole also contributed to this hex sign revival or adaptation. Modern artists may stress the symbolic meanings, for example, a horse head is used to protect animals from disease and the building from lightning and a dove represents peace and contentment. An unusual use is the official logo of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Radiation Protection, which incorporates the international symbol for radiation into its yellow-and-red adaptation of a traditional hex sign design.
File:END ELEVATION WITH HEX SIGNS - H. and S. Hoffman Barn (1853), Pottstown, Montgomery County, PA HABS PA,46-POTTS.V,2A-2.tif, H. & S. Hoffman Barn, bearing twelve hex signs, in Montgomery County, Pa.
File:Oley Barn with Hexes.jpg, Barn with hex signs in Oley Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Oley Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 3,620. Oley Township was originally formed in 1740 as a part of Philadelphia County, before Berks County was forme ...
in 1941
File:Mascot Mills Barn w Hexes LanCo PA.JPG, Barn with compass rose
A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...
hex signs at the historic Mascot Mills in Lancaster County
File:HexSignShed.JPG, A simple hex sign in the form of a compass rose
A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...
on a suburban shed
File:Souvenirs in Paradise PA.JPG, Souvenir shop in Lancaster County selling hex signs
Controversy over origins
There are two opposing schools of belief regarding the derivation of the name. The term ''hex'' with occult connotations may derive from the
Pennsylvania German word "hex" (German "Hexe", Dutch "Heks"), meaning "
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
". However, the term "hex sign" was not used until the 20th century, after 1924 when Wallace Nutting's book ''Pennsylvania Beautiful'' was published. Nutting, who was not a Pennsylvania native, interviewed farmers about their distinctive barn decoration. Before this time there was no standardized term and many Pennsylvania German farmers simply called the signs "blume" or "sterne" (meaning flowers or stars). However one farmer used the term "Hexefoos" in his description. The term became popular with Pennsylvania Germans themselves during the blossoming tourist trade of southeastern Pennsylvania.
These signs were traditionally adorned with six-pointed stars. There is also the belief that the origin leading to the word "hex sign" is that English settlers mispronounced the German word for six, "sechs", as "hex".
In recent years, hex signs have come to be used by non–Pennsylvania Dutch persons as talismans for
folk magic
In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized ...
rather than as items of decoration. Some believe that both the Pennsylvania German barn design and hex designs originate with the Alpine Germans. They note that hexes are of
pre-Christian Germanic origin; for instance, a circled
rosette is called the ''
Sun of the Alps
The Sun of the Alps (Italian ''Sole delle Alpi'') is a round ornament consisting of six petals surrounded by a ring touching the outer tips of the petals which usually has a thickness similar to the width of the petals. Since the 1990s, a green c ...
'' in
Padania
Padania (, also , ) is an alternative name and proposed independent state encompassing Northern Italy, derived from the name of the Po River (Latin ''Padus''), whose basin includes much of the region, centered on the Po Valley (), the major plai ...
(the
Po Valley). Based on this history,
neopagans or Germanic heathens have taken up the practice of creating hex signs, incorporating other pre-Christian signs and symbols into the hex work. Gandee, in his book ''Strange Experience, Autobiography of a Hexenmeister'', described hex signs as "painted prayers".
[Gandee, pp. 305–320]
Some view the designs as decorative symbols of ethnic identification, possibly originating in reaction to 19th century attempts made by the government to suppress the
Pennsylvania German language
Pennsylvania Dutch (, or ), referred to as Pennsylvania German in scholarly literature, is a variety of Palatine German, also known as Palatine Dutch, spoken by the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other descendants of ...
.
Anabaptist sects, such as the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
and Mennonites, in the region have a negative view of hex signs, and they are rarely, if ever, seen on an Amish or
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radi ...
household or farm.
See also
*
Pentagram
A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...
*
Pow-wow (folk magic)
Powwow, also called ''Brauche'' or ''Braucherei'' in the Pennsylvania Dutch language, is a vernacular system of North American traditional medicine and folk magic originating in the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Blending aspects of folk reli ...
References
Sources
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External links
Care And Use of Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs; Their Symbolism and MeaningsHex Signs at Pennsylvania Dutch.comHex Signs HistoryHex Signs in PA Dutch CountrySeveral digitized books on Pennsylvania Dutch arts and crafts, design, and printsfrom The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hex Sign
19th-century introductions
American folk art
Magic symbols
Ornaments (architecture)
Pennsylvania folklore
Pennsylvania German culture