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U+2646, ♆
NEPTUNE

[U+2645]
Miscellaneous Symbols
[U+2647]

Translingual

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Alternative forms

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  • – the symbol commonly has barbs on the tines.
  • – orbed variant common in German-language sources alongside for the Earth and for Uranus, so that most of the planetary symbols contain an orb; sometimes with horizontal barbs on the outer tines so that those look like an inverted omega, .
  • – another common variant today; this form of Neptune's trident was used by Newton as a symbol for bismuth, before the planet Neptune had been discovered. Typefaces that use this form may harmonize it with Jupiter so that it looks like reflected on itself.[1]
  • Ψ – Greek capital letter psi is sometimes used as a typographic substitute.

When the symbol has a cross at bottom and the tines do not bear barbs, it may be identical to variants of 🝁, an alchemical symbol for for quicklime.

Etymology

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The trident of Neptune, the Ancient Roman god of the sea.[2]

Symbol

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  1. (astronomy, astrology) Neptune.
  2. (alchemy, archaic) bismuth.
  3. (military) a common component of naval emblems.

Usage notes

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As one of several alchemical symbols for bismuth, Neptune's trident is not attested with barbs on the tines, and is unlikely to have ever had a planetary cross or orb at bottom, but a distinct character is not available in Unicode, and it is identical to the design of the planetary symbol in some typefaces.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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  • (alchemy): 🜾 – bismuth ore
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Planetary symbols
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References

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  1. ^ E.g. here
  2. ^ “Solar System Symbols”, in Solar System Exploration[1], NASA and the Planetary Institute, 2018 January 30, retrieved November 3, 2019:The symbol for Neptune is the trident (long three-pronged fork or weapon) of Neptune, god of the sea.