Nine glyphs
that guard
every threshold.
Before the door opens, before the first footstep, before the lamp is lit — these nine signs are drawn in rice, kumkum, or gold-leaf across the lintel. Swastika for beginning. Om for breath. Kalash for abundance. Lotus for unfolding. Trishula for balance. Shankha for sound. Dhvaja for dharma. Chhatra for shelter. Matsya for flow. Drawn together, they are the grammar of every Vastu home.
Begin the atlasSwastika
Su (good) + Asti (to be) — "let it be well."
- Element
- Prithvi
- Direction
- North · East · Centre
- Bija
- ॐ
- Source
- Rigveda
The oldest continuously drawn symbol on Indian doorframes. Its four arms are the four Vedas, four Yugas, four Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha) and the four directions. Right-facing (pradakshina) draws the energy of creation; left-facing calls in the destructive, contemplative night. On a household threshold always draw it right-facing, in red kumkum or turmeric, the size of a spread palm.
Where to place
Main door frame (ideally above the lintel), pooja room front wall, safe / locker door, wedding mandap and new-vehicle dashboard.
Never
Never bury, never on floor where feet will walk over, never reversed or broken.
Mantra
स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः ॥
"Auspicious unto us be the mighty Indra." — Rigveda 1.89.6
Om · Pranava
Primal sound — A + U + M — the seed of the cosmos.
- Element
- Akasha
- Direction
- Ishana (North-East)
- Bija
- ॐ
- Source
- Mandukya Upanishad
Om is not a letter — it is the vibration out of which space unfolds. The three phonemes A–U–M map to waking, dreaming and deep sleep; the crescent is the fourth state, turiya, pure awareness. When inscribed on a wall, the curve of the lower body must flow clockwise, the crescent must open upward, and the bindu must float free — three strokes in a single unbroken gesture.
Where to place
North-East wall of the pooja room at eye level, above the meditation seat, on the tilak bowl, and as the first glyph in every new journal, ledger or ritual thread.
Never
Never below the navel on any surface (no Om on footwear, bedlinen, floor tiles).
Mantra
ॐ इत्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म ॥
"Om, the single-syllable Brahman." — Bhagavad Gita 8.13
Kalash
The pot of plenitude — womb of the cosmos.
- Element
- Jal
- Direction
- Ishana (North-East) · Brahmasthana
- Bija
- श्रीं
- Source
- Atharvaveda
A copper or silver pot filled with pure water, crowned with five mango leaves and a coconut wrapped in red cloth — this is the garbha of every Vedic ritual. The pot is Prithvi, the water is Jal, the leaves are Vayu, the coconut is Agni, and the space inside is Akasha. All five elements, one vessel. It is how abundance is made visible.
Where to place
Pooja room altar, griha-pravesh threshold, festival doorways, birth and wedding mandaps.
Never
Never allow the water to go stale — replenish at every sunrise during an active ritual cycle.
Mantra
ॐ कलशस्य मुखे विष्णुः कण्ठे रुद्रः समाश्रितः ।
"In the mouth of the Kalash resides Vishnu, in its neck Rudra is seated."
Padma · Lotus
Born in mud, untouched by mud — purity rising.
- Element
- Jal
- Direction
- Centre · Brahmasthana
- Bija
- ऐं
- Source
- Rigveda, Chandogya Upanishad
Every yantra you will ever draw rests on a lotus. 8 petals for the Dikpalakas, 16 for the attendant shaktis, 100 for Lakshmi, 1000 for Sahasrara. The lotus is the geometry of unfolding consciousness — the muddy world below, the open bloom above, the seed of awakening hidden in the centre. In Vastu, a lotus inscribed on a ceiling medallion or floor rangoli pulls prana down into Brahmasthana.
Where to place
Ceiling of the Brahmasthana, front-door rangoli, pooja altar base, temple plinths.
Never
Avoid drooping or closed-bud depictions on household walls — they signal retreat.
Mantra
ॐ पद्मासने नमः ॥
"Salutations to the one seated on the lotus."
Trishula
Shiva's trident — the three gunas held in a single shaft.
- Element
- Agni
- Direction
- Ishana (North-East)
- Bija
- ह्रीं
- Source
- Yajurveda, Shiva Purana
Three prongs: sattva, rajas, tamas — clarity, action, inertia. Shiva holds them together in one balanced hand. On a home, the trishula protects the Ishana cone of the plot and marks it as a sattvic zone. It is usually drawn with a damaru at the base and a crescent moon kissing the central prong.
Where to place
Ishana corner altar, Shiva pooja room, outside threshold of the pooja, above the door frame where children's rooms lie.
Never
Never point the prongs downward inside the house — they drain prana.
Mantra
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।
"We worship the three-eyed one, fragrant, who nourishes all." — Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
Shankha
The conch — the primordial Om made audible.
- Element
- Jal
- Direction
- Vayu (North-West) · North
- Bija
- ह्रीं
- Source
- Rigveda · Samudra-manthan
Rising from the churning of the ocean of milk, the Shankha carries the first sound of creation. Its spiral coils clockwise — a dakshinavarti shankha — mirroring the path every galaxy traces. Blown three times at dusk and dawn, it clears the ether of the home of residual low frequencies. Pair it with the Chakra for the complete Vishnu signature.
Where to place
Pooja altar (wrapped in red cloth, on a silver plate), entrance lobby, Vayu corner to calm drafty air currents.
Never
Never blow the shankha inside bedrooms or mourning rooms. Never use a damaged or chipped one.
Mantra
ॐ शङ्खं चक्रं गदां पद्मं करैर्धत्ते चतुर्भुजः ॥
"Conch, discus, mace, lotus — four arms of Vishnu bear these."
Dhvaja
The victory flag — dharma standing upright against sky.
- Element
- Vayu
- Direction
- North · Rooftop
- Bija
- ह्रं
- Source
- Manasara Shilpa Shastra, ch. 39
The flagstaff is the spine of the home drawn skyward. In temple architecture the dhvaja-stambha marks the navel of the complex; in domestic Vastu a saffron pennant at the rooftop's North edge invites Vayu without letting it scour the building. The cloth should be pure cotton, dyed in natural kesar or haldi, and must be replaced at every Makara Sankranti.
Where to place
Rooftop North edge or Ishana corner, temple shikhara, new-business inauguration, festival doorways.
Never
Never let the flag touch the ground; never leave torn or sun-bleached cloth flying.
Mantra
ॐ ध्वजाय नमः ॥
"Salutations to the victorious banner."
Chhatra
The royal parasol — protection from all four quarters.
- Element
- Akasha
- Direction
- Centre (over the deity)
- Bija
- क्लीं
- Source
- Vishnudharmottara Purana
A tiered parasol held above a king, a deity, a teacher — or a newborn. In Vastu it is the symbol of protective sky that hovers over the household head. Three tiers for body-speech-mind, seven for the chakras, nine for the planetary overseers. The finial is always a kalash, and a cascade of silk fringes marks the rim.
Where to place
Above the pooja idol, above the family elder's chair during ceremonies, at the threshold of the temple inside a home.
Never
Never leave it closed during an active puja; never store it in South-West.
Mantra
ॐ आतपत्राय नमः ॥
"Salutations to the one who shelters from the heat."
Matsya · Mina
The fish pair — fertility, watchfulness, flow.
- Element
- Jal
- Direction
- North · East
- Bija
- ह्रीं
- Source
- Ashtamangala tradition (Buddhist + Jain + Hindu)
Two fish, eyes always open, cutting against the current — the consort pair that guides the prana through the Ida and Pingala nadis of the home. Fish carry memory of the flood and of Matsya avatara who saved the Vedas from drowning. On a Vastu plan, a Matsya pair drawn into the North-East water body (pond, fountain, aquarium) amplifies both wealth and vigilance.
Where to place
North-East water feature, entrance rangoli paired with Swastika, engraved on safe-box lid.
Never
Never single fish (breaks the pair logic); never dead fish imagery in any zone.
Mantra
ॐ मत्स्याय नमः ॥
"Salutations to the Matsya avatara, first among the ten."
Want these drawn onto your floor plan?
Our AI reads your plan, finds your Vastu Purusha, and prescribes which symbols to place where — with rice, with turmeric, or with gold-leaf. A symbol in the right zone is the cheapest correction money can buy.