The Wheel just turned, and it’s time to get your Hex on.

This morning at 5:04 EDT, we crossed the Autumnal Equinox.  You probably heard Wiccans and Druids in your backyard chanting and celebrating the turning of the Wheel from the Harvest to the Winter.  What’s that?  We don’t do those Pagan things here in America?

OK, take a drive through Pennsylvania. The area was settled in the 1700’s by German farmers who came in search of cheap land and religious freedom.  These “Pennsylvania Dutch” (er, “Deutsch,” actually) were of two types: Amish and Mennonites who moved west, and Lutherans who stayed in the east.  They were all pressured to give up their old-country ways, stop speaking German, and integrate into their new country.  But they quietly held on to some traditions.

Some of their culture exploded into the open around 1840.  At that time, affordable paints came onto the market which allowed farmers to paint their barns for the first time.  Almost overnight, boring brown farms became red, green and white.  And many of the barns were given a curious decorative element:  they were adorned with large circular emblems filled with colorful agrarian symbols.  The Sun for warmth and Stars for harmony.  A Goldfinch means luck, a Dove means friendship, and an Eagle is for strength.  Tulips are for faith, Wheat for abundance.  Oak for long life, Rain for fertility.  And the circular Wheel of the Seasons turning around it all.

But, curiously, the symbols are commonly known as “Hex Signs,”- from the German word “hex” which means “witch” – implying they might have a deeper, perhaps darker, significance.  Some folks point out their common use of pentagrams, and elements in multiples of six, a number often associated with the occult. Hex Signs have become popular in the tourist trade for their presumed ability to protect the owner from various disasters.  Interestingly, Lutherans integrate Hex Signs extensively, while the more old-school Amish and Mennonites shun them.

So what the hex do we have here, harmless folk art or dark magic?  Maybe a little of both.  Perhaps Hex Signs can change the weather, protect a building from lightning, and keep the cows healthy.  Or maybe a little superstition makes for good marketing .

Or maybe they’re just cool to look at.  Perhaps, despite all their cultural and religious significance, Hex Signs are – as an old German farmer might say – “chust for nice.”