Hex Signs

Hex signs (sometimes called “barn stars,”) are colorful geometric murals that are painted onto barns in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Circular in shape, they traditionally depict celestial, floral or agricultural motifs and can be seen from great distances. The geometry of the designs is similar to the geometric patterns used in quilting, which is another popular Pennsylvania Dutch art form.

Although the practice of making barn stars has been around for more than 200 years, hex signs took on their supernatural association (mistakenly) in the early twentieth century. According to Patrick Donmoyer in Hex Signs: Myth and Meaning in Pennsylvania Dutch Bar Stars, Wallace Nutting interviewed a single Pennsylvania Dutch farmer in 1924 who explained that the circular mural on the barn was called a “Hexafoos” or Witch’s Foot, part of an ancient tradition of warding off the machinations of the devil as a kind of spiritual or demoniac lightning rod.” And the myth of the “hex sign” as protective amulet was born. This claim, however, does not hold up to rigorous academic scrutiny, and was likely a fabrication, misinterpretation or garble of one or more cultural practices. Donmoyer explains, “The ‘Hexefuss’ (in standard dialect spelling) is believed to be the mark left behind by the presence of a witch that resembles the footprint of a chicken — a cross formed with two diagonal arms pointing upwards….The theory of the Hexefuss was exaggerated to include the idea that all decorative forms of trim or arches surrounding windows or doorways were intended to confound a witch or devil’s attempt to enter the barn.”

In the 1950s, enterprising merchants took advantage of the popular misconception of hex signs and began producing souvenir signs for the tourist trade. Each sign was assigned a specific meaning such as “Prosperity,” “Fertility” or “Abundance” and was said to attract the desired condition. The work of Jacob Zook and Johnny Ott (the so-called Hexologist) was very popular. These late 20th century designs departed from the strict geometric shapes that adorned barns and included curvilinear forms, leaves, acorns, shamrocks, birds, and other motifs drawn from tole painting and fraktur, the Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. The distelfink, a stylized goldfinch, was used to symbolize happiness and Good Fortune.