Miscellaneous Symbols Block

The Miscellaneous Symbols block (U+2600–U+26FF) is one of Unicode's most eclectic collections — 256 code points spanning weather phenomena, astronomical bodies, chess pieces, playing card suits, religious and cultural symbols, recycling marks, musical notation, and warning signs. Despite its name suggesting an afterthought, this block contains many of the most instantly recognizable symbols in everyday digital communication.

Weather and Sky Symbols

The block opens with atmospheric symbols that predate emoji by decades, having been used in meteorological publications and newspapers:

Many of these have emoji presentations (☀️, ☁️, ☃️) when followed by the variation selector U+FE0F, making them colorful in messaging contexts while remaining monochrome text symbols in their base form.

Astronomical and Astrological Symbols

Unicode preserves the classical symbols used in astronomy and astrology since antiquity:

The male ♂ (U+2642) and female ♀ (U+2640) symbols are among the most semantically loaded in this block — originally alchemical symbols for iron (Mars) and copper (Venus), they are now used for biological sex, gender identity, and in biology for male/female organisms. Unicode 14.0 added additional gender symbols (⚧ U+26A7 for transgender).

Zodiac Signs

All twelve Western astrological signs are included:

♈ Aries (U+2648) · ♉ Taurus (U+2649) · ♊ Gemini (U+264A) · ♋ Cancer (U+264B) · ♌ Leo (U+264C) · ♍ Virgo (U+264D) · ♎ Libra (U+264E) · ♏ Scorpius (U+264F) · ♐ Sagittarius (U+2650) · ♑ Capricorn (U+2651) · ♒ Aquarius (U+2652) · ♓ Pisces (U+2653)

Chess Pieces

All twelve chess pieces (six white, six black) are encoded:

These symbols are used in chess publications, game annotations, and instructional materials to represent pieces in algebraic notation ("♔g1" instead of "Kg1").

Playing Card Suits

The four suits of Western playing cards:

The "black" variants are the filled, solid forms used on typical playing cards. Spades ♠ and clubs ♣ are conventionally displayed in black; hearts ♥ and diamonds ♦ in red.

Music Notation

Basic music symbols are present for inline text use:

• U+266A EIGHTH NOTE ♪ — single eighth note / quaver
• U+266B BEAMED EIGHTH NOTES ♫ — two connected eighth notes (often used decoratively for "music")
• U+266C BEAMED SIXTEENTH NOTES ♬
• U+266D MUSIC FLAT SIGN ♭ — used in key signatures: "B♭ major"
• U+266E MUSIC NATURAL SIGN ♮
• U+266F MUSIC SHARP SIGN ♯ — distinct from U+0023 NUMBER SIGN # though visually similar

The sharp ♯ and flat ♭ are important in music publishing and metadata (album titles, track listings, music theory texts) where the correct character prevents confusion with adjacent text.

Recycling and Environmental Symbols

• U+267A RECYCLING SYMBOL FOR GENERIC MATERIALS ♺
• U+267B BLACK UNIVERSAL RECYCLING SYMBOL ♻
• U+267C RECYCLED PAPER SYMBOL ♼
• U+267D PARTIALLY-RECYCLED PAPER SYMBOL ♽
• U+267E PERMANENT PAPER SIGN ♾ — infinity loop for archival paper standards
• U+267F WHEELCHAIR SYMBOL ♿ — internationally recognized disability access symbol

♻ (U+267B) is one of the most universally recognized symbols in the block, used in environmental contexts, recycling labeling, and as an emoji for "refresh" or "recycle."

Warning and Hazard Symbols

• U+2620 SKULL AND CROSSBONES ☠ — poison, danger, piracy
• U+2621 CAUTION SIGN ☡ — general warning
• U+2622 RADIOACTIVE SIGN ☢ — radiation hazard
• U+2623 BIOHAZARD SIGN ☣ — biological hazard
• U+26A0 WARNING SIGN ⚠ — the standard international warning triangle

The biohazard ☣ and radioactive ☢ symbols have precise internationally standardized designs used in safety signage; Unicode preserves these for digital replication of safety documentation.