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For other logos used in Lost, see Logos
For unofficial DHARMA logos, see Fan-made DHARMA logos

The DHARMA Initiative is represented by a series of distinct eight-sided logos, based on the traditional Taoist Bagua or pa kua ("eight trigrams" in Chinese). One is believed to be a general logo, representing the Initiative as a whole. The other logos seem to be designed specifically for each of the various DHARMA Initiative activities, in particular for the stations on the Island. These station logos are spray-painted on walls and printed on various items in the stations; they are also featured in the orientation films. For clarity, a "logo" is defined here to be something painted or physically carved, while a "graphic" is something shown in a video.

General info

DharmaLogo-First-MOSMOF

The DHARMA logo, first seen in the incarnation of the Swan logo in "Man of Science, Man of Faith"

The logos are octagonal and the outer parts of the octagon are derived from the I Ching (below). Most of the logos also feature the word "DHARMA" across its center, except for the Hydra, the Pearl, the Flame and the Looking Glass logos that feature it below the center. The main differences between the logos lie in the circular central part, which contains a unique symbol for each station. Four of these symbols are drawn on the blast door map. With the exception of the Staff logo which has red in its central part, all of them appear in black and white. When the logo is painted on a wall, the outline seems to have gaps. However, this is probably due to the stencils used to spray paint the logos.

The logos are usually black on a white or neutral background, unless they are seen as a graphic on a video where the colors are inverted to a white logo on a black background. However, the Pearl logo is white on black background, even when it is presented outside of a video. For example, although the Swan logo is a black logo on white background, the colors are inverted for the Swan Orientation Video. On the other hand, the Pearl's logo is always inverted in color, even if not found on the video itself.

The logo is first seen on-screen briefly at the very beginning of "Man of Science, Man of Faith", when Desmond goes about his daily routine opening a red locker in the Swan station to grab a jet injector and a vial of the vaccine to inject himself with it.

Dharma-logo

Main logo

DharmaLogoVan

The main logo on the DHARMA van

  • This seems to be the principal DHARMA Initiative logo, corresponding to the initiative as a whole and representing all DHARMA Initiative stations, tests, and activities.
  • There is no image in the center of the logo.
  • The word "DHARMA" is printed across the centered circle.
  • The lettering is standardly white over the circle's black background.

Appearances

Non-canon appearances


DHARMA Station logos


Dharma-logo The Swan logo The Arrow logo The Staff logo The Pearl logo The Hydra logo
Main logo The Swan logo The Arrow logo The Staff logo The Pearl logo The Hydra logo
The Flame Logo The LG logo The Tempest logo
TheOrchid-0
Lamp-Post
The Flame logo The Looking Glass
logo
The Tempest logo The Orchid logo The Lamp Post
logo


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Swan

The Swan logo

The Swan logo

Di 9fftr731

The Swan logo on a cereal box from the station

  • The image in the center of the logo is a swan.
  • The word "DHARMA" is printed across the centered circle.
  • The image and lettering are standardly white over the circle's black background.

Appearances

Non-canon appearances


The Backwords R logo

Fake logo, later found on ABC's site

Dharma-Banner-ABC-Store

The promo banner, with the logo

Store-Banner-2

The online store; note the logo on banner.

This logo was originally thought to be a fake found on Retrieveroftruth.com (different from the real site Retrieversoftruth.com). Note the backwards "R". It was later found (8/16/07) on the ABC Lost store's "DHARMA GEAR" page, seen here.

The logo was still present as of 05/29/08, unchanged, even after new products were added to the ABC store. It is notable that the "fake logo" is placed, in the same photograph, next to the doors to the Swan, with the presumably real logo on said doors. See the "Promo Banner" picture.

This logo was believed to be fake, but its presence on the ABC site raises questions about its origins. As it has not appeared in the show itself, it cannot be considered canon.

The validity of this logo is yet to be confirmed, or if it was just an error by a web designer, and not a plot point.

Arrow

The Arrow logo on the walls of the station.

Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Arrow

The Arrow logo

The Arrow logo

  • The image in the center of the logo is an arrow pointing upwards.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed across the centered circle.
  • The image and lettering are standardly black over the circle's white background.

Appearances

Caduceus

Composite of the logo displayed on the walls of the Staff

Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Staff

The Staff logo

The Staff logo

  • The image in the center of the logo is a red caduceus.
    • Despite historical confusion with the Rod of Asclepius, the caduceus in recent history represents medicine or doctors.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed across the centered circle.
  • The lettering is standardly black over the circle's white background.
  • The image is standardly red over the circle's white background.
    • This is the only logo which has thus far included any non-black-and-white coloration (in canon). In all appearances, the caduceus has been red.

Appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Hydra

The Hydra logo

The Hydra logo

Hydralogocloseup

The Hydra's logo

  • The image in the center of the logo is a six-headed hydra monster.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed in the upper-most line of the bottom hexagram design.
    • The lettering coloration standardly follows this logo's hexagram lines: black on white.
  • The image is standardly white over the circle's black background.

Appearances

Non-canon appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Pearl

The Pearl logo

The Pearl logo ("Cabin Fever")

Pearl

The Pearl logo on a wall inside the station

  • The image in the center of the logo is a white pearl filling the whole center circle.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed in the upper-most line of the bottom hexagram design.
    • The lettering coloration standardly follows this logo's hexagram lines: white on black.
Deaddharma

The logo seen on a DHARMA member in the mass grave

The Inverted pearl logo

Inverted Pearl logo

  • The logo is standardly seen with an inverted color scheme. This is most likely to differentiate this logo from a simple blank DHARMA Initiative logo, showing it as a white pearl, which would be invisible in the standard color scheme, or misrepresenting if it were a black circle.

Appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Flame

The Flame Logo

The Flame logo

FlameOnBox

The Flame logo on a box from the station

  • The image in the center of the logo is a flame.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed in the upper-most line of the bottom hexagram design.
    • Lettering coloration standardly follows this logo's hexagram lines: black on white.
  • Image is standardly white over the circle's black background.

Appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Orchid

The orchid Logo

The Orchid logo

OrchidOrientation

Orchid orientation video

The Inverted orchid logo

The inverted Orchid logo

  • The image in the center of the logo resembles an orchid.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed in the upper-most line of the bottom hexagram design.
  • The hexagram lines are black on white.

Appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Looking Glass

TLG promo

The logo on the wall inside the station

The LG logo

The Looking Glass logo

  • The image in the center of the logo is a rabbit's head.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed in the upper-most line of the bottom hexagram design.
    • The lettering coloration standardly follows this logo's hexagram lines: black on white.
  • The image is standardly white over the circle's black background.

Appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Tempest

The Tempest logo

The Tempest logo

Spoiler

The Tempest logo at the door of the station

  • The image in the center of the logo is a wave.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed across the circle, below center.
  • The lettering is standardly black over the image's white background.
  • The image is standardly white over the circle's black background.
    • This creates a pattern similar to a yin yang symbol.

Appearances


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Lamp Post

Lamp-Post

The Lamp Post logo

LampLogo

The logo on the station's door

  • This logo appeared at the very end of a Dharma Special Access video with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.
  • Also as part of Dharma Special Access (prior to season 5), Lindelof revealed in an e-mail to recruits that this logo is from an unknown DHARMA Initiative station.
  • It was briefly visible on the Ajira Airways website, under the flight booking service.
  • The word DHARMA does not appear in the logo.

Appearances

  • On a computer used by Ms. Hawking in the Lamp Post ("The Lie")
  • On a door opened by Ms. Hawking in the station ("316")


Other DHARMA logos


Speculative Temple Logo DHARMA Star logo The Door logo The Sri Lanka logo Inverted The Psychology logo Wrench logo large Chef dharma logo large
The Temple Logo "Security" Logo Unidentified
"Door" Logo
Unidentified
"Sri Lanka" Logo
Unidentified
"Psychology" Logo
"Motor Pool" Logo "Cafeteria" Logo
School Logo Sub Logo The Flash logo The Fuel logo The Modern logo


"School" Logo "Submarine" Logo Unidentified
"Flash" Logo
Unidentified
"Fuel" Logo
Modernized Logo


Associated DHARMA Initiative location: The Temple

Speculative Temple Logo

The Temple logo

Temple copy

The Temple logo, as shown on Ben's map.

  • The image in the center of the logo appears to have a black altar with a white background inside the center circle. It has not yet been seen clearly enough to form more than a speculative depiction.
  • The Temple was not a DHARMA station, so it is unclear why it has a DHARMA logo.
  • It was on the map to the Temple that Ben gave to Danielle, Karl, and Alex ("Meet Kevin Johnson")


Associated DHARMA Initiative location: Security Office

DHARMA Star logo

Star logo

5x08-security-star

Star patch on DHARMA security coveralls

  • The image in the center of the logo resembles a 5-pointed sheriff star.
  • The word "DHARMA" is placed in the center of the star.
  • It was worn by DHARMA Initiative security personnel, including Sawyer (as James LaFleur), Jerry, Phil, Jin and Miles. ("LaFleur")
  • Referred to as "the Dharma Initiative Security logo" by the ABC.com Lost store (non-canon).


Associated DHARMA Initiative location: Motor Pool

Wrench

Wrench logo

Wrench logo large

Wrench logo

  • Has a wrench in the middle
  • There is no "DHARMA" written on it unlike most of the logos.
  • Worn by Juliet and Kate in the motor pool ("LaFleur"), ("He's Our You")
  • Seen on the gas tank and oil drums ("LaFleur")
  • Referred to as "Dharma Motorpool logo" and "Dharma Motor Pool" logo by the ABC.com Lost store (non-canon).


Associated DHARMA Initiative location: DHARMA cafeteria.

Cheflogohurley'sblog

Chef logo

Chef dharma logo large

Chef logo

  • Has a chef's hat, and two utensils in the center
  • "DHARMA" is under circle but does not replace any trigram bars.
  • Worn by Hurley with the designation "Chef" on the pocket ("Namaste")
  • Referred to as "the Dharma Cafeteria logo" by the ABC.com Lost store (non-canon).


Associated DHARMA Initiative location: School

School Logo

School logo

The School logo small

School logo


Associated DHARMA Initiative location: Submarine

Sub Logo

Submarine logo

Sub Logo SC

Submarine logo


Unidentified canon logos

Associated DHARMA Initiative "station": The Door

The Door logo

Unidentified "Door" logo

MG 2797 logo

Close-up view of "the Door" logo

  • This logo appears on the door of what was presumed to be a station but turned out to be a deception. The door had only a rock wall behind it and appears to be just a part of a facade encampment called the decoy village by the Others.
  • The image in the center of the logo is a rectangle, with a horizontal line shooting through the center.
  • Users of Lostpedia dubbed this façade "the Door".
  • The rectangle appears to be a golden rectangle, a mathematical ratio which is common in art, architecture, and nature.


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: Unknown

Hansoexposed mainlogo

The graphic as seen on the fragment

The Sri Lanka logo Inverted

Unidentified "Sri Lanka video" logo

  • This logo came with the Sri Lanka video fragment on hansoexposed.com as part of the Lost Experience (appears when the code "FVH7N" is entered).
  • No official name has been given yet.
  • It is not clear yet whether this logo is also connected to a station or only to the "Sri Lanka" video.
  • The image in the center of the logos is three circles, ranging in different sizes.
  • Javier Grillo-Marxuach's blog after the Lost Experience ended noted that the logo is supposed to represent a hydrogen atom, in reference to the graphic novel Watchmen. [1].


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: Unknown

The Psychology logo

Unidentified "psychology" graphic

Logo pychology test

Graphic appearing in the Psychology Test Orientation video

  • This logo appeared at the beginning of the DHARMA Initiative Psychology Test Orientation video, released in the Lost Experience.
  • It is not clear yet whether this logo is also connected to a station or only to the psychology test (see below).
  • Many Lost fans had formerly referred to this logo as "The Raven", due to the image's appearance, and alluding to the Edgar Allen Poe character, which drove a man to insanity. However, this was discontinued after the revealing of the real image on the logo (below).
  • The image is a silhouette of Alvar Hanso, as revealed by Javier Grillo-Marxuach in his blog. [2]
  • It does not contain the word "DHARMA".
  • This is one of three DHARMA logos with an inverted color scheme.


Alternative DHARMA logos


The Horace Arrow logo Redinvstaff The Hydra logo (red) The alternate LG logo
The "Alternative" Arrow logo The "Alternative" Staff logo The "Alternative" Hydra logo The "Alternative" Looking Glass logo

Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Arrow

3x20 horrace

The logo seen on Horace Goodspeed's jumpsiut.

The Horace Arrow logo

The "Alternative" Arrow logo

  • This logo was only seen on Horace Goodspeed's jumpsiut.
  • It is believed to be an "Alternative" Arrow logo.
  • It is The Arrow logo with the center colors inverted.


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Staff

Ethanlogo

The logo seen on Ethan's canteen.

Redinvstaff

Canteen Staff logo

  • The Logo was seen on Ethan's canteen.
  • It is beleved to be an "Alternative" Staff logo.
  • It is the staff logo inverted.


Nuvola warning This article refers to a piece which has not yet been confirmed part of Lost canon.
Its authenticity and source of creation is yet to be determined by the fan community.
Nuvola warning


Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Hydra

Hydrared

The red Hydra logo on the ABC online store

The Hydra logo (red)

The red Hydra logo

  • It is beleved to be an "Alternative" Hydra logo.
  • It is the Hydra logo with a red hydra.



Associated DHARMA Initiative station: The Looking Glass

Lookingglass

The Looking Glass logo on the schematic

The alternate LG logo

The "Alternative" Looking Glass logo

  • On Sayid's schematic; alternate version ("Greatest Hits")
  • It is beleved to be an "Alternative" Looking Glass logo.
  • It is the Looking Glass logo inverted with a clock on the neck of the rabbit with the time being 8 15.

The Modern logo

Modern Dharma logo

The Modern logo with color

Modern Dharma logo with color

In the alternate reality game Dharma Initiative Recruiting Project, the modern reincarnation of the DHARMA initiative uses a modernized logo that eliminates much of the detail in the original DHARMA logo. The trigrams of the I-Ching are fused together, and the border is eliminated. The text "Dharma Initiative" is spelled out in Futura typeface, with the lowercase "Dharma" in bold. Also of note is the new arrangement of the trigrams: the arrangement of the standard logo was turned 90 degrees clockwise.


Unidentified non-canon logos

The Flash logo

Unidentified "flash" logo

Electricitylogo2

The graphic as it appeared in the trailer

  • This logo appeared in the trailer for the video game Lost: Via Domus.
  • It appears to be a lightning bolt emblazoned on a black background.
  • It is not clear yet whether this is associated with a station or with the Island's electricity supply.
  • The word "DHARMA" does not appear in the logo.
  • No official name has been given yet.
  • This is one of three DHARMA logos with an inverted color scheme.
  • This logo never appeared in the final version of the game, although the lightning bolt does appear on electrical equipment found throughout the game.


The Fuel logo

Unidentified "fuel" logo

ViaDomus-fuellogo

The fuel can

The logos' origins

Bagua

Bagua

Dharmakorea

The old Korean flag and the Dharma Logo comparison

Feng-1

A Bagua map and its related properties

The octagonal diagrams with the line-symbols (called "trigrams") surrounding the center DHARMA Initiative symbols are derived from a fundamental philosophical concept in ancient China known as Bagua. In Chinese, ba means the number eight and gua means "trigram"; thus the term ba gua signifies the eight trigrams. [3] The concept of Bagua is applied not only to Chinese Taoist thought and the "I Ching", but is also used in other domains of Chinese culture, such as feng shui, martial arts, navigation, etc.

All DHARMA Initiative logos seen so far have the trigrams around the outside. Each trigram consists of three lines that can be either:

  • a straight line (for male; light; the odd numbers 1,3,5,...) or
  • a line with a break (for female; darkness; the even numbers 2,4,6,...).

Eight combinations are possible.

The trigrams that surround the center of the symbol are also identical to those found on what is believed to be the earliest recorded flag of South Korea.

I Ching

The I Ching (Pinyin for Chinese 易经, "Book of Changes" or "Classic of Changes") is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. It describes an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy which is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs. The philosophy centers on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites, the evolution of events as a process, and acceptance of the inevitability of change. It also makes use of the Bagua concept.

The Bagua of the I Ching was one of the first examples of binary code, which later became the basis of almost all-digital programming today. Each individual trigram is made up of individual units of "kwae"--yin (divided dash) and yang (undivided dash). The eight trigrams are the natural/elemental foundations for the 64 "hexagrams" (two trigrams combined) that make the I Ching in ancient Chinese philosophy.

A table of the eight possible trigrams and their related properties according to the I Ching:

Trigram FigureBinary ValueNameNatureDirection
1||| (☰)111Force (乾 qián)heaven (天)northwest
2||¦ (☱)110Open (兌 duì)swamp (澤)west
3|¦| (☲)101Radiance (離 )fire (火)south
4|¦¦ (☳)100Shake (震 zhèn)thunder (雷)east
5¦|| (☴)011Ground (巽 xùn)wind (風)southeast
6¦|¦ (☵)010Gorge (坎 kǎn)water (水)north
7¦¦| (☶)001Bound (艮 gèn)mountain (山)northeast
8¦¦¦ (☷)000Field (坤 kūn)earth (地)southwest

Other attributes related to the trigrams.

Trigram FigureKorean NameAttributeAnimalBodyFamily
1||| (☰)Ch'ien, The CreativeStrength, creativityHorseHeadFather
2||¦ (☱)Sun, The Gentle Penetration, FollowingFowlThighEldest Daughter
3|¦| (☲)Li, The ClingingBrightnessPheasantEyeSecond Daughter
4|¦¦ (☳)Ken, Keeping stillStillness, StoppingDogHandYoungest Son
5¦|| (☴)Tui, The JoyousPleasure, Joy, AttractionSheepMouthYoungest Daughter
6¦|¦ (☵)K'an, The AbysmalDangerPigEarSecond Son
7¦¦| (☶)Chen, The ArousingMovement, initiative, actionDragonFootEldest Son
8¦¦¦ (☷)K'un, The ReceptiveDocility, receptivityOxBellyMother

- DS

The King Wen sequence is the current sequence of the hexagrams in the traditional book and is also the same sequence used for the DHARMA Initiative symbol but turned inside out. There is another called the Later Heaven edition where the trigrams have a different arrangement.[4]

Trivia

Ajira boarding

boarding pass

Cloverfield - Dharma Logo

A DHARMA logo, similar to the Pearl logo, appears in the first seconds of Cloverfield (2008).

  • The yin-yang/religious motif is seen recurring throughout the show. The octagonal style of the Bagua is also shown in "Not in Portland", in a lamp on Rachel's bed stand. Lost.cubit.net image
  • During the opening titles of Cloverfield, which was produced by J.J. Abrams, a DHARMA logo (which resembles The Pearl Logo) is visible in the bottom-right corner of screen for a moment.
  • Four trigrams for "wind" can be seen on the Ajira Airways
  • The trigram for "water" can be seen on the conning tower of the Galaga and on the backs of crew members shirts.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
  1. Do not answer the questions here.
  2. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer.
For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: DHARMA logos/Theories
  • Why did the DHARMA Initiative use baguas in their logos?

See also

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