How many times have you or will you, press the Apple command key today?

Well if you're sitting in your office and thought you'd escaped Hallowe’en then think again. Because apart from the humble apple fruit ties to the festival, so too unbeknownst to most Mac users has the Apple's ⌘ Command symbol.

The pagan motif for Samhain (Celtic name for Hallowe’en) has the looped square ⌘ enclosed in the sigil, along with two interconnecting oblong shapes forming a cross. The ⌘ symbol is also known as the Bowen knot, Gorgons loop or Saint John’s Arms, which is an ancient symbol painted or carved on houses and barns to protect from evil spirits and bad luck. Very fitting for Halloween!

The Bowen Knot symbol was also extensively used in Nordic countries as an indicator of cultural locations and places of interest on maps and road signs. But it was Apple's bitmap graphic designer Susan Kare in 1984 who was responsible for the symbols placement on every Apple keyboard thereafter.