Six Medallions

The Six Medallions are symbols of power, representing the elements of six of the Seven Sages (Princess Zelda, leader of the Sages, does not have a medallion), only in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. They are given to the Hero of Time, Link, after awakening a new Sage by eliminating the boss found in each temple (excluding the Light Medallion; that is given by Rauru when Link is an adult).

The medallions are given to Link in the Chamber of Sages within the Light Temple. The medallions serve no purpose in regular gameplay, and are collectively kept in the Quest Status Subscreens, surrounding an icon of the Triforce, serving as a reference to the number of Sages freed.

The Medallions symbols reappear throughtout Ocarina of Time, as they are visible in warp points for teleport songs, surrounding the Pedestal of Time, the pedestal where each Sage stands in the Chamber of Sages, as well as in the top of the barrier doors in Ganon's Castle.

The Light Medallion is the first medallion; the order for collecting the other five medallions is entirely personal, due to the fact that dungeons such as the Water Temple can be finished before the Fire Temple, or the Spirit Temple before the Shadow Temple. Also, by entering in a temple and acquiring the main item and, without finishing it, using the equipment to move on in other dungeons.

Light Medallion
Keep my spirit with you... And, find the power of the other Sages and add their might to your own! Representing the spirit of the ancient Sage of Light, Rauru, this medallion is given to Link immediately after he awakens from his seven-year sleep in the Sacred Realm, when he is ready to take up his quest. As Rauru was already an awakened sage, he is able to give Link his medallion at once.

Forest Medallion
I will stay here as the Forest Sage and help you... Now, please take this Medallion... Is the second medallion bestowed upon Link by his Kokiri friend and new Sage of Forest, Saria, been awakened at the Forest Temple, after he defeats the evil spirit, Phantom Ganon. This medallion's design looks a lot like the design of the Bombos Medallion from A Link to the Past. As they are not related, through theme or through use, it is probably just a coincidence.

Fire Medallion
Hey, Brother, take this! This is a Medallion that contains the power of the fire spirits--and my friendship. The container of the fire spirits and third medallion, is received after Link beats the Fire Temple and kill the Goron eater, Volvagia. The Fire Medallion is given by the leader of the Gorons and new Sage of Fire, Darunia, as a symbol of his friendship with Link.

Water Medallion
I can tell that nothing will stop you in your quest for justice and peace... You must take this Medallion... Take it respectfully! Kept by the new Sage of Water, Princess Ruto, the Zora sage who guards the Water Temple, this medallion is given to Link after he eliminates Morpha.

Shadow Medallion
Now I put my power, which should be helpful to you, into this Medallion! Hidden in Kakariko Village's graveyard under the guard of Impa, Princess Zelda's Sheikah attendant and leader of Kakariko. She gives the medallion to Link when he completes the Shadow Temple and destroys the shadow beast Bongo Bongo.

Spirit Medallion
Instead of keeping the promise I made back then, I give you this Medallion! Take it! Nabooru, the new Sage of Spirit and second-in-command of the Gerudo, is able to awaken and bestows Link with the Spirit Medallion after he has explored the Spirit Temple and freed her from the grasp of Koume and Kotake, also known as Twinrova.

Using the medallions
When Link is about to enter Ganon's Castle, he finds it floating over a pool of lava and impregnable. However, if he has all the Medallions with him, the Sages will gather their power to create a bridge over the gorge, allowing Link access to the castle. (Apparently, the only two Medallions needed for the creation of the bridge are the Shadow and Spirit Medallions; with the use of glitches, they can be obtained and the bridge will be created even without the other four.)

During the development of Ocarina of Time, the Six Medallions were early items for Link to use. Even a few pictures released at Nintendo Power magazine show Link with the Forest Medallion equipped as an item, but he is never seen using it. Their function is unknown, but it is believed that they were replaced by the teleporting songs taught by Sheik.

Additionally, hackers have found Japanese script for two abandoned items: Wind Medallion and Ice Medallion; in the normal gameplay they were replaced by Forest Medallion and Water Medallion respectively.

Design
The design of the symbols on Forest, Fire and Spirit Medallions are first introduced in Ocarina of Time; however, the Light, Water and Shadow Medallions may have been extracted from locations in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The place where the teleport point is at Death Mountain in A Link to the Past is a circle where several rocks compose a symbol very similar to the one shown in Light and Shadow Medallions. Upon entering in the portal, in the Dark World counterpart, will be another circle, where bushes compose the Water Medallion.

In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Medallion symbols can be seen at the top of Arbiter's Grounds; namely the Mirror Chamber, where six tall columns with the Medallion symbols engraved upon them stand. Going into first person view, or using the Hawkeye, look up and circle around to see the symbols. Each of the Ancient Sages also have a Medallion symbol on their robe. After the Water Sage is killed, his symbol in Arbiter's Grounds is half destroyed.

Additionally, in the Temple of Time, tiles with the Light Medallion symbol can be seen throughout the dungeon.