75-546: A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross , a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist . All independent Nordic countries have adopted such flags in the modern period, and while the Nordic cross is named for its use in the national flags of the Nordic nations, the term is used universally by vexillologists , in reference not only to
150-589: A 1992 paper, contends that the swastika-like comet on the Han-dynasty manuscript was labelled a "long tailed pheasant star" ( dixing ) because of its resemblance to a bird's foot or footprint. Similar comparisons had been made by J. F. Hewitt in 1907, as well as a 1908 article in Good Housekeeping . Kobres goes on to suggest an association of mythological birds and comets also outside of China. In Native American culture , particularly among
225-450: A chiral irregular icosagon (20-sided polygon ) with fourfold (90°) rotational symmetry . Such a swastika proportioned on a 5 × 5 square grid and with the broken portions of its legs shortened by one unit can tile the plane by translation alone. The main Nazi flag swastika used a 5 × 5 diagonal grid, but with the legs unshortened. The swastika was adopted as
300-475: A late paleolithic figurine of a bird, carved from mammoth ivory, found in Mezine , Ukraine. However, the age of 10,000 BCE is a conservative estimate, and the true age may be as old as 17,000 BCE. It has been suggested that this swastika may be a stylised picture of a stork in flight. As the carving was found near phallic objects, this may also support the idea that the pattern was a fertility symbol. In
375-401: A letter from Max Müller that quotes Burnouf. The term sauwastika is used in the sense of 'backward swastika' by Eugène Goblet d'Alviella (1894): "In India it [the gammadion ] bears the name of swastika , when its arms are bent towards the right, and sauwastika when they are turned in the other direction." Other names for the symbol include: In various European languages, it
450-658: A mapping in the original Big5 character set, but the former does not (although it is in Big5+ ). In Unicode 5.2, two swastika symbols and two swastikas were added to the Tibetan block : swastika U+0FD5 ࿕ RIGHT-FACING SVASTI SIGN , U+0FD7 ࿗ RIGHT-FACING SVASTI SIGN WITH DOTS , and swastikas U+0FD6 ࿖ LEFT-FACING SVASTI SIGN , U+0FD8 ࿘ LEFT-FACING SVASTI SIGN WITH DOTS . European uses of swastikas are often treated in conjunction with cross symbols in general, such as
525-676: A right angle. The word swastika comes from Sanskrit : स्वस्तिक , romanized : svastika , meaning 'conducive to well-being'. In Hinduism , the right-facing symbol (clockwise) ( 卐 ) is called swastika , symbolizing surya ('sun'), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol (counter-clockwise) ( 卍 ) is called sauvastika , symbolising night or tantric aspects of Kali . In Jain symbolism , it represents Suparshvanatha – the seventh of 24 Tirthankaras ( spiritual teachers and saviours ), while in Buddhist symbolism it represents
600-488: A simple cross-shaped character, consisting of a horizontal and a vertical wedge ( 𒈦 ), read as maš "tax, yield, interest"; the superposition of two diagonal wedges results in a decussate cross ( 𒉽 ), read as pap "first, pre-eminent" (the superposition of these two types of crosses results in the eight-pointed star used as the sign for "sky" or "deity" ( 𒀭 ), DINGIR ). The cuneiform script has other, more complex, cruciform characters, consisting of an arrangement of boxes or
675-712: A simplification of a ligature for et "and" (introduced by Johannes Widmann in the late 15th century). The letter Aleph is cross-shaped in Aramaic and paleo-Hebrew . Egyptian hieroglyphs with cross-shapes include Gardiner Z9 – Z11 ("crossed sticks", "crossed planks"). Other, unrelated cross-shaped letters include Brahmi ka (predecessor of the Devanagari letter क) and Old Turkic (Orkhon) d² and Old Hungarian b , and Katakana ナ na and メ me . The multiplication sign (×), often attributed to William Oughtred (who first used it in an appendix to
750-608: A standard character in Chinese , " 卍 " ( pinyin : wàn ) and as such entered various other East Asian languages , including Chinese script . In Japanese the symbol is called " 卍 " ( Hepburn : manji ) or " 卍字 " ( manji ) . The swastika is included in the Unicode character sets of two languages. In the Chinese block it is U+534D 卍 (left-facing) and U+5350 for the swastika 卐 (right-facing); The latter has
825-570: A symbol in Buddhism , Jainism and Hinduism , and widely popular in the early 20th century as a symbol of good luck or prosperity before adopted as a symbol of Nazism in the 1920s and 30s. Cross shapes are made by a variety of physical gestures . Crossing the fingers of one hand is a common invocation of the symbol. The sign of the cross associated with Christian genuflection is made with one hand: in Eastern Orthodox tradition
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#1732772867211900-576: Is prohibited by law . However, the swastika remains a symbol of good luck and prosperity in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain countries such as Nepal, India, Thailand, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, China and Japan, and carries various other meanings for peoples around the world, such as the Akan , Hopi , Navajo , and Tlingit peoples. It is also commonly used in Hindu marriage ceremonies and Dipavali celebrations. With well-being ( swasti ) we would follow along our path, like
975-464: Is a compound geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines , usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X , is termed a saltire in heraldic terminology. The cross has been widely recognized as a symbol of Christianity from an early period in that religion's history. Before then, it
1050-619: Is a swastika symbol used to decorate objects, traditional clothing and in archaeological excavations . According to painter Stanisław Jakubowski, the "little sun" (Polish: słoneczko ) is an Early Slavic pagan symbol of the Sun; he claimed it was engraved on wooden monuments built near the final resting places of fallen Slavs to represent eternal life. The symbol was first seen in his collection of Early Slavic symbols and architectural features, which he named Prasłowiańskie motywy architektoniczne (Polish: Early Slavic Architectural Motifs ). His work
1125-536: Is called yung drung . All swastikas are bent crosses based on a chiral symmetry, but they appear with different geometric details: as compact crosses with short legs, as crosses with large arms and as motifs in a pattern of unbroken lines. Chirality describes an absence of reflective symmetry , with the existence of two versions that are mirror images of each other. The mirror-image forms are typically described as left-facing or left-hand (卍) and right-facing or right-hand (卐). The compact swastika can be seen as
1200-533: Is clearly marked on a hilt and sword belt found at Bifrons in Kent, in a grave of about the 6th century. Hilda Ellis Davidson theorised that the swastika symbol was associated with Thor , possibly representing his Mjolnir – symbolic of thunder – and possibly being connected to the Bronze Age sun cross. Davidson cites "many examples" of swastika symbols from Anglo-Saxon graves of
1275-582: Is depicted among the magical symbols on the drums of Sami noaidi , used in their religious ceremonies before Christianity was established. The name of the Sami thunder god was Horagalles , thought to derive from "Old Man Thor" ( Þórr karl ). Sometimes on the drums, a male figure with a hammer-like object in either hand is shown, and sometimes it is more like a cross with crooked ends, or a swastika. The icon has been of spiritual significance to Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The swastika
1350-791: Is known as the fylfot , gammadion , tetraskelion , or cross cramponnée (a term in Anglo-Norman heraldry ); German: Hakenkreuz ; French: croix gammée ; Italian: croce uncinata ; Latvian : ugunskrusts . In Mongolian it is called [хас] Error: {{Lang}}: Non-latn text/Latn script subtag mismatch ( help ) ( khas ) and mainly used in seals. In Chinese it is called 卍字 ( wànzì ), pronounced manji in Japanese, manja (만자) in Korean and vạn tự or chữ vạn in Vietnamese . In Balti / Tibetan language it
1425-714: Is the historical flag of the Kalmar Union , which united Denmark, Sweden and Norway from 1397 to 1523. No pictorial evidence survives of the Kalmar Union's Flag. The flag appearing here is a reconstruction based on references in 1430 letters by King Eric of Pomerania . These flags either do not have full official status or represent various private entities. They have not been officially adopted and their use remains limited. Nordic flag designs very similar to Denmark 's, Sweden 's, and Norway 's national flags were proposed as Germany's national flags in both 1919 and 1948, after World War I and World War II , respectively. Today,
1500-700: The 2nd century AD to succeeding Ichthys in aftermaths of that new religion's separation from Judaism . Clement of Alexandria in the early 3rd century calls it τὸ κυριακὸν σημεῖον ("the Lord's sign") he repeats the idea, current as early as the Epistle of Barnabas , that the number 318 (in Greek numerals , ΤΙΗ) in Genesis 14:14 was a foreshadowing (a "type") of the cross (the letter Tau) and of Jesus (the letters Iota Eta ). Clement's contemporary Tertullian rejects
1575-502: The Avar khans depicted a wolf with a standard with a double-spiral swastika. Petroglyphs with swastikas were depicted on medieval Vainakh tower architecture (see sketches by scholar Bruno Plaetschke from the 1920s). Thus, a rectangular swastika was made in engraved form on the entrance of a residential tower in the settlement Khimoy , Chechnya . Iron Age attestations of swastikas can be associated with Indo-European cultures such as
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#17327728672111650-675: The European Bronze Age the cross symbol appeared to carry a religious meaning , perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial. The cross sign occurs trivially in tally marks , and develops into a number symbol independently in the Roman numerals (X "ten"), the Chinese rod numerals ( 十 "ten") and the Brahmi numerals ("four", whence the numeral 4 ). In the Phoenician alphabet and derived scripts ,
1725-637: The Hisarlik mound near the Aegean Sea coast for the history of Troy. Schliemann linked his findings to the Sanskrit swastika . By the 19th century, the term swastika was adopted into the English lexicon, replacing the previous gammadion from Greek γαμμάδιον . In 1878, Irish scholar Charles Graves used swastika as the common English name for the symbol, after defining it as equivalent to
1800-540: The Illyrians , Indo-Iranians , Celts , Greeks , Germanic peoples and Slavs . In Sintashta culture 's " Country of Towns ", ancient Indo-European settlements in southern Russia, it has been found a great concentration of some of the oldest swastika patterns. Swastika shapes have been found on numerous artefacts from Iron Age Europe. The swastika shape (also called a fylfot ) appears on various Germanic Migration Period and Viking Age artifacts, such as
1875-538: The Patriarchal cross (☦), Cross of Lorraine (☨) and Cross potent (☩, mistakenly labeled a " Cross of Jerusalem "). The following is a list of cross symbols, except for variants of the Christian cross and Heraldic crosses , for which see the dedicated lists at Christian cross variants and Crosses in heraldry , respectively. The swastika or crux gammata (in heraldry fylfot ), historically used as
1950-652: The Pima people of Arizona , the swastika is a symbol of the four winds. Anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing noted that among the Pima the symbol of the four winds is made from a cross with the four curved arms (similar to a broken sun cross ) and concludes "the right-angle swastika is primarily a representation of the circle of the four wind gods standing at the head of their trails, or directions." The earliest known swastikas are from 10,000 BCE – part of "an intricate meander pattern of joined-up swastikas" found on
2025-1024: The Swastika Stone . Swastikas have also been found on pottery in archaeological digs in Africa, in the area of Kush and on pottery at the Jebel Barkal temples, in Iron Age designs of the northern Caucasus ( Koban culture ), and in Neolithic China in the Majiayao culture. Swastikas are also seen in Egypt during the Coptic period. Textile number T.231-1923 held at the V&;A Museum in London includes small swastikas in its design. This piece
2100-450: The cardinal points , or the unity of a vertical axis mundi or celestial pole with the horizontal world (Koch, 1955). Speculation of this kind became especially popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of comparative mythology seeking to tie Christian mythology to ancient cosmological myths . Influential works in this vein included G. de Mortillet (1866), L. Müller (1865), W. W. Blake (1888), Ansault (1891), etc. In
2175-552: The sun cross of Bronze Age religion . Beyond its certain presence in the " proto-writing " symbol systems, such as the Vinča script , which appeared during the Neolithic . According to René Guénon , the swastika represents the north pole, and the rotational movement around a centre or immutable axis ( axis mundi ), and only secondly it represents the Sun as a reflected function of
2250-597: The 10th century. A wide variation of cross symbols is introduced for the purposes of heraldry beginning in the age of the Crusades . The cross mark is used to mark a position, or as a check mark , but also to mark deletion . Derived from Greek Chi are the Latin letter X , Cyrillic Kha and possibly runic Gyfu . Egyptian hieroglyphs involving cross shapes include ankh "life", ndj "protect" and nfr "good; pleasant, beautiful". Sumerian cuneiform had
2325-456: The 1618 edition of John Napier's Descriptio ) apparently had been in occasional use since the mid 16th century. Other typographical symbols resembling crosses include the dagger or obelus (†), the Chinese ( 十 , Kangxi radical 24 ) and Roman (X ten). Unicode has a variety of cross symbols in the " Dingbat " block (U+2700–U+27BF): The Miscellaneous Symbols block (U+2626 to U+262F) adds three specific Christian cross variants , viz.
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2400-518: The 19th and early 20th century, such as suastika . It was derived from the Sanskrit term ( Devanagari स्वस्तिक ), which transliterates to svastika under the commonly used IAST transliteration system , but is pronounced closer to swastika when letters are used with their English values. The earliest known use of the word swastika is in Pāṇini 's Aṣṭādhyāyī , which uses it to explain one of
2475-640: The 3rd-century Værløse Fibula from Zealand, Denmark, the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk , today in Belarus, the 9th-century Snoldelev Stone from Ramsø , Denmark, and numerous Migration Period bracteates drawn left-facing or right-facing. The pagan Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo , England, contained numerous items bearing swastikas, now housed in the collection of the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology . A swastika
2550-616: The French term croix gammée – a cross with arms shaped like the Greek letter gamma (Γ). Shortly thereafter, British antiquarians Edward Thomas and Robert Sewell separately published their studies about the symbol, using swastika as the common English term. The concept of a "reversed" swastika was probably first made among European scholars by Eugène Burnouf in 1852 and taken up by Schliemann in Ilios (1880), based on
2625-602: The Latin crux (or its accusative crucem and its genitive crucis ), "stake, cross". The English verb to cross arises from the noun c. 1200 , first in the sense "to make the sign of the cross"; the generic meaning "to intersect" develops in the 15th century. The Latin word was influenced by popular etymology by a native Germanic word reconstructed as * krukjo (English crook , Old English crycce , Old Norse krokr , Old High German krucka ). This word, by conflation with Latin crux , gave rise to Old French crocier (modern French crosse ),
2700-756: The Nordic cross is a feature in some city and district flags or coats of arms. A number of flags for localities in the United Kingdom (primarily Scotland ) are based on Nordic cross designs, intended to reflect the Scandinavian heritage introduced to the British Isles during the Viking Age and through the High Middle Ages . [REDACTED] Media related to Nordic Cross flags at Wikimedia Commons Cross symbol A cross
2775-604: The Pacific and even North America (especially Moundville ). In Armenia the swastika is called the " arevakhach " and "kerkhach" ( Armenian : կեռխաչ ) and is the ancient symbol of eternity and eternal light (i.e. God). Swastikas in Armenia were found on petroglyphs from the copper age, predating the Bronze Age. During the Bronze Age it was depicted on cauldrons , belts, medallions and other items. Swastikas can also be seen on early Medieval churches and fortresses, including
2850-574: The Roman world, furca replaced crux as the name of some cross-like instruments for lethal and temporary punishment, ranging from a forked cross to a gibbet or gallows . The field of etymology is of no help in any effort to trace a supposed original meaning of crux . A crux can be of various shapes: from a single beam used for impaling or suspending ( crux simplex ) to the various composite kinds of cross ( crux compacta ) made from more beams than one. The latter shapes include not only
2925-436: The Sanskrit grammar rules, in the context of a type of identifying mark on a cow's ear. Most scholarship suggests that Pāṇini lived in or before the 4th century BCE, possibly in 6th or 5th century BCE. An important early use of the word swastika in a European text was in 1871 with the publications of Heinrich Schliemann , who discovered more than 1,800 ancient samples of swastika symbols and variants thereof while digging
3000-538: The Sun and the Moon. May we meet up with one who gives in return, who does not smite (harm), with one who knows. — The Rigveda V.52.15 The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit root swasti , which is composed of su 'good, well' and asti 'is; it is; there is'. The word swasti occurs frequently in the Vedas as well as in classical literature, meaning 'health, luck, success, prosperity', and it
3075-467: The accusation that Christians are crucis religiosi (i.e. "adorers of the gibbet"), and returns the accusation by likening the worship of pagan idols to the worship of poles or stakes. In his book De Corona , written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross . While early Christians used the T-shape to represent
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3150-710: The archaeological record around 3000 BCE in the Indus Valley Civilisation. It also appears in the Bronze and Iron Age cultures around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea . In all these cultures, swastika symbols do not appear to occupy any marked position or significance, appearing as just one form of a series of similar symbols of varying complexity. In the Zoroastrian religion of Persia ,
3225-582: The auspicious footprints of the Buddha . In the different Indo-European traditions, the swastika symbolises fire , lightning bolts, and the sun . The symbol is found in the archaeological remains of the Indus Valley civilisation and Samarra , as well as in early Byzantine and Christian artwork . Although used for the first time as a symbol of international antisemitism by far-right Romanian politician A. C. Cuza prior to World War I , it
3300-566: The beginning of the Upper Paleolithic , and throughout prehistory to the Iron Age . Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the crux gammata with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian crux ansata with a loop. Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmological symbology involving " four elements " (Chevalier, 1997) or
3375-627: The cross in writing and gesture, the use of the Greek cross and Latin cross , i.e. crosses with intersecting beams, appears in Christian art towards the end of Late Antiquity . An early example of the cruciform halo , used to identify Christ in paintings, is found in the Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes mosaic of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo , Ravenna (6th century). The Patriarchal cross , a Latin cross with an additional horizontal bar, first appears in
3450-476: The cross symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i.e. the letter taw , which is the historical predecessor of Latin T . The letter name taw means "mark", presumably continuing the Egyptian hieroglyph "two crossed sticks" ( Gardiner Z9 ). The shape of the cross ( crux , stauros "stake, gibbet "), as represented by the Latin letter T , came to be used as a new symbol (seal) or emblem of Christianity since
3525-475: The different flags and sometimes even between different versions of the same flag. The Flag of Greenland is the only national flag of a Nordic country or territory without a Nordic Cross. When Greenland was granted home rule, the present flag — with a graphic design unique to Greenland — was adopted in June 1985, supported by fourteen votes against eleven who supported a proposed green-and-white Nordic cross. This
3600-401: The dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway. After gaining independence the other Nordic countries adopted national flags of the same design, Iceland in 1915 and Finland in 1918. The Norwegian flag was the first Nordic cross flag with three colours. All Nordic flags may be flown as gonfalons as well. Some of these flags are historical. Also, flag proportions may vary between
3675-454: The early 20th century. The appropriation continues with its use by neo-Nazis around the world. The swastika was and continues to be used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions , including Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism . It generally takes the form of a cross , the arms of which are of equal length and perpendicular to the adjacent arms, each bent midway at
3750-510: The flags of the Nordic countries but to other flags with similar designs. The cross design represents Christianity , and was first seen in the Dannebrog , the national flag of Denmark in the first half of the 13th century. The same design, but with a red Nordic cross on a yellow background, was used as union flag during the Kalmar union (1397 to 1523), and when that union fell apart in 1523
3825-480: The fourfold arrangement of other characters, including the archaic cuneiform characters LAK -210, LAK-276, LAK-278, LAK-617 and the classical sign EZEN (𒂡). Phoenician tāw is still cross-shaped in Paleo-Hebrew alphabet and in some Old Italic scripts ( Raetic and Lepontic ), and its descendant T becomes again cross-shaped in the Latin minuscule t . The plus sign (+) is derived from Latin t via
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#17327728672113900-565: The gospels and always in the plural number to indicate a stake or pole. From the first century BC, it is used to indicate an instrument used in executions. The Greek word is used in descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross , which indicate that its normal shape was similar to the Greek letter tau ( Τ ). Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as petroglyphs in European cult caves, dating back to
3975-524: The mountains of Iran , there are swastikas or spinning wheels inscribed on stone walls, which are estimated to be more than 7,000 years old. One instance is in Khorashad, Birjand , on the holy wall Lakh Mazar. Mirror-image swastikas (clockwise and counter-clockwise) have been found on ceramic pottery in the Devetashka cave , Bulgaria, dated to 6,000 BCE. In Asia, swastika symbols first appear in
4050-401: The north pole. As such it is a symbol of life, of the vivifying role of the supreme principle of the universe, the absolute God, in relation to the cosmic order. It represents the activity (the Hellenic Logos , the Hindu Om , the Chinese Taiyi , 'Great One') of the principle of the universe in the formation of the world. According to Guénon, the swastika in its polar value has
4125-413: The number 10 ( 十 ) in Chinese number gestures . Unicode provides various cross symbols: Swastika The swastika ( 卐 or 卍 ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, and it is also seen in some African and American ones. In the Western world, it is more widely recognized as a symbol of the German Nazi Party who appropriated it for their party insignia starting in
4200-423: The oldest examples of the symbol in Sintashta culture , the swastika symbolises the universe, representing the spinning constellations of the celestial north pole centred in α Ursae Minoris , specifically the Little and Big Dipper (or Chariots), or Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. Likewise, according to René Guénon-the swastika is drawn by visualising the Big Dipper/Great Bear in the four phases of revolution around
4275-423: The pagan period, with particular prominence on cremation urns from the cemeteries of East Anglia. Some of the swastikas on the items, on display at the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, are depicted with such care and art that, according to Davidson, it must have possessed special significance as a funerary symbol . The runic inscription on the 8th-century Sæbø sword has been taken as evidence of
4350-415: The pole star. In their 1985 book Comet , Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan argue that the appearance of a rotating comet with a four-pronged tail as early as 2,000 years BCE could explain why the swastika is found in the cultures of both the Old World and the pre-Columbian Americas . The Han dynasty Book of Silk (2nd century BCE) depicts such a comet with a swastika-like symbol. Bob Kobres, in
4425-408: The principal tower in Armenia's historical capital city of Ani . The same symbol can be found on Armenian carpets , cross-stones ( khachkar ) and in medieval manuscripts, as well as on modern monuments as a symbol of eternity . Old petroglyphs of four-beam and other swastikas were recorded in Dagestan , in particular, among the Avars . According to Vakhushti of Kartli , the tribal banner of
4500-463: The sacred marriage, as in Egyptian amulet Nefer with male cross and female orb, considered as an amulet of blessedness, a charm of sexual harmony. The word cross is recorded in 11th-century Old English as cros , exclusively for the instrument of Christ's crucifixion , replacing the native Old English word rood . The word's history is complicated; it appears to have entered English from Old Irish , possibly via Old Norse , ultimately from
4575-420: The same design, but with a yellow cross on a blue background (derived from the Swedish coat of arms adopted in 1442), was adopted as national flag of Sweden , while Norway adopted their flag in 1821. From its adoption in the early 16th century until 1906 the background of the flag of Sweden was dark blue, but was changed to the currently used lighter shade of blue in a new flag law that was adopted in 1906, after
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#17327728672114650-450: The same meaning of the yin and yang symbol of the Chinese tradition, and of other traditional symbols of the working of the universe, including the letters Γ ( gamma ) and G, symbolising the Great Architect of the Universe of Masonic thought. According to the scholar Reza Assasi, the swastika represents the north ecliptic north pole centred in ζ Draconis , with the constellation Draco as one of its beams. He argues that this symbol
4725-468: The sequence is head-heart-right shoulder-left shoulder, while in Oriental Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican tradition the sequence is head-heart-left-right. Crossing the index fingers of both hands represents and a charm against evil in European folklore. Other gestures involving more than one hand include the "cross my heart" movement associated with making a promise and the Tau shape of the referee 's "time out" hand signal. Crossed index fingers represent
4800-402: The swastika as a symbol of Thor in Norse paganism . The bronze frontispiece of a ritual pre-Christian ( c. 350–50 BCE ) shield found in the River Thames near Battersea Bridge (hence " Battersea Shield ") is embossed with 27 swastikas in bronze and red enamel. An Ogham stone found in Aglish, County Kerry , Ireland ( CIIC 141) was modified into an early Christian gravestone, and
4875-403: The swastika include veterok ("breeze"), ognevtsi ("little flames"), "geese", "hares" (a towel with a swastika was called a towel with "hares"), or "little horses". The similar word " koleso " ("wheel") was used for rosette-shaped amulets, such as a hexafoil -thunder wheel [REDACTED] ) in folklore, particularly in the Russian North . An object very much like a hammer or a double axe
4950-438: The swastika was a symbol of the revolving sun, infinity, or continuing creation. It is one of the most common symbols on Mesopotamian coins. Some researchers put forth the hypothesis that the swastika moved westward from the Indian subcontinent to Finland, Scandinavia , the Scottish Highlands and other parts of Europe. In England, neolithic or Bronze Age stone carvings of the symbol have been found on Ilkley Moor , such as
5025-473: The term for a shepherd's crook , adopted in English as crosier . Latin crux referred to the gibbet where criminals were executed, a stake or pole, with or without transom , on which the condemned were impaled or hanged, but more particularly a cross or the pole of a carriage. The derived verb cruciāre means "to put to death on the cross" or, more frequently, "to put to the rack, to torture, torment", especially in reference to mental troubles. In
5100-416: The traditional †-shaped cross (the crux immissa ), but also the T-shaped cross (the crux commissa or tau cross ), which the descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross indicate as the normal form in use at that time, and the X-shaped cross (the crux decussata or saltire ). The Greek equivalent of Latin crux "stake, gibbet" is stauros , found in texts of four centuries or more before
5175-422: Was a symbol of auspiciousness and good luck for most of the Western world until the 1930s, when the German Nazi Party adopted the swastika as an emblem of the Aryan race . As a result of World War II and the Holocaust , in the West it continues to be strongly associated with Nazism , antisemitism , white supremacism , or simply evil . As a consequence, its use in some countries, including Germany ,
5250-408: Was commonly used as a greeting. The final ka is a common suffix that could have multiple meanings. According to Monier-Williams , a majority of scholars consider the swastika to originally be a solar symbol . The sign implies well-being, something fortunate, lucky, or auspicious. It is alternatively spelled in contemporary texts as svastika , and other spellings were occasionally used in
5325-636: Was decorated with a cross pattée and two swastikas. The Book of Kells ( c. 800 CE ) contains swastika-shaped ornamentation. At the Northern edge of Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, there is a swastika-shaped pattern engraved in a stone known as the Swastika Stone . A number of swastikas have been found embossed in Galician metal pieces and carved in stones, mostly from the Castro culture period, although there also are contemporary examples (imitating old patterns for decorative purposes). The ancient Baltic thunder cross symbol ( pērkona krusts (cross of Perkons ); also fire cross, ugunskrusts )
5400-733: Was found at Qau-el-Kebir, near Asyut , and is dated between 300 and 600 CE. The Tierwirbel (the German for "animal whorl" or "whirl of animals" ) is a characteristic motif in Bronze Age Central Asia, the Eurasian Steppe , and later also in Iron Age Scythian and European ( Baltic and Germanic ) culture, showing rotational symmetric arrangement of an animal motif , often four birds' heads. Even wider diffusion of this "Asiatic" theme has been proposed to
5475-612: Was later attested as the four-horse chariot of Mithra in ancient Iranian culture. They believed the cosmos was pulled by four heavenly horses who revolved around a fixed centre in a clockwise direction. He suggests that this notion later flourished in Roman Mithraism , as the symbol appears in Mithraic iconography and astronomical representations. According to the Russian archaeologist Gennady Zdanovich , who studied some of
5550-646: Was published in 1923. The Boreyko coat of arms with a red swastika was used by several noble families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . According to Boris Kuftin , the Russians often used swastikas as a decorative element and as the basis of the ornament on traditional weaving products. Many can be seen on a women's folk costume from the Meshchera Lowlands . According to some authors, Russian names popularly associated with
5625-481: Was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughout Europe, in western and south Asia (the latter, in the form of the original Swastika ); and in Egypt, where the Ankh was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and was used in the worship of the god Aten . The effigy of a man hanging on a cross was set up in the fields to protect the crops. It often appeared in conjunction with the female-genital circle or oval, to signify
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