
:''For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario.'' [[Image:Hindu swastika.png|thumb|right|120px|The Swastika in decorative Hindu form]] The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at Angle#Types_of_angles either clockwise or anticlockwise. It is traditionally oriented so that a main line is horizontal, though it is occasionally rotated at forty-five degrees, and the Hindu version is often decorated with a dot in each quadrant; the un-dotted version is considered more formal in Hinduism. == Overview == The swastika is the holiest non-syllabic symbol (also see Om) in Hinduism. By extension Jainism and Buddhism also use this symbol. In the West, however, it is generally recognised as the badge of the Nazi movement. The motif seems to have first been used by early inhabitants of Eurasia. However, it was also adopted in Native American cultures, seemingly independently. The swastika is now used universally in religious and civil ceremonies in India. Most Indian temples, wedding, festivals and celebrations are decorated with swastikas. By the early twentieth century it was widely used worldwide, and was regarded as a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. Swastikas appeared on the spines of books by the Anglo-Indian writer Rudyard Kipling, and the symbol was used by Robert Baden-Powell's Boy Scout movement. Since the rise of the National Socialist German Workers Party, the swastika has been associated with fascism, racism, World War II, and the Holocaust in much of the western world. Before this, it was particularly well-recognized in Europe from the archaeological work of Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the symbol in the site of ancient Troy and who associated it with the ancient migrations of Indo-European (Aryan) peoples. Nazism use derived from earlier German ''völkisch'' nationalist movements, for which the swastika was a symbol of "Aryan" identity, a concept that came to be equated by theorists like Alfred Rosenberg with a Nordic race master race originating in northern Europe. The swastika remains a core symbol of Neo-Nazi groups, and is also regularly used by radical groups to signify the supposed Nazi-like behaviour of organizations and individuals they oppose. After the end of World War II, the traditional uses of swastika in the western world were discouraged. There have been some, as-yet failed, attempts by individuals and groups to educate Westerners to look past the swastika's recent association with the Nazis to its prehistoric origins. ==Etymology and alternative names== The word ''swastika'' is derived from the Sanskrit language ''svastika'', meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of ''su-'' (cognate with Greek ''ευ-''), meaning "good, well" and ''asti'' a verbal abstract to the root ''as'' "to be"; ''svasti'' thus means "well-being". The suffix ''-ka'' forms a diminutive, and ''svastika'' might thus be translated literally as "little thing associated with well-being", corresponding roughly to "lucky charm", or "thing that is auspicious".. The suffix ''-tika'' also literally means ''mark''; therefore a sometimes alternate name for swastika in India is ''shubhtika'' (literally ''good mark''). The word first appears in the Classical Sanskrit (in the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics). Alternative historical English language spellings of the Sanskrit word include ''suastika'' and ''svastica''. Alternative names for the shape are: *''Black Spider'', to various peoples in middle and western Europe. *''crooked cross'' *''cross cramponned'', ''~nnée'', or ''~nny'' (in heraldry), as each arm resembles a ''crampon'' or angle-iron. (Compare ''Winkelmaßkreuz'' in German language.) *''cross gammadion'', ''tetragammadion'' or just ''gammadion'', as each arm resembles the Greek alphabet Γ (''gamma''). (Compare ''croiz gammée'' in Old French and ''croix gammée'' in French language; ''cruz gamada'' in Spanish language.) *''fylfot'' (meaning "four feet", chiefly in heraldry and architecture). (See Fylfot for a discussion of the etymology.) *''hooked cross'', (Dutch language: ''hakenkruis'', Icelandic language: ''Hakakross'' German language: ''Hakenkreuz'', Finnish language: ''hakaristi'', Norwegian language: ''Hakekors'' Italian language: ''croce uncinata'' and Swedish language: ''Hakkors'') *''sun wheel'' (German ''Sonnenrad''), a name also used as a synonym for the sun cross. *''tetraskelion'', Greek "four legged", especially when composed of four conjoined legs (compare triskelion). *''Thor's hammer'', from its supposed association with Thor, the Norse mythology deity of thunder, but this may be a misappropriation of a name that properly belongs to a Y-shaped or T-shaped symbol. (See Thomas Wilson, #References.) - The Swastika shape appears in Icelandic grimoires where in it is named ''Þórshamar'' *''thunder cross'' (Latvian language: ''perkonkrusts'') ==History== The swastika appears in art and design from pre-history symbol, in various contexts: luck, the sun, Brahma (god), or the Hinduism concept of samsara. In antiquity, the swastika was used extensively by Hittites, Celts and Greeks, among others. It occurs in other Asian, European, African and Native American cultures – sometimes as a geometrical motif, sometimes as a religious symbol. Today, as always, the swastika is the sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The ubiquity of the swastika has been explained by three main theories: independent development, cultural diffusion, and external event. The first theory is that the swastika's symmetry and simplicity led to its independent development everywhere, along the lines of Carl Jung's collective unconscious, or just as a very simple symbol. Another explanation is suggested by Carl Sagan in his book ''Comet''. Sagan reproduces an ancient China manuscript that shows comet tail varieties: most are variations on simple comet tails, but the last shows the comet nucleus with four bent arms extending from it, recalling a swastika. Sagan suggests that in antiquity a comet could have approached so close to Earth that the jets of gas streaming from it, bent by the comet's rotation, became visible, leading to the adoption of the swastika as a symbol across the world. Theories of single origin as a sacred prehistorical symbol point to the Proto-Indo-Europeans, noting that the swastika was not adopted by Sumer in Mesopotamia, which was established no later than 3500 BC, and the Old Kingdom of Egypt, beginning in 2630 BC, arguing that these were already well-established and codified at the time of the symbol's diffusion. As an argument ''ex silentio'', this point has little value as a positive proof. The swastika symbol is sacred in Hinduism, which is considered the parent religion of Buddhism and Jainism, both dating from about the sixth century BC, and both borrowing the swastika from their parent. Buddhism in particular enjoyed great success, spreading eastward and taking hold in southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan by the end of the first millennium. The use of the swastika by the indigenous Bön faith of Tibet, as well as syncretism religions, such as Cao Dai of Vietnam and Falun Gong of China, is thought to be borrowed from Buddhism as well. Similarly, the existence of the swastika as a solar symbol among the Akan (ethnic group) civilization of southwest Africa may have been the result of cultural transfer along the African slave trades around AD 1500. The existence of the swastika symbol in the Americas is a clear challenge to the diffusion theory. While some have proposed that the swastika was secretly transferred to North America by an early seafaring civilization on Eurasia, a separate but parallel development of religious symbolism is considered the most likely explanation. Regardless of origins, the swastika had generally positive connotations from early in human history, with the exceptions being most of Africa and South America. ===Adoption of the swastika in the West=== The discovery of the Indo-European language group in the 1790s led to a great effort by archaeologists to link the pre-history of European peoples to the ancient Aryans. Following his discovery of objects bearing the swastika in the ruins of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann consulted two leading Sanskrit scholars of the day, Emile Burnouf and Max Müller. Schliemann concluded that the Swastika was a specifically Indo-European symbol. This idea was taken up by many other writers, and the swastika quickly became popular in the West, appearing in many designs from the 1880s to the 1920s. The religious meanings of the symbol were subverted in the early twentieth century when it was adopted as the emblem of the National Socialist German Workers Party. This association occurred because Nazism stated that the historical Aryans were the forefathers of modern Germans and then proposed that, because of this, the subjugation of the world by Germany was desirable, and even predestined. The swastika was used as a convenient symbol to emphasize this mythical Aryan-German correspondence. Since World War II, some Westerners see the swastika as solely a Nazi symbol, leading to incorrect assumptions about its pre-Nazi use and confusion about its sacred religious status in Hinduism. ==Geometry and symbolism== {| style="float:right" | |- | |- | |} Geometry, the swastika can be regarded as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The arms are of varying width and are often rectilinear (but need not be). Only in modern use are the exact proportions considered important: for example, the proportions of the Nazi swastika were based on a 5x5 grid. The swastika is chirality (mathematics), with no reflectional symmetry, but both mirror-image forms have 90° rotational symmetry (that is, the symmetry of the cyclic group ''C4''). The mirror-image forms are often described as: *left-facing and (as depicted above) right-facing; *left-hand and right-hand; *clockwise and counterclockwise. "Left-facing" and "right-facing" are used mostly consistently. Looking at an upright swastika, the upper arm clearly faces towards ''the viewer's'' left (卍) or right (卐). The other two descriptions are ambiguous as it is unclear if they refer to the direction of the bend in each arm or to the implied rotation of the symbol. If the latter, the question as to whether the arms lead or trail remains. The terms are used inconsistently (sometimes even by the same writer) which is confusing and may obfuscate an important point, that the rotation of the swastika may have symbolic relevance.
Swastika
:''For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario.'' [[Image:Hindu swastika.png|thumb|right|120px|The Swastika in decorative Hindu form]] The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at Angle#Types_of_angles either clockwise or anticlockwise. It is traditionally oriented so that a main line is horizontal, though it is occasionally rotated at forty-five degrees, and the Hindu version is often decorated with a dot in each quadrant; the un-dotted version is considered more formal in Hinduism. == Overview == The swastika is the holiest non-syllabic symbol (also see Om) in Hinduism. By extension Jainism and Buddhism also use this symbol. In the West, however, it is generally recognised as the badge of the Nazi movement. The motif seems to have first been used by early inhabitants of Eurasia. However, it was also adopted in Native American cultures, seemingly independently. The swastika is now used universally in religious and civil ceremonies in India. Most Indian temples, wedding, festivals and celebrations are decorated with swastikas. By the early twentieth century it was widely used worldwide, and was regarded as a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. Swastikas appeared on the spines of books by the Anglo-Indian writer Rudyard Kipling, and the symbol was used by Robert Baden-Powell's Boy Scout movement. Since the rise of the National Socialist German Workers Party, the swastika has been associated with fascism, racism, World War II, and the Holocaust in much of the western world. Before this, it was particularly well-recognized in Europe from the archaeological work of Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the symbol in the site of ancient Troy and who associated it with the ancient migrations of Indo-European (Aryan) peoples. Nazism use derived from earlier German ''völkisch'' nationalist movements, for which the swastika was a symbol of "Aryan" identity, a concept that came to be equated by theorists like Alfred Rosenberg with a Nordic race master race originating in northern Europe. The swastika remains a core symbol of Neo-Nazi groups, and is also regularly used by radical groups to signify the supposed Nazi-like behaviour of organizations and individuals they oppose. After the end of World War II, the traditional uses of swastika in the western world were discouraged. There have been some, as-yet failed, attempts by individuals and groups to educate Westerners to look past the swastika's recent association with the Nazis to its prehistoric origins. ==Etymology and alternative names== The word ''swastika'' is derived from the Sanskrit language ''svastika'', meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of ''su-'' (cognate with Greek ''ευ-''), meaning "good, well" and ''asti'' a verbal abstract to the root ''as'' "to be"; ''svasti'' thus means "well-being". The suffix ''-ka'' forms a diminutive, and ''svastika'' might thus be translated literally as "little thing associated with well-being", corresponding roughly to "lucky charm", or "thing that is auspicious".. The suffix ''-tika'' also literally means ''mark''; therefore a sometimes alternate name for swastika in India is ''shubhtika'' (literally ''good mark''). The word first appears in the Classical Sanskrit (in the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics). Alternative historical English language spellings of the Sanskrit word include ''suastika'' and ''svastica''. Alternative names for the shape are: *''Black Spider'', to various peoples in middle and western Europe. *''crooked cross'' *''cross cramponned'', ''~nnée'', or ''~nny'' (in heraldry), as each arm resembles a ''crampon'' or angle-iron. (Compare ''Winkelmaßkreuz'' in German language.) *''cross gammadion'', ''tetragammadion'' or just ''gammadion'', as each arm resembles the Greek alphabet Γ (''gamma''). (Compare ''croiz gammée'' in Old French and ''croix gammée'' in French language; ''cruz gamada'' in Spanish language.) *''fylfot'' (meaning "four feet", chiefly in heraldry and architecture). (See Fylfot for a discussion of the etymology.) *''hooked cross'', (Dutch language: ''hakenkruis'', Icelandic language: ''Hakakross'' German language: ''Hakenkreuz'', Finnish language: ''hakaristi'', Norwegian language: ''Hakekors'' Italian language: ''croce uncinata'' and Swedish language: ''Hakkors'') *''sun wheel'' (German ''Sonnenrad''), a name also used as a synonym for the sun cross. *''tetraskelion'', Greek "four legged", especially when composed of four conjoined legs (compare triskelion). *''Thor's hammer'', from its supposed association with Thor, the Norse mythology deity of thunder, but this may be a misappropriation of a name that properly belongs to a Y-shaped or T-shaped symbol. (See Thomas Wilson, #References.) - The Swastika shape appears in Icelandic grimoires where in it is named ''Þórshamar'' *''thunder cross'' (Latvian language: ''perkonkrusts'') ==History== The swastika appears in art and design from pre-history symbol, in various contexts: luck, the sun, Brahma (god), or the Hinduism concept of samsara. In antiquity, the swastika was used extensively by Hittites, Celts and Greeks, among others. It occurs in other Asian, European, African and Native American cultures – sometimes as a geometrical motif, sometimes as a religious symbol. Today, as always, the swastika is the sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The ubiquity of the swastika has been explained by three main theories: independent development, cultural diffusion, and external event. The first theory is that the swastika's symmetry and simplicity led to its independent development everywhere, along the lines of Carl Jung's collective unconscious, or just as a very simple symbol. Another explanation is suggested by Carl Sagan in his book ''Comet''. Sagan reproduces an ancient China manuscript that shows comet tail varieties: most are variations on simple comet tails, but the last shows the comet nucleus with four bent arms extending from it, recalling a swastika. Sagan suggests that in antiquity a comet could have approached so close to Earth that the jets of gas streaming from it, bent by the comet's rotation, became visible, leading to the adoption of the swastika as a symbol across the world. Theories of single origin as a sacred prehistorical symbol point to the Proto-Indo-Europeans, noting that the swastika was not adopted by Sumer in Mesopotamia, which was established no later than 3500 BC, and the Old Kingdom of Egypt, beginning in 2630 BC, arguing that these were already well-established and codified at the time of the symbol's diffusion. As an argument ''ex silentio'', this point has little value as a positive proof. The swastika symbol is sacred in Hinduism, which is considered the parent religion of Buddhism and Jainism, both dating from about the sixth century BC, and both borrowing the swastika from their parent. Buddhism in particular enjoyed great success, spreading eastward and taking hold in southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan by the end of the first millennium. The use of the swastika by the indigenous Bön faith of Tibet, as well as syncretism religions, such as Cao Dai of Vietnam and Falun Gong of China, is thought to be borrowed from Buddhism as well. Similarly, the existence of the swastika as a solar symbol among the Akan (ethnic group) civilization of southwest Africa may have been the result of cultural transfer along the African slave trades around AD 1500. The existence of the swastika symbol in the Americas is a clear challenge to the diffusion theory. While some have proposed that the swastika was secretly transferred to North America by an early seafaring civilization on Eurasia, a separate but parallel development of religious symbolism is considered the most likely explanation. Regardless of origins, the swastika had generally positive connotations from early in human history, with the exceptions being most of Africa and South America. ===Adoption of the swastika in the West=== The discovery of the Indo-European language group in the 1790s led to a great effort by archaeologists to link the pre-history of European peoples to the ancient Aryans. Following his discovery of objects bearing the swastika in the ruins of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann consulted two leading Sanskrit scholars of the day, Emile Burnouf and Max Müller. Schliemann concluded that the Swastika was a specifically Indo-European symbol. This idea was taken up by many other writers, and the swastika quickly became popular in the West, appearing in many designs from the 1880s to the 1920s. The religious meanings of the symbol were subverted in the early twentieth century when it was adopted as the emblem of the National Socialist German Workers Party. This association occurred because Nazism stated that the historical Aryans were the forefathers of modern Germans and then proposed that, because of this, the subjugation of the world by Germany was desirable, and even predestined. The swastika was used as a convenient symbol to emphasize this mythical Aryan-German correspondence. Since World War II, some Westerners see the swastika as solely a Nazi symbol, leading to incorrect assumptions about its pre-Nazi use and confusion about its sacred religious status in Hinduism. ==Geometry and symbolism== {| style="float:right" | |- | |- | |} Geometry, the swastika can be regarded as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The arms are of varying width and are often rectilinear (but need not be). Only in modern use are the exact proportions considered important: for example, the proportions of the Nazi swastika were based on a 5x5 grid. The swastika is chirality (mathematics), with no reflectional symmetry, but both mirror-image forms have 90° rotational symmetry (that is, the symmetry of the cyclic group ''C4''). The mirror-image forms are often described as: *left-facing and (as depicted above) right-facing; *left-hand and right-hand; *clockwise and counterclockwise. "Left-facing" and "right-facing" are used mostly consistently. Looking at an upright swastika, the upper arm clearly faces towards ''the viewer's'' left (卍) or right (卐). The other two descriptions are ambiguous as it is unclear if they refer to the direction of the bend in each arm or to the implied rotation of the symbol. If the latter, the question as to whether the arms lead or trail remains. The terms are used inconsistently (sometimes even by the same writer) which is confusing and may obfuscate an important point, that the rotation of the swastika may have symbolic relevance.
The swastika is, after the simple equilateral cross (the "Greek cross"), the next most commonly found version of the cross.
Seen as a cross, the four lines emanating from the center point to the four cardinal directions. The most common association is with the Sun. Other proposed correspondences are to the visible rotation of the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere around Polaris.
===Sauwastika=== ''See main article: Sauwastika''
The name sauwastika is sometimes given for the supposedly "evil", left-facing, form of the swastika (卍). The left-facing swastika is generally regarded as evil in Hindu tradition. The much more common form in India is the right-facing swastika. Indians of all faiths rarely use the symbol in both orientations although Buddhists (outside India) can use the left-facing swastika. Sometimes, examples are said to be found of left-facing swastikas in India. These are invariably an unintended or ignorant mistake by the decorator or sculptor who created the left-facing swastika.
Some contemporary writers — Servando González, for example — confuse matters even further by asserting that the right-facing swastika, used by the Nazis is in fact the "evil" sauwastika. (González "proves" that the left-facing swastika is the sunwise one with reference to a 1930's box of Standard fireworks from Sivakasi, India.) This inversion – whether intentional or not – might derive from a desire to prove that the Nazi's use of the right-handed swastika was expressive of their "evil" intent. (''See also #Taboo in Western Countries.'') But the notion that Adolf Hitler deliberately inverted the "good left-facing" swastika is wholly unsupported by any historical evidence.
==Art and architecture==
[[Image:Amiens-pavement-swastika.jpg|right|frame|Interlocking
swastika design in pavement of Amiens Cathedral.]]
The swastika is common as a design motif in current Hindu architecture and Indian artwork as well as in ancient Western architecture, frequently appearing in mosaics, friezes, and other works across the ancient history world. Ancient Greek architectural designs are replete with interlinking swastika motifs. Related symbols in classical Western architecture include the cross, the three-legged triskele or triskelion and the rounded lauburu. The swastika symbol is also known in these contexts by a number of names, especially ''gammadion''. Pictish rock carvings, adorning ancient Greek pottery, and on Norse weapons and implements. It was scratched on cave walls in France seven thousand years ago.
In China, Korean, and Japanese art, the swastika is often found as part of a repeating pattern. One common pattern, called ''sayagata'' in Japanese, comprises left and right facing swastikas joined by lines. As the negative space between the lines has a distinctive shape, the sayagata pattern is sometimes called the "key fret" motif in English.
The swastika symbol was found extensively in the ruins of the ancient city of Troy.
In Art in Ancient Greece art and architecture, and in Romanesque and Gothic art in the West, isolated swastikas are relatively rare, and the swastika is more commonly found as a repeated element in a border or tesselation. A design of interlocking swastikas is one of several tesselations on the floor of the cathedral of Amiens, France. A border of linked swastikas was a common Roman architectural motif, and can be seen in more recent buildings as a neoclassical element. A swastika border is one form of meander (architecture), and the individual swastikas in such border are sometimes called ''Greek keys''.
The Laguna Bridge in Yuma, Arizona was built in 1905 by the United States Reclamation Department and is decorated with a row of swastikas.
The Canada artist [http://www.manwoman.net/ ManWoman] has attempted to rehabilitate the "[http://www.manwoman.net/swastika/swastika.html gentle swastika]".
==Religion and mythology==
===Hinduism===
The swastika is found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures and iconography where it is sacred. It is used in all Hindu weddings, festivals, ceromonies, houses and doorways, clothing and jewelry, motor transport and even decorations on food items like cakes and pastries.
It is interesting to note that along with the swastika, the Om symbol is also sacred in Hinduism. However, whereas Om is representative of a single primordial tone of creation, the swastika is a pure geometrical mark and has no syllabic tone associated with it.
In Hinduism, the two symbols represent the two forms of the creator god Brahma (god): clockwise it represents the evolution of the universe (''Pravritti''), anti-clockwise it represents the Involution_%28philosophy%29 of the universe (''Nivritti''). It is also seen as pointing in all four directions (North, East, South and West) and thus signifies stability and groundedness. Its use as a sun symbol can first be seen in its representation of Surya, the Hindu lord of the Sun. The swastika is considered extremely holy and auspicious by all Hindus, and is regularly used to decorate all sorts of items to do with Hindu culture. It is used in all Hindu yantras and religious designs. Throughout the subcontinent of India it can be seen on the sides of temples, written on religious scriptures, on gift items, and on letterhead. The Hindu God Ganesh is often shown as sitting on a lotus flower on a bed of swastikas.
Amongst the Hindus of Bengal, it is common to see the name "swastika" applied to a slightly different symbol, which has the same significance as the common swastika, and both symbols are used as auspicious signs. This symbol looks something like a stick figure of a human being. "Swastika" is a common given name amongst Bengalis and a prominent literary magazine in Calcutta is called the ''Swastika''. The stick figure, however, is not mainstream usage in India.
===Buddhism===
[[image:buddhistswastika.jpg|frame|right|Swastika on a Buddhist temple in Korea.]]
Buddhism was founded by a Hindu Prince and has thus inherited the swastika. These two symbols are included, at least since the Liao dynasty, as part of the Chinese language, the symbolic sign for the character 萬 (''wàn'') meaning "all", and "eternality" (lit. myriad) and as 卐 which is seldom used. A swastika marks the beginning of many Buddhist scriptures. The swastikas (in either orientation) appear on the chest of some statues of Gautama Buddha and is often incised on the soles of the feet of the Buddha in statuary. Because of the association with the right facing swastika with Nazism, Buddhist swastikas (''outside'' India only) after the mid-20th century are almost universally left-facing. This form of the swastika is often found on Chinese food packaging to signify that the product is vegetarianism and can be consumed by strict Buddhists. It is often sewn into the collars of Chinese children's clothing to protect them from evil spirits. Additionally, the left-facing swastika is found on Japanese maps to indicate a temple.
It must be noted that left facing swastikas are seldom if ever found in Buddhism's home country of India. It is considered as evil in Indian Buddhism as it is in Hinduism or Jainism.
The swastika used in Buddhist art and scripture is known in Japanese language as a ''manji'', and represents Dharma, universal harmony, and the balance of opposites. When facing left, it is the ''omote'' (front) ''manji'', representing love and mercy. Facing right, it represents strength and intelligence, and is called the ''ura'' (rear) ''manji''. Balanced ''manji'' are often found at the beginning and end of Buddhist scriptures (outside India).
===Jainism===
In Jainism, the swastika symbol is the only holy symbol. This is not surprising since Jainism was founded by Mahavira, a Hindu Prince. Jainism does not use the Hindu om symbol at all and thus gives even more prominence to the swastika than Hinduism. It is a symbol of the seventh Jina (Saint), the ''Tirthankara Suparsva''. It is considered to be one of the 24 auspicious marks and the emblem of the seventh arhat of the present age. All Jain temples and holy books must contain the swastika and ceremonies typically begin and end with creating a swastika mark several times with rice around the altar.
===The Abrahamic religions===
The swastika was not widely utilized by followers of the Abrahamic religions, because Semitic peoples had a very different religious history, culture and language system (written and spoken) than those in the Indo-European family.
Where it does exist, it is not portrayed as an explicitly religious symbol and is often purely decorative or, at most, a symbol of good luck. Examples of scattered use includes the floor of the synagogue at Ein Gedi, built during the Roman Empire occupation of Judea, was decorated with a swastika. Some Christian churches built in the Romanesque and Gothic architecture eras are decorated with swastikas, carrying over earlier Roman designs. Swastikas are prominently displayed in a mosaic in the St. Sophia church of Kiev, Ukraine dating to the 12th century. They also appear as a repeating ornamental motif on a tomb in the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan. However, a proposed direct link between it and a swastika floor mosaic in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, which was built on top of a pagan site at Amiens, France in the 1200s, is considered unlikely. The Islam "Friday" mosque of Isfahan, Iran and the Taynal Mosque in Tripoli, Lebanon both have swastika motifs.
===Other Asian traditions===
[[Image:Falun emblem.png|thumb|150px|Falun Gong emblem, also depicting tàijítú.]]
Some sources indicate that the Chinese Empress Wu (684-704) of the Tang Dynasty decreed that the swastika would be used as an alternative symbol of the sun. The Chinese character 卐 has developed into the modern one 方, pronounced ''fāng'' in Standard Mandarin, and has the main meaning of "square". As part of the Chinese script, the swastika has Unicode encodings U+534D 卍 (left-facing) and U+5350 卐 (right-facing).
In Japan, the swastika is called ''manji'' (卍). On Japanese town plans, a swastika (left-facing and horizontal) is commonly used to mark the location of a Buddhist temple. The right-facing ''manji'' is often referred as the ''gyaku manji'' (逆卍, lit. "reverse ''manji''"), and can also be called ''kagi jūji'', literally "hook cross." A Pokémon playing card sold in Japan had a ''manji'' graphic. Because of its resemblance to the Nazi swastika (''see below''), the card was altered for Western translations, and eventually withdrawn in Japan following Western complaints. Similarly, a ''manji'' symbol was incorporated as a level design in both the Japanese and U.S. versions of the 1986 The Legend of Zelda video game.
The left-facing Buddhist swastika also appears on the emblem of Falun Gong. This has generated considerable controversy, particularly in Germany, where the police have reportedly confiscated several banners featuring the emblem. A court ruling subsequently allowed Falun Gong followers in Germany to continue the use of the emblem.
===Native American traditions===
The swastika shape was used by some Native Americans. It has been found in excavations of Mississippian culture-era sites in the Ohio River. It was widely used by many Southwest United States tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among different tribes the swastika carried various meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clans; to the Navajo it was one symbol for a whirling log (''tsil no'oli'''), a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals.
===Pre-Christian European traditions===
Use of the swastika corresponds closely with Indo-European languages and paganism in Europe.
The swastika, also known as the ''fylfot'' in northwestern Europe, appears on many pre-Christian artefacts, drawn both clockwise and counterclockwise, within a circle or in a swirling form. The ancient Greece goddess Athena was sometimes portrayed as wearing robes covered with swastikas. The "Ogham stone" found in County Kerry, Ireland is inscribed with several swastikas dating to the fifth century, and is believed to have been an altar stone of the Druidry. The pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, contains gold cups and shields bearing swastikas. Today it is used as a symbol for Ásatrú, the Reconstructionism religion of Northern Europe.
==Early 20th century==
===Europe===
[[Image:Kipling_swastika.png|frame|right|Logo from a 1911 edition of Rudyard Kipling.]]
The United Kingdom author Rudyard Kipling, who was strongly influenced by Indian culture, had a swastika on the dust jackets of all his books until the rise of Nazism made this inappropriate. One of Kipling's ''Just So Stories'', "The Crab That Played With The Sea", had an elaborate full-page illustration by Kipling including a stone bearing what was called "a magic mark" (a swastika); some later editions of the stories blotted out the mark, but not its captioned reference, making the readers wonder what the "mark" was.
The Russian Provisional Government, 1917 of 1917 printed a number of new bank notes with right-facing, diagonally-rotated swastikas in their centres. Some have suggested that this may have been the inspiration behind the Nazis adoption of this symbol as Alfred Rosenberg was in Russia at this time.
It was also used as a symbol by the Boy Scouts in Britain, and worldwide. According to "Johnny" Walker, the earliest Scouting use was on the first Thanks Badge introduced in 1911. Robert Baden-Powell's 1922 Medal of Merit design adds a swastika to the Scout fleur-de-lis as good luck to the person receiving the medal. Like Kipling, he would have come across this symbol in India. During 1934 many Scouters requested a change of design because of the use of the swastika by the National Socialist German Workers Party. A new British Medal of Merit was issued in 1935.
[[Image:Lotta Svärd.jpg|frame|left|The Lotta Svärd emblem was designed by Eric Wasström in 1921. It includes the swastika and heraldry roses.]]During World War I, the swastika was used as the emblem of the British National War Savings Committee.
In Finland the swastika was used as the official national marking of the Finnish Air Force and Finnish Army between 1918 and 1944. The swastika was also used by the Lotta Svärd organisation. The blue swastika was the good luck symbol used by the Sweden Count Erich von Rosen, who donated the first plane to the Finnish White Guard (Finland) during the Civil War in Finland. It has no connection to the Nazi use of the swastika. It also still appears in many Finnish medals and decorations. In the much respected wartime medals of honor it was a visible element, first drafted by Axel Gallen-Kallela 1918–19. Mannerheim cross with a swastika is the Finnish equivalent of Victoria Cross, Croix de Guerre and Congressional Medal of Honor. Due to Finland's alliance with Nazi Germany in World War II, the symbol was abandoned as a national marking, to be replaced by a roundel.
[[Image:ASEA logo pre 1933.jpg|thumb|125px|right|ASEA logo used from the 1800s until 1933]]
The Sweden company ASEA, now a part of Asea Brown Boveri, used the swastika in its logo from the 1800s to 1933, when it was removed from the logo.
In Latvia, too, the swastika (known as Thunder Cross and Fire Cross) was used as the marking of the Latvian Air Force between 1918 and 1934, as well as in insignias of some military units. It was also used by the Latvian fascism movement Perkonkrusts (Thunder Cross in Latvian), as well as by other non-political organizations.
The Icelandic Steamship Company, Eimskip (founded in 1914), used a swastika in its logo until recently.
In Dublin City, Ireland, a laundry company known as the ''Swastika Laundry'' was in existence on the south side of the city. Featuring a black swastika on a white background, the business started up in the early 20th century and continued up until recent times.
===North America===
The Theosophical Society, founded in New York in 1875, incorporated the Swastika into its seal because of the Buddhist associations of the symbol.
The swastika's use by the Navajo and other tribes made it a popular symbol for the American Southwest. Until the 1930s blankets, metalwork, and other Southwestern souvenirs were often made with swastikas.
====Swastika usage and controversies====
*Shortly after the beginning of World War II, several Native American tribes (the Navajo, Apache, Tohono O'odham, and Hopi) published a decree stating that they would no longer use the swastika in their artwork. This was because the swastika had come to symbolize evil to them. This decree was signed by representatives of these tribes. The decree states:
: ''Because the above ornament which has been a symbol of friendship among our forefathers for many centuries has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples.''
: ''Therefore it is resolved that henceforth from this date on and forever more our tribes renounce the use of the emblem commonly known today as the swastika or fylfot on our blankets, baskets, art objects, sandpainting, and clothing.''
*One year in the first part of the 20th century, the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, featured a design that had a swastika on one of the towers.
*Swastika, Ontario is the name of a small community in Northern Ontario Ontario, Canada, approximately 580 kilometres north of Toronto, and 5 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, the town of which it is now part. The town of Swastika was founded in 1906. Gold was discovered nearby and the Swastika Mining Company was formed in 1908. The government of Ontario attempted to change the town's name during World War II, but the town resisted.
*In Windsor, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia, there was an ice hockey team from 1905 to 1916 named the Swastikas, and their uniforms featured swastika symbols. There were also hockey teams named the Swastikas in Edmonton, Alberta, Alberta (circa 1916), and Fernie, British Columbia, British Columbia (circa 1922).
*The U.S. 45th Infantry Division of the United States Army used a yellow swastika on a red background as a unit symbol until the 1930s, when it was switched to a thunderbird.~
*In 1925, Coca Cola made a lucky watch fob in the shape of a swastika with the slogan, "Drink Coca Cola five cents in bottles".
*The Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building (HPER) at Indiana University Bloomington contains decorative Native American-inspired reverse swastika tile on the walls of the foyer and stairwells on the southeast side of the building. HPER was built as the university fieldhouse in the 1920s, before the Nazi party came to power in Germany. In recent years, the HPER swastika motif, along with the Thomas Hart Benton (painter) murals in nearby Woodburn Hall have been the cause of much controversy on campus.
[[Image:Level3.gif|thumb|100px|right|Overview of the third dungeon in The Legend of Zelda]]
*The third dungeon of the classic video game ''The Legend of Zelda'' is shaped very similarly to a left-facing swastika, causing some surprise among Western players; see The Legend of Zelda#Controversy.
*In the original release of the video game, Doom, a floor area in one level took on the shape of a swastika. It was removed in a later version.
==Nazi Germany== [[Image:Flag_Germany_1933.png|right|thumb|The flag of Nazi Germany and the National Socialist German Workers Party
''Flag Ratio:'' 3:5
''Flag Dimensions:'' 60 x 100
''Disc Diameter:'' 45
''Arm Width:'' 6]] The National Socialist German Workers Party (''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' or ''NSDAP'') formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (''right''), badge, and armband. (It had been used unofficially by the NSDAP and its predecessor, the German Workers Party, ''Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (''DAP''), however.) In ''Mein Kampf'', Adolf Hitler wrote: : I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika. (Red, white, and black were the colors of the flag of the old German Empire.) The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordic theory version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders. Thus, they saw fit to co-opt the sign as a symbol of the Aryan master race. The use of swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race dates back to writings of Emile Burnouf. Following many other writers, the German nationalist poet Guido von List believed it to be a uniquely Aryan symbol. Hitler referred to the swastika as the symbol of "the fight for the victory of Aryan man" (''Mein Kampf''). In fact, the swastika was already in use as a symbol of German ''volkisch'' nationalist movements. In ''Deutschland Erwache'' (ISBN 0912138696), Ulric of England (''sic'') says — : … what inspired Hitler to use the swastika as a symbol for the NSDAP was its use by the ''Thule-Gesellschaft'' since there were many connections between them and the DAP … from 1919 until the summer of 1921 Hitler used the special Nationalsozialistische library of Dr. Friedich Krohn, a very active member of the ''Thule-Gesellschaft'', … Dr. Krohn was also the dentist from Sternberg who was named by Hitler in ''Mein Kampf'' as the designer of a flag very similar to one that Hitler designed in 1920 … during the summer of 1920, the first party flag was shown at Lake Tegernsee … these home-made … early flags were not preserved, the ''Ortsgruppe München'' flag was generally regarded as the first flag of the Party. José Manuel Erbez says — :The first time the swastika was used with an "Aryan" meaning was on December 25, 1907, when the self-named Order of the New Templars, a secret society founded by [Adolf Joseph] Lanz von Liebenfels, hoisted at Werfenstein Castle (Austria) a yellow flag with a swastika and four fleurs-de-lys. However, Liebenfels was drawing on an already established use of the symbol. [[image:1936NurembergRally.jpg|thumb|right|NSDAP flags at the 1936 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg]] On 14 March 1933, shortly after Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany, the NSDAP flag was hoisted alongside Germany's national colors. It was adopted as the sole national flag on 15 September 1935. The swastika was used for badges and flags throughout Nazi Germany, particularly for government and military organizations, but also for "popular" organizations such as the ''Reichsbund Deutsche Jägerschaft''. [[Image:EK 1class.png|left|thumb|The Iron Cross featured a swastika during the Nazi period]]While the DAP and the NSDAP had used both right-facing and left-facing swastikas, the right-facing swastika is used consistently from 1920 onwards. However, Ralf Stelter notes that the swastika flag used on land had a right-facing swastika on both sides, while the ensign (naval flag) had it printed through so that you would see a left-facing swastika when looking at the ensign with the flagpole to the right. Several variants are found: *a 45° black swastika on a white disc as in the NSDAP and national flags; *a 45° black swastika on a white lozenge (e.g. Hitler Jugend); *a 45° black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., the German War Ensign); *an upright black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., Hitler's personal flag, in which a gold wreath encircles the swastika; the ''Schutzstaffel''; and the ''Reichsdienstflagge'', in which a black circle encircles the swastika); *small gold, silver, black, or white 45° swastikas, often lying on or being held by an eagle, on many badges and flags. *a swastika with curved outer arms forming a broken circle, as worn by the SS Division Nordland. (See photo at "[http://www.mobil1.net/users/nordland/history.htm Nordland Reenactors]".) There were attempts to amalgamate Nazi and Hindu use of the swastika. Notably by Savitri Devi Mukherji who declared Hitler an avatar of Vishnu (see esoteric Hitlerism). ==Taboo in Western countries== [[Image:FrenchCemetery103004-01.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Neo-Nazi defacement of a Judaism cemetery in France.]] Because of its use by Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Party and, in modern times, by neo-Nazis and other hate groups, for many people in the West, the swastika is associated primarily with Nazism, fascism, and white supremacy in general. Hence, outside historical contexts, it has become taboo in Western countries. For example, the German postwar Strafgesetzbuch makes the public showing of the ''Hakenkreuz'' (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. However, since it is a holy symbol for Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, it is not clear whether the German postwar code actually bans the construction of Hindu and Jain temples in Germany (Jain temples always have the swastika on their entrance and Jain ritual typically involves creating seven swastikas from grains of rice around the altar during prayer). The powerful symbolism acquired by the swastika has often been used in graphic design and propaganda as a means of drawing Nazi comparisons; examples include the cover of Stuart Eizenstat's 2003 book ''Imperfect Justice'', publicity materials for Costa-Gavras's 2002 film ''Amen'', and a billboard that was erected opposite the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, in 2004, which juxtaposed images of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse pictures with a swastika. Founded in the 1970s, the Raelism, a religious sect believing in the possibility of immortality by scientific progress, used a symbol that was the source of considerable controversy: an interlaced Star of David and swastika. In 1991, the symbol was changed to remove the swastika and deflect public criticism. The Society for Creative Anachronism, which aims to study and recreate Medieval and Renaissance history, imposes restrictions on its members' use of the swastika on their arms, although some arms dating to the early days of the group have the symbol. Raelism_symbol,_before_1991_and_after|left">Image:rael_symbol.JPG|thumb|The Raelism symbol, before 1991 and after|leftIn recent years, controversy has erupted when consumer goods bearing the symbol have been exported (often unintentionally) to North America. In 2002, Christmas crackers containing plastic toy pandas sporting swastikas were pulled from shelves after complaints from consumers in Canada, although the China-based manufacturer claimed the symbol was presented in a traditional sense and not as a reference to the Nazis. In 1995, the City of Glendale, California scrambled to cover up over 900 cast iron lampposts decorated with swastikas throughout the downtown portion of the city; the lampposts had been manufactured by an American company in the early 1920s, and had nothing to do with Nazism. In 2004, Microsoft released a "critical update" to remove two swastikas and a Star of David from the typeface ''Bookshelf Symbol 7''. The font had been bundled with Microsoft Office. Punk rockers like Siouxsie Sioux, Sid Vicious and John Lydon used, and were photographed using, the Nazi version of the swastika for its shock value, notwithstanding that Malcolm McLaren, the Sex Pistols' manager, was half-Jewish. The previously successful career of the British band Kula Shaker virtually collapsed in the 1990s after the band's frontman, Crispian Mills, son of actress Hayley Mills, expressed his desire to use Swastikas as part of the imagery of their live show; because of this, and additional remarks he made, he was widely accused of holding Nazi sympathies. However, the band was musically influenced by Indian styles, and Mills asserted that his attraction to the swastika was part of an attempt to reclaim the Indian usage of the symbol in the West. In January 2005 there was much criticism when Prince Harry of Wales, third in line of succession to the British monarchy, was photographed wearing what appeared to be intended as an Afrika Korps uniform, plus a Nazi swastika armband, to a fancy dress party. ==Related topics== *Brigid's cross *Celtic cross *fylfot *lauburu or Basque cross *Rodlo *sauwastika *sun cross, a traditional symbol also co-opted by many modern neo-Nazis *triskelion, including the three-legged badge of the Isle of Man *Wolfsangel *Crescent and star, its modern usage symbolizes Islamic identity and brotherhood. Several Muslim nations use the symbol frequently on their respective flags. ''See also:'' Fascist symbolism. ==References== *Aigner, Dennis J. (2000). ''The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles''. Laguna Beach, California: DAI Press. ISBN 097018980X. *Sagan, Carl, and Ann Druyan (1985). ''Comet''. New York: Random House. ISBN 0394549082. London: Joseph. ISBN 0718126319. *Tan Huay Peng. (1980-1983). ''Fun with Chinese Characters''. Singapore: Federal Publications. ISBN 9810130058. *Wilson, Thomas (Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum) (1896). "The Swastika: The Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migrations; with Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times". In ''Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution''. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution ==External links== ===Notes===
==Carlsberg, Proably the best Swastikas in the World== No mention of Carlsbergs Use of the Swastika? Apart from that I've got to say this is a particularly good article! Well done! As far as the swastika is concerned I suspect that this was already used by the earlier Indians or the Pre-Aryans of India.I suspect that this may have been used by the Harrappa and MohenjoDaro civilization of the Indus valley.This was the first and earliest known civilzation of India.Unfortunatley they did not leave much written record to say who they were but the archaelogical excavations have proved this.But the marketing later civilisation likes to take credit for swastika. :Carlsberg and Harappa? You may want to give us some reference as to what you mean. I don't know who 'claims credit' for the swastika: it's too ancient to tell, certainly neolithic, if not older. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 13:44, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::The Carlsberg brewery used the swastika as its registered trademark 1881-1938: see the image at http://www.wongoz.com/images/tr-copenhagen-carlsbergbottles.jpg -- User:Picapica 09:00, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==Corn Palace== In 1995 my family and I were on vacation in South Dakota when we visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. While I was in the palace I noticed a picture of the building that had been taken in the early 20th century. The design featured a swastika on one of the towers. I don't remember the year the design was on the building, or how many swastika's were on the building even.
User:Jesster79 20:15, Apr 22, 2005 (UTC) ==Ranting Hitler likes Colours;== this article is nicely written so i dont want to insert this randomly and mess up the flow but some nice discussion might be about how in 'mein kampf' hitler goes on for pages about why he likes red black and white, and how he theorizes about its propaganda value, from a sort of perverted marketing perspective, and how little he thinks of the 'masses' that he is leading, ie he feels that he can easily suade them to anything with certain symbols and colors because he feels they are stupid. odd thing that chapter. the other thing about the swastika is that there is this guy named 'manwoman' who has swastikas tatooed all over his body. he currently resides in cranbrook, british columbia, canada. --- ''In Christianity, it has been used as an alternative to the traditional cross. It also symbolizes the pain of Christ on the cross.'' Statements of 'meanings' of symbols ''always'' need a reference showing to whom that symbol was meaningful in that particular way. Especially oddball remarks about the 'meanings' of contentious symbols, eh? Notice the use of the passive voice: ''Legend has it that...'' etc etc User:Wetman 04:23, 2 Dec 2003 (UTC) ----- == Those Romans and Greeks, what'll they think of next?!== i think that indoeuropeans used swastika as sign of sun: Romans and Greeks did use it, didn't they? user:szopen ---- I was unaware that the Nazi swastika was a trademark. Is the "TM" in the image correct? user:Brion VIBBER :I am not aware Romans did use it, I heard once it effectively was the symbol of sun, perhaps in south-eastern Asia. :"TM" seems to be the initials of the author of the .png file, the sign in itself should be of public domain. Otherwise, I would like to know who could have the taste to use it as a commercial logo... ::Well, apparently the Bavarian government owns the copyright to Mein Kampf in order to forbid anyone from reprinting it... Perhaps it's something like that. :) After all, who could have the taste to initial their drawing of a Nazi-style swastika? (Well, other than Nazis, obviously.) User:Damian Yerrick, where did these images come from? user:Brion VIBBER :::I made them. The "TM" thing was a jab at TSR (see [http://www.google.com/search?q=tsr+%22nazi+tm%22 these pages]]). In any case, I've removed the TM and re-uploaded the images. ::::Ah, I see. Cute, but not really appropriate. Thanks for fixing them! IIRC, the Swastika is found on some Roman mosaics, at least, in one in France that i know of. I believe Greek Geometeric art used swastikas ==The hills are alive with the sound of Spider Swastika's== In The Sound of Music, the youngest daughter called the swastika a "spider" and speculated that having to wear that symbol might be the cause of the Nazis' acting so cross all the time. Occasionally, people who don't know the non-Nazi used of the swastika will complain when it appears on a temple (Buddhist? Hindu?) in the West. == Those Japanese, what'll they think of next?!== In Japan, the swastika is called the "manji" and is quite thoroughly unrelated to racism. It's also used throughout the ancient world -- visit Rome and look at some classical floor mosaics, for instance. :Could you kindly indicate me, please, where in Rome the swastika is in some mosaic? (talking about ancient ones, obviously) user:Gianfranco ::I've seen quite a few swastikas, coloured like that of nazi's, in roman mosaics at Tarragona. :::See Figures 2 and 4 on this site: http://romanbristol.tripod.com/avon/tockington.html Homogenous cultures wouldn't be very likely to have problems with "racism." But as far as the article's concerned, there should be some way to organize this a little better. I'll do some reading and see if I can contribute something here. User:RL Barrett 03:27 May 10, 2003 (UTC) == Those Isle of Manians and Sicilians, what'll they think of next?!== ''The three- legged badge of the Isle of Man, which is believed to share its roots with the swastika.'' I removed this. This image is also the ancient symbol of Sicily, the Trinacria or Triskelion. Sicily was occupied by Celtic tribes of Siceli and Sicani before the Carthaginians even arrived. Solar disk with three running legs. Later with a gorgon's head. Very interesting. But how can anyone connect this with a swastika? User:Wetman 02:32, 1 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Well, it's not as far fetched as it may seem at first glance. Spinning motifs are found in various cultures on various continents. That isn't to say that all such motifs have a common origin; it probably has something to do with human perception -- motifs with rotational and folding symmetry seem static, while ones with rotational symmetry only seem to turn. Anyway, I've seen at least one catalog of swastika-like motifs -- I'll see what I can find at the library next time I'm there. At the very least it seems appropriate to list some other swastika-like motifs, without going into speculations. Regards, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 05:43, 23 May 2004 (UTC) ==Psueds Corner== Swastika means swa...self,astika...existance,in equally divided four parts of the world time cycle.as per shreemat bhagvat geeta kalpa age is 5000years.equally divided into four parts of satya yug,treta yug,dwapar yug and kalah yug.in this chakra souls have come from the soul world at diff times,example ebrahim 2500 years,christ 2000,buddha 2250,mohammad paigamber 1400...and so on..in the end the liberator paramatma shiv has come to liberate all the souls trapped in bodyconciousness to the original form of the soul conciousness,liberate from all sins,bounds and re establish the aadi sanatan devidevata dharma[detism] which has no address to date.as soul undergoes the process of rebirth called sato,rajo,and tamo[golden,silver,copper,iron stages ]paramatma shiva is telling THROUGH medium of prajapita brahma [corporel] the right meaning of swastika know your self...who am i? where i have come from?where/when i will go back? what is my part in this world drama? what is my relation with param atma shiv[heavanly god father]? what do i get from him? what i have lost?.....for more detailed information on swastika... you may cotact...BRHMA KUMARIS..world wide.. == 'swazi' == I have never heard of the swastika referred to as the 'swazi'. Even if it is, why do we have to point out that it's unrelated to the Swazi people? I mean, has anyojne ever made that confusion? I'm taking this passage ''Italic text''off --User:Mgekelly 13:00, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC) ---- Stormie improperly censored even an external link that he didn't "like" in order to prevent others from seeing http://members.ij.net/rex/swastikanews.html and new ideas about interpreting the swastika. :Rex, if you want to peddle your opinions concerning Nazism and Socialism, go to Nazism#Nazism_and_socialism and try to work out a concensus there. Don't do it by inserting links to your personal rant site under the misleading heading "The Swastika origin and meaning". —User:Stormie 00:01, Jun 25, 2004 (UTC) == Use of swastika in early Christianity == Hello. An anonymous editor added a statement [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Swastika&diff=0&oldid=4828443] to the effect that the swastika was used as a substitute cross by early Christians. I can't find any substantiation for this, aside from several web pages (themselves unsubstantiated) which make the same assertion. The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia [http://www.ccel.org/php/disp.php3?a=schaff&b=encyc03&p=310] says the swastika ''perhaps owes its not infrequent adoption by Christians to its resemblance to the cross; at least this resemblance may have made the adoption easier...''. If someone has something to back up the assertion that the swastika was specifically used as a ''crux dissimulata'', then go ahead and restore the text, with a suitable reference. For what it's worth, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 19:42, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC) Its the Gammadian (sp?) cross, made from four Greek gammas (hence it usualy only points the one way). Shows up in some medival churches, and on the floor of the Cathedral of Amiens. Its been around since the early church days, but remained relativly obscure. == Proposal for wording change re: "predates...anti-Semitism" == In the Heraldy section is the sentence: "It predates and has nothing to do with Nazism or anti-Semitism." Predates anti-Semitism? hmmm. I propose to reword this: "It predates Nazism and has no Nazi or anti-Semitic connotations" ... I will do this if I see no counterproposals within a few days. (Would have just done it, but for the obvious sensitivity of the subject). User:Sharkford 20:33, 2004 Aug 18 (UTC) :Well, according to the article, the swastika dates at least to the Vedas, which in turn are dated to at least 1500 BC. I don't think it can be argued that anti-semitism originated any earlier than the Hellenistic era, so "It predates Nazism and anti-Semitism" seems correct. Of course perhaps the text can be polished but that's a lesser issue. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 05:29, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC) :: I object. Your proposal sentence: " "It predates Nazism and has no Nazi or anti-Semitic connotations " is even more problematic (imo, of course). Obviously, the first clause is fine, since it does indeed predate Nazism. However the second is in the present tense, and doesn't make sense with WWII. We should be clear about this, since it's a sensitive issue to many Hindus, Buddhists and Japanese religionists. I would prefer something more explicit, like: "The swastika's origin and use as a religious sigil long predate Nazism and until World War II had no Nazi or anti-Semitic overtones. In modern times the swastika is viewed in a perspectival dichotomy: many people following Eastern religions still see it as a religious emblem while most Westerners identify it with the Holocaust." You can take out my second sentence as having been stated elsewhere, but I think my objections (and proposed remedies) are hereby made clear. --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 15:08, Aug 19, 2004 (UTC) ::: Your proposed clarification is entirely sensible. The only minor change I would suggest is to substitute "Westerners identify it with the Nazis" for "Westerners identify it with the Holocaust". I guess I would also substitute "symbol" for "sigil". Happy editing, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 15:26, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC) ::::I would actually disagree with "Holocaust" over "Nazis" there - User:David Gerard 08:47, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) :::::In fact, the sentence refers specifically to the Heraldic fylfot, definitely not the swastika. And my proposal was based not on an analysis of exactly when the fylfot came into use but rather the sense that anti-semitism is not so much a movement that had a beginning but rather an abstraction like Evil or Hatred (though obviously it cannot be said to have existed before Judaism), so the sentence has a dissonance at a conceptual level. :::::I was definitely not proposing to say "...has no anti-Semitic connotations" of the Swastika, I ought to have made it clear that it was the fylfot sentence I was pointing to. How about "The fylfot [repeating the subject, in case a reader scans the sentence out-of-context] pre-dates Nazism and was not used with any anti-Semitic connotation." ::::: User:Sharkford 13:09, 2004 Aug 20 (UTC) ::::::Good by me - User:David Gerard 14:14, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) :::::: Sorry, I missed the context. Now I understand that you (Sharkford) were speaking of the fylfot specifically. Since we're on the topic, I'll mention that the fylfot is somewhat problematic. I'll start a new thread on that topic. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 15:29, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) ::::::: Made the change - but now I see WEH's comments on the fylfot, so perhaps the whole small section will disappear, or need to be replaced ... ah well. User:Sharkford 16:17, 2004 Aug 20 (UTC) == Fylfot -- conjectural == The claim is made in swastika that the swastika was used as a heraldic device called a fylfot. No specific references are given to substantiate that claim. It is true that many web pages make the same claim, but none of them have any substantiation either. In the entry in OED on fylfot (quoted at [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/swastika.htm]) there is only one instance of "fylfot" before the 19th c. -- ''The sole authority on which this word has been accepted by modern antiquaries as the name of the mark in question is the passage from the Lansdowne MS. quoted below.'' Consider also what Merriam-Webster has to say [http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=fylfot] -- ''Etymology: Middle English, device used to fill the lower part of a painted glass window (from a conjectural manuscript reading)''. Given that there's no evidence for fylfot as a common term for a swastika figure, I suggest we strike out the stuff about "fylfot", or (perhaps) replace it with a discussion of how there's no substantiation for claiming fylfot == swastika. I don't mean to claim that a swastika was never used in heraldry, but if it was, it was called something other than "fylfot". User:Wile E. Heresiarch 15:29, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) : I've removed references to "fylfot" from swastika, since the term "fylfot" as a synonym for swastika has not been substantiated. It could be useful to put in a disclaimer of the form "it has been suggested that fylfot == swastika, but there's no evidence for that" to forestall the reappearance of the removed text. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 16:27, 22 Aug 2004 (UTC) :: A note a long time after the fact (10 Septmber 2004) to say that I restored "fylfot" on the grounds that - however shakey the pedigree - it is a term that is nowadays used to describe a swastika. But with a note to the effect that it may be spurious. --User:81.144.220.5 17:07, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Problematic statements in "Origins" section == Hello. Recently a section titled "Origins" was added [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Swastika&diff=5703406&oldid=5665452]. The statements in that section seem problematic. (1) One statement is that swastika means "auspicious sign" in Sanskrit. This isn't consistent with the statement at the top of the article, which says swastika means "well-being" or "it is good" in Sanskrit. (2) The other statement repeats Carl Sagan's speculation about the origin of the swastika. Now I like Carl Sagan, but he had absolutely no evidence whatsoever for his comet hypothesis. The statement about the comet could be struck out immediately as ungrounded speculation, except that its association with Sagan lends it a certain cachet. -- I'm inclined to strike out both statements. Comments? Regards, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 01:43, 7 Sep 2004 (UTC) : Swastika when broken down in Sanskrit has the 's(a)(u)' prefix which means ''good, well'', or ''blessed'' and 'astika' is essentially ''form, character'', or ''figure''. The other meanings given are derivative functions of its use in Hindu ceremony and philosophy, its contextual meaning. But in reality, the name means only ''auspicious form'' or ''blessed sign'' (or any permutation thereof). As for Carl Sagan, he's got a lot of dubious ideas, regardless of his reputation. I, like you, don't think his statement should be there. If it is, then it should be preceded by statements of people who actually know what they're talking about (point being Sagan should stick to physics and not speculate on cultural history and symbolism). --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 02:00, Sep 7, 2004 (UTC) :: Thanks for your comments. I have struck out the "Origins" section. It mentioned the Vedas and Sanskrit meaning, both of which are addressed at the top of the article, and it mentioned Sagan's speculation, which has been removed from the article. Maybe Sagan's theory could be mentioned in Carl Sagan. -- I have a related question about etymology. I'll start a new thread. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 14:14, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC) == Etymology == Hello. At present the article has this etymology: ''Sanskrit "good luck" or "well-being", literally "blessed form"''. I guess I am a little confused by this. There are a variety of etymologies stated in web pages, which, I'm guessing, are not reliable. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary [http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=swastika&x=0&y=0] states ''Skt svastika, from svasti well-being, from su- well + as- to be; akin to Sanskrit asti he is, Old English is; from its being regarded as a good luck symbol''. Britannica Online [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=72437&tocid=0&query=swastika&ct=] says ''The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning ?conducive to well-being.?''. These two suggest that "well-being" is a literal meaning, and "good luck" and "auspicious form" are figurative meanings. That's pretty much the same as the statements above by User:LordSuryaofShropshire although not quite the same. Would someone like to comment on the differences? Given the controversies surrounding the swastika, it seems useful to seek an etymology from an authoritative source (and to cite the source in the article). A well-regarded English-Sanskrit dictionary would be appropriate, for example. Thanks for any information, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 14:14, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC) :the etymology given may still be improved. The word is morphologically segmentet ''su-as-ti-ka''. "su" is correctly explained as cognate to "eu-", meaning "well-". "asti" is "being", the verbal root is "as", cognate to English "is". the "ti" forms a verbal abstract. it is not related to the personal ending in ''asti'' "he is". So, svasti- means "well-being". the ''-ka'' is a diminutive suffix. I.e. the entire word means "little well-being", or "little thing associated with well-being". "blessed form" is therefore not a literal translation. The sign is only one among several meanings og the word, see [http://flaez.ch/cgi-bin/mw.pl?query=svastika Monier-Williams]. User:Dbachmann 12:42, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Sagan's swastika theory revisited == Hello. Carl Sagan's swastika theory has reappeared in swastika. I've moved it to Carl Sagan. Since the theory is unsubstantiated it seems inappropriate to give it any prominence in swastika; Carl Sagan seems like its natural home. I've left a bare mention of the theory in swastika with a wikilink to Carl Sagan; hopefully this will forestall its reappearance. I'd omit it entirely but the theory seems to have some popularity by association with Sagan. Happy editing, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 17:27, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :I disagree. What do you mean about "unsubstantiated"? User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 17:45, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :: This is a bad decision. Anyone who is idly wondering where the image of the swastika came from will no longer find any information on the swastika page. Instead, they will instead have to randomly stumble across it on the Carl Sagan page. Forgive me, but that seems silly. Sagan's theory may well be unsubstantiated, but it's not impossible either, and, more to the point, it's entirely harmless. The solution is to hide it, but to simply point out in the text that it is not proven, and is merely a theory. Put it back. User:The Singing Badger 18:26, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::: Leaving aside the question of whether swastika should describe Sagan's theory, let me point out that unsubstantiated, plausible speculations are not harmless. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 21:26, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::::What's the "harm" in letting people know there's an idea out there? The idea's referenced, too; it's not just stated baldly as fact or otherwise asserted unfairly. User:A2Kafir 00:08, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC) I thought the way I put it in made it clear it was speculation. That's why I pointed out that the symbol is symmetric and simple (and so may have arisen multiple times independently). User:A2Kafir 20:05, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :I agree that it was clearly labeled a conjecture. However, the notability of the conjecture rests entirely on its association with Sagan. Sagan was notable, but his notability is not inherited by every one of his opinions. I could be convinced otherwise about this conjecture -- for example, has it been widely repeated and credited to Sagan? Let me note also that the allusion to symmetry and simplicity is another conjecture, and, so long as it is the conjecture of one or more Wikipedia editors, it is not notable either. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 21:19, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::The article notes that the symbol was used by many cultures worldwide for centuries for a variety of meanings, with no explanation as to why this might be. All this does is give one explanation, clearly labeled as speculation with some evidence behind it. The reader can go to the library and take out ''Comet'' if they want to follow up on it. ::Put this another way: the Zia symbol, used on the state flag of New Mexico, isn't a "universal" symbol in the same way; it was NOT widely used in cultures worldwide, despite its simplicity and symmetry. Why was the pre-Nazi swastika different? Ol' Carl had an interesting idea as to why. User:A2Kafir 23:53, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :::And it must not be left out, nor reduced in size or importance. Sagan is as expert on this subject. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 00:02, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC) :::Sagan is an intelligent man, and he may be an expert on comets. But does that make him an expert on swastikas? Nobody disputes that there are in fact comets with swastika-like tails, it's just the idea that they are somehow involved with the origin of the sign that is of questionable noteworthiness. I must say the idea strikes me as ad-hoc and rather silly, and it is certainly not one of Sagan's brighter ideas. But I agree that it is not harmful, and it doesn't take much space, so we may as well mention it, as long as we make clear that this is pure, 100% speculation. User:Dbachmann 12:52, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Swastika vs sauwastika == Under "meanings" the idea that the left-facing Swastika is different from the Sauvastika is played down significantly. In ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', it says the following: "A clear distinction is made between the right-hand swastika, (…) and the left-hand swastika (more correctly called the ''sauvastika''), which moves in a counterclockwise direction. The right-hand swastika is considered a solar symbol and imitates in the rotation of its arms the course taken daily by the Sun. (…) The left-hand swastika more often stands for night, the terrifying goddess Kālī, and magical practices." Who is right? Is EB only keeping the falsehood alive? In that case, this would be a case for the Wikipedia is better than EB page :-). — User:Chmod007 00:26, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) :''sauvastika'' is a regular sanskrit "vrddhi" formation, meaning "related to the svastika". Monier-Williams gives a meaning "benedictive, salutatory" for the word sauvastika. If it was ever used for Kali etc., we would need to clearly state when, where and by whom. User:Dbachmann 10:09, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::the sauwastika paragraph is getting out of hand. We need a separate Sauwastika article, and only link to that from here. User:Dbachmann 20:45, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC) :::You beat me to it! --User:Ant 00:43, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC) == 273 Squadron RAF == http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo960612/debtext/60612-41.htm search down to 273. There is/was an issue about this not being granted because they used a fylfot copied off a local temple that resembled the Swastika. http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h273.html User:Duncharris|User talk:duncharris 12:03, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Indo-European== Can somebody do something about the horribly hearsay (no sources or specifications) "Indo-European" section? If not, I'll just remove it. User:Dbachmann 10:11, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) I removed the subsection, moving Sun cross and Brigid's cross to the "see alsos". I could find no evidence supporting the rest of this subsection. There is this site: [http://www.khandro.net/swastika.htm] but that's hardly a source. User:Dbachmann 19:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) btw, [http://www.luckymojo.com/swastika.html here] is a nice image of a 1907 greeting card. User:Dbachmann 19:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) : I agree with your recent edit removing "Early Indo-European traditions". We can restore the text when someone finds substantial citations for these statements. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 19:19, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Geometry== The geometry section is... well-meaning. But isn't it slightly over the top? (I mean, five images explaining the geometry of the swastika??). Couldn't some of it be exported, maybe? User:Dbachmann 18:37, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) :I wouldn't consider it much of a loss if the section on the terms "clockwise" and "counter-clockwise" were to be removed, along with its two attendant images. The rest of the geometry section is closer to Wikipedia style. User:Factitious 01:45, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC) ::well, it's true that the (anti)-clockwise characterization is common, but ambiguous. The point needs to be made, and the images help. It just clogs up the flow of the article. Either export or move further down. Or leave in place, I don't know.... User:Dbachmann 08:08, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC) :::I contributed this! I understand your concern that it disrupts the flow of the article. But the ambiguity needs to be noted early in the article. What I'm saying is, "Avoid ambiguous terms like 'clockwise' or 'right-handed' in this article," and "Take care when someone says, e.g., 'clockwise' if there's no image to confirm the sense." (Counter)clockwise is used later with respect to Hindu swastikas, but I can't find an external source that indicates in which sense, so I can't change it... Cw/ccw are also used wrt the Nazi swastika where the sense is carefully described, but that could be made more succinct by saying left/right-facing. I'll undertake to trim the dry description to the bare bones. But there's also more to add about the rotation regarding the swastika as a solar symbol, which belongs early in the article. And to firm up the discussion of sauwastika (which needs careful definition which way the symbol faces). --User:Ant 09:14, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC) ==Comets== I removed the parts that don't directly concern the swastika, and npoved the remaining phrasings somewhat, but that doesn't imply my endorsement of what is left behind; somebody else should look it over, too. User:Dbachmann_(User_talk:Dbachmann )__">User:Dbachmann|User:Dbachmann (User_talk:Dbachmann) 16:13, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
:removed some more bits either not dealing with the swastika directly, or proposing misleading etymology. Probably the whole Mahabharata reference should go, as the connection bird-comet-swastika is etremely tenuous, and hardly substantiated in that text (bird-comet maybe more than bird-swastika, but this should go to an article on ancient comet observations). User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 10:07, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
== Swastika as mnemonic device ==
The swastika is also a mnemonic device for remembering the actual name of the "National Socialist German Workers' Party" because the swastika resembles two overlapping "S" letters and "S" is the first letter in the word "socialism." New graphic evidence suggests that the swastika came to have that meaning and representation.
The discovery answers the long-standing question of why the swastika was used by the National Socialist German Workers' Party as its symbol.
Although the swastika was an ancient symbol, one of the reasons that it was chosen and/or maintained by the National Socialist German Workers' Party is because it resembles the "sig rune" (a letter of an ancient Germanic alphabet shown below) which was used as a letter "S."
The double sig rune was also used side-by-side as a symbol of the "SS" division of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and for other words beginning with the letter "S" (see graphic illustrations). The swastika is also a double sig rune, but it is overlapping and not side-by-side.
An internet image search for "double sig rune" or "sig rune" or "sieg rune" or "sowilo" provides more examples.
It started in 1919, when Hitler joined the German Workers' Party, a socialist group. The group sought a new name that would attract socialists in other groups. Other German socialist groups used terms like ?National? and ?Socialist? in their titles, and the German Workers' Party adopted ?National Socialist German Workers? Party.?
The swastika was chosen with the same goal as the new name, to symbolize socialists joining together as the National Socialist German Workers' Party with the intertwined letter ?S? shapes for ?Socialism? unified, or "Socialist Solidarity" or "Socialist Struggle" for "Socialist Victory" (Sieg Socialistiche) for the "Socialist Swastika."
A fan writes "....the sieg rune is an ancient symbol of victory that Hitler stole from scandinavian mythology to symbolize the victory of the NSDAP (the National Socialistiche Deutsche Arbeiter Partei ). The word 'Sieg' literally means 'victory' in German. (or segerruna as it's called in Swedish)."
And the sieg rune also corresponds with the letter 's' in the ancient alphabet. That provides more support for the swastika as overlapping "S" letters for "Sieg Socialistiche" (Socialist Victory).
The choice is still clouded in mystery because about the only thing Hitler ever said concerning the swastika was in 1920, when he decided that the National Socialist German Workers' Party needed its own insignia. For Hitler, the new flag had to be "a symbol of our own struggle" as well as "highly effective as a poster." (Mein Kampf, pg. 495). On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, this flag became the official emblem of the horrid party. In Mein Kampf, Hitler described the Nazis' new flag: "In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of creative work, which as such always has been and always will be anti-Semitic." (pg. 496-497)
The red color and the "social idea of the movement" ties into socialism for which Hitler claimed he was struggling for victory.
1. The socialist swastika's arms reach clockwise. Before modern times the most common representation of swastikas was with arms that reached counter-clockwise. The reason that the National Socialist German Workers' Party turned their swastika's arms to reach clockwise was to highlight the letter ?S? shape for ?socialism.?
2. The Socialist Swastika is turned 45 degrees to the horizontal. The reason that the National Socialist German Workers' Party turned their swastika 45 degrees to the horizontal was to highlight the letter ?S? shape.
The "S is for Socialism" symbol is a mnemonic device today because a hackneyed abbreviation for "National Socialist German Workers' Party" is used exclusively by media and government schools so that most people who use the abbreviation do not know what the abbreviation abbreviates (National Socialist German Workers' Party).
The images shown at http://rexcurry.net/swastikanews.html) are photos or representations of actual banners and flags used by the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Two of the flags show the name "National Socialist German Workers' Party" or "National Socialist" incircling or surrounding the swastika. Both swastikas have been turned or face the right to accentuate the "S" shape (turned by the National Socialist German Workers' Party). One of the banners includes an additional word that begins with the letter "S," (Sturmabteilung).
Another banner shows how the National Socialist German Workers' Party used other stylized "S" letters, similar to the stylizing of the swastika. In the banner the swastika itself is overlayed with two additional "S" letters in the common lightning-bolt style of the runes.
Another banner shows a single letter "S" in the lightning-bolt style of the runes, sometimes used for youth organizations.
There is a pennant with heavily stylized "SA" letters, deliberately designed to evoke the overlapping letter "S" shapes of the swastika.
The swastika was used with different meanings long before the National Socialist German Workers' Party. As an even earlier symbol in Sanskrit, the swastika means "good luck," literally "it is good" (Sanskrit is the oldest extant Indo-Aryan language retained in India) and that fit the National Socialist view of merging all socialist groups into one large organization.
In ancient times, the symbol might have also represented the sun or a wheel, thus giving rise to the modern terms "socialist sun" and "wheel of socialism" and the "circle of socialism" for the swastika of socialism.
[ User:66.234.65.212 ]
: I've split this comment as there are two issues that shouldn't be conflated; the second point is #Cover-ups on wikipedia.
: I've got to take issue with your comment above that "Before modern times the most common representation of swastikas was with arms that reached counter-clockwise." This is simply not true! The article itself makes this clear: the right-facing (clockwise) swastika is the more common throughout history. And it's certainly not just the Nazis that used it in this orientation in modern times: see, for example, "Johnny" Walker's page [http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/badges.htm]. All but one of the images - the Excelsior medallion, the good-luck card, the Coca-Cola medallion, the spine of ''Kim'', the Scout "thanks" badge, the card sent by Baden-Powell - show the right-facing swastika.
: It ''does'' seem to be the case that the Nazi's originated the 45° orientation - but even that they didn't use consistently.
: This ''could be'' because of the crossed sigel/sol runes. Certainly the graphic resonance is highly suggestive... ''but it is not compelling!'' In fact, one of the flags you cite about argues ''against'' this thesis: if the swastika itself comprises two S's, why overlay two additional S's?
: It occurs to me that Hitler would have had no reason not to mention this idea if it had been in his mind: why not allude to the hoped-for socialist victory as well as the ostensible Aryan supremacy? If that idea had been in his mind, could his ego ''not'' have mentioned it?
: In short, this is simply an ill-informed diatribe.
:--User:Ant 23:46, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)
== Cover-ups on wikipedia ==
There are some people on Wikipedia who knowingly cover-up for the horrid Nazis, and delete even linnks (and definintely any text) to anyone who tells the truth. They include the top media cover ups: They cover up for the swastika and its use as a sick socialist symbol http://rexcurry.net/swastikanews.html They cover up for the socialist trio of atrocities. http://rexcurry.net/socialists.html They cover up the fact that socialists helped start WWII with the National Socialist German Workers' Party & the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as allies. http://rexcurry.net/socialistwar.html They cover up for and are deniers of the socialist Wholecaust, of which the monstrous Holocaust was part http://rexcurry.net/mediacoverup.html They cover up for the National Socialist German Worker's Party and always try to use the hackneyed shorthand "Nazi" http://rexcurry.net/swastikamedia.html They cover up many historic photos the Pledge of Allegiance showing the original straight-arm salute http://rexcurry.net/pledge2.html and the fact that the Pledge's author was a National Socialist, and that the Pledge's straight arm salute was the origin of the salute of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) http://rexcurry.net/pledge1.html As part of their cover-up they perpetuate the Roman Salute myth. http://rexcurry.net/pledgesalute.html And the use the oath of the horatii as an absurd support for a Roman connection http://rexcurry.net/pledgehoratii.html They repeat the most common cover-ups of the media http://rexcurry.net/mediapledge.html and http://rexcurry.net/socialistmedia.html And they cover up the newer U.S. Supreme Court case that exposes the socialist history of the Pledge http://rexcurry.net/pledgewonschik.html
As an example, most of the "Roman Salute" page on Wikipedia is pure poppycock, especially near the top "The Roman salute is a closed finger, flat-palm-down hand raised at an angle (usually 45 degrees) and was used by the Roman Republic. It was also the historical civilian salute of the United States, from 1787?-1934?, known since 1892 as the Bellamy salute. It was also the historical salute among armies of the Middle East and South America. When the Nazi party of Germany adopted the Roman salute from the Italian fascists." The foregoing is all incorrect and of course without any attribution nor support on the Wikipedia page because there is no support. It is not a Roman salute and never was.
Similar criticisms apply to the Wikipedia pages on Francis Bellamy, Edward Bellamy and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Whenever someone tries to point out the constant cover-ups they engage in personal attacks, deletions, and threats to ban anyone who exposes the cover-ups because they are unwilling to engage in reasoned discussion. [ User:66.234.65.212 ]
:wtf? User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 11:59, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)
::Rex is just this guy who likes to insert links to his personal rants into Wikipedia articles. Of course, they instantly get removed, since they are basically spam and not remotely encyclopedic; but every few months he notices and re-inserts them, along with various ramblings about censorship and conspiracy on the part of the editors who removed them - generally, some random person who happened to see his edits on Recent Changes and say, as you did, "wtf?". —User:Stormie 08:44, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)
==Hitler's bedroom==
removed part saying Hitler as a child could see a swastika from his bedroom. No reference, sounds like a hoax. I could find [http://www.chgs.umn.edu/Visual___Artistic_Resources/Fritz_Hirschberger2/The_Double_Cross/the_double_cross.html]
:Hitler took the symbol, which is believed to have been part of the carvings in the Catholic Church he attended in Linz
which is somehow more credible, but I'd still like to know who 'believes' that. Not that it's terribly relevant anyway, of course. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 09:08, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)
==BBC==
Following the recent kerfuffle regarding Prince Harry's choice of fancy dress costume, the BBC has done [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4183467.stm this short piece] on the origins of the swastika which is a nice précis of (and refers to) this article. -- User:ALoan User_talk:ALoan 12:03, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:yeah, they should donate!
:arh, but they got the etymology quite wrong, and what's this
::Indo-European culture it was a mark made on people or objects
:I thought we cut the "Indo-European" from the article months ago :o\ User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 19:03, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
::And now the article refers back to the BBC - all very self-referential :/ -- User:ALoan User_talk:ALoan 19:39, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:* It's not just a precis - they actually lift some phrases straight out of the article, see e.g. the para starting "The British author Rudyard Kipling". The only way they can legally do so would be if they explicitly publish their piece under the terms of the GFDL... someone should contact them, not to rant at them, but to politely request this.
::*well, they did link to us. just lifting a few phrases is not blatant plagiarism, we know there is plenty of that on WP, too. Paraphrasing WP and selling it as your work is not a sign of good journalism, though, I agree (hey, some phrases of mine were on BBC :) . User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 09:11, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)
==cut anon addition==
:If one looks closely at the ceiling of the famous Hofbrauhaus ( http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/ )in Munich, swastikas can still be clearly seen. They appear as four blue and white Bavarian flags, as if waving in the breeze emanating from a central point, each flag folded over in the middle to make the 90 degree angle.
I fear this goes a bit far in a Rorschach inkblot test direction (if we mention individual swastikas, they should at least have some notability). If this case ''is'' notable, well, sorry, put it back, then. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 19:01, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
==Veda??==
who wrote "it was first mentioned in the Vedas"? Meaning the svastika? I am afraid it is only mentioned in the epos (Ramayana). The word does not exist in Vedic Sanskrit, see [http://flaez.ch/cgi-bin/mw.pl?query=svastika]. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 13:49, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)
==Sanskrit character order==
I corrected the Sanskrit character order. The Unicode standard 4.0.0, section 9.1 says: "In a text sequence, these [Devanagari] characters are stored in logical (phonetic) order." So, I should be entered after TA, not before.
User:T42 00:45, 2005 Jan 23 (UTC)
=== The Sanskrit Spelling of Swastik is wrong!!! ===
Can any body correct the Sanskrit spelling, it reads "Swastakey"
the "e-kar" should be on "ta" not "ka".
:did you not note the preceding comment? I think your browser renders the correct encoding incorrectly. We don't ''need'' the Devanagari spelling, though, because we have the correct, equivalent Sanskrit transliteration, ''svastika''. I opt for removing the devanagari altogether, because half of the browsers don't render it correctly, and people keep changing it to and fro. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 14:44, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)
===My vote===
I say that, since there are display problems with Devanagari even for modern browsers, someone whose computer can display it correctly should take a screenshot of it, crop it, upload it as a .png image, and stick in on this page so we can all see it. Then we won't need the Devanagari encoding (though it should be replaced as soon as browsers start to commonly support it). User:Chamaeleon 15:00, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)
:the devanagari is a read herring. As you can read on Sanskrit there is no particular historical association of Sanskrit with Devanagari. We could just as well spell the word in a dozen other scripts. It does not add any information: it is completely equivalence to ''svastika''. Don't create an image, just remove it. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 15:28, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)
==
==Nazi Germany== [[Image:Flag_Germany_1933.png|right|thumb|The flag of Nazi Germany and the National Socialist German Workers Party
''Flag Ratio:'' 3:5
''Flag Dimensions:'' 60 x 100
''Disc Diameter:'' 45
''Arm Width:'' 6]] The National Socialist German Workers Party (''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' or ''NSDAP'') formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (''right''), badge, and armband. (It had been used unofficially by the NSDAP and its predecessor, the German Workers Party, ''Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (''DAP''), however.) In ''Mein Kampf'', Adolf Hitler wrote: : I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika. (Red, white, and black were the colors of the flag of the old German Empire.) The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordic theory version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders. Thus, they saw fit to co-opt the sign as a symbol of the Aryan master race. The use of swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race dates back to writings of Emile Burnouf. Following many other writers, the German nationalist poet Guido von List believed it to be a uniquely Aryan symbol. Hitler referred to the swastika as the symbol of "the fight for the victory of Aryan man" (''Mein Kampf''). In fact, the swastika was already in use as a symbol of German ''volkisch'' nationalist movements. In ''Deutschland Erwache'' (ISBN 0912138696), Ulric of England (''sic'') says — : … what inspired Hitler to use the swastika as a symbol for the NSDAP was its use by the ''Thule-Gesellschaft'' since there were many connections between them and the DAP … from 1919 until the summer of 1921 Hitler used the special Nationalsozialistische library of Dr. Friedich Krohn, a very active member of the ''Thule-Gesellschaft'', … Dr. Krohn was also the dentist from Sternberg who was named by Hitler in ''Mein Kampf'' as the designer of a flag very similar to one that Hitler designed in 1920 … during the summer of 1920, the first party flag was shown at Lake Tegernsee … these home-made … early flags were not preserved, the ''Ortsgruppe München'' flag was generally regarded as the first flag of the Party. José Manuel Erbez says — :The first time the swastika was used with an "Aryan" meaning was on December 25, 1907, when the self-named Order of the New Templars, a secret society founded by [Adolf Joseph] Lanz von Liebenfels, hoisted at Werfenstein Castle (Austria) a yellow flag with a swastika and four fleurs-de-lys. However, Liebenfels was drawing on an already established use of the symbol. [[image:1936NurembergRally.jpg|thumb|right|NSDAP flags at the 1936 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg]] On 14 March 1933, shortly after Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany, the NSDAP flag was hoisted alongside Germany's national colors. It was adopted as the sole national flag on 15 September 1935. The swastika was used for badges and flags throughout Nazi Germany, particularly for government and military organizations, but also for "popular" organizations such as the ''Reichsbund Deutsche Jägerschaft''. [[Image:EK 1class.png|left|thumb|The Iron Cross featured a swastika during the Nazi period]]While the DAP and the NSDAP had used both right-facing and left-facing swastikas, the right-facing swastika is used consistently from 1920 onwards. However, Ralf Stelter notes that the swastika flag used on land had a right-facing swastika on both sides, while the ensign (naval flag) had it printed through so that you would see a left-facing swastika when looking at the ensign with the flagpole to the right. Several variants are found: *a 45° black swastika on a white disc as in the NSDAP and national flags; *a 45° black swastika on a white lozenge (e.g. Hitler Jugend); *a 45° black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., the German War Ensign); *an upright black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., Hitler's personal flag, in which a gold wreath encircles the swastika; the ''Schutzstaffel''; and the ''Reichsdienstflagge'', in which a black circle encircles the swastika); *small gold, silver, black, or white 45° swastikas, often lying on or being held by an eagle, on many badges and flags. *a swastika with curved outer arms forming a broken circle, as worn by the SS Division Nordland. (See photo at "[http://www.mobil1.net/users/nordland/history.htm Nordland Reenactors]".) There were attempts to amalgamate Nazi and Hindu use of the swastika. Notably by Savitri Devi Mukherji who declared Hitler an avatar of Vishnu (see esoteric Hitlerism). ==Taboo in Western countries== [[Image:FrenchCemetery103004-01.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Neo-Nazi defacement of a Judaism cemetery in France.]] Because of its use by Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Party and, in modern times, by neo-Nazis and other hate groups, for many people in the West, the swastika is associated primarily with Nazism, fascism, and white supremacy in general. Hence, outside historical contexts, it has become taboo in Western countries. For example, the German postwar Strafgesetzbuch makes the public showing of the ''Hakenkreuz'' (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. However, since it is a holy symbol for Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, it is not clear whether the German postwar code actually bans the construction of Hindu and Jain temples in Germany (Jain temples always have the swastika on their entrance and Jain ritual typically involves creating seven swastikas from grains of rice around the altar during prayer). The powerful symbolism acquired by the swastika has often been used in graphic design and propaganda as a means of drawing Nazi comparisons; examples include the cover of Stuart Eizenstat's 2003 book ''Imperfect Justice'', publicity materials for Costa-Gavras's 2002 film ''Amen'', and a billboard that was erected opposite the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, in 2004, which juxtaposed images of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse pictures with a swastika. Founded in the 1970s, the Raelism, a religious sect believing in the possibility of immortality by scientific progress, used a symbol that was the source of considerable controversy: an interlaced Star of David and swastika. In 1991, the symbol was changed to remove the swastika and deflect public criticism. The Society for Creative Anachronism, which aims to study and recreate Medieval and Renaissance history, imposes restrictions on its members' use of the swastika on their arms, although some arms dating to the early days of the group have the symbol. Raelism_symbol,_before_1991_and_after|left">Image:rael_symbol.JPG|thumb|The Raelism symbol, before 1991 and after|leftIn recent years, controversy has erupted when consumer goods bearing the symbol have been exported (often unintentionally) to North America. In 2002, Christmas crackers containing plastic toy pandas sporting swastikas were pulled from shelves after complaints from consumers in Canada, although the China-based manufacturer claimed the symbol was presented in a traditional sense and not as a reference to the Nazis. In 1995, the City of Glendale, California scrambled to cover up over 900 cast iron lampposts decorated with swastikas throughout the downtown portion of the city; the lampposts had been manufactured by an American company in the early 1920s, and had nothing to do with Nazism. In 2004, Microsoft released a "critical update" to remove two swastikas and a Star of David from the typeface ''Bookshelf Symbol 7''. The font had been bundled with Microsoft Office. Punk rockers like Siouxsie Sioux, Sid Vicious and John Lydon used, and were photographed using, the Nazi version of the swastika for its shock value, notwithstanding that Malcolm McLaren, the Sex Pistols' manager, was half-Jewish. The previously successful career of the British band Kula Shaker virtually collapsed in the 1990s after the band's frontman, Crispian Mills, son of actress Hayley Mills, expressed his desire to use Swastikas as part of the imagery of their live show; because of this, and additional remarks he made, he was widely accused of holding Nazi sympathies. However, the band was musically influenced by Indian styles, and Mills asserted that his attraction to the swastika was part of an attempt to reclaim the Indian usage of the symbol in the West. In January 2005 there was much criticism when Prince Harry of Wales, third in line of succession to the British monarchy, was photographed wearing what appeared to be intended as an Afrika Korps uniform, plus a Nazi swastika armband, to a fancy dress party. ==Related topics== *Brigid's cross *Celtic cross *fylfot *lauburu or Basque cross *Rodlo *sauwastika *sun cross, a traditional symbol also co-opted by many modern neo-Nazis *triskelion, including the three-legged badge of the Isle of Man *Wolfsangel *Crescent and star, its modern usage symbolizes Islamic identity and brotherhood. Several Muslim nations use the symbol frequently on their respective flags. ''See also:'' Fascist symbolism. ==References== *Aigner, Dennis J. (2000). ''The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles''. Laguna Beach, California: DAI Press. ISBN 097018980X. *Sagan, Carl, and Ann Druyan (1985). ''Comet''. New York: Random House. ISBN 0394549082. London: Joseph. ISBN 0718126319. *Tan Huay Peng. (1980-1983). ''Fun with Chinese Characters''. Singapore: Federal Publications. ISBN 9810130058. *Wilson, Thomas (Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum) (1896). "The Swastika: The Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migrations; with Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times". In ''Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution''. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution ==External links== ===Notes===
# Sarah Boxer. "[http://faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=606 One of the world's great symbols strives for a comeback]". ''The New York Times'', July 29, 2000.
# "[http://www.northvegr.org/lore/swastika/004.php The Swastika]". Northvegr Foundation. Notes on the etymology and meaning of Swastika
# "The Swastika". ''[http://www.crystalinks.com/swastika.html Crystalinks: Ellie Crystal's Metaphysical and Science Website]''.
# "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de%271933.html Swastika Flag Specifications and Construction Sheet (Germany)]". ''FOTW''.
# Servando González. "The Krohn Connection". ''[http://www.intelinet.org/swastika/swasti01.htm The Swastika and the Nazis'']. 1998.
# J. R. "[http://www.jrbooksonline.com/HTML-docs/The_Backwards_Swastika.htm Debunking the Nazi 'Backwards Swastika' Myth]". ''JR's Rare Books and Commentary''. August 2001.
# "Sayagata 紗綾形". ''[http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/s/sayagata.htm Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System]''.
# Robert Ferré. "[http://www.labyrinth-enterprises.com/amiens.html Amiens Cathedral]". ''Labyrinth Enterprises''.
# Gary Malkin. "[http://romanbristol.tripod.com/avon/tockington.html Tockington Park Roman Villa]". ''The Area of Bristol in Roman Times''. December 9, 2002.
# Subhayu Banerjee. "[http://www.bengalonthenet.com/php/displayfile.php?article_id=60§ion_id=5&sub_id=0 Shubho Nabobarsho]". ''Bengal on the Net''. April 16, 2001
# "[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Ein%20Gedi%20-%20An%20Ancient%20Oasis%20Settlement Ein Gedi: An Ancient Oasis Settlement]". ''Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs''. November 23, 1999.
# "[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U4E00.pdf CJK Unified Ideographs]", ''The Unicode Standard, Version 4.1''. Unicode, Inc. 2005. (Portable Document Format file)
# Dottie Indyke. "[http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa086.shtml The History of an Ancient Human Symbol]". April 4, 2005. originally from ''The Wingspread Collector’s Guide to Santa Fe, Taos and Albuquerque'', Volume 15.
# C.R. "Johnny" Walker. "[http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/badges.htm The Fleur-de-lis and the Swastika]". ''"Johnny Walker's Scouting Milestones Pages''. November 2003.
# British House of Commons [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo960612/debtext/60612-41.htm Hansard Debates for June 12 1996 (pt 41)].
# Dov Gutterman, [http://fotw.vexillum.com/flags/lv%5Eair.html Latvia: Aircraft Marking], June 20, 2004.
# "[http://www.45thdivisionmuseum.com/History/SwastikaToThunderbird.html From Swastika to Thunderbird]". ''45th Infantry Division Museum''.
# Brigadier General Ross. H. Routh (Ret.) "[http://www.m38a1.com/Misc-MV/thunderbirds.htm From Swastika to Thunderbird]". ''The M38A1 Restoration Site''. History of the 45th Infantry Division
# José Manuel Erbez. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de%7Dns_or.html#ont Order of the New Templars 1907]". ''FOTW''. January 21, 2001.
# Santiago Dotor, and Norman Martin. "German Hunting Society 1934-1945 (Third Reich, Germany)" ''FOTW''. March 15, 2003. [http://flagspot.net/flags/de@dj933.html The flag of the ''Reichsbund Deutsche Jägerschaft'']
# Mark Sensen, António Martins, Norman Martin, and Ralf Stelter. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de1933_o.html Centred vs. Offset Disc and Swastika 1933-1945 (Germany)]". ''FOTW''. December 29, 2004.
# Marcus Wendel et al. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de%7Dns_hj.html Hitler Youth (NSDAP, Germany)]". ''FOTW''. January 17, 2004.
# Norman Martin et al. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de1938~w.html War Ensign 1938-1945 (Germany)]". ''FOTW''. The ''"Reichskriegsflagge"''
# Flags at ''FOTW'':
#* Norman Martin et al. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de1935ah.html Standard of the Leader and National Chancellor 1935-1945]". April 9, 2004. Hitler's personal flag;
#* Marcus Wendel, Jaume Ollé, et al. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de%7Dns_ss.html Schutzstaffel/SS]" December 14, 2001;
#* Jaume Ollé, Željko Heimer, and Norman Martin. "[http://flagspot.net/flags/de1935~s.html State Flag and Ensign 1935-1945]" December 29, 2004. The ''"Reichsdienstflagge"''
# Harry Kreisler. "[http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people3/Eizenstat/eizenstat-con0.html Conversation with Stuart E. Eizenstat]". ''Conversations with History''. Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley. April 30, 2003.
# "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1834183.stm Swastika film poster escapes ban]". ''BBC News''. February 21, 2002.
# "[http://www.sca.org/heraldry/coagloss.html Glossary of Terms]" of the Society for Creative Anachronism. December 23, 2003.
# "[http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/12/30/swastika021230 Toy pandas bearing swastikas a cultural mix-up]". ''Canadian Broadcasting Corporation''. December 30, 2002.
# Scott H. Howard, City Attorney. "[http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/government/lampposts.html Report: Lampposts]". Memo to the City Council of Glendale, California.
# "[http://support.microsoft.com/?id=833407 critical update to remove unacceptable symbols from the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font]". Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 833407. November 8, 2004
# "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4173881.stm Papers shocked at Harry stunt]". ''BBC News''. January 14, 2005.
===Further external links===
*[http://www.gurudeva.org/resources/books/lg/lg_ch-07.html A very comprehensive source, by a Hindu leader]
*[http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p039.html The Cross: Its Origin and Significance], Christian Churches of God, 1999
*[http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/aa120699a.htm The History of the Swastika] ''(About.com)''
*[http://www.heraldica.org/topics/swastika.htm The Swastika in Heraldry] ''(comments from the Heraldica mailing list)''
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4183467.stm The Origins of the Swastika] ''BBC News''
*[http://www.birthplaceofhockey.com/hockeyists/swastikas/swastikas-story.html Windsor's "Swastikas" Hockey Teams 1905-1916]
*''sites presenting versions of Wilson's'' The Swastika ''(#References)''
**[http://www.northvegr.org/lore/swastika/index.php The Swastika]
**[http://www.maitreya.org/swastika/ Swaztika] ''(sic)'' ''(a scan of the original publication)''
**[http://fax.libs.uga.edu/J84xSI3x1/ The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol] ''(a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/J84xSI3x1/1f/swastika_history_report.pdf layered PDF] format)''
*[http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/bronze.html#hansilk Comets and the Bronze Age Collapse] by Bob Kobres
*[http://www.kamat.com/indica/culture/sub-cultures/swastika.htm Swastika in Indian Culture] by Jyotsna Kamat
*[http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/text/x31/xr3187.html Origins and its first appearance as a Nazi symbol]
*[http://www.intelinet.org/swastika/index.html The Swastika and the Nazis] by Servando González
*From ''FOTW'':
**[http://flagspot.net/flags/de%7Dns_or.html Origins of the Swastika Flag (Third Reich, Germany)] ''(collection of links and comments)''
**[http://flagspot.net/flags/naz.html Neonazi flags] ''(links to other FOTW pages)''
*[http://www.odinic-rite.org/fylfot.html Rehabilitating the Fylfot] ''(notes from the Odinic Rite's website)''
*[http://news.indiainfo.com/2005/01/19/1901hindus.html Rehabilitating the Swastika] Hindus in Britain launch campaign to revive the Swastika
*[http://www.chan1.org/ddp/chanmag/sum2000.html#swastika ''The Swastika''], Lawrence Waldron, Chan Magazine, Summer 2000.
*[http://www.manwoman.net/ "manwoman"] - Canadian "pop artist" covered in Swastika tatoos
Concepts in Hinduism
Buddhism
Nazi Germany
Symbols
Swastika
==Carlsberg, Proably the best Swastikas in the World== No mention of Carlsbergs Use of the Swastika? Apart from that I've got to say this is a particularly good article! Well done! As far as the swastika is concerned I suspect that this was already used by the earlier Indians or the Pre-Aryans of India.I suspect that this may have been used by the Harrappa and MohenjoDaro civilization of the Indus valley.This was the first and earliest known civilzation of India.Unfortunatley they did not leave much written record to say who they were but the archaelogical excavations have proved this.But the marketing later civilisation likes to take credit for swastika. :Carlsberg and Harappa? You may want to give us some reference as to what you mean. I don't know who 'claims credit' for the swastika: it's too ancient to tell, certainly neolithic, if not older. User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 13:44, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC) ::The Carlsberg brewery used the swastika as its registered trademark 1881-1938: see the image at http://www.wongoz.com/images/tr-copenhagen-carlsbergbottles.jpg -- User:Picapica 09:00, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC) ==Corn Palace== In 1995 my family and I were on vacation in South Dakota when we visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. While I was in the palace I noticed a picture of the building that had been taken in the early 20th century. The design featured a swastika on one of the towers. I don't remember the year the design was on the building, or how many swastika's were on the building even.
User:Jesster79 20:15, Apr 22, 2005 (UTC) ==Ranting Hitler likes Colours;== this article is nicely written so i dont want to insert this randomly and mess up the flow but some nice discussion might be about how in 'mein kampf' hitler goes on for pages about why he likes red black and white, and how he theorizes about its propaganda value, from a sort of perverted marketing perspective, and how little he thinks of the 'masses' that he is leading, ie he feels that he can easily suade them to anything with certain symbols and colors because he feels they are stupid. odd thing that chapter. the other thing about the swastika is that there is this guy named 'manwoman' who has swastikas tatooed all over his body. he currently resides in cranbrook, british columbia, canada. --- ''In Christianity, it has been used as an alternative to the traditional cross. It also symbolizes the pain of Christ on the cross.'' Statements of 'meanings' of symbols ''always'' need a reference showing to whom that symbol was meaningful in that particular way. Especially oddball remarks about the 'meanings' of contentious symbols, eh? Notice the use of the passive voice: ''Legend has it that...'' etc etc User:Wetman 04:23, 2 Dec 2003 (UTC) ----- == Those Romans and Greeks, what'll they think of next?!== i think that indoeuropeans used swastika as sign of sun: Romans and Greeks did use it, didn't they? user:szopen ---- I was unaware that the Nazi swastika was a trademark. Is the "TM" in the image correct? user:Brion VIBBER :I am not aware Romans did use it, I heard once it effectively was the symbol of sun, perhaps in south-eastern Asia. :"TM" seems to be the initials of the author of the .png file, the sign in itself should be of public domain. Otherwise, I would like to know who could have the taste to use it as a commercial logo... ::Well, apparently the Bavarian government owns the copyright to Mein Kampf in order to forbid anyone from reprinting it... Perhaps it's something like that. :) After all, who could have the taste to initial their drawing of a Nazi-style swastika? (Well, other than Nazis, obviously.) User:Damian Yerrick, where did these images come from? user:Brion VIBBER :::I made them. The "TM" thing was a jab at TSR (see [http://www.google.com/search?q=tsr+%22nazi+tm%22 these pages]]). In any case, I've removed the TM and re-uploaded the images. ::::Ah, I see. Cute, but not really appropriate. Thanks for fixing them! IIRC, the Swastika is found on some Roman mosaics, at least, in one in France that i know of. I believe Greek Geometeric art used swastikas ==The hills are alive with the sound of Spider Swastika's== In The Sound of Music, the youngest daughter called the swastika a "spider" and speculated that having to wear that symbol might be the cause of the Nazis' acting so cross all the time. Occasionally, people who don't know the non-Nazi used of the swastika will complain when it appears on a temple (Buddhist? Hindu?) in the West. == Those Japanese, what'll they think of next?!== In Japan, the swastika is called the "manji" and is quite thoroughly unrelated to racism. It's also used throughout the ancient world -- visit Rome and look at some classical floor mosaics, for instance. :Could you kindly indicate me, please, where in Rome the swastika is in some mosaic? (talking about ancient ones, obviously) user:Gianfranco ::I've seen quite a few swastikas, coloured like that of nazi's, in roman mosaics at Tarragona. :::See Figures 2 and 4 on this site: http://romanbristol.tripod.com/avon/tockington.html Homogenous cultures wouldn't be very likely to have problems with "racism." But as far as the article's concerned, there should be some way to organize this a little better. I'll do some reading and see if I can contribute something here. User:RL Barrett 03:27 May 10, 2003 (UTC) == Those Isle of Manians and Sicilians, what'll they think of next?!== ''The three- legged badge of the Isle of Man, which is believed to share its roots with the swastika.'' I removed this. This image is also the ancient symbol of Sicily, the Trinacria or Triskelion. Sicily was occupied by Celtic tribes of Siceli and Sicani before the Carthaginians even arrived. Solar disk with three running legs. Later with a gorgon's head. Very interesting. But how can anyone connect this with a swastika? User:Wetman 02:32, 1 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Well, it's not as far fetched as it may seem at first glance. Spinning motifs are found in various cultures on various continents. That isn't to say that all such motifs have a common origin; it probably has something to do with human perception -- motifs with rotational and folding symmetry seem static, while ones with rotational symmetry only seem to turn. Anyway, I've seen at least one catalog of swastika-like motifs -- I'll see what I can find at the library next time I'm there. At the very least it seems appropriate to list some other swastika-like motifs, without going into speculations. Regards, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 05:43, 23 May 2004 (UTC) ==Psueds Corner== Swastika means swa...self,astika...existance,in equally divided four parts of the world time cycle.as per shreemat bhagvat geeta kalpa age is 5000years.equally divided into four parts of satya yug,treta yug,dwapar yug and kalah yug.in this chakra souls have come from the soul world at diff times,example ebrahim 2500 years,christ 2000,buddha 2250,mohammad paigamber 1400...and so on..in the end the liberator paramatma shiv has come to liberate all the souls trapped in bodyconciousness to the original form of the soul conciousness,liberate from all sins,bounds and re establish the aadi sanatan devidevata dharma[detism] which has no address to date.as soul undergoes the process of rebirth called sato,rajo,and tamo[golden,silver,copper,iron stages ]paramatma shiva is telling THROUGH medium of prajapita brahma [corporel] the right meaning of swastika know your self...who am i? where i have come from?where/when i will go back? what is my part in this world drama? what is my relation with param atma shiv[heavanly god father]? what do i get from him? what i have lost?.....for more detailed information on swastika... you may cotact...BRHMA KUMARIS..world wide.. == 'swazi' == I have never heard of the swastika referred to as the 'swazi'. Even if it is, why do we have to point out that it's unrelated to the Swazi people? I mean, has anyojne ever made that confusion? I'm taking this passage ''Italic text''off --User:Mgekelly 13:00, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC) ---- Stormie improperly censored even an external link that he didn't "like" in order to prevent others from seeing http://members.ij.net/rex/swastikanews.html and new ideas about interpreting the swastika. :Rex, if you want to peddle your opinions concerning Nazism and Socialism, go to Nazism#Nazism_and_socialism and try to work out a concensus there. Don't do it by inserting links to your personal rant site under the misleading heading "The Swastika origin and meaning". —User:Stormie 00:01, Jun 25, 2004 (UTC) == Use of swastika in early Christianity == Hello. An anonymous editor added a statement [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Swastika&diff=0&oldid=4828443] to the effect that the swastika was used as a substitute cross by early Christians. I can't find any substantiation for this, aside from several web pages (themselves unsubstantiated) which make the same assertion. The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia [http://www.ccel.org/php/disp.php3?a=schaff&b=encyc03&p=310] says the swastika ''perhaps owes its not infrequent adoption by Christians to its resemblance to the cross; at least this resemblance may have made the adoption easier...''. If someone has something to back up the assertion that the swastika was specifically used as a ''crux dissimulata'', then go ahead and restore the text, with a suitable reference. For what it's worth, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 19:42, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC) Its the Gammadian (sp?) cross, made from four Greek gammas (hence it usualy only points the one way). Shows up in some medival churches, and on the floor of the Cathedral of Amiens. Its been around since the early church days, but remained relativly obscure. == Proposal for wording change re: "predates...anti-Semitism" == In the Heraldy section is the sentence: "It predates and has nothing to do with Nazism or anti-Semitism." Predates anti-Semitism? hmmm. I propose to reword this: "It predates Nazism and has no Nazi or anti-Semitic connotations" ... I will do this if I see no counterproposals within a few days. (Would have just done it, but for the obvious sensitivity of the subject). User:Sharkford 20:33, 2004 Aug 18 (UTC) :Well, according to the article, the swastika dates at least to the Vedas, which in turn are dated to at least 1500 BC. I don't think it can be argued that anti-semitism originated any earlier than the Hellenistic era, so "It predates Nazism and anti-Semitism" seems correct. Of course perhaps the text can be polished but that's a lesser issue. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 05:29, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC) :: I object. Your proposal sentence: " "It predates Nazism and has no Nazi or anti-Semitic connotations " is even more problematic (imo, of course). Obviously, the first clause is fine, since it does indeed predate Nazism. However the second is in the present tense, and doesn't make sense with WWII. We should be clear about this, since it's a sensitive issue to many Hindus, Buddhists and Japanese religionists. I would prefer something more explicit, like: "The swastika's origin and use as a religious sigil long predate Nazism and until World War II had no Nazi or anti-Semitic overtones. In modern times the swastika is viewed in a perspectival dichotomy: many people following Eastern religions still see it as a religious emblem while most Westerners identify it with the Holocaust." You can take out my second sentence as having been stated elsewhere, but I think my objections (and proposed remedies) are hereby made clear. --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 15:08, Aug 19, 2004 (UTC) ::: Your proposed clarification is entirely sensible. The only minor change I would suggest is to substitute "Westerners identify it with the Nazis" for "Westerners identify it with the Holocaust". I guess I would also substitute "symbol" for "sigil". Happy editing, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 15:26, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC) ::::I would actually disagree with "Holocaust" over "Nazis" there - User:David Gerard 08:47, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) :::::In fact, the sentence refers specifically to the Heraldic fylfot, definitely not the swastika. And my proposal was based not on an analysis of exactly when the fylfot came into use but rather the sense that anti-semitism is not so much a movement that had a beginning but rather an abstraction like Evil or Hatred (though obviously it cannot be said to have existed before Judaism), so the sentence has a dissonance at a conceptual level. :::::I was definitely not proposing to say "...has no anti-Semitic connotations" of the Swastika, I ought to have made it clear that it was the fylfot sentence I was pointing to. How about "The fylfot [repeating the subject, in case a reader scans the sentence out-of-context] pre-dates Nazism and was not used with any anti-Semitic connotation." ::::: User:Sharkford 13:09, 2004 Aug 20 (UTC) ::::::Good by me - User:David Gerard 14:14, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) :::::: Sorry, I missed the context. Now I understand that you (Sharkford) were speaking of the fylfot specifically. Since we're on the topic, I'll mention that the fylfot is somewhat problematic. I'll start a new thread on that topic. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 15:29, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) ::::::: Made the change - but now I see WEH's comments on the fylfot, so perhaps the whole small section will disappear, or need to be replaced ... ah well. User:Sharkford 16:17, 2004 Aug 20 (UTC) == Fylfot -- conjectural == The claim is made in swastika that the swastika was used as a heraldic device called a fylfot. No specific references are given to substantiate that claim. It is true that many web pages make the same claim, but none of them have any substantiation either. In the entry in OED on fylfot (quoted at [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/swastika.htm]) there is only one instance of "fylfot" before the 19th c. -- ''The sole authority on which this word has been accepted by modern antiquaries as the name of the mark in question is the passage from the Lansdowne MS. quoted below.'' Consider also what Merriam-Webster has to say [http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=fylfot] -- ''Etymology: Middle English, device used to fill the lower part of a painted glass window (from a conjectural manuscript reading)''. Given that there's no evidence for fylfot as a common term for a swastika figure, I suggest we strike out the stuff about "fylfot", or (perhaps) replace it with a discussion of how there's no substantiation for claiming fylfot == swastika. I don't mean to claim that a swastika was never used in heraldry, but if it was, it was called something other than "fylfot". User:Wile E. Heresiarch 15:29, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC) : I've removed references to "fylfot" from swastika, since the term "fylfot" as a synonym for swastika has not been substantiated. It could be useful to put in a disclaimer of the form "it has been suggested that fylfot == swastika, but there's no evidence for that" to forestall the reappearance of the removed text. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 16:27, 22 Aug 2004 (UTC) :: A note a long time after the fact (10 Septmber 2004) to say that I restored "fylfot" on the grounds that - however shakey the pedigree - it is a term that is nowadays used to describe a swastika. But with a note to the effect that it may be spurious. --User:81.144.220.5 17:07, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Problematic statements in "Origins" section == Hello. Recently a section titled "Origins" was added [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Swastika&diff=5703406&oldid=5665452]. The statements in that section seem problematic. (1) One statement is that swastika means "auspicious sign" in Sanskrit. This isn't consistent with the statement at the top of the article, which says swastika means "well-being" or "it is good" in Sanskrit. (2) The other statement repeats Carl Sagan's speculation about the origin of the swastika. Now I like Carl Sagan, but he had absolutely no evidence whatsoever for his comet hypothesis. The statement about the comet could be struck out immediately as ungrounded speculation, except that its association with Sagan lends it a certain cachet. -- I'm inclined to strike out both statements. Comments? Regards, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 01:43, 7 Sep 2004 (UTC) : Swastika when broken down in Sanskrit has the 's(a)(u)' prefix which means ''good, well'', or ''blessed'' and 'astika' is essentially ''form, character'', or ''figure''. The other meanings given are derivative functions of its use in Hindu ceremony and philosophy, its contextual meaning. But in reality, the name means only ''auspicious form'' or ''blessed sign'' (or any permutation thereof). As for Carl Sagan, he's got a lot of dubious ideas, regardless of his reputation. I, like you, don't think his statement should be there. If it is, then it should be preceded by statements of people who actually know what they're talking about (point being Sagan should stick to physics and not speculate on cultural history and symbolism). --User:LordSuryaofShropshire 02:00, Sep 7, 2004 (UTC) :: Thanks for your comments. I have struck out the "Origins" section. It mentioned the Vedas and Sanskrit meaning, both of which are addressed at the top of the article, and it mentioned Sagan's speculation, which has been removed from the article. Maybe Sagan's theory could be mentioned in Carl Sagan. -- I have a related question about etymology. I'll start a new thread. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 14:14, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC) == Etymology == Hello. At present the article has this etymology: ''Sanskrit "good luck" or "well-being", literally "blessed form"''. I guess I am a little confused by this. There are a variety of etymologies stated in web pages, which, I'm guessing, are not reliable. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary [http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=swastika&x=0&y=0] states ''Skt svastika, from svasti well-being, from su- well + as- to be; akin to Sanskrit asti he is, Old English is; from its being regarded as a good luck symbol''. Britannica Online [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=72437&tocid=0&query=swastika&ct=] says ''The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning ?conducive to well-being.?''. These two suggest that "well-being" is a literal meaning, and "good luck" and "auspicious form" are figurative meanings. That's pretty much the same as the statements above by User:LordSuryaofShropshire although not quite the same. Would someone like to comment on the differences? Given the controversies surrounding the swastika, it seems useful to seek an etymology from an authoritative source (and to cite the source in the article). A well-regarded English-Sanskrit dictionary would be appropriate, for example. Thanks for any information, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 14:14, 8 Sep 2004 (UTC) :the etymology given may still be improved. The word is morphologically segmentet ''su-as-ti-ka''. "su" is correctly explained as cognate to "eu-", meaning "well-". "asti" is "being", the verbal root is "as", cognate to English "is". the "ti" forms a verbal abstract. it is not related to the personal ending in ''asti'' "he is". So, svasti- means "well-being". the ''-ka'' is a diminutive suffix. I.e. the entire word means "little well-being", or "little thing associated with well-being". "blessed form" is therefore not a literal translation. The sign is only one among several meanings og the word, see [http://flaez.ch/cgi-bin/mw.pl?query=svastika Monier-Williams]. User:Dbachmann 12:42, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Sagan's swastika theory revisited == Hello. Carl Sagan's swastika theory has reappeared in swastika. I've moved it to Carl Sagan. Since the theory is unsubstantiated it seems inappropriate to give it any prominence in swastika; Carl Sagan seems like its natural home. I've left a bare mention of the theory in swastika with a wikilink to Carl Sagan; hopefully this will forestall its reappearance. I'd omit it entirely but the theory seems to have some popularity by association with Sagan. Happy editing, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 17:27, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :I disagree. What do you mean about "unsubstantiated"? User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 17:45, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :: This is a bad decision. Anyone who is idly wondering where the image of the swastika came from will no longer find any information on the swastika page. Instead, they will instead have to randomly stumble across it on the Carl Sagan page. Forgive me, but that seems silly. Sagan's theory may well be unsubstantiated, but it's not impossible either, and, more to the point, it's entirely harmless. The solution is to hide it, but to simply point out in the text that it is not proven, and is merely a theory. Put it back. User:The Singing Badger 18:26, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::: Leaving aside the question of whether swastika should describe Sagan's theory, let me point out that unsubstantiated, plausible speculations are not harmless. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 21:26, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::::What's the "harm" in letting people know there's an idea out there? The idea's referenced, too; it's not just stated baldly as fact or otherwise asserted unfairly. User:A2Kafir 00:08, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC) I thought the way I put it in made it clear it was speculation. That's why I pointed out that the symbol is symmetric and simple (and so may have arisen multiple times independently). User:A2Kafir 20:05, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :I agree that it was clearly labeled a conjecture. However, the notability of the conjecture rests entirely on its association with Sagan. Sagan was notable, but his notability is not inherited by every one of his opinions. I could be convinced otherwise about this conjecture -- for example, has it been widely repeated and credited to Sagan? Let me note also that the allusion to symmetry and simplicity is another conjecture, and, so long as it is the conjecture of one or more Wikipedia editors, it is not notable either. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 21:19, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::The article notes that the symbol was used by many cultures worldwide for centuries for a variety of meanings, with no explanation as to why this might be. All this does is give one explanation, clearly labeled as speculation with some evidence behind it. The reader can go to the library and take out ''Comet'' if they want to follow up on it. ::Put this another way: the Zia symbol, used on the state flag of New Mexico, isn't a "universal" symbol in the same way; it was NOT widely used in cultures worldwide, despite its simplicity and symmetry. Why was the pre-Nazi swastika different? Ol' Carl had an interesting idea as to why. User:A2Kafir 23:53, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) :::And it must not be left out, nor reduced in size or importance. Sagan is as expert on this subject. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 00:02, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC) :::Sagan is an intelligent man, and he may be an expert on comets. But does that make him an expert on swastikas? Nobody disputes that there are in fact comets with swastika-like tails, it's just the idea that they are somehow involved with the origin of the sign that is of questionable noteworthiness. I must say the idea strikes me as ad-hoc and rather silly, and it is certainly not one of Sagan's brighter ideas. But I agree that it is not harmful, and it doesn't take much space, so we may as well mention it, as long as we make clear that this is pure, 100% speculation. User:Dbachmann 12:52, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Swastika vs sauwastika == Under "meanings" the idea that the left-facing Swastika is different from the Sauvastika is played down significantly. In ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'', it says the following: "A clear distinction is made between the right-hand swastika, (…) and the left-hand swastika (more correctly called the ''sauvastika''), which moves in a counterclockwise direction. The right-hand swastika is considered a solar symbol and imitates in the rotation of its arms the course taken daily by the Sun. (…) The left-hand swastika more often stands for night, the terrifying goddess Kālī, and magical practices." Who is right? Is EB only keeping the falsehood alive? In that case, this would be a case for the Wikipedia is better than EB page :-). — User:Chmod007 00:26, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) :''sauvastika'' is a regular sanskrit "vrddhi" formation, meaning "related to the svastika". Monier-Williams gives a meaning "benedictive, salutatory" for the word sauvastika. If it was ever used for Kali etc., we would need to clearly state when, where and by whom. User:Dbachmann 10:09, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) ::the sauwastika paragraph is getting out of hand. We need a separate Sauwastika article, and only link to that from here. User:Dbachmann 20:45, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC) :::You beat me to it! --User:Ant 00:43, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC) == 273 Squadron RAF == http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo960612/debtext/60612-41.htm search down to 273. There is/was an issue about this not being granted because they used a fylfot copied off a local temple that resembled the Swastika. http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h273.html User:Duncharris|User talk:duncharris 12:03, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Indo-European== Can somebody do something about the horribly hearsay (no sources or specifications) "Indo-European" section? If not, I'll just remove it. User:Dbachmann 10:11, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) I removed the subsection, moving Sun cross and Brigid's cross to the "see alsos". I could find no evidence supporting the rest of this subsection. There is this site: [http://www.khandro.net/swastika.htm] but that's hardly a source. User:Dbachmann 19:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) btw, [http://www.luckymojo.com/swastika.html here] is a nice image of a 1907 greeting card. User:Dbachmann 19:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) : I agree with your recent edit removing "Early Indo-European traditions". We can restore the text when someone finds substantial citations for these statements. User:Wile E. Heresiarch 19:19, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Geometry== The geometry section is... well-meaning. But isn't it slightly over the top? (I mean, five images explaining the geometry of the swastika??). Couldn't some of it be exported, maybe? User:Dbachmann 18:37, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC) :I wouldn't consider it much of a loss if the section on the terms "clockwise" and "counter-clockwise" were to be removed, along with its two attendant images. The rest of the geometry section is closer to Wikipedia style. User:Factitious 01:45, Dec 1, 2004 (UTC) ::well, it's true that the (anti)-clockwise characterization is common, but ambiguous. The point needs to be made, and the images help. It just clogs up the flow of the article. Either export or move further down. Or leave in place, I don't know.... User:Dbachmann 08:08, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC) :::I contributed this! I understand your concern that it disrupts the flow of the article. But the ambiguity needs to be noted early in the article. What I'm saying is, "Avoid ambiguous terms like 'clockwise' or 'right-handed' in this article," and "Take care when someone says, e.g., 'clockwise' if there's no image to confirm the sense." (Counter)clockwise is used later with respect to Hindu swastikas, but I can't find an external source that indicates in which sense, so I can't change it... Cw/ccw are also used wrt the Nazi swastika where the sense is carefully described, but that could be made more succinct by saying left/right-facing. I'll undertake to trim the dry description to the bare bones. But there's also more to add about the rotation regarding the swastika as a solar symbol, which belongs early in the article. And to firm up the discussion of sauwastika (which needs careful definition which way the symbol faces). --User:Ant 09:14, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC) ==Comets== I removed the parts that don't directly concern the swastika, and npoved the remaining phrasings somewhat, but that doesn't imply my endorsement of what is left behind; somebody else should look it over, too. User:Dbachmann_(