What is the swastika, the story and the meaning of the demonized symbol after Nazism

There swastika (Swastikain Sanskrit) is now associated with Nazism but historically was born as religious symbol Originally from the cultures of Aurasia. When the archaeological excavations of Heinrich Schliemann they brought to light the ruins of the ancient Trojan cityamong the discovered finds there was a symbol that would subsequently be associated with the “hooked cross”, and which was then considered as one religious representation proper to ancient European populations. Precisely in Europe, at the beginning of the 1900s, it spread again as a symbol of prosperity and good omen. After the first world conflict this sign slowly became an emblem of the “Aryan breed” (the notorious “pure breed”), assumed as a representative of the German nationalist pride with far -right movements. In 1920 The Nazi party He formally adopted it as a symbol, giving it the shade of meaning that we all know today. In the West, the connotations of Swastasto changed forever.

The meaning of Swastasto, a globally widespread symbol

Swastasto is one Sanskrit word In reality, much older than the Nazi party. This male term, contrary to our Italian pronunciation that wants it female, is composed of the prefix sw- which means “well” e -Sti which is the conjugation of the verb to be, the suffix -ka It would indicate a diminutive, so literally Swastastic would be “A small lucky charm”something extremely positive. Today it will not be difficult to find it engraved on the doors of the houses or on the walls, walking through the streets of Bali or in Lithuania: it is a cross with four arms of equal length, each ending with “a hook”, or a curvature, facing right or left (in India, traditionally, to the right).

The German term “Hakeenkreuz” It means precisely “hooked cross”, while in Italian it is also called “four -to -face cross”. In France, the term is used “Croix Gammée” or “Croce Gammatata”, a reference to the similarity with the Greek letter gamma when the hooks point to the right. Among the oldest attestations it is interesting to note that a Swastastic was engraved on the ring of Gengis Khantogether with the enrollment “King of the world”. However, it is not an exclusively eastern symbol, it is also widespread in theAntica Americawhere the Indians adopted him until the early 1900s, we find him in the Pre-hellenic Greeceat the Celtsand it seems that it was emblem of Christ until the end of the Middle Ages.

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The center of the swastika as the origin and end of everything

Like the point in the center of a circle or like a wheel, the symbolism of Swastastics has roots that sink into the prehistoric. The form that characterizes it is representative: it is a graphic representation of the action of a Principle, spiritual and cosmic, on the world; From the center, branches start, the four arms, like roads that move away but also return to it, depending on how it is interpreted. The Centerspiritually understood as the principle of everything, therefore it is the point of departurebut also the point of I arriveis what everything derives from and without which nothing would exist. The arms that connect the center outside represent a constant link between it and everything that exists; It is also a symbol that does not imply stasis, on the contrary: the center gives movementis responsible for the sense of time of time or anti -erally rotation of the hooked cross. In summary, it is the beginning and end of everythinga concept that could then have become the Christian one of Alpha and Omega. In some traditions, such as that Hinduthe form of Swastastics is associated with the cosmic concept of movement and cyclicity, which in some schools of thought can be linked to the symbol of “Increase”emblem of the divine.

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It is interesting to note that the same symbol of swastmates appears both in the ancient Hindu tradition as in themedieval Christian esotericism. Today, it is associated with one of the darkest periods in history, but it is useful to remember that, in past centuries, the same symbol represented the cycle of life, prosperity and universal harmony.