A short discourse on the different rotations of swastikas:
I have recently had the experience of being told, by two different intelligent and sensible people, that the direction a swastika is 'rotating' changes its meaning -- specifically, a swastika with right-pointing arms* is evil, and means that you are on the side of Hitler, while the left-pointing swastika has a rich history as an emblem of All Things Good And Happy. This is bunk.
The right-pointing, or 'Nazi' swastika has, in earlier times, been used in a number of contexts, including, but not limited to:
- A Hindu religious symbol, closely related to the OM or Omkar. The Hindu symbol can be drawn with the arms going in either direction.
"The word swastika means auspicious in the Sanskrit language and hence is used to symbolize the welcoming of auspiciousness and driving away evils. The symbol also represents the changing of the universe around the unchanging nature of God".**
- A Boy Scout badge; specifically, the Thanks Badge:
"...when anyone has done a kindness to a Scout it is their {the scout's} privilege to present him -- or her -- with this token of their gratitude, which makes him a sort of member of the Brotherhood, and entitles him to the help of any other Scout at any time and at any place." ***
At the time the swastika was called a fylfot. The swastika also appeared in other parts of pre-WWII American culture. ****
- A number of Native American groups used the swastika, in both forms. Unfortunately, I have not been able to untangle which groups used which form of the swastika.
- The Bon religion of Tibet (slowly being replaced by Buddhism) uses this right-pointing swastika. (Buddhism uses the left-pointing).
- Cave art in France; Pottery from ancient Mesopotamia (5,000-4,000 BCE); Knossos, Crete, (+/- 1000 BCE). There are many more examples, but you get the idea.
Another list, just as long, could be made of cultures that used the left-pointing swastika, but I think that most of the main uses have been covered in the other writeups in this node. Suffice to say, swastikas are generally Good Things, with rather unique exception of the black swastika on a white background on a red field.
* It is debatable which way a swastika is 'meant' to spin; the previous WUs in this node have already managed to give inconsistent accounts of what a Nazi swastika looks like. Because of this, I will not be using the damnable terms clockwise and counterclockwise. Instead, I will use the terms left- and right-pointing. To avoid any possible confusion, here are pictures. The 'Nazi' swastika looks like this:
Right-Pointing Swastika
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If you were to reverse it, it would look like this:
Left-Pointing Swastika
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** http://www.hindunet.com/faq/hindufaq/cache/12.html
*** http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-can3.htm
**** www.eskimo.com/~bpentium/articles/swastika.html
www.heathenworld.com/swastika/