The swastika (pronounced SWOST-ik-ə) is a symbol that has been used in many cultures and religions across Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas for thousands of years. It has been used to represent divinity and spirituality in religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In the Western world, however, it is most closely linked to the Nazi Party, which used it on Germany’s flag and in other official places. This connection remains today, as some groups, like neo-Nazis, continue to use the symbol.

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit language, which means "conducive to well-being." In Hinduism, the right-facing swastika (卐) represents the sun, prosperity, and good luck. The left-facing swastika (卍) is sometimes called sauvastika and is linked to night or aspects of the goddess Kali. In Jainism, the swastika is part of the Jain flag and represents Suparshvanatha, one of 24 spiritual leaders. In Buddhism, it symbolizes the footprints of the Buddha. In some ancient traditions, the swastika represented fire, lightning, or the sun. The symbol has been found in ancient remains from the Indus Valley Civilization and the Samarra culture in Mesopotamia, as well as in early Christian and Byzantine artwork.

Until the 1930s, the swastika was widely seen as a symbol of good luck in the Western world. It was first used by a far-right Romanian politician, A. C. Cuza, before World War I to promote antisemitism, but this did not change how most people viewed the symbol until the Nazi Party adopted it as a symbol of the so-called Aryan race. Because of World War II and the Holocaust, Western societies now strongly associate the swastika with Nazism, antisemitism, white supremacism, or evil. In some countries, displaying the swastika is illegal. However, in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and other communities in countries like Nepal, India, Thailand, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, China, and Japan, the swastika still represents good luck and prosperity. It also has different meanings for groups such as the Akan, Hopi, Navajo, and Tlingit peoples. The swastika is often used in Hindu marriage ceremonies and during Diwali celebrations.

Etymology and nomenclature

With well-being (swasti), we would follow our path, like the Sun and the Moon. May we meet someone who gives in return, who does not harm, and who has knowledge.

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit root "swasti," which combines "su" (meaning "good" or "well") and "asti" (meaning "is" or "there is"). The word "swasti" appears often in ancient Indian texts, such as the Vedas and classical literature, and it means "health, luck, success, or prosperity." It was also used as a greeting. The ending "ka" is a common suffix that can have many meanings.

According to 19th-century Sanskrit scholar Monier Monier-Williams, most scholars believe the swastika was originally a symbol of the sun. The symbol represents good fortune, luck, or something positive. It is sometimes spelled "svastika" in modern texts. Other spellings, like "suastika," were used in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The word comes from the Sanskrit term (Devanagari: स्वस्तिक), which is written as "svastika" in the IAST system but pronounced closer to "swastika."

The earliest known use of the word "swastika" appears in Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī, an ancient Sanskrit grammar text. Pāṇini used the word to explain a rule about identifying marks on a cow's ear. Pāṇini lived in or before the 4th century BCE, possibly in the 6th or 5th century BCE.

An early use of "swastika" in a European text was in 1871, when Heinrich Schliemann, a 19th-century archaeologist, discovered over 1,800 ancient swastikas and similar symbols while digging near the Aegean Sea. Schliemann connected these findings to the Sanskrit word "swastika."

By the 19th century, the term "swastika" was adopted into English, replacing the earlier Greek term "gammadion." In 1878, the Irish scholar Charles Graves used "swastika" as the common English name for the symbol, after comparing it to the French term "croix gammée," which describes a cross with arms shaped like the Greek letter gamma (Γ). Soon after, British scholars Edward Thomas and Robert Sewell also used "swastika" as the standard English term.

The "reversed" swastika was first proposed by European scholar Eugène Burnouf in 1852 and later used by Heinrich Schliemann in his 1880 book Ilios, based on a letter from Max Müller. In 1894, Eugène Goblet d'Alviella used the term "sauwastika" to describe the reversed swastika, explaining that in India, the symbol is called "swastika" when its arms point to the right and "sauwastika" when they point to the left.

Other names for the symbol include:
– In European languages: fylfot, gammadion, tetraskelion, or cross cramponnée (a term from Anglo-Norman heraldry).
– German: Hakenkreuz.
– French: croix gammée.
– Italian: croce uncinata.
– Latvian: ugunskrusts.
– Mongolian: хас (khas), used mainly in seals.
– Chinese: 卍字 (wànzì in Mandarin, manji in Cantonese, manji in Japanese, manja in Korean, and vạn tự or chữ vạn in Vietnamese).
– In Balti/Tibetan: yung drung.

Appearance

Swastikas are crosses that are shaped based on a type of symmetry called chirality. They can look different depending on their design: some have short legs, others have long arms, and some are part of patterns made with unbroken lines. Chirality means that an object does not look the same when reflected in a mirror. Instead, it has two versions that are mirror images of each other. These versions are often called left-facing (卍) or right-facing (卐).

A compact swastika can be thought of as a 20-sided shape that is not regular, with a symmetry that allows it to be rotated four times (90 degrees each time) and still look the same. If this swastika is drawn on a 5 × 5 square grid and its legs are shortened by one unit, it can cover a flat surface completely by moving it in straight lines. The swastika on the main Nazi flag was based on a 5 × 5 diagonal grid, but its legs were not shortened.

The swastika became a standard character in Chinese, written as "卍" (pinyin: wàn), and was later used in other East Asian languages, such as Japanese, where it is called "卍" (Hepburn: manji) or "卍字" (manji).

The swastika appears in the Unicode character sets for two languages. In the Chinese section of Unicode, it is represented as U+534D 卍 (left-facing) and U+5350 卐 (right-facing). The right-facing version is included in the Big5 character set, but the left-facing version is not (though it appears in Big5+). In Unicode 5.2, two swastika symbols and two variations were added to the Tibetan block: U+0FD5 ࿕ (RIGHT-FACING SVASTI SIGN), U+0FD7 ࿗ (RIGHT-FACING SVASTI SIGN WITH DOTS), U+0FD6 ࿖ (LEFT-FACING SVASTI SIGN), and U+0FD8 ࿘ (LEFT-FACING SVASTI SIGN WITH DOTS).

Origin

In Europe, swastikas are sometimes studied along with other cross symbols, such as the sun cross from Bronze Age religious practices. While the swastika is known to appear in early symbol systems, like the Vinča script from the Neolithic period, its exact origin remains unknown.

According to René Guénon, the swastika represents the North Pole and the movement around a central, unchanging axis (called the axis mundi). It also symbolizes the Sun, but only as a reflection of the North Pole. The swastika is a sign of life and the creative power of the universe’s highest principle, often linked to the concept of a supreme god. It represents the force that shapes the world, a concept found in traditions like the Greek Logos, the Hindu Om, and the Chinese Taiyi. Guénon also notes that the swastika’s meaning is similar to the yin and yang symbol in Chinese culture and other traditional symbols, such as the Greek letter Γ (gamma) and the letter G in Masonic traditions, which both represent a universal creator.

Scholar Reza Assasi suggests the swastika represents the North Pole centered on the star ζ Draconis, with the constellation Draco forming one of its arms. He claims this symbol later appeared in ancient Iranian culture as the four-horse chariot of Mithra, a god associated with the cosmos. In this belief, four celestial horses revolved around a fixed center in a clockwise direction. This idea may have influenced Roman Mithraism, where the swastika appears in religious art and astronomical depictions.

Russian archaeologist Gennady Zdanovich, who studied early swastika examples in the Sintashta culture, believes the symbol represents the universe. It reflects the movement of constellations around the North Pole, centered on the star α Ursae Minoris, specifically the Little Dipper and Big Dipper (Ursa Minor and Ursa Major). Guénon also explains that the swastika can be visualized by tracing the Big Dipper’s movement around the pole star in four stages.

In their 1985 book Comet, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan propose that a comet with four tails that rotated around 2,000 BCE may explain the swastika’s presence in both Old World and pre-Columbian American cultures. The Han dynasty’s Book of Silk (2nd century BCE) describes such a comet with a swastika-like shape.

In a 1992 paper, Bob Kobres notes that the swastika-like comet in the Han dynasty manuscript was called a "long-tailed pheasant star" (dixing) due to its resemblance to a bird’s foot or footprint. Similar comparisons were made earlier by J. F. Hewitt in 1907 and a 1908 article in Good Housekeeping. Kobres also suggests that myths about birds and comets appear in cultures beyond China.

In Native American culture, particularly among the Pima people of Arizona, the swastika symbolizes the four winds. Anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing observed that the Pima used a cross with four curved arms (similar to a broken sun cross) to represent the four wind gods. He wrote that the right-angle swastika primarily shows the circle of these gods standing at the head of their paths, or directions.

Historical uses

The earliest swastikas known to humans date back between 10,000 and 17,000 years ago. These swastikas are part of a complex pattern of connected symbols found on a bird-shaped figurine made from mammoth ivory in Mezine, Ukraine. Some experts believe the swastika might represent a stork in flight. Because the carving was found near objects linked to fertility, it may have been used as a symbol of fertility.

In the mountains of Iran, swastikas or spinning wheel-like symbols are carved into stone walls. These markings are more than 7,000 years old. One example is found in Khorashad, Birjand, on a sacred wall called Lakh Mazar.

Mirror-image swastikas, which spin clockwise and counterclockwise, have been found on pottery in the Devetashka cave in Bulgaria. These items are about 6,000 years old.

In South Asia, swastikas first appear in the archaeological record around 3,000 years ago in the Indus Valley Civilization. They also appear in cultures near the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In these places, swastikas are not special symbols but are part of a group of similar symbols. In the Zoroastrian religion of Persia, the swastika represented the sun, endless time, or creation. It is a common symbol on coins from Mesopotamia. In England, swastikas have been found on stone carvings in places like Ilkley Moor, such as the Swastika Stone.

Swastikas have also been discovered on pottery in Africa, near Kush and at the Jebel Barkal temples. They appear in Iron Age designs in the northern Caucasus (Koban culture) and in Neolithic China (Majiayao culture).

Swastikas are also found in Egypt during the Coptic period. A textile in the V&A Museum in London, called T.231-1923, includes small swastikas in its design. This item was found near Asyut and dates to between 300 and 600 CE.

The Tierwirbel, a pattern of animals arranged in a circle, is a common design in Bronze Age Central Asia, the Eurasian Steppe, and later in Iron Age Scythian and European cultures. This pattern is also found in places like the Pacific and North America (such as Moundville).

In Armenia, the swastika is called "arevakhach" or "kerkhach" and represents eternity and eternal light (God). Swastikas were found on petroglyphs from the Copper Age, before the Bronze Age. During the Bronze Age, they appeared on cauldrons, belts, and medallions.

Swastikas are also seen on medieval churches and fortresses, such as the principal tower in Armenia’s historical capital, Ani. They appear on Armenian carpets, cross-stones (khachkar), and in medieval manuscripts. They are also used on modern monuments as a symbol of eternity.

Old petroglyphs with swastikas were found in Dagestan, among the Avars. According to Vakhushti of Kartli, the tribal banner of the Avar khans showed a wolf with a standard featuring a double-spiral swastika.

Swastikas were carved into medieval Vainakh tower architecture, as noted by scholar Bruno Plaetschke in the 1920s. A rectangular swastika was engraved on the entrance of a residential tower in Khimoy, Chechnya.

Swastikas from the Iron Age are linked to Indo-European cultures, including the Illyrians, Indo-Iranians, Celts, Greeks, Italics, Germanic peoples, and Slavs. In the Sintashta culture’s "Country of Towns" in southern Russia, many of the oldest swastika patterns have been found.

Swastika shapes appear on many artifacts from Iron Age Europe.

Swastikas are found on Germanic Migration Period and Viking Age items, such as the 3rd-century Værløse Fibula from Zealand, Denmark, the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk (now Belarus), the 9th-century Snoldelev Stone from Ramsø, Denmark, and Migration Period bracteates that face left or right.

The pagan Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, included items with swastikas now in the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. A swastika is clearly marked on a hilt and sword belt found in Kent, in a grave from about the 6th century.

Hilda Ellis Davidson suggested the swastika might be connected to Thor, the Norse god of thunder, and the Bronze Age sun cross. She noted many swastikas on

Modern controversy

Since the 1930s, the swastika has been mostly linked to Nazism because of its use by Nazi Germany. After World War II, the symbol became known as a sign of hate in Western countries and a symbol of white supremacy in many places.

In some countries, such as Germany, using the swastika as a Nazi or hate symbol is not allowed. In the United States, a 2003 court case called Virginia v. Black ruled that local governments can ban the swastika and other symbols like cross burning if the goal is to scare others.

Germany and Austria’s post-war laws make it illegal to publicly show the swastika, the sig rune, the Celtic cross (used by white power groups), the wolfsangel, the Odal SS-rune, and the Totenkopf skull, except for specific exceptions. These symbols are also removed from reprinted 1930s railway timetables from the Reichsbahn. Swastikas on Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples are not banned because religious symbols cannot be outlawed in Germany.

A disagreement happened when police began investigating anti-fascist groups. In late 2005, police searched the offices of a punk record label and took items showing crossed-out swastikas and fists smashing swastikas. In 2006, police in Stade started an investigation against anti-fascist youth using a sign showing someone throwing a swastika into a trash can to protest right-wing groups.

In 2006, a member of the German parliament, Claudia Roth, turned herself in for displaying a crossed-out swastika during protests against neo-Nazis. She argued that punishing anti-fascist actions unfairly targets young people fighting right-wing extremism. In 2007, Germany’s highest court ruled that crossed-out symbols clearly oppose the revival of Nazi ideas, ending the dispute.

In 2018, Germany allowed swastikas and other Nazi symbols in video games. This change let games that criticize current events receive a USK age rating, similar to how films are treated.

In 2001, the European Union tried to pass a law against racism but could not agree on balancing free speech and banning hate. A 2005 attempt to ban the swastika across the EU failed due to British opposition. In 2007, Germany proposed making Nazi symbols illegal in the EU, but Hindu groups protested, noting the swastika’s long history as a symbol of peace. The proposal was later dropped.

In Brazil, using the swastika to promote Nazism is a crime under federal law. The punishment includes 2 to 5 years in prison and a fine.

In the United States, the First Amendment protects the display of Nazi-era flags, as it guarantees free speech. The Nazi flag has been seen at white supremacist events alongside the Confederate flag.

In 2010, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) no longer classified the swastika as a Jewish hate symbol, stating it is now more broadly used as a general hate symbol. However, it remains a key symbol for American white supremacists and is often used with antisemitic intent.

In 2022, Victoria, Australia, became the first state to ban the display of the swastika. Breaking this law can lead to a one-year jail sentence, a fine, or both.

In 2010, Microsoft banned players from using the swastika in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops if reported as inappropriate.

In 2004, swastikas on German trucks, planes, and uniforms in a Disney theme park show were removed.

The American Nazi Party used the swastika on its flag before dissolving in 1967. The symbol was later reused by other groups.

The swastika is listed as a hate symbol in U.S. schools, often appearing with other white supremacist symbols like those of the Ku Klux Klan. A 1999 U.S. Department of Education guide noted the swastika’s use in hate graffiti.

In Estonia, the neo-Nazi group "Kolovrat" was linked to an extremist newspaper and later used by a Russian militant group. Ukrainian soldiers were seen with swastika tattoos during the war in Donbas.

Since the late 20th century, traditional religious symbols like those from Jain, Buddhist, or Hindu cultures have sometimes been mistaken for Nazi symbols when sold in Western countries. This led to some products being boycotted or removed from stores.

In 2000, a 10-year-old boy in New York bought a set of Pokémon cards with a swastika design. The cards were later pulled from stores due to the symbol’s association with hate.