Swastika

:For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario.

Geometry and symbolism

Geometrically, 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). However, the proportions of the Nazi swastika were fixed: they were based on a 5x5 grid.{{ref|flagspot.net-proportions}}

Related Topics:
Geometrically - Icosagon - Polygon

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Characteristic is the 90° rotational symmetry (that is, the symmetry of the cyclic group C4) and chirality, hence the absence of reflectional symmetry, and the existence of two versions which are each other's mirror image.

Related Topics:
Rotational symmetry - Cyclic group - Chirality - Symmetry - Mirror image

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The mirror-image forms are often described as:

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• 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 (?) or right (?). 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.

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Nazi ensigns had a through and through image, so each version was present on one side, but the Nazi flag on land was right-facing on both sides (http://flagspot.net/flags/de1933_o.html, at the bottom).

Related Topics:
Ensign - Through and through - Flag

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The swastika is, after the simple equilateral cross (the "Greek cross"), the next most commonly found version of the cross.

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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.

Related Topics:
Cardinal directions - Sun - Northern Hemisphere - Polaris

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Sauwastika

See main article: Sauwastika

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The name sauwastika is sometimes given for the supposedly "evil", left-facing, form of the swastika (?). 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.

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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.{{ref|gonzalez}} (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.{{ref|jrbooksonline}}

Related Topics:
Nazis - Standard fireworks - Sivakasi - Taboo in Western countries - Adolf Hitler

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