A Thing So Visible That You Can't See It

But look north to the same constellation four key times in one year and there it is!

These are detail images taken from the 200-year old Chinese rug in my living room. I must have walked over this pattern a thousand times before actually seeing it

From Peace and Well Being to Unspeakable Horror

There is no one anywhere on the planet today who doesn’t relate the swastika to the Nazis. That symbol is a glaring reminder of an entire nation’s descent into the pit of evil and is a permanent image of genocide and the horrors of National Socialism. Yet, for all that, the modern swastika began not in Germany but in states as far removed from each other as India, Japan, Tibet, Paraguay, and America as a symbol of reassurance and peace. It also appeared in stone age Germany.

The swastika at the entrance to the Shoin Shrine in Hagi, Japan. (Credit Getty Images.)

The word “swastika” evolved from the Sanskrit language thousands of years ago.

It comes from the roots su (good) and asti (to prevail), meaning well-being, prosperity or good fortune, and has long been used in the prayers of the Rig Veda, the oldest of Hindu scriptures. In Hindu philosophy it is said to represent various things that come in fours – the four yugas or cyclical times (seasons).

You’ll see why in a moment.

In India, it's also a symbol of the sun god and can be seen, often smeared in turmeric, drawn on thresholds and shop doors as a sign of welcome, or on vehicles, religious scriptures and letterheads.

Director of advocacy and awareness for the World Hindu Council of America, Utsav Chakrabarty said,:

"We acknowledge the horrid way the swastika has been misused and misinterpreted. This must be corrected. Instead of censoring the symbol, we must celebrate the positive history of it."

But that, I believe, is no longer possible.

Yes, it does have a positive history but the more governments try to suppress what has become an icon of evil, the more irresistible it becomes to the fringe elements who live in hate. As the saying goes, that genie can’t be put back in the bottle.

Sixteen examples of ancient depictions of the swastika. They were designed by people who had no contact with one another.

The man who “discovered” the ancient ruins of the City of Troy, on the Aegean coast of Turkey, was Heinrich Schliemann, a wealthy German businessman. He also unearthed artifacts bearing the swastika symbol which German academics were quick to associate with the ancient “Aryans”. This term originally did not define a race of people but rather a language group. However, Nazi historians and propagandists claimed, on that basis, that the Germans descended from an “Aryan” race of highly superior people. Adolph Hitler took that symbol to use in designing the Nazi flag.

Schliemann, Hitler and the flag he designed.

There are many attempts to explain the true origin of this symbol but I believe very few really know where it came from. It is simply too far back in the fog of pre-history to be identified precisely. Probably the most widely accepted theory is that it represented the sun but the evidence for this is weak. I believe it is something vastly different. Read on and I’ll show you what it is.

(The true source of the ancient swastika is revealed and illustrated below. It will pleasantly surprise you. Become a paid subscriber to see it and to get an easy recipe for Tikka Masala.