Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark Sandrock) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Swastika Message-ID: Date: 18 Apr 91 07:24:02 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 23 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu uflorida!novavax!gowj@gatech.edu (James Gow) writes: >The symbol is a fylfot and the arms go counterclockwise so that the rotation >would appear to be clockwise. It represented the sun. The swastikas' arms go >clockwise so the rotation appears to go counterclockwise... The German language shows the swastika for what it is: their word for it is "Hackenkreuz", i.e., "hooked cross". A German man once explained to me the difference between the swastika and the American Indian symbol (fylfot, thanks James) as follows: when turned in the "natural" direction of rotation, i.e., clockwise, the American Indian symbol has a "stroking" effect, whereas the swastika has a "tearing" effect. This may be another reason why one is a positive symbol, and the other one is a negative symbol. Regards, Mark Sandrock -- BITNET: sandrock@uiucscs Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Internet: sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu Chemical Sciences Computing Services Voice: 217-244-0561 505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801