What does swastika represent?

Answer 1

The swastika was a symbol of good fortune or blessing or happiness in many cultures for thousands of years. In his book "Comet" the late Carl Sagan finds in ancient Chinese records a drawing of an unusual comet with four tails that looked like a swastika. He suggests that such an appearance in the sky might have been the cause of the symbol being adopted by so many cultures. In Europe the swastika became an accepted form of the Christian cross. The Nazis adopted it as their symbol simply because it looked mystical and had associations with early German culture. It did not symbolically represent any specific aspect of Nazi ideology or belief.

The Swastika has it's roots in the Occult . In Hinduism you'll find a similar symbol.

The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artifacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE.

During the following thousand years, the image of the swastika was used by many cultures around the world, including in China, Japan, India, and southern Europe. By the Middle Ages, the swastika was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol but was called by many different names:

• China - wan
• England - fylfot
• Germany - Hakenkreuz
• Greece - tetraskelion and gammadion
• India - swastika

Though it is not known for exactly how long, Native Americans also have long used the symbol of the swastika.

The Original Meaning

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix.

Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck.

Swastika is Hakenkreutz Crooked cross

Answer 2

The swastika is a symbol that has been used in various cultures for thousands of years to represent good luck, well-being, and prosperity. However, in the Western world, it has become most notably associated with Nazism and the atrocities committed during World War II.

Answer 3

In Hinduism the swastika is a symbol pertaining to health. In Sanskrit "swastik" means "health". In Bon (an animistic belief system which predated Buddhism in Tibet) the swastika was drawn backwards compared to the modern style, and was linked with luck. In modern Buddhism it symbolizes health.

Answer 4

There doesn't seem to be a clear-cut answer to the above. Some believe it was first used in India while others seem to believe it to be a religious symbol of the universe sometimes with a left or right presentation. Others think it a symbol of peace or of good luck. History of Europe has a very different view.

There is an interesting statement about how this came to be the Nazi Party symbol - I have forgotten where/who said this, sorry.

"The German word for swastika is NOT 'swastika' it's 'hakenkreuz' (hooked cross). The 'swastika' that bedecks the Abbey Lambach where Hitler sang as a boy is a play on words in honour of a former Abbott: Theodore Hagen. Thus it's a 'hagenkreuz' 'hakenkreuz' which honors Theodore Hagen."

Apparently the Abbey Lambach, where the boy Hitler served as an 'altar boy' had a hooked cross on one of its artworks. Abbott Theodore Hagen was even pictured giving the then mandatory 'heil Hitler' salute, though it wasn't called that in his time of the picture, it was a goodbye. It seems Hitler changed the symbol and the goodbye gesture to his own ends.