THE SWASTIKA

This postcard, copyright 1907 by E. Phillips, a U.S. card publisher, speaks
for the universally high regard in which the swastika was held as a good
luck token before use by the Nazis corrupted its meaning.

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The text on the card back reads:

     GOOD LUCK EMBLEM

     "The Swastika" is the oldest cross and emblem in the world. It
     forms a combination of four "L's" standing for Luck, Light, Love
     and Life. It has been found in ancient Rome, excavations in
     Grecian cities, on Buddhist idols, on Chinese coins dated 315
     B.C., and our own Southwest Indians use it as an amulet.

     It is claimed that the Mound Builders and Cliff Dwellers of
     Mexico, Central America consider "The Swastika" a charm to drive
     away evil and bring good luck, long life and prosperity to the
     possessor.

It should be noted that this text is not entirely accurate: The Mound
Builders inhabited the Ohio River Valley and the Cliff Dwellers lived in
the Southwestern United States; however, both did use the swastika, as did
the Mayas of Mexico. Furthermore, although the swastika may look like four
"L's" to one who uses the Roman alphabet, in Greek it forms four Gammas
("G's"), in Hebrew it can be seen as four Daleths ("D's"), and among the
non-literate people of North America, it corresponded to no letters at all.
Thus the ascription of Luck, Light, Love, and Life to the amulet is simply
an English mnemonic, although it is prettily reinforced on this card by
images of a horseshoe (luck), the rising Sun (light), twin hearts (love),
and Earth (life). Finally, not mentioned in the text is the swastika's use
as the specific emblem of Ganesha, the Hindu god of good luck, who is also
represented as an elephant.

For more information on the swastika, see Will's Cigarette Card #24: The
Swastika. For more images of good luck swastikas see:

   * swastikas on good luck coins
   * swastika on Lucky Mon-Gol Curio Number XI

For a lengthy article on the astronomical basis of the swastika as a "sun
wheel," its many names in diverse languages, and the extent of its symbolic
corruption during the Nazi regime, visit the web page "On the Swasticka" by
the White Bard.

For extended quotes about pre-Hitlerian swastika symbolism from Rudolf
Koch's "The Book of Signs" (1930) and Clarence P. Hornung's "Handbook of
Designs and Devices" (1932), go to the ftp archive page "Raven's Posts on
the Cross, Swastika, and Pentagram."
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