Theos-Talk Archives (February 2000 Message tt00050)

I thought this article (from THEOSOPHY, vol. 2, Jan-Feb 1999) might be
of interest in a discussion of the swastica:

                               AN ANCIENT WORLD-SYMBOL

THE SWASTICA is an ancient world-symbol that is filled with occult
meaning. It is an alchemical, cosmological, anthropological, and magical
sign, and contains seven keys to its inner meaning. Its symbolism
explains great mysteries of the Kosmos. It is the sign of the universal
creative force, evolving from pure spirit into gross matter, and
contracting back into spirit in an endless cyclic process.

Early in The Secret Doctrine, HBP discusses the meaning of a progressive
series of symbols. First an empty circle appears, then a diameter
bisects it, followed by a cross within a circle and, finally, a swastica
within a circle. The circle with a diameter represents divine nature
within absolute infinitude. The cross within the circle represents the
beginning of human life. The swastica has the same, as well as other,
meanings. It is called the male and female sign, and appears in an
ancient
Indian Catechism, on the hermaphrodite goddess Adanari, in place of the
navel, symbolizing the pre-sexual state of the Third Race.

In the Macrocosm, the central point of the swastica represents Deity.
The lines of the cross represent spirit and matter, and the four arms
bent at right angles represent the perpetual motion (cycles) of the
forces of visible and invisible Kosmos.

Applied to the Microcosm, the symbol represents man as the link between
heaven and earth. He stands with right hand pointing to heaven and left
hand pointing to Earth. The lines of the cross represent the male and
female principles in nature, or the positive and negative.

The decussated cross, "X," was used by the Hindus, Brahmins and
Buddhists, thousands of years before it appeared in Europe. They bent
the ends and made of it the swastica, or Wan of the Buddhist Mongolian.
It implies that the central point, the Deific principle, is not limited.
The four arms point toward the four cardinal directions and end in
infinity. Thus Deity is in all in nature, and all in nature is in Deity.

The swastica is symbolized by the figure 6. Like that figure it points
to the zenith and nadir, as well as the four cardinal directions. It is
the symbol of Fohat, of the continual revolution of cycles, and of the
four sacred Elements in their mystical and cosmical meanings. One who
understands the meaning of the swastica, according to the Commentaries
quoted in The Secret Doctrine, understands the relationship of the
visible to the invisible, and can trace both the evolution of the Kosmos
and the appearance of man and all of the creatures.

H.P.B. also relates the swastica to the worship of Agni (fire), or the
sun:

     Whenever the ancient Hindu devotee desired to worship Agni...he
arranged two pieces      of wood in the form of a cross, and, by a
peculiar whirling and friction obtained fire for      his sacrifice. As
a symbol, it is called Swastica, and, as an instrument manufactured
out      of a sacred tree and in possession of every Brahmin, it is
known as Arani.

In a footnote elsewhere in The Secret Doctrine, H.P.B. explains that the
arani and pramantha were the stick and perforated vessel for kindling
fire among the ancient Brahmins. The name, Prometheus, came from
pramantha. Prometheus stole the sacred and celestial fire which then
became the terrestrial fire, that of procreation and therefore phallic.
He kindles the spark of life in man and teaches him the mysteries of
creation, which from Kriyasakti, falls into the selfish act of
procreation.

The Scandinavians had the same sign and called it Thor's Hammer. Thor,
the god of thunder, held this symbol as a sign of power over men and the
elements. In Masonry it appears as the grand master's mallet, and in
modern times, it is the gavel of the judge, a sign of power and
strength.

HPB calls the swastica a most mystic and ancient diagram, saying also
that it is as sacred to occultists as the Pythagorean Tetraktys, "of
which it is indeed the double symbol." The swastica is also known as the
Jaina Cross and has the same meaning as the ansated Egyptian cross, or
tau, and the Christian cross.

______________
The sources for this article are:

The Secret Doctrine, vol. I, 5, 31, 657; vol. II, 29, 99, 101fn, 556,
587

HPB Theosophical Articles, vol. II 490; vol. III, 251-2

The Theosophical Glossary, 315

Gail Stevenson


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