A Caddo solar cross, to Southeastern Native Americans a symbol of both the sun and fire.

The sun cross is a cross inside a circle, one of the oldest and most universal religious symbols ^[1], and a traditional neopagan solar symbol. It is also known as the suncross, solar cross, sun wheel, sunwheel, sun disc, Odin's cross, and wheel of Taranis. It is sometimes called a "Gnostic cross". Image File history File links Southern_Cult_Solar_Cross. ... Image File history File links Southern_Cult_Solar_Cross. ... The Caddo are a nation, or group of tribes, of Southeastern Native Americans who, in the 16th century, inhabited much of what is now East Texas, Western Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. ... A sacred religious symbol to the Southeastern tribes was the solar cross which was a symbol of both the sun and fire. ... An Aani (Atsina) named Assiniboin Boy. ... A Greek cross (all arms of equal length) above a saltire, a cross rotated by 45 degrees For other uses, see Cross (disambiguation). ... Circle illustration In Euclidean geometry, a circle is the set of all points in a plane at a fixed distance, called the radius, from a fixed point, the centre. ... The cross of the war memorial and a menorah for Hanukkah coexist in Oxford. ... Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism [1] is any of a heterogeneous group of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient, primarily pre-Christian and sometimes pre-Judaic religions. ... A solar symbol is a symbol which symbolises the sun. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

In many religions, solar crosses are associated with specific deities; Ixion^{[citation needed]}, Odin^{[citation needed]}, Quetzalcoatl ^[2], Shamash ^[3], and Taranis^{[citation needed]} all have various forms of solar crosses as symbols. Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the Greek myth. ... Odin (Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism, like the Anglo-Saxon Woden continuing Proto-Germanic *Wōdinaz or *Wōđanaz. ... Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus. ... Shamash or Sama, was the common Akkadian name of the sun-god in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu. ... In Celtic mythology Taranis was a god of thunder worshipped in Gaul and Britain and mentioned, along with Esus and Toutatis, by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia. ...

The terms sun cross and sun wheel are sometimes also used to describe swastikas and Celtic crosses, which are cognate symbols. Like the swastika, the sun cross has more recently been adopted by white nationalists and related political movements. The swastika (from Sanskrit , from su well, and asti being, thus good fortune or well-being) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing () or right-facing () direction. ... A Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... // White nationalism is a variant of ethnic nationalism, advocating a racial definition (or redefinition) of the national group. ...

Design

The basic sun cross is an unadorned cross inscribed within a plain circle. However, there are a variety of images incorporating crosses and circular patterns which have been given the label sun cross. Specific varieties of sun cross include:

Image File history File links Simple_crossed_circle. ... Image File history File links Crossed_circle. ... Image File history File links Celtic-style_crossed_circle. ... Image File history File links Broken_crossed_circle. ... Image File history File links Cross_and_disc. ... Image File history File links Eight-spoked_wheel. ...

1. The simplest form of the sun cross, often called Odin's cross in North-West Europe.
2. A bolded sun cross, with less negative space.
3. A sun cross with the arms of the cross extended beyond the perimeter of the circle. This symbol was adopted by many Christians, who often extended the lower arm in the manner of a Christian cross, creating what is now known as a Celtic cross.
4. A sun cross with the circle broken on one side of each arm. This form most resembles a swastika, and is sometimes called a sunwheel swastika. Like a swastika, it can be either sunwise or widdershins, although sunwise (right-facing, as above) is more natural for a sun symbol.
5. A Celtic cross with a solid disc.
6. A sun cross-like symbol with six or eight arms. An eight-armed sun cross is also called a Wheel of the Year.
7. The Ancient Serbian Sun Cross, with four letters "S" (in cyrillic C) which, more accurately, represent moving of the Sun during the day and four seasons of year. It also have connections with Perun (Slavic God of Thunder) sign.

A sun cross with two or three concentric circles is generally referred to^{[citation needed]} as cross of Atlantis. North-West Europe is not a well defined term. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as Christ. ... The traditional form of the Western Christian cross, known as the Latin cross. ... A Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... The swastika (from Sanskrit , from su well, and asti being, thus good fortune or well-being) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing () or right-facing () direction. ... A clockwise motion is one that proceeds like the clocks hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top. ... A disk or disc is anything that resembles a flattened cylinder in shape. ... In Neopaganism, the Wheel of the Year is the natural cycle of the seasons, commemorated by the eight Sabbats. ... This page is about a Slavic god. ... Concentric objects share the same center, axis or origin with one inside the other. ... Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato. ...

Origins

An 11th-century Greek image of Jesus with a sun cross halo.

The Neolithic symbol combining cross and circle is the simplest conceivable representation of the union of opposed polarities in the Western world. Crossed circles scratched on stones have been recovered from Paleolithic cave sites in the Pyrenees. At the most famous megalithic site in Scotland, Callanish, crossing avenues of standing stones extend from a circle. The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... There are no undisputed historical images of Jesus; he sat for no portraits which are preserved and of unquestioned authenticity and undoubted provenance. ... Look up halo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... Central Pyrenees. ... Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ... Motto: , traditionally rendered in Scots as Wha daur meddle wi me?[1] and in English as No one provokes me with impunity. ... Callanish (Scottish Gaelic: Calanais) is a village (township) on the West Side of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland. ...

Scratched into stone or painted on pottery, as on that of the Samara culture, the crossed-circle symbol appears in such diverse areas as the Pyrenees in Old Europe, the Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the Iranian plateau, and the cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in the Indus River valley. It may be compared to the yin-yang symbol of the Eastern world. The Samara culture was an aeneolithic or eneolithic (copper age) culture of the early 5th millenium BC at the Samara bend region of the middle Volga, discovered during archaeological excavations near the village of Syezzheye (Съезжее) in Russia. ... Anatolia lies east of the Bosphorus, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Anatolia is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mohenjo-daro (literally, mound of the dead), like Harappa, was a city of the Indus Valley civilization. ... Conception of ancient Harappas Mound E Gateway [1] Harappa is a city in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, located beside a former course of the Ravi River; about 35km southwest of Sahiwal. ... The position of the Sindhu River in Iron Age Vedic India. ... Taijitu, the traditional symbol representing the forces of Yin and Yang The concepts of Yin and Yang originate in ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, which describes two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe. ...

In pre-Christian Europe, the crossed circle was the mark of the Norse god Odin^{[citation needed]}. Norse or Scandinavian mythology comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Odin (Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism, like the Anglo-Saxon Woden continuing Proto-Germanic *Wōdinaz or *Wōđanaz. ...

Modern symbolism and political use

The sun cross proper most commonly represents the sun and the seasonal cycles of the year. In astronomy, a similar astronomical symbol is used to represent the Earth while the symbol for the Sun is a circle with a central dot. Image File history File links Solstices_and_equinoxes. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ... Chinese Celestial symbols on an antique bronze mirror Astronomical symbols are symbols used to represent various celestial objects, theoretical constructs and observational events. ... // Earth (IPA: , often referred to as the Earth, Terra, or Planet Earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ... The Sun is the star of our solar system. ...

Political groups

See also: Celtic cross#Political symbol

Despite the pagan origins of the symbol, because of their association with Christianity, Western culture and old Aryan traditions, the sun cross and the derived Celtic cross have been adopted by European heritage and white nationalist movements since the 1960s. The Norwegian fascist party Nasjonal Samling, founded in 1933, also used the sun cross as its symbol due to its indigenous origins in Norway. A Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Western World. ... // Aryan () is an English language word derived from the Iranian and Sanskrit terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. Beyond its use as the ethnic self-designation of the Proto-Indo-Iranians, the meaning noble/spiritual has been attached to it in Persian and Sanskrit. ... A Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... White nationalism is the attempt to create racial identity groups which advance the social and economic interests of White or Caucasian people. ... Fascism is a radical political ideology that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism. ... Nasjonal Samling (Norwegian for National Gathering or National Unification) was a fascist party in Norway before and during World War II, founded on May 17, 1933 by Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Neopaganism

Along with other ancestral symbols, the sun cross is also used as a symbol by Heathens and Asatru adherents in particular as an attempt at reconstruction of ancient Germanic and Slavic (Native Polish Church) pre-Christian religion and culture, free of political implications. Heathenry is the term preferred, in the UK (and increasingly elsewhere), by many followers of Germanic paganism or Germanic neopaganism as the name of their religion. ... satr , also known as Odinism, describes a number of attempts to reconstruct the indigenous religions of Northern Europe. ... Distribution of Slavic peoples by language Countries inhabited predominantly by Slavic peoples The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe. ... The Native Polish Church (Rodzimy Kościół Polski) is a neopagan faith referring to the Slavic pagan beliefs. ...

Reference

1. ^ http://www.designboom.com/history/cross_2.html
2. ^ http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/mmp/mmp1.htm
3. ^ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/cgi-bin/tour_def/mythology/shamash_sun.html

See also

• Solar symbol
• Solar deity
• Celtic cross
• Swastika
• Christian cross
• Ankh
• Lauburu
• Labarum
• Medicine wheel
• Circle with a point at its centre

A solar symbol is a symbol which symbolises the sun. ... The Trundholm sun chariot pulled by a horse is believed to be a sculpture illustrating an important part of Nordic Bronze Age mythology. ... A Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... The swastika (from Sanskrit , from su well, and asti being, thus good fortune or well-being) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing () or right-facing () direction. ... The traditional form of the Western Christian cross, known as the Latin cross. ... Ankh For other uses, see Ankh (disambiguation). ... An example of a lauburu: each arm can be drawn with three sweeps of a compass The lauburu or Basque cross has four comma-shaped heads similar to the Japanese tomoe. ... The Labarum An image of the labarum, with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega inscribed. ... A medicine wheel at Big Horn Medicine wheels are stone structures built by the natives of North America for various spiritual and ritual purposes. ... The circle with a point at the centre (☉) is a symbol featuring a circle with the middle marked with a dot. ...

External link

• Symbolism of sun cross