I don't think either Evola or Guénon ever associated
the 'gunas' with any colour, but the latter, in a
series of articles called 'L'Archeomètre' and
published in "La Gnose" from July 1910 and February
1912, referred each 'varna' or caste to a colour :
Brahamana: white
Kshatriya: red
Vaishya: blue
Shudra: black.
Leaving that detail aside, the two swastikas show the
rotation of the cross of the four elements around a
solar centre or pole and through the three worlds. The
rotation changes according to the northern or southern
hemisphere in which it occurs. To me the difference
between clockwise and counterclockwise is the same as right or left,
the 'gunas' with any colour, but the latter, in a
series of articles called 'L'Archeomètre' and
published in "La Gnose" from July 1910 and February
1912, referred each 'varna' or caste to a colour :
Brahamana: white
Kshatriya: red
Vaishya: blue
Shudra: black.
Leaving that detail aside, the two swastikas show the
rotation of the cross of the four elements around a
solar centre or pole and through the three worlds. The
rotation changes according to the northern or southern
hemisphere in which it occurs. To me the difference
between clockwise and counterclockwise is the same as right or left,
also keeping in mind the directions of
the writing, right-hand or left-hand, according to the
not casual typology of the various races and
languages.
the writing, right-hand or left-hand, according to the
not casual typology of the various races and
languages.
(...........) Has any one ever mentioned the fact that the colours (red, white and black) also correspond to the three gunas of Hinduism? Is this purely coincidental, or part of the design?
original message from: <evola_as_he_is@...>
Although it has been suggested that Hitler's use of the swastika and
the ceremonial of his rallies were inspired by his childhood
experiences of Catholic liturgy, by a swastika symbol he saw over the
door of an old monastery at that time of his life, other sources of
inspiration are obvious here. They have been pointed out by many of
those who have studied National-Socialist symbolism.
The seal used by Blavatsky on her writing papers shows her initials
in an hexagram topped by a short-legged anti-clockwise swastika
standing on one of its angles and enclosed in a circle formed by a
snake biting its tail. That swastika symbol was then used in an
altered form in the seal of the Theosophical society, whose
publication for English children at that time was called 'Lotus
Journal'. Precisely, 'Lotusbluthen' (Lotus Blossoms), a periodical
specialised in the occult which ran from 1891 to 1900, was the first
German publication to feature the (Theosophical) swastika on its
cover. By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be
found on German völkisch papers and was the official emblem of the
German Gymnasts' League. In the beginning of the twentieth century,
the swastika was a common symbol of German nationalism : it was the
emblem for the 'Wandervogel', a German youth movement ; it was
featured on the cover of Lanz von Liebenfels' antisemitic
paper 'Ostara' ; various 'Freikorps' units used it too. According to
D.L. Niewyk ('The Jews in Weimar Germany', 1980), the swastika was
chosen as the emblem for 'The German Völkischer League for Defence
and Defiance', a Pan-Germanic League created in 1919, and which
gained 200,000 members before being dissolved by the government in
1922. In any case, the swastika was much in evidence in the symbolism
and in the ceremonial of the 'Alldeutscher Verband', the Pan-Germanic
League organised in Berlin in the 1890's to spread the belief in the
superiority of the German race and culture. As is well-known, the
emblem for the 'Thule Gesellschaft', which 'sponsored' the 'Deutsch
Arbeiterpartei', was also a swastika ; when Julius Streicher, the
local leader of the DAP in Franconia, formed his 'Storm Troops' (the
SA), their uniforms bore a swastika armband. In doing so, the 'Thule
Gesellschaft' followed the precedent of Guido von List who, in the
late nineteenth century, had made the swastika a symbol for the neo-
heathen movement in Germany, as recalled by Evola in 'Hitler and
Secret societies', and had suggested that it be a sign for all anti-
Semitic organisations.
As to the person who was behind the choice of the swastika as the
main symbol of the NSDAP and later of National-Socialist Germany, he
is not known precisely. The hypothesis goes that it derived from the
relations between Gurdjieff and Karl Haushofer, the founder
of 'geopolitics', who was an important character in the Third Reich ;
that's the one which was advanced by Evola in 'Il Signor Gurdjeff'
(in 'Roma', 16 April 1972). In 'The Occult Roots of Nazism', N.
Goodrick-Clark put forward another hypothesis : it was Friedrich
Krone, a dentist who joined the 'Germanenorden' in 1913 and later
the 'Thule Gesellschaft', who, in May 1919, proposed the swastika as
a symbol for the NSDAP. The swastika of Guido von List and that of
the 'Thule Gesellschaft' were right-handed, whereas that of
the 'Germanenorden' and that of the German Theosophical Society were
left-handed. Krone preferred a left-handed form because of its
Buddhist interpretation of good fortune, but Hitler managed to
persuade the party committee to adopt the right-handed version with
arms crossing at right angles. Krone and Hitler then designed the
colour scheme of a black swastika in a white circle on a red
background. It was first displayed at a party meeting on the 20th of
May 1920 and became the official emblem of the NSDAP on the 7th
August 1920, at the Salzburg Congress.
Hitler describes it in 'Mein Kampf' as follows : "(As National
Socialists) In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white
the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle
for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory
of the idea of creative work, which as such always has been and
always will be anti-Semitic."
In 1933, Guénon considered the use of the swastika by the National
Socialists 'arbitrary', and yet, if he had lived long enough to
read 'Il Fascismo visto dalla Destra. Note sul Terzo Reich', Volpe,
Rome, 1970), he would have most likely agreed with Evola that "it is
ludicrous to uphold, as some have done within the context of
a 'diabolical' interpretation of Hitlerism, that the reversed
rotation of the swastika was an unintentional but clear sign of
its 'diabolical' character'." As a matter of fact, Guénon made it
clear in 'Le symbolisme de la croix' (1931), that there is no
difference of value between destroverse swastika and sinistroverse
swastika. Both versions could be found in early Vedic culture. Still
in 'Il Fascismo visto dalla Destra. Note sul Terzo Reich', Evola adds
that, contrary to what some people think, those who chose the
destroverse swastika as an emblem for the NSDAP were not aware of the
fact that that version, that is the one with the "reversed
rotation", "is a symbol of power, while the movement in the normal
direction (sinistroverse) is a symbol of 'wisdom'."
We must say that it's taken us some time to understand Evola's point,
and that, for a long time, we almost came to think that there was a
misprint in that sentence we've just quoted. For us, the 'normal'
direction is the clockwise one, that of the Hitlerian swastika, and
not the anticlockwise one, if it may be spoken of 'normal' direction
and 'reversed' direction in the case of a symbol which is found in
the Aryan civilisation in both versions, and whose respective
meanings, in that civilisation, far from being opposed, are
complementary. It should be pointed out, however, that, here, Evola
seems to look at things from the standpoint which has come to prevail
with respect to the orientation of the swastika, that from which the
destroverse swastika is looked at as a 'reversed' version of
the 'sinistroverse' one purely because, in Buddhism in particular and
in Far-East Asia in general, sinistroverse swastikas happen to be
more common than destroverse swastikas. This standpoint seems to us,
to say the least, arbitrary, not to say tendentious, and... reversed.
In 'La croce uncinata' (this article is found in a small anthology
published in 1989 by 'Circolo di cultura politica'), Evola wonders
about the origin of the swastika. "Is it true that it is the symbol
of a special race, of the Aryan or Indo-Germanic race? This is what
was assumed in certain circles in the past century and what is still
assumed by some people today. Ernst Krause and Ludwig Müller uphold
precisely that that symbol was peculiar to the Indo-Germanic stocks
in ancient times. This thesis, however, has proved to be untenable.
Further research have enable to bring to light that it was spread" in
most of the areas of the world, in California, Korea, Central
America, Mesopotamia, Japan, South Africa, and so on, "areas which
cannot correspond to ancient seats of the Indo-Germanic
race". "Futhermore, Evola adds, any symbol, by its nature, is
universal".
Yet, that doesn't mean in any way that the value of a given symbol
found in all cultures is the same in all of them. This point, which
never seems to spring to the mind of traditionalists, could never
been emphasised enough. Not to take it into consideration would be to
make a great mistake in the interpretation of symbols and of the race
of the spirit of the respective peoples who use them.
the ceremonial of his rallies were inspired by his childhood
experiences of Catholic liturgy, by a swastika symbol he saw over the
door of an old monastery at that time of his life, other sources of
inspiration are obvious here. They have been pointed out by many of
those who have studied National-Socialist symbolism.
The seal used by Blavatsky on her writing papers shows her initials
in an hexagram topped by a short-legged anti-clockwise swastika
standing on one of its angles and enclosed in a circle formed by a
snake biting its tail. That swastika symbol was then used in an
altered form in the seal of the Theosophical society, whose
publication for English children at that time was called 'Lotus
Journal'. Precisely, 'Lotusbluthen' (Lotus Blossoms), a periodical
specialised in the occult which ran from 1891 to 1900, was the first
German publication to feature the (Theosophical) swastika on its
cover. By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be
found on German völkisch papers and was the official emblem of the
German Gymnasts' League. In the beginning of the twentieth century,
the swastika was a common symbol of German nationalism : it was the
emblem for the 'Wandervogel', a German youth movement ; it was
featured on the cover of Lanz von Liebenfels' antisemitic
paper 'Ostara' ; various 'Freikorps' units used it too. According to
D.L. Niewyk ('The Jews in Weimar Germany', 1980), the swastika was
chosen as the emblem for 'The German Völkischer League for Defence
and Defiance', a Pan-Germanic League created in 1919, and which
gained 200,000 members before being dissolved by the government in
1922. In any case, the swastika was much in evidence in the symbolism
and in the ceremonial of the 'Alldeutscher Verband', the Pan-Germanic
League organised in Berlin in the 1890's to spread the belief in the
superiority of the German race and culture. As is well-known, the
emblem for the 'Thule Gesellschaft', which 'sponsored' the 'Deutsch
Arbeiterpartei', was also a swastika ; when Julius Streicher, the
local leader of the DAP in Franconia, formed his 'Storm Troops' (the
SA), their uniforms bore a swastika armband. In doing so, the 'Thule
Gesellschaft' followed the precedent of Guido von List who, in the
late nineteenth century, had made the swastika a symbol for the neo-
heathen movement in Germany, as recalled by Evola in 'Hitler and
Secret societies', and had suggested that it be a sign for all anti-
Semitic organisations.
As to the person who was behind the choice of the swastika as the
main symbol of the NSDAP and later of National-Socialist Germany, he
is not known precisely. The hypothesis goes that it derived from the
relations between Gurdjieff and Karl Haushofer, the founder
of 'geopolitics', who was an important character in the Third Reich ;
that's the one which was advanced by Evola in 'Il Signor Gurdjeff'
(in 'Roma', 16 April 1972). In 'The Occult Roots of Nazism', N.
Goodrick-Clark put forward another hypothesis : it was Friedrich
Krone, a dentist who joined the 'Germanenorden' in 1913 and later
the 'Thule Gesellschaft', who, in May 1919, proposed the swastika as
a symbol for the NSDAP. The swastika of Guido von List and that of
the 'Thule Gesellschaft' were right-handed, whereas that of
the 'Germanenorden' and that of the German Theosophical Society were
left-handed. Krone preferred a left-handed form because of its
Buddhist interpretation of good fortune, but Hitler managed to
persuade the party committee to adopt the right-handed version with
arms crossing at right angles. Krone and Hitler then designed the
colour scheme of a black swastika in a white circle on a red
background. It was first displayed at a party meeting on the 20th of
May 1920 and became the official emblem of the NSDAP on the 7th
August 1920, at the Salzburg Congress.
Hitler describes it in 'Mein Kampf' as follows : "(As National
Socialists) In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white
the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle
for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory
of the idea of creative work, which as such always has been and
always will be anti-Semitic."
In 1933, Guénon considered the use of the swastika by the National
Socialists 'arbitrary', and yet, if he had lived long enough to
read 'Il Fascismo visto dalla Destra. Note sul Terzo Reich', Volpe,
Rome, 1970), he would have most likely agreed with Evola that "it is
ludicrous to uphold, as some have done within the context of
a 'diabolical' interpretation of Hitlerism, that the reversed
rotation of the swastika was an unintentional but clear sign of
its 'diabolical' character'." As a matter of fact, Guénon made it
clear in 'Le symbolisme de la croix' (1931), that there is no
difference of value between destroverse swastika and sinistroverse
swastika. Both versions could be found in early Vedic culture. Still
in 'Il Fascismo visto dalla Destra. Note sul Terzo Reich', Evola adds
that, contrary to what some people think, those who chose the
destroverse swastika as an emblem for the NSDAP were not aware of the
fact that that version, that is the one with the "reversed
rotation", "is a symbol of power, while the movement in the normal
direction (sinistroverse) is a symbol of 'wisdom'."
We must say that it's taken us some time to understand Evola's point,
and that, for a long time, we almost came to think that there was a
misprint in that sentence we've just quoted. For us, the 'normal'
direction is the clockwise one, that of the Hitlerian swastika, and
not the anticlockwise one, if it may be spoken of 'normal' direction
and 'reversed' direction in the case of a symbol which is found in
the Aryan civilisation in both versions, and whose respective
meanings, in that civilisation, far from being opposed, are
complementary. It should be pointed out, however, that, here, Evola
seems to look at things from the standpoint which has come to prevail
with respect to the orientation of the swastika, that from which the
destroverse swastika is looked at as a 'reversed' version of
the 'sinistroverse' one purely because, in Buddhism in particular and
in Far-East Asia in general, sinistroverse swastikas happen to be
more common than destroverse swastikas. This standpoint seems to us,
to say the least, arbitrary, not to say tendentious, and... reversed.
In 'La croce uncinata' (this article is found in a small anthology
published in 1989 by 'Circolo di cultura politica'), Evola wonders
about the origin of the swastika. "Is it true that it is the symbol
of a special race, of the Aryan or Indo-Germanic race? This is what
was assumed in certain circles in the past century and what is still
assumed by some people today. Ernst Krause and Ludwig Müller uphold
precisely that that symbol was peculiar to the Indo-Germanic stocks
in ancient times. This thesis, however, has proved to be untenable.
Further research have enable to bring to light that it was spread" in
most of the areas of the world, in California, Korea, Central
America, Mesopotamia, Japan, South Africa, and so on, "areas which
cannot correspond to ancient seats of the Indo-Germanic
race". "Futhermore, Evola adds, any symbol, by its nature, is
universal".
Yet, that doesn't mean in any way that the value of a given symbol
found in all cultures is the same in all of them. This point, which
never seems to spring to the mind of traditionalists, could never
been emphasised enough. Not to take it into consideration would be to
make a great mistake in the interpretation of symbols and of the race
of the spirit of the respective peoples who use them.