288 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



American Indians — lowas, Kickapoos, and other tribes ■'■ — 

 states, "The Indians call the sivastika the 'luck,' or the 

 ' good luck.' It is only to be found in bead work of a kind not 

 now available." 



I think that we may take these records of ancient and 

 modern signification of "good luck" as fair proof that the 

 symbol was used to ward off misfortune and bring safety to 

 those using it. So much for the signification, now for illus- 

 tration of the evolution and development of the elbowed cross. 



Its simple form is that of a cross (fig. 1), but its birth took 

 place probably m the circle. Mr. Edward Thomasf writes, 

 " The earliest phase of astronomical science we are at present 

 in position to refer to, with the still extant aid of indigenous 

 diagrams, is the Chaldean. The representation of the sun in 

 this system commences with a simple ring or outline circle, 

 which is speedily advanced toward the impression of onward 

 revolving motion by the insertion of a cross, or four wheel- 

 like spokes, within the circumference of the normal ring." 

 In figs. 2, 3, and 4 we have this advancing representation, 

 showing the cross sivastika on the circular sun. In fig. 5 we 

 have a variant cross — a swastika with spirals ; and in fig. 6 

 the circle is lost, while the curved cross remains. Fig. 7 is 

 another form of the square cross. And here I will draw atten- 

 tion to a point I must further refer to afterwards — viz., the 

 great difficulty of drawing the sivastika, whether in curves or 

 squares, if the idea of circular motion is to be kept. If any 

 one doubts this let him try to draw fig. 7 accurately with a 

 freehand style. The next figure (fig. 8) shows the Greek 

 keyboard or meander, but it is the double pattern, the 

 Egyptian, and not the plain Greek. You will notice how the 

 intricate swastika crossing lives in this border. We could 

 be hardly certain that the swastika had anything to do with 

 the plain Greek border if it were not for a beautiful example 

 found on a Greek vase where the simple keyboard reverts at 

 the end of the band into the sivastika itself (fig. 9). I have 

 given above instances of the square cross passing into the 

 spiral, and in the next figure (fig. 10) we have a very beautiful 

 illustration of the sivastika spirals at their best. It is given 

 by Professor Goodyear, who leads up to it, indeed, by a differ- 

 ent path, for he evolves the swastika from the spirals of the 

 lotus, which was a flower sacred to the sun and to solar 

 worship. However, in regard to this ornament on an ancient 

 tomb in Thebes, the professor states directly that this is a 

 swastika cross, and that the central ornament is a lotus- 

 flower, an emblem of the sun. The last illustration of the 



* Smithsonian Report, 1894, p. 895. 



t " History of Art in Chaldea and Assyria," p. 200. 



