Ginfaxi: A Norse-Germanic Swastika Hypothesis
In this post I will put forth a hypothesis on the stave Ginfaxi. In short, I’ve come to believe that this symbol is more than just a “ good luck stave for Icelandic wrestling (glíma) ” specifically and is actually a Norse-Germanic variant of the swastika that has been misrepresented in current times.
I will not be going into comparative details about all of the world swastika designs, a quick Google search on ‘world swastikas’ will do that for you. You will see that this ancient four-legged revolving symbol is so widespread on a global scale that it is impossible to ignore:
As far as I can tell, Ginfaxi (pronounced Gin- i.e. Beginning or Gín- i.e. bee) has only one common description nowadays. On the Wikipedia article about ‘Icelandic Magical Staves’ you will see two symbols described as being used in the Icelandic wrestling act of glíma; Gapaldur and Ginfaxi.
“ Two staves, kept in the shoes, gapaldur under the heel of the right foot and ginfaxi under the toes of the left foot, to magically ensure victory in bouts of Icelandic wrestling (glíma). ”
Using luck symbols during most anything is commonplace. And using it under the feet while participating in something like wrestling, where footwork is key, is logical. As a side note, the Buddha is sometimes depicted as having swastikas under his toes as well.
I think the stave being used to give luck in glíma might be correct, just how the swastika represents good luck in most other cultures, but I don’t believe that this is it’s original origin.
The comparative etymology that led me to changing my perspective on Ginfaxi were the names Gullfaxi, Hrimfaxi and Skinfaxi. All of these are horse characters that have their faxi, i.e. manes, in their name to describe them.
Gullfaxi = Golden Mane, Hrimfaxi = Frost Mane (The horse that pulls the moon), Skinfaxi = Bright Mane (The horse that pulls the sun).
I haven’t yet found any textual lead as to what the ‘Gin-’ portion of the name might mean, but the second ‘-faxi’ is obviously ‘mane’. Which leads me to the hypothesis of a comet. An excerpt from Wikipedia explains the following:
Carl Sagan in his book Comet (1985) reproduces a Han-dynasty Chinese manuscript (the Book of Silk, 2nd century BCE) that shows comet tail varieties: most are variations on simple comet tails, but the last shows the comet nucleus with four bent arms extending from it, recalling a swastika. Sagan suggests that in antiquity a comet could have approached so close to Earth that the jets of gas streaming from it, bent by the comet's rotation, became visible, leading to the adoption of the swastika as a symbol across the world.
* Detail of Astrology Manuscript, ink on silk, BCE 2th century, Han, unearthed from Mawangdui tomb 3rd, Chansha, Hunan Province, China. *
In this context one could see how this symbol is given a -faxi name as the comet tails could represent the waving manes of a horse. In a comparative sense to Skinfaxi (Shining Mane), Gin- could possibly mean Light- or Bright-, concluding the derivative meaning as Light Mane or Bright Mane, describing the light emmiting from the comet.
You have to think of the rarity of a comet flying through the sky and making this exact shape, even though it must’ve been very impactfull in ancient times. I do think it is a possible explanation, but I'd argue there’s a better and more continuously visible one: Ursa Major
The Big Dipper and the North Star
It is a known astronomical fact that The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) continuously revolves around the North Star (Polaris). When visually sequenced with the seasons it gives the origin of the swastika shape:
The sky has always been there and people have been viewing it for thousands upon thousands of years. There is little doubt in my mind that this is not the catalyst for the four-legged swastika symbol.
I will make this brief. Just because someone uses a symbol does not mean they fully know and understand the origins of it and/or what it stands for. Same as when people attribute evil to a symbol that has been tattered in very recent history does not change the ancient meaning of it. We cannot accept ignorance to overrule truth. Open your eyes, view without blindness and think for yourself.
I think we should start seeing and using Ginfaxi as an ancient astronomical symbol that depicts the seasons and therefore life itself.
Let go of the stigma that keeps feeding poison to us and the symbols. Let go of the notions of people who refuse to let go of the recent past. Strike down the ignorance that takes everything at face value. The swastika is a tremendously ancient and well-spirited symbol and it should be recognized as such.
Find the Dipper and the North Star - http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~huffman/finddip.html
Live Encounters “Who’s Swastika is it Anyway?” - https://liveencounters.net/2013-2/08-august-2013/whose-swastika-is-it-anway/
The Big Dipper | 4 Heavenly Beasts | Swastika/Manji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agX-Rkuvn6s
