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The Origins
The triskelion symbol appears in many early cultures,
including on Mycenaean vessels, on coinage in Lycia, and
on staters of Pamphylia
(at Aspendos, 370-333
BC) and Pisidia.
A symbol of four
conjoined legs, a tetraskelion, is also known in
Anatolia.
Celtic influences in
Anatolia, epitomized by the Gauls who invaded and
settled Galatia, are especially noted by those who
theorize a Celtic origin for the
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The Manx Triskelion
In the Isle of Man' symbol,
which is located in the Irish Sea, the "three legs
embowed" of the heraldic triskelion are represented in
armour, "spurred and garnished.
"On Manx banknotes, the
triskelion appears within a rim containing the Latin
inscription QUOCUNQUE JECERIS STABIT ("Wherever you
throw it, it stands").
The Manx triskelion is
documented since the 13th or 14th century at the latest,
and it is alternatively known in the Manx language as
the tre cassyn
("three legs").
The symbol appears on the
Isle of Man's ancient Sword of State, which may have
belonged to Olaf Godredson, who became King of the
Sudreys (Southern Hebrides and the Isle of Man) in 1226.
Kneeling clockwise is the correct symbol as it is said
that bent or kneeling in an anti-clockwise fashion
signifies aggression in heraldry. However, many Manx
Churches show the anti-clockwise version.
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The Sicilian
Triskelion
Familiar as an ancient symbol of Sicily, the triskelion
is also featured on Greek coins of Syracuse, such as
coins of Agathocles (317-289 BCE).
In Sicily, the first
inhabitants mentioned in history are the tribes of the
Sicani and the Siculi, who have given Sicily its more
familiar modern name.
The triskelion was
revived, as a neoclassic-and non-Bourbon-emblem for the
new Napoleonic Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, by Joachim
Murat in
1808. The symbol dates
back to when Sicily was part of Magna Grecia, the
colonial extension of Greece beyond the Aegean. Pliny
the Elder
attributes the origin
of the triskelion of Sicily to the triangular form of
the island, the ancient Trinacria, which consists of
three large capes
equidistant from each
other, pointing in their respective directions, the
names of which were Pelorus, Pachynus, and Lilybæum.
The three legs of the
triskelion are also reminiscent of Hephaestus's
three-legged tables that ran by themselves, as mentioned
in Iliad xviii: "At the
moment Hephaestus was
busily turning from bellows to bellows, sweating with
toil as he laboured to finish a score of three-legged
tables to stand
around the sides of
his firm-founded hall.On each of the legs he had put a
gold wheel, that those magic tables might cause all to
marvel by going
with no other help to
the gathering of gods and by likewise returning to his
house."
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The Spiral Triskele
The Celtic symbol of three conjoined spirals may have
had triple significance similar to the imagery that lies
behind the triskelion.
The triple spiral motif is a
Neolithic symbol in Western Europe. It is carved into
the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of
the prehistoric
Newgrange monument in County
Meath, Ireland.
A variant of the symbol is
also found, carved into the wall in the inner chamber of
the passage tomb. Because of its Celtic associations, it
is also used as a symbol of Brittany (alongside the
hermine).
In the north of Spain, the
triskelion is used as a symbol of Galizan and Asturian
nationalists.
A similar symbol called
lábaro by Cantabrian regionalist can be compared to the
neighboring Basque culture's four-branched lauburu.
A possibly related symbol of
Germanic origin is the valknut, and the Celtic and
Germanic triquetra.
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The Third
Reich
Das Dritte Reich
("The Third Reich") is a 1923 book by German author
Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, the ideology of which
heavily informed the Nazi party.
The book
formulated an "ideal" of national empowerment, which
resounded throughout a Germany desperate to rebound from
the Treaty of Versailles:
Das Dritte Reich
was Germany's
Third Rome.
For Moeller van den Bruck,
Germany's great misfortune lies in the political system
created by the Weimar Republic, one of competitive
parties and liberal ideologies.
An admirer of
Mussolini, he looks for a strong leader. The Third Reich
adopted a variation on the triskelion as the insignia
for a Waffen SS division composed of Belgian
volunteers. It is claimed, possibly apocryphally, that
the similarity to the swastika caused confusion or
distress amongst some Jewish refugees interned on the
Isle of
Man during World War II.
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Reconstructionists
and Neopagans
The triskele, usually consisting of spirals, but also
the "horned triskelion", is used by some Polytheistic
Reconstructionist and Neopagan groups.
As a Celtic symbol, it is
found primarily of groups with a Celtic cultural
orientation and, less frequently, can also be found in
use by some Germanic Neopagan groups and eclectic or
syncretic traditions such as Wicca.
The spiral triskele is one of
the primary symbols of Celtic Reconstructionist
Paganism. Celtic Reconstructionists use the symbol to
represent a variety of triplicities in their cosmology
and theology; it is also a favored symbol due to its
association with the god Manannán Mac Lir.
Wicca is syncretic in nature
and often aesthetically adopts symbolism from various
cultures, particularly Celtic symbolism.
It is less commonly used
amongst Germanic Neopagan groups due to the non-Germanic
origins of the symbol; use by Germanic groups may be due
to confusion or association with Norse symbols with
triple symmetries, like the Valknut, the Triquetra, or
the symbol found on the Snoldelev Stone.
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BDSM
The term "BDSM" is an abbreviation derived from the
terms bondage and discipline, domination and submission
and sadism and masochism.
It defines a
spectrum of usually sexual behavior, that can include
dominance, submission, punishment, masochism, bondage,
role play and a large variety of
other
activities.
BDSM can also be referred to as
"kinky sex", "(consent) power exchange", "fetish",
"SexMagick" or "the lifestyle".
A form of the triskelion has been proposed as a BDSM
Emblem by some BDSM groups, partly based on a
description in the Story of O.
The specific emblem
design is meant to be shown with metallic spokes and
circle, and three holes (not dots) within the design.
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Political Groups
The South African white supremacist paramilitary group,
the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), have used a flag
consisting of a red background with a white circle.
In the circle, three black
sevens form a design distantly reminiscent of the
triskelion.
In spite of the similarities
to the swastika (and the overall resemblance to the Nazi
flag, both having a black symbol on a white disc on a
red background), they claim their flag is inspired by a
Biblical meaning of the seven, and the fact that the
organisation was founded on the seventh day of the
seventh month, 1973 (from which the three 7's can be
extracted).
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Other Uses
A triskelion shape is the basis for the Roundel of the
Irish Air Corps (unique among air force roundels). It is
loosely based on the Flag of Ireland and traditional
Celtic triskele boss
designs.
The Triskelion is
shown on the seal of Tau Gamma Phi, the most dominant
fraternity in the Philippines. A member of Tau Gamma Phi
is called a Triskelion.
The triskelion is
accompanied by the motto "FORTIS VOLUNTAS FRATERNITAS"
on the seal.
A triskelion pattern
forms part of the seal of the United States Department
of Transportation. The three spirals represent air,
land, and sea transportation.
The seal was adopted
on February 1, 1967.
Triskelion is the name
of the GSA at Brandeis University, one of the oldest
such organizations on the East Coast. It was named for
the Star Trek episode.
A fractal version of
the triskelion, consisting of a large blue-silver raised
dot with three curved arms of similar dots around it, is
a major motif of the 2005 TV
series Threshold. It
is the symbol of the aliens who invade Earth.
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