Subject: (whorl) Silk's Cross

From: David_Lebling <david_lebling at avid.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 10:58:58 +0000

[Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

A few minutes with the encyclopedia both illuminates and obscures.
Silk's cross is referred to as a "gammadion," and as a "voided cross."
As it happens, and has been already pointed out, the swastika or
"fylfot" is a gammadion (because it is made up of four gammas). (A
voided cross is one with a hole in the center of it.)

However, there's another definition of a gammadion (from the OED):
"voided greek cross," where the gammas are "back-to-back." 
Unfortunately, there is no picture. However, a greek cross is one where
the arms of the cross are equal in length (a roman cross, more commonly
seen, has the lower arm longer).

Silk's cross has an "X-shaped void" in it, according to _Nightside_. 
So, there are several possible looks one could imagine. The only one I
could come up with that matches all the criteria is:

     | |
     | |
_____| |_____
_____   _____
     | |
     | |
     | |

This looks rather like the cross one used to see on German warplanes
(WWI vintage, for example).

It has the problem that the gammas aren't attached to each other, but
that's a small drawback, easily cured by a small connector at the end of
each arm.

     Dave Lebling
     (david_lebling at avid.com)

Questions or problems to whorl-owner at lists.best.com

---

From: David_Lebling <david_lebling at avid.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 09:49:41 +0000

On the subject of crosses, I found

http://www.amulet.co.uk/symbols/crosses/

which has illustrations of more forms of cross than you've ever seen
before.  My suggestion for Silk's cross is listed as "Gammadion (1)". I
don't think the arms being equal makes them any less gamma-like, by the
way.

To answer someones question, a "fylfot" is a four-legged (as opposed to
four-gamma'd) symbol resembling a cross.

The word is derived from "full (of) foot". It generally is (incorrectly)
identified with the gammadion or swastika today, huffs the OED.

I can't draw one in ascii, but interestingly enough, it is one of a
family of symbols made from (running or flexed) human legs. The other
well-known one is the triskele, a three footed figure. Severian's dog
was named Triskele, of course.

     Dave