Joe that is quite a rabbit hole you are going down. I can appreciate this as I am also a global learner and ideas tend to spider web and morph into related concepts for me as well.
Yes, the swastika was a solar sign usually associated with a cycle of rebirth. Day and night were a metaphor for the transmigration of the soul. The other side of the handle could be looked at as a fertility symbol of vaguely phallic and vaginal symbolism especially when mixed vegetative growth. Were these put there for an overt purpose? Or were they vestigial decorations that were merely decorations? My grandparents had a family bible from the last quarter of19th century its cover was covered in a knotwork of protection spells. Were they there in a pagan sense or just serendipity? I would argue that the artist did not know what they were imitating and merely added the pattern to give the bible a traditional cultural feel to the demographic the sale was aimed at, but that is just my opinion. If the knowledge and practices was still common understanding it would not be so esoteric. In my insignificant opinion it is interesting and important to understand where art and tradition originate but I am not sure how much meaning is behind the placement of such symbols. They do help the since of continuity with prehistory though.
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2nd February 2023, 01:24 PM
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