The Black Sun is an enigmatic and controversial occult symbol with a complex history intertwined with mythology, alchemy, Nazi ideology, and neopagan movements. At its core, the Black Sun represents the hidden inner light present in all matter and the process of illumination and spiritual transmutation. As a gamer and mythology enthusiast, I‘m fascinated by symbols and stories that have taken on meaning across humanity – even controversial ones like the Black Sun.
Origins in Mythology and Babylon
The origins of the Black Sun motif can be traced back to ancient Babylonian astronomy and mythology, which depicted the sun god Shamash traversing the underworld at midnight to illuminate the realm of the dead. This speaks to very human ideas about the passage between life and death and light‘s conquest over darkness that still reverberate mythically today. These concepts are common across belief systems – in the Norse tradition, the black sun symbolized Ragnarok and the cyclic endings and beginnings of eras presided over by gods like Odin, whose single eye peered into mystical shadows.
Occult Symbolism
At the heart of the Black Sun emblem is a circle surrounded by 12 jagged rays. In numerology, 12 represents cosmic order and completion, like the 12 zodiac archetypes or 12 Olympic gods. It echoes the 12 months of the solar year – this inner circle with 12 rays is directly a solar symbol for the sun‘s pilgrimage. The outer twisted rays extend this journey into the galaxies, evoking the sun‘s enduring life force spiraling infinitely into the cosmos.
The 3 swastikas are also symbolic mandalas associated with cyclical motion and the triangle, which composes their shape, is an alchemical symbol for fire and transformation. This suggests the Black Sun fuels a metaphysical engine of transubstantiation turning primeval matter into celestial energy and spirit. Alchemists believed a dark inner light hid within matter, obscuring a secret spiritualizing element – this is represented by the black tones concealing the sun‘s illuminating core.
The Gods of Norse Legend
As a gamer and mythology buff, I love researching the stories behind symbols and archetypes. The Black Sun is connected to Odin, the chief Norse god who sacrificed an eye at Mímir‘s Well to attain inner wisdom and mastered runic magic. The Nazis hijacked runic traditions to fuel conquest, but originally runes invoked gods, spirits and mysteries of the natural world. They explored conceptual darkness – like the Black Sun – shrouded in occult secrecy requiring symbolic "sight" to uncover.
Odin‘s mythic questing for meaning resonates – it led him to hang himself from Yggdrasil‘s boughs for nine nights to attain the cosmic vision enabling him to read fate‘s hidden skein. By staring into the obscure void of the Black Sun until it blinded his very perception, Odin ultimately emerged transcendentally enlightened.
The Occult all suoreof Nazism
The mystical and ideological leanings of the Nazi SS, who conceived of themselves as the elite "new knights" of a Teutonic brotherhood, fixated on symbols and rituals endowed with occult power – so the Black Sun‘s pedigree in Norse legend made it very attractive. The emblem incorporates a double Sig rune associated with Odin‘s spear as a totem of victory – life force – and power over death. Much recent scholarship has explored how thoroughly occultism shaped theThird Reich through figures like Karl Maria Wiligut, an Ariosophist who claimed to have accessed ancestral memory revealing Germany‘s secret past and occult destiny manifested by runic symbols.
While Wiligut was ultimately discredited, works like The Morning of the Magicians document the Nazi obsession with lost civilizations, mystical relics like theSpear of Destiny, and harnessing occult magic to fuel their conquest – so the Black Sun fit their baroque vision perfectly. Of course, I want to stress as clearly as possible that while examining this history, I utterly condemn Nazi racial ideologies – I‘m simply highlighting the role of myth and symbolism.
Neopagan Religious Movements
Various neopagan religious groups like the Artgemeinschaft movement seek to revive pre-Christian Germanic spirituality have also adopted forms of the Black Sun into iconography and teachings about Norse legends, runes, and harmonizing with natural cycles. These groups distance themselves from racial ideologies, instead focusing on pagan customs and folklore linked to cosmic forces like the sun celebrated through solstice gatherings and festivals.
While ethical concerns arise regarding appropriating symbols like the Black Sun originating in a Nazi-era context, proponents argue they are reclaiming their heritage and transferring artifacts buried in painful history into life-affirming contemporary practice. It shows how even esoteric symbols evolve new meanings – while still carrying remnants of the old. Their Germanic identity stands proudly independent ofpolitical distortions, honoring ancient cosmology and ageless mysteries.
As a gamer who connects to mythic motifs repeated across humanity‘s cultural landscape, I relate to this attraction toward realigning with lost ancestral tradition and timeless universal archetypes. The Black Sun still resonates not for ominous reasons but an eternal fascination with the cosmos‘ endless dance between darkness and light.