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Motif · motif_black_sun

Black Sun

A specific sunwheel design. REGISTERED AS A HAZARD RECORD, NOT AS A DESIGN SUGGESTION, and it is the one row in this sub-batch where two fetched sources flatly contradict each other. A Tier 2 tattoo magazine describes it as “originating from Northern Scandinavian culture” and symbolising “the connection between humans and occult sciences”. The Anti-Defamation League, Tier 1, states the specific design “has a very specific association with white supremacy, having been invented by the Nazis in the 1930s” and that “It first appeared as a mosaic in a castle in Wewelsburg in Germany that was owned and remodeled by Hitler’s SS.” THE TIER 1 SOURCE GOVERNS. The ADL also draws the distinction that matters: “Most sunwheel designs are unrelated to hate or white supremacy”, but “the specific Nazi-derived Sonnenrad/Black Sun symbol is almost always used as a white supremacist symbol.” The node exists so that a generation system can recognise the term rather than render it innocently.
Attested
High confidenceneeds cultural review

2 attested2 sources · T1

Also called Sonnenrad

Cultural review required

This entry makes claims about a community's practice that nobody qualified has confirmed. Treat it as research in progress, not settled fact.

What the research says

motifs_seed
Category
celestial
Cultural flags
ADL-LISTED HATE SYMBOL. A Tier 2 tattoo source misattributes its origin to Northern Scandinavian culture; the Tier 1 ADL entry states it was invented by the Nazis in the 1930s. Do not emit.
Composition behaviors
two concentric circles orbiting a center solid circle, with 12 evenly spaced lightning-bolt-like rays emanating from the center point

Provenance

2 resolved

  • Sonnenrad (opens in a new tab)

    Tier 1

    Anti-Defamation League

    ADL Hate Symbols Database entry, carrying BOTH halves. Verbatim: "Most sunwheel designs are unrelated to hate or white supremacy, but some do have such associations in certain contexts"; and of the specific design, that it "has a very specific association with white supremacy, having been invented by the Nazis in the 1930s", that "It first appeared as a mosaic in a castle in Wewelsburg in Germany that was owned and remodeled by Hitler’s SS", and that "the specific Nazi-derived Sonnenrad/Black Sun symbol is almost always used as a white supremacist symbol." Also gives the drawn form precisely: "two concentric circles orbiting a center solid circle, with 12 evenly spaced lightning-bolt-like rays emanating from the center point."

    cultural institution · retrieved 2026-08-30

  • Sun Tattoos: Symbolism and Styles (opens in a new tab)

    Tier 2

    iNKPPL Tattoo Magazine

    Tattoo magazine article on one motif. Verbatim: "A tattoo depicting the sun carries a multitude of meanings, with two of the most common being symbols of truth and light" and "Sun tattoos are also associated with other meanings, such as power, knowledge, sensuality, regeneration, and new life." Variant-scoped: "The rising sun, initially stemming from the world of prison tattoos, has gained new significance over time." CONTRADICTED ON ONE POINT BY A TIER 1 SOURCE: this page states "One of the most mystical images is the black sun, originating from Northern Scandinavian culture", where the ADL entry source_adl_sonnenrad states the specific Sonnenrad/Black Sun design was invented by the Nazis in the 1930s - that wording is quoted on the ADL source row, not here, because a quotation must be resolvable from the page this row cites. See motif_black_sun; the Tier 1 source governs. ALSO REFUSED: the Navajo/Hopi, Slavic and ancient Egyptian claims on this page, all living or ancient religious material a trade magazine cannot establish. Routed to T11.10.

    professional tattoo source · published 2023-10-30 · retrieved 2026-08-30

Related concepts

2 links

Can symbolize · 1

  • → outgoingWhite SupremacySymbolAttested
    strength 0.75needs cultural review

    ADL, Tier 1: “Unlike many other types of sunwheel symbols, which may have a hate-related usage only in certain contexts, or not at all, the specific Nazi-derived Sonnenrad/Black Sun symbol is almost always used as a white supremacist symbol.” Strength 0.75 rather than 1.0 because the ADL says “almost always”, not always - and because the same entry insists “Most sunwheel designs are unrelated to hate or white supremacy”, so the edge must not be generalised to sunwheels at large.

Requires review · 1

  • → outgoingWhite SupremacySymbolAttested
    strength 1.00needs cultural review

    REVIEW MARKER, NOT A MEANING CLAIM. Added by T11.8c under the vibe-ops relation-type ruling of 2026-08-30: an appropriated hate meaning keeps its can_symbolize edge (rel_t118b_0044) AND gains a requires_review edge, so the hazard is reachable by review tooling without traversing symbolism. This edge asserts only that a human must look. The ADL entry cited here bounds what the reviewer is looking for: “Most sunwheel designs are unrelated to hate or white supremacy”, so the review must establish that the specific Nazi-derived design is the one in hand before this hazard applies.