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A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle. The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic Europe to Bronze Age periods of European prehistory. The symbol's ubiquity and apparent importance in prehistoric religion have given rise to its interpretation as a solar symbol, whence the modern English term "sun cross" (a calque of ). The symbol means village in Ancient Egyptian (Gardiner symbol O49).
Prehistoric rock carvings at Madsebakke, on Bornholm Island, Denmark, depict multiple sun crosses with cup marks. These petroglyphs date to the Bronze Age (c. 1800–500 BCE) and are among the best-preserved in Scandinavia. The big wheel sun cross, carved directly into granite bedrock, is a circular motif with radial arms – often interpreted as a solar symbol representing the movement of the sun or the cycle of seasons. Around it are cup marks, small carved indentations believed to hold ritual significance, possibly linked to offerings or celestial events. Other locations with similar sun cross motifs and cup-marked stones include:
These carvings are part of a shared Nordic symbolic tradition, emphasizing sun worship, cycles of life, and ancestral rituals. The same symbol is in use as a modern astronomical symbol representing the Earth rather than the sun. In pharmacy, the sun cross symbol represents various/miscellaneous drugs. After World War II, variants of the symbol became associated with neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements.
The English term "sun cross", on the other hand, is comparatively recent, apparently loaned from German Sonnenkreuz and used in the 1955 translation of Rudolf Koch's Book of Signs ("The Sun-Cross or Cross of Odin", p. 94). The German term Sonnenkreuz was used in 19th-century scholarly literature of any cross symbol interpreted as a solar symbol, an equilateral cross either with or without a circle, or an oblique cross (saltire). Sonnenkreuz was used of the flag design of the Paneuropean Union in the 1920s.italic=unset, p. 36. In the 1930s, a version of the symbol with broken arms (resembling a curved swastika, illustrated below) was popular as a link between Christianity and Germanic paganism in the völkisch German Faith Movement.For example:
A square cross interlocking with or surrounded by a circle is one of the most popular symbols used by individuals and organisations to represent white nationalism, white supremacy, Neo-Nazism, and white pride. In its Celtic cross form, it is used as the logo for white nationalist website Stormfront. This stems from the use of a circled cross by Norwegian Nazis during World War II. In New Zealand, the Odin's cross was one of the symbols used by on Brenton Tarrant in the Christchurch mosque shootings.
In Germany, a "stylized" circled cross was adopted by a prohibited political party (VSBD/PdA), leading to a ban of the symbol if used within a context of promoting racism (see Strafgesetzbuch section 86a). Although there were doubts on the constitutionality of the ban, it was upheld in a decision of the supreme court. In Italy, there is a similar ban based on Legge Mancino (the "Mancino Law", from the Minister of Interior who enacted the law), although there are some examples of the use of the circled cross as a Roman Catholic symbol in Northern Italy.
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