Insignias, Special Symbols (Groups); Masons, Knights Templar, Swastika, Other

Howard Scharfe and Marjorie Scharfe Hatpin Collection, Knights Templar Chartiers Commanderie hatpin

1. Knights Templar symbol, with a crown and angled cross, this time with laurels around. Top is 7/8" wide. The rod is 9" long. On the back is raised lettering, the Chartiers Commanderie KT 78. Look that up and find that there is a Knights Templar chapter #78 at Chartiers, PA near Pittsburgh.

In cemeteries, this site says that the symbol of the Crown and Cross is put inside a Maltese Cross - the equal sided cross from the Crusades.

Crown: Could be the symbolic Crown of Aragon. See://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Aragon_Arms-crown.svg/436px-Aragon_Arms-crown.svg.png. In 1130 they had a large presence in the Crown of Aragon, Spain. See ://www.lleida.org/domustempli/english/order.htm.

The Knights Templar were a militant order of monks founded 1120 to protect Pilgrims going to and at the Holy Land, as well as conducting their own financial and other activities. See ://cemeteries.wordpress.com/2006/09/23/knights-templar-in-hoc-signo-vinces/. That Maltese Cross is missing here, and the laurel shown.

The symbol at the site also is within another cross: crown, on Maltese cross, all on regular cross: larger and straight-up cross behind; and has the Latin "in hoc signo vinces" - for "in this sign, conquer," first used by Constantine in the 4th Century, and the entire symbol plus Latin seen on some graves. Freemasons in the 1600's began using Templar rituals. This symbol of ours does not have the Latin.  See FN 1


Maltese Cross Flag, Templar Square, Prague CZ

2. Here is a picture of a Maltese Cross. Prague was a center for Knights Templar activities during the Crusades, as on one of the routes to the Holy Land, and after, when the Knights were expelled from the Holy Land. See ://www.lleida.org/domustempli/english/order.htm.

This symbol of ours, top, hatpin, does not have the Latin.


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Howard Scharfe and Marjorie Scharfe Hatpin Collection, Masonic Figural hatpin

Figural hatpin, Masonic with Maltese Cross beneath chin, and Masonic symbols in center.

Freemasons in the 1600's began using Templar rituals.

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3. Swastika

Swastika. The hooked cross, or old-termed swastika, used to be a symbol of peace and prosperity. See ://www.thegavel.net/Octbat.html.

Howard Scharfe and Marjorie Scharfe Hatpin Collection, hooked cross hatpin, predates WWII era

Swastika or from the Sanskrit.

It was only at WWII that the German use of it morphed that old symbol into death and oppression. Hitler turned it around to be left-turning, apparently, as (story tells) he was left-handed. Bad luck.

The old symbol, from the Sanskrit, had been right-turning, for life. Good luck.

The gavelnet site says the symbol is found as early as Troy. Also some native Americans, and in Great Britain. Am not clear on the left-turning and right-turning. This one is angled to the right. Is that not the German, then? Do an images search for German swastika and they all turn this way. Do a search for a Sanskrit swastika, and it also turns this way. Do a search for left turning swastika, and you see the difference, but we see no German connection there. See both with that search.






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FN 1
Knights Templar Chartiers Commandery. Large, 15/16", flat, rod 9" long, see identification used at http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geocities.com/garys_hoard/Buttons/butt/Militarybutton08.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geocities.com/garys_hoard/Buttons/millbut.html&h=255&w=300&sz=22&hl=en&start=42&tbnid=YXJJYjclhvOYxM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dqueen%2527s%2Bguard%2Bbutton%26start%3D40%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN. Button has diagonal cross going to upper right, behind a crown, leaves going around outside. On back: Chartiers Commandery 78 KT. Chartiers is outside Pittsburgh, in Carnegie. They meet at 600 Washington Avenue on the 4th Thursday. Is the 78 KT for 1878 Knights Templar? No, the 78 is just the number of the organization, looks like.



Unknown group. Set it down somewhere here. Ouch.
Not there.

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