# What Symbol is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805 "2013-05-20T11:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iantendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@iantendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iantendo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/1 "2013-05-20T11:44:05Z")
I was at a pub restaurant yesterday and noticed that the guy next to me had a strange tattoo design on his hand. My first though was that he was some kind of White Nationalist but he didn’t exactly look like one! The design was 2 concentric circles with a cross in the inner one. I’ve drawn what it looked like here: [![](https://i.imgur.com/VCFN9Fu.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/VCFN9Fu.jpg) Does anyone have any idea what it was? The only thing I picked up was that his wife mentioned about going to church so I wondered if it was some kind of religious symbol? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/2 "2013-05-20T11:52:13Z")
He may have been a sniper. ---
**Author:** ![iantendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@iantendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iantendo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/3 "2013-05-20T12:20:58Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > He may have been a sniper. I doubt it… he t shirt said he worked for a refrigeration company or something! ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/4 "2013-05-20T12:42:15Z")
Like this maybe? [![](https://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/5693160/il_fullxfull.201976323.jpg) ](https://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/5693160/il_fullxfull.201976323.jpg) Sniper. Team Fortress 2 sniper that is. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/5 "2013-05-20T12:44:03Z")
The Anti Defamation League has several common logos and tattoos for hate groups here: [http://archive.adl.org/hate\_symbols/default\_graphics.asp](http://archive.adl.org/hate_symbols/default_graphics.asp). Does it look like any of those. My first thought was a Christian Identity symbol, but that’s a little different than what you drew. Where was this, by the way? That might help narrow it down. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/6 "2013-05-20T12:50:07Z")
> [@iantendo](#): > > I doubt it… he t shirt said he worked for a refrigeration company or something! I have tee-shirt that indicates i am associated with the Justice League, and another that implies I vacation in Margaritaville. He could just be wearing that shirt as part of the disinformation campaign. No true sniper would wear a shirt that announces he (or she) will put a round through your head at two miles. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/7 "2013-05-20T12:59:13Z")
You wouldn’t think it from looking at me but my tshirt clearly shows I’m an MMA fighter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/8 "2013-05-20T13:22:04Z")
It really does look like a stereotypical crosshair. Maybe it was a joke tat (or he’s a paranoid loon who thinks he’s a “target” or something)? ---
**Author:** ![Baxter\_s\_Dad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Baxter\_s\_Dad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baxter_s_Dad)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/9 "2013-05-20T13:39:09Z")
Maybe it was a birthmark; [http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr\_lph0u1p8bi1qfvq9bo1\_500.jpg](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lph0u1p8bi1qfvq9bo1_500.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Vercingetorix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/848f3c/32.png) [@Vercingetorix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vercingetorix)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/10 "2013-05-20T15:31:32Z")
It superficially looks like a [Sun Cross](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_cross), except that the space between the two circles isn’t filled in. The sun cross was used to represent, well, the Sun in bronze-age Europe, and is still used in various neo-Pagan religions. ---
**Author:** ![criticalius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@criticalius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criticalius)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/11 "2013-05-20T15:40:20Z")
it does look like a sun cross and if the tattoo design was on his hands, i bet he was a nationalist. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/12 "2013-05-20T16:33:21Z")
> [@iantendo](#): > > I doubt it… he t shirt said he worked for a refrigeration company or something! Ex-military snipers may find it difficult to get a civilian job in that field. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/13 "2013-05-20T18:42:39Z")
The closest match on [symbols.com](http://symbols.com) also is the [sun cross](http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/29/291.html). [Here’s](http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/29/index.html) the group of symbols it’s from if you want to have a look for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/14 "2013-05-21T02:29:42Z")
It’s the astrological symbol for the planet Earth. Proof– [![](https://www.kempa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/all_symbols-browse1.jpg) ](https://www.kempa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/all_symbols-browse1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/15 "2013-05-21T03:46:34Z")
> [@iantendo](#): > > My first though was that he was some kind of White Nationalist but he didn’t exactly look like one! If I interpret your meaning correctly, perhaps that tattoo was a [Circle of Courage](http://www.reclaiming.com/content/about-circle-of-courage). It’s a native (North American Indian/First Nations) symbol based on the traditional medicine wheel. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/16 "2013-05-21T03:51:25Z")
I thought it was sulphur [http://www.scenta.co.uk/tcaep/science/symbol/dalton.htm](http://www.scenta.co.uk/tcaep/science/symbol/dalton.htm) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/17 "2013-05-21T04:04:14Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > It’s the astrological symbol for the planet Earth. > > Proof– > > [http://www.kempa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/all\_symbols-browse1.jpg](http://www.kempa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/all_symbols-browse1.jpg) Astro **nom** ical symbol for Earth, how could you have an astrological symbol for Earth? That would make no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/18 "2013-05-21T04:26:48Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Astro **nom** ical symbol for Earth, how could you have an astrological symbol for Earth? That would make no sense. There is an [astrological symbol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_symbols#Astrological_planets) for Earth however, and it’s what **Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor** showed. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/19 "2013-05-21T05:01:59Z")
> [@For You](#): > > Astro **nom** ical symbol for Earth, how could you have an astrological symbol for Earth? That would make no sense. Astrology and astronomy used to be… not quite one and the same, but the way astronomers would get funding used to be thanks to the astrological predictions; they did not distinguish the two concepts, an astro-map was both astrological and astronomical. Same as al_chemy_ eventually became _chem_istry, astrology eventually grew up and bought a telescope. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-symbol-is-this/658805/20 "2013-05-21T19:18:15Z")
To me, the symbol looks like the [BMW logo](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IwxxqhQJ9do/USZmvc9e-UI/AAAAAAAABns/44rUpFBa-aE/s1600/bmw.jpg).