Every social environment has its own special insignia. They can be traced both in the manner of communication and in appearance. Hippies, for example, have clearly noticeable slang speech (colloquial and anglicisms: “bag” - bag, “shoes” - boots, “flat” - apartment, “drink” - booze, “dude” - guy, “oldovye” - hippies, having experience, etc.), their hair is long and flowing, their clothes show the motifs of costumes from different countries. But there are also special attributes. This includes the “hairatnik” (hair strap made of ropes, bright ribbons, leather, jeans), baubles (jewelry with a special meaning, can only be given as a gift) and pacifik. These are special signs of hippies. The last and most important of these signs will be discussed.
What kind of hippie symbol is he?
This sign is a regular circle divided by straight lines into four parts. According to some sources, it appeared earlier under the slogan “No to radioactive waste!”, but according to others, it has a completely different meaning. What do the hippies themselves say about this? For them, the circle means continuity and unity. And the drawing inside is a dove's paw print. By the way, this particular bird is considered a symbol of peace. It turns out that the hippie sign (photos are posted in the article) is a kind of statement: “We stand for peace!”
American history
The United States learned about the peace sign when former Navy commander Albert Bigelow attempted to disrupt nuclear testing. He arrived at the venue on a small boat - a flag with the Pacific sign was flying above the deck.
The first badges in America appeared in 1960 thanks to Philip Altback. At that time, Philip was a student at the University of Chicago: the university delegated him to travel to England. Representatives of student movements and peace unions met there.
While in Great Britain, Altback bought a bag of peace pins and brought them to America. The student convinced his organization to reprint and use the logo. Over the next 4 years, he sold thousands of accessories to student dormitories.
Details
The pacifist can be found not only in pacifist accessories, but also in clothing. Hippie sign - what does it mean today? Why is it so important and so clearly advertised?
Hippies are pacifists. For those who know Latin, it is not difficult to understand the thinking and views of these people. Let us remind you: the Latin pacificus is translated as “pacified.” The root is "world". There is a clear statement here: “Hippies are against violence!” This is the basis of the pacifist worldview. A true hippie does not tolerate violence, even if it may be necessary for protection. For these people, harmony in the “man-nature” community is very important. Hippies are inherently very peaceful. Despite their rejection of many of the values of civilization, they defend their own rights and views without resorting to cruelty. Hippies are ready to suffer in defense of their beliefs, and they will be happy at the same time. Let's dig even deeper...
Author's idea
Gerald Holtom himself endowed the original symbol with a different meaning. In a letter to Peace News editor Hugh Brock, he said he was in deep despair. And I drew myself. Its symbol is a man with his arms down and his palms out. Only he formalized the drawing in lines and enclosed it in a circle. For what? He thought it was funny.
Now the author's pacific is in the Peace Museum in England. Designer Holton did not copyright it, which was soon taken advantage of by representatives of the hippie subculture. They used it in photos, posters, wore it as medallions, and decorated sneakers and other clothes with it. This is how the hippie icon spread throughout the world and became associated with the struggle for civil rights, then with the protest movement against the Vietnam War.
The basis of the pacific
The hippie peace sign is the Algiz rune, albeit inverted. It is known both in direct form and in reverse. Let's take a closer look. The Scandinavian straight line Algiz is also called Mannar (from man - man). The diagram depicts a person turning to heaven, which means the desire for sublimity of consciousness. The straight line intersecting the circle in the center also points to the universal axis (center), symbolizing the upper light worlds. The inverted rune symbolizes the world tree with roots going deep into the earth (to the earth, to the lower world, to the dead). In occultism, the bowels of the earth have always been associated with the feminine principle.
The appeal to the archetypal, matriarchal principle among hippies is impossible not to notice. This manifests itself primarily in appearance. For example, all hippie men should have long hair with ribbons and bells woven into it. We have already talked about ideology: hippies protest against wars and any violence in principle. But the main thing for them is to turn to the subconscious within themselves, to intuition, to their own dreams. Hippies show a genuine interest in the traditions of peoples, in ancient world culture, esoteric and philosophical teachings, and the teachings of shamans. The folk wave was picked up in the fields of fine arts, music, and cinema. Searching for themselves, hippies left polluted, stuffy cities for India, Tibet, the Australian jungle, and Mexico. The public, mired in dependence on money, is alien to them.
Hippies are considered nomads. Just like the gypsies. Their whole life is an endless hitchhiking. By the way, the inverted Algiz can also be traced in the gypsy witchcraft traditions. True, hippie signs are interpreted differently here. The drawing in the circle is nothing more than a crow's foot. Why? Algiz inverted means the lower world (death). And the crow feeds on everything, not disdaining carrion. The gypsies (and not only) have always associated carrion with the other world. True, the hippies themselves are skeptical about this relationship. They prefer to call the crow's foot the dove, after the bird of peace.
How did Pacific appear?
The name of the icon comes from the English word “pacific” and translates as “peaceful”, “peace-loving”. He is an international anti-war symbol, promoting a world without wars and disarmament.
The pacifist badge was created by designer Gerald Holtom in 1958. He did it for the British social movement, which advocated nuclear disarmament and against nuclear war.
Activists of the movement planned to march through Trafalgar Square in London. Gerald felt that a graphic message on the placards of thousands of demonstrators would reinforce their message, so he set out to create one.
At first the designer wanted to draw a circle and place a Christian cross inside it. The clergy he turned to for advice did not support the idea of using a Christian symbol in protests.
Then Gerald Holtom decided to use letters from the semaphore alphabet:
- N (Nuclear) – nuclear;
- D (Disarmament) – disarmament.
He placed them in a circle, symbolizing the earth. On April 4, 1958, a 50-kilometer march began across Trafalgar Square. The demonstrators were heading towards the building of the nuclear weapons research center - they were holding black and white emblems in the shape of a circle, inside of which there were three lines. In the author's image, they expanded straight from the center, and later moved down.
Theory one
The Cold War between the United States and the USSR was accompanied in most countries by numerous demonstrations and protests against the development of nuclear weapons and the deployment of missiles in Europe. Pacifists also became active participants in the rallies. Even then, those hippie signs that we see today appeared. Numerous images of pacificists, painted on clothes, posters and even on faces, were probably even more common than slogans like: “No nuclear war!” It is not surprising that the hippie sign is now perceived by some as a limitation of nuclear weapons. The drawing itself represents a rocket, and the circle indicates that the terrible weapon should be limited or even prohibited.
“War is sweet to those who have not experienced it”
The above phrase belongs to Erasmus of Rotterdam. In 1517, he wrote the treatise “The Complaint of the World,” in which he branded war as “the root cause of all troubles and evils, a bottomless ocean that absorbs everything without distinction.”
Erasmus of Rotterdam
The Dutch philosopher, who was nicknamed the “prince of humanists,” was the first to reasonedly condemn war in the broadest sense of the word. From small everyday clashes to large battles between countries and cities. Conflicts are inherent in human nature, but there are those who inflate them to the size of wars. These are tyrants. But wise sovereigns should care for peace and not be at enmity with each other.
For the 16th century, the idea that peace was more beneficial than war was quite fresh. But the most original point of view is that “peace largely depends on hearts desiring peace” and that supporters of peace must go to great lengths to preserve it.
Sounds familiar? After L. N. Tolstoy’s work “The Kingdom of God is Within You,” rejection of any form of use of force, including armed struggle, in Russia was called “Tolstoyism.” The basic idea of Tolstoyanism is that violence cannot protect us from violence. Defensive struggle is a lie. And the main sowers of this lie and the main obstacles to universal peace are “patriotism and government.” These two are to blame for all human wars.
Lev Tolstoy
In addition to the Christian tradition, pacifism has philosophical roots in Hinduism, in which the concept of non-harm (ahimsa) is of great importance. Tolstoy's follower was Mahatma Gandhi, who organized and led the nonviolent protest movement for the liberation of India. By the way, the day of his death was proclaimed the International Day of Non-Violence by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in 2007.
Martin Luther King, the successor of Tolstoy and Gandhi, gave pacifism a fairly precise definition. Pacifism is “opposing evil with the power of love, based on the belief that it is better to endure evil than to cause it.”
However, most people do not have iron patience.
Theory two
She is called the "pigeon". We have already considered this option above. According to this version, the foot of the bird of peace is enclosed in an infinity sign. It is a symbol of peace, universal love and happiness. And infinite. Here we recall the “dove” anti-war drawings of the well-known Pablo Picasso, on the one hand, and the biblical story about the old man Noah, who survived the global flood, on the other. Remember who brought the news that the flood was about to end? It was precisely a dove holding an olive branch in its beak (Genesis, chapter eight). This theory of the appearance of the Pacific looks more beautiful and, probably, even more interesting. But there are other explanations.
Where did pacifism originate?
▪️The ideological views preached by opponents of war appeared in the 20th century in France. The founder of the ideology was Emile Arnault. He was not only a public figure, but also a writer.
The term itself was first introduced to the public in Scotland, at the General World Congress. The mission of the congress was designated by the word “pacifism”, and its participants, accordingly, by “pacifists”. Over time, this concept has become broader and acquired additional meanings. Now this is the name given to everyone who publicly speaks out against militarism.
▪️Thus, the term itself was born only 120 years ago. But the phenomenon as such has an earlier history. Back in the 1st century BC, the ideas of philanthropy and aversion to violence became widespread among people. For example, the Romans used their system of concluding treaties on a peaceful basis with a guarantee of the safety of the parties.
▪️Pacifism was the basis of Christianity at the dawn of its appearance. Even then, the adherents of Christ did not want to enroll in the army for religious reasons. However, with the change in status and transformation into a mass religion in Europe, Christianity somewhat changed its views on violence and military action. A striking example of such a change is the crusades in the name of faith.
▪️The ideology of pacifism in Europe strengthened in the 14-15 centuries, during the Renaissance. The Napoleonic Wars devastated Europe so much that they discouraged the desire to return to militarism for a long time. At the end of the 19th century, pacifism received the status of an international ideology, and the League of Nations carried out work to promote it.
▪️Pacifism in the modern interpretation appeared after the global bloody wars of the 20th century that affected most of the world. The main distributor of ideas was the UN. This organization was specifically created to protect people's rights and prevent wars.
The main idea of pacifism is that there is no justification for military killings. According to this logic, “liberation” and “holy” wars cannot exist for one reason - they are all illegal.
▪️Any aggression emanating from the military personifies evil, which has no place in human civilization. All issues should be resolved through negotiations - this is what pacifists believe.
Other options
Perhaps these theories are the most fantastic, but nevertheless they have the right to life. The hippie signs, according to this theory, were taken from runes. We have already talked about this above (the fifteenth rune of the Elder Futhark called “Algiz”).
Some believe that the pacific symbolizes the horned head of an elk. This animal is considered noble and strong. It represents “hope, safety, protection, help.”
Another interpretation of the hippie sign is growing reeds (sedge). He constantly strives upward. Explained as the desire for wealth, power, and elevation above others. The desire to surpass rivals in any skill is full of ambition. A modern rune master from Norway believes that the hippie sign is an image of a Valkyrie with a sword, therefore, interpreted as “fearlessness, strength.” True, the hippies themselves don’t particularly like this explanation.
