Lauburu

The lauburu or Basque cross (Basque: lauburu, "four heads") is a traditional Basque swastika with four comma-shaped heads. Today, it is a symbol of the Basque Country and the unity of the Basque people. It is also associated with Celtic peoples, most notably Galicians and Asturians. It can be constructed with a compass and straightedge, beginning with the formation of a square template; each head can be drawn from a neighboring vertex of this template with two compass settings, with one radius half the length of the other.

Background

Historians and authorities have attempted to apply allegorical meaning to the ancient symbol. Some say it signifies the "four heads or regions" of the Basque Country. The lauburu does not appear in any of the seven coats-of-arms that have been combined in the arms of the Basque Country: Higher and Lower Navarre, Gipuzkoa, Biscay, Álava, Labourd, and Soule. The Basque intellectual Imanol Mujica liked to say that the heads signify spirit, life, consciousness, and form, but it is generally used as a symbol of prosperity.