Does anyone know the origin of the squatters rights symbol

[beersalt]

So yea pretty self explanatory I'm curious if anyone knows why the circle N is the squatters rights symbol, the origin of it, and if the symbol has been around since like ancient times or if it's relatively new? If it had an original meaning that's been changed or evolved ect. Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 125]

ive heard at least half a dozen stories about the origin of the symbol, some coming from old hobo symbols modifying it and some having something to do with the circle being the building and the arrow representing said squatter since it starts outside of the circle (building) goes through it (representing staying in the building) then with the end of the arrow leaving the building and moving on. that ones probobly my favorite but honestly i couldnt tell you the true origin of it, ide never really thought about it before actually.

 

[beersalt]

I tried to find info online and every site just sai "it represents squatting!" And nothing else

 

[A New Name]

Good question. I too would like to understand the background of this.

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[Dmac]

Good question. I could not find it in a list of old hobo signs, but I only looked at one site. there were a couple kind of close, but not quite right http://www.worldpath.net/~minstrel/hobosign.htm

 

[beersalt]

Thanks for the response!! I'll check out that link when I have better service

 

[Deleted member 125]

Good question. I could not find it in a list of old hobo signs, but I only looked at one site. there were a couple kind of close, but not quite right http://www.worldpath.net/~minstrel/hobosign.htm

i think what i heard they were refering to the "get out fast" or "wrong way" ones. although the meaning of the symbols kinda contradicts squatting, but like i said, it was just one of those hobo stories ide heard but never gave much more thought to.

 

[beersalt]

Just got the service, that's an awesome fucking link!!!

 

[beersalt]

Some seem incorrect or inconsistent to my personal experience but still, great resource

 

[Mongo]

This is the best explanation i could find: https://sites.google.com/site/housemagicbfc/about/symbols-and-icons

Also after some research i realized that it's pretty much sideways shock symbol in a circle.

 

[VikingAdventurer]

This is the best explanation i could find: https://sites.google.com/site/housemagicbfc/about/symbols-and-icons

Also after some research i realized that it's pretty much sideways shock symbol in a circle.

I was about to post this exact link. Glad I checked before posting, Lol!

 

[tacopirate]

This is the best explanation i could find: https://sites.google.com/site/housemagicbfc/about/symbols-and-icons

Also after some research i realized that it's pretty much sideways shock symbol in a circle.

That's probably the most succinct description I've heard. Who knows, I heard hobos are crazy anyway... ::wtf::

 

[Treefoot]

It reminds me of the anarchy symbol, (the n not being contained to the circle) first thing that comes to my mind is "inside out" getting inside to squat, getting back out to trot


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[Matt Derrick]

I'm on my cell but I believe there is a Wikipedia article about squatting that lays out the history of the symbol.

Nothing to do with hobo symbols as far as I know. Short version is that it originated in Europe in the late 70's and early 80's (keep in mind this was where squatting was strongest) and it started out as reversed (from the way we know it now) so it looked like an S (for 'squat') and somewhere along the way it got flipped so it was an N. I have no way to prove that but I know I read it somewhere...

 

[Katbearfoot]

What if it has a D and an R on either side of it? There is a girl with a tattoo like that in this rad photo series: http://www.michaeljosephphotographics.com/album/lost-and-found
Some people have tattoos that look like train tracks, but in hoboglyphs I guess that means ‘unsafe place’? I’m guessing they were going for train tracks. Hoboglyphs are cool, but confusing (but I’m no hobo pro)

 

[LysergicAbreaction]

Ok, I only skimmed through so I apologize if anybody mentioned this meaning:

·The circle represents the womb, or shelter
·The bent arrow represents your path through life.

So in turn it means "may you always have shelter on your path through life"

 

[LysergicAbreaction]

The bent arrow does also show up in native American art....

 

[LysergicAbreaction]

Ok, so the circle is known to represent the womb, or shelter:
Some Circle Symbol-Meaning Keywords

• Womb
• Focus
• Unity
• *shelter

https://www.whats-your-sign.com/circle-symbol-meaning.html

I'm still searching for the bent arrow, but I did find a good start, perhaps they just added lines to the horizontal axis creating an "n" shape.

The horizontal axis, represents the path from birth to death, beginning to end, and linear time. This axis represents life on earth as a binary, linear process- life to death, beginning to end, and the dual nature of human existence evidenced by our symmetrical shapes: left and right, male and female, good and evil.
http://symboldictionary.net/?p=1914


Then in the west coast version you will see a line through the start of the arrow, I'm pretty sure this was just to include feminist symbology...

 

[LysergicAbreaction]

Whether I'm correct or not, this is what it means to me:

·The circle represents the womb, or shelter
·The bent arrow represents your sacred path through life.

Therefore (to me) the symbol represents "May you always have shelter on your sacred path through life"

...and while I can't prove it, I think the origins of the symbol were derived from a similar notion.

 

[wearerats]

Hello, new on this site but I really wanted to add something to this question.

Here in France, people told be that the arrow represents squatters, making our way from squat to squat. So no « N » , or other letter, just a pretty simple zig zag because we don’t go straight from one point to an other.

But after reading you, it looks like there is no real origins and a lot of different interpretations.