To me, many of Moorcock's themes seem to have been inspired by the myths, legends, and cosmology of India (although I have never heard this confirmed by anyone, including Moorcock). Indeed, there are many similarities between the Hindu epic the Ramayana and the saga of Corum, one of Moorcock's heroes. This would make sense, however, for a counterculture author during the 1960s and early '70s. This symbol (pictured above) has subsequently been adopted by other authors and by a wide variety of roleplaying game companies and players. To my knowledge, it was never formally adopted as the D&D symbol for chaos. However, the 1980 edition of TSR's Dieties and Demigods, a supplement for the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game, included a section on Moorcock's works in which the symbol was described. Material in the section was apparently used without a licesning agreement, however, and it did not appear in future editions of the book. Hope this helps. Other comments on this subject from readers are appreciated! |
Answer: Eight arrows radiating out from a central
hub comprises one of the most popular symbols for "chaos" in contemporary
fantasy culture. Modern readers were fist exposed to it in the works of
British fantasy novelist Michael Moorcock, who used a struggle between law
and chaos, rather than good and evil, as a central theme in his stories.
