How do I express "clockwisality"?

Is "clockwisality" a valid word for discussing whether something is clockwise or anti-clockwise? If not, what words if any can express this?

For example,

In the context of the anime "Bleach", which clockwisality should the swastika be? Should it be "卍" or "卐"?

One possibility I can think of is using "clockwiseness", but the resulting sentence is awkward:

In the context of the anime "Bleach", does the swastika have clockwiseness?

to me may indicate it has clockwiseness, anticlockwiseness, or neither.


Solution 1:

In mathematics, the word orientation is used to talk about clockwise versus counterclockwise. Using this, one might phrase your question as:

How are the arms of the swastika oriented?

or

Which orientation do the arms of the swastika have?

The word "direction" can also be used to similar effect, although it is more general.

Solution 2:

A chemist would formally call it chirality in a molecule and, by exentsion, there'd be a high-likelihood of chirality being used for similar phenomena in the sciences and other formal contexts.

More informally (such as here) it would be known as handedness, with right-handed, at least in the case of a shape like a swastika, likely denoting clockwise rotation. The "right" also has etymological connections to more obscure words for clockwise (eg dextrorotation).

A conversation might plausibly be:

  • What is the handedness of swastikas used in Bleach?
  • They're right-handed.
  • Awkward.

There are also many exciting, obscure words used for clockwise and counterclockwise, which have often made their way into English from other languages or have survived, damaged and wheezing, into modern dictionaries. But few are in common use outside jargon, ritual, humour, picturesque settings, etc.