Rock symbol

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Thankatroop12

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I do not know what it is called but it is the symbol when you only have your index finger and pinky up. Is it true it is used to represent the horns of the devil?
 
It’s also used as a symbol of communal solidarity by Texas A&M students and alumni, and I don’t think they consider it satanic.
 
I am scrupulous so I was wondering because almost all of my favorite musicians are performing at a music festival that has a picture of a robot making this sign.
 
It’s really complicated, and its meaning is by no means set in stone. In general, I would not let it bother you.

I would refer you to this sub-section of the wiki article on the gesture.

Ronnie James Dio, who claims to have popularized the symbol, has this to say:
It’s NOT the devil’s sign like we’re here with the devil. It’s an Italian thing I got from my Grandmother called the “Malocchio”. It’s to ward off the Evil Eye or to give the Evil Eye, depending on which way you do it.
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Thankatroop12 said:
I am scrupulous so I was wondering because almost all of my favorite musicians are performing at a music festival that has a picture of a robot making this sign.
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“The 1969 back album cover for Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls on Mercury Records by Chicago-based psychedelic-occult rock band Coven, led by singer Jinx Dawson, pictured Coven band members giving the “sign of the horns” correctly and included a Black Mass poster showing members at a ritual making the sign. Starting in early 1968, Coven concerts always began and ended with Jinx giving the sign on stage.”

That is probably all you need to know…right?

I am a big Metallica fan. I enjoy their music and shows. I would not avoid going to see them play over this, but when there, I would not make such symbols as others do.
 
Jon_S said:
I am a big Metallica fan. I enjoy their music and shows. I would not avoid going to see them play over this, but when there, I would not make such symbols as others do.
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I would say the only thing that matters about any symbol is what associations others draw when seeing it. In other words, symbols don’t have objective meanings, we apply meanings to them.

Having been to more metal concerts than I can count, I don’t really think the sign has any particular meaning at all, other than, “ROCK ON!” 👍
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
I would say the only thing that matters about any symbol is what associations others draw when seeing it. In other words, symbols don’t have objective meanings, we apply meanings to them.

Having been to more metal concerts than I can count, I don’t really think the sign has any particular meaning at all, other than, “ROCK ON!” 👍
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Yeah I pretty much agree!

My only hesitation is what others perceive it to mean.

I usually just raise a fist!
 
I feel less intuitively offended by the rock symbol than I do by the peace symbol. When somebody raises the peace symbol the first ideas that bubble to my head are “Random sex. Socialism. Paganistic hippies. Drug abuse. Mediocrity. Western decline.”

Of course, I’m also biased because I <3 rock. :p, so it’s easy for me to glance over the origins of what the symbol represented. Kind of strange that I like a symbol that represented the horns of the devil but don’t like a symbol that represents peace.
 
Jon_S said:
Yeah I pretty much agree!

My only hesitation is what others perceive it to mean.

I usually just raise a fist!
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Cool.
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TK421:
I feel less intuitively offended by the rock symbol than I do by the peace symbol. When somebody raises the peace symbol the first ideas that bubble to my head are “Random sex. Socialism. Paganistic hippies. Drug abuse. Mediocrity. Western decline.”
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What about “peace”? 👍

I know what you mean, though.
 
Thankatroop12 said:
I do not know what it is called but it is the symbol when you only have your index finger and pinky up. Is it true it is used to represent the horns of the devil?
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In the sense of heavy metal, that is what it means. It’s grown to just mean something is “wicked” in the good sense; i.e. a wicked riff.

Regardless of your actual intention, it’s probably a bad idea. The university symbol would seem to be okay since there is no evil connotation involved, even in jest or indirectly.

It’s just a symbol, but symbols and images seem to have a great deal of power. This is why we have sacramentals and statues in our homes. It’s why we put crucifixes on our walls and rosaries on our rear-view mirrors. We do these things, at least in part, to protect us from the demonic. So it stands to reason doing the opposite could attract them to some extent. Invite them and one could petition God that you asked for him to enter your life.

I think we should probably avoid any evil signs or images if we can. Certainly don’t create them or use them ourselves.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
I would say the only thing that matters about any symbol is what associations others draw when seeing it. In other words, symbols don’t have objective meanings, we apply meanings to them.

Having been to more metal concerts than I can count, I don’t really think the sign has any particular meaning at all, other than, “ROCK ON!” 👍
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I concur. \m/

🙂
 
I think that is a dangerous assumption which is predicated upon a Kantian understanding of epistemology. It also conflicts with our faith in a number of ways. Symbols are not just subjective signs to which we assign our own personal feelings and beliefs.

When an exorcist tells the victim of oppression to fill his home with sacred objects, it’s not just for the sake of that victim. Those objects mean something objectively. A crucifix you wear is not just a token expression of your faith. It means something and carries a power independent of your belief.

If filling your home and life with sacred symbols and objects helps to dissuade the demonic, then I would greatly advise avoiding making symbols in celebration of those same spirits. Even in jest.
 
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