How Did The Devil Sign Get Popular?

[Laudate_Dominum]

Why do kids today always do the devil sign at concerts?

[img]http://melbourne.indymedia.org/uploads/satan_sign_2.jpg[/img]

I wonder if it started with metal bands or something and has just become normal?


I thought this was amusing.

[i]OSLO, Norway — President Bush's "satans hand" salute shocked people interpreted his hand gesture during his inauguration as a salute to Satan.

That's what it means in the Nordics when you throw up the right hand with the index and pinky fingers raised, a gesture popular with satan worshipers.

"Shock greeting from Bush," a headline in the Norwegian Internet newspaper Nettavisen said above a photograph of Bush, smiling and showing the sign of satan. [/i]

[img]http://www.cuttingedge.org/Bushes_Devils_Sign-Inaugura.jpg[/img]

[Laudate_Dominum]

And in case people may object by saying that it is a way of saying "I love you" in sign language I will point out the distinction.


The "I love you" sign requires that the thumb is extended.

"I love you":

[img]http://www.tvsquad.com/media/2006/04/iloveyou-sm.jpg[/img]


The "devil sign":

[img]http://www.antichristconspiracy.com/Qual%20sign%20of%20devil.jpg[/img]


I remember learning about this when I was a kid because there were bands that used the sign explicitly as the sign of the devil. I suspect that today it has just become a normal hand sign but I can't help but find it odd when I see this sign thrown around at Catholic concerts and stuff.

[goldenchild17]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1420919' date='Nov 17 2007, 03:05 AM']And in case people may object by saying that it is a way of saying "I love you" in sign language I will point out the distinction.
The "I love you" sign requires that the thumb is extended.

"I love you":

[img]http://www.tvsquad.com/media/2006/04/iloveyou-sm.jpg[/img][/quote]
I was about to say, because I do this all the time . scared me for a sec, but yeah I agree.

Edited November 17, 2007 by goldenchild17

[Laudate_Dominum]

Oh, and I hope no one will think that I'm trying to suggest that our politicians are closet devil worshippers. It just happens that when I searched the internet for "devil sign" pictures this is the kind of stuff that came up. lol

[goldenchild17]

yeah and its not only them but some certain someones even higher up on the totem pole that have given these signs. Shouldn't automatically assume they were in league with Satan just because of such a sign, but I wonder what the point is for using it in some cases?

[Didymus]

Bush was saluting the Longhorn Marching band that was passing by right before him. If the picture showed more, you could see some of the Longhorns saluting him back as they passed by in the parade.

[I'm Mr. Snikkers]

Now I need to go to confession

[Lil Red]

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='Didymus' post='1420946' date='Nov 17 2007, 09:58 AM']Bush was saluting the Longhorn Marching band that was passing by right before him. If the picture showed more, you could see some of the Longhorns saluting him back as they passed by in the parade.[/quote]
Wow, I'm impressed that you know that. Those pictures are just meant to be goofy btw.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='goldenchild17' post='1420927' date='Nov 17 2007, 07:33 AM']yeah and its not only them but some certain someones even higher up on the totem pole that have given these signs. Shouldn't automatically assume they were in league with Satan just because of such a sign, but I wonder what the point is for using it in some cases?[/quote]
Well I'm quite sure that in years past metal bands used the sign explicitly as a salute to satan. This is the context in which I first learned about the sign as a youngster (and the reason why it weirds me out), but I'm sure that for today's younger generation it is just a sign that means "rock on" or some such goofy thing.

Here is some historical data:

[i]Anton LaVey [founder of the church of satan] popularized it as a Satanic salute in the 1960s. His image was often in the press, and the sign appears on many of his photos, such as on the back of the Satanic Bible.[/i]

[quote]In heavy metal music, Ronnie James Dio also used this sign, and is known for popularizing its usage in heavy metal. His Italian grandmother used it to ward off the evil eye (malocchio). Dio began using the sign soon after joining (1979) the metal band Black Sabbath. The previous singer in the band, Ozzy Osbourne, was rather well known at using the "peace" sign at concerts, raising the index and middle finger in the form of a V. Dio, in an attempt to connect with the fans, wanted to similarly use a hand gesture. However, not wanting to copy Osbourne, he chose to use the sign his grandmother always made.

Both accounts are predated by the Chicago based psychedelic-Goth band Coven, led by singer Jinx Dawson who made the gesture on their 1969 album cover for "Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls". Incidentally, the band also wrote a song called "Black Sabbath," and one of the band members was named Oz Osborne, not to be confused with Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath fame. The horns became famous in metal concerts very soon after Black Sabbath's first tour with Dio.


Metal fans displaying the sign at a festival.Pre-dating either Ronnie James Dio, or Gene Simmons' use of the "devil's hand", on the cover of The Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine' album (Dec 1968, UK, Jan 1969, USA), John Lennon's right hand is making the sign above Paul McCartney's head. For many fans, this was one of the many "Paul is dead" clues.

Also pre-dating Dio and Simmons, Frank Zappa was known to use the gesture (as can be seen on the DVD "Baby Snakes" filmed in 1977).

Whatever its origin in the heavy metal scene, metal fans embraced the gesture as a vague symbol of mysticism, Satan, evil, or simply "metal-ness", and it soon became nearly as commonplace at concerts as headbanging. The gesture has since spread beyond metal to all forms of rock music and it is now nearly ubiquitous. In rock situations the gesture is interpreted as a benign gesture for "Rock on." Occasionally it is confused by fans with the "I Love You" sign, in which the thumb is extended. Gene Simmons shows his sign mainly in this way. In Europe, and now North America as well, the sign (without the thumb extended) has both meanings, one as a widely accepted "sign of metalheads" and the other meaning, which is simply to communicate to the band (mostly heavy metal-bands) that you love them and their music.

Parliament-Funkadelic and their fans have used the gesture regularly for decades, actually preceding the use of the gesture in heavy metal.[/quote]

[quote]In Hinduism and Buddhism, this gesture is known as the Karana Mudra. Its use in dispelling evil or negative influences is a noticeable juxtaposition to the contemporary uses of this sign.[/quote]

[theophane]

[quote name='Didymus' post='1420946' date='Nov 17 2007, 06:58 AM']Bush was saluting the Longhorn Marching band that was passing by right before him. If the picture showed more, you could see some of the Longhorns saluting him back as they passed by in the parade.[/quote]

Wow. So the University of Texas is a Satanist institution?

[Laudate_Dominum]

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/BlackSabbath.jpg[/img]

[Didymus]

[quote name='theophane' post='1421032' date='Nov 17 2007, 12:45 PM']Wow. So the University of Texas is a Satanist institution?
[/quote]

ha, could be...

GO AGGIES!!!

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='theophane' post='1421032' date='Nov 17 2007, 01:45 PM']Wow. So the University of Texas is a Satanist institution?
[/quote]
Whoa there!! I'm not one to mess with Texas!

[goldenchild17]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1421030' date='Nov 17 2007, 11:40 AM']Well I'm quite sure that in years past metal bands used the sign explicitly as a salute to satan. This is the context in which I first learned about the sign as a youngster (and the reason why it weirds me out), but I'm sure that for today's younger generation it is just a sign that means "rock on" or some such goofy thing.

Here is some historical data:

[i]Anton LaVey [founder of the church of satan] popularized it as a Satanic salute in the 1960s. His image was often in the press, and the sign appears on many of his photos, such as on the back of the Satanic Bible.[/i][/quote]

Yeah I'm sure to most people it means nothing evil. I've even seen a pic or two of JP2 doing it so it certainly seems to have taken on a new meaning for the general populace, but its origins are definitely a little unsettling.