We recently had a question on Wacky Wednesday asking us about the rock’n roll hand symbol, also known as the “devil horn” symbol. Are users invoking the devil when they flash this symbol?The answer is, it all depends.
First, for some history.
Modern usage of the hand symbol started with heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio who replaced Ozzy Osbourne as lead singer for Black Sabbath. According to this article, he wanted to use a hand symbol of some kind as a nod to Osbourne’s famous double peace sign which the singer often held up during performances. So he decided to use the devil horns symbol instead. The only problem is that he used a symbol that was never meant to denote the devil. In fact it was originally intended to ward off evil spirits.
According to this article, the so-called devil-horn symbol derives from an ancient Italian folk tradition that was used to ward off the evil eye, aka Malocchio, which is a curse conveyed through a malicious glance.
The protective symbol also extends into other cultures, such as in Buddhist cultures where it is considered to be a sacred hand symbol, known as the karana mudra, that is said to channel the universal life force known as prana which wards off evils such as anxiety and fear.
However, the symbol also has demonic uses. As this article explains, the Church of Satan adopted the symbol as a tribute to Satan and Wiccans use it to refer to the Horned God who is the personification of the life force energy in animals and the wild.
It's interesting to note that a slight variation of this sign, which has the thumb extended rather than tucked over the middle and ringer fingers, is used to say "I love you" in American sign language.
In short, there are a lot of connotations to the use of the rock’n roll hand symbol, but most are associated with some form of superstition or, in the worst case, as a nod to Satan.
In order to avoid causing offense, Christians should avoid using this symbol.
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