Delusions of Grandeur

So here I was, amusing myself by re-watching Silent Hill after drawing for weeks. Then I am suddenly reminded of that scene where these characters made the "devil's horn" or more popularly known as the rock sign. It kinda got me curious as to what does that really symbolizes so I did some research.

It was said that Gene Simmons of KISS was the first who was said to introduce the sign while others say it was Iron Maiden. some argue that it was Ronnie James Dio who popularized the sign when he was with Black Sabbath. Since Ozzy made a peace sign, Dio wanted a similar hand gesture of his own so he can connect with his audience. Thus the \m/ sign became popular. It was said that Dio and Iron Maiden got the sign from their Italian grandmothers(whoa!) as a sign to ward of evil spirits.

According to Wikipedia:

"The corna (Italian for horns, also mano cornuta, horned hand) is a gesture with a vulgar meaning in Mediterranean countries. Its origins can be traced to Ancient Greece. It is realized by stretching the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.

The same gesture is used for warding off bad luck or the evil eye. It is also used as a reference to Satan and Satanism, at least since the 1960s, and has a variety of meanings in heavy metal, where it is also known as devil sign, devil horns, goat horns, metal horns, metal sign, throwing the goat, evil fingers, Pommesgabel, mano cornuto, peka evil or just the horns. There is a theory suggesting that Corna is the antagonist of the Sign of the Cross, where three fingers brought to a point symbolize the Holy Trinity. The opposite of the Holy Trinity is the Unholy Trinity (Satan, Antichrist and the False Prophet), represented by the three fingers of the Corna.

Superstition
When confronted with unfortunate events, or just when these are mentioned or suggested, a person wanting to avoid that fate could resort to the corna to ward off bad luck. It is a more vulgar equivalent of knocking on wood. Interestingly, superstitious ones can alternatively "touch iron" (tocca ferro), which is not considered as vulgar, or grab their testicles, which is considered very vulgar, but is perhaps the most commonplace of the three. All of these gestures are meant to somehow conjure some supernatural power to protect the performer of the gesture.

Such gestures are typically used when a black cat crosses one's path, when seeing a hearse (no matter whether it is loaded), or when encountering any situation, object or person believed to bring about bad luck. It was once thought to prevent or distract the effects of the Evil Eye, that is of intentional or directed curses. Historically the gesture was pointed at people suspected of being witches."

There you have it. From a superstitious gesture, to a rock/metal gesture, until finally becoming a satanic gesture (for some). So I guess the characters did the sign to accuse them of witch craft and not implying to rock on(lol). By the way, if the thumb is out (like what John Cena), it means "love" in some countries. XD

\m/ Happy Rockin' New Year To ALL!!! \m/