Sign of the horns

The gesture is sometimes made with the palm reversed.

The sign of the horns, also corna (Italian for horns, mano cornuta, horned hand fare le corna, to make the horns, or simply the devil horns) is a hand gesture with a vulgar meaning in Mediterranean countries and a variety of meanings and uses in other cultures. Its origins can be traced to Ancient Greece. It is realized by extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.

It is identical to the Karana mudra of Eastern religions. While the "Hook 'em Horns" sign used by fans of University of Texas athletics is visually similar, it is used in different context.

While some mistake the sign of the horns as a demonic sign relating to satanic music, some say it was seen on the 1969 cartoon figure of John Lennon, as seen on the original vinyl album cover of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine", others say the figure was giving the deaf hand sign for "love", which animators drew incorrectly, as it would seem to make more sense with their material at the time, and the fact the Beatles had little to do with this animated film. It was later popularized by Ronnie James Dio when he was a member of Black Sabbath. It lives on in the legacy of many bands, particularly among heavy metal and hard rock bands.

Terminology

The spelling "mano cornuto" is erroneous, the grammatical gender of the word mano (meaning "hand") is actually feminine (la mano), and the expression should therefore be "mano cornuta", to be pronounced /'mano kor'nuta/. However, the form "mano cornuto" is commonly found in English.

As a sign of infidelity

In contemporary Italy, the "horns" are placed behind someone's head, or explicitly pointed at a person (in Italian, fare le corna, to make the horns). The conveyed meaning is that this person, usually a man, is a cornuto, a cuckold, bearing the cuckold's horns. The gesture is used with the same meaning in many countries: in Spanish-speaking countries (known as los cuernos), Portugal and Brazil (corno ou cornos), Albania (briret), Slovakia and Czech Republic (known as paroháč), Greece (κέρατα), and Malta (kurnut).

In Italy and in Portugal, to place the corna on someone's head when taking a picture is a common joke (similar to using the V sign as "bunny ears" among Americans), and young Italian tourists in foreign countries might be noticed looking nervously over their shoulders in group pictures. Italian prime-minister Silvio Berlusconi was seen displaying the corna in some mundane happenings, the most famous being a meeting where he put them over the Spanish ex-foreign minister Piqué.

The origin of this use of the idea of horns has been said to derive from the legend of the Minotaur, who was born from queen Pasiphaë's infidelity with a white bull, betraying her husband King Minos of Crete; the most prominent proof of the betrayal, the horned offspring, was taken as its symbol.

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 sign of the horns to ward off bad luck. It is a more vulgar equivalent of knocking on wood. Interestingly, superstitious ones can alternatively "touch iron" (tocca ferro) or touch their noses, which are not considered as vulgar alternatives, or (for males) grab their testicles (the left one with the right hand in Argentina, a country very influenced by the Italian culture), which is considered very vulgar, but is perhaps the most commonplace of the three. In Peru it is shown usually by saying "contra" (against). In Dominican Republic is usually used the expression Zafa as a protection of curses commonly known as Fukú, as well when a mention is made of someone or something it's believed to be involved with a curse. 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 (whether or not 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.

President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone shocked the country when, visiting Naples during an outbreak of cholera, shook the hands of the patients with one hand, and with the other, behind the back, made the corna. This act was well documented, as all journalists and photographers were right behind him, a fact that had escaped President Leone's mind in that moment. The gesture was interpreted especially as offensive for the patients.

Pointing the index and little finger at someone is a common Italian curse as well as an accusation of cuckoldry.

European and North American popular culture

Literature

In Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, Jonathan Harker mentions the hand gesture in his journal (chapter 1):

5 May. [...] When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers towards me. With some difficulty I got a fellow-passenger to tell me what they meant; he would not answer at first, but on learning that I was English, he explained that it was a charm or guard against the evil eye.

Satanism

Anton LaVey 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.

Rock and Heavy Metal

A fan making the sign at a Black Sabbath concert.

It also has a variety of meanings in heavy metal and rock music subcultures, where it is known by a variety of terms: devil sign, devil horns, goat horns, metal horns, horns up, slinging metal, metal sign, sticks up, throwing the goat, rocking the goat, sign of the goat, throwing the horns, evil fingers, the horns, forks, metal fist, rock fist, fist of rock, or the "Rock on!" sign.

On the cover of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine album (1969), the cartoon of 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. However, it is likely that the cartoonist misrepresented the sign for "I love you" which is very similar and more in keeping with the band's message and image.

A March 31, 1985 article in Circus (magazine) by Ben Liemer states that Gene Simmons of KISS was influenced by Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. in 1977 after watching Sister perform in Los Angeles. Blackie had come across a hand salute known as the corna in an occult book and had started using it during live performances.

Gene Simmons appears to making the sign with his left hand on the cover of Kiss' 1977 album Love Gun, but is actually making the American sign language sign for love.

Frank Zappa can be seen making the gesture in the 1977 film Baby Snakes.

Ronnie James Dio is known for popularizing the sign of the horns in heavy metal. His Italian grandmother used it to ward off the evil eye (which is known as malocchio or moloch, Dio's term for the gesture.) 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.

These accounts are all predated by the Chicago-based psychedelic-occult rock band Coven, led by singer Jinx Dawson, whose 1969 back album cover for "Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls" on Mercury Records 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 "devil's sign" on stage. Interestingly Coven toured on the bills with many groups as Jimmy Page's Yardbirds, the then glam rockers Alice Cooper and the Vanilla Fudge, featuring Carmine Appice, older brother of Vinnie Appice of Dio. Incidentally, the band also recorded a song called "Black Sabbath," on their 1969 album and one of the band members is 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.

From an interview with Ronnie James Dio on Metal-Rules.com:

Metal-Rules.com – "I want to ask you about something people have asked you about before but will no doubt continue to talk about, and that is the sign created by raising your index and little finger. Some call it the "devils hand" or the "evil eye." I would like to know if you were the first one to introduce this to the metal world and what this symbol represents to you?"

R.J. Dio – "I doubt very much if I would be the first one who ever did that. That's like saying I invented the wheel, I'm sure someone did that at some other point. I think you'd have to say that I made it fashionable. I used it so much and all the time and it had become my trademark until the Britney Spears audience decided to do it as well. So it kind of lost its meaning with that. But it was…I was in Sabbath at the time. It was symbol that I thought was reflective of what that band was supposed to be all about. 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. It's just a symbol but it had magical incantations and attitudes to it and I felt it worked very well with Sabbath. So I became very noted for it and then everybody else started to pick up on it and away it went. But I would never say I take credit for being the first to do it. I say because I did it so much that it became the symbol of rock and roll of some kind." [1]

Whatever its origin in the heavy metal scene, metal fans embraced the gesture as a vague symbol of mysticism, 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." It is also used simply to communicate to the on-stage band (mostly heavy metal bands) that you are enjoying the show and their music.

Flipping the horns is a serious gesture, and the more serious metal heads insist it may only be used in the appropriate situation, or for an appropriate band. Overall, many within the metal head community feel the gesture is being cheapened and commercialized. Also, many metal heads claim that since flipping the horns originated in heavy metal, using it for rock or any other genre of music is inappropriate. There is even a popular Facebook group "Do Not Use the Horns Unless You are Metal", which states that (outside of Texas Longhorns events) "If your head is neither banging nor thrashing, do not use the horns!"

Rock fans often use the hand gesture in electronic conversations, for group identification. It's usual to express it with the letters "l", "m" and "l" put together (other variations include using "\", "m" and "/" to make \m/). The formed \m/ symbol supposedly reminds one of the arrangement of the fingers in the actual gesture. Many variants may be used, all of which represent the index finger and little finger with long vertical characters, with the middle finger and ring finger represented with smaller characters, and sometimes with the addition of a character representing the thumb or even a complete ASCII face.

This has reached the point of parody, where something which might be considered "metal" could be (possibly ironically) saluted with the horns or marked with the ASCII equivalent. Something considered extremely "metal" might be referred to as "too metal for one hand" and saluted by placing the fists together with both pinkies raised - both hands forming one large "goat". This would be written \mm/ in ASCII.

Other uses

Minnesota Twins pitcher Boof Bonser using the sign to show that there are two outs.

• The gesture is often used by supporters of sports teams, without evoking vulgar or Satanic associations. The University of Texas at Austin, is one such team, where it is known as Hook 'em Horns, an approximation of the shape of the horns of a Texas longhorn steer. Longhorn opponents frequently make a similar hand gesture at sporting events with the "horns" pointing downward. Additionally, Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana (whose mascot is Vic the Demon), utilizes the Fork 'em Demons, as well as the University of South Florida (with the mascot being a bull) and the New Mexico Lobos.
• In baseball, the gesture, especially when the forearm is rotated, indicates "two outs." In the common signal for "two" (the index and middle finger raised), the fingers may be too close together for distant outfielders to distinguish the two fingers from one. Elston Howard is commonly credited with originating this use.
• Similarly, in American football, a referee will use the sign to indicate "second down".
• In volleyball the sign can be used (the fingers often points downwards) by the setter to communicate with the attacker, frequently to signal a double quick-attack play with the middle and right-side attackers.
• This is also the primary sign for the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 street gang found throughout Central America and the U.S. Many of the first generation of MS-13 members had been heavy-metal enthusiasts and fans of Black Sabbath.
• In 1996 WCW (World Championship Wrestling) begin using the symbol for their nWo heel stable with Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. However taken the middle and ring finger and connecting them to the thumb to give the symbol the look of a "wolf" for their nWo "Wolfpac" symbol.
• The Blue Man Group, in their Megastar 2.0 Tour performances, posit a comedic false origin of this gesture as a tribute to rock legend Floppie the Banjo Clown, a character whose hair is arranged with two large vertical protuberances causing his head to resemble the gesture.
• This is also a part of an unofficial sign for bullshit in American Sign Language. See: Profanity in ASL
• In WWE, it is the signature taunt of Edge. When Edge walks to the ring he performs his signature taunt whilst his signature fireworks go off. This taunt used to be the taunt to Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder.
• In the webcomic Penny Arcade, Jesus Christ "throws up the horns" when he wins in video games[2].
• Many Houstonians in Texas use the symbol to represent "The H" as in H-Town, because of the hands being in the shape of an H.

Use outside North America

• In Israel, (in addition to the usual metal usage) the gesture is known as "Shabi" for its similarity to a snail from a children's TV show, Parpar Nehmad.
• In Turkey a modified version of the sign is popular as a ultra nationalist symbol for the Turkish people. It signifies wolf's ears, because of many legends that state wolves were guardians of ancient Turkish tribes near Western China. The tips of the thumb and middle fingers are pressed together to symbolize the wolf's face. It is not traditional symbol but used especially after establishment of Turkish ultra nationalist Nationalist Movement Party, especially by party's supporters.
• 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.

Variations

Existing most often within the metal subculture is a variation in which both hands are used. All digits, with the exception of the little fingers, are closed and the hands are then brought together; thumb on thumb. This form has been referred to as "too much metal for one hand" or "too much rock for one hand". This technique is often employed by Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Butch Walker and other musicians.

Another form used by the metal subculture (such as the Brazilian band Angra) is similar to the version depicted above, except that all digits except the index finger are closed and the hands are brought together with thumbs pointing in opposite directions. One form features the forearms crossed, the pinkies interlocked, and both thumbs and index fingers extended (sometimes referred to as the "Super Ozzy"). These forms require somewhat more coordinated arm placement and do not allow a free hand for a cold beverage, so most metal concert attendees usually select the more common single-handed incarnation of the horns.

There is a two-person gesture known as the "rock lock", where a second person makes a hand with the second and third finger extended (rather than the first and fourth), and grabs the first person's metal gesture from the front in an interlocking fashion. The meaning is essentially an affirmation or reply to the original gesture made by the first person, something like a heavy metal high five.

Comedian Dane Cook has formulated two variations, One, "Rock n' Roll quotes," involves forming the sign of the horns and moving the index and little fingers in the manner of air quotes. The other, the "superfinger," is inverted devil horns, with the thumb, middle finger, and ring finger extended and other fingers retracted, displayed with the back of the hand to the audience as if giving them the finger.

Guitarist Olliver Kirby is known to play with his strumming hand as a horns sign, using his thumb to strum. Angus Young holds both his hands to the sides of his head with index fingers extended to create "Devil Horns". Aleister Crowley made the 'horns of Pan' sign by placing both hands on either side of his head, palms in, thumbs out.

See also

• Satanism
• The finger
• V sign

References

• "Berlusconi puts corna over Spain's foreign minister".

External links

• President George W. Bush gestures the 'Hook 'em, horns," the salute of the University of Texas Longhorns.(...)
• Ronnie James Dio Re-Claims the Devil Horns
• Rock and Roll Confidential on their logo
• Odyssey of the Devil Horns: Who is responsible for bringing metal’s famous hand signal to the tribe? Los Angeles CityBeat, Sept. 9, 2004
• "Metal Council Convenes To Discuss 'Metal Hand Sign' Abuse" (satire) from The Onion, 9 November 2005: "If your head is neither banging nor thrashing, you should not be throwing the sign."