Mental Floss

The Mystifying Origins of Heavy Metal’s ‘Devil Horns’

The hand gesture has evolved from a heavy metal signifier to a sign of college football fandom.
ByChason Gordon|
Its origins are unclear, but its awesomeness is undeniable.
Its origins are unclear, but its awesomeness is undeniable. | Connect Images/Getty Images (hand); filo/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images (background)

Though it’s not as popular as the middle finger, the “devil horns” hand gesture is ubiquitous at heavy metal shows, where fans flash seas of devil hands as if to summon Lucifer himself. Even non-metal fans know the look: the pinky and pointer finger stretch upwards while the thumb holds down the non-participating index and middle fingers.

Like a nod or wave, the horns is often returned with another, sometimes with a bit of demonic yelling thrown in. Where did it come from, and why does the devil never show up to return the favor? One reason may be that the symbol, historically, was meant to ward off evil, not conjure it.

  1. A Star Is Horn
  2. Devil Horns Across Cultures
  3. Who Owns the Devil Horns?

A Star Is Horn

With many familiar symbols, there tends to be the popular meaning followed by a deeper history. Your average metalhead is likely to attribute the devil horns to heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio, who fronted bands like Elf, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath in the 1970s. When taking over as Sabbath’s singer, replacing Ozzy Osbourne, he naturally wanted to differentiate himself. Since Ozzy regularly held up double peace signs while performing, changing the hand gesture to devil horns seemed like a good place to start. But Dio didn’t credit himself with being the first to contort his hands this way.

A photo of Ronnie James Dio performing and flashing the devil horns sign with both hands
Ronnie James Dio flashes the horns. | Paul Natkin/GettyImages

“That’s like saying I invented the wheel,” he told Metal-Rules.com in 2001. “I’m sure someone did that at some other point. I think you’d have to say that I made it fashionable.”

Devil Horns Across Cultures

Use of devils horns extends far beyond crowds at heavy metal shows, though. In Buddhism, for instance, the gesture doesn’t summon evil; it repels it. The karana mudra is a sacred hand symbol said to channel a life force known as prana and helps dispel evil things like anxiety, negativity, and fear. But you wouldn’t hold it above your head while yelling Sabbath lyrics. 

Instead, you make the gesture by placing your left hand over your heart, with the ring and index fingers held down by the thumb. And you’re supposed to hold it for 15 minutes, which sounds a bit painful.

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In Italian folklore, the sign is known as mano cornuto (“hand horn”), and giving it is seen as an apotropaic gesture against malocchio (“evil eye”), a curse that brings illness or misfortune. Some superstitious Italians wear pendants with the symbol as well. 

It’s best to exercise caution when gesticulating in this manner in Italy, because if it’s aimed directly at a person, you’d be suggesting the receiver is a cuckold (a husband oblivious to his wife’s infidelity). Thus, one form of the devil horns protects you from evil, and another could result in a black eye. Maybe you should just keep your hands in your pockets.

Cheerleader at a University of Texas Longhorns football game flashes the hook 'em horns
A less metal use of the horns at a University of Texas football game. | Brian Bahr/GettyImages

Among other groups, some in the Church of Satan are not interested in the warding-off-evil part and have adopted the the “hand horn” as tribute to the man downstairs. Wiccans use it to represent the horned god, who, unlike a cuckold, is a symbol of divine masculinity. And if you happen to be a Texas Longhorns fan, you’re likely making Hook ’Em Horns while cheering.

Who Owns the Devil Horns?

Many have tried and failed to trademark the gesture. KISS frontman Gene Simmons attempted to copyright the symbol in 2017 without success, which highlighted its associations with about a dozen different world cultures, Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler (who claimed he showed the gesture to Dio), and the estate of John Lennon, which claimed the Beatle had influenced Butler. Even members of the occult rock act Coven claimed they’d been using the gesture since 1967 and threatened to sue Simmons.

This much, however, is clear. If you see a devil horns hand gesture in the wild, you may want to ask the person making it if they’re deflecting evil, inviting it in, or commenting on your relationship status.

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