Tridents, Pitchforks, and Satan in the News

"We will follow them to the gates of Hell until they are brought to justice. Because Hell is where they will reside. Hell is where they will reside," Vice President Joseph Biden speaking about ISIS on September 3, 2014, at the Portsmouth Naval Yard, New Hampshire. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is one of four remaining naval shipyards in the nation, and is capable of docking all active classes of submarines including the Los Angeles, Trident and Virginia classes.

When is a trident really a pitchfork?

A trident is a three-pronged spear, used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the god of the sea in classical mythology. In Hindu mythology it is the weapon of Shiva, known as trishula (Sanskrit for "triple-spear"). Parallel to its fishing origins, the trident is associated with Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology, the Roman god Neptune, and Shiva, a Hindu God who holds a trident in his hand. In Hindu legends and stories, Shiva uses this sacred weapon to fight off negativity in the form of evil villains. The trident represents the deity in his three aspects of creator, preserver and destroyer.

A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thick, widely separated pointed tines (also called prongs) used to lift and pitch (throw) loose material, such as hay, straw or leaves. Pitchforks typically have only two, three or four tines. The three-pronged pitchfork has grown to be associated with the Devil or Satan. The pitchfork is often used in satire of Christian demonology in popular media, especially in early humorous cartoons where a popular joke was a caricature of an angel and a pitchfork-wielding devil sitting on the opposite shoulders of the conflicted protagonist. The "pitchfork" of Satan looks remarkably like a trident. One has merged with the other.

Author Chris Woodyard's research on Herman Menz and his carved stone Devil of
Detroit (see above) has revealed a trident on the monument, although it was called the "big ugly fork" in the original news story. Woodyard has a new look at this Devil and others here.

Speaking of Detroit, the site of "Devil's Night" every October 30th, it is directly in the news in conjunction with Satan's followers coming to that city.

The Satanic Temple, a New-York-based religious group, announced on September 7, 2014, it wants to build its first chapter house in Detroit, Michigan, where it will perform services such as marriages and funerals. It noted the sacrificing of babies, humans and animals will not take place.

This is the same group that caused a stir when it said it wanted to erect a seven-foot tall statue of Satan near the Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol.  The proposed image (see above) of the statue suggested that the Temple wanted to depict Satan as a goat-headed Baphoment figure with a long beard, horns, and wings, with a pentagram design placed overhead. Two smiling children would be placed on both sides of the statue. Early reports of a Black Mass in Oklahoma also circulated. The plans for the Black Mass appear to be on a fast track.

However, the group’s leaders say they do not worship Satan. “We believe in a metaphorical, literary construct of Satan,” a Temple leader said. “He’s a symbol for rebellion, a symbol of human nature, the thirst for knowledge.”

Meanwhile, across the continent, in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Devil made a very dramatic appearance in that city on Tuesday morning, September 9, 2014. The Devil was placed on a location that had formerly held a statue of Christopher Columbus.

The 9-foot-tall statue - please note, was left on 9/9 - thus 666 (upside down) - was a representation of Satan, Lucifer or the Devil, complete with red skin, a pointed tail and horns atop his head. The statue also holds one hand up in a devil-horn salute familiar to heavy metal fans the world over. It also sported an enormous erect penis.

The last detail caused headline writers to have a field day, from "Naked devil statue erected near SkyTrain line" to "NSFW Satan statue erected (and taken down) in East Vancouver" to "City crews remove satan statue erected alongside busy Vancouver roadway."

"I'm going to have nightmares tonight," said one city worker who removed it around 3:15 p.m. PT.

All of this news of Satan exist closely in time with the bizarre death of Sarah Bean, who was killed when a gargoyle was beheaded by a piece of metal and then the gargoyle's head hit her directly on her head. She died in front of Chicago's Second Presbyterian Church, on September 4, 2014.

And speaking of a beheading...

Back to ISIS/ISIL, for a moment, as "Satan" is part of their justification for their campaign of terror and beheadings. And I mean more than the old "Americans are Satan" line. Members of the Yazidi religion, one of Iraq’s oldest minorities, are in the midst of a genocide by ISIS. Gruesome images of brutally slain people have emerged in recent weeks, as local officials say that at least 500 Yazidis, including 40 children, have been killed in northern Iraqi.

What is ISIS's reasoning for targeting the Yazidis?

As the Guardian reported in August 2014,

At the core of the Yazidis’ marginalization is their worship of a fallen angel, Melek Tawwus, or Peacock Angel, one of the seven angels that take primacy in their beliefs. Unlike the fall from grace of Satan, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, Melek Tawwus was forgiven and returned to heaven by God. The importance of Melek Tawwus to the Yazidis has given them an undeserved reputation for being devil-worshippers – a notoriety that, in the climate of extremism gripping Iraq, has turned life-threatening.

Representations, such as this one above, of the Kurdistan Yazidis’ Melek Tawwus or Melek Taus can have a trident-like appearance. It is a familiar image from The Exorcist movies, an overlap with the same region's Assyrian demon Pazuzu. To the Yazidis, Melek Taus is an angel; to ISIS, Melek Taus is Satan. It is the difference between life and death in modern day Iraq.

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UPDATE: Conservative blogger Matt Drudge took an image from President Obama's 9/10 speech about confronting ISIL.

"We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today." - President Obama, 9/10/2014

Drudge posted the 9/10 image to his blog on 9/11 with the caption "Photos Capture Obama's Head of Horns."

Needless to say, I have to point out it looks like a trident.

Of course, the real question is why would anyone wish to photoshop the real image - there are no drapes that low behind the president (see here) to make President Obama look like the Devil?

Below is the actual background for the speech of 9/10.

See also "Synchromystic Symposium: The Meaning of Tridents."