bubonickitten:

enrychan:

bubonickitten:

Vengeance, also known as Ram Skull Hellflower Mode, 

(joking aside, the only thing I can think of is the Baphomet/Knights Templar connection. maybe it’s shorthand for ‘fuck the templars, they claim to be righteous but that’s some bullshit’.)

my personal interpretation is:

CROSS

The Christian Cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus, is the best-known symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a usually three-dimensional representation of Jesus’ body) and to the more general family of cross symbols. In contemporary Christianity, the cross is a symbol of the atonement and reminds Christians of God’s love in sacrificing his own son for humanity. It represents Jesus’ victory over sin and death, since it is believed that through his death and resurrection he conquered death itself. See Colossians 2:15, “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” [x]. Also:  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering [x].

BUCRANIUM

Bucranium, plural bucrania (Latin, from Greek βουκράνιον, referring to the skull of an ox) was a common form of carved decoration in Classical architecture used to fill the metopes between the triglyphs of the friezeof Doric temples. The name is generally considered to be a reference to the practice of garlanding sacrificial oxen, the heads of which were displayed on the walls of the temples [x]. It means SACRIFICE and/or SELF-SACRIFICE to achieve a higher goal (generally the gods’ benevolence for the community).

JUSTICE

Iustitia, Justitia or Lady Justice (Latin: Iustitia, the Roman goddess of Justice, who is equivalent to the Greek goddesses Themis) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Lady Justice is most often depicted with a set of scales typically suspended from her left hand, upon which she measures the strengths of a case’s support and opposition. She is also often seen carrying a double-edged sword in her right hand, symbolizing the power of Reason and Justice, which may be wielded either for or against any party [x]. It’s interesting to notice that Bioware used the scales&sword as the symbol of Anders’ power “Vengeance”, but what it actually means is “Justice”. I wonder if it was just superficiality on their part or if there’s more to it.

SACRED HEART

The devotion to the Sacred Heart (also known as the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu in Latin) is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Roman Catholic devotions, taking Jesus Christ’s physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity [x].  The flaming heart of Jesus (and also sometimes the lesser known heart of the Virgin Mary) has had an enormous iconographic vocation. Depicted in paintings, stained glass and votive offerings, it became a commonly reproduced object unattached from its original context by its sheer aesthetic force (as in tattoos, for example, or in fashion). Its origin lies far back in time, in a set of mystical visions, ascetic impulses and theological reflections between the middle ages and the Renaissance [x]. In other words, another reference to martyrdom and self-sacrifice.

!!! THANK YOU I love this, it makes so much more sense now. The only ones I understood before were the scales and the cross.

I love that Vengeance’s symbol actually connotes self-sacrifice because far too often I see people act like Anders and Justice’s actions were strictly about anger and revenge which is so so oversimplified.