The Devil’s Horn is a symbol with an ancient history. It is used by Italian Americans to protect themselves from malevolent forces such as the evil eye. The Devil’s Horn is otherwise known as the cornicello, meaning “little horn” (or cornetto, or simply corno or cornuto). The somewhat condemnatory term “Devil’s Horn” refers to the evil-averting (apotropaic), phallic charm used by Italians. Italian Americans continue its use, wearing it to avert malicious influences such as the evil eye (malocchio). It may be worn as an amulet or hung, for example, in one’s car. In particular, it is thought that injuries against masculinity and withering of male sexual power are warded off by the symbol. Related gestural symbols are (1) the mano cornuta, “the horned hand,” the variants of which may signal either protection against evil (even exorcism) or cursing an enemy, and (2) the mano in fica, “the fig hand,” which symbolizes sexual union.
The cornicello is shaped like a stylized horn—typically a single, extended horn that twists slightly. It may be made of apotropaic substances such as precious metal, bone, or red coral, though even red plastic cornicelli are sold. Because they may look like chili peppers, there are folk origin stories linking them to peppers (aphrodisiacs).
When threatened or angered, male primates may grow erect and use their erection to signal hostility. The ancient Greek guardian god Priapus, from whom comes the word “priapism,” was notoriously erect (ithyphallic), and the protective boundary markers known as herms were likewise often explicitly phallic. To protect them from danger and envy, Roman men and boys wore the fascinus charm, a phallic amulet, and the bulla, that is, a pouch containing such charms that was dedicated to the Lares when a boy became an adult. In domestic settings, these apotropaic charms might also be suspended from a wind chime (tintinnabulum), which itself might be shaped like an ithyphallic figure. The priestesses of Vesta were the keepers of the fascinus of the Roman people, securing Rome’s safety.
The fact that the Devil’s Horn is a horn, not some other phallic object, has suggested a possible origin to some. Rustic and nature gods, often ithyphallic, were depicted as possessing features of horned animals because of their sexual behavior. It is partially from such depictions that the symbolism of demons and the devil as horned and goat-footed arose. In Christian interpretation, the pagan deities were demons, and their representations were demonized. Whether the horned consort of an ancient goddess, the forest god Pan, the wild satyrs, or some other horned being, this may be the origin of the Devil’s Horn. The horn shape may retain some ancient sense of the bulla. Suggestively, the beloved stag of Cyparissus has a bulla according to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which is mentioned in connection with the mighty stag’s luxuriant antlers and other masculine and phallic language. The antelope horn is used in Italy against ailments.
Nathan Fredrickson
See also Evil Eye; Folk Medicine; Good Luck Charms; Superstitions
Further Reading
Colman, David. 2006. “For All the Wrong Intentions.” New York Times, September 12.
Dixson, A. F. 2012. Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes and Human Beings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jones, Louis C. 1951. “The Evil Eye among European-Americans.” Western Folklore 10 (1): 11–25.
Kulik, Alexander. 2013. “How the Devil Got His Hooves and Horns: The Origin of the Motif and the Implied Demonology of 3 Baruch 1.” Numen 60 (2–3): 195–229.
Lykiardopoulos, Amica. 1981. “The Evil Eye: Towards an Exhaustive Study.” Folklore 92 (2): 221–230.
Wainwright, G. A. 1961. “The Earliest Use of the Mano Cornuta.” Folklore 72 (3): 492–495.
Walcot, Peter. 1978. Envy and the Greeks: A Study of Human Behaviour. Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips.