MARILYN MANSON ◊ INTERMEDIA ORNAMENT OF THE 2017 HEAVEN UPSIDOWN MM LOGO

First of all, this cross is the next stage of a previous, similar double cross emblem of Manson's which spans though several earlier periods. In that version, one horizontal bar is centred in the upper half, and the other is centred in the lower half. Historically, this equal-bar double cross appears in alchemical notation, not in standard religious context. 

Marilyn Manson is very deeply interested in alchemy. He has alchemical tattoos all over his fingers and hands. Also, alchemy appears explicitly in his visual language. His work repeatedly centers on perceptual evolution or authentic transformation, not belief.

Alchemy is not a single standardized symbolic system the way Christian iconography is. It is plural, layered, deliberately coded and often non-orthodoxin form. Alchemical symbols frequently resemble religious symbols yet deliberately strip them of doctrine and repurpose them as process markers, not beliefs. This symbol does not appear as a “named” alchemical glyph, yet still belongs to alchemical language.

In alchemy, it symbolizes the union of opposites, equilibrium rather than hierarchy and the "Axis Mundi". The vertical axis (Axis Mundi) often represents process while the horizontals indicate states or conditions. On the other hand, in Christianity, the horizontal bars imply inscription or hierarchy and the vertical axis conveys divine authority.

The later version of this cross which was released through Heaven Upside Down is an escalation of this earlier symbol. It becomes not just an incomplete Christian cross a juxtaposition between pre-Christian alchemy and later religious context which provides a statement of challenge against the institution. That is a very sophisticated symbolic move.

Although the 20th Century has produced modern Satanic views on any inverted Christian cross, which are of course thoroughly associated with goth music culture, theologians are aware that there is a much deeper history to it. Consideration of any indepth background like this is a level of implicative insight that I feel is always simultaneously at work with Manson’s creative inquiries into meaning. In fact, less generic schools of goth culture are the same way. For Manson, it is especially true in this case, where one piece of deep history reflects widely throughout his lyrics :

For so much longer than pop culture has employed views on inversion as Satanism, almost any inverted Christian cross has been considered a cross of St. Peter or a Petrine Cross. According to early Christian tradition the inverted cross symbolized humility, devotion, unworthiness before the divine and reversal as reverence, not defiance. This is because St. Peter was sentenced to crucifixion in Rome (c. 64–67 CE), where he requested to be crucified upside down. His reason was that he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as Jesus.

References to Peter and this symbolism span throughout Manson’s work. For example, the song Blood Honey from Heaven Upsidown deeply investigates the heavy dynamics of St Peter’s choice. In my opinion, I feel Manson and I both sense that Peter’s heavy concerns about misinterpretation of his significance to Jesus had forced him to martyr himself by choosing a much more physically painful crucifixion — in order to lend perspective and hopefully heal misunderstanding of the role he played as founder of the modern Christian church.


Regardless, two kinds of inversion appear in MM’s work : Forced inversion (abuse, domination, humiliation) and chosen inversion (critique, exposure, humility, refusal of false hierarchy). St. Peter belongs to the second category. Peter’s inversion is not inflicted — it is requested. That makes it an act of agency. This maps extremely well onto Manson’s logic. His words illuminate how authority loses legitimacy when it cannot tolerate reversal and that systems which punish inversion reveal their own fragility.

In searching for Christian historical reference in this cross, I found that it’s commonly viewed as an inverted French Cross of Lorraine. That cross has two horizontal bars of unequal width (one slightly smaller), representing tiers of hierarchy. It was originally associated with the Dukes of Lorraine in medieval France — and later, the Free French Forces in WWII. It now has symbolic meanings of freedom and resistance in some modern contexts.

That modern take seems to resonate with Manson’s views of resistence against oppressive institutions, but I find there is more holistic significance to Manson’s art found in the Orthodox (or “Patriarchical”) Byzantine cross. In the upper area, the Byzantine cross is exactly like the Lorraine. It is a deeply historical cross, used in Eastern Christian liturgy and art.

Though it is similar in the upper area, the Byzantine cross is less visually alike to his logo due to its third horizontal line — a smaller diagonal horizontal line in the lower area representing judgement (damnation or salvation) — yet I feel it has accidentally been ignored in popular interpretation. This cross has more room in its meaning to align with Manson’s fascination with inversion, inversion of authority and coexisting opposites than the exclusively French historical meanings of the Lorraine cross. The omission of that lower line, in fact, is a hugely fitting statement.

The name “Marilyn Manson” already encodes a dual critique centring around the term "celebritarianism" or "celebretarianism" — one word with two different spellings, which each hint towards two different definitions of the word. The first name, Marilyn (referring to the legendary sex symbol & icon, Marilyn Monroe), represents "celebritrerianism" or celebrity idolization or worship — and the last name, Manson (the name of a famous serial killer, Charles Manson) representing "celebretarianism" or society’s fascination with death and violence as spectacle. Together, they describe a single cultural system that both elevates icons and consumes mortality through the same mechanisms of attention. Manson’s inverted cross imagery extends this logic visually, exposing how hierarchy, worship, and death are aestheticized, ritualized, and circulated — not opposed forces, but mirrored ones.

Before inversion even enters the picture, the cross itself is already an execution device (death), an object of veneration (worship), and a sign of institutional power (hierarchical authority) — all in a single symbol. The inversion removes “up” as a moral guarantee. In a normal upright cross, “up” implies salvation, heaven, God. When Manson inverts the cross, the form remains identical — only perception shifts. The cross is still visibly taken from Christian history, which exposes the fact that religious authority was never in the “upness” — it was in the viewer's perceptually-based decision to observe that authority. The horizontal bars modified to the same length, with the footrest removed create a double-mirroring effect with the Christian version. So instead of authority of heaven above and death, hell or judgement below you have authority and death equated with one another.

This inversion acts not as a judgement, but as a mirror held to the audience. The image does not tell the viewer what to believe, reject or do — it only asks : "Why does this image still feel so powerful in inverted form?". If the viewer feels shock, reverence, or offense, the symbol has already done its work. These feelings may be because authority is still operating, the worship reflex is still intact or the spectacle of death is still compelling. Visually, the cross becomes a mirror, not a weapon.

Throughout the NIRVANA discography, in which a huge overaching theme is that of water (especially in NEVERMIND) chemicals are carefully investigated in the lyrics (especially in the debut album BLEACH) showing distinction and clear sensitivity against ecologically harmful, synthetic chemicals such as bleach or those found in commercial perfumes (I mention perfumes because water — a common theme in their work — is symbolic of perfume). This sensitivity against chemicals includes complex chain reactions of their damaging effects, as opposed to alcohol as a biodegradable and non-toxic chemical.

Now, the discography is rich with concern about chemicals in the water and health of the ecology and water table, as this is the key to the survival of the fish population, but especially their safety for human consumption (food security). In Mexican Seafood, for example, this was issue was expanded on by addressing human-waste management crisis in third world countries (which Mexico was at the time of the song release), clarifying how sickness can result from eating seafood which was contaminated this way. This was emphasized in the song Hairspray Queen from the album INCESTICIDE with the lyric "A fish full of garbage".

Vegetalismo is the central practice of Ayahuasca psychedelic plant medicine tradition of the ancient Shipibo-Conibo medicine culture of Peru. Although many traditions are important, none of them can be practiced without Vegetalismo. The term is commonly called Ayahuasca dieta. It is a meditative spiritual retreat involving very limited diet, typically allowing only fish as the one protein source when 'master plants' are integrated with the practice. 

'Master plants' of the Ayahuasca traditions — non-psychedelic plants aside from Ayahuasca which are consumed at the beginning of some dietas — are absolutely essential to the tradtional process of becoming a facilitator of Ayahuasca ceremonies. The addition of master plants will change the length of time of the practice and the timing of when and how much Ayahuasca ceremonies occur. Therefore, without food security of fish availability, all Ayahuasca traditions would become equally insecure or threatened. 

In the hit single Heart Shaped Box, Kurt Cobain makes reference to his astrological sign, Pisces, in the lyrics "She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak". The mention of weakness is reminiscent of the physical and emotional weakness often experienced during Vegetalismo practice, due to fasting. Ideally, a Vegetalista will only eat the type of rare fish which is vegetarian, which connects so well with the song Something In The Way.

Something In The Way contemplates the psychology of vegetarianism, also in such a way which reflects the long intensive periods of isolation which are core to Vegetalista dieta practice.

In a certain ancient style of Vegetalismo which is done deeper in the Amazon jungle, the only water available is the drippings from the canopy, similar to the description in this song ("drippings from the cieling"). And the vegetarian fish is chosen for Vegetalismo because of its feelings as a less aggressive fish - the vegetarian human-psychology described in the song. This all ties in beautifully with Kurt's Pisces sign which is a water sign, related to emotion.