Bebell Soterel

I refer to this one affectionately as the Doily Grucifix. Despite the goofy nickname, that is not an insult, Secondo's grandma aesthetic is ON POINT. I legitimately love this one. It feels so out of place for the spooky rock band image for him to be adorned in lace. And while that's how it looks on garments, take a look at the one on the CD up close and outside of the context of thread it looks like something from an illuminated manuscript. Like if you found a dusty old Ghost Ministry Satan Bible from the middle ages, you'd find that on the title page. The original shape is clearly recognizable. It's gorgeous without being overstated, even if unlike some of its successors its complicated flourishes don't have as much cool symbolism. Solid Spooky Symbol, 7 out of 10, and I would rank it higher if I was going with my heart - but symbolism earns extra points and we aren't there yet. It's so good that it appears in red on the bottom of Cardinal Copia's red cassock.

Double Barred, I think from Meliora era if my google-fu isn't lying. Mid. Mid mid mid. It's the OG with an extra bar. The OG didn't need an extra bar. The only thing I can imagine they might have been going for is like the double bars $ in some versions of the dollar symbol for like a Mummy Dust reference? UNINSPIRED. Go back to the drawing board Toblerone Fudge. Meliora era has TWO OTHER ones that are way better. 4 out of 10 and that's generous

NOW WE ARE TALKING. The Art Deco Grucifix. Takes the double barred design and actually DOES something with it. Perfectly in theme with the era's aesthetic. Recognizably a Grucifix. Beautiful, beautiful art design. 7.5 out of 10, edging out the Doily Grucifix by measure of the extra layer of the possible symbolism in the double bars I mentioned in my previous rant putting in some work in a better design.

This Coat of Arms Grucifix also comes in Red - this is the version that is on Terzo's King of Sweden inspired "Dead Astaire" suit, the Red version appears on Cardinal Copia's outfits.

TBH I think the Cardinal version should have had four crowns, since I feel like the three crowns was a reference to Papa III in its original inception - however the three crowns is also the national symbol of Sweden, so I feel like that's also Toblerone Fudge sneaking in some national pride. We've also got the 666, the Leviathan Cross, and I need to hand in my occultism credentials because my eyesight is bad and I can't tell what the symbol on the bottom right that looks like a Shield is supposed to be. I looked up the symbol on King Gustav III's outfit the Terzo suit is based on to see if there was an equivalent and there isn't. Please come correct me loudly. But either way...

I LOVE THIS ONE. Still recognizably the Grucifix symbol...but we are starting to get into What the Fuck territory. It's got creepy Satantic alchemical symbolism! It's got TINY GHOUL FACES. There's honestly not much more you could want from a Grucifix design. It's starting to look Busy but isn't overwhelmed by Design Choices yet. 10 out of 10, fight me.

Oh Honey. Oh Cardi. We know you love your Bling, your Popia outfit is the epitome of this in a good way, but this...is the epitome of this in a bad way. No extra symbolism, the shape is recognizable yes, but the chunky gems are uninspired and if you were going for a reference to Hip Hop style chains you should have gone HARDER with it and leaned in, this just sort of puts a toe in that style in an uncomfortably incomplete way. 4 out of 10. And you're lucky to get that. Dork.

THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL. If you don't realize why this is cool, THIS IS A GRUCIFIX AS A MEDIEVAL MONASTERY FLOOR PLAN. LOOK AT THIS SHIT. LOOK AT IT.

Ahem. Sadly based on the metrics I established being Fucking Cool doesn't edge it out over its siblings, but for theming in keeping with its artistic era, it earns a spot equal to the Deco Grucifix at 7.5 out of 10.

I cannot in good justice rank it higher even if I want to. It doesn't have anything else going for it in symbolism and the design is abstract enough that if you're not a Fucking Nerd you might miss the point and just think it looks weird.

The Impera Grucifix! Now, I have a soft spot for this one. But. It's much less recognizably a Grucifix. You have to hunt with your eyes to find the G, and the cross is nearly equal armed rather than inverted - in fact, I feel safe wearing my copy of this badge because it's not as obviously Satanic at a glance! Which is great for my personal safety in public but not great for it as a Grucifix design. It does get the points for being exemplary of the art style of its era, the extra armed version on the right even more so. And, along with Call Me Little Sunshine and the Impera cover art, its similarity to the Thelemic hexagram is another shout out to Aleister Crowley. So...gains points for symbolism and art style relevance, loses points because it is creeping away from the original design too much AND...we're edging on Way Too Busy (but we're not there yet). 6 out of 10, don't hurt me. And TBH my soft spot for this design and era is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

WELCOME TO THE SKELETON ORGY. Seriously, the skeletons are fucking.

Now is there excellent occult symbolism in this one? Yes. Yes there is. The Baphomet Hands this redditor pointed out, the inverted crosses and pentagram, the Skeleton Pope sitting astride the design. The symbolism and the faithfulness to the Era's art style (something most of them have gotten a good grade in so far) are doing all the heavy lifting here.

Because my hot take is that this is too busy and because of the sheer level of detail only barely still recognizable as a Grucifix. Even then, the inverted cross is easy to make out but the G is a bit of a struggle. It has the same flaws and same perks as the Impera one, just done in this album's font, so to speak. I PERSONALLY like the Impera one better, however for being sheerly loaded with symbolism and also the fuckin' it edges that one out with a 6.5 out of 10. Impera you would get a better grade if you had stealth fucking.

Based on this tweet