So in my apparent fascination with the seven deadly sins, I was thrilled when I found this artistic depiction of them. Its from an artist on deviantART.com called blackeri, and she has some other wonderful drawing besides the sins. She put some specific symbolism in here, so click on the link if you would like to read her original intent instead of just my interpretation.

blackeri

I decided to share it with you all and talk about some of the elements in the picture I take symbolically. I'm taking a break from breaking the sins for a minute.

So my first thought is, I love how each sin is pictured as a female, because really...what's more tempting than a woman? >:)

Also, each sin has a color scheme and symbolic element in the picture that relate to the sin. I'll be going from left to right on these, so go back up to the picture for reference.

VANITY (PRIDE)-
-So vanity is depicted in the color purple, a very rich and aristocratic color.
-She is holding a hand mirror, a symbol of her own self-obsession.
-The surrounding frame is made of peacock feathers. I see this as a reference to Hera, Zeus’ wife from ancient Greek mythology. Her bird was the peacock, and she was highly vain in her position of power, belittling any of the mortals her husband chose over her.

GLUTTONY-
-Gluttony is represented in a grape fruit pink, a very aesthetic and appetizing color.
-Her borders are grapes, a shot to me at the classical depiction of the classic Ancient Roman Nobleman, sitting pretty and being fed grapes as he consumes in luxury.

AVARICE (GREED)-
-Shown in gold, symbolic of wealth.
-The border is a diamond the ultimate jewel in a sought after crown.
-The appearance of Avarice almost gives me a sense of Cleopatra, the last Queen of Egypt who sent Egypt crumbling after it was in the height of its decadence and luxury.

SLOTH-
-Sloth is depicted in a dream like state, blowing bubbles of idleness and sitting up on a cloud.
-The light blue of the color is very light and non-demanding. There is no depiction of action or urgency in this picture at all.

ENVY-　
-Envy is in the obvious green.
-I take the snake in the picture as a representation of Lucifer when he sent the talking serpent to smooth talk Eve into consuming the apple. The motives of the snake were driven by the envy Lucifer held for God’s power and Creation. It was the envy that drove him to fall, and then attempt to destroy that exact Creation.
-The model for Envy is thinner than the rest of the sins and has dark circles under her eyes. She seems to have been deprived of much, and the discontent of that is easily shown on her face.

WRATH (ANGER)-
-Wrath seems to be an image of tribal wildness and reckless intentions.
-Her hair is fire, and the color she is shown in is a flaming red. Fire is consuming and destructive.
-She holds within her hand a whip, giving a dominatrix impression. Think about it, when you're mad you want to draw out pain, not mercy. To me this shows the sadistic, and perhaps even masochistic tendencies that those engulfed in there own rage possess.

LUST-
-Lust is incredibly lost and sensual. Long hair, a perfect body, the ideal image for a symbol of Lust. It’s almost romantic in intentions to lure you in.
-The border behind her represents fire. Ironically, the punishment for those who have committed Lust face in purgatory is a walk through searing flames to purge them of there passionate desires.
　

So those are just some of my interpretations. Oh! There is another image I'd like to leave you guys with. For those of you who are familiar with America's Next Top Model, I found a series of pictures that they did during the fourth cycle of the show. The theme was the Seven Deadly Sins, and each girl depicted a sin in a coffin. The imagery in these pictures I found seemed HEAVILY similar to the artistic ones above. Do YOU see any similarities? >:)

　

The sin of Sloth

Sleepily dreaming in fantasy lands

You neglect to take the shovel into your own hands

                                                        

So as you wait for tomorrow to seize the day

Wasted Time slowly buries your life away

sloth  (slôth, slth, slth)

 -Aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence.

 -Any of various slow-moving, arboreal, edentate mammals of the family Bradypodidae of South and Central America, having long hooklike claws by which they hang upside down from tree branches and feeding on leaves, buds, and fruits, especially:.

- A company of bears.

Punishment in Purgatory-The slothful are thrown into snake pits.

Pure laziness doesn’t seem like it would be that severe of a sin to be sent to hell for. If watching a few extra episodes of your favorite show instead of doing your chores is damnation worthy, then we’d all be in trouble. The sin of Sloth seemed to be used as more of scare tactic to keep people active and devoted in the church. The more inactive members there are, the less power the church has.

A more in depth look into this philosophy can be viewed in this agnostic article that describes it with an outside opinion .  

Why should Sloth be punished by being thrown into a pit of snakes?

 An applicable view of Sloth today may be the inactive status many people take in there educational and political duties.

 The impression that I think the rest of the world gets of us is that we are typical "Lazy-Americans." We don't study up to par in our school systems in order to meet with the rest of the world. We neglect to learn multiple languages outside of English. The care of our political system is neglected by the younger generation because we never really "have the time to vote."

Measures are being taken to change this however. With emphasis placed on higher education these days, students are becoming educated far quicker. Students are taking on early college and are applying for all the financial aid opportunities available to them. The rest of the world may think we need to step it into the high gear, but when we do, we'll end up one step ahead again.

As for our political system, all I can is, it's one thing to stand as an American patriot when the flag passes by. It's an entirely different one to walk away and act as a patriot. Our nation is only as great as our citizens make it, and without individual dedication, America will be thrown to a pit of snakes when its darkest days are sure to come.

The sin of Gluttony

Take. Consume. Excess.
Is this truly happiness?
Intake anyway

Definition:
gluttony
n
the act or practice of eating to excess The punishment in Dante's Purgatorio-For those who "pigged out" their entire lives, they now spend eternity living in a rancid garbage heap guarded by the three headed dog Cerberus.

By Catholic definitions, gluttony was considered a sin because greedily consumed food was depriving the needy. Also in mediaeval times, the size of the meal you ate indicated your status in wealth and position, therefore consuming incredibly large amounts of food could cross the thresholds of Greed and Pride too. These negated the virtues of Charity and Humility. The church later on outlined more categories on how to commit this sin, such as eating too expensively, pickily, or too wildly without any self-control. If you also indulged in expensive foods, but then left many of it to waste, that was also considered sinful. Any worldly and physical need that became more important than your spiritual needs always landed you into damnation.

Now in today's society, an obvious picture of this may look like...oh say...the rising obesity rates, especially in America. But I had another thought.

You don't just consume food excess. You can drink alcohol in excess. You an intake drugs and other narcotic substances in excess. You can eat the words of others so hungrily, that acting upon those ideas you've consumed becomes mental and physical obsession.

So instead of THIS being the poster child for gluttony:

(OBESITY)

what about THIS?

(ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA NERVOSA)

or THIS?

(ALCHOHOLISM)

or any of THESE?

(COCAINE ADDICTION)

(NICOTINE ADDICTION)

(METH ADDICTION)

An addiction can be excessive indulgence of obsession.

What are your thoughts?

The sin of Lust

(Warning:May contain explicit content...just to let you know...)

I clutch
I grope
I hunger
I cling
This primal instinct is all that I need

With a red hot passion that comes to pass
All inhibitions have turned to ash

It’s a thirst to quench in the sultriest heat
The lure of temptation’s fruit smelling so sweet

The only cure is a dark and twisted affair
The power of the flesh is purity’s despair

Now our first sin to discuss is…Lust.

Definition (www.thefreedictionary.com/lust):lust (lst)

lust·ed, lust·ing, lusts Obsolete Pleasure; relish. Intense eagerness or enthusiasm: a lust for life. An overwhelming desire or craving: a lust for power.
Intense or unrestrained sexual craving.
To have an intense or obsessive desire, especially one that is sexual.

The punishment in Dante's Purgatorio (mediaeval novel depicting the seven sins and the circles of hell offenders are sent to for committing them): A walk within flames to purge oneself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings.

In a world like today, the lines between sexual deviancy and casual dating have been incredibly blurred since the mediaeval times when the sin was named. The changing roles of women in society have greatly affected this as well. Its not just about finding one man to settle down with and having the "stay-at-home-mom-behind-a-white-picket-fence" dream anymore. A girl that may have been seen as a strumpet for having one too many suitors, can be seen now as a single, strong and independent women whose main priority has not been finding a man to secure her future so she is at liberty to date whomever she likes. It’s just another principle of free expression.
I don’t think we can deny, however, that strong sexual themes are something we’ve been de-sensitized to as a society. Especially with the heavy influence it has in the media we are exposed to daily.
It's in the ads we see, depicting men and women as objects of lust which are supposed to lure the masses to their products. Some can take this sexual content a bit too far.

Back in 2007, Dolce and Gabanna released string of ads that were seen as highly violent, sexual and humiliating towards women. The most raved about one was a photo depicting a woman in a scandalous outfit, pinned down to the ground by a male model and surrounded by his peers. The imagery of what was about to happen appeared to be a "glamorous gang rape." This image was banned in several countries because of its graphic nature, not to mention angering many European feminists.

But an image like this also brings to mind a similar depiction of an overly sexualized advertisement that you may see daily on TV. Ever seen the Axe commercials? Where it’s usually one poor male, who uses the AXE products, and then unleashes the primal urges of every female within a five-mile radius? They are promoting the idea that increased demand for your own sexual exploitation is a positive thing, and that anything you can consume to achieve this is a necessity.

Then again, there’s always the unspoken double standard right? For females, this idea is degrading, scandalous and insensitive.
For males, this idea is every single sweet dream they’ve had since puberty hit.

But life can not be based on standard, so that stereo type should have no validity in common society whatsoever.
You can also get into the censorship issue as well. Who is anyone else to say that your artistic vision is too racy for the masses to comprehend? Why should an organization regulate your commercial methods based on the content and neglect your voice of free expression? Where is a line drawn between media control and personal choice? Or is it an illusion of media control? The more you prohibit something, the more it comes to forefront of everyone’s minds.

Another example of these images can be seen in an almost parodic music video released by popular artist Rihanna. The title of the song is S&M, and despite the clearly sexual lyrics, the video seems to illustrate a certain hold that media has in taboo content, especially sexual, and how they exploit it to turn profit and opinions.

(MATURE CONTENT CONTAINED)

Rihanna is the object of scandal and they bind her down as they forcibly report on her, turning her into a public image of Lust. The video seems to include many references to the rumored scandals that Rihanna has faced in career, and scrutinity of the style she’s chosen to represent herself. As much as the media in the video seem to condemn her image, they keep empowering it by exposing it, so Rihanna succumbs to the sexual demands but then becomes a dominatrix force over those who created her. In the end, it becomes one great big sadistic and masochistic party. The media holds the whips. The artists take the beatings because the exposure sells records.

But then again does Lust have to be explicitly sexual? In the definition above it says, "To have an intense or obsessive desire…" Would any obsession do? In grammatical context, lust is not just a noun, but a verb as well.
Some one can be "Lusting after Money" or "Lusting after Fame." They can "lust" after a whole list of damnations that cross into the other areas of the classic Seven Deadly Sins.
　
What are your thoughts? Who are some other "public symbols of Lust" you can think of? Share your comments and opinions!