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It is fair to say that angelic and demonic symbolism have grown so rampant in our society these days that they are often overused. There are more angel and devil gimmick shirts and clothing articles than one would believe is possible. They permeate our every step, from little men on each shoulder of someone making a tough decision to the protagonists of cartoons and all the way to live depictions in popular television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. They show up so frequently that it is almost impossible for someone to avoid them at all anymore.
This graphic depicts an ironic fusion of an angel and a devil or demon that seems to be more mischevious than anything else. With its angel wings and its halo, it looks innocently up into the metaphorical sky, yet its pointed devilish tail that descends from its body in a bright red colour makes it obvious that it is rather ambiguous. The words above its head stating, "surrender to temptation", however, are not in the least bit ambiguous.
The question is, what does a graphic like this lead you to believe about angels and devils? The fact is that duality is one of the most common principles in art and literature - like the Yin Yang symbol would imply, everything contains both good and evil, both black and white, both male and female, and this duality creates a harmonic interchange between the forces, causing the universe to stay a stable entity. For, as a wise parent once told his child when asked why god does not just kill the devil since he causes so many problems: "God and the devil depend on one another, and without the other, neither can exist. There can be no good without evil with which to compare it."
This design is simple and rather stylish, combining elements of verbal image with visually pleasing, artistic graphics to make this an all around hit. Regardless of whether the figure is more angel or more devil, the temptation of this graphic is clear and precise, and even the most steadfast person would have to be careful around this design!
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