What is the Starbucks logo?

An Egyptian cleric is warning his followers to boycott Starbucks because he thinks the woman in its logo is Queen Esther:

"The girl in the Starbucks logo is Queen Esther. Do you know who Queen Esther was and what the crown on her head means? This is the crown of the Persian kingdom. This queen is the queen of the Jews. She is mentioned in the Torah, in the Book of Esther. The girl you see is Esther, the queen of the Jews in Persia,"

Of course, the woman in the logo isn't Queen Esther. Though I don't think the cleric would consider what the woman really is to be any better. From "The Mermaid" by Heinz Insu Fenkl:

although the image [in the Starbucks logo] is that of a split-tailed sea creature, it is a siren. More specifically, it is a double-tailed siren, a baubo siren, which The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects points out, is "a cross between a mermaid and a sheila-na-gig" and is found as a decorative motif in many European churches and cathedrals. "Her suggestive pose, like that of the sheila-na-gig, referred to female sexual mysteries in particular."
Sheila-na-gig is a general reference to female figures that prominently display their genitalia to signify the power of female sexuality and fertility. These images are also quite prominent in the decoration of sacred sites in general and are thought to be a legacy of the older Goddess religions whose holy sites were usually taken over by later religions. The shape of the genitalia in these squatting figures is also symbolic of the vesica piscis, the "vessel of the fish," which is also associated with Christ.
     Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 13, 2009
     Category: Sexuality





Comments
I'd make a comment about female genitalia and vessels of fish, but it's just too easy.
Posted by Nethie on 03/13/09 at 08:07 AM
How does it relate to coffee, then?
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 03/13/09 at 08:15 AM
Completely unrelated but I have to share this with you all. What a time for Chuck to take a vacation! Check out this story from my beloved home state....

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_11893799
Posted by Jules in Connecticut on 03/13/09 at 08:41 AM
Dumbfounded - I couldn't have said that better. Words to live by.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 03/13/09 at 08:54 AM
Thanks Jules! It's always nice to know that other states consist of freaks just as much as mine. Surprisingly, Louisiana is not at the top of the WU list as far as freaky states go.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 03/13/09 at 08:59 AM
I always thought that was the Saint of crappy, overpriced coffee.
Posted by DownCrisis on 03/13/09 at 09:04 AM
Maxx - that honor will always belong to the F state
Posted by Jules in Connecticut on 03/13/09 at 09:16 AM
Nethie - You're right! WAY too easy.
This blind dude is walking down the street, he passes the fishmonger's, politely tips his hat, and says, "Morning ladies."

Jules et al
As soon as I got the drift of the article "Turkey Baster" came to mind. Honest! There must have been an old joke or similar story sometime in the past.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/13/09 at 09:56 AM
@ Jules - I think that would make a terrific Reno 911! episode.
Posted by Nethie on 03/13/09 at 10:26 AM
And when I checked out the insemination story I almost died laughing when the add was for teeth whitening. Yeah, how many guys have said that to their ladies to get them to swallow the story?
Posted by DownCrisis on 03/14/09 at 01:31 AM
Patty, I'm regularly amazed at the interpretations people can put on things. I don't think things like the image Starbucks uses are especially meaningful, it's the spin we put on them that's full of meaning.

Ahh, but I probably wax too philosophical and witless for this forum.

Yo, Alex. Good find!
Posted by JohnL in Earth on 03/15/09 at 06:54 AM
Thanks for the link Capturedshadow. Interesting.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 03/15/09 at 08:32 AM
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