| Throughout the ages the skull has symbolised death | | | | those two events is what makes us lesser or |
| and our own mortality and is still considered in today's | | | | greater men or women. |
| times as a powerful symbol. In ancient times the | | | | We are reminded of our own mortality and that only |
| victors on any battlefield would remove the heads of | | | | we are in charge of our destinies. The skull ring has |
| their enemies to display on stakes as a potent | | | | been associated with the powers of death, |
| symbol of their victory over the enemy, to instil fear | | | | destruction and transformation over the past |
| and to lower enemy morale. | | | | centuries. It symbolises the end of old cycles and the |
| Gothic rings were in vogue as far back as the 16th | | | | dark side of humanity. |
| century and have survived to the present day, rising | | | | Popular culture has romanticized the symbol of the |
| to popularity as fashion accessories for such | | | | skull as a powerful force. Take, for example the |
| celebrities as Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears. More | | | | anti-hero, Ghost Rider. He is a man who by night |
| commonly skull rings can be found on the | | | | transforms into the devil's bounty hunter, sent to |
| well-manicured hands of gothic lifestylers and bikers | | | | collect the souls of evil men to return them to Hell. |
| alike. | | | | He has a flaming skull for a face, his steed is an |
| The early introduction of the skull ring can be found | | | | enchanted motorcycle with a skull headlamp. |
| in the annals of the cartoon hero, The Phantom, who | | | | Such icons of modern culture appeal to our innate |
| wore a skull ring, symbol of strength, protection and | | | | sense of moral justice and further romanticize the |
| mortality. This powerful hero's enemies all bore the | | | | image of the skull. Naturally as generations go by, the |
| mark of the skull upon their jaws, where he had left | | | | ideal is lost to myth and legend and only a vague |
| his mark when dealing out justice in the form of his | | | | sense of the original idea remains. This is much the |
| powerful punches. | | | | case with the skull ring, which appears in many forms |
| The armed forces also adopted the skull ring as a | | | | throughout various cultures. |
| symbol of power. It featured prevalently in the | | | | As seen with the German SS troops and the British |
| uniforms of the German SS troops and was also | | | | Grenadiers, the skull ring has often been utilized to |
| adopted by the British Grenadiers. The skull is a | | | | instil a sense of unity amongst a particular group. |
| symbol of death and perhaps judgement, an | | | | Soldiers and warriors would very easily identify with |
| inexorable fact of life that we cannot escape. The | | | | this symbol as death is never more than a moment |
| themes here run deep for humanity. Our only | | | | away upon the battlefield. The skull rings stands as |
| certainty aside from being born is that we will | | | | an ever present reminder of our mortality. |
| eventually die. What we do with the time in between | | | | |