__________________________________________________

WRONG ANOINTING: QUESTIONS RAISED ON STRANGE LOGO FOR MEGA-SUCCESSFUL 'STARBUCKS' CHAIN

Sometimes, a little alarm rings when something or someone almost miraculously rises to prominence. There can be a "wrong anointing." Shortly, we'll be discussing this in line with rock stars.

It can happen with anything or anyone, anywhere.

A "pact" with evil?

We must be careful about being too harsh (and rash); most of the time when someone taps into darkness, they are doing it due to lack of knowledge (not because they are nefarious). It can be kids being kids. There is a "cool" dearth of awareness. We can jump too soon to judgment. From time to time, we all do so.

Is something like this operative in the stratospheric pervasive success of that famed name in caffeine called Starbucks?

The question arises due to its logo. For your own discernment.

We've all seen it (where isn't Starbucks?): a woman with a crown who resembles a siren or goddess.

It always has seemed a bit odd.

"How does an image of a female with a crown on her head fit in with a coffee shop?" asks one Christian watchdog site. "Well, the truth is – it doesn’t. But, it is a subconscious marketing gimmick used to draw in customers. I will go more into depth about the logo’s evil roots later in this blog; but at surface-level, it is an image of a 'glorified' female with her hair covering her naked body. This symbol attracts the female because it promotes 'woman power.' The image of the female looks very glorified, in the sense that she is wearing a crown; the image looks happy and confident with only her long locks covering her bare chest; and the image appears to be pointing to her head, suggesting that she is the 'head' or above the man. This could all be seen, at surface-level, through the eyes of a female customer. Likewise, the logo draws in male customers with her sex appeal and with the gender-neutral colors."

Apparently, the original logo was more risqué. After protests, uncovered breasts and other features were altered. [At left we see the original and then latest version; we usually do not picture anything that may have wrong undertones, though in this case it tells too much of the story.]

"The female image on the logo is actually a 'Siren,'" goes on the blogger. "The graphic designers for this logo will openly admit that she is. What is a siren? She is a type of mythical creature, much like a mermaid, but only she has two tails. She is a temptress who is extremely sensual and lures men to their deaths. She leads on multiple men. Notice the original Starbucks logo? I put a black bar across her [we are not showing the image] to censor her bare breasts; but notice the two tails. It is very crude to say, but the tail is 'split' or 'spread open' as to welcome men to her sexually. After many complaints about the original logo, Starbucks edited it. However, the new logo is still a siren and it still represents the same sensuality and loose morals of a siren. Again, why would Starbucks choose a siren for their logo when they are selling coffee? Because, in this evil day and age, we live in (it is unfortunate) 'sex sells.' It is sad that many people and companies have such loose morals. Society is being manipulated by many marketing agencies that produce sultry perfume ads, scantily-clad models in commercials, and even manipulate society by the very idea of sexuality. Please don’t misunderstand; sex within a Godly marriage is not a sin; however, when people use women’s (and men’s) bodies to sell goods or services – that is sinful. Jesus said, 'But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart' (Matthew 5:28). I am not insinuating that men are lusting after the Starbucks logo – but we must look at the principle of it."

And then there is the element of the occult. Is it all simply because Starbucks, there in Seattle, is in the milieu of New Age (breathing in the chic atmosphere)?

Starbucks itself, in explaining the logo, says: "Let’s go all the way back to 1971, to when Starbucks was first coming to be. In a search for a way to capture the seafaring history of coffee and Seattle’s strong seaport roots, there was a lot of poring over old marine books going on. Suddenly, there she was: a 16th century Norse woodcut of a twin-tailed mermaid, or Siren. There was something about her – a seductive mystery mixed with a nautical theme that was exactly what the founders were looking for. A logo was designed around her, and our long relationship with the Siren began.  Over the last 40 years we’ve made some changes to that identity. Now we’re doing that again, to keep ourselves relevant as we evolve without ever losing sight of our heritage. But the Siren has always been there. She is at the heart of Starbucks."

The heart of Starbucks? A simple mascot? Might be. The aforementioned blogger, citing too a second website, thinks it's less innocent than that:

"One website showed the uncanny resemblance between the Starbucks logo and the logo from the 'Order of Baphomet' (Satan). Notice the use of stars in both symbols and the circular rings around the logos.  One blogger said, “The circle within a circle often symbolizes a secret society.  The outer circle is unaware of what the inner circle does.” This is very reminiscent of the Illuminati – a secret society of Satanism that is heavily involved in the use of symbols to represent sin in a 'secret' way."

While peculiar, we have to differentiate between conspiracies with conscious decisions and happenstance when perhaps someone is unaware of being affected by the spiritual (as seems true in this case) and is simply trying to be cool or avant-garde. We have to be awfully careful not to go too far. Some folks in the blogosphere make similar allegations about symbols or items in the Church.