Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) is a Basque nationalist group which up until now has advocated independence by any means necessary. Apparently, they've recently announced an indefinite ceasefire and promised to try their hand at democratic participation in order to respect the opinions of the majority of Basques. This wouldn't be the first time. The last such ceasefire ended after a few months with a bombing that killed two hapless Ecuadorians.
But we're not here to go into that. We're more concerned with the image above. There's a comical aspect beside the ominous tone; it's almost a parody of political terrorist gestures. It's also just so darn occult-y.
What caught our eye, given our obsession recently with the serpent and rod symbolism, is their logo with serpent and axe. The motto Bietan jarrai means "Keep up on both" and refers to the symbols; the snake represents politics and the axe, armed struggle. As in "bury the hatchet...in your head!"
There is also something potent in the image of three men, killers ostensibly, echoing the three hoboes from the grassy knoll or the ruffians who killed Hiram Abiff....not to mention those "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys....
Seriously though, we're willing to bet there is some kind of more esoteric meaning to this symbol and we're hereby soliciting theories....
For Moses, the serpent on a Tau cross led to victory over illness; for Christians, the serpent on the Cross represents Christ's victory over Original Sin and thus, the Devil.
Maybe it's this simple: The snake on the axe represents victory. Maybe not.
