What Does The Upside-Down Cross Represent?

The upside-down cross is a common symbol in the Catholic church and Protestant denominations and can be found in numerous mediums, including art, jewelry, and tattoos. But what does it stand for? Are common theories correct, or simple misinformation?

First, we are going to analyze what a regular oriented cross symbolizes, as that forms the basis of the upside-down cross. The normal cross is most notably used for the crucifixion of Jesus, but it was a common tool for tortuous deaths throughout the Roman empire for centuries (unknown date-400 A.D.). There were three main forms that a cross could take, a "T", an "X", and a "t". We know from Scripture (Luke 23:38) that Jesus was executed on a "t" shaped cross, due to Pilate placing a placard above Jesus saying "This is the King of the Jews." After Jesus' death, and ever since, the cross ("t") has been used as the symbol for Christianity. Emperor Constantine declared the cross as the official symbol of Christianity (as well as declaring Christianity the official state religion) in 400 A.D. 

So, we now know that the normal oriented cross symbolizes Christianity, but more importantly Jesus. According to church records and tradition, when Peter the Apostle was executed it was decreed that he would be crucified. However, because he felt that he did not deserve to die like his Savior, he requested that he be crucified upside-down. Also, this has not been historically proven (as it would be very hard to do so) it has been generally accepted as accurate. With this information, we end up with two symbolic interpretations of the upside-down cross, the interpretation or usage by the Catholic church, and basically everyone else. The Catholic church, due to its extreme respect and nigh glorification of the saints have chosen to use the upside-down cross as the official symbol of the Saint Peter. That's basically it. The widespread, "unofficial" interpretation, though, is a bit more substantial.

The general interpretation of the upside-down cross is humility. Peter's utter respect for his Savior led him to voluntarily choose to die in arguably a more painful manner. In his eyes, the act of Jesus' sacrifice was so holy and so important, that he felt he did not deserve to die in the same way. I find this incredible, especially considering all the great work Peter did in Jesus' name. He is an example to us all that Jesus is greater than everything, even death.

I should mention, though, for the sake of a complete knowledge base, that there is one, relatively minor, interpretation of the upside-down cross that I have thus far neglected to mention. There is a small group of people, mainly due to ignorance of the subject, that believe the upside-down cross represents Satanism, or essential the demonic realm. This is generally due to the assumption that since the opposite of the normal cross could be considered the upside-down cross, then the meaning of it also is the opposite. I can kinda understand this conclusion, but there is simply no evidence in the church records or tradition that can bring us to this conclusion.