#cosmic hierarchy

[shallowseeker]

They're the SAME:

Human things are not for us (paraphrasing Hannah)

White picket fence life is not for us (paraphrasing Dean)

[eyeoftheheart]

The Angel Ruh holding the celestial spheres, from ʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of Creation) of Qazwini, Iran, ca. 1550. Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper.

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

“In Islamic cosmology, angels play a central role as divine agents. As attested by popular medieval cosmographical treatises such as the ʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt [Wonders of Creation] of Qazwini (ca. 1203–83), the world of angels (ʿālam-i malakūt) was believed to be closer to the world of absolute truth-reality (ʿālam-i hāhūt or ḥaqīqat) than our material realm. As Chittick explains, “the imaginal world is more real than the corporeal world, since it is situated closer to the World of Light, though it is less real than the spiritual and luminous realm of the angels”. Rooted in Quranic and hadith literature, and popularized in the medieval world by Ibn Sina, Muslim angelology saw each created world in the cosmic hierarchy as governed by a specific angel. According to this system, it is the angels who activate God’s power, qudrat, in the cosmos and maintain its balance and harmony. In both the microcosm of the inner human being and the macrocosm of the outer world, angelic perfection is reflected through their outer beauty as well.”

[wizardships]

What do you think your f/os soft spot for you is? (Ie: a specific face you make, or a certain tone you take/way you touch them maybe??)

OUH this is tough bc i have such a poor sense of what i'm like and what might be appealing to others but this is such a cute question so i will do my best!!!

i'm always unsure about the ships with ocs since i don't want to like. make stuff up about them without asking @ask-the-vargonians so for now i will just talk about other ships ^^;

also i want to come up with different names for my different s/is but they don't all have them yet so i'm using placeholders for now ;;; tlt sona is agathe, dunmesh sona is meryl, silm sona is estelgal

PALAMEDES: i think often about how part of why he fell for dulcie was that she took him so seriously when he was younger. agathe is the same way, in that it pisses them off when people talk down to kids, so they try to always make it clear they're really listening to them. they remember very clearly what it was like, being a kid and nobody taking you seriously! so i think if palamedes somehow saw them in a situation interacting with children that way, he would find it endearing.

IANTHE: she likes that agathe doesn't seem too blown over by her and corona. i also think she would find it endearing to watch their crumpled-up concentration face, because it would probably be over something she finds trivial. god, she pisses me off.

LAIOS: meryl is 1. insane in the same way he is but about slightly different things, which i think he would find fun (gives him a new perspective on topics he hadn't given much thought to before but they make it interesting), and 2. really excited to hear about all the things he knows. i think they would take notes while he infodumps, which i think he would appreciate.

TOSHIRO: meryl has an "earnest weirdgirl" thing going on that's kind of similar to falin's, so i think he would like that about them. they're also very patient, clear, and understanding when talking about sensitive or unfamiliar topics, which i think he would also appreciate. if he were to ever take them back to his home and introduce them to various foods there, i think he would feel a swell of pride when they get so excited it makes them teary-eyed and they tell him it's the best thing they've ever eaten.

MAEDHROS: estelgal has always looked at him with nothing but admiration and awe. i generally think of them as having met after he's saved by fingon, so his view of himself (both as a person and how he looks) is dramatically changed. he tends to see himself as something monstrous or permanently tainted, but they always act like he doesn't need to keep repenting. it's not that they deny the horrors, just that they don't think that's all there has to be. they're very gentle, and always take his various triggers in stride. he keeps expecting them to flinch away. they never do.

[telestorm]

sigh, sometimes i forget how convoluted phoenix lore can get. i will persevere though because a fic depends on it, but still 😫

[sainteclectic]

they believe in a relationship hierarchy but only so they can be on the top of it. they're going to get such a good grade in being more devoted than any alloro could ever dream of. romance is nothing to them because they found something even better {read: worse for almost everyone involved}

and in honor of arospec week soon: eros is alloaro! they have no need for romance because their devotion is far stronger than any romantic attraction could ever be ^-^

[ceilidho]

fear of god

prompt: There's someone outside the spacecraft. You don't remember them being part of the crew. Part 1 masterlist

-

In the end, gazing out of the ship's portholes into the dark vastness of space proves to be less comforting than the architects must have originally anticipated. You can attest to this more than most.

Every morning, you get up an hour earlier than the rest of your crew and make your way to the galley to make your morning cup of coffee. A pack of instant crystals into your favorite mug and hot recycled water from the kettle. Sometimes you stay to have breakfast, but often you take your coffee with you to the main viewing deck for your morning sojourn. 

There, you sit curled up in the navigator’s chair and stare out of the flight deck window until your breathing levels out. Early morning meditations. With the sun only visible through the rear porthole, the Milky Way stretches out before you, immeasurably vast. Ancient cosmic entities, some already long dead. 

Stars fill your field of vision like an intricate latticework of varying brightness. The watery glass warps at the edges, bending the far off light. All things with their propensity for brightness and decay.

A deep, steady hum fills the room. It’s cathartic to be alone. Sometimes, when you look out into the depths of space, you imagine yourself as a cartographer of old, labeling everything beyond this point: “here there be dragons.” 

Farah is the first person to join you, the ship’s maintenance technician already washed and dressed, floral cumberbund cinched around her midriff and her headwrap pinned in place. She greets you with a firm nod upon her entry, never one to mince words. In the months since your ship set off on its course for Jupiter, you’ve exchanged all of ten words, most of your conversation one-sided. 

She glides in like she’s been up for hours, likely running through her routine maintenance checklist. Monitoring propulsion, life support, and all critical systems. You wouldn’t doubt if she had been, descending into the bowels of the ship and cataloging every minute difference from the day before. Nothing if not thorough. 

Graves sweeps in not twenty minutes later, his uniform pressed and ironed. When he glances your way, you shrink under his gaze, self-conscious about something unidentifiable. He is every bit the commander you met briefly back on Earth, never a hair out of place. If he were less intimidating, he’d be insufferable. 

“Morning,” you murmur, the mug still close to your lips making your voice reverberate. He doesn’t respond. You wonder if he even heard you greet him. It likely wouldn't matter.

Medic has a different connotation this far from Earth. Hierarchy out in space is typically determined by way of one’s importance to the ship, and the scope of your role does not, unfortunately, include maintaining the ship. What that means, unofficially, is that you speak when spoken to, and not for any other reason. 

In the months to come, there may be moments or days when your usefulness is acknowledged, usually much to your colleagues’ chagrin. Though it’s not likely that any of the crew will encounter foreign pathogens while on a hermetically sealed ship in the middle of space, they’re all still susceptible to falls and cuts and worse. Nikolai, the chief engineer on board, had sprained his wrist during the first week of the mission, lending you immediate purpose and validation. 

You make way for the second officer when he finally deigns to make an appearance, sliding quietly out of his seat and stepping to the back of the cockpit, back pressed to the wall closest to the door. 

“Morning, everyone,” he greets, peppier than the three of you despite his rumpled appearance. His thick mustache twitches with the force of his smile. “Ready to seize another day?”

“Jesus Christ, Keller, let’s tone it down ‘til about ten o’clock, alright?” Graves sighs. He pinches the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache.  

“Our clocks are off, commander,” Alex jokes, coming over to give him a little shake by the shoulder. It would be insubordination from anyone else. “I’m about ready to eat lunch.” 

“Let’s just get through formation and then you can go fill up the bottomless pit you call a stomach.”

The morning briefing never takes up too much time. It’s as much of an excuse to have coffee together as it is to go through the day’s schedule. Graves spends most of the time reviewing the flight course, charting where the ship will be by day’s end. 

“Almost through the belt,” Alex remarks, staring down at the monitor in front of him. It’s an incomprehensible jumble when you try to peer over his shoulder, but he must be able to make sense of it. 

The crew had been on high alert since entering the torus-shaped region between Mars and Jupiter a month back. For the most part, they needn’t have been so on edge—the average distance of the asteroids in the circumstellar disc between the two planets tended to be quite substantial—but a collision the previous day had reinstated their earlier anxiety. 

“Can we switch from manual yet, Farah?” Graves asks from his seat at the helm of the ship. 

She shakes her head, lips tightening with frustration. “I still have to figure out what’s going on with cruise control—it’s not responding correctly.”

“Was that from that little ding the other day?” you ask, blurting out the question without thinking.

Farah’s expression is flat when she glances over at you. “That ‘little ding’ nearly took out our communications system altogether.” 

You wince at that, staring down at your feet instead. Better to just shut your mouth than make a fool of yourself. Had you not blurted out the question, you might have even surmised the nature of the situation given the comm specialist’s notable absence from the cockpit. 

When Nikolai eventually ambles in with a thermos of coffee and deep troughs under his eyes, Farah looks up and frowns. “Where’s Hadir?”

The man shrugs, nonplussed. “Cargo?” he grunts, rolling the toothpick between his teeth around the words. 

She sighs. “I’ll go find him.”

No one says anything when she leaves, the double doors sliding open and shut automatically at her approach, and she doesn’t bother saying goodbye. 

“Dismissed, I guess,” Graves sighs, collapsing into his chair and spinning around to face the stars proliferating in front of him. 

The informality digs at you sometimes because you know you can’t indulge in it. The times you’ve attempted to, you’ve been rebuffed. Sometimes unintentionally, but often to remind you of your place.

This isn’t a crew you’ve ever worked with before. From conversations you’ve overheard, you’ve gleaned that they’ve all worked together in different capacities before, years of familiarity breeding an easy trust and companionship between them. Two of them might even be lovers—though Farah maintains a neutral facade at all times, the same can’t be said for Alex, the man always hovering nearby, eyes going soft at the sight of her. 

You’re the only odd man out. The newcomer. And though you sit with them in the mess for meals and partake in conversation and pass jokes like small stones from hand to hand, you know deep down, in the dark well of your heart, that you are not one of them. You are a passenger that they picked up along the way. A straggler. 

This wasn’t supposed to be the case. When you signed on to the mission months ago, the circumstances were wholly different. A newer ship, a different crew, some of which you’d worked with before. Then ownership changed hands and budgets were cut. Slashed to ribbons even. You had a chance to tour the ship before the launch date, and even down on Earth with all the glitz and glam available to trick the eye, you hadn’t been convinced of the vessel’s ability to withstand the extreme conditions of space.  

But by then, you were locked into a contract so iron-clad that the consequences of breaking it seemed worse than simply seeing the mission through. 

Most days, you feel like you’re waiting for something to give. You pass through halls that echo with low creaks and a deep, rhythmic thrum. Sometimes the walls of the ship groan so loud that you wait with baited breath for the hull to implode around you, to feel the metal crush the delicate eggshell of your body beneath its weight. 

It’s not any better to just stay in your room, your quarters too cramped to nurture anything other than claustrophobia. A recent, unfortunate side effect of spending months on such a small ship. You’ve become accustomed to crews numbering in the tens and hundreds, ships so colossal in size that even months spent aboard weren’t enough to explore all of its nooks and crannies. Cargo holds with excavators and backhoes for excavations on Mars and humvees for getting around the rough terrain. 

This ship barely holds six people and the payload you’ve been hauling to Europa. Pipes hiss in the corridors. Once a week, the radiator splutters or the intercom overhead crackles, kicking your heart into hyperdrive. 

You leave formation more out of sorts than ever. Vaguely aimless. With nothing to do, you grab breakfast in the galley and eat at the counter, too uncomfortable to venture over to the mess. Your days consist mainly of hovering around the ship or sitting quietly in the medbay, waiting for something to happen. A morbid preoccupation. 

The stairs clunk under your feet as you make your way down towards the medbay. You’ve long grown used to the sharp sound of your boots against the metal floor. 

Rationally, you know they don’t dislike you. You might even venture to say that you get along with the majority of them, particularly the chief engineer and Farah’s brother. The big man likes that it only takes a single drink to get you plastered, often howls with laughter when you stumble out of the mess after drinking with the crew, always the first to turn in for the night. Farah herself is only frosty because she works twice as hard as anyone else, burning the midnight oil on the regular. 

You swallow half-truths like stones to help settle your stomach. 

It doesn’t replace real companionship though; it approximates, but doesn’t quite replicate it. You feel its absence most acutely in the sidelong glances you sometimes get of real affection: Alex grazing his pinkie across Farah’s when he thinks no one is looking; Farah’s eyes softening at the sight of her brother; Graves and Nikolai reminiscing about something a decade past, hardly even aware of your presence in the room. 

It’s something you’ve endured before, but never for such an extended period of time. Prolonged isolation prickles at the mind, feathering the edges. It purples space; passes through the vents. The crew rarely goes on spacewalks (hardly any need for it), but sometimes you swear the ship’s oxygen has a faint sulfuric undertone, like rotten eggs. It permeates the air wherever you go. 

Someone knocks at the window just as you walk by.

You pause mid-sip, the mug raised to your lips and just pressing into your bottom lip, not yet tilted. 

“Hello,” you hear through the thick-paned glass, the voice muffled through the layers of glass and plastic partitions. “Could you let me in, please?”

Though your reflex is to look up, you don’t for some reason. The muscles in your neck stay locked instead. Shoulders stiff, weighed down by an unnatural force. 

The thing outside the ship knocks again. “Love? Can you hear me?”

Your head turns towards the porthole, the hand holding your mug drifting away from your mouth. It tips in your hand and a drop leaks down the side. Your lips tingle, almost numb. 

There’s a man outside the porthole, clear as day. He hovers outside the window, a hand raised in a friendly wave and full lips splitting to reveal perfect, white teeth when he smiles. He’s dressed in a spacesuit, no different than any of the crew on a spacewalk. Through the helmet, you can make out dark eyes and dimples. A close cropped beard.

It’s not a face you’ve ever seen before though. You think you might’ve remembered someone so handsome working on the ship with you.

Something needles inside of you though. A sickening feeling, like something you’ve forgotten but you desperately need to remember. 

“Hi there,” the man says, voice as charming as you’ve ever heard, so velvety rich that you feel the blood heat your cheeks. “Glad you were passing by. Mind letting me in?”

[krakensdottir]

The idea of Crowley previously being a very powerful angel and still carrying around shards of that power is just so delicious to me. I'm a sucker for characters who aren't at all what they used to be. Underdogs who were obviously once a Big Deal, and you can't see it most of the time, until some improbable bit of classified knowledge or mention of higher connections leaks out. Especially if they really don't like to talk about it or dwell on who they were, if for one reason or another, they want to leave it all in the past.

I have had a feeling about Crowley since season 1. His position on Hell's hierarchy is relatively low, so it's not immediately apparent at first. But things stood out. How he bends reality to his will without seeming to even think about it, sometimes even without realizing. He decides it would be funnier if the paint guns were real guns, but also makes sure no one actually gets shot. This seems to take no effort or concentration on his part; it's done almost offhandedly. Or how he drives the Bentley through a wall of fire, keeping it from falling apart by sheer determination, while the much higher-ranking demon in the seat next to him is discorporated in seconds. Almost as impressive is how he negotiates London traffic, which from what I've heard is a borderline miraculous feat normally, let alone at 90 miles per hour.

And of course, the time stopping. Something even Aziraphale apparently isn't capable of. Something that, with a particularly fierce effort, literally stops Satan in his tracks. The sort of power wielded by a cosmic engineer who once needed it to do his job - 'I helped build that one,' he says, eyes a little distant as stares at a picture of a nebula - and he still carries it with him, skulking around on Earth, far from the cosmos he helped to create. Having let go of most of the rest, even the memories of it, burying them with the person he used to be. He's changed who he is but he can't change what he is, and if you cracked open that lowly serpent, you'd be blinded by the starlight within.

[ultrainfinitepit]

Shop Update June 2025

Greetings followers, Angelic Hierarchy pins are now available on Shopify and Etsy. These designs were inspired by the nine planets and cosmic horror.

Dual Destinies: A BG3 Pin Series

I have a pin campaign launching this month, Dual Destinies: A BG3 Pin Series. This campaign features designs inspired by the good and bad endings for the Baldur's Gate 3 companions. Pins of other characters are available to fund as well. 

Dual Destinies is partnered with The Cats of BG3, if you pledge to both campaigns you'll receive exclusive freebies. Both campaigns are also part of Pin Quest, be sure to check out the other wonderful campaigns if you're in the market for fantastical pins. 

Sale & Shop Closure

I am closing my Etsy, Shopify, and Faire shops June 20. To help clear out items, I'm running a big sale: items are 15% off on Etsy, and 30% off on Shopify (discount applied at checkout). While my shops are closed, you can find my items with my stockists.

For now, I'm not planning to reopen my shops. June 20 will be the last chance to purchase any shop items from Etsy, Shopify, and Faire. 

I will still be making new items via Backerkit crowdfunding campaigns. You can follow me on Backerkit to be notified of campaigns, and I'll also send newsletter updates about them.

If you miss out on these campaigns, leftovers will go to my stockists. Between all of them they are able to ship to most destinations. If there's not any that ship to you, please check in your local area if there's any maker consignment or similar shops that could stock my items, and send them my way. I will be offering shipping to most destinations via Backerkit as well.

I won't say my shops will be closed forever - things can always change! But for now I'm going to try just campaigns and my stockists, and see how it goes. I'll still be sending out newsletters - about campaigns, new items, and other artistic endeavors.

Thank you all so much for supporting UltraInfiniteShop and the next chapter of my art journey. That's all for this update, have a joyous June!

[earthcrumbs]

The Age of Aquarius

NOV 19th 2024 - MAR 8th 2043.

This is a period of about 19 years.

Pluto’s shift into Aquarius signals a profound awakening—a breakdown of outdated structures and hierarchies in favour of collective empowerment and decentralized power. It’s about dismantling systems that no longer serve us and creating space for radical innovation and collaboration. This energy brings technological leaps and a focus on community-driven solutions, but it also demands we confront the shadow sides of progress: isolation, over-reliance on technology, and the risk of losing our humanity amidst the quest for advancement. It’s a cosmic call to question everything, detach from old scripts, and rebuild with intention.

What’s key here is balance. The Age of Aquarius asks us to merge logic and intuition, individuality and unity, progress and tradition. It’s not just about revolutionizing how we live but reconnecting with ancient wisdom—remembering the sacred relationship between humans, the earth, and the cosmos. As we tap into the energy of Aquarius, we’re called to honour both the stars and the soil, the collective and the self, crafting a future that’s deeply rooted in the wisdom of the past while soaring boldly into what lies ahead.

[shallowseeker]

Speaking of repressing the multi-faceted, three-dimensionality of your own motivations, what if that’s part of an unspoken “objectionable” thing with the melting of Donatello’s mind?

Like, Dean saw that look on Cas’s face. He fears that anger (on his behalf) was a sliver of that motivation.

[fatcatlittlebox]

Something has been needling me since I first read that quote from Morfydd and it later caught fire on the webs:

What I had taken immediately for granted was that she meant that the relationship between Halbrand and Galadriel was intended to be platonic and it was Charlie who decided to add the extra heat and the hint of a romantic aspect. But in retrospect upon reading and watching his interviews I think it is the opposite -- were Halbrand and Galadriel originally meant to have been shown as more overtly falling in love? Was it written more explicitly as a love story rather than implied, as we eventually see?

First, we can recall that the very first promotions for the show had press descriptions of Halbrand as Galadriel’s “love interest”. Even the concept art showed more intimacy.

And I think this is the reason why I find it so interesting when I revisit some of the Haladriel scenes from season 1. Particularly the ones that Charlie and Morfydd had said they came up with the blocking for. And that clearly the director agreed with. I can appreciate that if the blocking were chosen differently, it would have changed the whole tenor of the scene and hence, the dynamics of their relationship. Take for instance, the log scene. Imagine if Galadriel and Halbrand had been simply standing and saying those words, looking upon each other. It would obviously be a conversation between lovers. A tone of romantic declaration. Imagine if Galadriel had been looking directly into Halbrand's eyes, bodies facing, when she said, "I felt it too."

But that's not what Charlie, Morfydd and the director went with and I like it even better. It was Charlie and Morfydd who collaborated and agreed that they would sit parallel and not looking at each other. The scene takes on a "confession". Which...Catholic. The symbolism here is great because as I have said before in previous metas, their original "sin" was when they chose each other over their gods. And here, in this "confessional" scene, as it is composed, they are performing the sacrament of reconciliation. With Galadriel and Sauron interchanging roles of penitent and priest. Galadriel is pledging allegiance, unbeknownst to her, to a fallen demigod and Sauron is seeking absolution from her, an exiled elf. A sinner asking for salvation from his accomplice. It is worshipful and sacrilegious.

As Charlie, and frequently supported by Morfydd, have said, their connection "transcends" romantic love. It is not a human, mortal emotion. It is cosmic. It disrupts the celestial hierarchy but is ultimately restorative to the universal harmony. It is their beginning and ending eternally. Where Sauron isn't just the biblical snake. He is the snake eating his own tail.

Love and hate. Light and dark. Life in defiance of death. And I would much rather have that. Galadriel and Sauron as emissaries of this cosmic balance, permanent fixtures in a primordial architecture. Destined to always be chasing the other. Gravitating, circling. Vigilant and yearning.

[talonabraxas]

“Anu, great king of Heaven and Earth, we ask for your blessing,…”

Anu 𒀭 Talon Abraxas

Anu was the chief deity in the Sumerian pantheon, often referred to as the “father of the gods.” He held authority over the heavens and was associated with cosmic order.

This Sumerian deity was revered as the ruler of all creation, and his role emphasized the overarching importance of divine order and hierarchy in Sumerian cosmology.

[crow-caller]

rewatching your nightbane review and getting genuinely mad about how much the concept of a magically-bound divine right of kings (and how the populace can’t overthrow their rulers without all dying) fucking rules and how alex aster WASTED it. begging another fantasy author to please write this idea but like. good

(also your proclamation in that video that grim has “ice-cold yaoi hands” has haunted me since it came out. why did you speak that into the world social media user crow caller. why)

1. was there when the yaoi hands reigned. I know the signs and know them well. never call me a social media user ever again.

2. The divine right of kings thing Aster backward stumbles into IS very cool conceptually, you're right!! I nearly brought this up in my Skyshade review, but then realized it'd be the weirdest pull: Fallen London has an extremely good version of the same concept. I'm so so so sorry FL for referring to you as anything similar to Lightlark, but if you're interested in how 'magically bound divine right of kings which keeps a populace under control, treated as innate to the world but secretly artificial' can be done well.... well. let me tell you about The Chain.

The Great Chain of Being is a concept that the world is divided into a strict hierarchy, with some above others. In FL, the beings at the top are Judgements- cosmic gods who burn as bright as suns (okay, they are suns). They sit at the top of The Chain with the understanding This Is The Way The World is- they are often referred to as 'Kings', because they are analogous to them in many ways. Why do the Kings rule over us? Because the Chain is a facet of the universe, the Chain is true and says they are better than us. Why does the Chain say this? Because it is true.

.......Except, of course, it isn't. The Judgements created the chain, as kings created the Divine Right of Kings- to excuse their excess of power and abuse of it, they create the lie there is a divine truth to the world which just so happens to put them at the top. The universe doesn't make some people better than others, but some people will say it does in order to get away with heinous acts*. In FL, the Judgements abuse their power in far wilder cosmic horrors ways, able to enforce this division with their ability to rewrite reality with burning words. This power is again not necessarily something innate to them because they are sooo special- it is something they have because The Chain they've created to control reality says so.

This is key worldbuilding to fallen london, and is Sick As Hell- though quite Deep Lore, not apparent or relevant when you first begin playing.

(*The Great Chain is a real concept originating from medieval Christianity, which very much places all the world into a strict hierarchy with God at the top- followed by man, descending through various animals, and even including plants and minerals. A key aspect of the Chain was that this 'Absolute Hierarchy' was real, innate, holy, and... of course, an excuse for all kinds of racism. Sure, maybe they did think it mattered to decide lichen was closer to god than mushrooms, but ultimately an obvious reason the philosophy took root was to justify why certain humans mattered more than others.)

[lichtluxx]

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟWho is Leviathan?

Leviathan is described as a primordial serpent, found in many ancient myths of the Middle East. The most famous being Tiamat, for example. Leviathan was one of the possessing Demons named in the Loudun Possessions.

According to a Miscellany of Medieval Hierarchies, Leviathan is classified as a Dragon of Chaos. While according to Peter Binsfeld (1589) from Treatise on Confessions by Evildoers and Witches: Leviathan is the demon of envy, a title that follows him to this day. He also being the Lord of the Sea and the Void, as those are his domains.

Leviathan appears a lot in the Bible.

It is said that in the very beginning, YHWH created beings of great size to rule over the earth. Ziz, resembling a phoenix, ruled over the sky and all animals within it. Behemoth, resembling an ox, ruled over the land and all animals within it. Leviathan, the most feared and powerful of all, ruled over the sea and all animals within it. According to some, Leviathan dislikes these siblings of his.

We have some descriptions about him in the Bible by the way.

Isaiah 27: Leviathan is described as a sea serpent, long, strong, twisted and swift.

Job 41: Leviathan is described as a monster with a mouth that spews flames, a nose that smokes, a breath that kindles fire, and strength in its neck.

Psalm 104: Leviathan is described as a sea monster that likes to play in the sea.

In Jewish mythology, YHWH created two Leviathans, one male and the other female, as a way of demonstrating his power.

However, he killed the female one in fear of human extinction if the Leviathans reproduced. For this reason, for many practitioners, Leviathan can choose to appear as either a man (like in my case) or a woman, sometimes changing between both forms.

In the words of Asenath Mason, Leviathan is “the soul of the world, the eternal beginning and end, the element of chaos within, and the divine potential lying dormant in dark recesses of human psyche… [He is] the primal force of all creation and all destruction… Leviathan is the very beginning, the original cosmic force that gave rise to the universe… He is the Above and the Below."

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Titles:

Emperor, King, Prince, Dark Lord

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Epithets:

Emperor of the Void, Emperor of the Abyss, Lord of the Depth, Lord of the Emotions, Master of the Black Ocean, Lord of the Deep, Prince of King of the Sea, Coiling Serpent, Great Devourer, Dragon of the Apocalypse, Lord of Storm and Lightning, Guider of Dreams.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟENN:

Jaden Tasa Hoet Naca Leviathan

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟDates:

April 30th, May 2nd, September 21st

Monday

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟHerbs / flowers:

Lavander, iris, lotus, copal, mint, valerian, eucalyptus, sandalwood

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Colours;

All shades of blue, all shades of green, black, silver, grey, white

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Crystals:

Aquamarine, Pearl, Obsidian, Sapphire, Moonstone, Tanzanite, Black Tourmaline, Hydrogen Quartz, Amazonite, Black Jade, Clear Quartz

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Animals:

Serpents, large marine life, seahorses, dragons

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟnumbers:

3, 7

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟSigns? How do I know if he wants to work with me?

Signs can vary. For me, he simply appeared in a dream, so I didn't have many signs.

But it is common to think about the sea or feel like being in the water, dreaming about the sea, seeing his sigil (Leviathan cross) everywhere, seeing snake and/or ouroborus themed objects, him visiting your dreams.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟ Domains:

Darkness, emptiness/abyss, emotions, unconsciousness, dreams, shadow work, emotional healing/processing trauma, protection, changes, justice, banishing magic and help in creating spells.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟTypes of offerings:

Pearls, shells, starfish, fossils, blood, seawater, bones, dragon, snake or ouroborus themed items, sweets, chocolate (preferably dark), green tea or white tea, hard liquor, dark ambience music, blue flowers, devotional art (paintings, drawings, songs, poetry, etc), his crystals, study of philosophy, psychology and science (studying in general), lavender incense, mint incense, sandalwood incense, eucalyptus incense, copal incense, windchimes, tears, shadow work, donating to ocean conservation, meditation, self improvement, crying it out, wearing his sigil, researching about him.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ﾟFun fact:

Leviathan's most known sigil, well known as the "Satanic Cross" or the Brimstone symbol, it represents absolute balance. The two bars at the top of the cross symbolize double protection and the balance between the masculine and the feminine. The lower part shows the symbol of infinity, which symbolizes the eternal balance of the universe, of life and death, eternity and/or a double ouroborus that symbolizes the balance between the spiritual and the material.

His name comes from the Hebrew Livyatan, which means to twist, turn or coil. Nowadays, this name can refer to big animals, such as whales.

John Milton, in his epic poem Paradise Lost, describes Leviathan as “the Arch-Fiend,” who lurks about the seas around Scandinavia. He would rise to the surface and fool sailors into thinking his huge bulk was actually land. When the ships were close, he would drag them down and sink them.

In Hebrew lore, Leviathan has two aspects, male— Leviathon, the Slant Serpent — and female —LILITH, the Tortuous Serpent.

The Zohar also describes Lilith as a female aspect of LEVIATHAN, who has a SERPENT body. She is Leviathan, the Tortuous Serpent, the counterpart to the male aspect, Leviathon, the Slant Serpent. Lilith is the serpent who tempts Eve with the apple of forbidden knowledge in paradise and thus instigates the Fall. She also persuades Eve to seduce Adam while she is menstruating and impure.

According to The complete book of demonolatry by S. Connolly:

A/n: Many people don't know who he is or don't work with him and, as someone who started working with him very recently, I wanted to make this little post in his honor 🥺

[raayllum]

watching a video on Arcane ("how Arcane was always centrist - even before s2") but the definitions early on for different political ideologies is making me appreciate TDP more

For example, right-wing / conservatism is being defined as "it supports maintaining the status quo, and find social inequality and hierarchal society to be inevitable and natural. The right values order, social cohesion, and patriotism. The right is also associated with reactionary politics, which desires to see society revert back to its previous political state / status quo."

It is worth noting, then, that the status quo in the beginning of TDP is:

Humans are either magic-less or use dark magic

The border is closed/guarded fiercely

Elves and humans live entirely separately and are enemies

Xadia (Runaan) wanted to take the egg of the Dragon Prince back and to kill King Harrow regardless

Meanwhile, "leftism supports and tries to achieve social equality and egalitarianism through making radical changes to society. The left is traditionally associated with revolutionary politics, which support an abrupt, rapid, drastic change in society. This doesn't necessarily have to be combined with progressivism [...] but when I'm talking about revolutions here, I'm discussing revolutions with the purpose of making society more egalitarian."

It is worthwhile, I think, that Rayla immediately defects from Xadia's invasion/assassination of humanity in order to protect and help human princes; she understands that Runaan taking the egg back will not achieve anything meaningful beyond reuniting the prince with his mother, and that more is needed. The trio then assume the responsibility onto their own shoulders. The magic system is also blatantly demonstrated as unfair in S2, even before we know who's responsible beyond 'worldbuilding'. At the same time, the show cautions the idea that killing just one evil/monstrous individual will fix all your problems, or that punitive justice is useful as opposed to more rehabilitative justice / critiquing imprisonment as its own form of violence (great video essay here about prison abolitionist politics in ATLA, or lack thereof).

"One thing that centrism loves is the idea of gradual social change, as opposed to the right's desire for things to stay the same and the left's desire for things to change right here right now. You can think of centrism as the right but more progressive, or the left but more regressive. Centrists support social hierarchy, but with more equal distribution of resources than the right. A big word with centrists is reform, as in reforming institutions rather than abolishing them, as a leftist would say."

While TDP does emphasize that rebuilding from loss and changing the world takes decades of work, that's more so about continuing to change things and having it stick > introducing change. For example, Sunfire elves went from warring with humans to having a large human population within under two years, and the construction of an elf-human city at the border three years within the end of the war. Aaravos and Claudia (antagonists) are working to abolish the Cosmic Order and dismantle the Council, but the protagonists are fighting to stop them due to the two's destructive methods (corrupting the sun and plunging the world into darkness, for ex) while actually dismantling the council through primal magic, reconciliation and working together, etc. The show also has a positive view of Breaking chains and rejecting the past and traditions, rather than being beholden or attempting to reform them.

"(Modern) liberalism [as a part of centrism] as an ideology essentially concerns itself with the idea of freedom, where protecting and enhancing individual freedom is the central concern of politics. Modern liberalism believes that the biggest threat to individual freedom is poverty, since it limits the choices people have in life, and prevents them from living to their fullest potential. As such, modern liberals believe that the government should intervene in economic and social issues like poverty or welfare. Modern liberalism still believes in a market economy [...] and is still very much for reform and gradual change in the midst of all of this. So for liberals, revolution is a no-no, and they prefer for things to be peaceful and orderly."

Again, TDP does have an emphasis on freedom, with access to magic standing in as an allegorical 'market of resources' in many ways. The social inequality the show focuses on is humans being born without magic and the alternatives/consequences of it, the harm of Xadia's isolationism, and how Aaravos exploits that inequality through introducing dark magic. However, TDP's only concern is not with freedom or even individuals (re: the Silvergrove's collectivist leanings, 3x09's emphasis on group unity, Sarai's warning of focusing only on removing individuals as a fix to systemic problems or issues).

So while I wouldn't say TDP as a work is focused heavily on revolutionary politics, that's partially because it's not a straightforward oppressor-oppressed narrative (the way Arcane is / seemingly should be) either. Humans were expelled from their homes in Xadia to just one half of the continent (where some humans already lived, and where some elves were likewise forced to leave and abandon important sites, such as the Moon Nexus) but then given entirely free reign. Xadia left them alone, guarding only the border to ensure they wouldn't cross over and kill Xadians for dark magic parts in the post-expulsion 1,000 year interim, as dark magic can make someone powerful enough to kill archdragons and more powerful than elves/humans alike. If anything, the show calls into question the validity of varying degrees of oppression as a justification for killing/attacking civilians, which has more and more made me think about world affairs as of late (i.e. justifications offered by Israel of what is okay in the name of reclaiming a homeland) as a worthy concept more people could fare with getting through their heads, dark magic as a cautionary tale against viewing people and the land as resources only, etc etc.

I am also not, to be clear, saying that there no elements of centrism in TDP, political theory is not my primary background by any means, but that TDP presents an undeniably & primarily centrist narrative feels wonky as a claim to me, even without taking into account such an adamant rehabilitative stance, those responsible for the unfair magic system being the endgame antagonists, and with 3 seasons to go to explore things further. Even by the end of s7, we see humans returning to Xadia with protagonists advocating for the resumption of land and lives sharing (Amaya, a human queen of the Sunfire elves; Evrkynd as an elf-human city; "You can't tell humans to leave, they've built friendships, made families") and most of the pre-series status quo continuing to be upheaved by the core protagonists.

[astra-ravana]

The Rise To Godhood

The idea that we are all just spirits playing different roles, and that any spirit can eventually ascend to godhood, is rooted in many esoteric, metaphysical, and occult traditions. We find that reality is a grand, interconnected web of consciousness where spirits evolve through experience, self-discovery, and mastery of their own divine potential.

The Universe as a Stage: Spirits in Different Roles

Many spiritual traditions, including Hermeticism, Hinduism, and some branches of occult philosophy, describe reality as a vast cosmic theater where spirits take on temporary roles. These roles vary in power, influence, and awareness and are as follows.

• Humans are spirits incarnated in physical form, bound by time and space, learning through experience.

• Ancestors & the Dead (Ghosts) are spirits who have passed from the physical world but remain within the lower astral realms.

• Demons/Angels, and Other Entities are powerful spirits that serve specific cosmic functions, sometimes aiding or challenging human spirits.

• Deities are spirits that have reached a level of immense energy, influence, and self-mastery, often becoming symbols of fundamental forces in the universe.

Each spirit plays a role, but the role is not permanent. Just as an actor in a play can take on different characters in different performances, spirits move through different states of existence, evolving through time.

Spiritual Evolution and the Path to Godhood

Spirits evolve through experience, gaining knowledge, power, and consciousness as they navigate different realms of existence. This mirrors many traditions that speak of the soul's journey toward enlightenment, self-deification, or divine realization.

• Reincarnation & Ascension: Many traditions, such as Hinduism and certain esoteric schools, teach that spirits undergo reincarnation, refining themselves through multiple lifetimes until they transcend lower states of being.

• Self-Deification: The Left-Hand Path, Thelema, and certain mystical practices emphasize that any being can achieve godhood through willpower, mastery of magical forces, and self-realization. The phrase "Know Thyself and Thou Shalt Be a God" reflects this principle.

• Becoming a Thought-Form or Deity: Some spirits, through accumulation of belief, worship, or self-awareness, can transform into deities. Historical examples include figures like the Buddha, Jesus, or powerful ancestral spirits deified over time.

The Illusion of Separation: The Divine Within

The concept of monism (the idea that all things are ultimately one) suggests that all spirits, whether human, demonic, or divine, originate from the same universal source. The only difference between a human spirit and a god is the level of realization of its own divinity.

• The veil of illusion (Maya, in Hinduism) causes spirits to forget their true nature.

• Through spiritual awakening, ritual, meditation, and self-mastery, a spirit can reclaim its divine essence.

• Gods, in this view, are simply spirits who have reached greater levels of awareness, power, and existence beyond the limitations of the material world.

Becoming a God

If any spirit can eventually ascend to godhood, how does one actively pursue this path?

• Developing Will and Intent – Mastering personal energy, magic, and the ability to shape reality.

• Gnosis and Awareness – Expanding consciousness to see beyond mundane existence.

• Accumulating Spiritual Power – Through ritual, offerings, and commanding forces of nature and the unseen world.

• Being Recognized as Divine – Some traditions suggest that a spirit becomes a god when it is acknowledged, either through self-declaration, worship, or influence over reality.

The Cycle of Spirits and Gods

All spirits, including humans, demons, and deities, exist within an ever-evolving hierarchy of consciousness. Gods themselves were once lesser spirits who ascended through power, wisdom, and self-realization. This means that any spirit, through will, mastery, and transformation, can eventually become a god.