#Machina Daemonum

[manfrommars2049]

SR-71 Beast [Machina Daemonum] by MechMonster via ImaginaryAviation

[kvlt-ov-romance-blog]

Devilman Crybaby and the Occult: A Brief Examination

Akira as Lucifer

Akira in Japanese typically means “bright” or “clear,” primarily in the context of intellect. But if these concepts are applied to the matter of literal brightness, as in lightness, then Akira can be thought of as a representation of Lucifer. Specifically, in the sense that he is the “light bringer.” Lucifer typically is thought of as meaning “devil” but in actuality, the word translates in Latin Vulgate as “morning star,” or “the planet Venus” (the brightest planet) or of course, “light bringing.”

In many Gnostic, Luciferian and other esoteric schools of thought and occult ideology, Lucifer is not a figure of evil but instead he represents the principle of inner enlightenment, a guiding cosmic force of lightness. Another interesting fact is that phosphorus happens to mean “light bringer” in Greek,” and is a substance naturally occurring within all of our DNA – Luciferians argue that the power for spiritual growth and enlightenment comes not so much from external sources such as "God" in the orthodox way, but primarily from within us, recognizing our own abilities and powers.

This information does not come close to the rich history of Lucifer’s true identity but it offers us some fascinating insight into the realm of Devilman Crybaby. As mentioned, Akira can be thought of as “bright” (the connotation with the planet Venus implies he is found of things of beauty, peace, love) and as a light bringer in the sense that he is trying to bring forth change and illumination for a world in desperate need of a savior figure. Luciferianism emphasizes rebellion at cruelty and the intolerance of injustice as well, something which Akira understands and embodies perfectly.

His constant crying, his empathy, his emotionalism, this all grants him a sense of connectivity to humanity, even though once the truth of his identity is revealed the majority of the world still despises him. This is similar to the literal story of Lucifer, in that his identity has been proven to be based largely on fallacies and misconceptions, mistranslated scripture, and superstition, and yet nevertheless Lucifer seems doomed to forever bear humankind’s fear and loathing, much like Akira. There are a number of ways that Lucifer and Christ can be compared in these regards as well and by the time the series ends, Akira himself is forced into a state of what could be qualified as martyrdom.

Additionally, one of the most perplexing things to think about is that Ryo – who is truly Satan – finds Akira to be such a powerful and important figure in his life. In a sense, Akira is the light and brightness of his life: His role in Ryo’s life grants him purpose, it enlightens him into his true form, and so forth. Akira is Ryo’s Lucifer, essentially. This may sound confusing at first but bear in mind these points: 1). Lucifer and Satan are not necessarily the same person, 2). Much like many are familiar with the concepts of beings having the capacity for both good and evil or “God and Satan,” beings have the potential for Lucifer to enter their essence as well. And furthermore, another matter of interest is that some sources have speculated Lucifer and Satan to actually be two sides of the same being: Lucifer represents the spiritual, and Satan represents the earthly – this is similar to say, the holy trinity wherein multiple beings are actually one in the same. This would mean that Akira and Ryo are essentially the same entity.

To really make sense of these theories, one must dive deep into biblical lore, etymology, anthropological history,  and occultism, and must be willing to keep an open mind. In actuality, the story of Lucifer is fundamentally simple but has been made incredibly convoluted over the years thanks to fear mongering, religious bigotry, and a myriad of other errors in human judgment. If you would like to know more on the nature of Lucifer, or further elaboration on the connection I perceive between Akira and Ryo, feel free to comment! In the meantime, I suggest “Lucifer: Princeps” by Peter Grey.

The Demons

The demons throughout the entire series are primarily based off of real spirits associated with demonology. Some date back all the way to the early ages of the clash between Abrahamic religions and ancient Paganism, some pertain to middle ages, etc. In particular, we have The Keys of Solomon to examine. The Key of Solomon itself is known as Clavicula Salomonis in Hebrew, and it is one of the most important examples of Renaissance era magick – from here, the more infamous Lesser Key of Solomon, or the Clavicula Salomonis Regis, was believed to have been written in the 17th century.

Both books deal with magical operations influenced from Jewish Kabbalah, pertaining to workings with various different spirits, but The Lesser Key in particular is known for one of its five different segments: The Ars Goetia. The Goetia bases itself on pre-existing sources of information on demons such as the PseudodomonarchaDaemonum (1577) and it offers rankings, information, and general descriptions of the 72 major demons. Each demon has their own ability, and they are divided into categories such as King, Duke, Prince, Marquis, President, Count, etc.

Demons are not limited to these sources, and many demons or demon-like spirits exist separate from the Goetia (e.g. the Djinns of Arabic spirituality). Further, the issue of whether or not demons are inherently evil is widely debated and much of it goes back to the matter of linguistics. In another article I wrote about demonology (linked below) you’ll see what I mean more clearly, but the key thing to remember is that a “daemon” simply means a wise, intelligent spirit. The evil spirits we are familiar with as demons were either developed as early Christianity’s opposition to “Pagan” idols (e.g. Baal became an honorific title of Lord into one of the most well known demons, Beelzebub became “lord of all that flies” into “lord of the flies”).

In Devilman Crybaby, there are a whole lot of demons. I will not be addressing all of them, but chief among them is Amon, the demon which merges with Akira. Amon is considered in magical lore to be a Marquis of Hell, governing 40 legions of spirits and as described in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum:" [He] is a great and mighty marques, and commeth abroad in the likeness of a Wolf, having a serpents tail, [vomiting] flames of fire; when he putteth on the shape of a man, he sheweth out dogs teeth, and a great head like to a mighty [nighthawk]; he is the strongest prince of all other, and understandeth of all things past and to come, he procureth favor, and reconcileth both friends and foes, and ruleth forthy legions of devil.”

And by S.L. MacGregor Mathers in the his translation of the Goetia: "The Seventh Spirit is Amon He is a Marquis great in power, and most stern. He appeareth like a Wolf with a Serpent's tail, vomiting out of his mouth flames of fire; but at the command of the Magician he putteth on the shape of a Man with Dog's teeth beset in a head like a Raven; or else like a Man with a Raven's head (simply). He telleth all things Past and to Come. He procureth feuds and reconcileth controversies between friends. He governeth 40 Legions of Spirits.” Amon also shares a connection with the Egyptian god, Amun.

Less obvious references are made, sometimes in the form changed spellings. For instance, Kaim instantly reminded me of the demon Caim, a blackbird said to have knowledge of rhetoric, wisdom, and the ability to understand certain animals. Some other demonic figures that appear throughout the series – not so much the new adaptation – include Pazuzu, Lilith and Beelzebub, which shows that the series is not limiting its demonic lore to merely one source (i.e. Pazuzu pertains to Mesopotamian religion whereas Lilith for instance pertains to Hebrew sources of wisdom).

Where is God? And What About the Cycle of Life/Samsara?

This is a tricky one to pinpoint, because the more you attempt to wrap your head around all the different theories, the more you will be left wondering how certain things could have happened, what the nature of God truly is, and so forth. There is a lot of biblical inaccuracy to the show, but in comparison to Gnosticism and other ancient ideologies, God’s role actually makes more sense from these perspectives. For example, some Gnostic sects believe it was the Demiurge who created this world as a sort of “prison,” rather than God representing an all loving and benevolent force. But in the context of Devilman Crybaby, I would say the best explanation we have regarding his absence is the concept of Deus Absconditus which means “[A] god who in his remoteness seems to ignore human suffering,” or similarly, Deus Otiosus which means that God is idle and no longer involved in humanity’s concerns. Theories like these have broad implications with esoteric Christianity and other religions, and so it is hard to gauge how true they may be for Devilman Crybaby. One thing is for sure, the classical concept of Deus Ex Machina never occurs in the show, which does give more credibility to the idea that God may simply not care, be idle, or at the least, His plan is one that we the audience are not made aware of.

Another possible theory is that Satan himself is God. Utilizing a solipsistic framework, similar to what we see Shinji Ikari go through at the End of Evangelion, we see Satan completely and utterly alone in the world. He seems to have complete control over just about everything except for Akira’s death and his feelings. But if he himself were in fact God, could he not choose to end things right then and there. Evidence for this comes in the fact that, ironically, the creators held very true to biblical descriptions of Satan as being the most beautiful, initial, favorite, and most beloved being of God. The fact that he was so much immense power. And the fact that Ryo essentially must awaken to his higher self as Satan is symbolic of the one becoming a God and/or one realizing they are living in a solipsistic world. Solipsism is essentially the idea that you cannot prove anything or anyone outside of you truly exists, that you yourself may be represent the universe and all else is merely an illusion, speculation, or incapable of ever being seen as absolutely certain. If Satan were to have all of these traits, in some aspect, could this not make him a God of sorts? Upon realizing it, he chooses to kill himself and the world and begin the cycle all over again – notice the wheels within wheels that constantly appear during the explosions, these are in my opinion, references to the angelic visions of God’s chariot that the prophet Ezekiel saw.

So basically, Satan is willing himself into another incarnation (I believe that reincarnation applies more to this show due to the fact that Ryo awoke to a past life, as opposed to the idea that by destroying the cycle of life, death, rebirth – samsara – then everything would simply end for all eternity). It seems as though Ryo/Satan enjoys mind games, puzzles, challenges, etc. and so what better challenge than to repeat the process of rediscovering one’s true existence? Or, perhaps Akira represents God and in his final moments on screen, we are witnessing Satan’s ultimate punishment. The idea of Hell is an incredibly complex one, but the main point in Christian scripture is that it is a place in which there is only the absence of God – if Akira represented God and now is lost forever, this serves as Satan’s eternal suffering; God has abandoned him.

Miki the Witch/Color Theory

Miki is frequently referred to as a witch on numerous occasions, and at first we take it primarily as a bad joke based out of ignorance and fear. She certainly possesses some interesting traits such as her speed and agility, but is she really a witch? The answer to that, in my opinion, depends on how you look at things. During the witch trials that took place throughout Europe and of course Salem, women were accused of witchcraft for the slightest of “misbehavior.” Women who were particularly good at something on their own were very much victims of this curse; it was believed often times, a woman simply could not perform abilities of any kind to such excellence without the aid of magic, devils and demons, and so forth.

But in Miki’s case, I think one of the more subtle elements of this matter has to do with her clothing choices. In many scenes, she is wearing green. Green is actually quite an important color in witchcraft, Paganism, alchemy, you name it. It is the color of the heart chakra – Miki representing much of Akira’s love and devotion, his heart. It is associated with the zodiac sign of The Mother Goddess, a figure of Wicca and other Neo-Pagan beliefs who brings forth peace, fertility, prosperity, abundance, luck and deals with matters pertaining to envy, changing attitudes, the environment, and so forth. More “ominously” if such is to be believed, green does carry a more “Satanic” principle of to itself – as explained even in classic anime such as Belladonna of Sadness, it is a symbol for power (green = the color of nature, nature being Satan’s forest in some mythological/religious lore). Other theories – whether as overt as Satanism and witchcraft or more benign such as Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist conceptions of colors can be applied to Miki

Color theory is important to bear in mind when examining all of the characters and scenes as well. For instance, the variety of colors that appears during the Sabbath could perhaps be reflective of a third eye awakening/demonic transformation/etc. As each color represents the seven chakras. The white and black dichotomy between Akira and Ryo is also one that clearly conjures forth images of duality such as the famous yin and yang symbol.

Conclusion

This is merely a short list meant to open the discussion on the new adaptations of Devilman Crybaby and how different realms of spirituality, the occult, the supernatural, religion, faith, and so much more play a larger role in shaping the development of things than you may realize. There are other examples to work with: Akira attempting to pass Ryo the torch and him neglecting it could be a sign of rejecting Lucifer/Christ/some sort of savior figure, it could even be thought of as something more symbolic of phallic imagery with regards to a sort of “creation” origin or the relationship between Ryo and Akira themselves. Everyone seems to be running, runners usually go at the start of gun’s loud bang; the big bang perhaps? Some things may seem like reaching, but just keep calm and think, do research, and come up with your own conclusions, there is more than meets the eye to Devilman Crybaby. Occultism pertains to that which is hidden, so it is up to the viewer to figure these sorts of things out. Also worth mentioning, the subject of will Aleister Crowley is known for the development of Thelema, which states that the purpose of life essentially to discover and fulfill one’s true will. How might this relate to the characters for instance? Again, there are a lot of starting points to go off of here, these are just springboards and suggestions.

Post this however you would like, if you’d like to make any YouTube videos inspired by these subjects just please credit me, Kvlt ov Romance in the description.

My post on demonology.