#Origins of Freemasonry

[xtruss]

The Freemasons Have Inspired Centuries of Conspiracy—This Is Their Real History

The Story of How a Stonemasons’ Guild Became the World's Largest Secret Society is Less about Conspiracy and More About Enlightenment Thinking.

— September 19, 2023 | By Erin Blakemore

The Title Page of the Freemason Constitution at the Museum of Freemasonry in Paris. Freemasonry traces its roots to medieval stonemason guilds, though its modern iteration dates to the 18th century. Photograph By Godong, Universal Images Group/Getty Images

What do Rev. Jesse Jackson, George Washington, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Duke Ellington, and Buzz Aldrin have in common? All are members of the world’s largest secret society, the Freemasons—a group whose members include some of the world’s most influential people and whose secretive rituals have persisted for centuries.

Conspiracy theorists speculate the group pulls the strings of international power and finance and is responsible for high-profile murders—some even claim its members worship Satan.

Where is the line between fact and fiction within this secretive society? Read on to learn more.

18th Century Italian-Austrian Artist Ignaz Unterberger Painted this Initiation Ceremony in a Viennese Masonic Lodge in 1789. Photograph By Deagostini, Getty Images

The Origins of Freemasonry

Though the Freemasonry movement has roots in medieval guilds of stonemasons, the vast majority of the movement’s members are not masters of stonework. It’s believed that as stonemason membership decreased, the group began accepting “speculative,” or honorary, members to bolster their numbers. Freemasonry’s modern incarnation dates to the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, when educated Englishmen aimed to commune with others and discuss issues of philosophy, religion, and life in an organized setting.

Fraternal organizations had existed for centuries, but in the 18th century, a variety of men’s groups named after the English pubs at which they met joined together in what they called a “Grand Lodge,” an association that would meet to hold rituals and ceremonies and induct new members. Now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England, the group was the first of its kind, and as membership expanded so did its list of secret rituals and ceremonies and its membership requirements.

According to the Masonic Service Association of North America, there were about 898,000 Freemasons in the U.S. as of 2020, and there are an estimated 6 million Freemasons worldwide.

Freemasons hold a Lodge meeting in Bordeaux, France, in 2008. Photographs By Regis Duvignau, Reuters/Redux

Who Can Be a Freemason?

Today, membership requirements are relatively simple: Though each group, or Lodge, of Freemasons has its own rules, in general a Freemason must be a male who is recommended by other members of the Lodge, believe in a “Supreme Being,” be of good moral character, and pledge to learn the ways of the fraternity and conform to what Freemasons call their “ancient uses and customs.”

Those customs include a strict hierarchy and a variety of ceremonies and rituals. After they are initiated into their lodge, members go through a series of “degrees” of membership, rising from Entered Apprentice to Fellowcraft to Master Mason. Along the way, they learn the language, rites, and beliefs of the “craft,” engaging in rituals that harken to Biblical beliefs . They also adopt emblems that range from the square and compass, which represents morality, the beehive, which is said to represent cooperation and work among members, and the “Eye of Providence” or “All-seeing Eye,” which represents God’s eternal watchfulness. Some of these symbols are so well known that they are familiar to non-Masons—for example, the Eye of Providence can be found on U.S. one dollar bills.

The masonic symbols of a square (virtue) and compass (wisdom) are placed atop a Bible, which is open to the Gospel of St. John, during a Freemason ceremony. Photograph By Raquel Clausi Rochina, Cordon Press/Redux

Why Catholicism Forbids Freemasonry

When they’re not holding elaborate membership rituals, Freemasons often engage in community service and philanthropy, provide mutual support to members, or work with associated organizations. But despite this charitable focus and the fact that it is not a formal religion, Freemasonry isn’t universally accepted. In fact, Freemasonry is banned by Roman Catholicism, which forbids Catholics from joining and encourages them to associate with Catholic organizations like the Knights of Columbus instead.

“Their principles have always been considered undesirable by the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden,” the Church declared in 1983. “The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.” As Catholic Herald’s Ed Condon explains, the Church opposes Freemasonry because of its secular focus and its role as a sanctuary for “those with heterodox ideas and agendas.”

Power and Panic

Those agendas have long spurred controversy because of the political power wielded by some Freemasons. Though the rules of most lodges discourage members from discussing politics, many of its members are active in political parties and government and the organization’s secrecy and vows of brotherhood have spawned conspiracy theories about its members’ political agendas.

Most conspiracy theories speculate that all Freemasons have the same beliefs and act as a body, tying in with modern anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that associate the group with a shady “New World Order” which controls international finance and relations.

Left: Seats for high-status members are seen in the Freemasons Hall of the United Grand Lodge of England in London. Photograph By Peter Dazeley, Getty Images

Right: A statue of George Washington in a Masonic apron stands inside the New York Grand Lodge Headquarters. Photograph By Fred R. Conrad, The New York Times/Redux

As a result, Freemasonry has become iconic in popular culture and among non-members who are intrigued by its shady rituals. Yet membership has dwindled for years. Why the decline? Some connect it to a larger trend among fraternal organizations and service clubs like the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which have seen steep declines over the decades. Others attribute falling membership to the movement’s refusal to recognize women despite the existence of some all-female lodges.

Or perhaps the fall is due to growing public awareness of the movement’s once-secret rituals, historian John Dickie told NPR in 2020. “I think possibly actually the issue is that secrecy has lost something of its magic," Dickie said. “In an age when it can take two minutes or less on Google to find out what the Freemasons' secrets really are, I'm not sure that they can really hold that much mystique for members anymore.”

Despite controversy and condemnation, the movement persists—but only time can tell whether Freemasonry can remain relevant in the 21st century. Meanwhile, its members say they see Freemasonry as everything from a powerful brotherhood to a chance to give back to the community to what one English member calls “an avenue for personal growth and development.” For now, Freemasonry’s secretive rituals and symbols live on—along with the influence of its best-known members.

[msclaritea]

"...In a now-viral clip on TikTok, one Christian woman takes Swift's stage performance a little too seriously.

"This is Taylor Swift's song 'Willow' where she is a witch during rituals," the woman said.

"The first video you saw was taken by a fan the other night at the concert and he says, 'yes, summon the demons b***h!' The worst part is that [Swift] commented twice [on the video]. [Swift] said: 'This is the new 'one, two, three, let’s go b***h'," the woman explained.

"So what she’s saying is 'summon the demons' is the new crowd chant that they all say when she does his witchcraft ritual.

The person added: "Then she commented laughing emojis."

Admittedly, however, Swift has previously said her song ‘Willow’ 'sounds like casting a spell to make someone fall in love with you'.

She then riffed off that notion, putting out several several witch remixes of 'Willow'.

Also, in her song 'Mad Woman' from 2020's Folklore, Swift sings: "Women like hunting witches too. Doing your dirtiest work for you."

She also referenced witch hunts on her 2017 album Reputation.

"They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one," she sings in the song 'I Did Something Bad'.

What these Conservative Christians seem to have missed is the more modern meaning of 'witch'..."

What was the best way to hide the activities of the Rothchilds families? By making those activities seem like a conspiracy.

What was Pizzagate? A Russian Psyops that mixed truth with fiction. Just look at how many Pedos are falling out of closets.

What has been the biggest thing hidden about the Cult of Scientology? That it is based on the principles of Satanism and Dark Magical. Also that many of its members are Israeli and Freemasons.

The article I posted about the producer, Ovitz, being taken down by the Hollywood Gay Mafia was written as though he were a deluded liar....just like this bit of propoganda, below. Taylor Swift absolutely does do everything this article accuses her of, while simultaneously dismissing it.

And IF Taylor Swift is not supposed to be a clone representative or 'Twinned' version of Leena LaVey, then why has she been styled and posed like the known Satanist?

[savedbyshriners]

My experience with secret societies

When I was a little kid growing up in Raytown, MO, I would be driven past a Masonic Lodge all the time. It's still there, has been for decades, and ever since I saw the logo on the building I've been curious about it. I'd ask my grandma what it was and she would always tell me she didn't know, but you don't just have a random, all brick building with no windows in the middle of the roads and not know about it.

After going through and reading about ancient masonic rites, I started to remember all the times I saw this building, so I looked it up. Of course, there isn't much on the website, just some pictures of yearly coronations and a way to apply for membership and ways to recommend "good men" to sign up for this fraternity.

This lead my thinking to Shriners (yeah, the people from Shriners Circus), whom my aunt used to work for and help with meetings, though she was never allowed in. No women were ever allowed in the room for these meetings. It was always for the brotherhood only.

My family (me, my mother and brother) got into some really rough financial situations because my brother was really ill and needed surgery. Of course, we couldn't afford these things, but the Shriners and Masonic lodge of our town actually stepped in, paid for my brother's surgery/medical equipment, as well as helped us pay for other expenses during this time. As a child, it was explained to me that these groups were very important and needed to be appreciated.

But of course, as I grew, I heard all this random, shady stuff about the Masons, Shriners, Illuminati, etc, about how it is all tied together. With having personal ties, I have always wanted to explore these avenues. The more I read and hear, the more curious I become. I'm always looking for sources to learn more.

If any one has any recommendations, please send them to me!! I'd be super grateful :)

[trashcanlore]

Kabbalah in the Worldbuilding of Genshin Impact; Part 1: The Tree of Life, the Universe, and Everything

Edited for clarity, 12/6/23

Written by Schwan (@abyssalschwan on twitter) and Sabre (trashcanlore, @paimoff on twitter)

During the Sumeru Archon Quests, we learned that the Irminsul is a (real! (ish)) tree that grows upside down, seemingly underground, and that the roots of the tree are the Ley Lines, which extend throughout Teyvat and the Abyss. Irminsul stores all knowledge and memories in the world, and the Ley Lines are the mechanism by which the tree acquires this information. Ley Lines move elemental energy through Teyvat, and this energy acts as both a storage medium for information but also a resource that can be utilized for combat, alchemy, an energy source (Azosite), etc. 

The origin of the name Irminsul (unique to the Western localizations) in combination with the many names from Norse mythology associated with Khaenri'ah, suggest that the inspiration for Irminsul is Yggdrasil, the world tree and central axis of the cosmos in Norse mythology. Here we propose an additional inspiration for Irminsul and the associated worldbuilding and elemental system of Teyvat: The Kabbalistic Tree of Life. In this model, Teyvat’s elemental energy is comparable to the creative energy described by Kabbalah as the foundation for the creation of reality and the spiritual world. Specific attributes of elemental energy can be channeled by unique individuals in Teyvat and these attributes manifest as distinct elements, which can be directly compared to the 10 sefirot, or emanations, described in Kabbalistic literature.

What is Kabbalah?

Kabbalah (lit. received, tradition) is a school of thought originating in Jewish mysticism. In general, Kabbalah focuses on the relationship between the infinite (God) and the finite universe and how it was created. The goal of studying this mysticism can vary depending on the school of thought and their motivations. Many of the esoteric and religious influences on Genshin lore and worldbuilding were influenced by Kabbalah, or vice versa. These include Gnosticism, Hermeticism, alchemy, Freemasonry, the occultist branches of Theosophy and Thelema (Golden Dawn), astrology, symbolic interpretation of the tarot (also specific to the Golden Dawn) and more [2]. In short, Kabbalah is everywhere. Additionally, its concepts are used as symbolism in several pieces of media that directly or indirectly inspired Genshin and other games in the Hoyoverse.

If you have frequented Genshin lore topics, you might have heard that one of the main sources of inspiration for its worldbuilding is Gnosticism. The problem is, Gnosticism is a bit vague or contradictory when it comes to how the world was created and how the whole existence thing works. At this current moment in the storyline of Genshin, we have very little information on the very beginning of existence in Teyvat. This information seems to be a crucial part of the “truth of the world” and appears to be purposefully hidden by powerful factions like Celestia. This entire theory was born out of trying to make sense of what little we know about the creation of Teyvat and comparing it to esoteric commentaries on the well known creation myth of the Torah (Old Testament). The “Biblical world structure” interpretation of Teyvat has been around since the early days of Genshin lore and with good reason; there are frequent mentions of the firmament, as well as the name Teyvat sounding very similar to the Biblical Hebrew word for ‘ark’ (although the grammar is a bit mangled). There are also several references to stories from the Bible in in-game texts, including Before Sun and Moon.  

Kabbalah literature spends a lot of time trying to understand and describe the process of how the world was created and the underlying principles of reality, as well as how spiritual practice can change that reality (either metaphorically or literally). Kabbalah intends to describe the “true nature of God,” which is equal to the entirety of existence, as something very vast and completely impossible to grasp. This incomprehensible infinity emits an “limitless light” that is the origin of all creation. Elemental energy (the ubiquitous source of everything in Teyvat) is often found compared to light, something we’ll discuss in more detail later. The “limitless light” of Kabbalah is way too powerful for existence to bear, much like how elemental energy is to normal, non-Vision having humans. That’s why this light needed to be “filtered” down. This happens through the process of creation, which passes the light through the spiritual attributes that form the Tree of Life, which is like a sort of diagram for how the universe came into being [3].

The Tree of Life

The tree of life and its 10+ nodes, known as sefirot, is one of the most well-known concepts from Kabbalah to make its way into popular culture. As mentioned previously, the tree has been used as rule-of-cool symbolism in anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Fullmetal Alchemist, two pieces of media that likely are significant influences on Genshin (If you doubt that HYV loves NGE, play some Honkai). The sefirot are also depicted on the floor of the Schicksal HQ map in Honkai Impact 3rd, for some reason.

The sefirot and their organization and interactions with each other can be found depicted in many ways, such as the tree format that is the most popular, or a spiraling nested scheme that is really cool, or even very stylized, like the work of Robert Fludd.

Sefirot

Sefirot comes from the root word in Hebrew meaning “to count,” but you can also find it translated as “sphere” in some texts. The term originated in a book on Jewish mysticism called the Sefer Yetzirah, or “Book of Formation/Creation.” which describes the combination of the “sefirot of nothingness” and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet as the foundation of reality (remember the hypostasis codenames?). 

The Sefer HaBahir (lit. the book of brightness, 13th century France) introduces the idea that the sefirot are emanations of the divine. Interestingly, this book refers to the sefirot as ma’amarot (sayings), which builds on an important concept in classical Jewish philosophy – the idea that God spoke the world into existence. [We’ll get back to the Sefer Yetzirah and the role of language in creating the world in a subsequent part of this theory]. Fontaine 4.2 era edit: HELL YEAH stay tuned for more about Oceanids!!

Historically, Kabbalah might have taken this rough concept from a very different school of thought: Pythagoreans or neo-Platonists. Briefly, the connection between the Pythagoreans and the Kabbalistic sefirot is that both groups considered the world as being made of numbers. This ties back into Genshin worldbuilding because of how much Platonism is related to Gnosticism. Something else to keep in mind is that Pythagoreans (who had a cool history that connected Egypt and Greece to the magic of ✨math✨ but also hey Genshin lore hello Deshret) were known to use lyres as their instrument of choice while making mathematical studies of music. More sus Venti lore for the collection? This is also interesting to consider in the context of Nahida, who is deeply connected to the Irminsul, and has animations that are reminiscent of computers.

Later in the 13th century, the Kabbalist Isaac the Blind would 'canonize' the list of sefirot (there’s still some variation to this day) and organize them into a sequence that would become the basis for the famous Tree of Life structure. His writings described the sefirot as attributes of the divine and their role in the creation of the world. In his model, the sefirot originated from lights that emerged from a primordial soup of potential, and these sefirot/lights would then ‘flow’ and emanate into each other. His student, Azriel of Gerona, expanded on this with a neo-Platonic lens and introduced the concept of the Ein Sof, the infinite nothingness that cannot be comprehended and is the origin of everything. In this model, being flows from an infinite resource of potential, which the divine can utilize through the framework of the sefirot, eventually creating the world [4]. In simple terms, the Ein Sof, which contains everything, emits a primordial light that then differentiates into the sefirot. In our Genshin analogy, this primordial light would be like extremely pure elemental energy that differentiates into elements, like light passing through a prism.

Moses Cordovero, an important figure in the development of Kabbalah, described the process of the sefirot differentiating with the analogy of light shining through a stained glass window: 

Imagine a ray of sunlight shining through a stained-glass window of ten different colors. The sunlight possesses no color at all but appears to change hue as it passes through the window. The light has not essentially changed though it seems so to the viewer. Just so with the sephirot. The light that clothes itself in the vessels of the sephirot is the essence, like the ray of sunlight. That essence does not change color at all, neither judgment nor compassion, neither right nor left. Yet by emanating through the sephirot -- the variegated stained glass -- judgment or compassion prevails. (Pardes Rimmonim by Moses Cordovero, translated in Essential Kabbalah by Daniel Matt)

Cordovero considered the sefirot to be completely independent of each other, but the later Lurianic school of Kabbalah (we’ll get into them more in later parts) considered the sefirot to be constantly dynamically interacting with each other and also assigned them personas. 

Achievement grinders amongst us may recall the descriptions of the namecards you get upon completing the Elemental Specialist achievement series:

Achievement: Colors of the Rainbow: Light can refract into countless colors, but people stop at seven because they're too lazy to count. Perhaps the elements are like that, too. Achievement: Seven Lights: Anyone can play a tune that belongs just to them, and like the dew under grass, can reflect the seven lights of heaven. 

Another example of the elements being compared to light is the Latin text found on the magic circles on the door of Mona’s future house in Mondstadt and generated by the hypostases during their missile attacks. The text reads:

Ex culmine lucis in magno elementorum, which translates to "From the peak of light, to greatness of the elements."

It’s interesting to see this text appearing in association with the hypostases since they are described as “life forms which have completely abandoned their former appearance and biological structure, making them able to reach the highest level of elemental purity. They are ultra-compact structures with a high mass, and are the highest forms of elemental structures.” The hypostasis code names are also all Hebrew letters, as mentioned earlier.

Mona’s astrolabe during the Unreconciled Stars event features a similar text:

Ex culmine locis in magno elementorum; Lux se effundat in mentes dei, which translates to "From the peak of light, to the greatness of the elements; May light pour out, into the minds of god."

The Abyss Lector catalysts contain a text that mirrors these two examples:

Ex culmine lucis in mango obscuritas. Lux se effundat in mentes abysso, or “From the peak of light, to the greatness of darkness. May light pour out into the minds of the abyss.”  

The Genshin elements are also described as flowing. For example, a loading screen tip specifically describes the Ley Lines as “A mysterious network that links the whole world together, within which flow the elements.”  The Silver Twig description states: "All knowledge, memory, and experience flow through this giant tree, just like a stream flows into a river, the river joins a sea, the sea turns into clouds, and the clouds rain onto the ground — just like life itself."

Sefirot and the Genshin Elemental System

The 10 (sometimes 11) sefirot are: 

Keter: Crown (this one is even more symbolic that the rest, is described as “the most hidden of all hidden things" in the Zohar, represent things that are above the mind’s comprehension and the very beginning of the process of turning potential into reality)

Chokhmah: Wisdom

Binah: Understanding/Reasoning

(Da’at: Knowledge, as a fusion of Chokhmah and Binah)

Chesed: Loving Kindness or Mercy

Gevurah: Strength/Severity, (sometimes Din, Judgement, or Pachad, Fear)

Tiferet: Beauty/Harmony, is associated with balance of the Tree of Life

Netzach: Eternity/Endurance

Hod: Splendor/Glory

Yesod: Foundation (as in, foundation of reality)

Malkhut: Kingdom/Sovereignty

You’ve probably noticed by now that while we are claiming that the concept of the sefirot applies to the elemental system in Genshin, there are 10 sefirot and only 7 elements (for now). Fortunately for us, the Kabbalists love metaphors and categories. In addition to the sefirot representing the procedure used to ‘emanate’ and create the world, there are other methods of interpretation that further subdivide and rank the sefirot. For example, one metaphorical interpretation of the Tree of Life assigns each of the sefirot to a part of the human body.

In some Kabbalistic traditions of interpreting the tree, the 10 sefirot are divided into two categories: Intellect (Keter, Binah, Chokhmah) and Emotions (they’re actually more like character traits), which contains the remaining seven. These categories are meant to parallel how the soul is also divided into the intellect and emotional components. The first three sefirot are also referred to as the “three mothers,” because they are the source of the lower seven [5].

Having a group of seven sefirot is very convenient for comparing their traits to the elements and their ideals, but what about the role of the higher three in Genshin worldbuilding? This next section requires a bit more conjecture than some other comparisons here.

The source of all elemental energy in Teyvat, whatever that actually is, could be compared to Keter (crown), the most hidden and incomprehensible of the sefirot. (Big stretch, but think of the crowns over the Irminsul trees in domains.)

Next, we have the Ley Lines, which contain dreams and memories (these are basically the same in Teyvat, see Dream Solvent description), and these can be compared to Binah (understanding/reasoning) and Chokhmah (wisdom). During the Sumeru Archon Quest, Rukkhadevata says that dreams are the source of the wisdom she upheld as her ideal. Memories play an important role in discerning the truth of the world, as the traveler has now found themselves to be the only person to remember certain people/events, and has been told to trust their memories rather than what they can see.

Comparison of the 'Lower' Sefirot to the Genshin Elements and Their Ideals

Chesed (loving-kindness); Cryo (unknown, theorized to be love)

The Cryo Archon’s ideal is theorized to be love, as it’s the only characteristic mentioned in relation to her in the Travail trailer. Wanderer’s voiceline about her directly mentions love and describes her as being kind and benevolent, while Childe describes her as extremely gentle. These are the characteristics of Chesed, which represents the trait of completely selfless love: the all forgiving, all giving love of a god towards their creations. When it comes to the Cryo element itself, two things are worth mentioning: one is the way that all of Snezhnaya is perpetually covered in snow, as if this were the (ironic) physical expression of the Tsaritsa’s love blanketing them. The second is the promise of a world-encompassing snowstorm that will envelop everything as the Fatui advance on their war against Celestia. Although it’s hard to find one absolute constant in Vision granting stories, it’s notable that most Cryo users got their Vision at a moment when they had to selflessly be there for others (Diona, Chongyun, Mika), or after a decisive moment where they put aside their personal comfort for an ideal that would result in benefit for others (Kaeya, Eula, Layla).

Gevurah (Severity); Hydro (Justice)

Gevurah is associated with divine judgment, the kind that punishes humanity and causes world-altering catastrophes like the flood or the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The Hydro Archon organizing her nation around a Court that attempts to judge both deities and humans parallels this. In a more positive sense, Gevurah is also related to moral judgment that allows one to tell good from evil. Likewise, Hydro in-game is often associated with purity and separation of clean and unclean matter. When it comes to Hydro Vision wielders, one common characteristic is that they all live by a personal ethical code, and their commitment to it is what granted them their Vision.

Tiferet (Beauty/Harmony); Anemo (Freedom)

Tiferet balances the other sefirot on the tree and has direct connections to almost all of them (except for Malkut). Similarly, Anemo can facilitate many elemental reactions via its Swirl reaction. In our opinion, something almost all the Anemo characters share is that their moment of receiving a Vision coincides with a moment of balance and harmony with themselves or their environment. See Jean and Kazuha’s Vision stories and the cutscene where Scaramouche/Wanderer gets his Vision. As an aside, comparing harmony to Anemo is funny because Venti is a bard and harmony is also a musical term: in music theory, harmony is the way we analyze the interactions between different voices that can be heard at the same time.  

Netzach (Eternity); Electro (Eternity)

The quality of “Eternity” in Netzach is related to victory against enemies, referring to eternity as being the most powerful combatant remaining among defeated adversaries. Likewise, in Genshin the story of the Electro Archon features many battles during the Archon War where Ei and Makoto ended up victorious. As for Electro users tend to have their Vision granted at a moment when their ambition “defeated” the obstacles of reality, as was the case with Fischl, Kuki and Lisa. Cyno’s Vision story makes sense when you compare it to the illumination of Buddha during meditation, and how this was victory over the temptation of the demon Mara.

Hod (Glory); Pyro (War)

Natlan and its Pyro Archon are possibly the most mysterious of all the regions, so we can only speculate. We know that the Pyro Archon is called the God of War, and that the Pyro Gemstone mentions battles, pilgrimages and truth. The sefira of Hod, translated as Glory or Splendor, is linked to being able to connect with God and therefore also associated with prophecy (as in the way a human can carry a message from God). In the Travail trailer, the Pyro Archon tells the traveler that “the rules of war are woven in the womb.” It's also theorized Natlan will be based on Mexica culture (where sacrifice of both enemies and self sacrifice was a way to connect with the gods) and via Iansan's name, the Caribbean diaspora version of Yoruba religion (where many rites involve the gods making themselves present in the material world). 

Yesod (Foundation); Dendro (Wisdom)

Back when we started to think about this theory during version 2.8, we decided on Yesod largely via process of elimination. One piece of our rationale was that in the Jewish tradition, each of the lower seven sefirot are used to represent a primary personality trait of seven archetypal figures in the Torah. The person related to Yesod is Joseph, who is well known for his prophetic dreams, and because of the events of the Golden Apple Archipelago, we decided that was close enough. However, the 3.x version confirmed that a) Irminsul did actually exist, b) Dendro as an element has a deep relationship with the tree, with the Dendro Archon acting as its avatar, c) the ideal of wisdom as both Dendro Archons interpreted it has a lot to do with dreams, and d) Irminsul and the Ley Lines act as the foundation for how reality is perceived in Teyvat. Yesod is also associated with biological life, as it represents the reproductive organs in the human body scheme of the sefirot.

Malkut (Kingship); Geo (Contracts)

Malkut is associated with the connection between the spiritual "above" of the Tree of Life and the concepts it contains, and the "below" of the material world, where these concepts manifest into material reality. For this reason, Malkut is associated with the earth [6]. In many Geo item descriptions, like the Geo Hypostasis drop or Albedo's elemental skill, the motif of geo trying to reach the sky is a constant. From a religious POV, the relationship between the divine and humans living in the material world has also been one of "covenants," or "pacts", in a similar way to how the Geo Archon is the God of Contracts. Furthermore, contracts are the basis to have a working state (government), and a kingdom is one of the first forms of a state. Malkut also being related to earth and everything material parallels how Geo is an element that works in making constructs. Geo Vision users are likewise involved in making or maintaining structures, like the Knights of Favonius is for Noelle, or the tradition of alchemy is to Albedo, as well as opera to Yunjin and in a way, even the Oni identity for Itto.

The Origin of Evil and Why Irminsul is Upside Down

Tighnari tells us that Irminsul is a tree that “grows downward rather than upwards,” or in other words, it’s upside down. This isn’t the only time that we’ve encountered things in Teyvat being described as upside-down or mirrored, and as it turns out, there is a similar scenario described in Kabbalah. Throughout Kabbalistic discussions on the origin of evil in the world (both material and spiritual), a central idea developed is the existence of a mirrored or inverse Tree of Life that forms the demonic realm of evil. The Zohar, a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature, spends a considerable time discussing the origins of evil - there are more than 5 creation myths for the concept of evil! Two of these myths describe the formation of an inverse Tree of Life, called the Sitra Achra (literally “other side”). This tree is constructed out of corrupted fragments of divinity that did not make it through the creation process, and therefore became evil forces [7]. Evil is typically represented as either a shard (like of broken pottery) or as a husk/shell (Qlippoth in Hebrew). Sound familiar? We actually have an enemy with this name in-game; the "shadowy husks" (the CN name for these enemies literally translates to "empty shell"). 

Unlike the very well defined 10 sefirot of the Tree of Life, Kabbalists don't agree about the identities or number of the demons that form the Sitra Achra. Some names for these demons are consistent; such as  Lilith, Samael, and Asmodeus, who make a sort of "mother, father, son" trio. As for the rest, scholars generally agree that Kabbalists blended traditions from nearby cultures depending on where they lived, leading to Arabic, Spanish and Germanic legends mixing into the Jewish tradition [8]. There's a strong possibility Hoyoverse did something similar and filled in the missing names with the names of the demons of the Ars Goetia, creating a system where the mirrored sefirot are “ruled” by demon gods, aka, the Archons. This implies that the reason Teyvat is upside down is because it is actually on the “other side.”

Neuvillette, About Us: Witness: Since you hail from beyond the stars, I invite you to be my witness as I judge this upended world…”Though we live in a world of disarray, I shall undertake to restore all that has been broken”. 

[Fun Fact: The Zohar describes the construction of the Sitra Achra as a series of knots that arrange the demonic equivalent of sefirot, called either crowns or “breaths,” into a mirrored Tree of Life configuration [7]. ]

The primary goal of the Sitra Achra is to steal and absorb the divine energy of the Tree of Life to maintain its existence, in the hopes of gaining enough energy to destabilize the system [9]. The way Genshin's Archons use their Gnoses is similar to this system. In the Flower of Paradise Lost artifact lore, the Goddess of Flowers explains to Deshret and Rukkhadevata that when the Seelie race was disgraced, they lost their connection to Heaven and their power of "enlightenment". Later, Celestia would facilitate the Archon War with the promise that each winning god would be granted a Gnosis that would give them exceptional power. Both Nahida and Venti have described the Gnoses as being a very advanced tool that concentrates elemental energy. So far, Archons have had inherent elemental powers related to their nature, but when it comes to using large amounts of elemental energy through their Gnoses, they aren't creators but channelers of it, just at a much larger scale than humans who have Visions. Edit: and yes, there is the most recent revelation about the origin of the Gnoses that is extremely relevant to this comparison, but deserves its own space to be properly expanded on.

However, this doesn't mean Teyvat is condemned. Just as the Traveler has slowly been setting the chaos of elemental energy back into order (by, for example, returning the elemental Oculi to the Statue of the Seven, among many other things), so too is there a concept in Kabbalah describing the importance of righting the wrongs of the universe so that the sefirot are stable and creation is in harmony with the divine. This is called Tikkun Olam, or the repairing of the world.

Stay tuned for part 2 where we go into wayyyyy more detail about what this means for the Traveler's journey through Teyvat! 4.2 Edit: and of course will we will be talking about the most recent Gnosis revelation, as well as the Narzissenkreuz Ordo antics :D

References:

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/170308/jewish/What-is-Kabbalah.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Qabalah

Kabbalah - Origins of the Sefirot and Tree of Life - Isaac the Blind Saggi Nehor & Azriel of Gerona

Mystical Concepts in Chassidism - Schochct, Jacob Immanuel, chapter 2

  Mystical Concepts in Chassidism - Schochct, Jacob Immanuel pg 66-67, Tanya ch. 3

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Moharan I, 12:1 via Wikipedia

The Origins of the Klippot / Qliphoth & Sitra Achra in the Zohar - Kabbalah on the Problem of Evil

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/demons-and-demonology

9. Evil in Early Kabbalah - Emanations of the Left Hand Side - Origins of the Qliphoth / Klippot

[madamlaydebug]

"The birth of the Sun (Christ) is always announced by its Star, represented by the Blazing Star (one of the most important symbols of Freemasonry). It is Sirius, or the Dogstar, the God Anubis, companion of Isis in her search for the body of Osiris. Then it became the image of Horus, the son of Osiris, himself symbolized also by the Sun." Albert Pike

"The Church abandoned the idea of the birthday of Jesus coinciding with the day of the heliacal rising of Sirius in 7 BC for a symbolic rebirth of the sun in winter. The July birthday would have shown all too clearly the connection between Christianity and the original Osiris religion of Egypt. For this was the start of the Sothic year and for millennia the basis of the Egyptian Calendar." David Ovason

[vidavalor]

Hello & welcome! You'll find my masterlist & snacks in here...

Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to my Tumblr thing. I write meta analyzing Good Omens with a special emphasis on its use of language. On this blog, we've also been decoding Crowley & Aziraphale's etymology-based hidden language, which we've dubbed Ineffable Husbands Speak, for a little while now. You'll find a compendium of posts related to that, as well as other theories and analysis, below the cut.

In this post, you'll find my meta masterlist. You can go to my original welcome post here to read more about the content of my blog. This post contains links to meta on language and characters. You can find story analysis meta here, theories here, and silly stuff over here. 💕

Meta on Ineffable Husbands Speak & Overall Use of Language in Good Omens

Crepes: Introduction to Crowley & Aziraphale's hidden language & an analysis of the 2008 minisode in 1.01 & how it shows the nature of their relationship

Fish: A deep dive into what the deal is with all the fish references and what the show seems to be suggesting about how sushi, Camelot, Rome and The Bullet Catch can tell us about how Crowley & Aziraphale first became lovers

Crowley and Plosives: Why Crowley pops consonants & what it has to do with his hiss

Non-Frozen Peas: First of two metas about Aziraphale's French in S2

Canapes: Homophony and what Aziraphale's French in S2 has to do linguistically with Vavooming and Crowley's couch in the bookshop

Bread: Ella Fitzgerald, Jesus and blasphemous innuendo

Tip Top, Thank You and Tickety Boo

The Yiddish in The Blitz, Part 2 & "No Nightingales"

Crowley calling Aziraphale "baby" in 1.01

The etymology of Aziraphale's name

Jiggery Pokery

Odegra & The Language of The Dark Priesthood of Ancient Mu

Grice: On the language in Muriel's notes

On the language jokes relating to sushi, pigs, and hat stands

Alpha Centauri

The romantic implications of the improper use of apostrophes

The OK sign's historical ties to Vavooming

"Wily and "Thwart"

"Technically"

"Bored" and "Board" and "Wrath" and "Wroth"

"Suspishous Ears"

Crowley's barely-coded "I love you" to Aziraphale in the Muriel scene

On use of "friend" in Ineffable Husbands Speak

On horses, The Arrangement and the innuendo in the 1601 scene

The hand flick that means 'couple'

The rubber duck

Vol-au-vents and nightingales

"Constitution of an ox"

On Aziraphale's magic words and why the antagonists are called the redundant-sounding Nazi Zombie Flesheaters

Aziraphale doing Bildad hands in Rome

"Quite sure"

Requested examples of references to Crowley by Aziraphale using language with feminine connotations

To "explode" a theory

"Put on the cuffs... I'll come quietly."

Flaming Sord

"Comes of putting it up your sleeve."

"The Amazing Mr. Fell"

Sleight of hand

Aziraphale petting Crowley's arm in 1827

Getting into a scrape

"Perfect" and "gorgeous"

Aziraphale booping Crowley's nose with the magic coin in S1

The Blitz, The B-Side and Baraqiel

"Perfectly safe"

The Arch Arch-Traitors, Err, Traitors Association

"Toss you for Edinburgh", salads, and wordplay around rings

Cobbler

"Come for me"

On 'The Maltese Falcon' & coded language

"Angel's Food Cake"

"You say 'potato' and I say 'eggcellent'..."

Aziraphale's hands are magic

"Help could come from an unexpected quarter"

"Will you get into trouble?"

"I opened the door for you."

"My dear fellow"/Mr. Fell

"PROF HOFFman"

On "Anthony" and Aziraphale getting used to it

On Professor Rossignol, nightingales, skeleton keys, references to the ancient Egyptian god Ra and the wordplay around freemasonry.

"Nice dress. Suits you."

Muriel and 'My Fair Lady'

Character Analysis Meta

If you're about to ask how Crowley & Aziraphale could already be together & your rationale for why they aren't is the 2.06 kiss, you should read this post

A short look at one of the reasons why Aziraphale keeps a journal

Aziraphale always open the bookshop door for Crowley

How 1827 explains why & how Aziraphale stopped changing his look

Crowley's smudged lipstick & walk in 1941

On Aziraphale in the 1967 scene and the Holy Water arc

Some thoughts on what The Serpent & the food kink suggests

A short look at Gabriel and Crowley parallels

In defense of Gabriel and on S2 highlighting his and Aziraphale's quiet depression

Shax, Crowley and the Hot Water Boiler metaphor

More on Shax's pash on Crowley & Crowley's big reputation

Mr. Brown of Brown's World of Carpets' pash on Aziraphale

Gabriel's use of 1950s-era American slang in S2

The Original, Original Sin Theory: What "I Forgive You" really means

Gabriel spending an episode in a blanket (this is not a deep analysis lol)

On how Maggie & Nina contrast with Crowley & Aziraphale

On the dessert choices during the body swap

Crowley using the evidence envelope as a frame

On Crowley & Aziraphale's paralleling scenes on buses in S1

On praise kink

Mrs. Sandwich's ball outfit & Before the Beginning

Aziraphale lying to Crowley about how he did the magic trick in 1941

"I don't think you understand what I'm offering you."

Tantric Eye Gazing

The Ineffable Husbands-ness of Gabriel's bookseller outfit

Suggestions in the story that Aziraphale & Crowley are using knowledge of The Proust Effect to try to minimize the risk of memory loss to Aziraphale

These posts contain discussion of SA:

Satan's attacks on Crowley and Crowley's PTSD

Lindsay doesn't just parallel Heaven but also Lucifer

Crowley, Lucifer & Mrs. Sandwich

Crowley, Aziraphale, possession and opera

[santoschristos]

BAPHOMET

Baphomet, which is a word that secretly has to be read backwards “TEM-O-H-P-AB”. It means in Latin "Templi Omnium Hominum Pacis Abbas", "Peace of the Father to all men in the temple."

We have to understand that when we address Baphomet, we are addressing the Cherubim that is mentioned in the book of Genesis as the guardian of the gate of Eden.

Baphomet is listed within the Gnostic Creed of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (the eccesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis). The relevant article of the Creed is as follows: "And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name Baphomet."

Crowley said that Baphomet was representative of the Babe in the Egg, or the original being, which was bisexual, and symbolized "arcane perfection" (Crowley 1997). He further says of Baphomet, "this Goat is called also Strength, and standeth at the Meridian at the Sunrise of Spring, and it is his Nature to leap upon the Mountains. So therefore is he a symbol of true Magick" (Crowley 1995).

In The Book of Lies (1913), the 33rd chapter is entitled "Baphomet." It puports to transmit Templar Grand Master Jacques DeMolay's description of God under the figure of the double-headed eagle used as a symbol of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. It also alludes to "the GOD that is ass-headed," leaving it unclear whether Baphomet is to be identified with either, neither, or both the eagle and the ass-headed figures.

In the Book of Thoth (1981), Crowley identifies Baphomet with the Tarot card "The Devil" and attributes him to the Greek god Pan, the All-Begetter. In this context, Baphomet represents the "creative energy in its most material form...the divine madness of Spring" where he is exalted in the manifested, material world — a supreme appreciator of existence and the power of creation.

The name Baphomet was taken by Aleister Crowley when he became the Outer Head of the Order (or OHO) for OTO.

Many theories exist as to the origin of the term, including:

- Von Hammer derived it from the Greek words Baphe and Metis. The two words together mean "Baptism of Wisdom."

- Many commentators have concluded that it is a deformation of the Latinised "Mahomet," a mediæval European rendering of Muhammad (مُحَمَد), the name of the Prophet of Islam.

- Idries Shah proposed that "Baphomet" may actually derive from the Arabic word ابو فهمة Abufihamat, meaning "The Father of Understanding," and associated with Sufism.

- Von Hammer also suggested derivation from the Hebrew Maphtah Bet Yahweh, "The Key to the House of God."

- Lévi proposed that the name was composed from a series of abbreviations: 'Temp. ohp. Ab.' which originates from Latin Templi omnium hominum pacis abhas, meaning "the father of universal peace among men."

- In The Amalantrah Working (1918) Crowley reached the conclusion that the name should be spelled BAFOMIThR, signifying "Father Mithras."

- More recently, Idries Shah has pointed to the Arabic Abufihamet (pronounced Bufihimat in Moorish Spanish), meaning "Father of Understanding.

Drawing design by Eliphas Levi : Baphomet (1855) Text from: Thelemagick

[reasoningdaily]

Click the Title Link to DOWNLOAD for Free from the BLACK TRUEBRARY

Click the Title Link to DOWNLOAD for Free from the BLACK TRUEBRARY

Outside of Cuba, Palo is generally called Palo Mayombe ; however, this is a misnomer since not all lineages and houses are truly Mayombe – in fact, most are not. To my knowledge there is only one (perhaps a couple) Munanzo outside of Cuba that are accepted as a true Mayombe houses amongst the elders on the Island.

In Cuba, “Palo Monte” is used far more frequently to speak to the entire body of Regla-Kongo Palo tradition. Other terms such as Palo Cruzado (‘crossed palo’, denoting heavy syncretization with other religions), Palo Cristiano (‘Christian palo’) and Palo Judio (‘Jewish palo’, not actually jewish, but simply non-Christian) deserve a brief mention. However, these are not specific ramas of Palo, but rather terms that are used to denote the degree of syncretism and mixing in individual lineages and practices.

There are many houses (munansos) and foundational lineages (ramas) of Palo Monte, but commonly they are understood to fit within three major  forms or sub ‘reglas’ within the greater Regla-Kongo:

Mayombe

Biyumba (Vrillumba o Brillumba)

Kimbiza

Palo Mayombe is the oldest and most orthodox form of Palo. The origins trace back to a specific Nkisi cult in the Mayombe region of Cabinda (NW Congo) from where it gets its name and the tradition came into its own in the caves and wilderness of the Pinar del Rio highlands of Cuba. Mayomberos typically shun away from syncretism and are extremely orthodox in our practices. The most well known of the Mayombe houses are the houses of “Batalla Saca Empeño” and “Bejuco Nfinda”.

Palo Biyumba developed out of Palo Mayombe and rose in popularity during Cuba’s war of Independence. It was the first regla to initiate people of non-Bantu ancestry and frequently worked with and developed pacts with dead spirits of no particular blood or spiritual lineage (often times to send them out for warring intentions). It is a vast regla and has many ramas and sub-lineages. Indeed, a great number of houses today are some offshoot of Biyumba. Broadly speaking, Palo Biyumba is more oriented toward the various mpungos and over time some lineages have introduced a degree of syncretization with elements of Ocha and Catholicism.

Palo Kimbisa was popular on the eastern side of the Cuban island and has absorbed many influences from Catholicism to Freemasonry to Haitian Vodou. Kimbisa likely originated within an already syncretized Catholic-Kongo religious tradition from the Kingdom of Kongo following Kimpa Vita’s Christian reform in the 18th C. In Kimbisa the mpungos are paramount and are seen as divinities and saints. Thus, Kimbiseros will venerate the mpungos and focus much of their work calling upon them, instead of upon the dead. The most well known Kimbisa rama is Andrés Petit’s La Regla Kimbisa de Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje.

The Kimbisa prendas/ngangas I have seen also tend to be huge in comparison to Mayombe. Although my elders have reassured me that there are Kimbisa prendas that are built almost identical to Mayombe as there is more variance per house/lineage than across the greater sub-reglas. It is also common to see Kimbisa (as well as Briyumba) prendas with crucifixes. Moreover, many Kimbiseros and Biymberos will make a distinction between prendas judias or prendas ndoki(those without crucifixes and containing the bones of non-baptized individuals) used to curse, kill, and other malefica; and prendas cristianas (with cross and baptized nfumbe) used to heal and general benefica. This distinction does not appear in Mayombe.

Assortment of now defunct/dormant Briyumba Ngangas on display in the Museo Municipal de Regla

Click the Title Link to DOWNLOAD for Free from the BLACK TRUEBRARY

[thewitcheslibrary]

Brief history of wicca

A brief history:

Gerald Gardner, an English civil servant, novelist, and magician, is credited with establishing the religion that would become known as Wicca. Gardner, born in 1884, travelled much as a child and developed an interest in anthropology, archaeology, folklore, and, finally, spiritualism and other esoteric issues. He belonged to a number of groups and associations relating to his hobbies, including the Rosicrucian Order, which he joined in 1939. Gardner met other acquaintances who were members of an even more hidden inner group, and they confessed to him that they were a witch coven. He was inducted into the coven in September of that year.

Several years prior, in the early 1920s, a popular hypothesis circulated in anthropological circles about an old pagan religion that had been largely eradicated by Christianity but was still practiced in secret enclaves across Western Europe. Margaret Murray, the anthropologist who pushed the thesis, referred to the religion as a "Witch-cult," claiming that the remaining practitioners were organised into 13-member covens. When Gardner encountered the New Forest group, he knew they were one of the last vestiges of this old pre-Christian religion, and he intended to help assure the Witch-cult's survival into the twentieth century.

Throughout the 1940s, Gardner remained interested in a variety of religious and spiritual traditions and concepts, but his encounters with the New Forest coven had a profound influence. He eventually formed his own coven, Bricket Wood, and began to create a new incarnation of the ancient Witch-cult, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, including the New Forest coveners, elements of Freemasonry and ceremonial magic, and the work of other occult figures such as Aleister Crowley and Cecil Williamson. Gardner's primary innovation eventually became one of Wicca's most fundamental elements: the worship of a Goddess and a God who were equal in every aspect. This was very unusual after millennia of male-dominated, patriarchal faiths!

Gardner never referred to his relatively young religion as "Wicca." He did occasionally refer to his coven members as "the Wica," an Old English name for sorcerers and diviners. However, the tradition was usually referred to as Witchcraft, or "the Craft," or "the Old Religion." It didn't become recognised as Wicca until at least a decade later, when it expanded to the United States and Australia.

By then, Gardner's disciples and other occultists had produced new versions on his idea, some of which bear little resemblance to the original Bricket Wood coven. In reality, many people in the UK who continue to practise Gardner's rituals as they have been passed down from covener to covener refer to it as British Traditional Witchcraft. These Witches see "Wicca" as something altogether distinct, often referring to it as an American creation. Gardnerian Wicca is the name given to the original version of Wicca in other parts of the world.

Although Gardner is regarded as the founder of the contemporary Witchcraft movement and was undoubtedly one of its most vocal public supporters, he clearly did not do it alone. Indeed, there are several notable personalities throughout Wicca's history. Many of his friends and colleagues participated in the partnership, including Patricia Crowther, Lois Bourne, and Doreen Valiente, as well as mid-century occultists Robert Cochrane and Raymond Buckland. Indeed, the complete history of Wicca and its growth may fill books, but the entire narrative would most likely never be recounted!

Furthermore, Gardner and others took inspiration from information, beliefs, and practices produced by various previous organisations dating back to the British occult resurgence of the late nineteenth century, and even earlier, to the thirteenth century. And those Middle Age occultists did, in fact, deal with ideas and materials from ancient civilizations.

So, even though no evidence for Murray's Witch-cult theory has ever been discovered, and no unbroken tradition of occult practice dating back to antiquity appears to exist, it is possible to argue that there was some kind of spiritual "lineage"—perhaps an eternal divine essence—strong enough to survive centuries of Christian dominance and reappear in modern times. Whatever the case, for individuals who practise Wicca, the experience is really timeless.

[vanilla-cigarillos]

Voodoo and Hoodoo: What’s the Difference?

If you live in America, you have undoubtedly come across the terms of voodoo and hoodoo. What is the difference between the two, and how does African (umbrella term) culture play a role in each?

Voodoo

(A.K.A. Vodou, Voudou, Vodun) Voodoo is a religion that originated within Africa amidst the Atlantic slave trade. Its structure comes from a mix of traditional religions of West and Central enslaved Africans (Yoruba, Kongo, and Fon). Once brought to the Hispaniola island, Voodoo saw influences of the culture of the French colonialists who controlled the colony of Saint-Domingue (Freemasonry). 

Many Haitians who practice Voodoo also practice Roman Catholicism, not seeing a contradiction between the two systems existing simultaneously. Characterized as Haiti’s “national religion”, Voodoo is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world. Voodoo is monotheistic, giving the teachings of a single supreme God. Believed to have created the universe, this entity is called Bondye or Bonié. For Vodouists, Bondye is seen as the ultimate source of power. This perception of God is also seen as remote, not involving itself in human affairs. While Vodouists often equate Bondye with the Christian God, Vodou does not incorporate belief in a powerful antagonist that opposes the supreme being akin to the Christian notion of Satan. 

Vodou also holds the belief of many beings known as Iwa, a term that varies in its translation from “spirits” to “gods”. These beings can in many ways be equated to Christian angels in many of its cosmology. The lwa can offer help, protection, and counsel to humans, in return for ritual service. Each lwa has its own personality and individual correspondences. They can be either loyal or capricious in their dealings with their devotees, with many believing that the lwa are easily offended. When angered, the lwa are believed to remove their protection from their devotees, or to inflict harm. 

Vodou also teaches a perspective of the human soul, which is believed to be divided into two parts (both of which exist within the head of a person). One of these is the ti bonnanj ("little good angel"), and it is understood as the conscience that allows an individual to engage in self-reflection and self-criticism. The other part is the gwo bonnanj ("big good angel") and this constitutes the psyche, source of memory, intelligence, and personhood. Vodouists believe that every individual is intrinsically connected to a specific lwa. This lwa is their mèt tèt (master of the head). They believe that this lwa influences the individual's personality. At bodily death, the gwo bonnanj join the Ginen, or ancestral spirits, while the ti bonnanj proceeds to the afterlife to face judgement before Bondye.

Vodou does not promote a dualistic belief in a division between good and evil. It offers no prescriptive code of ethics. Rather than being rule-based, Vodou morality is deemed contextual to the situation.

It is very important to respect Vodou as the closed practice that it is. While misunderstood through various contextualizations, it is a religion felt deeply by a group of people who use it to guide their lives. Those outside do not have the right to infringe upon said spaces. 

Hoodoo

It is important to understand that Hoodoo does not describe a religion. Rather, Hoodoo is a set of mystical beliefs hailing from along the Mississippi River with influences from Indigenous herbalism, African spiritualities, and Christian influences. Practitioners of Hoodoo are called rootworkers, conjure doctors, conjure man or conjure woman, root doctors, Hoodoo doctors, and swampers.

Many Hoodoo traditions specifically draw from the beliefs of the Bakongo people of Central Africa during the Atlantic slave trade. After their contact with European slave traders and missionaries, some Africans converted to Christianity willingly, while other enslaved Africans were forced to become Christian which resulted in a syncretization of African spiritual practices and beliefs with the Christian faith. Enslaved and free Africans learned regional indigenous botanical knowledge after they arrived to the United States, including another influence to what would become known as Hoodoo. 

During the transatlantic slave trade a variety of African plants were brought from Africa to the United States for cultivation (okra, sorghum, yam, benneseed, watermelon, black-eyed peas, etc.). African Americans had their own herbal knowledge that was brought from West and Central Africa to the United States. When it came to the medicinal use of herbs, African Americans learned some medicinal knowledge of herbs from Indigenous peoples. However, the spiritual use of herbs and the practice of Hoodoo remained African in origin as enslaved African-Americans incorporated African religious rituals in the preparation of North American herbs and roots.

Hoodoo was also a key part in black revolution in the United States. Enslaved women would use their knowledge of herbs to induce miscarriages so white owners wouldn’t be able to take their children. There were also examples of hoodoo being used to poison and kill white slave owners. The Bible itself, in conjunction with Hoodoo, was used in slave liberation. Free and enslaved people could read the stories of the Hebrews in the Bible, and found them similar to their situation in the United States as slaves. The Hebrews in the Old Testament were freed from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses (held to be a conjurer in the beliefs of many who practice Hoodoo).

Hoodoo is also a closed practice, requiring initiation for practitioners. 

[lesewut]

'Nature speaks in its own tongue.'

From the book series Secret Sciences - A collection of older and newer writings on alchemy, magic, Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, witches and devils Published by A . v. Linden in 1918 after the  Amstadam original edition of 1700.  16th volume:  Seraphinic  Flower-Garden,  selections from the mystical-religious writings of Jakob Böhme.

'Magia is the Book of all students.'

Mysticism should not only be interpreted as a significant phenomenon of intellectual and religious history, but as the awakening of the religious feeling concerning nature. Perhaps certain symbolic interpretations have receded into the background of our rationally calculated world, since everything that cannot be empirically proven is dismissed as a phantasm. But if the human being separates himself from his collective deep consciousness, he lacks a decisive possibility to (re-)connect with deep collective consciousness. Mysticism has the aim to deepen the soul for religion and art, a poignant love unparalleled in the world/s of appearances. Dwelling in a cosmic strive for connecting with God and the Divine Energy, without the profanity of manifestation in images, but in a astonishing cognitive emotionality. Through the art of inner liturgy it can be possible to trace the ontological search for the human’s home. The eternal questions, like fixed stars above the head of the dust born, have been no less relevant since the first question, and yet have not come closer to the truth, which is always in progress and false, when decorated as stored and captured. And don't we notice with every achievement how our collected knowledge is revised in the cosmic expanses? That we are almost forced to think outside the box and to regard regularity in chaos as an illusion? The cosmic rift is not only dividing humanity from the cosmos, it divided man from himself and thus also human beings from each other. In the centre of revelation, which is common in all mystic practices: learning and learning to know the self, in order to understand more.

’Be sober, watch, fast and pray that you may deafen earthly reason and make it dead at once, that God's Spirit may take place in you! When he appears, he soon overcomes earthly reason and looks at the will in fear with its love and sweetness, since then always a beautiful twig is born out of the tree of faith, and serves all tribulations and temptations for the very best of the children of God.’

'Man comes to know the Creator in contemplation of himself.'

[fellow-weary-traveler]

Morals and Dogma 11th Degree SUBLIME ELECT OF THE TWELVE OR PRINCE AMETH Elu of the Twelve

Part VIII Is it true that Freemasonry is effete; that the acacia, withered, affords no shade; that Masonry no longer marches in the advance-guard of Truth? No. Is freedom yet universal? Have ignorance and prejudice disappeared from the earth? Are there no longer enmities among men? Do cupidity and falsehood no longer exist? Do toleration and harmony prevail among religious and political sects? There are works yet left for Masonry to accomplish, greater than the twelve labors of Hercules; to advance ever resolutely and steadily; to enlighten the minds of the people, to reconstruct society, to reform the laws, and to improve the public morals. The eternity in front of it is as infinite as the one behind. And Masonry cannot cease to labor in the cause of social progress, without ceasing to be true to itself, without ceasing to be Masonry.

[hybridmindthoughtsreloaded]

The Borg is ‘B-org’, Original “Bee”. It’s the bee that they want to create for the hive; and it’s no mistake in the Star Trek series, the Borg ship was called the hive and it was squared – it was a cube, which is the ashlar, the perfect squared stone of Freemasonry, the perfect society.

There's a false idea going around that Gene Rodenberry was a 33rd Scottish Freemason. Gene Rodenberry was in fact a AMROC Rosicrucian, different type of Freemason.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/07/16/san-joses-rosicrucian-egyptian-museum-welcomes-guests-to-annual-celebration/

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

I know you guys have been waiting patiently for the second part of my Egyptian Mythology & the Gospels Post (the one about the Facsimiles)

Look, there's a lot about the Facsimiles. I'm going number by number in the Facsimiles, comparing and contrasting the Scholarly & Joseph's Translations. It probably won't be ready for another week

So, here's something to tide you over until then

Facsimile 1 details Anubis (or a priest of Anubis) performing the mummification of Osiris (or Hor, the owner of the Papyrus)

Joseph Smith says it is Abraham's Salvation from the Idolatrous Priest of Elkenah (who I believe is probably a Cthonic Deity from Ur, but I can't be certain)

This shows that this was a moment of rebirth for Abraham. Mummification prepares the deceased for their journey through the Duat (the Spirit World). Abraham's Salvation leads him to abandon Ur, and become a nomad (and his journey to Egypt can be seen as a descent into Hell, similar to Christ. And as we've seen in my last post, Abraham associates both Himself & Christ with Osiris)

Facsimile 2 is a map of the Universe, and this is true for both

It is a hypocephalus, which was placed under the head of the mummy to protect them, and guide them through the Duat

Meanwhile, the Joseph Smith translation focuses on the Temple. Kolob, according to one Theory, is a type of Christ, just like Christ is the center of the Temple Endowment. The Endowment is likewise also to guide us. And let's not forget that figures 3 & 7 specifically mention key-words, and that 8 "cannot be revealed unto the world; but is to be had in the Holy Temple of God"

Facsimile 3 shows Anubis & Ma'at bringing Hor to Osiris & Isis

Joseph Smith said it was Abraham teaching Pharaoh's Court the Principals of Astronomy

This was the hardest to connect, but I think that, as we saw in Facsimile 2, Astronomy isn't necessary literal in the BoA. I think Abraham is teaching the Court the spiritual principles we find in the Temple (Humanity is Divine, we came here to grow & find joy, and we have to live certain principles (make & keep Covenants)), using the Stars as a metaphor, which is even more hammered in by the Creation Narrative immediately following it

And, while discussing the KIrtland Egyptian Papers, I want to cover the Book of Joseph. The Book of Joseph is an (allegedly) untranslated portion of the KEP. It is a copy of the Book of the Dead

I say Allegedly however, because I maintain it was translated. First off, Joseph was alluded to have known the contents of the Book of Joseph as early as 1835. Oliver Cowdery spoke about aspects of the Book of Joseph (including the story of Adam & Eve, something called "Enoch's Pillar," and the Judgement). But, most telling, in my opinion, the Book of Abraham and the Nauvoo Endowment (the Ritual Drama, as opposed to the KIrtland Endowment, which is the modern Initiatory) were both given to the Church in 1842. So yes, I believe the Endowment was received from the Book of the Dead (and Freemasonry)

So, there you go. A super watered down overview of the Facsimiles, and a theory about the Origin of the Endowment. I'll try to get the post on the Facsimiles done by next Sunday

[uptoolateart]

Elite Symbolism in MLB

So, @raspberrycatapult was talking to me about all the recurrent butterfly symbolism in MLB - and the fact that all the buses in the show are the number 33 route when there is no such route in Paris - and both of us had noticed the giant 33 behind Kagami in the art room in ‘Lies’. She was pointing out all the single eye imagery in the show, too, which I’ll get to later - among many other motifs.

It was a fascinating conversation that I shared with my husband, who then brought up MKUltra, which I’d heard plenty about but I never really took in the finer details and certainly hadn’t applied them to my beloved cartoon.

As soon as I was thinking on this track, a zillion other things leapt out at me. They are so obvious once you get going, and I’m going to share some of them here. I bet more pops out as I watch the show, from here on out, but this is a quick starter guide.

Caveat

I am not in any way trying to sell you on a belief. Feel free to think everything I discuss here is ‘just conspiracy theory’. My sole point is that a) the creators of Miraculous are at least aware of the theory and b) they have very purposely integrated it into the show in order to propel their story and give weight to the characters. When we examine all these elements that have been embedded into this ‘children’s cartoon’, we see just how dark Adrien’s story, in particular, really is.

Gabriel

Let’s start with Gabriel’s name. It has always stood out to me, because it’s one of the archangels and a definite name of power. This archangel also happens to be held in high esteem in Freemasonry and other similar organisations.

Gabriel’s brand is just a giant G. ‘Oh, it looks like Gucci!’ Yeah. That, and the G of Freemasonry.

And you know that enormous essay I wrote about the symbolism of Gabriel dressing all in white now?? I left out the Masonic uniform of white - like their white apron. Think of Gabriel in the kitchen making those banana pancakes, in that white apron...or how about how the gloves, which simply are Masonic regalia gloves. You can buy them on Amazon, even.

This is without even getting into the recurrence of the number 33, as mentioned at the start of this post. @raspberrycatapult​ even pointed out that in the original animatic of ‘Stormy Weather’, the bus was number 34, but it got changed in the final animation. You have to ask why a detail like that matters...and then a quick google search will tell you there are 33 degrees / levels in Masonry. And why put that number all big behind Kagami in ‘Lies’? Because she’s a subjugate just like Adrien.

Now, let’s look at Gabriel’s office, where he stands at a dais-like podium on an elevated platform, with his ‘subjects’ on sunken in seats that look like pews in a church or temple. The whole floor is checkerboard. We could also get into the sun imagery on the doors, but...honestly, we could go into a whole bunch of things and I’m finding it hard to know where to stop before this post turns into a novel.

Here’s the image...and below it, a Masonic lodge, for comparison. The image has been tinted blue for effect, but in reality, the checkboard would always be black and white, to signify the balance between opposite energies. And um...isn’t that the whole idea behind kwami energies and yin-yang pairs?

I also want to note that Gabriel is positioned in a way that gives the impression of him being at the centre of two pillars. There are literally thousands of books written on the western / hermetic magical concept of ‘the middle pillar’, being the balancing way between two extremes. It also comes up in eastern beliefs, e.g. Buddhism.

In hermeticism, this is connected to the practice of cabala and therefore the Tree of Life, a structure built into just about every important building and painting all over Europe, America, and more. No, really. Remember they are called Masons for a reason - it began with builders, and they integrated their spiritual concepts into their work.

As a tarot enthusiast, this structure is also embedded into almost every single card in any traditional deck. It’s a subject I could spend a lot of time on, but let’s move on.

Eyes

Getting back to the single eye imagery in the show, @raspberrycatapult was pointing out, for example, the eyes on Emilie’s painting, and even pyramids in the design they took from the original inspiration.

I'm getting at this classic image of the Eye of Providence, of course:

@raspberrycatapult pointed out Marinette’s single eye peeking through the box when she looked into the room where everyone was dancing in masks, in ‘Gabriel Agreste’.

And like...we all agree that whole party was creepy as hell...right?? As soon as I saw it, I thought ‘rich weirdo cult!’ It was so obvious that Ms Tsurugi must be in on Gabriel’s plans. I was excited to see this proven in season 5. I’m still waiting to be proven right that the Bourgeois are in on it, too, at least to some degree. And come on. The Bourgeois?? It’s a reference to an entire class of society.

I then got to thinking: peacock feathers are known for looking like they have one eye. And whoever uses the peacock miraculous to transform ends up having one eye covered, in their costume, e.g. with a veil. And thinking of Ms Tsurugi again...she’s blind and then can see, when akumatised.

It also helps to remember that we’re all waiting for unveilings / unmaskings in this show, from all directions. We’re waiting for people to see the truth. Makes you think of the names of the first two episodes of Season 4....

Monarch

And now we get super dark.

MKUltra was an illegal CIA experiment begun in 1958 and supposedly concluded, although there are plenty of people who believe it continues to this day. Again - I’m not saying it does or doesn’t. I’m only stating that there is a definite record of it happening in the 1950s and that there are people out there who don’t think it stopped.

MKUltra was a series of experiments in human mind control, a summary of which can be read about here. There’s also this video from the BBC and a zillion other things. Be warned - this is a rabbit hole you can easily fall into for hours.

Very briefly: ‘In the early days of the Cold War, the CIA ordered the creation of a secret programme intended to find ways of mind control. They funded an army of psychiatric institutions across the United States and Canada to perform experiments on patients using psychedelic drugs, sensory deprivation, electroshock treatment and more.’

The point my husband made, which I was not aware of, was that part of MKUltra was something called ‘the Monarch Project’. Again, a mind control and subjugation experiment.

Now, without stating the obvious, let’s think about things like the akumas. Adrien and those rings. Sentimonsters. Every single thing Gabriel does, in or out of costume, is a form of mind control, and he has programmed it into Adrien via his home and even the clothes he wears. This is what gets Marinette thinking perhaps Gabriel is the villain. Adrien doesn’t want to believe it because he wants to trust. Everyone wants to trust the adults / authority figures in their lives. But for the heroes of Miraculous, this trust will be broken.

I’m also brought back to ‘Mega Leech’, when the miniature copies of Mayor Bourgeois crawled into people’s heads and controlled what they said. It has always stuck out at me as allegory for brainwashing - grooming people so much that you get them to preach your propaganda for you. This is what Gabriel does with all his victims, too. He’s not the one out there, doing the damage. He gets in other people’s heads and has them do it for him.

We’ve also seen other instances of this with villains like Despair Bear and Puppeteer. This is...a subject that could take up thousands of words. You get what I’m saying.

Adrien / Cat Noir

If you look into this stuff, you come across a lot of detail about something called ‘the beta kitten’, which is a form of sexual programming. In fact, it literally involves grooming someone into having a ‘cat alter’.

Honestly...you could read so much about it and all the ways it gets applied to celebrities such as Britney Spears. Don’t even get me started on the Britney thing. If that kind of thing can happen in the 21st century, we really need to re-think how ‘far we’ve come’.

Anyway. Part of this involves a lot of repeating imagery and symbols, the way hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming work. Symbols that appear in tons of promotional photographs, music videos, etc. Symbols like...collars and bells, mirrors and reflections.

Again, I’m not selling you the theory - you’re free to make up your own mind about it. But I’ve said so many times that Cat Noir is fully decked out in bondage gear, right down to his collar and bell. And this is for a reason - he is in bondage. He is enslaved.

I also said in a previous post that Kagami’s name is Japanese for ‘mirror’. There’s all the doubling between Adrien and Felix, Chloe and Zoe, Adrien and his AI replica, each character and their superhero or supervillain alter(s), etc. Again...we could be here all day, listing examples.

What does it all mean??

That’s a good question! I’ll leave it to you to decide. At the very least, it means that Gabriel and his cronies have been designed to represent something darker than we usually discuss. They are authority figures who abuse their fame and power to the highest degree, bringing to mind all the news stories we keep hearing about, for instance, people in Hollywood being accused of years of sexual assault.

Adrien being a model...again, I just think of child stars like Britney Spears, who, like Adrien, was completely owned by her own father. He controlled everything she did, using her to make his millions and having her declared insane so he could continue to control her after she turned 18. Let’s not get into just how disgusting her story is. My heart bleeds for her and others like her, and I’ll leave it at that.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Miraculous is all about breaking free of mind control and programming. Alya, Nino and Chloe all managed to reject the akumatisation. Marinette did it, too, with the help of Cat Noir. I suppose you could say that in most cases, love broke the spell. That’s what we need to hold onto.

There’s a lot about throwing off the masks and revealing the truth. Adrien’s definitely on his way to breaking free of the ring and overthrowing his father, which will be him overthrowing the mind control and being his own person.

So, I suppose you could take a positive message from all of this and say it speaks of hope. We live in a world where it’s hard to know who is selling us truth and who is selling lies - where we live our lives in public and are often on camera, from CCTV to selfies - where the Internet is teeming with ‘influencers’ and targeted advertising, and ‘smart’ devices really can track us and collect data the way the Alliance can. (The Alliance. Even that name...!)

But every one of us has the power to make up our own minds about things and be our own person. Every one of us has the power to throw off the collar and bell and simply be.

[madamlaydebug]

The pinecone is universally revered as one of the purest naturally occurring forms of Sacred Geometry, its pattern being the flower's evolutionary precursor, having its spirals in a perfect Fibonacci Sequence, much like the geometry of a rose or a sunflower.

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This ubiquitous formation in nature is a common type of phyllotaxis pattern, from the ancient Greek phýllon "leaf" and taxis "arrangement", which refers to the set of principles that govern the arrangement of leaves along the stem of plants.  But not only in the plant world, these same principles govern the configuration of cycles of harmonic vibrations at all scales of nature, including in our DNA and in the orbits of the planets.

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The pinecone symbol is one of the most mysterious emblems found in ancient and modern art and architecture.

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Few scholars realize this, but in different cultures the pinecone alludes to the highest degree of spiritual illumination, similar to the Lotus and Flower of Life symbolism.

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The Pinecone symbol can be found in the ruins of Egyptians, Indonesians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Buddhists and Christians. It also appears in the designs of esoteric traditions such as Freemasonry, Theosophy, Gnosticism and esoteric Christianity.

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The pinecone symbolizes the science of light and its relationship with the mind and body through our pineal gland or "Third Eye", which represents the unified awareness that directs the evolutionary energy flow. The shape of the gland has a phyllotaxis pattern similar to that of the pinecone, hence its name Pineal Gland has its origin in the word "Pinecone".