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The article contains anecdotes – either from real history and science or from beliefs that exist in the real world, and suggestions on how they can be related to the Cthulhu mythology and how they could be used in the RPG scenario.
You have my permit to use all those ideas as You wish, in Your scenario, video game, book, podcast, video, without the need to reward or mention me in any way. And of course, if You have Your own quasi-lovecraftian anecdotes, please share them.
Below is the table of contents:
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Typhon – a classic but forgotten abomination
Zeus – embodied energy
In his house underground, dead Hades waits in sleep
Apollo – beautiful, deadly light
Hermes is the gate, Hermes is the key
Erysichton – slayer of living trees, eater of self
NORDIC MYTHOLOGY
A jotun is not the same as a giant, but it can be made into an abomination
Odyn = Nodens, Loki = Nyarlathotep
Or is Odin an abomination?
Einherjers and Odin the human
POLISH FOLKLORE AND LEGENDS
Jan Twardowski – the first man on the Moon
Silent night, starry night
Church in Trzęsacz – Deep ones do not leave their own, even after death
WESTERN EUROPEAN FOLKLORE
The Monstrous German Pied Piper
Ys – Deep Ones princess vs clan of eldritch saints
Jentilak and a Christmas cutthroat
Dragons come in every shape and size
TRUE (OK, SLIGHTLY FAR-FETCHED) HISTORY
Invasion of the Sea Peoples
Greater Germanic Antarctica
The emperor out of the time
The Indus civilization
Order of the Nine Angles – sometimes reality is just as bad and mad as a horror
TRUE (SERIOUSLY) SCIENCE
Mad mathematicians
Humans like ants, ants like zombies
Halny and other foehn winds – the whisper of the wind brings madness
There is more to dimensions than dimensional shamblers
ABRAHAMIC BELIEFS
Covenant with God and Melchizedek
Succubi/incubi, aliens and a sorcerer-pope
Double faith
Stone from the sky, genies and angels
Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
I invite You to play my free RPG/strategy Dark Lord/Lady simulator: viewtopic.php?t=11904
Re: Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
Does Your country have any strange Yule time customs which can be interpreted through horror lenses? If so, please share!
It was written as an inspiration for the Lovecraftian RPG (like Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green), but I hope it can be interesting outside of this context too).
(Youtube version with graphics and audio: )
All over the world (or at least where Christianity or capitalism has spread) on Christmas, some fairy-tale character brings gifts to children. In the vast majority of places, it is Santa Claus. Poland is no exception here - or at least most of its territory. However, there are regions where a different character reigns - specifically in the Poznań region, the Lubusz region, Kujawy and Warmia (specifically in those parts of them that were under the Prussian partition), Kashubia and Kociewie, and the Bydgoszcz region. This giftgiver is known as Gwiazdor (which means “Starman”, “Man of Stars”).
Nowadays, very often his disguise looks identical to Santa's, leaving only the name as a distinguishing factor. But its traditional appearance is slightly different and quite specific. Traditionally the person portraying the Gwiazdor wears a mask or has his face smeared with soot (we warn Western readers - there is no reason to believe that it has anything to do with blackface, there is not the slightest suggestion that the Gwiazdor has anything to do with Africa). He is dressed in either a sheepskin coat or clothing made of tar. Sometimes he is accompanied by a female figure, called Gwiazdka (“Little Star”) - she, in turn, traditionally has her face covered with a veil or simply a piece of cloth.
There are other star motifs in Polish Christmas rituals. In Poland, the most solemn day of the holidays is not December 25, but Christmas Eve, or specifically its evening. This day is popularly called "Gwiazdka" (yes, like the female character mentioned above). We sit down for the evening supper when the first visible star appears in the sky. In the old Polish tradition, it is the day when the veil of the worlds becomes thinner and ghosts appear among people. The tradition of the empty plate is related to this - in addition to the plates for each person participating in the feast, there should also be one additional plate on the table. In ancient pagan times, this plate was intended for deceased relatives. Later it became a symbol of waiting for loved ones who were sent to Siberia by the Russian occupiers. Nowadays, this tradition is translated as "a place for an unexpected guest" - in the sense that no one should be alone on Christmas Eve, so this plate is in case some strange, poor person from the street shows up at the door and you can invite him.
And after Christmas there was a tradition of young people visiting houses with the big symbol of the star and demonically looking creature called Turoń.
How to connect it all – together and with the Lovecraftian Mythos? Who is the Gwiazdor? Well, its name obviously points us to a creature that came from the stars. Perhaps he is an avatar of Nyarlathotep - the giver of strange joys and the one who brings celestial wisdom? A version with a face covered in soot would fit here, which could be considered an imitation of the Black Man. Or maybe Hastur/Yellow King? The Gwiazdor wears a mask, something that is often an attribute of this creature. Sometimes he dresses in a sheepskins coat - Hastur is sometimes worshiped as the "god of shepherds" - and sometimes he dresses in straw (which is the simplest way in which poor old villagers could dress an "actor" in a yellow outfit). And if someone wants to throw in reindeer... Maybe it's actually a byakhee? And who is his veiled companion? I'll leave that to your imagination.
Let's say the children come across a book that describes how to summon the Gwiazdor. Of course, the stars must be right - so the summoning ritual should be performed on December 24, a moment after dusk, exactly when the first star appears in the sky... Perhaps the plate will play some role in this ritual? But if the ritual is successful, the children may see that the Gwiazdor... the unexpected guest... is very different from their fond imaginations. Like the gifts he brings with him.
It was written as an inspiration for the Lovecraftian RPG (like Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green), but I hope it can be interesting outside of this context too).
(Youtube version with graphics and audio: )
All over the world (or at least where Christianity or capitalism has spread) on Christmas, some fairy-tale character brings gifts to children. In the vast majority of places, it is Santa Claus. Poland is no exception here - or at least most of its territory. However, there are regions where a different character reigns - specifically in the Poznań region, the Lubusz region, Kujawy and Warmia (specifically in those parts of them that were under the Prussian partition), Kashubia and Kociewie, and the Bydgoszcz region. This giftgiver is known as Gwiazdor (which means “Starman”, “Man of Stars”).
Nowadays, very often his disguise looks identical to Santa's, leaving only the name as a distinguishing factor. But its traditional appearance is slightly different and quite specific. Traditionally the person portraying the Gwiazdor wears a mask or has his face smeared with soot (we warn Western readers - there is no reason to believe that it has anything to do with blackface, there is not the slightest suggestion that the Gwiazdor has anything to do with Africa). He is dressed in either a sheepskin coat or clothing made of tar. Sometimes he is accompanied by a female figure, called Gwiazdka (“Little Star”) - she, in turn, traditionally has her face covered with a veil or simply a piece of cloth.
There are other star motifs in Polish Christmas rituals. In Poland, the most solemn day of the holidays is not December 25, but Christmas Eve, or specifically its evening. This day is popularly called "Gwiazdka" (yes, like the female character mentioned above). We sit down for the evening supper when the first visible star appears in the sky. In the old Polish tradition, it is the day when the veil of the worlds becomes thinner and ghosts appear among people. The tradition of the empty plate is related to this - in addition to the plates for each person participating in the feast, there should also be one additional plate on the table. In ancient pagan times, this plate was intended for deceased relatives. Later it became a symbol of waiting for loved ones who were sent to Siberia by the Russian occupiers. Nowadays, this tradition is translated as "a place for an unexpected guest" - in the sense that no one should be alone on Christmas Eve, so this plate is in case some strange, poor person from the street shows up at the door and you can invite him.
And after Christmas there was a tradition of young people visiting houses with the big symbol of the star and demonically looking creature called Turoń.
How to connect it all – together and with the Lovecraftian Mythos? Who is the Gwiazdor? Well, its name obviously points us to a creature that came from the stars. Perhaps he is an avatar of Nyarlathotep - the giver of strange joys and the one who brings celestial wisdom? A version with a face covered in soot would fit here, which could be considered an imitation of the Black Man. Or maybe Hastur/Yellow King? The Gwiazdor wears a mask, something that is often an attribute of this creature. Sometimes he dresses in a sheepskins coat - Hastur is sometimes worshiped as the "god of shepherds" - and sometimes he dresses in straw (which is the simplest way in which poor old villagers could dress an "actor" in a yellow outfit). And if someone wants to throw in reindeer... Maybe it's actually a byakhee? And who is his veiled companion? I'll leave that to your imagination.
Let's say the children come across a book that describes how to summon the Gwiazdor. Of course, the stars must be right - so the summoning ritual should be performed on December 24, a moment after dusk, exactly when the first star appears in the sky... Perhaps the plate will play some role in this ritual? But if the ritual is successful, the children may see that the Gwiazdor... the unexpected guest... is very different from their fond imaginations. Like the gifts he brings with him.
I invite You to play my free RPG/strategy Dark Lord/Lady simulator: viewtopic.php?t=11904
Re: Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
Time for the new video - inspired by the Greek mythology.
It would seem that the Greek gods, so human in their forms and characters, are as far removed from incomprehensible eldritch abominations as possible. It's important to remember, however, that the image presented to us by contemporary pop culture—and even by many works of ancient poets—does not fully capture ancient beliefs. And every deity can be interpreted through Lovecraftian lenses.
We will start with the king of Olympus himself, Zeus.
In the current pop culture, Zeus is associated primarily as a mega-fucker, who will miss no woman. I propose to combine this aspect with his main role - the ruler of lightning - and create something more eldritch.
I propose Zeus as the embodiment of energy - all energy, and therefore not only electricity (lightning), but also life energy. Plato, in his Cratylus work, gives a folk etymology of Zeus meaning "cause of life always to all things", because of puns between alternate titles of Zeus (Zen and Dia) with the Greek words for life and "because of" .
Zeus influence is so strong that its mere presence causes women to become pregnant, giving birth to "heroes" characterized by great strength, aggression and psychopathic tendencies. It has been noticed that these heroes very often get into fights with the offspring of the greatest Zeus' enemy, Typhon (we will talk him in the next episode) - perhaps this means that Zeus does not impregnate women by accident, it is part of his plan to cleanse the Earth of the offspring of his archenemy... Or maybe it is a coincidence.
I propose that Hera, so called "jealous wife" of Zeus, who is known for persecuting his "mistresses" and offspring, is a being sent (by who or what?) to limit the Thunderer's breeding influence. However, while in his presence, she succumbed to his influence and gave birth to Zeus' spawn.
It happened once that Zeus' excess energy caused him to produce a new creature - Athena - without impregnating a mortal woman. She is the goddess of wisdom, and in the computer age we know that information is organized energy. Moreover, some myths hold that Athena did have a mother... in a sense. Metis was a shapeshifting Titan, Zeus's first wife, even before Hera. One day, Zeus devoured her whole. Athena was supposedly the result of this union. And again, gods devouring each other are more akin to eldritch. horror beings.
The myth of Semele is important here. Well, Semele, a demigoddess (daughter of Harmonia) became one of Zeus' lovers. Hera took the form of a mortal woman and persuaded Semele to test Zeus - if he really was a god, let him appear to her in his divine form. Zeus reluctantly granted Semele's wish, revealing himself as a thunderstorm. It turned out that even the demigoddess could not stand the true form of Zeus and she was burned to ashes, but her fetus - Dionysus - survived. Zeus placed the baby in his own body, where it matured. This story shows that Zeus isn't actually a muscular, bearded guy - he's just one of many forms he takes when dealing with mortals, like a bull or a golden shower.
A little-known aspect of Zeus is his strange connection to... werewolves. According to Plato a particular clan would gather on the mountain to make a sacrifice every nine years to Zeus Lykaios, and a single morsel of human entrails would be intermingled with the animal's. Whoever ate the human flesh was said to turn into a wolf, and could only regain human form if he did not eat again of human flesh until the next nine-year cycle had ended. There were games associated with the Lykaia, removed in the fourth century to the first urbanization of Arcadia, Megalopolis; there the major temple was dedicated to Zeus Lykaios.
And here, too, we can find Zeus not only as the master of lightning, but as the source of all energy—including life energy. Just as his influence causes women to become pregnant and give birth to extraordinary heroes, so his influence on men, combined with bizarre, cannibalistic rituals, mutates men into powerful, savage beasts.
This is just small part of the full free brochure full of Lovecraftian concepts from the real life, culture, history and science: adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-inspirations-from-real-life-and-beliefs
It would seem that the Greek gods, so human in their forms and characters, are as far removed from incomprehensible eldritch abominations as possible. It's important to remember, however, that the image presented to us by contemporary pop culture—and even by many works of ancient poets—does not fully capture ancient beliefs. And every deity can be interpreted through Lovecraftian lenses.
We will start with the king of Olympus himself, Zeus.
In the current pop culture, Zeus is associated primarily as a mega-fucker, who will miss no woman. I propose to combine this aspect with his main role - the ruler of lightning - and create something more eldritch.
I propose Zeus as the embodiment of energy - all energy, and therefore not only electricity (lightning), but also life energy. Plato, in his Cratylus work, gives a folk etymology of Zeus meaning "cause of life always to all things", because of puns between alternate titles of Zeus (Zen and Dia) with the Greek words for life and "because of" .
Zeus influence is so strong that its mere presence causes women to become pregnant, giving birth to "heroes" characterized by great strength, aggression and psychopathic tendencies. It has been noticed that these heroes very often get into fights with the offspring of the greatest Zeus' enemy, Typhon (we will talk him in the next episode) - perhaps this means that Zeus does not impregnate women by accident, it is part of his plan to cleanse the Earth of the offspring of his archenemy... Or maybe it is a coincidence.
I propose that Hera, so called "jealous wife" of Zeus, who is known for persecuting his "mistresses" and offspring, is a being sent (by who or what?) to limit the Thunderer's breeding influence. However, while in his presence, she succumbed to his influence and gave birth to Zeus' spawn.
It happened once that Zeus' excess energy caused him to produce a new creature - Athena - without impregnating a mortal woman. She is the goddess of wisdom, and in the computer age we know that information is organized energy. Moreover, some myths hold that Athena did have a mother... in a sense. Metis was a shapeshifting Titan, Zeus's first wife, even before Hera. One day, Zeus devoured her whole. Athena was supposedly the result of this union. And again, gods devouring each other are more akin to eldritch. horror beings.
The myth of Semele is important here. Well, Semele, a demigoddess (daughter of Harmonia) became one of Zeus' lovers. Hera took the form of a mortal woman and persuaded Semele to test Zeus - if he really was a god, let him appear to her in his divine form. Zeus reluctantly granted Semele's wish, revealing himself as a thunderstorm. It turned out that even the demigoddess could not stand the true form of Zeus and she was burned to ashes, but her fetus - Dionysus - survived. Zeus placed the baby in his own body, where it matured. This story shows that Zeus isn't actually a muscular, bearded guy - he's just one of many forms he takes when dealing with mortals, like a bull or a golden shower.
A little-known aspect of Zeus is his strange connection to... werewolves. According to Plato a particular clan would gather on the mountain to make a sacrifice every nine years to Zeus Lykaios, and a single morsel of human entrails would be intermingled with the animal's. Whoever ate the human flesh was said to turn into a wolf, and could only regain human form if he did not eat again of human flesh until the next nine-year cycle had ended. There were games associated with the Lykaia, removed in the fourth century to the first urbanization of Arcadia, Megalopolis; there the major temple was dedicated to Zeus Lykaios.
And here, too, we can find Zeus not only as the master of lightning, but as the source of all energy—including life energy. Just as his influence causes women to become pregnant and give birth to extraordinary heroes, so his influence on men, combined with bizarre, cannibalistic rituals, mutates men into powerful, savage beasts.
This is just small part of the full free brochure full of Lovecraftian concepts from the real life, culture, history and science: adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-inspirations-from-real-life-and-beliefs
I invite You to play my free RPG/strategy Dark Lord/Lady simulator: viewtopic.php?t=11904
Re: Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
TYPHON - FORGOTTEN CLASSIC ELDRITCH ABOMINATION
Video version:
.
Modern works drawing on Greek mythology usually make Hades (completely wrong) or Kronos (a little more) the Big Bad, but they forget about Zeus's greatest enemy – Typhon. After defeating the titans and then the gigants, the Olympian gods had to face the main boss on the way to dominating the world – Typhon. Here is an example of its description: It was larger than the largest mountains, its head touched the stars. When he stretched out his hands, one reached the eastern ends of the world and the other reached the western ends. Instead of fingers, he had a hundred dragon heads. From the waist down he had a tangle of vipers (yay, tentacles!) and wings at his shoulders. His eyes were shooting out flames. In other versions of the myth, Typhon was a flying, hundred-headed dragon. In any case – appearance and stature worthy of the Great Old One. Typhon attacked Olympus, and all the gods except Zeus fled in panic. The supreme god took up the fight… and lost it. Only in the second duel did he manage to defeat Typhon, but not kill him – he only imprisoned him, hitting him with a mountain which is known as Etna. And volcanic activity is the result of Typhon's anger, trying to break free.
Typhon equaled the lord of heaven not only in strength, but in fertility. His wife was Echidna, about whom Hesiod wrote: "She also gave birth to another creature, invincible, huge, unlike neither men nor immortal gods, in a hollow cave – the divine violent Echidna, half a sharp-eyed young girl, with beautiful cheeks, half a huge snake, a great and powerful, spotted, cruel – in the depths of the holy land. This pair spawned many, if not most, of the monsters found in Greek mythology. Their offspring were very diverse and strange, as befits the spawn of enemies of the divine order, including:
– Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon who never slept and guarded the apples that gave immortality,
– Cerberus – we all know the dog guarding the gates of hell… but not all of us know that, according to some accounts, it had not three heads, but as many as 50, it was also covered with scales, and it had a snake for a tail… so what does this have to do with a dog?
– Scylla – this lady inherited the most from the human, beautiful part of Echidna… at least initially, but eventually, as a result of various perturbations, she turned from a beautiful nymph to something like her siblings, becoming a six-headed sea beast, so hideous, according to Homer, that even the gods could not stand sight of her – she dwelt in a cave, from where she opened her mouth to devour the crews of ships,
– Gorgons – I mean, those ladies with snake hair, not monstrous bulls. Medusa was one of them – the story that Athena turned her priestess into a monster as punishment for being raped by Poseidon is an invention of later poets,
– Lernaean Hydra – a multi-headed monster with many reptilian or human heads. In place of each severed head, two others grew, and in addition, the main head was completely immortal – therefore, after chopping off the mortal heads, Heracles had to burn the stumps and bury the immortal, still hissing head underground. Hydra's breath was poisonous,
– various other creatures, such as the Sphinx, the dog Ortus, the Nemean Lion or the Chimera.
Each of these descendants has the potential to be portrayed as an Eldritch abomination in its own right. To be precise – according to some accounts, the father of these creatures (and Echidna herself) wasn't Typhon, but a monstrous, ancient (older than Poseidon) sea god, Phorcys.
How to use Typhon? Well, Typhon clearly has the potential to be a Great Old One, imprisoned by… Nodens? Some other Elder God? Weak gods of humanity? Maybe his cult is trying to free him from Etna? What if he succeeds? What might distinguish Typhon from many other Great Old Ones? I would recommend focusing on his monster progenitor aspect – if he manages to reunite with Echidna, they will immediately start spawning various blasphemous beasts in series.
More Lovecraftian inspirations You will find in the free brochure: https://adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-i ... nd-beliefs
If You like this text, please, please, watch the video version: It will help our channel very much (and You can find other similar content there).
Video version:
.
Modern works drawing on Greek mythology usually make Hades (completely wrong) or Kronos (a little more) the Big Bad, but they forget about Zeus's greatest enemy – Typhon. After defeating the titans and then the gigants, the Olympian gods had to face the main boss on the way to dominating the world – Typhon. Here is an example of its description: It was larger than the largest mountains, its head touched the stars. When he stretched out his hands, one reached the eastern ends of the world and the other reached the western ends. Instead of fingers, he had a hundred dragon heads. From the waist down he had a tangle of vipers (yay, tentacles!) and wings at his shoulders. His eyes were shooting out flames. In other versions of the myth, Typhon was a flying, hundred-headed dragon. In any case – appearance and stature worthy of the Great Old One. Typhon attacked Olympus, and all the gods except Zeus fled in panic. The supreme god took up the fight… and lost it. Only in the second duel did he manage to defeat Typhon, but not kill him – he only imprisoned him, hitting him with a mountain which is known as Etna. And volcanic activity is the result of Typhon's anger, trying to break free.
Typhon equaled the lord of heaven not only in strength, but in fertility. His wife was Echidna, about whom Hesiod wrote: "She also gave birth to another creature, invincible, huge, unlike neither men nor immortal gods, in a hollow cave – the divine violent Echidna, half a sharp-eyed young girl, with beautiful cheeks, half a huge snake, a great and powerful, spotted, cruel – in the depths of the holy land. This pair spawned many, if not most, of the monsters found in Greek mythology. Their offspring were very diverse and strange, as befits the spawn of enemies of the divine order, including:
– Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon who never slept and guarded the apples that gave immortality,
– Cerberus – we all know the dog guarding the gates of hell… but not all of us know that, according to some accounts, it had not three heads, but as many as 50, it was also covered with scales, and it had a snake for a tail… so what does this have to do with a dog?
– Scylla – this lady inherited the most from the human, beautiful part of Echidna… at least initially, but eventually, as a result of various perturbations, she turned from a beautiful nymph to something like her siblings, becoming a six-headed sea beast, so hideous, according to Homer, that even the gods could not stand sight of her – she dwelt in a cave, from where she opened her mouth to devour the crews of ships,
– Gorgons – I mean, those ladies with snake hair, not monstrous bulls. Medusa was one of them – the story that Athena turned her priestess into a monster as punishment for being raped by Poseidon is an invention of later poets,
– Lernaean Hydra – a multi-headed monster with many reptilian or human heads. In place of each severed head, two others grew, and in addition, the main head was completely immortal – therefore, after chopping off the mortal heads, Heracles had to burn the stumps and bury the immortal, still hissing head underground. Hydra's breath was poisonous,
– various other creatures, such as the Sphinx, the dog Ortus, the Nemean Lion or the Chimera.
Each of these descendants has the potential to be portrayed as an Eldritch abomination in its own right. To be precise – according to some accounts, the father of these creatures (and Echidna herself) wasn't Typhon, but a monstrous, ancient (older than Poseidon) sea god, Phorcys.
How to use Typhon? Well, Typhon clearly has the potential to be a Great Old One, imprisoned by… Nodens? Some other Elder God? Weak gods of humanity? Maybe his cult is trying to free him from Etna? What if he succeeds? What might distinguish Typhon from many other Great Old Ones? I would recommend focusing on his monster progenitor aspect – if he manages to reunite with Echidna, they will immediately start spawning various blasphemous beasts in series.
More Lovecraftian inspirations You will find in the free brochure: https://adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-i ... nd-beliefs
If You like this text, please, please, watch the video version: It will help our channel very much (and You can find other similar content there).
I invite You to play my free RPG/strategy Dark Lord/Lady simulator: viewtopic.php?t=11904
Re: Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
GREEK GODS AS LOVECRAFTIAN HORRORS – EPISODE 3 – HERMES IS THE GATE, HERMES IS THE KEY
Here You can watch video version:
Hermes is known as the messenger of the gods, which easily leads us to the Mask of Nyarlathotep, especially since Hermes is also a trickster, fond of playing practical jokes (and patronizing thieves and fraudsters), which may lead to further associations with the Crawling Chaos. But his role as a messenger was greatly expanded by believers and philosophers.
First of all, he became the patron of all kinds of travel and transport - even to the afterlife, as a psychopomp escorting souls to Hades. He is the patron of all roads and intersections.
Secondly - the messenger is a transmitter of knowledge. He was credited with the invention of numbers and letters. In later centuries, Hermes Trismegistos (Hermes the Thrice Great) was created by combining Hermes with Egyptian and Judeo-Christian beliefs. The term "Hermetic" comes from him, and it also became the center of the occult belief system called Hermeticism (note, contrary to what priests and preachers say - "occult" does not mean "Satanic").
Hermes Trismegistos was said to be an archetypal sage and magician, he was credited with authoring 36,529 books containing all the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient world - primarily the so-called Tabula Smaragdina and the Corpus Hermeticum treatises.
Hermeticism combined astronomy/astrology, alchemy, medicine and psychology - that is, it was a mishmash of mystical superstitions and (proto)science - more or less like magic in Mythos (though, of course, the real possibilities of the Hermetists were much more modest).
Interestingly, many Hermetic concepts, which at first glance sound like esoteric gibberish, have in a sense been revived in modern science. The Hermetists believed that matter was composed of four elements - fire, water, earth and air (sometimes a fifth "element" was added - will/soul/mind - symbolized by a pentagram). This meant that by changing the proportion of an element in a given substance, one material could be transformed into another - hence the search for a way to transmute lead into gold. As science developed, this concept was rejected as a pipe dream, the possibility of transmutation was considered an absurd... Until it turned out that yes, all matter consists of the same elements - electrons, neutrons and protons - so changing their configuration allows you to change the essence of the material. And modern chemists managed to transform it into gold: although such a procedure is unprofitable from an economic point of view (energy consumption significantly exceeds the value of the gold produced... but for a being with unlimited, from a human point of view, energy sources?). Concept of the four elements was somehow revived in the form of 4 states of the matter (earth = solid state, water = liquid, air = gas, fire = plasma). Another Hermetic concept was "As above, so below." It sounds like mystical gibberish about the unity of man with the heavens, or sympathetic magic... But the development of science has led to the conclusion that in fact the microcosm is often an amazing reflection of the macrocosm - the structure of the atom resembles the structure of the solar system.
So, we have a being that, on the one hand, is omnipresent, embodies movement both in our world and between planes of existence, one could say that it is a key and a gate. At the same time, it is also a source of secret knowledge, which at first glance is philosophical, superstitious gibberish, but turns out to contain bits of science that go beyond the understanding of the people who possess it. Who else but Yog Sothoth? Well, possibly Hastur, patron of wizards and interstellar travel.
According to Greek mythology, Hermes was the father of Pan, a strange creature.
Pan had the body and face of a man, was all hairy, had goat legs, a tail, a beard and horns. Doesn't this description remind you of Yog-Sothoth's most famous spawn, Willbur Whateley?
Of course, Willbur's lower half wasn't exactly goatish. The Pan's scream aroused incredible, irresistible fear among people and animals (hence the word "panic). Pan used to play the syrinx - "the Pan's flute". One day, Pan fell in love with the nymph Syrinks. And she's not in it. Pan chased her and almost caught her, but Syrinks turned into a river reed. At that moment, the wind blew and a beautiful sound came from the reed blades. The Pan plucked the reeds and made an instrument from them, which he called a syringa. A lovely story...
What is the Mythical message of this legend? What if Pan was the spawn of Yog-Sothoth, and one of the incredible powers he inherited from his daddy was to make sounds that terrified earthly beings into maddening terror? And what if it was possible to construct a musical instrument that imitated this effect... and preferably made from the bones of a human woman who had previously been reduced to terror?
There is another interesting story related to Pan, told by Plutarch. According to him, Pan lived for 9,720 years. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, sailors passing by the Echinad Islands heard a voice that ordered the helmsman named Thamus, after reaching land, to announce, according to this interpretation: "The Great Pan is dead." The sailors hesitated for a long time, and finally, reaching land near Palodes, they announced the death of the god. At these words, there were complaints and terrible groans from all sides.
Let me add that, according to some followers of the ancient Orphic cult, Pan was the creator of the earth, which he separated from the sea, and the individual elements of the Universe were equivalents of parts of Pan's body. Have they confused Pan, the offspring of Yog-Sothoth, with his father, who is "all in all"?
And of course, since we are talking about the Pan, we cannot fail to mention the book "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen, one of the precursors of cosmic horror, highly appreciated by Lovecraft.
Full text and many other Lovecraftian inspiration from real life religions, culture, history and science, You can read in the free brochure: https://adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-i ... nd-beliefs And here You can watch a video version: Please, if You liked this text at least a bit, watch a video version, it will support our channel, where we will publish more Lovecrafian content!
Here You can watch video version:
Hermes is known as the messenger of the gods, which easily leads us to the Mask of Nyarlathotep, especially since Hermes is also a trickster, fond of playing practical jokes (and patronizing thieves and fraudsters), which may lead to further associations with the Crawling Chaos. But his role as a messenger was greatly expanded by believers and philosophers.
First of all, he became the patron of all kinds of travel and transport - even to the afterlife, as a psychopomp escorting souls to Hades. He is the patron of all roads and intersections.
Secondly - the messenger is a transmitter of knowledge. He was credited with the invention of numbers and letters. In later centuries, Hermes Trismegistos (Hermes the Thrice Great) was created by combining Hermes with Egyptian and Judeo-Christian beliefs. The term "Hermetic" comes from him, and it also became the center of the occult belief system called Hermeticism (note, contrary to what priests and preachers say - "occult" does not mean "Satanic").
Hermes Trismegistos was said to be an archetypal sage and magician, he was credited with authoring 36,529 books containing all the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient world - primarily the so-called Tabula Smaragdina and the Corpus Hermeticum treatises.
Hermeticism combined astronomy/astrology, alchemy, medicine and psychology - that is, it was a mishmash of mystical superstitions and (proto)science - more or less like magic in Mythos (though, of course, the real possibilities of the Hermetists were much more modest).
Interestingly, many Hermetic concepts, which at first glance sound like esoteric gibberish, have in a sense been revived in modern science. The Hermetists believed that matter was composed of four elements - fire, water, earth and air (sometimes a fifth "element" was added - will/soul/mind - symbolized by a pentagram). This meant that by changing the proportion of an element in a given substance, one material could be transformed into another - hence the search for a way to transmute lead into gold. As science developed, this concept was rejected as a pipe dream, the possibility of transmutation was considered an absurd... Until it turned out that yes, all matter consists of the same elements - electrons, neutrons and protons - so changing their configuration allows you to change the essence of the material. And modern chemists managed to transform it into gold: although such a procedure is unprofitable from an economic point of view (energy consumption significantly exceeds the value of the gold produced... but for a being with unlimited, from a human point of view, energy sources?). Concept of the four elements was somehow revived in the form of 4 states of the matter (earth = solid state, water = liquid, air = gas, fire = plasma). Another Hermetic concept was "As above, so below." It sounds like mystical gibberish about the unity of man with the heavens, or sympathetic magic... But the development of science has led to the conclusion that in fact the microcosm is often an amazing reflection of the macrocosm - the structure of the atom resembles the structure of the solar system.
So, we have a being that, on the one hand, is omnipresent, embodies movement both in our world and between planes of existence, one could say that it is a key and a gate. At the same time, it is also a source of secret knowledge, which at first glance is philosophical, superstitious gibberish, but turns out to contain bits of science that go beyond the understanding of the people who possess it. Who else but Yog Sothoth? Well, possibly Hastur, patron of wizards and interstellar travel.
According to Greek mythology, Hermes was the father of Pan, a strange creature.
Pan had the body and face of a man, was all hairy, had goat legs, a tail, a beard and horns. Doesn't this description remind you of Yog-Sothoth's most famous spawn, Willbur Whateley?
Of course, Willbur's lower half wasn't exactly goatish. The Pan's scream aroused incredible, irresistible fear among people and animals (hence the word "panic). Pan used to play the syrinx - "the Pan's flute". One day, Pan fell in love with the nymph Syrinks. And she's not in it. Pan chased her and almost caught her, but Syrinks turned into a river reed. At that moment, the wind blew and a beautiful sound came from the reed blades. The Pan plucked the reeds and made an instrument from them, which he called a syringa. A lovely story...
What is the Mythical message of this legend? What if Pan was the spawn of Yog-Sothoth, and one of the incredible powers he inherited from his daddy was to make sounds that terrified earthly beings into maddening terror? And what if it was possible to construct a musical instrument that imitated this effect... and preferably made from the bones of a human woman who had previously been reduced to terror?
There is another interesting story related to Pan, told by Plutarch. According to him, Pan lived for 9,720 years. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, sailors passing by the Echinad Islands heard a voice that ordered the helmsman named Thamus, after reaching land, to announce, according to this interpretation: "The Great Pan is dead." The sailors hesitated for a long time, and finally, reaching land near Palodes, they announced the death of the god. At these words, there were complaints and terrible groans from all sides.
Let me add that, according to some followers of the ancient Orphic cult, Pan was the creator of the earth, which he separated from the sea, and the individual elements of the Universe were equivalents of parts of Pan's body. Have they confused Pan, the offspring of Yog-Sothoth, with his father, who is "all in all"?
And of course, since we are talking about the Pan, we cannot fail to mention the book "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen, one of the precursors of cosmic horror, highly appreciated by Lovecraft.
Full text and many other Lovecraftian inspiration from real life religions, culture, history and science, You can read in the free brochure: https://adeptus7.itch.io/lovecraftian-i ... nd-beliefs And here You can watch a video version: Please, if You liked this text at least a bit, watch a video version, it will support our channel, where we will publish more Lovecrafian content!
I invite You to play my free RPG/strategy Dark Lord/Lady simulator: viewtopic.php?t=11904
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TheArcaneWeirdo
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Re: Lovecraftian inspirations from the real life, culture, history and science
Hi Adeptus, amazing stuff here!
Some thoughts I had:
- First thing first cause I had to get it out of the way: Percy Jackson & The Olympians didn't completely forget Typhon. Percy accidentally frees him* in book 4 - and in book 5 he's the threat the gods have to fight in while Camp Half Blood defends Manhatten from Kronus' army.
I do feel it was underused. Riordan used it like a terrask - a big scary monster the real villain can unleash to distract everyone, not an actual villain on its own right. A story with Typhon as the main villain would be interesting, cosmic horror or not.
*He creates an earthquake as a last resort in battle, if I remember correctly, having no idea how big the area of effect would be, finding out only weeks later that it happened to impact the mountain currectly inhabiting Typhon's prison.
Yes, I'm unhealthily obssessed with middle-grade fantasy books. Thanks for the concern.
- While we're talking about horror and Greek Mythology - have you seen Christopher Nolan's new Odyssey movie? He has a very low-fantasy interpretation of the story - little to no gods, a lot of focus on the real-life historical processes behind the myth - but the little magic there is is terrifying. The Circe scenes were the first adaptation I've seen that fully played to the body-horror potential of the story. It's not lovecraftian by any means - it's a story of human evils, with magic only showcasing and emphasizing them - but still inspiring.
- Speedwagon and I are doing a project about Bluetspur's terrain, so we're looking for weird stuff to implement. What do you have in the areas of mathematics, physics, maybe geology? (I've already done basic research on elliptic & hyperbollic geometry)
Some thoughts I had:
- First thing first cause I had to get it out of the way: Percy Jackson & The Olympians didn't completely forget Typhon. Percy accidentally frees him* in book 4 - and in book 5 he's the threat the gods have to fight in while Camp Half Blood defends Manhatten from Kronus' army.
I do feel it was underused. Riordan used it like a terrask - a big scary monster the real villain can unleash to distract everyone, not an actual villain on its own right. A story with Typhon as the main villain would be interesting, cosmic horror or not.
*He creates an earthquake as a last resort in battle, if I remember correctly, having no idea how big the area of effect would be, finding out only weeks later that it happened to impact the mountain currectly inhabiting Typhon's prison.
Yes, I'm unhealthily obssessed with middle-grade fantasy books. Thanks for the concern.
- While we're talking about horror and Greek Mythology - have you seen Christopher Nolan's new Odyssey movie? He has a very low-fantasy interpretation of the story - little to no gods, a lot of focus on the real-life historical processes behind the myth - but the little magic there is is terrifying. The Circe scenes were the first adaptation I've seen that fully played to the body-horror potential of the story. It's not lovecraftian by any means - it's a story of human evils, with magic only showcasing and emphasizing them - but still inspiring.
- Speedwagon and I are doing a project about Bluetspur's terrain, so we're looking for weird stuff to implement. What do you have in the areas of mathematics, physics, maybe geology? (I've already done basic research on elliptic & hyperbollic geometry)
"Not all that is violet is deadly, and not all that is deadly is violet." - "S", Gaz IV, page 13.