Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dunwich Horror"
In the Cthulhu mythos, Yog-Sothoth is one of the Outer Gods, the primary movers and shapers of Lovecraft's fictional universe. It is, in essence, the time/space continuum personified, dwelling outside both space and time yet simultaneously co-existent with all spaces and times. Essentially, Yog-Sothoth is omnipresent and by default omniscient, which makes it curious then that in some stories it appears unable to enter the physical world without being summoned. Ah well, poetic license I suppose.
In any case, I was reading one of the myriad vague descriptions of my Lady Hekate that exists on the web the other day, something particularly Wiccan influenced as I recall but still bearing seeds of truth, when I realized something. Hekate is Yog-Sothoth.
Not literally of course - as she certainly isn't a collection of soap bubbles - but she is a goddess of the crossroads, a psychopomp, and a tripartite ruler of the heavens, earth/underworld, and seas. She is occasionally depicted holding keys and such items are reported as having some special significance with her cult in ancient times. It is very easy then to see her as an archetypal walker between worlds, a guide that can open the ways between "here" and "there" in much the same way Yog-Sothoth does in Lovecraft's stories.
But it goes beyond that. She is, following the reoccurring themes of her domains, a goddess of transitions, of change. It is thought that Hekate was a major figure in the practice of the Eleusian Mysteries, a spiritual guide to the initiate, aiding him or her along the path to the ultimate goal of the Mysteries. This is certainly, after a fashion, one of the major roles she has assumed in my relationship with her. As such, Hekate metaphorically is indeed the key and the gate to higher orders of existence.
Due to the fact that Lovecraft got a good deal of his inspiration from his dreams, there are some who see him as a prophet of sorts, couching his unintended message in the metaphor of his stories. In some ways, I can indeed see this as plausible. If that be the case, perhaps Hekate herself arranged for the birth of Yog-Sothoth into the literary ether. Regardless of whether this dubious idea is true, I can certainly see the benefits of a degree of such identification to any practitioner familiar with Lovecraft's work.
4 comments:
Interesting thoughts, Nightmare. I'll have to contemplate this further, though my own conception of your Lady has always, probably erroneously, been far more closely tied to the always dangerous, potent, beautiful and primordial being I have met during my more interesting journeys into the wild.
Anyway, in a tangential way, I sort of see what you're getting at, but I'm not sure I grok how framing your contemplation of her with the concept of Yog-Sogoth would be useful. Care to explain further?
Eudaimonia said:
my own conception of your Lady has always, probably erroneously, been far more closely tied to the always dangerous, potent, beautiful and primordial being
She is most definitely all of that Eudaimonia, that I won't deny (love it actually). I noted though in your blog (right before you went back to Christianity - I can't seem to find that entry now) that my Lady "chose" you and you seemed to have a rather dark, death focused view of her. While she is those things too, that is just one side, one facet of her being. Something we can discuss further if you wish.
Eudaimonia said:
I'm not sure I grok how framing your contemplation of her with the concept of Yog-Sogoth would be useful. Care to explain further?
It's largely the identification of her as a metaphoric gateway (as Yog-Sothoth is) that I find useful, not the identification per se. As I'm a major Lovecraft fanboy I have a very good "feel" of Yog-Sothoth, of what he represents, what he is.
Greek myth, being more poetic and somewhat less descriptive than Lovecraft after a fashion in some ways - especially given the scant information on my Lady - does not give that same "feel". In the Greek sources, my Lady is at best a vague figure and so far modern sources have been little better. Now, admittedly, my reading of both Greek and modern sources regarding my Lady is not complete and needs more material added to it, but this is the sense as I see it now. Thus, the added familiarity of the Mythos adds after a sense (via inspiration as I mentioned) to my understanding of her.
Further, as Phil Hine noted: "There's something gut-wrenching, exciting, awe-ful - romantic - about Lovecraftian magic.....Lovecraftian magic is elemental, it has an immediate presence, and resonates with buried fears, longings, aspirations and dreams." I find this true in a fashion, and I believe the reason for this is that Lovecraft was inspired by more than merely his dreams. Does that mean I believe in a real Cthulhu etc? No - remember, one man's demons are another's gods.
I recall the blog entry you are referencing, yes. I had to check briefly to make sure it wasn't one of the ones I had to remove for my personal safety recently, but it's still up. For your reference, you can find it here.
It certainly is true that my understanding of your Lady tends to be rather dark, and somewhat focused on death and decay, but I do recognize that this is only one facet of her being. I need to clarify that in a lot of areas, I expect. As a quick caveat, of course, I tend to consider the concepts of "darkness" and "lightness" as matters of perception.
Regardless, I would be delighted to discuss this further with you.
I appreciate your clarification, and can see why you might find the use of this metaphoric framework useful. For my own part, I tend to work very well with poetics, but we are all wired in different ways. In this, as in all things, I am a pragmatist: if it works, go with it, and the metaphor certainly is powerful.
As well, I appreciate the quote from Phil Hine.
Thanks for that link Eudaimonia - I found that entry of yours rather beautiful when I saw it (tried to comment too, but for some reason or another it didn't take).
Eudaimonia said...
As a quick caveat, of course, I tend to consider the concepts of "darkness" and "lightness" as matters of perception.
But of course.
Regardless, I would be delighted to discuss this further with you.
Any time your wish dear ;)
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