#angel analysis

so magia record's twitter posted a link to an anniversary website said to contain hints at who its anniversary unit will be

throughout this website there were a few codes in base64, parts of a JWT token. as well, a series of numbers at the bottom.

when you go to the secret page of the site, it announces to you that you've found more hints. going back to the main section and sharing the contest-entrance tweet will get you an image with one of forty codes that correspond with one of those numbers. this is the one i got!

when you put all forty together, eventually, you'll get yourself a code. it is as follows:

O4W7TwhxYieUU8FFDPWv4FpkKnqmzRtl6TE9ps4dGWA

going back to the website, there's another sub-page called settoken, where you need to insert all the data you've found scrounging the site.

hitting set and going back to the secret page will bring you here.

the shield's ascii art is,

also, a png in text form, and when converted, you get a tiny image of akuma homura's insignia.

Occultism in Suspiria: pt. II

Suzy's infiltration of the coven at the climax of Suspiria is rife with reference and symbolism to the film. In a close shot of Suzy, we can read "Interiora Occultum" on the wall behind her, along with "Metamorphosis". The former is Latin, amounting to something like 'hidden inside' or 'hiding inside' and probably is a direct reference to Helena Markos as well as her Occult practices. Interiora is also Italian for entrails or bowels, which could relate towards the poisoned wine and 'medicinal' diet the school forces on Suzy. Entrails also figure in haruspicy (divination through the inspection of entrails) that originates from the Etruscans. Metamorphosis is a reference to Ovid, and the theme of transformation could be applied to Suzy whom develops from mere protagonist to actual heroine of the story. Next to Interiora Occultum is merely "Ascher". This is probably a reference to either Leo Ascher, a Viennese composer of operettas born in 1880, or Joseph Ascher, a Dutch-Jewish composer and pianist from the mid-19th century--this is, after all, a ballet school.

Closer to the ritual chambers, Suzy creeps past Saducismus Trimphatus, a book on witchcraft by Joseph Glanvill published in 1681. Also visible in this section is “Yetzyrah-Adam Kadmon”. Yetzirah or Yetsirah is the third of four worlds in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It is known as the "world of formation". "Adam Kadmon" is a phrase in Kabbalah meaning "original man". Again, this is likely an occult reference: several demon names are also glimpsed. Satanachia is a demon mentioned in the Grand Grimoire, described as commander-in-chief of Satan's army and who controls legions of demons. According to the grimoire, he has the power to subjugate all women and girls and do with them whatever he wishes. Nebiros is likely a form of Naberius or Naberus, whom Occultist Johann Weyer (writer of De Praestigiis Daemonum (1563)) associated with the Greek Cerberus, and said, "is a valiant marquesse, shewing himselfe in the forme of a crow, when he speaketh with a hoarse voice: he maketh a man amiable and cunning in all arts, and speciallie in rhetorike, he procureth the losse of prelacies and dignities". On the subject of 'hoarse voice', it's no surprise Helena Markos is the mother of sighs. Also seen is Lucifer and Belzibal, probably a form of Beelzebub, and mentioned in the Old Testament as "lord of the flies". Later biblical sources refer to him as another name of the devil.

Spying on the coven, Suzy hides behind a drape near a large wall mural of a flower. Nearby is Apibus--plural of apis, the Latin word for bee. The bee was an emblem of Potnia, (Ancient Greek for ‘mistress’) a title usually applied to Demeter, Artemis, Athena, or Persephone. Priestesses of Potnia would receive the name Melissa, a name associated with the nymph that discovered honey and nursed Zeus. Bees also figure in the Homeric hymn to Apollo, which acknowledges Apollo’s gift of prophecy came to him from three bee maidens usually identified as the trio of goddess known as the Thriae. We could compare them to the three mothers of Suspiria, Inferno, and Mother of Tears.

When fleeing the Academy, we also see a few phrases on the opposite wall. Elohe Hia, Elohim, Jehova are all Hebrew names of God. Emmanuel (or Immanuel) appears in chapters 7 and 8 of the Book of Isaiah as part of a prophecy assuring king Ahaz of Judah of God's protection against enemy kings. The Tetragrammaton is the Hebrew theonym (proper noun referring to a deity) transliterated to the Latin letters YHWH, usually pronounced as Yahweh or Jehovah. Notably, this is by 'Helena Markos' on the wall, as if to suggest her name is also godlike. Nearby is “Martyres Sancti” and is likely referring to Helena's coven, or at least the view they have of themselves.

Occultism in Suspiria: pt. I

Jacopo Mariani featured in Suspiria (1977) as minor character Albert, director Madame Blanc's nephew. Mariani was also used by Argento in 1975's Profondo Rosso as a young Carlo. Albert is first seen in Suspiria when Suzy first enters the Tanz Academie. Sitting in a corner reading a magazine, Albert is introduced by Madame Blanc to Suzy before exiting off screen. We later see Albert in the hallway leading to the yellow ballet room, accompanying the cook and presumably assisting in whatever witchcraft takes place--smiling for the only time in the film when Suzy is struck by the spell. 

Off screen, the audience learns from a furious Mrs. Tanner that Albert has been bitten by the blind piano player's dog, saying, "he took a piece out of Albert's arm." This is used by Tanner and the coven as reason to murder the piano player. We see Albert a final time in the coven's lair, helping during some sort of ritual when Madame Blanc attempts to hex Suzy. As the spell presumably backfires, it is Albert that suddenly turns and whispers something to Pavlo, prompting the butler to investigate the hallway.

After Helena's death, Suzy stumbles back into the hallway to glimpse Blanc, Tanner, and Pavlo dying--Albert is mysteriously absent. This could be to avoid showing a child's death; Ostensibly, Argento's original idea was the feature a cast of children but changed the script after producer Salvatore Argento (Dario's father) believed such a film would be banned. Notably, Argento would show child deaths in 1985's Phenomena.

Diogenes of Sinope, a Greek philosopher, would famously argue that dogs are thought to know instinctively who is friend and who is foe; this quality of dogs detecting the supernatural is a frequent addition to European folklore and literature (as in Christabel (1797) and Carmilla (1872)). 

The name Albert is Germanic in origin, composed of adal "noble" and beraht "bright" and is one of the few names mentioned in the film that is not directly religious or biblical in nature. Additionally, bright white light is always associated with witchcraft. Though it's obvious that Albert is a member of the coven, the seeing eye dog's attack on him insinuates a darker possibility: Albert is actually a puppet of Helena Markos. After her presumed death, the Albert persona would allow her to directly interact with the outside world without exposing her. Following this interpretation, Albert's mysterious disappearance reveals an illusory nature as one of Helena's machinations.

One other possibility is that Albert is the vessel for one of the demons from which Helena presumably draws her power--most likely Satanachia, able to subjugate all women and girls to his will, or Nebiros, who, "speaketh with a hoarse voice" and "maketh a man amiable and cunning in all arts.". 

Humorism in Suspiria: Choleric

Yellow bile (choleric) is the second of the four temperaments, associated with summer and fire, and is fundamentally ambitious yet aggressive. Extroverted and strong-willed, dominant yet easily angered, Miss Tanner is the choleric and I think was meant to be perceived as the antagonist for the first half of the film. She, certainly, is the blame for a majority of Suzy's problems, yet I think it was meant to be more of a surprise that Madame Blanc is the head of the coven (under Helena, of course) instead. After all, Madame Blanc is portrayed as quite curt and agreeable, especially in comparison to Tanner, and doesn't feature any strong framing of color until the climax of the film.

Notably, the choleric character shifts partway through the film as Suzy steps up as the heroine in Sara's absence. Tanner is featured most prominently in the yellow ballet room, and before the piano player is murdered he's seen leaving a prominently yellow bar. When Suzy decides to throw away the wine and investigate the coven, it's in a yellow bathroom and she's made a drastic change in costume to bold yellows whereas previously she wore neutrals. She does have what looks like a yellow scarf (actually an off-white color, as seen in the locker room) foreshadowing this character development when approaching the school on the second day.

When Suzy makes her descent into the coven, she is accompanied by bright yellow flashes of lightning as a second rainstorm settles in. Her exeunt is similarly guided by yellow. Most notably, when Madame Blanc attempts to put a second curse on Suzy, she's shown in yellow light when logically it should have been a red. I think that's to allude to Suzy's impending victory and to show that Helena's magic has lost its power. As yellow bile is associated with fire, it's fitting that the Tanz Academie ends up in flames.

Humorism in Suspiria: Sanguine pt. II

I haven't stated it before, but it's fairly obvious that red, and red blood, is to be associated with violence. However Argento has a tendency in many shots to figuratively attack the actresses with red.

Pat, who we learn from Suzy is supposedly wearing a brown coat, is swallowed in the red apartment foyer. We have our first major shift in color when she enters the blue apartment (which I presume to be emblematic of safety, among other things) and talks with her friend. Pat seeking refuge in the red bathroom, however, is a bad move and her death sees her bathed in red light as well.

Oppressive red light also accosts Suzy in multiple instances, notably on the opening taxi drive during the rainstorm (which I presume to be supernatural in origin) and during her ballet practice fainting spell. For Sara's chase scene, too, red is prominent and continues to stalk the character.