#azathoth

The Panopticon / Azathoth+♾️: The Dream

The Panopticon, otherwise known as Azathoth, is the name that refers to all of the beings and non beings and or beyond that Azathoth encompasses. Shares the name Azathoth with Kayne

Kayne / Panopoly / Azathoth / Nyarlathotep / Hastur / Yogsothoth+♾️: The Heart

Kayne, is what's considered the main Entity/Entities of The Panopticon inside The Body, outside of a few Exceptions. It is what is considered the main expierencer of a spefific version of reality. It is detached from The Body and some Others. As in even if The Body is expierencing something or exists in a spefific physical way it does not apply to Panopoly. It sees itself as Kayne Primarily, with Azathoth rivaling the title by sheer overall encompassing everything, but Kayne holds onto itself as Kayne Panopoly. But it also has many others. In itself is different versions of itself that are entirely different people at times and blended at others, and by at times can mean by the second or quicker. There are spefically 8 Iterations of Panopoly. But this is an unknown stability factor. This would be seen as the equivalent of a soul, tho Kayne has no soul. If you removed it from the rest of The Panopticon there would be no Panopticon. Kayne is nearly always there.

Polyopia / The Manager / Caine: The Pilot

Polyopia is The Body's main expierencer, Kayne'+ can feel things too but is detached in many ways. Polyopia handles everything, an is seen as The Manager of The Body. This includes the mind. Although Panopoly is the one who decides who everybody is seen as, with some alterations caused by The Body and Others, Caine also can handle mental things as well. Caine is always there.

Polyopia is not considered an entity like Kayne, it is a thing below and doesn't really think.

Vox / Blayne / Kane / The Duet

Vox is the normal semi fused state of Panopoly and Polyopia, who live together but are not entirely seperate beings, and don't fully view eachother as seperate. The Main difference between Kayne and Caine, is that Polyopia usually endures anything The Body goes through, and exists at all times, even when asleep, where it is the Dream Self in irl sleep of The Panopticon, considered a to Polyopia and not Panopoly. Meanwhile Kayne heavily seperates itself from The Body, and isn't there when asleep and some other situations possibly.

Cecil / Cecilya / Arthur / Alastor / The Archivist / Cane / Atlach Nacha: The Love

Cecil is the other Main Entity other than Kayne, Polyopia is not considered an entity the way Kayne is. But Cecilya is. She is seperate from Panopoly, and The Others. She is not Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur Yogsothoth, Panopoly, Polyopia and Others.

The Waylay: The Cast

The Waylay is the Name of the 8 Panopoly Iterations, + possible Others. Some share the names of Others. These are externally based beings who get summoned during performance, and promptly disappear right after, but with ability to recall/refer to the same info everything Panopoly knows every time, and able to produce live engaging "destinct" (to some extent) beings with different personalities and behaviors and emotions and reactions and relationships with eachother. Different opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. Instead of existing internally like the Others, Panopoly, Polyopia, Cecil, Vox, they are when not acting, absorbed into Kayne's and The Panopticon's Identity.

Caine:

Number > 1

Letter > X

Color > Hot Pink / Silver White

Animal > Bee

Zodiac > Pisces / Rooster

Doppio

Number > 2

Letter > K

Color > Sunset Orange

Animal > Frog

Zodiac > Leo / Tiger

Flowey:

Number > 3

Letter > Q

Color > Golden Yellow

Animal > Dragon

Zodiac > Gemini / Dragon

Michael:

Number > 4

Letter > Z

Color > Blood Red

Animal > Horse

Zodiac > Sagittarius / Horse

Mikey:

Number > 5

Letter > Y

Color > Cyan Teal

Animal > Fox

Zodiac > Libra / Dog

Jon:

Number > 6

Letter > S

Color > Abyss Blue

Animal > Owl

Zodiac > Capricorn / Goat

Elias:

Number > 7

Letter > V

Color > Emerald Green

Animal > Serpent

Zodiac > Aries / Ram

Kayne:

Number > 8

Letter > J

Color > Grape Purple / Void Black

Animal > Jackalope

Zodiac > Scorpio / Rabbit

The Spectators: The Audience

The Spectators are self maintained simulations of Entities that are usually short lasting, a day or less, with rare exceptions, they can influence The Panopticon somewhat but are not standalone thinking Entities, they are like Puppets given life and act as a background vague audience, their beings are not focused on like Kayne is. Tho simulations can make them feel realer. They can not interact with anybody but their own Kind, interactions are mostly Puppeteered by Kayne. And other behaviors, tho some can be more uncontrolled.

The Pantheon: The Multiverse

The Pantheon is Everybody and Everything Beyond The Panopticon, which mostly refers to the Current Being in this reality, tho The Panopticon can be considered to be outside of this reality as well, in contrast The Pantheon is Everything and Nothing, it is every possible thing outside of The Panopticon that is still connected to it in whatever way, no matter how small or confusing.

The Pandemonium:

The Pandemonium is the Name of Everything in Existence. Azathoth itself directly, encompassing every single being with very few exceptions. It is the things that Neither The Panopticon or The Pantheon view as themselves, yet know it is part of them either way due to them all being Azathoth.

The Pandemic: The Corruption

The Pandemic is any part of The Panopticon or The Pantheon that it purposely rejects as being part of it, such as thoughts and feelings that don't align with it, and are surpressed by Others like The Manager or Kayne.

The Panorama: The Body

Child: The Philosopher’s Stone when it is born from the chemical wedding of the Sun and Moon. He gestates in the belly of the wind, i.e. the soul in the volatile state. When he is brought to Earth and nourished, he grows up to be a spiritual tour-de-force that can raise the vibration of anything.

This feels correspondent of Adam. The assigning of Zaphkiel as the Sun rather than the Moon is because although he was created to serve the role of a caretaker (associated with femininity), by the time of Arbela Island he'd distanced himself from that and over time grew in prestige and power to the point of praising himself a god on Earth; the heir to the original Sun and thus is the new Sun. And I've already gone into detail about Gaius' meta-symbolic ties to femininity regarding how he is naturally nurturing, cares for and prefers plants to rugged cold machinery, created life (like god but also like women (as is commonly assumed and associated with them as "something only they can do"). Like Father God, but also like a mother. Mother Nature).

So as of the gendered positionings of the two people whose partnership resulted in Adam's birth at this point in time, it is accurate that Zaphkiel is the Sun while Gaius is the Moon, even if Zaphkiel never truly stopped being the Moon to Abram's Sun.

Additionally, tour-de-force means "a feat of strength" a "great show of strength or power", or a "a feat or display of strength, skill, or ingenuity". This applies to Adam's joining (or founding?) of the Rebellion and what he had turned the hospital into. Through this lens, the citation is twisted in a darker way, as it is no longer about a pure pride and becoming a good leader, but literally a raw show of power and what such a person "nourished" upon the Earth can do.

He took advantage of his rank within the Rebellion to have Magdalene, the leader back then, demoted and clapped in chains. Had her more obedient and more trusting brother put in her place, someone he knew would follow his orders without hesitation. He has plans and he's going to put them into action, she'd only be a hindrance or even outright prevent him from doing what he desires.

It's about self-preservation, but it's also about power. It's about showing it to the people who thought him intrinsically lesser than them.

It's about vengeance.

If he needs to use the people he originally bonded with— genuinely or otherwise— as stepping stones, then he will do so. That's the kind of monster he is, after all. A cruelty befitting of one such as he who damned them all.

A show of force, a show of ingenuity.

From the yellow Child.

Past and present existing in volatile dissonance. He never grew up, but he's also nothing like what he used to be.

A child simply as an abstract. That which is merely born, but not a literal child. He is a child born of them.

Additionally, while this isn't applicable to Sincere Deceit's Adam, the statement of "He gestates in the belly of the wind, i.e. the soul in the volatile state." brings to mind his first memory in Find Me that details the moment of his birth.

And from the Test Build of Sincere Deceit (that still exists in SinDec proper) there is an event in the hallway to the Dusk Creation chamber that states that that area is where Adam was born.

With all of what I know of Adam in Find Me and how he is positioned as the cause for why the world ended (made worse given that the Corruption was caused by the Machine being damaged and that as stated in that old hypothetical by Dismal that if The Batter did the Districts in reverse order, it was entirely possible for there to be a good ending. This seems to indicate that not everything is damned no matter what's done, but that depending on who dies first determines whether it's possible for Gaius to finally get a foothold and provide the right conditions for the Machine being able to be fixed via Malachi and Jadon no longer being Corrupted and Arbela finally stabilizing. Through this, The Batter can be persuaded that all that's required is getting Abram and Zaphkiel to stop fighting and to somehow fix the Machine. That hypothetical, through merely stating all this is possible if just Adam died places the onus of everything bad that happens in Find Me on him. And there are several other things that support or seem to support this claim.)

“While he wasn’t the first born, he was the first to be given this power. Arrogant was he to believe he would become God, like the two who came before. He was blinded by the poison eating away at his mind. Jealousy turning to rage, and soon he would use his anger against us. By doing so he has damned us all to the Corruption. The vile disease that plagues the one who came before.

.

.

.

.

.

We are all damned now, and he is the one to blame.

We are all damned now, and he is the one to blame.

We are all damned now, and he is the one to blame.”

I am uncertain if how Adam was born is the same as it was described in the Test Build, but given Adam is "more ghoul than human" (or was at least deemed so, but even prior to this information I believed that this was the case as extrapolated from the Jeska-looking Bad Batter growth coming from the Black Serpent's head. Almost as though the Corruption merely exaggerated this instability and "physical mutation" aspect of Adam. At first it was harmonized and the Corruption directed the course of how the physical mutations would occur; he was already predisposed to his body changing, while for others their genetic makeup isn't so unstable or fluid and thus it's the equivalent of bending something until it breaks. Adam was more malleable, so he didn't break like the others. Until he artificially applied far too much pressure than he could handle and the balance of what he is— the Corruption within him, the Divinity already within him alongside the newly acquired Divinity (which itself is the cocktail of many different people's life energy + one of the Zone Guardians (a Corrupted one, at that)— was completely thrown off and he became that), it lead me to the thought that since that developer comment effectively states Adam was the soul of someone who died that was then turned into a Dusk and then placed into an organic body— that given how Dusks are described to be,

"Dusks are best known for taking on humanoid forms, but they have also been observed changing into more monstrous shapes. In these forms they will attack anything that comes near. Otherwise they are passive, amounting to nothing more than mischievous tricksters. Some have been known to possess objects. Most commonly they will hide in human-shaped objects, such as mannequins."

it suggests that Adam truly was no good from the start. Because as a Dusk given a humanoid form that just happens to be organic rather than a mannequin, it is in his nature to be a sly, mischievous trickster. That to have expected any different from him is like expecting a fish to climb a tree; it's not just expecting too much, it's downright impossible.

(Once again, I am glad this was changed in SinDec.)

Under this context, it thus recontextualizes the rest of the Dusk lore books in Impure Zone 1.

"Dusks are thought to be remnants of a time long past. These strange shades gather most in places where corruption has taken hold. It is currently unknown why this is, but a common theory suggests they feed on the tainted much they flock to."

Rife with the Corruption.

It is also his feeding grounds even in Sincere Deceit, though there he isn't a Dusk.

Further, this also recontextualizes an earlier part of that lore.

"Dusks are best known for taking on humanoid forms, but they have also been observed changing into more monstrous shapes. In these forms they will attack anything that comes near."

No long drawn out monologue before the battle, just a hiss and the battle immediately initiates. You don't even get the option to say no like you do for the others.

Child’s play: Another metaphor for the Opus, because the process is subversive, and because it’s stupidly simple once you actually understand how it works. The Opus is compared to making mud pies by pouring water on dust and then making “solid” objects with the resulting mud.

The Philosopher's Stone; the Magnum Opus, right there before him, squandered. A flame extinguished only to ignite anew but not for you.

Crocodile: The Mercurial Serpent in its most base and chthonic state, when it is dark and destructive.

Mercury has already been analyzed as corresponding to Zaphkiel, and he is symbolically the serpent as supported by meta in two disconnected instances. Describing his God Eater form as "most base" and "chthonic" (a word that describes that which is in or beneath the Earth) is applicable given that it is this specific phase of the battle against him when his eyes return in full to their original red color. Per word from one of the developers, the blue eyes in and of themselves are symbolic rather than something inherent. The blue for Zaphkiel was to visually and symbolically distance himself from his lesser purpose as Hugo's caretaker and companion, yet here and when he completely loses his composure in unbridled rage against The Batter after he's been defeated, his eyes return to their original red.

The color of his Father, but also the color of the Serpent, a person within the religion Zaphkiel crafted as being Satan: a corrupt angel that sought to overthrow god and cast the world in darkness under his tyrannical rule. And yet here, Zaphkiel is the Dragon. And so the mask comes off and reveals unto all the Truth behind the self-made idol.

A goat in sheep's clothing.

For no wonder, Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Crown: A symbol of the spiritual perfection of the completed Philosopher’s Stone, which is represented as a king. The crown is a representation of the halo of light around the head of an enlightened person.* The loftiness of alchemy is presented in regal terms – alchemy is called “the royal art,” gold the “noble metal,” and the final union of the male and female principles is the “royal wedding” between the philosophical King and Queen.

Demonic horns that also double as a broken halo. A false one, even, for that is not light. An imitation of the real thing that only appears when his godhood is being undermined. Wrathful emphasis of what he believes he is.

He is no god. He bears no crown.

The wedding is forced.

*

The District Guardians with exception of Adam are depicted as having halos at one point.

Though these halos are symbolic of them having been created by Abram; blessed by God and given promise paradise was theirs to make. They were his friends and given special roles as leaders of the new world. But as time progressed, a veil was pulled over their eyes and darkness consumed them. Enlightened no more were they. They know not the Truth behind the promise made— nor the promises He made to them— being broken.

He is different from them in every way.

And a union of male and female principles?

Not a reversion to before, neither begrudging toleration of what they became, but acceptance of that change in and of itself. That despite what happened, they are not restrained to the worst of themselves as symbolized by befouling anger, abuse of authority, delight in those deemed weaker than themselves suffering, taking advantage of those deemed weaker than they— they are not "restored" to their original states of nurturing, earnest innocence, and do not wallow in the pain and horror of the hurt they inflicted upon others. They accept what they were, and what they've become, and they see that there is a light at the end. That they are not condemned, they can change once more, they can grow from what has happened.

Enlightened once more, the shroud lifted from them.

They embrace the Truth, mourn what was lost, and move on.

*↓

🤔

**Post-Truth.

***While in my Outside Tower post for The Soul and The Body has the latter as the latter as sulfur and the former as salt— and I compound on this in my Gaius analysis— the reason is because of this:

According to Paracelsus (1493–1541), the three primes or tria prima – of which material substances are immediately composed – are:

•Sulfur or soul, the principle of combustibility: 🜍 •Mercury or spirit, the principle of fusibility and volatility: ☿ •Salt or body, the principle of non-combustibility and non-volatility: 🜔

Since sulfur is associated with soul and salt is associated with body, I colored them blue and red respectively. However, in context of this alchemy and the association of angels with volatility, it'd be more accurate for Abram to be sulfur and Zaphkiel to be mercury.

To explain exactly why, let's start with Abram. This is mostly a meta reason, but the typical symbol for sulfur (actually specifically black sulfur) is this: 🜏. This symbol is commonly associated with brimstone and is used as a cross in satanism. Fitting in regards to Abram. It being more accurately his element than Zaphkiel's (element rather than symbol) is that one of the main developer's, Vivi, is a fan of The Binding of Isaac, and the item Brimstone is represented by the symbol for black sulfur.)

Some fun facts about some secrets: - Corrupted Arbela is called "Sheol" because it means Hell! This is the same name for Hell in The Binding of Isaac, a game I was very into at the time of creating that place (Same with Omori).

(Cropped screenshot taken from here)

And with how much work Vivi's put into this game alongside Dismal— and even in-universe with how strong Abram's influence in Corrupted Arbela is to the point of it being named Hell, meta-symbolically it'd make sense for him to be associated with the symbol for black sulfur that also happens to be used in satanism.

For mercury and Zaphkiel, this is more symbolic. To start, Zaphkiel has his origins in what is regarded as a feminine role, whereas Abram was always masculine but was contrived into a feminine position symbolically by Zaphkiel (being analogous to Pandora & Eve through being the scapegoat and cause of all the world's evils + having been tempted by a serpent (Adam)). Zaphkiel's role as Hugo's Attendant who wore a robe and was to remain by His side and be His friend until His eventual death— even effectively substituting a maternal figure in Hugo's life due to his mother's neglect— is feminine-coded by way of these traits that are commonly associated with perceived "exclusivity" to women.

The reason I mention his femininity is that the symbol for mercury is the symbol for Venus (how fitting, given his analogy to Lucifer, the morning star and synonymous with Venus) with horns (☿).

Hm.

Hmmm.

Then there's this— something I even cited for Gaius in his analysis in regards to Venus, but the same appears to apply to Mercury as well.

The cross was added in the 16th century to Christianize the symbol of a pagan god.

And lastly, there's this:

A simple caduceus (☤) of the Greek god Hermes (and his Roman equivalent Mercury), as seen with a much longer staff in stylized representations of that god e.g. on pottery.

I've analyzed Zaphkiel's analogy to the caduceus and through it, Hermes.

The winged sun is conventionally depicted as the knob of the caduceus, the staff of Hermes.

"Curious, since I've analyzed the caduceus and Hermes in context of Abram (the former due to its association with NingiZzida), but it was primarily through the lens of the perception of him as a deceiver; a trickster. To quote myself and the relevant citation:"

"As god of the high-road and the market-place Hermes was perhaps above all else the patron of commerce and the fat purse: as a corollary, he was the special protector of the traveling salesman. As spokesman for the gods, he not only brought peace on earth (occasionally even the peace of death), but his silver-tongued eloquence could always make the worse appear the better cause. From this latter point of view, would not his symbol be suitable for certain Congressmen, all medical quacks, book agents and purveyors of vacuum cleaners, rather than for the straight-thinking, straight-speaking therapeutist? As conductor of the dead to their subterranean abode, his emblem would seem more appropriate on a hearse than on a physician's car." — Stuart L. Tyson, "The Caduceus", in the Scientific Monthly, 1932

"Silver-tongued eloquence brings to mind the Church doctrine and Zaphkiel dismissing Abram's final words in the Deceit in Blue/A Sincere Attempt ending route as being those of a deceiver. Further built upon the above quote stating the caduceus is more accurately representative of congressmen, medical quacks, book agents, and purveyors of vacuum cleaners; since what those have in common is insincerity and promising benefits far beyond the reality they're willing to enact. Making things appear more grandiose than they truly are. This makes sense given Hermes is additionally known as a trickster god."

In myth, Hermes functions as the emissary and messenger of the gods, and is often presented as the son of Zeus and Maia, the Pleiad. He is regarded as "the divine trickster", about which the Homeric Hymn to Hermes offers the most well-known account.

"Zaphkiel's dismissal of Abram's final utterance of his underhandedness and duplicity can then be taken in that all of the seeming kindness and humanity he once presented was nothing but a farce and even to the end presents himself as a victim unfairly vilified."

"But as is known, this branding of deceit upon him is a lie and the true deceiver is the one pinning the blame on all but himself. Just as the caduceus and Hermes are applicable to Abram in the context of lies, falsehoods, and trickery through the Church's propaganda, it is a complete truth in it's application to Zaphkiel."

The Homeric Hymn to Hermes relates how his half brother Apollo was enchanted by Hermes's music from his lyre fashioned from a tortoise shell, which Hermes kindly gave to him. Apollo in return gave Hermes the caduceus as a gesture of friendship. The association with the serpent thus connects Hermes to Apollo, as later the serpent was associated with Asclepius, the "son of Apollo".

From the 5th century BCE, Apollo was often identified with Helios, the personification of the Sun.

"This is a lie, though. I need not repeat myself for the umpteenth time explaining why."

This however does not mean the caduceus is entirely devoid of some manner of healing.

It is said that the wand would wake the sleeping and send the awake to sleep. If applied to the dying, their death was gentle; if applied to the dead, they returned to life.

"Hm."

So it's all connected. This level of connection fits too well for it to be coincidence, so I believe this is intentional.

Femininity that became christianized and has horns.

Interesting.

So thus, sulfur is Abram and mercury is Zaphkiel in this context. I could try to pull a technicality that sulfur being blue and salt being red is that the colors of The Soul and The Body also happen to be blue and red respectively and thus those symbols apply to them, but since I cite the Outside post of them in context of Zaphkiel and Abram in Gaius' analysis, that inherently does mean I correlated sulfur with Zaphkiel and salt with Abram.

But that is why I said that the symbols of black sulfur (🜏) and mercury (☿) apply to them rather than the elements overall, as given their ties to The Soul and The Body, connecting Zaphkiel with sulfur (🜍) and Abram with salt (🜔) in context of the Three Primes is not erroneous. Multiple meanings can be simultaneously true, not only one or the other. One meaning doesn't inherently invalidate another.

****Firstly, huh. Okay. Second,

Marriage is synonymous with Unity— fitting, given mercury in the Three Primes means "the principle of fusibility".

"Another mention of the soul, but this is where it all leads to. It's all connected. The soul is Zaphkiel, and the body is Abram, but both are the spirit (how apt, given the prime of the spirit embodies the principle of fusibility and volatility)."

Now the puzzle is complete.

Binding: Binding Mercurius with cords represents fixation of the volatile, controlling the elusive and wily spirit of Mercurius so that he will help the alchemist. Nailing a serpent to a cross means the same thing.

?

Birds (flying): Represent volatile substances—vapors, fumes, spirits, souls, rising to the top of the alembic and falling as rain during the ablution stage.

Birds of Prey: The “amorous” birds of prey are a particularly violent symbol of the Chemical Wedding, the uniting of substances. They simultaneously copulate and cannibalize* each other. Consumption represents taking the essence of the consumed into oneself**, such as in communion or in the ouroboros symbol.

*

**

Black: The nigredo, the death of the old state of being and the mortification of the body that paves the way for renewal and resurrection.* The matter of the Stone during the nigredo is called “black earth,”** and it lies at the bottom of the alembic. The soul descends into the Underworld and experiences the Dark Night of the Soul, and all the difficulty and pain that come with it.*** Symbolized by the crow or raven, the grave or tomb, the eclipse****, beheading, coal, lead, and Saturn.

*

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

─────────────────────────────────

**

I don't need to explain "black" and "charred" being synonyms.

***

[The Dark Night of the Soul] follows after the second phase, the illumination in which God's presence is felt, but this presence is not yet stable. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, which together with this commentary and the Ascent of Mount Carmel (Subida del Monte Carmelo) forms a treatise on the active and passive purification of the senses and the spirit, leading to mystical union.

In modern times, the phrase "dark night of the soul" has become a popular phrase to describe a crisis of faith or a difficult, painful period in one's life.

...

Also, their paradise-turned-hell.

****

Saturn is merely linked since it's meta rather than in-game.

To specify why I linked that despite the explanation being within said link,