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Thoughts on the Cognomens of Aeonist Gods
I've been thinking a little about short discussion of the Aeonist gods, or some of them, on pages 191-192 of Winter Tide.
The most obviously notable---because Aphra ruminates on it, is Shub-Nigaroth, with her epithet of "Mother of Fear." Aphra says that she'd always assumed it was a joke when her Mother explained that "children are terrifying," but that seeing her Grandfather's grief at her mother's death helped her understand it more seriously. Given that the creation myth given on page 343 seems to particularly associate Shub-Nigaroth with the creation of the first life, I feel like the best interpretation of this epithet may be as a dark mirror of her as being the "Mother of Hope" as well. Because the two are tied: if she created life, and thus the hope of a future for living things, she also created fear of the loss of that future...
Cthulhu's epithets of "bringer of life and death" and "ever patient" seem worth thinking about in part because of Aphra's short description of Cthulhu as always listening and never promising. This seems to fit well with a concept that has found its way deep into my psyche, even if I don't have a clear place for it in my theology: the Universal Observer. Some property of the universe that simply observes everything, and by observing makes it real.
This role for Cthulhu, I think, might also explain why eir rising from the sea would drive humanity mad. Not because ey is destructive, or horrible to behold, or because ey eats souls, but because releasing the awareness of humanity's own memories would simply be too much for us. Our survival and sanity depends on our ability to forget, and to not know the horrors we ourselves have made. I am less sure what to make of the "bringer of life and death" title, other than in the sense that the universe exists because it is observed, and Cthulhu is there, sleeping and observing?'
It strikes me as odd that Aphra refers to Nyarlathotep, "herald of knowledge," as a psychopomp, given that Aeonists don't believe in an afterlife. I suppose she means it in a symbolic sense, if he guides souls to hidden knowledge? I would be interested to know more about him...
The most obviously notable---because Aphra ruminates on it, is Shub-Nigaroth, with her epithet of "Mother of Fear." Aphra says that she'd always assumed it was a joke when her Mother explained that "children are terrifying," but that seeing her Grandfather's grief at her mother's death helped her understand it more seriously. Given that the creation myth given on page 343 seems to particularly associate Shub-Nigaroth with the creation of the first life, I feel like the best interpretation of this epithet may be as a dark mirror of her as being the "Mother of Hope" as well. Because the two are tied: if she created life, and thus the hope of a future for living things, she also created fear of the loss of that future...
Cthulhu's epithets of "bringer of life and death" and "ever patient" seem worth thinking about in part because of Aphra's short description of Cthulhu as always listening and never promising. This seems to fit well with a concept that has found its way deep into my psyche, even if I don't have a clear place for it in my theology: the Universal Observer. Some property of the universe that simply observes everything, and by observing makes it real.
This role for Cthulhu, I think, might also explain why eir rising from the sea would drive humanity mad. Not because ey is destructive, or horrible to behold, or because ey eats souls, but because releasing the awareness of humanity's own memories would simply be too much for us. Our survival and sanity depends on our ability to forget, and to not know the horrors we ourselves have made. I am less sure what to make of the "bringer of life and death" title, other than in the sense that the universe exists because it is observed, and Cthulhu is there, sleeping and observing?'
It strikes me as odd that Aphra refers to Nyarlathotep, "herald of knowledge," as a psychopomp, given that Aeonists don't believe in an afterlife. I suppose she means it in a symbolic sense, if he guides souls to hidden knowledge? I would be interested to know more about him...