Dark Souls is One Big Occult Metaphor and Here's Why
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- čas přidán 22. 06. 2024
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I've wanted to do this video for over a year. Something happened this past week that made me go down a huge rabbit hole of Souls lore... and I came back with some (potentially) novel insights.
Link #1: • Elden Ring is an Alleg...
Link #2: • Who Velka REALLY Is - ...
Link #3: / spoiler_dlc_the_statue...
1. Introduction: 0:00 - 3:13
2. Sponsor (The Ridge): 3:14 - 3:44
3. Three Occult Principles -
a) Sol and Luna (Gwyndolin and More): 3:45 - 5:16
b) The First Matter (Dark, Abyss, Arch Trees): 5:17 - 7:22
c) Mercury as Serpent and Dragon (Primordial Serpents, Shields and More): 7:23 - 10:43
4. Dark Souls 1 Story Recap: 10:44 - 12:24
5. Dark Souls 1 Story Speculation (Velka and the Occult Rebellion): 12:25 - 13:54
6. The Fourth Occult Principle: 13:55 - 15:11
7. Minor Examples of the Union of Opposites: 15:12 - 15:51
8. Linking the Occult Principles to Dark Souls: 15:52 - 20:38
9. Recapping the Occult Principles One More Time: 20:39 - 21:17
10. The Two-Headed Dragon and the Caduceus: 21:18 - 23:02
11. The Occult Path to Godhood: 23:03 - 24:31
12. Conclusion: 24:32 - 25:37
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As a person who is a big fan of Dark Souls, I had figured this out some time in the past from a hunch. Keep up the good work.
I think this is a coincidence more than anything so far. Lemme finish the video lol
Max, I would like to have an esoteric discussion about human psychology, if you're game. I think I found something nobody has noticed but it takes an open mind to entertain until it becomes grounded. So like, you're the guy for that.
I think you are largely correct about the occult themes in Darksouls. But from my perspective it seems that Darksouls is critical of them. Any attempt to unify these opposites is always something which is presented in the games as catastrophic. And especially the pursuit of unnatural eternal life. Anytime someone tries to pursue eternal life in these games, it is met with derision from the narrative itself.
I wonder what you think of the fact that sol and luna can be traced back to the roman empire and even ancient Babylonians. They deified the sun and moon and their unification. It is interesting because in Christianity, this is the ultimate evil that is personified as the whore of babylon.
I would not say dark souls is pro Christian by any means with its critique of the occult (neither is it really anti-Christian but seems indifferent). Although the occult is the enemy of Christianity by default since occult means hidden and the teaching of Jeus say: “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5
In other words, hiding what is deemed to be truth, unless its only for a short while is seen as against Christ. That being said, it seems more likely that Darksouls takes a more nihilistic approach to critiquing the occult. That eternal life is a fool's errand. Bringing in the age of darkness is seen as the "good ending" at least if there was such a thing.
Max velka is a dragon in human form as is FIA from elden ring she is the lich dragon FortIssAx one game explains the other velka was a dragon this implies that the pale seath
Hey Max - for some reason only just now watching this video (despite binging your stuff for years).
Firstly - so humbled for the shout out and that my content was valuable in some way.
Secondly - Tremendous video as always, you are a massive inspiration in regards to my understanding of the occult/alchemy and psychology. I genuinely watch your videos to be 'educated' Thank you for all the work you do
While I'm not the greatest DS2 fan, Aldia's speech is the most chilling piece of voiced dialog in the entire series for me.
A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE!
2022 and people still dismiss DS2
@@Al_Straik Nope, not dismissing. I personally feel that ALL DaS games (1, 2 and 3) are better than Elden Ring's open world and make for a better narrative and gameplay experience. Especially narrative when it comes to DaS2
@@Exciya well sure, they had to rework how they present the story with outside involvement. I’m agreeing with you, no saltiness here.
just got it platinumed today
Another link to the Kabbalah in Dark Souls: you are a hollow, and empty vessel and seek to fill the empty lord vessel. "Empty vessel" or "husk" in hebrew is "kelipot" and is another name for the qliphoth, the dark and empty opposite of the sefirot. The sefirot is the tree of life which contains emanations of light or spirt (soul) of the Ein Sof (The Infinite/God) in a number of filled vessels. In Dark Souls, you are taking souls from the filled vessels of the sefirot and filling empty vessels with it (filling your DARK SOUL WITH LIIIIIGHT). This is the kabbalistic unification of opposites that you mention in the video. Thank you for attending my ted talk.
I've always loved that connection. There's also 10 cups or vessels of some sort across from where you place the Lord Vessel in the first game. (Same as the number of sefirot)
1kelipot from light, Judeans. 3 from darkness all other races, Talmud says all non Judeans are born from darkness and destined to destruction by the "Light". Interesting indeed. 🤔
Isn't it funny how certain games attract certain personalities.Fantasy games tend to attract occultists even the elden ring is a sigil
Saw the word qliphoth and knew a dmc joke was coming.
Great insight though, thanks for chipping in man
No, in the game the dark soul is inherent of humans, you dont feel your dark soul with light, you feel a hollow with their dark souls of human
As I understand: the three Lord Souls can create (soul of the Witch of Izalith), destroy (soul of Nito) and preserve/enhance (soul of Gwyn) life. The Dark Soul can do all of these things. Also it ignores the concept of time*.
I would totally connect that to the Prima materia, and I personally think it is the fantasy equivalent of the concept of unconcious.
*There is a big discussion that should be done about time and space in the DS world. Time is not "convoluted", it is stagnating.
Worst translation possible, it created a lot of problems.
Would love to read about time and space of ds world :D
Oohhh the word "stagnate" made me think of something:
If you were to think of time as water, then it makes a lot more sense to think of it as stagnant in the same sense Japanese folklore does. Or, for a more relatable (I'd suppose) reference would be Elden Ring's Scarlet Rot. Still water is considered to be stagnating just like the Lake of Rot is non-moving water. So if we consider time to be stagnant in the same way, then it can make more sense on how the Chosen Undead/Unkindled/etc are able to help each other in jolly cooperation. Everyone's time is being pooled into one place and not moving at all. It means events could be more of a scatterplot rather than a straight timeline. Well, your comment made my brain blow up a bit too much so I haven't properly organized my thoughts lol
@@Raddimir Ok, my source is a video made by an Italian CZcamsr, Sabaku no Maiku (one of the major expert of soulsborne game in Italy). I can share the link (czcams.com/video/U9KqIqfqVKM/video.html). There are not English subtitle, but automatic subtitles work quite well in this case.
I can try to explain the major points:
- Stagnation is shintoist concept presente in every From Software game. The idea is that if you take something that naturally should move and change (like a stream of water) and force it to stop, it will become corrupted and rotten, full of parasites (centipedes, worms, mosquitos...)
-In Dark Souls 1 time itself is stagnating. Why? Because time comes from the First Flame. The flame brought time (aka change) in the world. In this world LIGHT=Time
-The flame is loosing power, so the world experience time stagnation. While normally time flows from past to future, like a river, now this movement is slowing, and past, present and future are mixing.
-Thanks to this stagnation, invasions are possible: they are a form of time-travel. While invading/being summoned, the undead travel to past or future while staying in the same place. This is why we can summon Tarkus against the Iron Golem even if he died years before in Anor Londo.
-The Dark Soul: unlike other, who follow the linear time, this one doesn't follow it. For the dark soul there is no difference between past, present and future. So there is no real difference between life and dead: so human can be undead, at the same time alive and dead
-the Age of Dark would be an age without linear time, in which different moments of history mix in a weird dream-logic scenario. You can see an example of it in DS 3,in the dark area when you face Champion Gundir.
The theory becomes much more complicated in Dark Souls 3 (in that game, stagnation affects space too) and I think this comment is already too long.
@@DanielGarcia-rx3kt I’m actually designing a multiplayer game around this concept, where the community collectively writes the history of a fractured world with the choices they make. Multiplayer, but made to feel like a single player game and every Player is essentially an NPC for someone else’s story.
@@ilregiallo4151 not long enough. You can message me personally if you’d like to talk about it more.
I've been pretty deep in the online lore communities for these games and you did bring new insight into it, at least for me anyway. Not that I'm some expert, but it's rare to find any interesting new lore ideas after this long. Reminds me a little of how mind blowing Hawkshaw can be or how crazy deep Quelaag will go to find new possibilities.
The story telling itself is similar to how irl occult knowledge is esoteric by design.
The only way to gather more occult knowledge is to actively engage with many different wells of knowledge
Which is why finding the CZcams channel "Esoterica" was an absolute GOLD MINE of videos about the esoteric. Highly recommend if you aren't already subscribed.
We need more eyes
Need to say, another possible inspiration for Gwyndolyn is Abraxas from Gnoticism. Both have snake legs, some association to the moon and a third thing that I happen to forgot.
Lemme guess, you came here from Galahad Eridanus?
@@met4cap7788 Nope, never head of it, just thought of Abraxas after seeing a pic of the chicken head-snake legged god in a history video that mentioned gnoticism (Abraxas is the symbol of the religion).
@@MRIBEIROPONTES Oh, well in that case I highly recommend watching his videos. He goes into extreme depths of the symbolism of Abraxas. His ideas make my brain do somersaults.
You blew my mind with the part about Velka and Gwyndolin and the faith/intelligence scaling stuff!
furthermore,faith equal belief while intelligence is knowledge..that's why high clerics wpns are int scalling and 'lesser men' like followers are fth scalling wpns..lore accurate
This reminds me alot of the power seen in liminality among many cultures. Liminality being the border between ... well, pretty much anything. A wall is a liminal space between spaces, teen age is a liminal period between childhood and adulthood, new years eve is the liminal time between two years, and so on. There was/is a belief that this border, this union where two realities meet, held a power that could be used.
For example, here in the Nordics we had an idea of 'utesitta', or out-sitting, where you sat down by a theshold, on a wall, in a cave entrance or something similar and just took in what you saw. Until you could see and hear the afterlife and those who had passed. A rather interesting type of necromancy. There are also stories and archaeological evidence of people, usually but not always women with magic associated grave goods, during pre-christian times being buried under or near the theshold of a house.
This is a great comment. Hopefully you’ll scroll through the comments to find the nuggets I’ve left behind, but these are the comments that truly highlight how great this channel is. Thanks for the info.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing
Foundation sacrifice, a pre-christian, global pagan phenomena of people being buried under structures as a sacrifice for spiritual protection.
@@e7m10 That is also a thing, yes, and animal foundation sacrifices are common in Norse buildings. Human sacrifices, however, rarely have grave goods and there are medieval texts describing burial in or close to thresholds. Also, some of these houses have been turned into grave mounds.
So, while foundation sacrifice is not a bad guess, the evidence points towards burial.
Frog is liminal creature , residing in mud, between water and land
To me dark souls is about the human experience, they took inspiration from so many sources and masterfully blended them together into one of the greatest and most profound pieces of art ever created. There's a reason it means so much to so many people.
6:11 shows a darkwraith landing briefly to utter "Why is this lore so fucking deep?" before sinking further into the rabbit hole.
Occult symbology can be found EVERYWHERE in fiction across all genres. Very often it seems as though it's not even intended by the writer, it's almost as though there's a subconscious part of our human creativity that's occult based. And some of the greatest writers of the modern era, most notably in the comic book industry, such as Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, and Neil Gaiman, just to name a few, are into The Occult.
It's because they're all freemasons haha
I think its usually very intentional lol
@@sumwon1575 Not necessarily. Occultism is very intuitional when it comes to its most basic tenants (provided the person is intuitional to begin with). Other times it is incorporated into games consciously but many more times it is done unconsciously.
Or, it could be that the Occult is the attempt to organize/categorize the study of human creativity. Thus the universal and unwitting links. 👌🏽
astrology is strongly used subtlety because it’s definitely an easy label everyone is starting to understand. For the more advanced the kabbala, Quran emerald tablets, etc. is subtly used
Gwyndolin as the hermetic ideal human is a very intriguing one, since Gwyndolin is ultimately consumed and has everything he was fighting for destroyed. If Gwyndolin really is supposed to be this hermetic ideal, then what Miyazaki was doing was mocking it. Gwyndolin is explicitly called deformed and imperfect, locked away in a tomb and maintaing an illusion. To maintain the illusion, he sends out warriors into the world to hunt down those who follow Velka and those who fight for, what is effectively presented as the age of mankind, the age of Dark.
If Gwyndolin is really supposed to be the ultimate ascended form of man, the union of sun and moon, the apex of enlightenment, isn't it funny that Gwyndolin is actively HIDING the truth about Anor Londo from the world in Dark Souls? A greater deciever than Kaathe or Frampt, who really are telling you what they earnestly believe to be the best possible sollution (keep the age of fire going, let the age of fire end).
Velka, of course, is still working with Gwyndolin. In fact her book of the guilty is the catalyst for punishing the tresspassers agains the gods, by the servants of Gwyndolin. If it's true that Gwyndolin is the product of experimentation by Seathe and Velka , then this imperfect and deformed deciever of men was brought into the world, partly by the actions of an insane creature. The knowledge which Seathe sought, immortality, drove the dragon with no scales insane, and that knowledge does the same to anyone else who attempts to study it.
Seathe's "immortality" as well is fleeting and fickle, the primordial crystal which lets him "live" forever is ultimately destroyed in a single hit. For all this knowledge that drove him mad, all of it is destined to come to nothing at the Chosen Undead's hands. While the Crystal itself can come together again after being destroyed, Seathe cannot.
If Velka really was trying to lead a rebellion against the gods with the help of other co-conspirators, it seems strange that her servants actively aid the Darkmoon blades even to this day. If Gwyndolin is her son, then it seems as though both are working together to support Gwyn's crumbling order. Partly by how the book of sin works, and partly by the great crow which can take Undead to and from the Undead Asylum. Her other child in this scenario, Priscilla, is locked away in the painted world along with the dark ember in order that the gods would never again be threatened by occult weapons.
Where exactly Velka is now, is unknown. But if she was ever in a plot against the gods and trying to unite light and dark, her efforts were ultimately all for nothing. Furthermore: She and her children have abandoned this plot and are now actively working to support Gwyn's crumbling age of fire.
The union of light and dark as well is something to think about. In one way, the usurpation of fire ending of DS3 can be interpreted as embodying this, but even then that's questionable. It's not the union of dark and fire, it's the usurpation of fire. Furthermore what this endinge actually implies is a bit unclear, the first flame is taken by the ashen one and... overcome by him? Kinda unclear, regardless this would have to make the ashen one a sort of lord of cinder. Meaning the next age has not come to pass, the ashen one in this ending has just repeated what Gwyn did on a more direct level. This because of what Hollows are, cursed by the darksign which in turn was caused by the linking of the fire. To remain in human form, undead must fuel the bonfires with humanity, which feed the first flame that they're already linked to. The ashen one is thus not truly free even in this ending, not ascended or anything like that. He's not the lord of Dark as the chosen undead could have been, but lord of hollows.
It seems then that, if there is some sort of spiritual meaning to be taken out of Dark Souls, it's the very eastern belief that "the world works in cycles, do not attempt to break nature." Furthermore, MIyazaki seems to slant the game's lore against occultism as a whole. Those characters which could possibly be called occult universally fail in their endevours, go insane, are killed or betray the occult cause they were working for. When the occult ideal could arguably be achieved, it either a) does nothing (the age of fire just continued after SotFS' ending, path of the Dragon does nothing) b) makes everything worse (Lord of hollows =/= Lord of Dark, therefore the fading age of fire just continues, but now with the first flame stuck inside the ashen one).
I believe this makes more sense overall, since Miyazaki's spiritual understanding would doubtlessly be formed by his native country of Japan. Superficially, certain things in Dark Souls could be said to be occult, but what they ultimately mean certainly doesn't paint the occult in a favourable light.
In Miyazaki's mind, the natural order of cycles must be maintained, those who wish to escape the cycles using magic, sacrifices etc. are painted in a poor light. Those who follow the path of the dragon and attempt to escape the cycles via a combination of giving away scales and what is essentially buddhist meditation are painted in a more favourable light. However, their efforts are ultimately useless as the cycles continue whether or not those on the path of the dragon care. If those on the path of the dragon really can turn into everlasting dragons, then they are fated to be destroyed in the age which follows the age of dark.
This belief in cyclical time is certainly an interesting one, but ultimately a man-made invention. Just like the idea of transcending reality and becoming a diety yourself. It's certianly a more comforting idea than there being an end of all things, and judgement by the only True, Holy, Eternal God, creator of the Heavens and the Earth. But even if these ideas are comforting, they are still false, cease and repent.
Merry Christmas.
I enjoyed your comment 👍
awesome comment you should make lore videos kind ofna shame that only 9 people liked this
I fell down a rabbit hole and found your videos.
And as someone with hearing loss and processing issues, I just wanted to say I really like your videos not only for the analysis and info...
But because I have noticed I don't rely as hard on captions because of HOW you speak. After 3 videos back to back I realized inwasn't struggling to understand works that end in the S and T/D sounds.
So thank you- both your content and also your diction. I don't feel like I am missing bits that make it hard to follow the theories because I heard a sentence very wrong. :3
This video has completely blown open my understanding of Dark Souls lore! Such an amazing and well researched video!
as a self proclaimed occultist, I noticed references to the Kabalalah throughout Elden Ring
which rocks
Niec
Nice
I'm glad you pointed out that just seeking Unity isn't enough, because it can go really wrong. One needs to seek Unity through a "good", moral way. This is what Julius Evola, one of the greatest European authors on magic and religion, meant by distinguishing upward (solar, heroic) ascendancy towards the transcendent from downward (telluric, chthonic, chaotic) ascendancy. The first one is the right way to achieve unity with the transcendent, the second can ultimately lead to unnatural, hideous abnormalities (like child sacrifice or transhumanism in our modern world).
Ah I see ur familiar with the ur group what are ur thoughts on giuliano kremmerz?
But if you choose the "good" way you neglect the "bad" way.
But the white and black compose THE ALL.
Why should we shun saturn and esteem Apollo? Are not gold and lead both useful symbols of the work?
I just feel like we shouldn't have an affinity to gold, and repulsion to lead. That's not the middle path, you know?
I think you can have toomuch of a cthonic (sensual, earthly, selfish, self destructive) path in the dark, but you can also have too much light also.
Too much of anything, even medicine. Becomes poison.
Hopefully my mad ravings and rantings ring a bell (above and below)
@@3vanguardofthephoenix335 I understand what you mean, I used the word "good" only out of convenience and for lack of a better word but that's why I put it in inverted commas. Yes, the solar and the lunar, the gold and the silver, should be combined in order to achieve unity with the transcendent. However, there is a right way of going about it. Turning yourself into an abomination or doing horrible things to other people does not help you ascend, it only sabotages your own personality and creates needless suffering for others. You are not making a case for human sacrifice or pedophilia, right?
@@arzareth6298 To be completely honest, I am only familiar with Julius Evola's works, I still haven't read anything written by other members of the Ur group. I'll check Giuliano Kremmerz.
@@Perceval777 people tend to assume a person to be a goodie too shoes when they say good lol but u can be good and absolutely ruthless when the time comes for it people who talk about balance usually don't mean balance what they actually mean is indulging in desires to their hearts content which is why people are so fond of aliester Crowley although I am not psa if u need help with malenia in elden ring I'm ur guy lol
Gwyndolin's character design has always reminded me of the Gnostic diety, Abraxas. Coincidentally, Éliphas Lévi also did a drawing of Abraxas that is very similar to his Baphomet illustration.
I love when you talk about dark souls. Pls never stop my yellow man. Btw you should give a watch to some of my favourite anime that I think you probably may like: steins gate, code geass, and the really underrated id invaded. I can't wait to see you fucking brilliant dissection about it. I follow this channel by a long time now, since the Kojima video on the most profound game moment. I also know you struggle on a surface level, but a weakness can become a strong side, and I think you nailed it. Your obsessive research on prospective and meaning on media is on a legendary streak, keep going man. And me and many other will keep listening. I learm a lot from you, on various topic, and I improve my english too cause is my second lenguage. Well Max take good care you brilliant yellow man
Everlasting dragons mean stone dragons. So now I know why those meditating statues in the place where you access Archdragon Peak are like that. Reaching a dragon state is like reaching nirvana. Reminds me of those monks' bodies in statues in Tibet. Also, it is funny how the bible warns of dragons. I need to dig deeper! Fantastic Job as always.
Dragon is bad translation. Fiery serpent is more accurate. I personally believe fiery refers to their toxin cause it prolly burns bad if you get bit by a snake.
dragons associated with language and Celtic high priests.
@@r3fus32d13 yeah well in what culture? I imagine in celtic
I studied religious studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and my specialization was Western Esotericism, so I was very fond of searching for "occult pop culture". My favorites are Berserk and Silent Hill, maybe that's why CZcams recommended Max's channel.
Anyway, games from From Software are a special chapter of occultism for me, because what is really hidden there is a complex storyline. When I first played Bloodborne in 2015, it was also my first souls game. I thought it was similar to Devil May Cry, but not from a helicopter. Sure, souls games are about fighting, but with specific game mechanics. If you don't know this mechanic, you won't progress through the game. But to make matters worse, From Software never gets tired of lining up the entire plot under your nose and guiding you by the hand. You can finish the game and not fully understand what it is about.
And that is the true essence of occultism and esoteric teachings. It should only be understood by "initiates", that is, those who search hard for knowledge.
Thank you Max for your videos, they are very interesting to me because they add value to me as a specialist in western esotericism.
Hi
Hidden even for unaware members.. that’s might and control via secret pacts and contracts
Dark Souls has a lot of rich lores and that’s what I love about these franchise as a whole. It’s amazing that this game is also has some alchemy related stuff, and it makes sense cause this game’s setting takes place in the Middle Ages and alchemy was well known in that time period too.
Max, that was a banger, well done and thank you. I loved the bit about the occult weapon combining the divine and dark.
Placidusax, two headed dragon in elden ring. Was the Elden Lord before Marika and Godfrey.
Placidusax had at least 5 heads when he was in his physical prime, the form we see him in he's lost 3 of them to battle or disease but some parts of the neck still remain. The fact he's only got two heads left could still be symbolic too though, so I'm not disagreeing with you.
@@The_Fat_Turtle thanks for the clarification, wrote comment from bed after sleeping pills. 👌
Great video as always. Your ability to connect seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive narrative is amazing. It's interesting how dragons are a seemingly universal concept or idea in occultism used to represent a variety of things and across separated cultures no less.
Linking the fire is not the first sin, this a misconception made by people that has been dismissing DS2 lore for almost a decade and its based of like 2 or 3 lines of dialog that are HEAVILY stretched to form that idea, is not even possible for that to be the first sin since the very fact that we call Velka the goddess of SIN implies the concept of sin is something ancient akin (and probably born from) humanity. It makes so much more sense for the First sin to be the very action of the furtive pigmy of splitting the dark soul cursing humanity, this not only makes sense philosophically but thematically when you look at how everything born from Velka, the primordial snakes and humanity are all aligned with the dark. Its simply an argument that can be disproven easily and its still taken as a fact just because people decided DS2 lore was not important and should be not properly analyzed and took into consideration, we cant simply crack the canon when everyone dismisses facts that contradict their theories.
For your sake, I’d encourage you to reread what you wrote and edit it. Not disagreeing with anything said (though I can’t agree either since I’ve never finished any of those games), nor am I trying to be a grammar nazi. It seems like you missed a word or two, and I’d hate for people to focus on that rather than the point you want to make. However, I do understand the logic, and if you look at more recent comments, you might find and appreciate a longer one I posted about the idea of sin.
@@_inSight__ I gave my post a little edit, the issue is english is not my native language so i know what i write can be hard to understand, but i feel my point comes across, there is simply no way the Linking of the fire is the first Sin that event comes very late in the timeline of events in the series. Anyway thanks for the positive comment.
Another bit of info that strengthens your points: alchemy is deeply related to the Gnostic/Hermetic metaphysical worldview. Mercury is the Roman name for Hermes. Hermes is the messenger of the gods - i.e. he moves between the spiritual and the material, just as Mercury holds together soul and body. This stuff goes all the way back to ancient Egypt, in which Thoth is identified with Hermes, which ended up having a huge effect on Greek philosophy, which gave rise to the Hermetic tradition.
The snake legs things are an interesting topic, first thing that came to my mine was not Alchemy but of the Gnostic archon/Aeon Abraxas
My issue with this theory is that dark souls seems to point the opposite way. Yes, people often Try to connect opposites, but does it ever work? Crossbreed prisila is a failed experiment, she isn't an immortal dragon. Similarly the one reborn is a failed attempt at mixing human body's with an immortal God. Elden ring has its unalloyed gold as its healing mechanism for melania, implying a combination doesn't work. The series seams to be ABOUT those separations, not about combining things
Love your analysis videos as always and take care of yourself Max
Excellent work, Max. Keep the Dark Souls content coming! 🙂
Max Im so happy you made a video on this because I know Im not the only one who could have possibly made these connections, this game had a profound impact on me and is truly a work of art and so are the videos and energy you bring into the world, thank you.
Banger video as always man. Keep up the good work.
The lore and inspiration beyond it is so deep. Thank you for explaining it, even if most of it goes over my head
Thank you for doing this, was waiting for someone to do a video on this
Love your videos, Max! I honestly draw so much inspiration from them.
Ooo!! This made me realize that the arch dragon statues and the pose you use to get there are similarly posed to the baphomet statue!! The freedom of the natural cycle and the conjoined opposites are represented in both. Siiiick
I dont mean to burst any bubbles, but its always been pretty obvious miyazaki was just taking from what he knew and read of the ancient world. You all have probably read the interview where he mentions talking to GRRM about how he would read books about ancient cultures/world and didnt always fully understand due to translation and would piece together his own ideas and understanding. Which is exactly what the high regarded fantasy writers do they take from the ancient times and make their own fantasy world where mythology was more real than spiritual.
The snake leg thing could also be a direct reference to the gnostic figure Abraxas.
Even if your past dark souls video weren't what you said your best, I loved your in depth research and now you went even further. You madman
Bro your videos are so amazing. Great upload man....wow
What a fantastic video! The disparate threads of understanding and numerous and subtle, consolidating the two paths of occult and games is no simple task. I've been investigating the connection to the occult inside games for years and this is definitely one of the best cases I've seen. Thank you for bringing light to the darkness here.
This video is marvelous. I always knew there were Occult/Metaphysical connections but it’s nice to see others at work. Thank you!
Amazing video, my dude. I'm excited to see what you have to say in that DS2 video too!
I live for these in depth analysis videos!!!!
A cool thing you could make some videos is "the incal" and all the woks related to it by jodorowsky (the one who made "el topo"). Cause it has TONS of symbolisms and the plot of each work is pretty cool imo
I don't care what anyone says, this man changed the way I perceived dark souls and life differently
Dark souls is one big Berserk reference
I searched this comment
@@ASHURA.M it will always be true lol
Aesthetically, yes, but it’s a reference to much more than that. I doubt people will ever truly understand the way the writers (too lazy to look up how to spell his name) combine as many sources of inspiration as they are capable of, but I imagine every mundane thing in their personal lives has as much influence on the games as the media they enjoy consuming.
Love to see Smough Bois growth. He definitely put’s the work in.
New lore just dropped! Great work on this video, it feels like you just opened a world of possibilities.
Wow, this was a great deep dive!
15:03 As opposed to many eastern philosophies that actually believe that's possible which is represented in symbols like the Yin & Yang and other parallels, and given that Souls game are made by Japanese developers it's not surprising that there is an element of eastern philosophy there even with all the western inspired lore and mythos.
Modern hermetic traditions in the West are a blend of everything no surprise
Extremely well put together video! I study Philsophy and every now and again there is a reference to Occult works, ideas and teachings and its interesting to learn more about this through references in the Souls games. Thank you.
The occult part presented to us by Sellen (Elden Ring) resonated with me and mesmerized me so much my jaw dropped (once you unlock her extra dialogues)
Thank you, Max. I love these videos and the insights to the lore of these games. I never played them bought would definitely like to in the future.
This was a great video, and definitely an original contribution to the Dark Souls discussion
It's always the most lowkey youtubers that create the coolest theory videos I swear
Based underdogs
PART TWO HERE WE COME!!
That's awesome you gave smoughtown a shout out because they're a great channel
I could listen to you speak about alchemy and the occult for hours
Lol, I can’t. I pause too much to think about what was said, and I’ve been watching this video for 2 hours already. I once spent my entire 8 hours at work trying to watch one of his videos because I kept having to stop to write down the thoughts in my head.
@@_inSight__ skill issue
This helps explain the occult meanings you see in so many other genres of entertainment also. Plus symbolism you see in things like freemasonry etc. Thanks!
Great video, numerous times you had me seeing connections that I never had before, which seem very clear now.
Nothing beats occult and myth references tbh. Alchemy included in the category btw.
Alchemy references are so 🔥
I feel like humans take about 1000 years to reset, and the world about a million. Those numbers aren’t just coincidentally easy numbers; the idea that the world sometimes makes too much sense is a reflection of our ability to observe it. Our invention of time and measurements are derived from that which we can observe and understand, and the world that we see is a reflection of the macro and the micro. I don’t think our measurement of coincidence is the cause and effect, I think what we are capable of observing is the coincidence of measurement. The effect of causality. To tie that back into the OC, I’ve noticed a sudden shift in my limited time alive where the history we study and subconsciously alter is leading us as a society back towards mentalities shared by those we like to source as inspiration. There is a slight presence of entropy as we attempt to wrestle with higher thinking in light of possessing a plethora of historical considerations to sort through, but we in our attempts to entertain and understand, are following a tradition of organizing something that feels innately familiar. Just as the saying goes, strong men make easy times, easy times make weak men, weak men make hard times, and hard times make strong men, what I have observed gives me both anticipation and pause for what the future of storytelling may hold. I’m very afraid someone in my lifetime may attempt to tell the story within my imagination before I do, and I’m not sure if my pride or fear is a better driving force to compel myself onwards. With all that said, I agree. The occult and myths are pretty dope.
1899
That’s literally the only thing Alchemy is.
It’s like saying “I love watching videos on free sites users upload content onto. CZcams is included in that.”
@@anonkhmer149 lmao. Deep bro. I like studying alchemical texts like the Tabula Rasa and contemplating my place in the universe and how it’s all a microcosm of the universe, while wearing my Jordans and smoken phat bluntz 🔥
How I missed you and you videos.
Hi! Thanks for posting this video because i have been trying to find people to talk about to occult and esoteric connotations in souls games.
I have had the idea of the connection between Velka and Lilith. Maybe would make a good video topic. Anyways, love the video, new subscriber here.
Lesss goooo, also could you do a video about the novel (reverend insanity)
Yo Max Ziostorm and Smoughtown are absolutely amazing when it comes to the soulsborne genre. Another fantastic video dude I love what you do. Keep on doing it.
Chad ziostorm
Jourmangandr in Norse myth the son of Loki is also really similar. It’s so fascinating how the religions of old shared such similar stories and deities with one another.
Amciemt aliems
Side note - love the music choices for the background tracks. Almost wish I could hear them just a little better, but I'm glad they don't drown you out at all. Say what you will about TES but Jeremy Soule is a gift.
One of my favorite albums ever is called Henosis, and my favorite song from that album is called Sol and Luna. The entire album is more or less inspired by these concepts, not dark souls, just alchemy and the occult. No words or lyrics, just the idea, the feeling of balance, yes and no, real or imagined. The Contrast.
So much sense has been made
Good video! Thanks for the content!
This channel is pure gold
THIS, this is your BEST video in my opinion. You did justice to a such talented team called FromSoftware.
I love your vids on the souls series and metal gear solid! Amazing perspective, and thank you for sharing your insight!
Excellent video. Do you do other lesson occult videos?
I love your game analysis vids, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Kentucky Route Zero.
YES
12:44 I still buy more into Last Protagonist’s evidence that Priscilla is Gwyn’s wife. That explains Gwyndolin’s snakelegs, Yorshka’s existence, and generally why Gwyn’s kids are all so dragon-y. Even Gwynevere (I think I spelled that wrong) is friggin giant, like a dragon.
I love speculations on Velka, but imho there’s more direct evidence that Priscilla is the mom than there is for… any theory on Velka, really.
Quelaag the youtuber is a great deep diver into elden ring with all the small things and ancient real life lore to things in the game
Adding to the end point there: in each Dark Souls game you can transform into an anthro dragon creature via joining a Covenant with a dragon.
So it seems thematically correct that the man serpents in 3 were willing, as theyre in the location where you yourself join and transform
Top-notch content. Well done
Awesome wallet and KeyCase 🙌
8:54
Ok let me corroborate with u now. Just a simple commentary. I'm from Brazil and in portuguese translate, the bullets name are literally "Balas de Mercúrio" (Mercury Bullets). I think it's because we don't have an specific translation for quicksilver.
An eclipse is essentially a unification of Sol and Luna, the sun and the moon, as well. Albeit, symbolically. Another reference, you could say. Although borrowed from Berserk, it definitely matches up. A conjoining of opposites.
been waiting for this one!!!!!!!!!!
Must… milk…. Soulsbourne games
I laughed out loud when I read the title and said, "exactly" even before I watched the video.
Have you ever played Shadow Tower? It's one of From's earlier titles & has heeeavy Souls vibes, and while I've yet to get into it, there's probably some good info there to correlate with your other observations.
This makes so much sense
I would argue that Dark Souls may also borrow from traditional Aztec mythology, specifically with the linking of the fire and the cycle of Lords of Cinder.
Initially, a god sacrifices himself to become the sun, a symbol of fire, to prolong the existence of the world against the dark. Subsequent sacrifices (the chosen undead linking the fire) are required to renew the power of the sun- typically sacrifices of flesh and blood. Matching the myth of each “sun” ending in Aztec legend, the world is drawn to halt in Dark Souls 3 when the dark overtakes the literal metaphor of the sun.
In two weeks are you gonna realize every media is a reference to alchemy ?
Great content btw I can't get enough you're a great youtuber
I feel like humans take about 1000 years to reset, and the world about a million. Those numbers aren’t just coincidentally easy numbers; the idea that the world sometimes makes too much sense is a reflection of our ability to observe it. Our invention of time and measurements are derived from that which we can observe and understand, and the world that we see is a reflection of the macro and the micro. I don’t think our measurement of coincidence is the cause and effect, I think what we are capable of observing is the coincidence of measurement. The effect of causality. To tie that back into the OC, I’ve noticed a sudden shift in my limited time alive where the history we study and subconsciously alter is leading us as a society back towards mentalities shared by those we like to source as inspiration. There is a slight presence of entropy as we attempt to wrestle with higher thinking in light of possessing a plethora of historical considerations to sort through, but we in our attempts to entertain and understand, are following a tradition of organizing something that feels innately familiar. Just as the saying goes, strong men make easy times, easy times make weak men, weak men make hard times, and hard times make strong men, what I have observed gives me both anticipation and pause for what the future of storytelling may hold. I’m very afraid someone in my lifetime may attempt to tell the story within my imagination before I do, and I’m not sure if my pride or fear is a better driving force to compel myself onwards. With all that said, I agree.
No. The script really sounds like this is more infotainment than great awakening lol
It’s all about the game and in the game and and treating everything like pure fiction. Game canon. Whatever.
No ties to anything else and how it’s present across everything, coincidentally. But that’s just IMO
Love how when I saw this in my recommended; the little hover-reel for this video only showed the Ridge Wallet sponsorship
Already knew this game was connected to the occult specially dark souls 1, goat sounds, you got an Underworld and Heaven realm of the gods Olympus type setting oh and you fight the final boss in what's pretty much the tower of babel.
Huh, I never realized that Velka was Gwyn's wife but now that you mention it it makes perfect sense.
Thank you for this video.
Great video. Don't know why you didn't take a look at the Lord Of Hollows quest and ending in ds3, though
By far your best souls video
Thanks for saying that, man.
good analysis
I appreciate you, Max