Alchemy Explains So Much About Elden Ring's Story (MARIKA SECRET REVEALED)
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Marika's name literally means something that is relevant to alchemy. I discuss that, and a whole bunch of other things related to alchemy within Elden Ring.
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Marika is literally the alchemical symbol for Mercury; a female under a semi-circle
Could probably be explained by her being forcibly strung up to reslembe that symbol.
@@conker690 Radagon, clearly a "red king" of alchemical language, initially set out to conquer the Carians, but ended up marrying the lunar "white queen", Rennala instead.
Likewise, Marika (another "White Queen") spreads the dominion of the Erdtree through her marriage with Godfrey, a clear solar-warrior archetype who only lacks red hair to be another "red king".
It's interesting to think of the possibility of Rennala and Godfrey uniting to create the Rebis. But of course Marika and the Greater Will intervened.
Can't wait for your video on the music of souls man!
Sulfur. Radagon.
Mercury. Rennala
Salt. Me when I get killed in this game.
😌
This should not have just 90 likes honestly...
I'd love to see your take on Godwyn. Particularly the appearances of his "face" and his links to undeath.
My favorite alchemical reference in Elden Ring is the transition from Citrinitas to Rubedo in Marika's/Radagon's hair on their boss intro. I think it speaks of the fleeting, ephemeral state of the realm the game is set in.
Before the Elden Ring released, but after the network test, a reddit user calling themselves Parasoulsus posted an essay about Elden Ring's references to alchemy and the Magnum Opus and i was reminded of your videos about Dark Souls and Bloodborne. That may be why you were asked about Elden Ring's connection to alchemy.
I first got hooked on your content because of your half life videos being the most coherent, resonant, and (in my opinion) most insightful takes on half life lore I had seen on RUclips. So to see you making Elden Ring content while I am currently hooked on the game is such a joy. Not only that, but in my own playthroughs I had been finding so many alchemical parallels, from my own off-time reading of alchemical works and previous/continued personal interest, with the story of Elden Ring and the Souls series as a whole. I so badly wanted someone on RUclips to be bold enough to stray from the current 'Elden Ring lore video' meta, and be the first to risk some inaccuracy and potential audience rebuttal for the sake of delving into the Clearly alchemical nature of Elden Ring's lore. Obviously, this kind of feat would require very specific interests and a very specific type of mind, and I can honestly say that your videos not only meet that standard in my personal opinion, but continue to inspire me to freely indulge these kinds of connections in my own analyses of various media.
TL;DR you're fuckin awesome man, love the vids.
Great addition to the alchemical discussion.
I think you get from mercury to silver by way of its other name, quicksilver. It's easy to look at the weapons of the Nox as both silvered and quicksilver. If theories about Numen associated with the Eternal Cities is true, a connection could be formed between Marika and silver. Not sure if I'm 100% on it, but it's a connection at least. Looking at the alchemical symbols for the elements is maybe a way to gain some insight (or project it) into the archetypes at play. You can find a similar combination of symbols and their associated characters with the sun, gold, copper, and sulfur (maybe even iron too).
I also really want to believe on account of the 2nd generation albinaurics with the little horns kinda look like the alchemical symbol for mercury.
The meaning behind Marika's name makes me want to speak aloud a far-reach of a theory about her water association.
Marika being related to the ocean probably has some relation the the aquatic mutations of Godwyn's corpse.
it took a lot of scrolling to find this comment - glad someone else saw that connection!
No it's because she likes golden showers
I wonder if what made Ranni the chosen Empyrean to inherit the runes was the fact that she somehow has the full trias from having a messy birth from the 3 entities.
What's crazier is the fact there's several implications that there were so many more demigods than just the rune bearers. Items associated with the Night of the Black Knives allude to there being many deaths that night aside from Godwyn and Ranni. Both of which were oddly "perfect" compared to their respective siblings.
Somewhat interesting idea regarding the Ouruoboros/Rykard part: Were the 'god-devouring serpent' to succeed in devouring all the demi gods and eventually Marika, would it not then become a god? And if so, would it then require itself to stand up to its own rules and begin devouring itself to becomes The God Devouring God Serpent
I love this comment.
this was a great comment could explain why tanith starts to devour rykard in the end
I'm way late to this comment section but this fits perfectly with the theories of what controll of the elden ring/godhood means in elden ring. The erdtree controlls the cycle of rebirth and the serpent challenges that cycle by devouring the dead but never dying itself until it will eventually grow large enough to cover the entire cycle by itself having eaten all the souls that should circulate in it. After the serpent have eaten everything except itself then it might turn on itself and start eating it's tail. Then there will only be one serpent containing all within itself both living and dead, both serpent and man and finally both male(rykard) and female(Eigley). Pretty intresting idea for a budding future Oroboros.
I really like your videos. I don’t always agree, but you always deepen my understanding.
Love watching the constructive back and forth btwn you and @Ziostorm. Learning a lot.
ooooh, I get it now. I'm of the mind that the Elden Ring is several things, one of which is Marika's wedding ring (it's a game of duality and division, it's also very literally about fingers and rings, there is a literal reading here too). If we accept the notion that the Greater Will is alien to the lands between, and the Elden Lord is native to the lands between, the Greater Will took the god-rebus it could create, divided it, and then tried to gain power over the lands between and the crucible by combining it's luna with the elden lord in a new rebus, and sealed it together with the elden ring. But of course it ultimately failed, the formula is unbalanced.
Oooh, damn, idk how I didn't read that :o
@@madmorgo6233 I'm also ready to fight people that The Greater Will and The Flame of Chaos are the two parts of something bigger that got divided as well.
@@Braindouchedotnet yeah I dont think Hyetta is lying. Before the Greater Will was the One Great. Dragon lord Placidussax had 5 heads back when he was Elden Lord. Now he has 2. Has to be related.
Also Ranni's Elden Rune of the Dark Moon is 100% the Darkmoon ring we give her. So the wedding ring symbolism is right there in the game too!
@@darkhobo I hadn't considered that about the dragonlord! That's great. Also, here's be my biggest evidence: different types of magic are different colors in this world, except for two: the golden light of grace and the yellow flame of chaos. Bright glowing yellow both
@@darkhobo but also wait, that suggests we're going to find a three-headed dragon. That's totally coming in the dlc.
the meaning of Marika is "star of the sea". Variant of Mary (Latin) "star of the sea". Before i found it is can be form of Maria.
Exactly. I'm from Poland so I know. Marika is the Hungarian/Czech version of the Polish name Maria. Maria is also name for Mother of God in Poland.
@@PravoSlavicon Margit is also a female name used in Hungary (a local form of the name Margaret/Margot), usually associated with the older generations. Cant take a boss seriously thats named like a grandma, i chukle a bit every time i figth him.
Bra yo channel is underrated, your videos are more in depth and they always make me feel existential
Oh and a fun bonus fact for Berserk fans: look at the dark pattern on the Uroboros picture. See it?
mentioning gold, mercury, and sulfur in the same conversation really make me interested because mercury reaction readily with either gold to form gold mercury amalgam or with sulfur to form mercury(II) sulfide which, as ore cinnabar, is scarlet in color (it's vermillion pigment).
This was such an informative video I'll have to check your bloodbourne one, you kinda made me interested in whole Alchemy thing. Thanks !
Excellent video, Max. Your explanations from the implications of the final Codec Call in MGS2: Sons of Liberty, to the influence of Alchemy are very enlightening and informative.
I wonder what other Alchemy-related themes are occurring in Elden Ring? There's some truly amazing lore in this game, but I feel like this particular subject matter would explain ALOT of the character's motives.
Okay so I am tossing my limited knowledge into this whole matter:
Mercury's symbols name is "Celestial womb" or "Cosmic womb" So this fits Rennala just nicely.
Salt represents two intresting things: Crystallisation and condensation. Glintstones anyone? The name of Salt symbol goes along the lines of impure/unwilling body so it somewhat fits Marika name was.
Sulfurs primary meaning is heat and masculinity, but also the devil as last meaning. Radagon the final bad guy confirmed? Name of sulfur symbol is unifying cross, how ever that is only the common symbol.
The rarely used symbol is where this gets fun. The leviathans cross. Symbol of true evil. Yep, radagon final bad guy confirmed.
Golds secondary symbols is bullseye(Circle and dot), known as "Perfection" while the other is sun, known as symbol used for three primes.
Silvers symbol is 2 different half moons. Reducing and Raising. These go for life and death, alongside rebirth.
Copper is the closest metal to gold but that doesn't really do anything.
Tin is closest metal to silver but that doesn't really do anything.
Lead is basis of all metals and symbolises transformation of soul and purification of mind... okay we seem to have something here for Marika as she is the body.
So using 3 primes in context of Elden ring and with the 3 named characters, there comes a new little twist to this all:
What about the missing elements?
There are 22, we went trough 10.
12 basic symbols left. Knocking out non-demigods (and getting godfrey and hoarah loux in as one) we stand at 8 remaining.
Miquella gets bishmut. The unknown element.
Malenia gets arsenic. Arsenic represents change and metamorphosis, or using alchemist language: Change from one form to another. But it also represents rotting.
Ranni (Whose name means queen in hindi and peace finnish btw) gets to have the most important. Platinum. Platinum symbolices impure union of silver and gold that reaches near perfection. AKA failed philosopher stone.
Radahn gets Phosphorus, the element that captures light (Stars)
Rykard gets magnesium. That is representative of eternity and burning.
Godfrey Gets Antimony, "The primal element of the man" which also is referred to as warrior blood.
Melanie gets her spot too with being Zinc. Why Zinc? Because while Bishmut is known as unknown element, Zinc is known as forgotten element.
Morgott and Mohg. So which of them is copper and which is tin? Is there secret third brother made out of bronze?
Atleast they are better than godrick and his alchemic element: Potassium.
Remaining 4 choices are fire, wind, water and earth and I ain't giving these to anyone.
Ok fuck it they have all their own.
Fire giant is fire (duh)
Regal ancestor is water (Hey lets heal like a lot)
Astel is earth (Gravity bitches)
Placidusax is Wind (Umm... in center of storm?)
I love listening to you riffin Max. As good a vid as you’ve ever made.
I remain your fan…
Stay yellow 💛
the Marika being the salt is still off, I feel. The name meaning 'from the sea' actually explains more if looked at from an archetypal aspect. She is the Moon cause the Moon and sea are linked this way, as well as the 'shadows of the Empyreans' being wolves reflect this with wolves connecting to the Moon as well. What Rennala represents is a competing Moon/Moon Queen, which is why she is a threat to Golden Order. I believe the Salt would be closer aligned to either the Elden Beast or the essence of the Crucible (the great tree that the Erd Tree supplanted.)
Love the idea of Ouroboros representing the world, and it makes sense if you think about it. But not as the Crucible, the Ouroboros is the Elden Ring, the heart of the world, the cycle of life and death, that all the outer gods covet and seek to create their own Empyreans/Vessels to contain and manipulate.
Plus salt isn't bitter, it's salty.
Natural seasalt is called bittern. It contains so-called impurities like chloride, potassium, magnesium, etc. Max is actually correct in the classical sense.
The meaning of Marika being of the Sea and Bitter is a really fascinating find! My initial thoughts on that was that it referenced Marika’s extraterrestrial origins since it’s confirmed that she and the Numen race are from another world, and not native to the Lands Between, but the concept of her representing a key part of the Prima Materia is really cool!
Would the “Sea” you mentioned be the “Sea of Fog” or the Cosmos itself? It’s confirmed in the game that stars from the cosmos contain the essence of life within them, and the Outer Gods, and the Elden Ring all came from the Cosmos itself, so would that make the Cosmos the “Prima Materia” or the origin of all life?
Yeah this was my first thought too and that it's just a cool coincidence that it also lines up with alchemy.
Tiamat! Babylonian primordial sea goddess.
Intresting take.
Only problem is, it doesn't mean that in Polish, its from hebrew and means "great, beautiful"
@@MZ-9993 Well yes...
But can be no... If you think certain way.
If the Marika (Czech/Hungarian) is same as Maria, and it's origins are connected to Germanic/Teutonic/Baltic tribes not the Hebrew languages it makes sense.
Where Mar > Morze (Polish) > Sea
Remember that this may be the name given to the Virgin Mary (Maria, Maryja) in Polish translations of Bible because of the similarity. On the same principle as pagan holidays before they were renamed to Christian after The Baptism, with changing the symbolism and rituals - and thus the meaning.
Marika is Mercury. She holds herself in the symbol of Mercury
Your content is a bliss. Keep up the great work.
I always loved the fact that the name “Miquella” is “Elokim” (one of the ways to say “God” in Hebrew) spelled backwards.
Raphael means "God heals him" so Elphael would be... God heals God.
@@darkhobo yea. In Hebrew, Refael, means "God has healed". TBC, not modern Hebrew. As for Elpheal, never heard of it, interesting.
Wouldn’t it be Elohim?
So... "Dog"?
@@ShadoFXPerino dog ahead therefore Try fingers
It's interesting that the Flask of Physick says it "harnesses the powers of crystal tears, which only form after the passage of many moons.", while the moon in the Lands Between is (currently) stationary.
8:05 that’s such a simple yet AWESOME design…
Well done, Max Derrat!
Merci!
Intriguing and thought provoking... I am intentionally avoiding lore videos etc to only intentionally watch yours and vaatividya's for the next few months at least. Obviously I'll watch any you reference, same for Vaati! Keep up the good work!
Vaati will be watching all those lore videos too, I broke and started digging myself and I don't regret a thing. May Chaos take the world! 🤭😉😎
9:04 The alchemical symbol for silver is, as pointed out, is the moon, after that I did a little bit of research and noticed that the symbol for gold, the circle with a dot in the middle, matches with the symbol of the two fingers, I thought that was also quite a neat reference to alchemy🙏🏻😬
11:11. Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim was said to have been born on November 11th.
If you look at the item description for some of the Crucible Knight gear as well as the Gilded Greatshield looted from Godrick Knights, they all make reference to having a "red tinge within gold" symbolizing The Primordial matter/The Crucible that became the Erdtree/Life itself.
In Alchemy, this description of colors symbolizes Rubedo, or the completion of the Great Work.
In addition, somebody made the astute observation that the two knights that you get the items from are named Ordovis and Siluria, like two of the earlier geological periods in Earth's history (Ordovician and Silurian periods).
It seems like the Age of the Crucible is representative of the completion of the Great Work, or the successful creation of life.
One of the Pope Turtle phrases "all paradoxes may be reconcicled" is literally in The Kybalion (Principle of Polarity)
12:09 Marika is not exactly a Polish name and so your whole 'google search analysis' might be a little off. I'd check Hebrew, some sites show its meaning as 'to be great, beautiful'.
Marika as a name fits into indoeuropean languages, 'mar' meaning the sea. There also exist a water-death connection, compare 'mar' with 'mort'.
It's interesting how literary alchemy is coming more and more into the spotlight. So many literary analysts have scoffed at ithe idea but its presence is undeniable.
These theory videos always make me think of the South Park episode "The Poop that took a Pee".
Gosh, another fantastic video from Max.
Always happy to see another elden ring video from you Max! I can only imagine how difficult some of this lore hunting is. Thank you for the content and as always I hope you're doing well :)
Great job for this discovery
There is a really good Reddit post analyzing the inspirations taken from alchemy in the Elden Ring subreddit. It’s pretty long and I’ve been putting it off. It was posted in the early months of the game’s release.
Max Derrat is like Crocker from fairly odd parents but tis just every game connecting to alchemy
Head and Tail of Dragon relate to the astrological Lunar Nodes.
Fire(Calcination/Sulphur) and Rot(Putrefaction/Salt) are big elements in Elden Ring. Not sure if Glinstone Magic references Mercury, or perhaps even the Players inputs via the Controller?.
Giants use fire but have missing stomachs/Guts. In Eastern Alchemy, that is where Dan Tien resides. And with certain meditative practices, you 'stoke fire in the belly'. A bit further 'south' you can reference what the Dung Eater seeks. That may not be a Sun on his chest... Perhaps a face looking into a hole?
Greater Will sends a Raging Beast to a world to 'bring Order'. This is a hefty Panspermia reference. The male space seed impregnates a female stone. Perhaps the Ancient Tree and Erd Tree arent fighting but Mating? Outer Gods are fighting to impregnate the world?
No it's not
So i some how get recommend a Shadow of the Colossus video but i see why. I made Zelda Alchemy Video and lmao now i see why i am being recommended your stuff. this is INCREDIBLE, honestly makes me feel like i shouldnt bother with it lol
Evangelion visuals in an Elden Ring video? I’m here for it
Hi there!! Loved the video btw. I pretty much agree with all the references you mentioned, very interesting indeed, pretty clear, and as you said before, this isnt the first time From Soft alludes to Alchemy. But I dont think Marika's name is what you mean, I feel that conexion is quite weak, and this is why:
If as you say Marika means "from the sea" or "bitter", which means total sense, like in the name of sea army forces, the "marines" (Im spanish and our word for sea is Mar). But salt isnt bitter, salt is by definition salty, which is an entirely diferent flavour. Is like saying salt is sweet or citric. I know it would make sense because she is the "embodyment" of the Elden Ring and Salt is the symbol for body, and she will be the third part of the components etc, but that would be to read it looking for conections and not for what it is right?
I dont mean I know what she symbolizes, dont get me wrong, you making a logical conection of it, even if I think is not correct, is definitely casting light on the topic. So please keep doing it :)
On a side note, I would like to tdrop some conections I picked up on and I rarely see mentioned, all from the symbolic side of norse mythology that I see are similar to AclhemyI will try to be sort XD
- About Radagon and gold, which I think is a very good conection. There are a couple of items (sorry I dont remember which ones) that mentioned "Red Gold" and that is interesting, as in norse mythology, red gold is the purest and most devine of golds. For example, in the ring of the Nibelungs, the Rin's Gold, the one stolen from the gods and used to make that very ring, is red gold. And Radagon is both, red and gold.
-About Marika and her name meaning "from the sea". In norse mythology, both the sea and the wind are named metafors for death in the eddas, like Ran a primeveal goddes of the sea which is the death part of a dou with Niordr, her husband, representing life, (kind of land=life, sea=death)and they live in an islad "shielded from the wind" meaning they are inmortal. As a separte note, Marika is living in a glowing tree with, she has golden hair and is always represented with open arms. To me is a clear link to "Freya of the glowing arms" in her shape of mother goddess. And Freya is often linked to another goddess called Sol which is a Sun deity.
- About Marika and Radagon as one body. In norse mythology there is a primeval entity called Ymir, which name some translate as "wave", is a intersexual giant that lives in a universe of sea, and later it becomes 2 entities, one masculine and another femenine.
I think Marika is intended as a feminine form of "Marek," which, as mentioned, references the sea. When we were researching the name for our son, we found that it means "warrior from the sea." I don't know if that helps.
Until you pointed out the sol and luna designation I was seeing the Norse version where the elements are inverted with Mani being the masculine and the moon and Suna being feminine and the Sun
We need more elden ring videos!
Can we get a video on the almost Christ like imagery of marika when you first see how at the almost end of the game?
I hope to see you do a video on the main-line Pokémon games, I think you’d be surprised what you may find within them.
Great video. Although, to my knowledge - as a Polish person - Marika means "Little Mary", which is interesting in its own right.
Rykards great rune may partially resemble the ouroboros with that squiggly section being serpent esque
This channel is amazing.
Amazing video
Yes this game its full of esoteric knowledge, hope we get more scholars taking a look at it
Eochaid is the representative of copper. Regalia of Eochaid the sword lore.
Max you need to do a review of Haunting Ground a horror survival game , it’s story is heavily connected to alchemy in a very obvious way but what’s more important is the experiments done by some characters in the alchemical aspect
Wait the fact that you need the three primes being Radagon, Marika, and Rennala in the mixture completely explains the game's plot. Because Radagon left Rennala, it was incomplete and when you bring Ranni the Witch to the Erdtree to begin the Age of Stars, it is finally complete. Ranni also being known as the Lunar Princess, finally completes the mixture. Being how unique Ranni's quest and ending is, to me it seems that FromSoft intended that to be their official ending and your theory just helps support that more.
As someone who speaks Spanish, her name is the reason why I never used her stakes.
I'm glad he didn't say it that way lol
Hey Max love the videos. I was wondering if you have any recommendations to get started into researching alchemy and the occult?
Yes. In regards to alchemy, a great place to start is with a book by Marie Louise von Franz called "Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and Psychology". Here's a link to it: www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Introduction-Symbolism-Psychology-Studies/dp/091912304X
If you want something shorter and easier to read, try "The Forge and the Crucible" by Mircea Eliade: www.amazon.com/Forge-Crucible-Origins-Structure-Alchemy/dp/0226203905
Start with the works of Plieties, volumes 1,3 and 4. Then read The Crescent Flower by Deseros.
Funny that Marika/Radagon are effectively stone...or turned to salt by the end.
I reckon that the alchemical influence also comes from George RR Martin because in the first Game of Thrones book from 1996, it’s written that one of the origin stories for the birth of dragons was an in universe legend about the straying of the sun to close to the moon (an eclipse) causing the moon to crack and for dragons to spew forth down onto the land (presumably meteors). This sound very much like a symbolic alchemical and solar mating, and the origin story for an invasive mythical animal from beyond the stars. Sound familiar?
Holy shit. Are you for real? Wow. Thanks for telling me about that.
@@maxderrat haha I never expected a reply, that’s really cool. Thanks for all the great videos, I’ve been a fan since I discovered the MGS2 one. I was a huge fan of that game as a teenager and it really framed my love of games from Japan.
@@maxderrat While Martin uses astrology to relate the origins of Magic, he doesn’t lean on alchemical symbols in such an on-the-nose way as Elden Ring, nevertheless, some of the most key ingredients in ASoIaF have there own symbolic parallels: the unifying of magical bloodlines to deliver the ‘Prince that was promised’ mirrors the birthing of empyreans to become god of the new era, in ASoIaF this is told through the ‘song of ice and fire’ which is interpreted by a character in the story called Rhaegar (a dragon prince, think fire/sun, think Godwyn, the Golden), to mean that he must parent a special child by selectively breeding with the daughter of house Stark, Lyana (think moon maiden, think Rennala of Caria or more likely Ranni). In ASoIaF, the coupling happens and our promised child is born, our protagonist Jon Snow, the harmony of the sun and moon, of ice and fire.
Like Jon Snow, Ranni has similar parental traits to Jon, both take after one parent in looks and in affectation of the other, Jon looks like Lynna but has a kingly sun nature, Ranni looks like her father but has a queenly moon nature. Both have a shadow bound beast, a wolf that follows them. Both affiliate with cold imagery.
Melina and Ranni also most clearly show the two distinct bloodlines, of ice and of fire, descending from the sun and moon.
Martin has created an incredibly robust and self contained mythology in ASoIaF that feels at once believable and suitably distanced from the magical elements it refers to.
It amazes me how many of these elements share symbols that can be related to well know elements of natural history, to esoterica and alchemy and by proxy psychology by way of Carl Jung, to other fantasy writers and Tolkien and of course to George’s own sci-fi oeuvre.
Don’t even get me started on hive-mind parasitic trees that trap souls and feed of the dead (see Weirwoods).
Me trying to crack secrets of the meanings, "What do the fingers and specific arm gestures mean to this man blending worldly concepts who's also Marika?". Elsewhere, "Here's notable alchemy reference that stands out to me."
If there was a way to post the mind blown meme I would. Thank you sir!
HEY MAX another game that references the Sol and Luna is a old game but a very good one. It was "Golden Sun" for the gameboy advance. That game is littered with alchemical symbolism now that i think of it. You should really check it out if you havent. also you collect and use "Djinnis" that are fire earth air and water.
Uh... anybody gonna bring up the strange golden-haired tadpole-man hanging in the tree?
So glad people are making vids based off Hermeticism! This is awesome
Games usually have an Esoteric message or concept that goes overhead. I’m hear for this content
@@eggjones6039 My first time seeing a game in that way was with socom tactical strike for the psp, albeit rather recently.
Just a tip for making your videos more watchable. If you are planning to blur the background to make objects imposed in the foreground the focus, don't use gameplay footage as your background. quick/jerky movements by unfocused objects strains the eyes and gives some people motion sickness. So if you plan to blur the background off and on to draw focus to things in the screen, try to make it a static image if at all possible.
Are you 4? Oh no I'm getting motion sickness from a 4 inch video on my phone.
ouroboros- rikard is eaten by his mistress and she will become the new snake, death,rebirth,infininite cycle of eating to gain power and being eaten to revive.i think its prety fiting
YOU DID IT MAX! YOU DID IT!!!
EEEEEEEE
Marika: has deep associations with the Nox, who literally venerated the moon and made mercury people.
This guy: ah yes, salt.
I think that the Oroboros and Prima Materia is referenced in Elden Ring as One Great, that'd make more sense I think.
My grandma was named Marika. You think the the phrase “Marika’s tits…” ever stops being weird? It doesn’t-.-
Milk of Hathor?
You gotta watch and do an essay on Full metal Alchemist.
If Rennala is mercury (spirit) and Marika is salt (body), that leaves Radagon as sulphur (soul)?
Have you played the game my dude? Melania is clearly the salt lol. Very interesting video!
I have the feeling that Godwyn was the Rebus, the one chosen by Marika to take over in her place. But his murder drove her mad, and she shattered the Elden Ring. Ranni might be a canonical replacement, but she was not the Rebus that The Greater Will wanted.
There are so many alchemical and occult references in the game, its setting a derivative mythopoeia that draws inspiration from ancient archetypal imagery is so evocative of ineffable visual significance relegated historically to the mystery religions. I really enjoy looking closely at the item artwork like the chalice that holds the Sacred Tears, or the marginalia on the map, the shape of the ring-whistle that calls Torrent, &c.
As for occult references, you have for instance the talismans, which reminded me of the description given in the Picatrix (itself a 10th century Arabic book on talismanic magic) of the city al-Asmunain or Adocentyn built in Egypt by Hermes Trismegistus, in which it is affirmed that the Chaldeans speak of him as being the first to use engraved images for occult purposes, in particular to regulate the Nile. According to al-Masudi the engraved images were built on the Mountain of the Moon, the ancient purported source of the Nile, to direct its flooding and receding. The magic barriers at the gates to the Academy (and the closed door to the Capital, or the thorns on the Erd Tree) reminded me of the four gates of Hermes city, each engraved with animals (an eagle, a lion, a bull and a dog) and facing the cardinal directions, were imbued with spirits who spoke and barred entrance, and they protected a garden in which was planted a Great Tree "which bore the fruit of all generation", as it is worded in the translation Frances Yates used (I don't have the more modern translation by Attrell and Porreca at hand).
The living statues in the game like the Valiant Gargoyle, or the Imps, or the fire-breathing ones, remind me of when Hermes is addressing Asclepius and describes the manner in which statues are able to "come to life" by calling into them souls, the source of so much Renaissance controversy stirred up by Marsilio Ficino's translations of the Corpus Hermetica and the works of Iamblichus. There is the influence of the stars and the manner in which the Starscourge halted the canopy of heaven and the implications of fate reminiscent of the occult principles of rays as detailed in al-Kindi's de Radiis Stellarum, the general principle of which is the basis of talismanic magic or 'sympathetic' magic in general, and astrology.
I think this imagery has such power because they are truly archetypal and relevant in so many cultures both ancient and modern; for instance the Erd Tree isn't necessarily a reference to Yggdrasil or Irminsul, any more than it is a reference to the Bodhi Tree, or the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of 'trees of life' found throughout the entire world going back to the earliest signs of civilization. The axis mundi, with its branches reaching up into heaven and roots reaching down into hell, depicted variously by shamans among various tribes as a great ladder with 11 or 7 steps, or the 10 sefirot that compose the Kabbalistic divine tree, or the Gnostic take on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, &c.
The Mountaintop of the Giants and the Forge introduce a metallurgical dimension, one intimately connected to the alchemical but distinct nevertheless, and the massive importance of the underground as both a buried past and the embryonic source for ores shouldn't be dismissed, especially given the importance of the weapons and armors wielded or the role played an enslaved blacksmith who descends into dementia as the fire consumes both the Roundtable Hold and its simulacrum (which I assume is beyond the fog?). The practices of the miners were interesting to me and had me pulling out my old copy of De Re Metallica by Agricola to look at the hundreds of woodcuttings for correlations. There is an abundance of riches to be found in the games imagery, which is what makes it truly remarkable, in my opinion.
Thank you Max ;D
The Uroboros symbolizes Entropy juxtaposed to the Persistence of Life in my opinion
im replaying blood borne right now so yes pls
Great video. And this music....
Can you make a playlist of your alchemy videos it would be a cool world building resource
Merica, Fuck yea! Coming again to save the mother fucking day now.
This is the true meaning of merica's name. I will not elaborate.
Thank you for showing the videos you used in reference.. I get so annoyed when someone references a video and is like, go find it. lmao
Merika look like ♊️ the Gemini symbol when hanging in the red tree.
Male and Female, Sun and Moon, Gold and Silver.
Reminds me of the Inca religion before the Spanish Conquest.
I know it feels totally different, but it feels so oddly satisfying to think about that it was possibly thought of in this game.
is that Neverwinter Nights music in the background, or am I going insane?
Yes it is! Good ear!
The Fire Giant's chest-face is supposed to be the face of the "One-Eyed Fell God" who created the flame of ruin. There are 9 runes governing the nature of The Lands Between: the eight you receive from Marika's and Radagon's children, and the rune of death. Those are combined to create an Elden Ring using a Mending Rune. I think the 9 circles around a larger circle represents overall existence of The Lands Between. Given that the giant's eye takes that shape, with its fiery coloration, I think its supposed to represent the Fell God's desire to set fire to all of creation.
In hindi, gold and silver are sona and chandi, while sun and moon are suraj and chandni
The Chrysopoeia of Kleopatra :) 2:08
Maybe you didn’t know but “Sol” and “Luna” are the spanish words for Sun and Moon.
Considering that alchemy demonstrably fails as a literal description of material reality, in what alternative realm of human experience do you think it does provide valuable insight? Any of them? Or do you just consider it a very creative and symbolically rich fictional magic system, like one finds in a good hard magic series?
Tail eater? I think you mean dung eater!
Just realized they're both called D because the letter D is half a circle, so together they become a full circle. Fuck me
Miyazaki-san is the maddest lad who ever madladded. Does he even sleep. Unbelievable. 😅
Regarding the Norse symbolisms...
Alchemy definitely has a Christian viewpoint in regards to "first mover," and whatnot. Christianity replaced Norse mythology (choked it out) at some point. It's not unlike the Erdtree growing out of the previous one.
Edit: Ultimately, what I'm saying is, is that there isn't _one_ mythology in Elden Ring, but multiple. Each replacing the next. The player is the herald of a new mythology.
Alchemy is the teaching of forbidden ideas through known and excepted concepts. Most often known and associated with the church's numerous attempts to quell and control the education of the masses. Concepts like the philosopher's stone are just the most captivating, but general math and science like astrology and and medicines were the most common taught through this.
hey Max, have you played Shadow of Memories?
Sorcerer azur was inspired by alistair crowley