I am a huge sucker for occult references, and the opening theme of this series already has TONS of it. They aren't just colorful and various visuals, almost all the imagery in this less-than-2-minutes video is a symbolism!
(supposed to be the opening video but youtube removed it so *sigh*)
I'm no occult expert, but it certainly interests me. I tried to do a little research and I was able to identify a number of them~
(supposed to be the opening video but youtube removed it so *sigh*)
I'm no occult expert, but it certainly interests me. I tried to do a little research and I was able to identify a number of them~
#1
Hampton Court Palace Clock (left) and Prague Orloj (right)
Both are Astronomical Clocks. The former is an early example of a post-Copernican astronomical clock while the second one is considered a primitive planetarium that displays the current state of the universe.
#2
2012 Phenomenon
Apocalyptic predictions, like what the Mayan Long Count Calendar dictates, the end of the world will occur on an exact date: December 21, 2012
#3
1999 Doomsday
A prophecy from Nostradamus which was interpreted that the end of the world will occur on year 1999.
#4
Eye of Providence
Also known as the "all-seeing eye of God" or "Eye of Horus" or "Eye of the World". The imagery can be traced in Egyptian mythology, Buddhism, and even Christianism.
Without the triangle though, it's more similar to the Masonic version.
But the Masonic version has rays.... so I'm beginning to have doubts on this. If it's not a religious type, then most likely it's a psychic type.
#5
Stonehenge
A prehistoric monument in England shrouded with mystery. It's believed to be a temple for sun worship, a healing center, a burial site or a huge calendar.
#6
I CAN'T REMEMBER BUT IT'S FREAKIN' FAMILIAR!!!!!! Thanks to the first Anonymous commenter for the clue!
Moai
Also identified as the "Easter Island heads". These are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Easter Island. These are considered as living faces of deified ancestors... and it had some interesting history dealing with tribes.
#7
Psychokinesis: Spoon Bending
It is the act of deforming objects without depending on physical force. It has become a popular form of stage magic.
#8
Virtruvian Man
Also called "Canon of Proportions" or "Proportions of Man". It's a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci based on correlations of ideal human proportions.
To be honest I'm not sure what's occult in it.... it's more of.... mathematical or human anatomy-related.
But thanks to abandonedfactory, I think I get it now. It's occult in a sense that it's considered "divine mathematics" and acts as a sybolism to principles which are considered occult during those times. The image presents the essential symmetry of the human body and also of the universe as a whole.
I shouldn't have wondered about its "occultness" for I remember seeing it in a Dan Brown book. Ahahaha...
#9
Wiccan Pentacle
It has been mentioned that symbols of a pentagram star within a circle is under Wiccan religion.
#10
Ouroboros Circle
Also known as Uroborus. It represents cyclicality and is often associated with Alchemy, Hermeticism, and especially Gnosticism.
#11
I have no idea.... skull worship possibly?
That's my guess.... while Anonymous 2 has a similar idea but something more specific. There's the possibility of it being connected to Illuminanti/Freemasonry because they also engage in skull worship. There's also the possibility for it to be connected to the Order of Skull and Bones, which is a secret society at Yale University... there had been several rumors about this mysterious group.
#12
Some sort of Bilocation?
Silver Lunar points out that it's similar to what happens to Super Mario when he uses a Power Star in the Super Mario Galaxy game.
Thanks to that, we are getting closer to what it might be based on. I still couldn't figure out what it's specifically based on but for sure it has something to do with space and dimensions... or to be a little more particular, it's some sort of human space/galaxy/universe travelling. The four rainbow-like colored errr... personas/embodiments/entities/divisions/whatever is a clue.... but drats I don't get it.
#13
UFO Symbol
It's an underside of a UFO seen in 1967 in Spain, and a similar incident of the same year in Russia reported that a man noticed a "ray of light" emanating form the underside of the UFO above him. I like the url of the other source xD
#14
I'm not sure but the checkerboard background might have an occult meaning.
Anonymous 2 mentions that checkerboard background is often used in paintings related to Illuminanti/FreemasonryMasonic Lodges. I'm still trying to find such paintings...
#15
I'm not sure but the gold symbol in the middle looks like a Nine-pointed Star (a common symbol in Bahá'í Faith).
The shining illuminating light blue image in the middle looks like a UFO sign/writing/symbol or something....
The eyes, I'm not sure if they're types of Eyes of Providence as well.
As for the others, they look like Hindu gods to me, one of them having Swastika-like symbols. (statue with four symbols on chest on the lower left side). Valence points out that they're more similar to the symbols of the Buddhism or Taoism counterparts.
#16
The cards that Fumiaki is stepping on are Zener cards which are used to conduct ESP experiments.
Those things on the upper right seem like flying saucers to me.
The snake on the same side reminded me of Caduceus.
The figure on the upper left looks like a solar deity.... might be Ra or Horus?
The rest seem to have a connection to Hinduism or Egyptian or Greek or Aztec mythology.
#17
If only the insect/creature could be identified... it's hard to tell. The series will most likely reveal this later.
But after seeing episode 2, it seems to be anime original. An original ALIEN in particular.
But as wanderingdreamr said, it could be the Mothman.
#18
The shape of the staircase is familiar but I can't identify.... but thanks to cilia, it might be referring to the Cosmic Serpent and its associated with shamans. I think more could be figured out on the serpent imagery in this opening theme once I've read more from this article.
The fetus is possibly based on da Vinci's drawing.
The eye in this part is definitely a type of Eye of Providence.
As for the mask in the background, thanks to cilia, I think it's safe to conclude that it's an Olmec-style jade face mask... I haven't read much about it yet but having something to do with Aztec and ancient African culture is occult enough for me. Hehe
Those above are most likely Hindu gods.... but I can't be certain because I couldn't see clearly.
The rest look unfamiliar. There are several Asian faces here (Valence points the possibility of them being Buddhist statues)... and those body parts make me think of Greek statues....
#19
The figure beside Maya looks similar to Sekhmet, an Egyptian warrior goddess.
#20
Latin Chant from The Omen
"Sanguis bibimus, corpus edimus, tolle corpus Satani" which means "We drink the blood, we eat the flesh, raise the body of Satan". On the lowest parts, it's written "Ave Satani" which means "Hail Satan".
As for the eye, I'm not certain.
#21
Collective Invention by René Magritte
Big thanks to wanderingdreamr and Shiroi Hane for poiting this out. The artist seems to be popular in creating surreal paintings. I haven't heard of the artist until I've looked this up. Now, I really really like his works *_* I can't find articles that provide explanations/meanings/whatever on the painting though.
There's actually a rumor of the "real" thing by the way. There had been a breaking news about a fish with human legs washed up on a Galveston, Texas beach.
I have not seen articles relating to mythological creatures with a fish head and human legs. Neither have I read anything that considers it as a type of mermaid.
#22
Familiar but can't recall....the symbol on the forehead must be a clue. But I really can't recall x_x Thanks to Dop for sharing the original illustration and mentioning the reference!
So it's a portrait of Aleister Crowley and he claims to be the Great Beast prophesized in the Book of Revelation (666 is the Number of the Beast) and took the name “Το μεγα θηριον” ("To Mega Therion"), Greek for “The Great Beast”.
#23
Possibly some Astral Projection phenomenon? They are emitting some aura and they're not exactly in the real/physical world...
#24
Heliocentrism
An astronimical model wherein the sun is presented as the center of the universe while the other planets revolve around it. It was first proposed by Aristarchus of Samosand in much later years presented using a telescope by Galileo Galilei.
Others: Valence says that in Chinese, the title "Seikimatsu" means "End of the World". Fits the main plot~
I may have made mistakes or wrong assumptions so feel free to correct me. I definitely missed a lot of things so if you can add, please do. I'll update this when I've familiarized myself with the other unknown references~ ^^
Apology to horrible screencap merging by the way. It's really tough to do it on some parts. And though screencapping with subs annoy me, I don't think I have time to get the RAW, so there xD Hehe.
All the freakin' initial research done by me in several hours (because I got lazy to continue on and gave up on what I couldn't find or figure out). References cited, others based on memory. If recognition of occult reference isn't by me, he/she will be credited for it naturally. If I forgot something else.... blame my forgetfulness ^^; Ahahahaha....
UPDATE LOG:
(07/10/2012) - started
(07/11/2012) - posted
(Around an hour later) - updated #6, #22
(07/14/2012) - corrected typos and stuff; modified #4, #8, #9, #16, #17, #23; updated #12, #14, #15, #17, #18, #21
Hampton Court Palace Clock (left) and Prague Orloj (right)
Both are Astronomical Clocks. The former is an early example of a post-Copernican astronomical clock while the second one is considered a primitive planetarium that displays the current state of the universe.
#2
2012 Phenomenon
Apocalyptic predictions, like what the Mayan Long Count Calendar dictates, the end of the world will occur on an exact date: December 21, 2012
#3
1999 Doomsday
A prophecy from Nostradamus which was interpreted that the end of the world will occur on year 1999.
#4
Eye of Providence
Also known as the "all-seeing eye of God" or "Eye of Horus" or "Eye of the World". The imagery can be traced in Egyptian mythology, Buddhism, and even Christianism.
Without the triangle though, it's more similar to the Masonic version.
But the Masonic version has rays.... so I'm beginning to have doubts on this. If it's not a religious type, then most likely it's a psychic type.
#5
Stonehenge
A prehistoric monument in England shrouded with mystery. It's believed to be a temple for sun worship, a healing center, a burial site or a huge calendar.
#6
Moai
Also identified as the "Easter Island heads". These are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Easter Island. These are considered as living faces of deified ancestors... and it had some interesting history dealing with tribes.
#7
Psychokinesis: Spoon Bending
It is the act of deforming objects without depending on physical force. It has become a popular form of stage magic.
#8
Virtruvian Man
Also called "Canon of Proportions" or "Proportions of Man". It's a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci based on correlations of ideal human proportions.
To be honest I'm not sure what's occult in it.... it's more of.... mathematical or human anatomy-related.
But thanks to abandonedfactory, I think I get it now. It's occult in a sense that it's considered "divine mathematics" and acts as a sybolism to principles which are considered occult during those times. The image presents the essential symmetry of the human body and also of the universe as a whole.
I shouldn't have wondered about its "occultness" for I remember seeing it in a Dan Brown book. Ahahaha...
#9
Wiccan Pentacle
It has been mentioned that symbols of a pentagram star within a circle is under Wiccan religion.
#10
Ouroboros Circle
Also known as Uroborus. It represents cyclicality and is often associated with Alchemy, Hermeticism, and especially Gnosticism.
#11
I have no idea.... skull worship possibly?
That's my guess.... while Anonymous 2 has a similar idea but something more specific. There's the possibility of it being connected to Illuminanti/Freemasonry because they also engage in skull worship. There's also the possibility for it to be connected to the Order of Skull and Bones, which is a secret society at Yale University... there had been several rumors about this mysterious group.
#12
Some sort of Bilocation?
Silver Lunar points out that it's similar to what happens to Super Mario when he uses a Power Star in the Super Mario Galaxy game.
Thanks to that, we are getting closer to what it might be based on. I still couldn't figure out what it's specifically based on but for sure it has something to do with space and dimensions... or to be a little more particular, it's some sort of human space/galaxy/universe travelling. The four rainbow-like colored errr... personas/embodiments/entities/divisions/whatever is a clue.... but drats I don't get it.
#13
UFO Symbol
It's an underside of a UFO seen in 1967 in Spain, and a similar incident of the same year in Russia reported that a man noticed a "ray of light" emanating form the underside of the UFO above him. I like the url of the other source xD
#14
I'm not sure but the checkerboard background might have an occult meaning.
Anonymous 2 mentions that checkerboard background is often used in paintings related to Illuminanti/FreemasonryMasonic Lodges. I'm still trying to find such paintings...
#15
I'm not sure but the gold symbol in the middle looks like a Nine-pointed Star (a common symbol in Bahá'í Faith).
The shining illuminating light blue image in the middle looks like a UFO sign/writing/symbol or something....
The eyes, I'm not sure if they're types of Eyes of Providence as well.
As for the others, they look like Hindu gods to me, one of them having Swastika-like symbols. (statue with four symbols on chest on the lower left side). Valence points out that they're more similar to the symbols of the Buddhism or Taoism counterparts.
#16
The cards that Fumiaki is stepping on are Zener cards which are used to conduct ESP experiments.
Those things on the upper right seem like flying saucers to me.
The snake on the same side reminded me of Caduceus.
The figure on the upper left looks like a solar deity.... might be Ra or Horus?
The rest seem to have a connection to Hinduism or Egyptian or Greek or Aztec mythology.
#17
If only the insect/creature could be identified... it's hard to tell. The series will most likely reveal this later.
But after seeing episode 2, it seems to be anime original. An original ALIEN in particular.
But as wanderingdreamr said, it could be the Mothman.
#18
The shape of the staircase is familiar but I can't identify.... but thanks to cilia, it might be referring to the Cosmic Serpent and its associated with shamans. I think more could be figured out on the serpent imagery in this opening theme once I've read more from this article.
The fetus is possibly based on da Vinci's drawing.
The eye in this part is definitely a type of Eye of Providence.
As for the mask in the background, thanks to cilia, I think it's safe to conclude that it's an Olmec-style jade face mask... I haven't read much about it yet but having something to do with Aztec and ancient African culture is occult enough for me. Hehe
Those above are most likely Hindu gods.... but I can't be certain because I couldn't see clearly.
The rest look unfamiliar. There are several Asian faces here (Valence points the possibility of them being Buddhist statues)... and those body parts make me think of Greek statues....
#19
The figure beside Maya looks similar to Sekhmet, an Egyptian warrior goddess.
#20
Latin Chant from The Omen
"Sanguis bibimus, corpus edimus, tolle corpus Satani" which means "We drink the blood, we eat the flesh, raise the body of Satan". On the lowest parts, it's written "Ave Satani" which means "Hail Satan".
As for the eye, I'm not certain.
#21
Collective Invention by René Magritte
Big thanks to wanderingdreamr and Shiroi Hane for poiting this out. The artist seems to be popular in creating surreal paintings. I haven't heard of the artist until I've looked this up. Now, I really really like his works *_* I can't find articles that provide explanations/meanings/whatever on the painting though.
There's actually a rumor of the "real" thing by the way. There had been a breaking news about a fish with human legs washed up on a Galveston, Texas beach.
I have not seen articles relating to mythological creatures with a fish head and human legs. Neither have I read anything that considers it as a type of mermaid.
#22
So it's a portrait of Aleister Crowley and he claims to be the Great Beast prophesized in the Book of Revelation (666 is the Number of the Beast) and took the name “Το μεγα θηριον” ("To Mega Therion"), Greek for “The Great Beast”.
#23
Possibly some Astral Projection phenomenon? They are emitting some aura and they're not exactly in the real/physical world...
#24
Heliocentrism
An astronimical model wherein the sun is presented as the center of the universe while the other planets revolve around it. It was first proposed by Aristarchus of Samosand in much later years presented using a telescope by Galileo Galilei.
Others: Valence says that in Chinese, the title "Seikimatsu" means "End of the World". Fits the main plot~
I may have made mistakes or wrong assumptions so feel free to correct me. I definitely missed a lot of things so if you can add, please do. I'll update this when I've familiarized myself with the other unknown references~ ^^
Apology to horrible screencap merging by the way. It's really tough to do it on some parts. And though screencapping with subs annoy me, I don't think I have time to get the RAW, so there xD Hehe.
All the freakin' initial research done by me in several hours (because I got lazy to continue on and gave up on what I couldn't find or figure out). References cited, others based on memory. If recognition of occult reference isn't by me, he/she will be credited for it naturally. If I forgot something else.... blame my forgetfulness ^^; Ahahahaha....
UPDATE LOG:
(07/10/2012) - started
(07/11/2012) - posted
(Around an hour later) - updated #6, #22
(07/14/2012) - corrected typos and stuff; modified #4, #8, #9, #16, #17, #23; updated #12, #14, #15, #17, #18, #21
22 comments:
Isn't No.6 an Easter Island head statue?
No. 22 is based on the self-portrait of the self-styled 'Great Beast' and 'Wickedest man in the world' Aleister Crowley.
Mega Therion 666
The symbol on the forehead is REALLY OBVIOUS in the full picture!
I had to rewind to check that bit out.
Posted wrong link, Oops.
Aleister Crowley is the self portrait.
@ Anonymous
Yes! It is! Thanks for reminding me xD
@ Dop
Thanks for the references!!! How could Crowley not have crossed my mind on an occult series, haha!
But I actually still couldn't recall the actual meaning of the symbol on the forehead.... or did it have something to do with the Great Beast?
The 'swastika' you're referring to is not a Nazi Swastika, but if I'm not mistaken, a symbol in Buddhism or Taoism. You can check it up here: http://ecumenicalbuddhism.blogspot.com/2010/02/swastika.html
And also, the half-human fish story is not a verifiable news source- it's from Weekly World News after all.
Perhaps the Asian faces refer to Buddhist statues. After all, there is a fine difference between the Buddhism practiced where I live and the Buddhism practiced in Japan.
And also, Seikimatsu - if I butcher the Japanese and directly read it in Chinese, it says " End of the world." Perhaps the unidentifiable imagery has something to do with this.
I recalled the checkerboard background is often used in paintings related to Illuminati/Freemasonry and used in Masonic lodges. And it's related to Chess, which is mind-screwing-thingy games
The skull worshiping is often used by them too. And then there's the 'Order of Skulls & Bones'.
Both of them are kinda difficult to identify, since there were LOTS of references of them xD
#8 Vitruvian Man. First our notion of "occult" doesn't quite map to the time, as what we would call "occult" and what we would call "science" were then inter-mingled. What makes it "occult" from our perspective is the notion of "divine mathematics", the proportions of the human body were seen as just an example of a universal expression of PHI, the Golden Ratio. In fact the very notion of universal expression of common principles is essential to the European "occult" tradition, as expressed in the phrase, "as above, so below" (attributed to Hermes Trismegistus). This point is raised on the Wikipedia article to which you linked thus: "The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole."
#14 checkerboard. This reminds me of some paintings by Paul Klee, specifically "Ancient Sound". Klee once wrote that "Art does not reproduce the visible, it makes visible."
Excellent post, BTW. I really enjoyed learning about some of this stuff. (They really packed the imagery in there!)
Your great sis! ♥ I am finished watching Ep1 of Occult Academy, and I didn't know about this at all :)
2001 fetus maybe?
#12: they got a power star from super Mario http://www.mariowiki.com/File:SMG_RainbowMario.jpg :U
Great post! i enjoyed reading it! you made me slightly interested in this, slightly..(nothing new interested me so far :/)
I think mothman is #17, it looks to be the same thing chasing #5 at the start of the episode and it reminds me of the mothman from Ghost Hound. And I've seen someone else say that the painting of the fish with woman's legs (#21) is by René Magritte. Thanks for the list, I was wondering how many of those things were references and it seems like A1 outdid themselves here.
#18 seems to be DNA-shaped, or rather a Double Helix. Speaking from the occult point of view, it may refer to the Cosmic Serpent, which has the shape of a Double Helix, seen by shamans when in trance.
Why it is stairs in the OP, i have no clue ^^;
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cosmic_Serpent
Almost forgot', for #18, it seems that the mask in background is a Mayan jade mask.
Oh gosh that's amazing, I can see why you love this show so much now xD
Knew I'd seen the painting before, thanks for the artist name @wanderingdreamr - it is "Collective Invention" by René Magritte:
http://www.abcgallery.com/M/magritte/magritte57.html
@ Valence
Ah, the nazi version wasn't the one I had in mind, but hhmm... looks like the wikipedia version focused on the nazi version. Thanks for the better link regarding the symbol xD
Ah, I'm not familiar with Weekly World News.... so it's fake?
I think the Japanese and Chinese of "Seikimatsu" mean the same *_*
@ Latest Anonymous
Thanks! I considered chess and the like but.... I couldn't think of the occult relation. Hehe.
Yeah, it's difficult to identify those that have lots of references xD
@ abandonedfactory
LOLz, the proportion thing made me think of math so much that I didn't bother to read the whole thing *hates math a lot* Thanks for the explanation~
Looks like Paul Klee is a surreal artist.... if only there was a person infront of the Ancient Sound background (like with maya on the screen)... the connection might be more confirmed o_o
Thank you~
@ xtine06
Thanks sistah~ It's awesome, right? Natuwa ako sobra nung nakita ko na ang daming familiar images sa OP xD
@ Omari's Sister
I have never heard of it O_O Can't find articles related to it either.... x_x
@ SilverLunar
Thanks for the hint xD So cool that it's doing the same as a video game xD Hehe.
Thanks~ Glad you enjoyed it and I'm happy that you got interested even just slightly. (It's better than none)
@ wanderingdreamr
Is it from a later episode of Ghost Hound? Drats.... how many times have I told myself to marathon it already x_x
Thanks as well! And yeah, A1 sure outdid themselves on this~
@ cilia
I also thought of the double helix but.... it's science xD Hahahaha! But it indeed may be the cosmic serpent from the occult point of view. The stairs thing is still a mystery though....
Thanks for sharing xD
@ Aorii
I totally can't resist amazing shows like this xD So much careful research, splendid~
@ Shiroi Hane
Thanks for finding the actual painting!!! *_*
I'm not sure, but I think that #12 refers to a scientific theory of time/space in which we (in our dimension) don't move fluidly and without stopping, but rather are broken into time-frames, like a cartoon, only working so fast that it is impossible to pinpoint.
(I just read this somewhere in passing, I might be wrong)
As for the Swastika, I know for a fact that its a Buddhist and Hindu symbol symbolizing good luck, used a lot in idols and artifacts. You can tell because the Nazi version usually only points right.
Sorry for writing so much, I think its really cool how occult academy has put in all these symbols!
@Pyro -- the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" -- My nerdy heart breaks that you've never heard of it. It's a classic! And the fetus image at the end is iconic.
http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/IDS_101_embryology_basics/images/space_baby.jpg
You must see it!!! You'll love the psycho computer HAL.
A very nice collection of symbols! While reviewing episode two, I was going through the same conundrum about the abundance of symbology but you have covered it mostly. Kudos! ^^;
no 4 the image reflected by the eye is "flying humanoid" i think it s in mexico, you can google it
Number 16 has an Olmec head in it. And I think Number 18 has a Noh mask. Noh plays are usually about ghosts.
#12 may refer to the Illuminati mind control called Monarch Programming. It is a trauma-based mind control which makes the victim produce multiple personalities who obey their "handler". I only speculate but what gave me this idea is that they have different colors which may refer to different personalities.
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