HERMETO-TANTRIK-KABALLISTIC
AND CTHULHU MYTHOS NAMES as used by EOD and SWS 60s and 70s.
By:
Tani Jantsang
I wrote this to show people who are familiar with these cultural currents, but not familiar with the Cthulhu Mythos, how some of these mythos words are used; that is, they have similar meaning and sound similar. This synopsis will be clear to those already very familiar with the Hermetic, Eastern Esoteric and Kabalistic tradition. These are just notes. Lovecraft chose mythemes from Semitic and Turanian (Turko-Tatar) sources and said this himself. The inventor of terms for the fiction is put in brackets [ ]. Other notations are in parenthesis ( ). This shows fictional mythos relations to legitimate things from regular mythology or religious traditions - usually the similarities were deliberate.
Emphasis ours: From (Lovecraft's) Selected Letters IV: p 386-7: "...as to those artificial names of unearthly places and gods and persons and entities - there are different ways of coining them. To a large extent they are designed to suggest - either closely or remotely - certain names in actual history or folklore which have weird of sinister associations connected with them. Thus "Yuggoth" has a sort of Arabic or Hebraic cast, to suggest certain words passed down from antiquity in the magical formulae contained in Moorish and Jewish manuscripts. Other synthetic names like 'Nug" and "Yeb" suggest that dark and mysterious tone of Tartar or Thibetan folklore. Thus when I cite the name of some wholly non-human thing supposed to be mentioned in the Necronomicon, I try to have the foundation of the word absolutely unearthly and alien, yet give it an outwardly Arabic aspect to account for the transmitting influence of the mad Arab. Typical Necronomicon names are Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, etc." (Thanks D. Harms for HPL's quote)
Emphasis ours: Also In Supernatural Horror in Literature, at the end of chapter VI, Lovecraft discusses the "till recently quite hidden" weird literature of the Jews, giving this description: "Cabbalism itself, so prominent during the Middle Ages, is a system of philosophy explaining the universe as emanations of the Deity, and involving the existence of strange spiritual realms and beings apart from the visible world, of which dark glimpses may be obtained through certain secret incantations. Its ritual is bound up with mystical interpretations of the Old Testament, and attributes an esoteric significance to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet--a circumstance which has imparted to Hebrew letters a sort of spectral glamour and potency in the popular literature of magic." This may not be correct regarding the Kaballa, but this is what Lovecraft thought. (Thanks D. Clore for HPL quote).
In order to have written this, HPL had to have specific texts or folklore in mind. It shows, at the least, that he was familiar with Arabic/Hebrew words/names and Tartar and Thibetan folklore. (Tatar and Tibetan). It does not, however show or prove that he understood the concepts in these texts or made a study of them. There is no way to actually know what HPL read or studied that he did not mention to others, or did not have in his library.
Other writers through the years sought out words and ideas from many cultures that sounded similar and had proper similar meanings.
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Cthulhu as written of by Lovecraft (HPL): High Priest of the Old Ones who are Outside, that will be unleashed through the gate which is Yog-Sothoth. I.e., An Obic Priest (center column, Kaballa) that "opens the Gate Yat-Zebaoth," among other things. Similar to releasing the Seals in the Book of Revelation. This will result in utter Chaos. Then the Old Ones will walk once again, where we walk now. When the stars are right or, "when the spaces between the stars are more wide." (The Big Crunch, cf. physics, Penrose; expanding universe equals spaces between stars being wider.New data shows something even more Lovecraftian: that the universe is not slowing down and tending toward a crunch in the way that anyone might think of this. In other words, objects inside of space/time do not behave as space/time itself behaves at all. The universe is expanding faster, expansion is increasing, not slowing down, according to the latest Hubble and other finds. Now, interestingly, it is the dark voids of space BETWEEN the matter in galaxies that is blowing up like a bubble; and the matter in the galaxies puts a brake on it keeping it from expanding way too fast. Some call it a repulsion force, some call it a cosmological constant, some call it dark energy. So then, the spaces between galaxies are literally getting more wide!) [HPL].
ALSO from Lovecraft: Cthulhu, or at least Cthulhu-looking Octopoids, alien, enemy of Crinoids (Star-Headed "Old Ones" or "Elder Things" in the story "Mountains of Madness") that came to earth [HPL]. There are also polyp-octopoids that may be the race that Cthulhu came with. Or the Polyps may be a separate race distinct from the Octopoids. The Octopoids are definitely made out to be Cthulhu's race by most readers (though HPL didn't specifically say that). The Polyps are the race that the Race of Yith was fleeing from, or the Yithians found them on earth and fought them. [HPL, Derleth, fanzine Yith Trilogy, Jantsang, Marsh].
Cthulhu not in fiction: Possibly similar to the Arabic Khadhulu. The word occurs in the Koran, meaning "forsaker" or "abandoner." Also note that in Aramiac Ketul-hu means, "he who is imprisoned." The Arabic root word Katala means to fetter or imprison. R'lyeh could possibly be Uralia, the Urallic lands; Ural Altaics are associated, in Biblical scholarship, with Gog and Magog from the line of Japhet. Also R'lyeh is an acceptable transcription of the Arabic Galiyah or r'allyah since the "g" is a glottal "r" sometimes rendered by an "r" or "r'" and galiyah means boiling.)
Cthulhu - Lovecraft: The story "Call of Cthulhu" was a deliberate parody of the Book of Revelation; HPL said this in one of his letters. In that book, in short and specifically, one sees someone that is "like unto" a son of man; his hair is white and his eyes are flaming fire; his voice is like many waters. He's in the midst of seven candles. In his right hand he shows seven stars and out of his mouth comes a double edged sword. He claims to be the alpha and omega, he claims that he is living though he is/was dead and that he is alive forever and ever, though he may die, he is alive (That is not dead, which can eternal lie...). He has the keys to Hell and Death. Later the visionary sees a throne and One sitting on this throne. The One on the throne is like looking at jasper and sardine stone and there is a rainbow around the throne like an emerald. Around this throne are 24 elders wearing tiaras or crowns of gold. In front of this is a sea of glass like a crystal and in the middle of the throne and around the throne are 4 living beasts full of eyes before and behind and within (like shoggoths), that never rest and that worship the One that lives forever and ever. And it goes on to say that no man of heaven, or earth, or under the earth is able to open the book or unlock the Seals. Later it is said about the One on the throne, that all must hide from Its face. Of course, the Seals that contain The Awful Stuff are opened and that heralds the end of the world.
Cthulhu - a name: Also, from the book Conqueror of the World by Rene Grousset page 21: there was a relatively well-known Mongol khan of the East: KHUTULA KHAN ["Qutula Khan" or "Qan"]. He was the uncle of Jenghiz Khan [Chinngis Khan was a title, his actual name was Temujin], and was considered a "Mongol Hercules," half bestial, half divine, endowed with superhuman strength. Temujin's father was Yesugei. Yesugei's father was Bartan Ba'atur. Khutula Khan was Bartan Ba'atur's brother. Prince Altan was Khutula Khan's son.
Cthulhu with Derleth and the other writers' input: Tangaroa or Kanaloa, the octopus god that came to earth from outer space (Emma-ya? Xoth: Sirius, or SOTHIS, Greek). Cthulhu came here with its three sons [Carter]. It fought a war with either other gods, or its half-brother Hastur, and the land it came to sunk beneath the Pacific. It retains control over sentient swimming creatures. [Derleth, based on Tangaroa, oldest known Polynesian religion] (Note: HPL--ship in Call of Cthulhu is the Emma.)
Ghatanothoa: Another name of Cthulhu/Tangaroa, brought to earth by aliens on Pluto, tyrant-ruler of Mu. [HPL's intent, written for Hazel Heald]. OR: A son of Cthulhu born on Xoth a binary star (cf. Sothis: Sirius a binary star) when Cthulhu mated with Idh-yaa or Quum-yaa, [from Mu cycle, wife being Isis, Cthulhu being Osiris: Lin Carter from Churchward's Mu-Egyptian fantasy]
Zoth-Ommog: Alternate spelling "Satomaga" literally means SAT, OM, and AGA. A title for what Cthulhu itself would really be, in HPL's original story: a High Priest, or AGA, of the "SAT" and "OM" - SAT is the boundless darkness, OM is the Demiurgos, Bahu, the Root. Center column Kabalistic Tradition. Cf. also Ubbo-Sathla. [Hermetic-Tantrik]. OR: Another son of Cthulhu from Xoth, though alternate spelling is given by this author, who was occultist enough to know that UB-ASAT are the Demiurge, which he wrote in his "Eibon" story. [Lin Carter]. Any adept of the Zoth-om (Sat-Om) or Z'th-om or Zot-om according to the Yuggya. [Jantsang].
Ythogtha: Another son of Cthulhu from Xoth. [Lin Carter] - though Lin's description of this deity or entity is identical to the Ophioneus of Pythagoreans, or Leviathan. [Hermetic-Hebrew] Ythogtha is in Yhe, he is the second Yugg deity, along with Zoth-Ommog. Protective Spiritual Principle of the Yuggya [Jantsang]. E-choc-tah: place of worms, Amerind.
Xoth: a note on this. Xoth is the binary star where Cthulhu, wife and sons were, [Carter]. I do not think this is the same as Clark Ashton Smith's planet Zoth because Smith's Zoth was connected to Tsathoggua. In the Xothic cycle, Tsathoggua doesn't exist. Carter would not change something Smith wrote; ergo Xoth is another place. Since Carter, in the story "Curse of the Black Pharaoh" chose to write the Arabic word "Djinn" or "Jinn" like this: "Xin," I assume then that Xoth is pronounced similarly as Djoth (the "dj" said as in the word jar) or Joth, using a soft "J" sound in the word or using Joth, such as the soft "J" sound in the word "de jure" or as the "z" is pronounced in the word "azure." Neither Zoth-Ommog nor any of the Zoth, Z'th, or Zot words of the Yuggya are connected to Smith's Zoth.
Ubbo-Sathla: The primordial slime from which all things came to live, [C.A. Smith]. Demiurge that is linked to Azathoth [Lin Carter] Ialdabaoth, Child of Bahu, concealed in the OM.
Abhoth: same as Ubbo-Sathla. Literally AB and OTH (father with a plural female ending!) [Hebrew]
Ubb: Same as Ubbo-Sathla, and/or progenitor of the Yuggs, the Worms of the Earth. [Lin Carter]. Ubbia, figurative Italian-Sicilian-Cypriot slang for "Maggot" more akin to "Worm idol-worship," the Ouroboros or Worm that eats its tail (Ur-Ub, or Ur-Ob-orus later Serpent) used in "Other Nations" by Tani Jantsang for the progenitor of the race of Yuggya. (In that my view is that Ubbo-Sathla is the Demiurge or Bahu, but that Ubb is an Old One, like Cthulhu and is the progenitor of the Yuggs and the Yuggya.) Hermetic sacred symbol representing the Cosmos's Beginning/End as if seen as One Event, (physics). Likewise, Ob, the Asat, or Azoth, Vortex - oblivion, Karmic eraser. Obeah, same in Voodoo with Damballah being the Serpent (Voodoo, from Vaudois, French). UBer, Old Turko-Tatar - sorcerer of the dark kind (Boga is of the light kind). Ub-Aur, Bulgarian; Ob-Aur, Hebrew: same. Uba or Oba: idol, Turko-Mongol. UPir, vampire in Slavic languages.
Yog-Sothoth: The Gate that knows the Old Ones [HPL see above under Cthulhu]. Yat-Zebaoth [Hermetic-Kabalistic] (HPL's father's brother was of this tradition, HPL defined Yat-Zebaoth).
Azathoth: Asat-sat OR Asat, Azoth. 1st: non-being/being. 2nd: non-being, the Kether-Ob-Aur [Hermetic-Kabalistic tradition], or Azoth, Ialdabaoth the Child of Chaos in alchemy. [Asat and Sat are standard Vedanta]. Arabic Izzu (power of) and Thoth (power of Thoth, or Tahuti).
Nyarlathotep: The Soul and Messenger of all the Old Ones. Hermes/Thoth, Mahakala. In incarnate form, the same as Black God of Sorcerers and Witches. [HPL, Bloch, Price & other writers on this]. Possibly from the Sanskrit name of this which is Narayana but highly doubtful - HPL claimed he dreamed this name out of the blue in a nightmare of nightmares - after the dream he began writing CM stories! Ob-ran and Ka-ran; Ob- and Ka- ran, RAN: chaos. Right and left "hands" or aspects of Nyarlathotep [Tani Jantsang]. Used in "Dark Hand of God" [W. Hill]. Nyarlathotep would be the Cthulhu Mythos name for the Dark Lord of Transcendent Awareness in our own org and in my culture. (Dr. Price, Crypt of Cthulhu #2, confirms Mahakala would be Nyarlathotep). Nyarlathotep as depicted by mythos writers, nasty, mean, horribly bloody like Rudra, inciting chaos, is like a Warrior Lama said to be using Towo forms; Nyarlathotep as pro diversity, pro complexity, both of which would be regarded as chaos by people wanting to keep the status quo, Nyarlathotep as pro going-with-the-flow, pro liberation is another matter way too positive for mythos stories). Egyptian words: NY HAR RUT and then Hotep meaning there is no rest/peace at the Gate, but there is no deity in Egypt with that name. Nyarlathotep is the Crawling Chaos.
Shub-Niggurath: Pan, the Androgyne Goat of Mendes, the Black Goat of the Woods. [in all fiction] Nyarlathotep would be the Real Thing Itself; Shub-Niggurath would be as Yig, this force/energy IN LIVING THINGS, Ubbo-Sathla would the Bahu or root of it in matter, [T. Jantsang]. Shab (Arabic) Nigritia (Latin) - Dark Youth.
Yig or Yg. The "Y" of "YI" - Serpent of Wisdom. Word means "serpent." [HPL]
Tsathoggua: toad god [C.A. Smith] Sadogwa, Mali word for an adept of the SAT, or SOD. Same tradition as related above under Ubb. Sod-ihoh, Hebrew word for same.
Cthugha: fire elemental from Fomalhaut [Derleth]. Thuggee (India) cult of Kali sorcerers and actual murderers. Kali is the Black Tongue of Fire in their tradition.
Nyogtha: earth elemental. Nitthogar, Norse idea of the cthonic portion of the Tree Yggdrasail.
Ran-tegoth: a monster! Ran-tik-oth ?, literally "plural chaos-made manifest-in a yin manner" Hebrew/Hermetic; Ran is Japanese for Chaos.
Zhar: definition varies with stories. Zar: Somali, a possessing demon/sprite. Zarr: tornado causing wind god [Tierney]
Shudde-M'ell: underground squid, one species of Cthonic beings in G'harne (Africa). [Brian Lumley] or Shuddam-El: Shai-urt-ab, The Worm of Destiny, Apophis, Leviathan. [Tierney]. Shidda al-Mu'ell (Arabic, shidda is violence; al-Mu'ell is causer of destruction).
Ithaqua: air elemental, the Wendigo [Derleth]. Air god of Borea, another world [Lumley].
Atlach-Nacha: spider-like web weaver [CA Smith, Lumley]. Agawanaja: weaves a spider-like web of you. [paintings of Cro-Magnon in caves]. Ha Malech Ha Moveth or the Sam-Moveth-Az, similar to Samael, the Angel of Death that weaves a web of destruction on the Tree of Life [Jantsang].
Yibb-tstll: Yggdrasil? "The Black Blood of Yibb-tstll" & Bug-Shash, Ubot-Shash? in a form that kisses/soul-stealer. Black Blood is kin to Bug-Shash. [Lumley] Ophioneus, Hellenic. "The Black Kiss" Kuttner & Bloch, same idea, the kisser is a Yugg-type that swaps souls, the Yug is not like Bug-shash, but the power it is using is akin to it.
Daoloth: Render of veils of illusion. THE TAO (DAO) definition of it. [Campbell].
Other entities, Hydra, Dagon, Byatis, etc., known Classical mythology names.
Lloigor: sprites that cause mischief [Colin Wilson], deity related to Zhar [Derleth].
Aphoom-Zaa: related to Cthugha, caused ice ages. [fanzines].
Rlim Shaikorth: god of the ice, or the ice itself in ice-age. [fanzines]. These and most other names not included here have no "Hermetic," Eastern or any myth base for their creative invention, such as Othuyeg and/or the Lew Kthew deity cycle of James Ambuehl.
Deep Ones: fishlike, or froglike children of Dagon and Hydra and servitors of Cthulhu, pure, or hybrid with humans. Or, a large classification for all servitors of Cthulhu [Lumley]. Classical Mer-lore and world-wide mer-lore. HPL and especially Derleth solidified this mer-lore for us. The Oannes or Annedotti. Berossus referred to them as the Annedotti, the Greek name for them. The Sumerians called them Abgal and the Akkadians used the term Apkallu. In R'lyehian, the pure Deep Ones have a name for themselves, the On-dy'uth and the hybrids, who are different since they go thru a transformation, are the Ghu-on'uth [T. Jantsang].
Yuggs, Yuggya: Worms, and/or worm-folk whose progenitor is Ubb. (Yugyar, old name of Tatars that lived in "Tartary" before Jenghis Khan. Yugyar (also spelled Uighyar or Uygur) writing written in vertical columns, is a syllabary. These are known Serpent/Dragon venerating peoples. Lin Carter knew this. (Yegg-ha, Lumley version of the same ?, he used his own spelling for this, though he used the title Leiber intended to use on his story about the worms, "Burrowers Beneath.") [Yugg: Lin Carter. Yuggya worm-folk, the Yuggya Collective, T. Jantsang]
Shoggoths: watchdogs for the Deep Ones and other Cthulhu related allies, formerly slaves of the Crinoids. The "Ommith?" [occult lore].
Othuum: leader of the polyp-octopoid Cthulhu-spawn, like Pesh-Tlen [Lumley], the original Cthulhu spawn [HPL], trapped outside our dimension with Mu [Kuttner]. Toom: same as Proteus (protons), Egyptian, issued from Osiris in the form of Noot "The Great Deeps" or Bahu, Demiurge. Othuum is also the Savior of mankind in the joint story called "Othuum."
Mi-go: Mi-gu Burmese, the Yeti, abominable snowmen.
Tcho-tcho: cho'tger (demon) or "cho cho" Tatar/Tibetan dialect, a Sorcerer who uses the Black Flame to harm, a dog (like calling a person a bitch).
kLu - Sacred "Naga" Serpents - Bon-po
Kn'yan -gNyan - rock dwelling creatures- Bon-po, Mimigwesso - Tierney
gZer-myig - Major Sacred Books- Bon-po
Nkai, similar to Naki, Naka, Naga, Ngai. The Nagaloka (pre-Sanskrit Naga and Amerind: Nagal).
Sign of Kish and Sigil of Sarnath, literally OUR STAR, Eye, Flame, and Tree image. Kish is a city in Babylon that warred with Sargon a Priest of Dagon, historical. Sarnath is where the Buddha gave the Fire sermon of the FIVE Dharma (truths) shown on our star. (Carter and Derleth: Elder Sign.) HPL's Elder Sign was "like a swastika" not our pentacle! 2 points up is the CORRECT way, HOUSE in center. Eastern Star - same pentacle. I would imagine that the writers changed HPL's Swastika protective sigil into something else due to the connection with the Nazis during/after to World War Two. There would be no other logical reason to so drastically alter what Lovecraft wrote. Carter then went further and claimed that it was not the sigil itself that did anything; it was the material that the sigil was made of which was slightly radioactive [Xothic Cycle].
Vach-Viraj: As a formula, an incantation to ward off Nyogtha [Kuttner] and the Cthonians [Lumley]. After the Unknown Darkness, Thatness or Aditi, Vach is the Divine Female, Viraj is the Divine Male [Brahmanic system], similar to the Boundless Darkness and the Vajra within - together Vajra-yogini, in Tantra. Vach is also referred to as Sata-rupa (Sat plus rupa - Being and Form). The same meaning to the Yuggya [Jantsang]. (Yuggya have Zoth or Z'th or Zot, the Unknown similar to Ain Soph or Aditi; they have Vach and Viraj, and Om [Jantsang]). A formula using this, or a yoga using this would be similar to the Chod Rite, Void Yoga and use of Siddhi to the Yuggya [Jantsang], standard Vajrayana things.
Mnar: Na'ur - Altaic word meaning LAKE. Modern version: NOR. All lakes in the area today are still called "Nor" as in Lopnor, Kokonor, etc.
The Old Ones: Possibly an alien, demonized take-off on the Chronian Mythology. Plutarch said: "Demons serve and minister unto Cronos, whose companions they were when He reigned upon Gods and men....." The Kabiri are the Elder Ones or in Hebrew Kabbir meaning Great Ones, the root has both meanings - Kabira means to be old or older, kabura means to be big or strong. Further, gabirum, that word makes them gods of the underworld, the root gabara means to bury. The idea of Kabirim prevailed in the Arabic Kabir and Hebrew Kabbir. Plutarch adopted a version. In Plutarch's story they are Powers of divination who convey the god's DREAMS to his SACRED PRIESTS on the Fortunate Isle of Ogyia-Pelagia. (Is it a coincidence that Pelagic means under the ocean?) This is the same KIND of paradigm here, just turned by HPL into something with a more modern and "outer space, alien" flavor to it and, of course, the deities were turned into frightening entities. Chronos is a good god of the golden age - HPL and company had the Old Ones ruling in a PRIOR AGE, too - but they were not "good gods." The coming of the Old Ones is an admitted mockery of the Armegeddon story in the Book of Revelation.
About the mythos races and Old Ones:
"Jinn were powerful creatures of Arab myth. The Jinn, according to legend, came down from heaven (the sky) in the time before Adam. Therefore, they pre-exist mankind and are thus called 'Pre-Adamites'. 'Infidel pagans' worship these incredibly powerful beings. The Jinn can 'beget young on mankind'. The Jinn are usually invisible to normal men. They apparently want great influence on Earth. Much of the magick used in Arab countries concerns the Jinn (protection spells against, or spells to call them up)."
"In A Dictionary
of Islam, Jinn are said to have come to the Earth ages before man existed.
They were the first of Earth's masters. They built huge cities whose ruins still
stand in forgotten places. Aeons later many Jinn were forced to flee Earth while
others were imprisoned. Still others roam desolate places to this day. The Jinn
are said to be invisible to normal men. They are, however, able to interbreed
with humans but the human parent may suffer when the dark offspring is born. The
Jinn will, according to legend, survive mankind."
- Parker Ryan, "The
Necronomicon and Ancient Arab Magick"
"Irem is very important to Arab magick. 'Irem Zhat al Imad' (Irem of the Pillars) is the city's name in Arabic. It is popularly believed by the Arabs that Irem was built by the Jinn under the direction of Shaddad, Lord of the tribe of Ad. The tribe of Ad, according to legend, was a race roughly equivalent to the Hebrew 'Nephilim' (giants). In some versions of this myth, Shaddad and the Jinn built Irem before the time of Adam. The Muqarribun (Arab magicians) have important beliefs about Irem and it's significance. The Muqarribun, whose traditions predate Islam, believe that Irem is a locale on another level of reality, rather than a physical city like NY or Tokyo. The 'Pillars' in 'Irem of the Pillars' has a hidden meaning. Among Arab mystics, 'pillar' is a code name for 'elder' or 'old one'. Thus 'Irem of the Pillars' is really 'Irem of the Old Ones'."
"In
Arab legend Irem is located in the Rub al Khali... To the Muqarribun, the Rub
al Khali also has a 'hidden' meaning (incidentally the art of encoding and decoding
'hidden' meanings in Arab mystical or magickal writing is called Tawil). Rub al
Khali translates as 'the empty Quarter'. In this case empty refers to the VOID
and is the same as AIN in the Cabalistic traditions. Rub al Khali is the 'secret'
door to the Void in Arab magickal traditions. It is the exact Arab equivalent
to DAATH in the Kabbalah. To the Muqarribun the Rub al Khali is the secret gate
(Daath) to the Void (Ain) in which is the 'city of the Old Ones'."
- Parker
Ryan, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Arab Magick"
"Cthulhu is very close to the Arabic word Khadhulu (also spelled al qhadhulu). Khadhulu (al qhadhulu) is translated as 'Forsaker' or 'Abandoner'. Many Sufis and Muqarribun writings make use of this term (Abandoner). In Sufi and Muqarribun writings 'abandoner' refers to the power that fuels the practices of Tajrid 'outward detachment' and Tafrid 'interior solitude'."
"By the
time Mohammad was writing, Shaitan was being called 'the Old Serpent (dragon)'
and 'the Lord of the Abyss'. The Old Serpent or Old Dragon is, according to experts
such as E.A. Budge and S.N. Kramer, Leviathan [Hebrew]. Leviathan is Lotan [Canaanite].
Lotan traces to Tietan. Tietan, we are told by the authorities on Near Eastern
mythology, is a later form of Tiamat. According to the experts the Dragon of the
Abyss called Shaitan is the same Dragon of the Abyss named Tiamat."
-
Parker Ryan, "The Necronomicon and Ancient Arab Magick"
Hastur: not a Cthulhu Mythos entity, a shepherd god [Ambrose Bierce], a force of stagnation and stasis [Robert Chambers] the enemy of Cthulhu [Derleth], the enemy of all the old ones hinted by saying those that wear the Yellow Sign are enemies of the Old Ones [HPL]. Ha-Set-Ur - SET in a Jesus-form [Tierney] - the tyrant deity that tries to be the only deity. Hastur: Marion Zimmer Bradley, NOT CTHULHU MYTHOS, Hastur is a nice deity. In Derleth, the enemy of Cthulhu.
HPL wanted nothing to do with the Hastur tales or the people who wrote them. His negative reference to it in Whisperer in Darkness was probably his way of saying to Derleth "I don't accept this entity" just as his altered spelling of Tsathoggua included as an entity was his way of approving of CA Smith's invented entity. HPL openly wrote that he did not want Hastur to be included.
Magickal Uses or Suggestions
How one may use these Cthulhu Mythos names in the Dark Tradition, either with the Pentacle (pentamychos tradition) or using the Tree of Life:
Starry Wisdom Sect (occult order in 60s and 70s) used these this way:
Septenary System:
1 and 2. Nyarlathotep would be the entire pre Light phase: (Kether, Binah). It is the Soul and Messenger of all the Old Ones.
3. Shub-Niggurath would be the Hochmah as a kind of Kundalini Principle which also creates diversity, miscegenation, and chaos (like entropy). So that's 1, 2, and 3, Sephiroth. Or Nyarlathotep as 1. Kether and 2. Binah; and Shub-Niggurath as 3. Hochmah.
4.
Yog-Sothoth we used as Chesed (or Hesed)
5. Azathoth we used as Geburah
6. Daoloth we used as Tipereth
7. Cthugha we used as Netzah
8. Ithaqua
we used as Hod
9. Cthulhu we used as Yesod
10. Nyogtha we used as Malkuth
Ubbo-Sathla would be the Demiurge or Bahu, the Cosmic Egg.
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How one may use the Cthulhu Mythos in the Pentamychos system if one goes by the above SWS method for the Septenary system:
Nyarlathotep
rules the entire thing (like the Asat/Sat as One).
Top right point: Atlach-Nacha
or Na-Ran
Top left point: Xada-hgla or Ka-Ran or Ob-Ran
Bottom right point:
Fthaggua or Aphoom Zhah
Bottom left point Zhar or Zarr
Bottom point: Othuum
or Ythogtha or Bug Shash
The X section of the pentacle between the two top points, where the "heart" would be (Daoloth if superimposed) would have Yibb-Tstll as we used it, the Black (Blood of) Yibb-Tstll, - but this Old One has undergone drastic changes by the creator of it, Brian Lumley. (Note that Yibb-Tstll and Bug-Shash are copyright by Brian Lumley and he does not want to share his Old Ones like the other writers do.)
Another way is this, used by other occult lodges that relate to the Mythos:
Azathoth is Asat Nyarlathotep is Sat ruling the five.
Top
right point: Yog-Sothoth
Top left point: Cthugha
Bottom right point: Nyogtha
Bottom left point: Ithaqua
Bottom point: Cthulhu
The X section is Daoloth, same as above. Tao or Daath, either/or.
Or use this method, we used this too, sometimes:
Nyarlathotep as The One Darkness ruling the Star.
Top right
point: Yog-Sothoth
Top left point: Azathoth
Bottom Right point: Cthugha
Bottom Left Point: Ithaqua
Bottom point: Nyogtha
In the Cosmos: Cthulhu,
their High Priest who can see them dimly!
The X section is Daoloth, same as above. Tao or Daath, either/or.
In my fiction, I do not use the concepts of August Derleth (elemental Old Ones and their foes the Elder Gods, a dualistic good/evil system) or Lin Carter (Old Ones, their wives and children, Elder Gods and dualism to the point of being inversionist christianity, eg, his Demon Trinity). I completely reject these ideas. I stick to the concepts of H. P. Lovecraft or broaden them if Lovecraft himself didn't invent the creatures he used, and I also invent my own creatures. I invented the Yuggya. The inspiration for these creatures did not come from the Cthulhu Mythos, but I can put them into a Cthulhu mythos context just as anything else can be put in there. Neither I nor Carter invented Ubb, Uba, Ubbya, Uber or Upir - these are things common to Slavic and Turanian folklore. H. P. Lovecraft did not invent the Anedottus Musarus (The Deep Ones) - these are creatures common to folklore around the world. H. P. Lovecraft's Deep One stories could be correctly seen as his "slice of life" in the long saga of Oceanic Humanoids.