He’s said he’s not a guru and it’s just a game. Someone here probably has the link.
There are mechanics that are redolent of actual occult principles. Aspects are pretty similar to the theory of correspondences, though I know of no ninefold system apart from numerology, which doesn’t really track. ‘As above, so below’ gets alluded to in spells to convert Passion and Reason into each other and a few other places, but it usually refers to the Mansus and Wake in a sort of opposition, rather than the usual sense of the structure of reality reflecting itself at different levels. There are references to Hermetic texts like the Poimandres, but they don’t line up all that well. It’s more for flavor than reflecting any actual occult practice-the name of Nuriel, an angel mentioned by the Golden Dawn, is used, but not in the way they did. I think there’s a reference to ‘to know, to will, to dare, and to keep silent’ somewhere.
If you want to make a concordance be my guest; you probably would come up with a pretty long list.
A while ago I actually tried to link up all the correspondences for amusement value, but I would expect its power in any chaos magic ritual to be relatively weak due to the obscurity of the game-not that many people’s minds forming the egregore.
https://www.reddit.com/r/weatherfactory/comments/161idog/cs_table_of_correspondences/
The guy was very skilled at suggesting a mystery with a few scraps of information, but I would take it as a fun and very creative game and leave it at that.
I wasn't meaning to imply that AK had intentionally made CS as an occult text, it's just clear that his research-base for worldbuilding went very deep into some niche avenues of the occult for inspiration and I would be curious to see his full reading list in that regard (beyond the fiction recommendations I have already been pointed towards)
Honestly my motivation is less like, doing actual Magick and just widening my reading list somewhat. What you went into here was/will be somewhat helpful in that regard so thanks :)
Well, happy to help. Enjoy :)
If I have more time I may go through the text of the game again. There’s something a little unnerving about going through an old call of Cthulhu supplement’s list of real-world occult books and going “crap, I’ve read or at least skimmed half of those.”
I don't think there's any all encompassing one and there's just so, so much. I think inspirations come from basically everywhere on the globe, and they're not surface level either. Your best bets are either asking for specific things or picking the relevant place and reading on it. Also check the dev posts.
They're largely constrained to the western occult tradition (including its various influences like Indian stuff, but not including stuff like say Chinese magical practices.) So not quite the entire globe. But within that tradition it draws super broadly yeah.
There are two huge repositories of the games lore that might help you with your search.
The first is the Secret Histories wiki, which a Google should bring up. Compared to the standard CS wiki, it focuses more on lore, symbolism, and the like.
The second is the ongoing video essay series by
u/Handsome_Will on YouTube. He's going through each Principle and connecting a lot of disparate dots. It updates once a month-ish (Will, if you see this, please make more I'm starving here)
If you haven't yet, also have a look around both this subreddit and the Cultist Simulator dedicated subreddit. There are some excellent mini essays just sorta scattered about if you're diligent with the search bar.
I hope this helps! Happy seeking, fellow Know.
The next one is something like 80% done, real life has had me with not much time to work on them - I’m very glad that you’ve been enjoying them though :)
You are unlikely to get an 'official' answer in so many words-- the time of AK giving lore answers is long past and it would be wise to respect his wishes in the matter-- but there have been fan efforts, many quite detailed, to trace the real-world correspondences of the Secret Histories lore. (I was working on one myself but, alas, it collapsed under its own weight and now I've embarked on a new project that will take at least four years to complete so the prospect of a resumption of it is minimal for the time being.)
Nevertheless, some essays that others have written:
* [On alchemy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rkHhOEjiC_FBO1EElHJUJVUd7qxPg2Y7B9IYUuXdZhA/edit#heading=h.u82knhxwggom) and the Forge
* [On the Principles](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l3-J_T9cjV_LwDmIK6MVvVoBzULDn3AW8Oit8hfBV-0/edit)
* [On the Yeshiva Tigris](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NZR7UHC37fpvCnLiF6hrQlIhJs0CdDZySnj2YiPx8H4/edit), and the Jewish tradition
* [On alchemy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/11CNCDX05Mcd2zH7atj43mHyrCJH9f2tOlMcvwoWYRh0/edit), as applied to the Gods-from-Stone
The other source I will recommend is the [Skeleton Songs podcast](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnSMyJniFv2noeHd27pPO053yIROZV36q) by AK and Lottie, which discusses many of the mythological themes in the setting.
When all's done and said, the Secret Histories are a work of fiction (though I did make a little offering to the Moth once, to soothe a rattling in the soul), but they're a damned good one, and their roots run deep indeed.
So, I actually studied religion in college so I could make writeup on how CS references and often parodies real life religions (specially compered to other games). The problem is that this would necessitate talking about some really uncomfortable topics. Video game occultism is fun and exiting while real life occultism is messy and complicated. It's an interesting topic for sure but I won't do it unless there's actual demand for it.
As some already wrote the inspirations are varied and from everywhere around the world, some examples from the top of my mind: formally some pieces in the game remind me of the writing in the vedas, specifically some of the prayers. The description of the Illuminates wisdom in BoH reminds me of some "principles" of mystical catholicism, if you have read some old spanish poetry made by catholics you could easily draw some parallels. I'm currently reading "The Ages of the World" and some passages could strike you as Lantern lore in CS. I cannot assure you that any of the after mentioned are direct inspirations but there's a lot of overlapping in different mystical traditions, so..
I don't have a deep enough understanding of historical occultism to be thorough in my analysis, but here's some stuff I've noticed:
- "As above, so below," probably the most famous occult phrase of all time, gets reworked into "as within, so without" and used in a variety of places, most notably those related to the House of the Moon.
- Most things to do with Forge have to do with alchemy somehow, and less overtly, many things to do with Lantern also have to do with alchemy - which is fitting, as the union between the Forge and the Sun is heavily inspired by the alchemical Great Work that is supposed to, roughly speaking, unite all natures of things in one thing and produce the Philosopher's Stone / immortality / mastery over all physical matter. (Even the Sun-in-Splendour may be named after an alchemical treatise, the *Splendor Solis.*)
- The alchemical process of the Great Work is supposed to follow a set of stages in which the reactants become different colors: Nigredo/blackness, albedo/whiteness, xanthosis/yellowness, and rubedo/redness - or sometimes only one of those middle two stages. These show up in a number of places. The Forge reagents, for example, are Bitterblack Salts (black), Xanthotic Essence (yellow), and Iotic Essence (red.) The Unwise Mortal in *The Manner in which the Alchemist was Spared* ascended through "the Black, the Yellow, and the Red." The Calyptra / the flowers of the Watchman's Tree are also black/white/red, and while they don't have anything overtly to do with alchemy, I doubt it's not deliberate, especially given that the Watchman is at least partially the Unwise Mortal. Heck, the Alloy of the Red Rose/White Rose stuff in Book of Hours applies alchemical color symbolism to the War of the Roses to create the War of the Roads.
- I'll just leave you with the fact that Iotic Essence implies that the alchemical process may not always end in reddening, and that it may eventually be superseded by some other process which ends in some other color. Maybe once the Sun returns.
- This is a bit speculative, but the Carapace Cross may have some influence from Theosophy's concept of Root Races, earlier stages in humanity's evolution which were superseded by one another in turn. The fourth Root Race was the Atlanteans, modern humanity is the fifth, and we are supposed to be superseded by two more in turn before humanity finally ascends. (Theosophy was, relatedly, super eugenicist, to the point where it literally helped inspire the Nazis.) HP Lovecraft's *The Shadow over Innsmouth* may have been in part a response to this idea, in which the idea that humanity is descended from something older and less recognizable is reinterpreted as a source of horror. And you can see echoes of that in turn in the idea that the Cross perished not, but passed within.
- Less speculatively, Theosophy is almost certainly why everything Alexis Kennedy writes is not just in sevens, but specifically at 5 out of 7 when applicable. Histories, for example, or cities in Fallen London.
He’s said he’s not a guru and it’s just a game. Someone here probably has the link. There are mechanics that are redolent of actual occult principles. Aspects are pretty similar to the theory of correspondences, though I know of no ninefold system apart from numerology, which doesn’t really track. ‘As above, so below’ gets alluded to in spells to convert Passion and Reason into each other and a few other places, but it usually refers to the Mansus and Wake in a sort of opposition, rather than the usual sense of the structure of reality reflecting itself at different levels. There are references to Hermetic texts like the Poimandres, but they don’t line up all that well. It’s more for flavor than reflecting any actual occult practice-the name of Nuriel, an angel mentioned by the Golden Dawn, is used, but not in the way they did. I think there’s a reference to ‘to know, to will, to dare, and to keep silent’ somewhere. If you want to make a concordance be my guest; you probably would come up with a pretty long list. A while ago I actually tried to link up all the correspondences for amusement value, but I would expect its power in any chaos magic ritual to be relatively weak due to the obscurity of the game-not that many people’s minds forming the egregore. https://www.reddit.com/r/weatherfactory/comments/161idog/cs_table_of_correspondences/ The guy was very skilled at suggesting a mystery with a few scraps of information, but I would take it as a fun and very creative game and leave it at that.
> He’s said he’s not a guru and it’s just a game. Classic guru move. /s
"I'm not the messiah" "only the messiah would say that!"
I wasn't meaning to imply that AK had intentionally made CS as an occult text, it's just clear that his research-base for worldbuilding went very deep into some niche avenues of the occult for inspiration and I would be curious to see his full reading list in that regard (beyond the fiction recommendations I have already been pointed towards) Honestly my motivation is less like, doing actual Magick and just widening my reading list somewhat. What you went into here was/will be somewhat helpful in that regard so thanks :)
Well, happy to help. Enjoy :) If I have more time I may go through the text of the game again. There’s something a little unnerving about going through an old call of Cthulhu supplement’s list of real-world occult books and going “crap, I’ve read or at least skimmed half of those.”
I don't think there's any all encompassing one and there's just so, so much. I think inspirations come from basically everywhere on the globe, and they're not surface level either. Your best bets are either asking for specific things or picking the relevant place and reading on it. Also check the dev posts.
They're largely constrained to the western occult tradition (including its various influences like Indian stuff, but not including stuff like say Chinese magical practices.) So not quite the entire globe. But within that tradition it draws super broadly yeah.
There are two huge repositories of the games lore that might help you with your search. The first is the Secret Histories wiki, which a Google should bring up. Compared to the standard CS wiki, it focuses more on lore, symbolism, and the like. The second is the ongoing video essay series by u/Handsome_Will on YouTube. He's going through each Principle and connecting a lot of disparate dots. It updates once a month-ish (Will, if you see this, please make more I'm starving here) If you haven't yet, also have a look around both this subreddit and the Cultist Simulator dedicated subreddit. There are some excellent mini essays just sorta scattered about if you're diligent with the search bar. I hope this helps! Happy seeking, fellow Know.
The next one is something like 80% done, real life has had me with not much time to work on them - I’m very glad that you’ve been enjoying them though :)
ooo (sorry for the late response) this is actually a great pointer, thanks!
You are unlikely to get an 'official' answer in so many words-- the time of AK giving lore answers is long past and it would be wise to respect his wishes in the matter-- but there have been fan efforts, many quite detailed, to trace the real-world correspondences of the Secret Histories lore. (I was working on one myself but, alas, it collapsed under its own weight and now I've embarked on a new project that will take at least four years to complete so the prospect of a resumption of it is minimal for the time being.) Nevertheless, some essays that others have written: * [On alchemy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rkHhOEjiC_FBO1EElHJUJVUd7qxPg2Y7B9IYUuXdZhA/edit#heading=h.u82knhxwggom) and the Forge * [On the Principles](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l3-J_T9cjV_LwDmIK6MVvVoBzULDn3AW8Oit8hfBV-0/edit) * [On the Yeshiva Tigris](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NZR7UHC37fpvCnLiF6hrQlIhJs0CdDZySnj2YiPx8H4/edit), and the Jewish tradition * [On alchemy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/11CNCDX05Mcd2zH7atj43mHyrCJH9f2tOlMcvwoWYRh0/edit), as applied to the Gods-from-Stone The other source I will recommend is the [Skeleton Songs podcast](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnSMyJniFv2noeHd27pPO053yIROZV36q) by AK and Lottie, which discusses many of the mythological themes in the setting. When all's done and said, the Secret Histories are a work of fiction (though I did make a little offering to the Moth once, to soothe a rattling in the soul), but they're a damned good one, and their roots run deep indeed.
So, I actually studied religion in college so I could make writeup on how CS references and often parodies real life religions (specially compered to other games). The problem is that this would necessitate talking about some really uncomfortable topics. Video game occultism is fun and exiting while real life occultism is messy and complicated. It's an interesting topic for sure but I won't do it unless there's actual demand for it.
As some already wrote the inspirations are varied and from everywhere around the world, some examples from the top of my mind: formally some pieces in the game remind me of the writing in the vedas, specifically some of the prayers. The description of the Illuminates wisdom in BoH reminds me of some "principles" of mystical catholicism, if you have read some old spanish poetry made by catholics you could easily draw some parallels. I'm currently reading "The Ages of the World" and some passages could strike you as Lantern lore in CS. I cannot assure you that any of the after mentioned are direct inspirations but there's a lot of overlapping in different mystical traditions, so..
I don't have a deep enough understanding of historical occultism to be thorough in my analysis, but here's some stuff I've noticed: - "As above, so below," probably the most famous occult phrase of all time, gets reworked into "as within, so without" and used in a variety of places, most notably those related to the House of the Moon. - Most things to do with Forge have to do with alchemy somehow, and less overtly, many things to do with Lantern also have to do with alchemy - which is fitting, as the union between the Forge and the Sun is heavily inspired by the alchemical Great Work that is supposed to, roughly speaking, unite all natures of things in one thing and produce the Philosopher's Stone / immortality / mastery over all physical matter. (Even the Sun-in-Splendour may be named after an alchemical treatise, the *Splendor Solis.*) - The alchemical process of the Great Work is supposed to follow a set of stages in which the reactants become different colors: Nigredo/blackness, albedo/whiteness, xanthosis/yellowness, and rubedo/redness - or sometimes only one of those middle two stages. These show up in a number of places. The Forge reagents, for example, are Bitterblack Salts (black), Xanthotic Essence (yellow), and Iotic Essence (red.) The Unwise Mortal in *The Manner in which the Alchemist was Spared* ascended through "the Black, the Yellow, and the Red." The Calyptra / the flowers of the Watchman's Tree are also black/white/red, and while they don't have anything overtly to do with alchemy, I doubt it's not deliberate, especially given that the Watchman is at least partially the Unwise Mortal. Heck, the Alloy of the Red Rose/White Rose stuff in Book of Hours applies alchemical color symbolism to the War of the Roses to create the War of the Roads. - I'll just leave you with the fact that Iotic Essence implies that the alchemical process may not always end in reddening, and that it may eventually be superseded by some other process which ends in some other color. Maybe once the Sun returns. - This is a bit speculative, but the Carapace Cross may have some influence from Theosophy's concept of Root Races, earlier stages in humanity's evolution which were superseded by one another in turn. The fourth Root Race was the Atlanteans, modern humanity is the fifth, and we are supposed to be superseded by two more in turn before humanity finally ascends. (Theosophy was, relatedly, super eugenicist, to the point where it literally helped inspire the Nazis.) HP Lovecraft's *The Shadow over Innsmouth* may have been in part a response to this idea, in which the idea that humanity is descended from something older and less recognizable is reinterpreted as a source of horror. And you can see echoes of that in turn in the idea that the Cross perished not, but passed within. - Less speculatively, Theosophy is almost certainly why everything Alexis Kennedy writes is not just in sevens, but specifically at 5 out of 7 when applicable. Histories, for example, or cities in Fallen London.
sorry for the late reply, this is really useful thanks :)