Condensing the Magcial Theory of Occultus · 10:55pm Mar 31st, 2014
Now we know the Elements of Harmony and most of us probably have it in our head cannon that they are distinct from the Regalia of Harmony. The Elements themselves, in this theory, are defined as the collective unconscious idea of harmony, expressed and made manifest through the Thaumic Field.
Now in the occult there is a common theme of the existence of a magical force. You got everything from "The Force", the Aether, and really esoteric stuff like The Akashic Records. So really, this is nothing new. Probably part of your head cannon already.
But there was something that called out to me when I was first introduced to the EoH. I get why Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Kindness are common elements. They're all virtues. Magic and Laughter however stood out. On the surface, there isn't anything virtuous about Magic and Laughter, technically speaking. We have four elements that are without a doubt virtues, but two that are in separate categories. I felt that there was something significant about that.
The more I thought about it the more sense it started to make though. I had to wonder if Lauren Faust ever read Peter J Carroll's books on chaos magic theory: Liber Null and Liber Kaos
Laughter is a fun tool in chaos magic!
Oh my stars and garters I could go on and on about it, but I'll just quote what I already wrote.
To paraphrase Corral, what makes a joke funny, is when it either shatters your expectations, or forges a new connection between two ideas, like in a pun. Laughter is the release of the conceptualization of new ideas, and deconceptualization of old ones.
Direct quote from Peter J Carroll (or Pleven J. Corral, as I ponified him):
The ecstatic laughter of divine madness is the sweeping up of every perception into a vortex of surprise at its very existence. Everything is suddenly and amazingly not as it was. Yet simultaneously it seems more exactly as it was than before!? Conceptualization and deconceptualization occur simultaneously. Language descends inevitably to the paradoxical as one is swept up into the ecstacy.
Ecstacy, as in a form of Gnosis, which in chaos magic is a mystical state.
Thus Laughter and Magic came to be understood in my mind as an alignment of sorts. Out of the other four I created two other alignments.
Honesty + Loyalty = Honor
Kindness + Generosity = Compassion
It makes sense doesn't it?
Laughter + Magic = Wonder
Now I carried this in my head for a long time without going anywhere with it. I wasn't even writing fanfiction at the time, though I played with the idea and how to incorporate it into a fic for a long time. Eventually, when I did start writing, I wanted to do an essay based on this and I started re-examine my model and draw parallels.
The first parallel that came to mind was the Kabbalah's Tree of Life.
The Tree has three branches. As it turns out, the left one is associated with love, expansion, mercy, and that sort of thing. The right has to deal with strength, rigidity, etc, etc. Basic duality sort of thing, yin yang, male and female.
Honor and Compassion fit right in. Masculine virtue complementing Feminine virtues.
Which left the middle branch that combines both. Wonder fits in right with it and if you follow that branch to the near top, you'll find yourself in an empty space, right below Kether, the top sephirot. There is a hidden sephirot here called Da'at.
Now as it turns out, Da'at is hidden! Ring any bells?
The Element of Freaking Magic
I'm not the only one who has made this association, either.
http://mlpforums.com/topic/45643-symbolism-in-mlpfim-and-hidden-knowledge/
SasQ's thread is amazing! He figured it out just by looking at the stained glass window, but It took me nearly a year of watching the show before it finally clicked. I had to know if anyone else made the connection and google led me right to him. Read that thread!...after you read mine. Or before! It doesn't really matter.
So I started to form a magical model in my own head. The Four Core Elements, the virtues, complement each other, and since they are ideas expressed in the thaumic field, they are subject to the flow of conceptualization and conceptualization that all ideas are prone to. This is what creates the Element of Laughter! It's in a sense the Laughter of the Four Core, themselves, and since the Elements are such positive things, especially in concord with each other, Laughter, though not a virtue in of itself, behaves as a virtue. Specifically the virtue of optimism. This in turn enriches the Elements.
Another quote from Occultus:
The Element of Magic doesn’t ‘power up’ the elements. It does what it does, through lack of power. The Elements unify within me, creating the real power of Magic. The Laughter of the Elements acts as a catalyst, releasing the powers of Harmony through my Element.
Da'at is not a 'true' sephirot, it's often considered a psudo-sephirot, where the others unify together. The Kabbalah is a complex mysticism, but this much of it I understand. It echos Daoist sympathies that the things that lack substance are, paradoxically, the most powerful of all. The empty space of a open doorway is what makes it useful.
I started thinking more on the Four Core in of themselves and I made a parallel.
No. I did not just slap four of the EoH over the classical four elements on a whim. There is a reason for it.
The four classical elements each have two of four different values. Hot, Cold, Dry, Wet.
Basic occult textbook knowledge.....:(
I may be the only one in this small town who says things like that.)
But the Four Core can also be attributed two of four different values: Compassion, Honor, Active, Passive. The values synchronize with each other quite nicely.
Hononsty and Kindess are passives and the other two are actives. These values aren't arbitrary or contrived to make them fit into the Classical Model either, they make a fair amount of sense.
One can be passively honest about anything, but Loyalty must actively prove and reaffirm itself.
Kindness is empathy. Generosity is empathy in action. Passive, Active.
Bam. Synchronization.
Honor, Passive = Honesty/Earth = Dry, Cold
Honor, Active = Loyalty/Fire = Dry, Hot
Compassion, Passive = Kindness/Water = Wet, Cold
Compassion, Active = Generosity/Wind = Wet, Hot
This was nice and all, but what happens if you add the fifth? I started to look eastward and I tried to draw a parallel with the Wu Xing, or Chinese elements, but it didn't make sense, considering the dynamic those five have within their occult model.
But then I remembered the Japanese Godai, and after thinking about the order, something made sense.
Order of the Godai, bottom to top: Earth,Water,Wind,Fire,Sky
Applied to the Elements with their attributes corresponding to the classical four: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty...and the only thing to end it with is Laughter.
Now...I know that on a purely scientific level this is all bullshit and Author Clark's famous quote, that I won't repeat, is often over used, even abused. However, I'm heavily influenced by chaos magician philosophy so my beliefs are rather adjustable, at least in short spurts, so this is...this is...
Ooh...
Look at the graph! Note the alternation of attributes. The word that comes to mind is Alternating Current, however I'm not sure about the usage of that word in my fic and may have to change it. My specialty isn't in electrical physics.
In any case, could this be the way the Elements most efficiently power up, before Laughter catalyzes the rainbow explosion of Magic!?
In my head it is.
That's how the Elements work to me.
Questions, critical thoughts, analysis?
Posted this information on the Writers Group. Maybe I should've posted in the Head Cannon Discussion Group....*shrugs*
It's technically the same as in the fic, right?
Well... the only critique I have is that it's a little difficult to understand if you don't know all the technical words and stuff.
1970064
Well...hmm...there is that. I'll think about rewriting it.
Also, I may have a bit of a problem. I posted this in two different groups, but I'm thinking that that might be against the rules or something....I dunno.
1970082
I don't think it's against the rules.
Also, I would advise against re-writing it. The story itself, that is. It's Twilight Sparkle writing it, after all, and she isn't one to dumb things down. She'd use that kind of high-end language. It is understandable and I understood what was written, but there are some things that are difficult to catch up on.
1970089
Oh, no no no, not the story, but the Blog post itself.
1970092
Aaah, that's something else entirely
Yeah, you can do that if you want to. That's you speaking, not Twilight
1970064
Oh, yes this is the same as in the fic
One flaw: in the show the Element of Laughter does not have anything unique about it. Laughter, honesty, generosity, and loyalty are all positioned equally in the background of magic, and all perform equal tasks in creating the power with the element of magic in the lead. In your head canon, laughter is different from those other four elements. My own head canon ideas got stuck on the creation of Discord (best draqonequus) and I haven't really moved on to creating a solid head canon for much else.
1970132
Are you talking about the position the Mane 6 were in when the first Rainbow was unleashed or are you talking about artwork relating to the elements in the show?
1970152 Both.
1970183
As far as the artwork within the show goes, like a stained glass window, that can be attributed to the pony artisans own license of creativity. The way the elements work in my head cannon is rather esoteric and wouldn't be common knowledge to the artist.
Also as for the positions the Bearers take when activating the powers of Harmony, I don't think it necessarily has to be significant.
Not that position isn't significant. Nor is it always significant. The Elements could theoretically work in any position, as the actual Elements are ideas expressed in the thaumic field, which means that they are non-local in nature, making position a moot point except when drawing them up on a graph to explain their relation to each other. The only position that would be important would be the position of Magic, which must take the lead, since that's were the elements unify. Laughter could really be anywhere, it's presence just needs to be there to act as a catalyst.
You could cite the order of the Japanese Godai and say, "but in order for your head cannon to work the Elements would need to be in this position," however we are talking about magical energies that don't necessarily transfer to each other by direct means. The Elements could charge up within the span of a few milliseconds, each activating in the order of the Godai, and it would be too fast to ever perceive.
The show doesn't go out of it's way to show Laughter as any more or less significant than the other elements and it never will. I like to think Laruen Faust read Carrols work, but in all likelyhood she didn't, and this is all just my interpretation.
It's kinda subjective in the end.
I posted this on the intellectuals. The group is mostly dead. some suggested the writers group and head canon group. Posted in each, but it didn't feel right posting the same thread in two different groups. So I deleted them. I think I'll try to submit this to the fimfiction editorial instead.
Makes sense to me. Heck, in my headcanon, the Element of Laughter is what gives Pinkie her fourth wall access. Who's the only other pony to manipulate an iris out? Twilight Sparkle. Axis of Wonder, bitches.
1971390
Wonder, bitches. :)
I still like it very much.
1977589
I'm suprised, truthfully, how effortlessly the EoH is able to slip into those occult models, though admittedly, involving chaos magick theory's interpretation of Laughter made it possible to string everything together.
Also, since there weren't enough applicants to justify a orientation for stage stores this friday, my start at my new job got pushed back a week.
It gives me some extra time to work on my stories, before I'm working a full schedule, but it's agitating at the same time. I had to go back to my boss at Whataburger and ask for more hours since I won't be starting yet. Grr...
1977713
Laughter is the answer to all things, young grasshopper.
Ugh, that is annoying. But hey, maybe something good will come of it! Always look on the bright side of life while being crucified.
Kudoes to you for this.
I have to come back and check it out again.