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CALL OF CTHULHU
Sandy Peterson
CTHULHU MYTHOS
“All my tales are based upon the fundamental premise that
common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance
in the vast cosmos-at-large” Howard Philip Lovecraft
The ‘deities’ of the mythos appear to be extremely powerful
alien beings, some of whom may be of extra-cosmic origin. They can be ranked on
a continuum of power, ranging from all-ruling Azathoth, down through great
Cthulhu, to lesser sorts such as Deep Ones.
Summary of the Mythos
The universe is rules by beings known as the Elder Gods, Outer Gods, or Other Gods. Only a few of these are known by name, the majority are both blind and idiotic. They are controlled to some extent by their messenger and soul, Nyarlathotep, and are immensely powerful. When troubles arise, these deities are discomforted, which sends Nyarlathotep out to investigate. All the races and lesser deities of the mythos acknowledge the Other Gods, and many worship them.
Under the Other Gods in power, though not in importance, are the Great Old Ones. The great Old Ones appear to be immensely powerful alien beings, rather than true gods in the sense that the Elder Gods are. Each of the Great Old Ones is independent of the others, and many seem to be temporarily imprisoned in some way. It is said that “when the stars are right” the Great Old Ones can plunge from world to world, but when the stars are not right they cannot live. “Cannot live” does not necessarily mean death for one of this group. The arab Abdul Alhazred (Abd Al-Azrad) wrote the following couplet in his work “Al Azif” on this subject;
That which is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange eons even death may die.
The most famous creation of Lovecraft is a Great Old One, Cthulhu himself. Cthulhu, with the rest of his race, is at present imbedded in a vast tomb at the bottom of the Pacific ocean. He seems to be the most important Great Old One on earth. All the Great Old Ones known on earth are often invoked and/or worshipped, but Cthulhu is evidently worshipped more than all the other denizens of the Cthulhu mythos put together.
Alien Races
Alien Races are an important part of the mythos. These races vary in power, and many are extinct. They are intimately connected with the history of the earth as described in At the Mountains of madness and The Shadow Out of Time. In these stories Lovecraft gives the true history of the earth.
At the dawn of the Cambrian age, a race of beings known only as the Elder Things flew to the earth. They inhabited much of the land, warred with other races, and finally were pushed back to Antarctica. The Elder Things, perhaps mistakenly, bred organisms eventually to become the dinosaurs, mammals, and humanity. They also bred the horrible shoggoths, which eventually forced semi-extinction of the Elder things.
The spawn of Cthulhu came down upon the earth and conquered a vast reach of land in the primordial Pacific Ocean, but were trapped when it sank beneath the surface.
The beings known as the Fungi from Yuggoth established their first bases on the earth in the Jurassic period, about a hundred million years ago. They gradually reduced their bases to the tops of certain mountains, where they still maintain mining colonies and such.
Dozens of other races also participated in this antidiluvian parade of species, such as the serpent folk who built cities and a civilization in the Permian, before the dinosaurs had evolved; or the winged race succeeding the Great Race in time; even some races from earths future are mentioned, such aas the beetle-like organisms to succeed man and the intelligent arachnids to be the last intelligent life on earth, billions of years in the future.
At present time, there are only a few races on earth besides the humans. The Deep Ones dwell under the sea in large numbers, and the fungi from Yuggoth still keep isolated colonies in the mountains, but other races either only rarely visit earth, are sleeping, or otherwise inactive most of the time.
The Outer Gods, Other Gods, and Elder Gods
The Other Gods are rulers of the universe and have little to do with humanity, except for Nyarlathotep. All those meddling with them gain only inevitable madness and death. Only a few of these beings are named. They appear to be almost true gods, as opposed to the alien horrors of the Great Old Ones. Some of them may be the personification of some cosmic principle.
The term ‘Elder Gods’ is sometimes used to refer to another race of gods, neutral to and possibly rivals of the Other Gods. The Elder Gods, if they exist, do not seem to be as dangerous to humanity as Azathoth and its kin., but have even less contact with us (if possible). Only one Elder god is named: Nodens.
All these deities are sometimes called the Other Gods, and are primarily gods of the outer planets and not of earth. They would only seldom be called to earth, but on the occasions when they do appear, they are second in horror to nothing. Gates and such may be found in remote areas which can allow entrance to this universe to certain of the Outer Gods (especially Yog-Sothoth), and these gates can be used by a clever sorcerer.
Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos (Outer God)
Description: Nyarlathotep is the messenger, heart, and soul of the Other Gods. He is the only Outer God to have a true personality, and he claims to have a thousand different forms.
Only a few of Nyarlathotep’s forms are described in the mythos. One is a swarthy, Egyptian-looking human. Another is an enormous monster with clawed appendages and a single long blood-red tentacle in place of a face. This tentacle stretches forward when the thing howls at the moon. The third form is black and winged, with a tri-lobed red eye, and cannot withstand light at all. There is some evidence that the “Black Man” of witch ceremonies is also a form of Nyarlathotep.
Nyarlathotep enacts the will of the outer gods, and is accurately referred to as their soul. He always attempts to bring madness to humanity, and several prophecies (including the stories “The Crawling Chaos”, “Nyarlathotep,”and the poem “The Fungi From Yuggoth”) seem to state that someday Nyarlathotep himself will destroy humanity and possibly the entire planet. Nyarlathotep always appears mocking, and is evidently contemptuous of his masters.
Cult: Nyarlathotep is never worshipped of himself. All invocations to the Outer Gods include Nyarlathotep’s name, possibly recognizing him as their messenger. He is known and feared by all races of the mythos, and he occasionally requires things of them.
Those worshipping the outer gods often do so in hope of gathering Nyarlathtep’s favor. Rewards to loyal slaves usually come through the Crawling Chaos, as the other Outer gods are too mindless to care.
Nyarlathotep may grant such worshippers knowledge of a spell, knowledge of some destructive scientific fact (such as how to make an A-bomb), or a servitor monster. Nyarlathotep’s gifts are always designed to cause turmoil and horror to mankind in general, and sometimes even to the gifts recipient.
Nyarlathotep himself is served by the normal Servitors of the Outer Gods, but he also has his own special servants, including the shantaks and hunting horrors. He may grant any type of creature whatsoever to his worshippers if he deems it good. Such a bequest is rare, and usually involves at least permanently donating some Powa to Nyarlathotep and the other Outer Gods.
Notes: When encountered or summoned, Nyarlathotep will usually act by attempting to summon beings to carry foes off or otherwise dispose of them. If not exposed as Nyarlathotep yet, he may attempt to trick his foes by appearing as a friend. Nyarlathotep is generally reluctant to reveal himself by using supernatural powers. If sorely pressed, he will, of course, use such powers
Always keep in mind that causing madness and insanity is more important and enjoyable to Nyarlathotep than mere death and destruction. He will slay and destroy only to bring to pass more madness and insanity in the earth, preparing the way for the retun of the Outer Gods and their star-spawn.
Summary of the Mythos
The universe is rules by beings known as the Elder Gods, Outer Gods, or Other Gods. Only a few of these are known by name, the majority are both blind and idiotic. They are controlled to some extent by their messenger and soul, Nyarlathotep, and are immensely powerful. When troubles arise, these deities are discomforted, which sends Nyarlathotep out to investigate. All the races and lesser deities of the mythos acknowledge the Other Gods, and many worship them.
Under the Other Gods in power, though not in importance, are the Great Old Ones. The great Old Ones appear to be immensely powerful alien beings, rather than true gods in the sense that the Elder Gods are. Each of the Great Old Ones is independent of the others, and many seem to be temporarily imprisoned in some way. It is said that “when the stars are right” the Great Old Ones can plunge from world to world, but when the stars are not right they cannot live. “Cannot live” does not necessarily mean death for one of this group. The arab Abdul Alhazred (Abd Al-Azrad) wrote the following couplet in his work “Al Azif” on this subject;
That which is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange eons even death may die.
The most famous creation of Lovecraft is a Great Old One, Cthulhu himself. Cthulhu, with the rest of his race, is at present imbedded in a vast tomb at the bottom of the Pacific ocean. He seems to be the most important Great Old One on earth. All the Great Old Ones known on earth are often invoked and/or worshipped, but Cthulhu is evidently worshipped more than all the other denizens of the Cthulhu mythos put together.
Alien Races
Alien Races are an important part of the mythos. These races vary in power, and many are extinct. They are intimately connected with the history of the earth as described in At the Mountains of madness and The Shadow Out of Time. In these stories Lovecraft gives the true history of the earth.
At the dawn of the Cambrian age, a race of beings known only as the Elder Things flew to the earth. They inhabited much of the land, warred with other races, and finally were pushed back to Antarctica. The Elder Things, perhaps mistakenly, bred organisms eventually to become the dinosaurs, mammals, and humanity. They also bred the horrible shoggoths, which eventually forced semi-extinction of the Elder things.
The spawn of Cthulhu came down upon the earth and conquered a vast reach of land in the primordial Pacific Ocean, but were trapped when it sank beneath the surface.
The beings known as the Fungi from Yuggoth established their first bases on the earth in the Jurassic period, about a hundred million years ago. They gradually reduced their bases to the tops of certain mountains, where they still maintain mining colonies and such.
Dozens of other races also participated in this antidiluvian parade of species, such as the serpent folk who built cities and a civilization in the Permian, before the dinosaurs had evolved; or the winged race succeeding the Great Race in time; even some races from earths future are mentioned, such aas the beetle-like organisms to succeed man and the intelligent arachnids to be the last intelligent life on earth, billions of years in the future.
At present time, there are only a few races on earth besides the humans. The Deep Ones dwell under the sea in large numbers, and the fungi from Yuggoth still keep isolated colonies in the mountains, but other races either only rarely visit earth, are sleeping, or otherwise inactive most of the time.
The Outer Gods, Other Gods, and Elder Gods
The Other Gods are rulers of the universe and have little to do with humanity, except for Nyarlathotep. All those meddling with them gain only inevitable madness and death. Only a few of these beings are named. They appear to be almost true gods, as opposed to the alien horrors of the Great Old Ones. Some of them may be the personification of some cosmic principle.
The term ‘Elder Gods’ is sometimes used to refer to another race of gods, neutral to and possibly rivals of the Other Gods. The Elder Gods, if they exist, do not seem to be as dangerous to humanity as Azathoth and its kin., but have even less contact with us (if possible). Only one Elder god is named: Nodens.
All these deities are sometimes called the Other Gods, and are primarily gods of the outer planets and not of earth. They would only seldom be called to earth, but on the occasions when they do appear, they are second in horror to nothing. Gates and such may be found in remote areas which can allow entrance to this universe to certain of the Outer Gods (especially Yog-Sothoth), and these gates can be used by a clever sorcerer.
Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos (Outer God)
Description: Nyarlathotep is the messenger, heart, and soul of the Other Gods. He is the only Outer God to have a true personality, and he claims to have a thousand different forms.
Only a few of Nyarlathotep’s forms are described in the mythos. One is a swarthy, Egyptian-looking human. Another is an enormous monster with clawed appendages and a single long blood-red tentacle in place of a face. This tentacle stretches forward when the thing howls at the moon. The third form is black and winged, with a tri-lobed red eye, and cannot withstand light at all. There is some evidence that the “Black Man” of witch ceremonies is also a form of Nyarlathotep.
Nyarlathotep enacts the will of the outer gods, and is accurately referred to as their soul. He always attempts to bring madness to humanity, and several prophecies (including the stories “The Crawling Chaos”, “Nyarlathotep,”and the poem “The Fungi From Yuggoth”) seem to state that someday Nyarlathotep himself will destroy humanity and possibly the entire planet. Nyarlathotep always appears mocking, and is evidently contemptuous of his masters.
Cult: Nyarlathotep is never worshipped of himself. All invocations to the Outer Gods include Nyarlathotep’s name, possibly recognizing him as their messenger. He is known and feared by all races of the mythos, and he occasionally requires things of them.
Those worshipping the outer gods often do so in hope of gathering Nyarlathtep’s favor. Rewards to loyal slaves usually come through the Crawling Chaos, as the other Outer gods are too mindless to care.
Nyarlathotep may grant such worshippers knowledge of a spell, knowledge of some destructive scientific fact (such as how to make an A-bomb), or a servitor monster. Nyarlathotep’s gifts are always designed to cause turmoil and horror to mankind in general, and sometimes even to the gifts recipient.
Nyarlathotep himself is served by the normal Servitors of the Outer Gods, but he also has his own special servants, including the shantaks and hunting horrors. He may grant any type of creature whatsoever to his worshippers if he deems it good. Such a bequest is rare, and usually involves at least permanently donating some Powa to Nyarlathotep and the other Outer Gods.
Notes: When encountered or summoned, Nyarlathotep will usually act by attempting to summon beings to carry foes off or otherwise dispose of them. If not exposed as Nyarlathotep yet, he may attempt to trick his foes by appearing as a friend. Nyarlathotep is generally reluctant to reveal himself by using supernatural powers. If sorely pressed, he will, of course, use such powers
Always keep in mind that causing madness and insanity is more important and enjoyable to Nyarlathotep than mere death and destruction. He will slay and destroy only to bring to pass more madness and insanity in the earth, preparing the way for the retun of the Outer Gods and their star-spawn.
ON THE UBIQUITY OF CTHULHU
Compiled and edited from the notes of
Phileus P Sadowsky, Ph.D, D.Litt, FRS, etc,
by William Hamblin
p.161 Call of Cthulhu
Collecting, compiling, collating and correcting the scattered notes and papers of the late lamented Dr Sadowsky have proven monumental tasks. Had I known the difficulties, I might have refused such burdens.
My doctors say I have worked too hard, and they are right. Recently I have suffered from horrid nightmares – no doubt provoked by these lurid stories – which culminated in a nervous breakdown. My doctors diagnose mild paranoia. They maintain that the scratching and tittering sounds I hear on my roof, at my windows, and from the dark recesses of my cellar originate in my feverishly over-wrought imagination. For sanity’s sake I believe them.
Recognizing the importance of Dr Sadowski’s work for Cthulhulogy, I shall attempt to present some of my preliminary findings, based upon a translation of Dr Sasowskis Bulgarian originals. In his far-ranging studies, Dr Sadowski seemed pre-occupied by Cthulhu, and had tried to trace the origin and diffusion of the cult by philological evidence. In the process, he discovered that the name Cthulhu, in many linguistic variations, had been known as a god or demon of evil to the peoples of numerous ancient cultures.
The Semitic cultures in particular, in all their various branches throughout the Middle East, retain vestiges of the ancient Cthulhu worship. One of the oldest Semitic languages is Assyrian, which originated in the second millennium BC, and which shows clear references to Cthulhu worship. A common word for ‘demon’ in Assyrian is alu'u [1\. When this word is combined with the Assyrian word khatu, meaning ‘ominous, evil’ [2\ the result is khatu ulu’u and is clearly related philogically to “Cthulhu”. An ancient Babylonian scribe made reference to alu’u lemnu sha pa la isha atta, meaning “the alu’u demon who has no mouth” [3\ This could be a reference to Cthulhu himself, whose face is a mass of tentacles, and therefore appears as a demon who has no mouth. Even if this reference is not to Cthulhu, the horror of the image definitely points at Cthulhonic origin.
Hebrew, another ancient Semetic language, also makes oblique reference to Cthulhu worship. This identification must necessarily remain tentative, since the oldest Hebrew texts we possess are of the Bible, the writers of which clearly and wisely would have been antagonistic toward any Cthulhu cultists. The prophet Isiah, who lived in the 8th century BC, wrote "I shall look upon man no more among the inhabitants of chadhel" (Isiah 38:11). The last Hebrew word of this verse, chadhel, is directly related semantically to the Arabic khadul (see below). This word is generally thought to be a euphanism for Sheol or Hell [4\. However, if the word is taken as a proper name, the significance of the verse is drastically changed. Chadhel is most likely the ancient Hebrew form of the word Cthulhu, as the Hebrew dh in this case is, in linguistic terms, an emphatic form equivalent to the English th which is an aspirant form of the same sound. "The inhabitants of Chadel" or "the people of Chadhel" (ie; Cthulhu) and thus clearly refers to a cultist sect. The meaning of the verse should be "I shall look upon man no more among the people of Cthulhu," a form of ritual and well-deserving cursing of the evil cultists. The name Chadhel had such horrendous overtones to the Hebrews that in medieval interpretations it became synonomous with Hell, giving rise to the modern faulty interpretation of the verse.
Muhammed, the prophet of Islam who preached in the 7th century AD, also recordedly referred to the dreaded Cthulhu cultists in Arabia. In the Qur'an (Koran), a compilation of the revelations of Muhammad, it states in chapter 25, verse 29: "Satan is the 'khadulu' of Mankind" [5\. Although the word khadhulu traditionally has been taken to mean 'forsaker' or 'abandoner' [6\, Dr Sadowsky concluded that in reality it was a proper name, the Arabic pronounciation of Cthulhu. This verse in the Qur'an therefore refers to Cthulhu cultists in pre-Islamic Arabia and equates Cthulhu with Satan as the supreme embodiment of evil.
Indo-European languages also mention dread Cthulhu. Although I have only begun editing those portions of Dr Sadowsky's papers containing his researches in Sanskrit, I have found an interesting entry noting that the Sanskrit word katala refers to a large fish or sea-monster [7\, and Dr Sadowsky speculates that this word is simply Sanskrit pronounciation of Cthulhu, who of course qualifies nicely as a sea monster. Further study in this direction should be quite revealing, and I hope to discover more on the matter among the doctors papers.
Perhaps the most significant and revealing of Dr Sadowski's discoveries appeart in his research into ancient Chinese culture for traces of the cthulhu cult. He discovered that the name Cthulhu was formed in Chinese characters thus:
[insert pic\
Transliterated, the four characters read kui tai lao hui. The meaning is Kui (demon) tai (evil) lao (ancient) and hai (ocean) [8\ . In idiomatic English, the phrase signifies "ancient evil oceanic demon."
Important is the derivation of the name from the archaic form of kui. Mandarin characters evolved from pictographs, wherin the character drawn was an abstract picture symbolizing a word or idea. In later times these pictographs were further abstracted into the current Chinese characters. The characterfor kui went through the following evolution, arranged chronologically from left to right [9\ :
Scholars will easily recognize these symbols as archaic drawings of Cthulhu, including the tentacles attached to the head. We can conclude that a generic Chinese character for "demon," kui, evolved from early attempts to draw a picture of Cthulhu. Awareness of Cthulhu must be ancient indeed in China for it to have affected the language so profoundly.
To summarize, through his exhaustive researches Dr Sadowsky has discovered traces of ancient Cthulhu worship in the records of all major Old World civilisations: in Mesopotamia to the Assyrians as Khatu alu'u, the 'evil demon'; in Palestine to the Hebrews as Chadhel, a name considered to be the equivalent of Hell; in Arabia as Khadulu "Satan the forsaker"; to the Hindus Katala the "sea monster"; and to the Chinese Kui tai lao hai, the "ancient evil ocean demon". All label Cthulhu as malignant.
Only in Egypt has no reference to Cthulhu worship been found. Dr Sadowsky hypothesizes that the worship of Nyarlathotep disguised as Thoth drove out all competing cults, or at least their documented references.
The widespread nature of the Cthulhu clt - the only god known to have been worshipped simoultaneously in all three major centers of ancient civilisation - had gone completely unoticed by scholars until the pioneering work of Dr Sadowsky. One wonders: if such a powerful cult could have remained so well hidden in antiquity, what obscene rituals in hidden places might yet be practised to this most dreadful demon?
FOOTNOTES
[1\ - Ignace J Gleb, et al. The Asyrian Dictionary (Chicago University Press, 1964, in progress). Volume 2, pp. 355ff
[2\ - Ibid, Volume 6, p. 158. The word if spoken swiftly and slurred (as is often done in human speech) probably would sound something like khatulu'u, easily recognizable as a dialectal ariation of "Cthulhu".
[3\ - Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets 1627:8
[4\ - Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon (Eerdmans, 1982) p.262
[5\ - This identification has been discussed by Dr Sadowski in "Further Notes on the Necronomicon," Cthulhu Companion (Chaosium, 1983), p. 12, and is repeated here so this discussion of Cthulhu will be complete.
[6\ - Edward Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon (New York; Frederick Ungar Publishers, 1965 reprint of 1865 ed), vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 714, col. 1.
[7\ - Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (rev. version of 1899 edition: New Delhi, Munshiram Manohalal,1981), p. 270a.
[8\ - These Chinese characters can be examined in the following sources: Bernhard Karlgren, Analytical Dictionary of Chinese and Sino-Japanese (New York: Dover, 1974 reprint of the 1923 Paris edition) hereafter referred to as ADC. and L Wieger, Chinese Characters (Dover, 1965 reprint of the 1915 edition) hereafter referred to as CC. For the specific characters: kui (also translated kuei) = "demon, spirit" ADC 460, CC 548: tai = "bad, evil" ADC 959; lao = "old, ancient" ADC 515, CC 88; shai = "sea, ocean" CC 595.
[9\ - These drawings are analysed in CC 112, 548.
My doctors say I have worked too hard, and they are right. Recently I have suffered from horrid nightmares – no doubt provoked by these lurid stories – which culminated in a nervous breakdown. My doctors diagnose mild paranoia. They maintain that the scratching and tittering sounds I hear on my roof, at my windows, and from the dark recesses of my cellar originate in my feverishly over-wrought imagination. For sanity’s sake I believe them.
Recognizing the importance of Dr Sadowski’s work for Cthulhulogy, I shall attempt to present some of my preliminary findings, based upon a translation of Dr Sasowskis Bulgarian originals. In his far-ranging studies, Dr Sadowski seemed pre-occupied by Cthulhu, and had tried to trace the origin and diffusion of the cult by philological evidence. In the process, he discovered that the name Cthulhu, in many linguistic variations, had been known as a god or demon of evil to the peoples of numerous ancient cultures.
The Semitic cultures in particular, in all their various branches throughout the Middle East, retain vestiges of the ancient Cthulhu worship. One of the oldest Semitic languages is Assyrian, which originated in the second millennium BC, and which shows clear references to Cthulhu worship. A common word for ‘demon’ in Assyrian is alu'u [1\. When this word is combined with the Assyrian word khatu, meaning ‘ominous, evil’ [2\ the result is khatu ulu’u and is clearly related philogically to “Cthulhu”. An ancient Babylonian scribe made reference to alu’u lemnu sha pa la isha atta, meaning “the alu’u demon who has no mouth” [3\ This could be a reference to Cthulhu himself, whose face is a mass of tentacles, and therefore appears as a demon who has no mouth. Even if this reference is not to Cthulhu, the horror of the image definitely points at Cthulhonic origin.
Hebrew, another ancient Semetic language, also makes oblique reference to Cthulhu worship. This identification must necessarily remain tentative, since the oldest Hebrew texts we possess are of the Bible, the writers of which clearly and wisely would have been antagonistic toward any Cthulhu cultists. The prophet Isiah, who lived in the 8th century BC, wrote "I shall look upon man no more among the inhabitants of chadhel" (Isiah 38:11). The last Hebrew word of this verse, chadhel, is directly related semantically to the Arabic khadul (see below). This word is generally thought to be a euphanism for Sheol or Hell [4\. However, if the word is taken as a proper name, the significance of the verse is drastically changed. Chadhel is most likely the ancient Hebrew form of the word Cthulhu, as the Hebrew dh in this case is, in linguistic terms, an emphatic form equivalent to the English th which is an aspirant form of the same sound. "The inhabitants of Chadel" or "the people of Chadhel" (ie; Cthulhu) and thus clearly refers to a cultist sect. The meaning of the verse should be "I shall look upon man no more among the people of Cthulhu," a form of ritual and well-deserving cursing of the evil cultists. The name Chadhel had such horrendous overtones to the Hebrews that in medieval interpretations it became synonomous with Hell, giving rise to the modern faulty interpretation of the verse.
Muhammed, the prophet of Islam who preached in the 7th century AD, also recordedly referred to the dreaded Cthulhu cultists in Arabia. In the Qur'an (Koran), a compilation of the revelations of Muhammad, it states in chapter 25, verse 29: "Satan is the 'khadulu' of Mankind" [5\. Although the word khadhulu traditionally has been taken to mean 'forsaker' or 'abandoner' [6\, Dr Sadowsky concluded that in reality it was a proper name, the Arabic pronounciation of Cthulhu. This verse in the Qur'an therefore refers to Cthulhu cultists in pre-Islamic Arabia and equates Cthulhu with Satan as the supreme embodiment of evil.
Indo-European languages also mention dread Cthulhu. Although I have only begun editing those portions of Dr Sadowsky's papers containing his researches in Sanskrit, I have found an interesting entry noting that the Sanskrit word katala refers to a large fish or sea-monster [7\, and Dr Sadowsky speculates that this word is simply Sanskrit pronounciation of Cthulhu, who of course qualifies nicely as a sea monster. Further study in this direction should be quite revealing, and I hope to discover more on the matter among the doctors papers.
Perhaps the most significant and revealing of Dr Sadowski's discoveries appeart in his research into ancient Chinese culture for traces of the cthulhu cult. He discovered that the name Cthulhu was formed in Chinese characters thus:
[insert pic\
Transliterated, the four characters read kui tai lao hui. The meaning is Kui (demon) tai (evil) lao (ancient) and hai (ocean) [8\ . In idiomatic English, the phrase signifies "ancient evil oceanic demon."
Important is the derivation of the name from the archaic form of kui. Mandarin characters evolved from pictographs, wherin the character drawn was an abstract picture symbolizing a word or idea. In later times these pictographs were further abstracted into the current Chinese characters. The characterfor kui went through the following evolution, arranged chronologically from left to right [9\ :
Scholars will easily recognize these symbols as archaic drawings of Cthulhu, including the tentacles attached to the head. We can conclude that a generic Chinese character for "demon," kui, evolved from early attempts to draw a picture of Cthulhu. Awareness of Cthulhu must be ancient indeed in China for it to have affected the language so profoundly.
To summarize, through his exhaustive researches Dr Sadowsky has discovered traces of ancient Cthulhu worship in the records of all major Old World civilisations: in Mesopotamia to the Assyrians as Khatu alu'u, the 'evil demon'; in Palestine to the Hebrews as Chadhel, a name considered to be the equivalent of Hell; in Arabia as Khadulu "Satan the forsaker"; to the Hindus Katala the "sea monster"; and to the Chinese Kui tai lao hai, the "ancient evil ocean demon". All label Cthulhu as malignant.
Only in Egypt has no reference to Cthulhu worship been found. Dr Sadowsky hypothesizes that the worship of Nyarlathotep disguised as Thoth drove out all competing cults, or at least their documented references.
The widespread nature of the Cthulhu clt - the only god known to have been worshipped simoultaneously in all three major centers of ancient civilisation - had gone completely unoticed by scholars until the pioneering work of Dr Sadowsky. One wonders: if such a powerful cult could have remained so well hidden in antiquity, what obscene rituals in hidden places might yet be practised to this most dreadful demon?
FOOTNOTES
[1\ - Ignace J Gleb, et al. The Asyrian Dictionary (Chicago University Press, 1964, in progress). Volume 2, pp. 355ff
[2\ - Ibid, Volume 6, p. 158. The word if spoken swiftly and slurred (as is often done in human speech) probably would sound something like khatulu'u, easily recognizable as a dialectal ariation of "Cthulhu".
[3\ - Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets 1627:8
[4\ - Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon (Eerdmans, 1982) p.262
[5\ - This identification has been discussed by Dr Sadowski in "Further Notes on the Necronomicon," Cthulhu Companion (Chaosium, 1983), p. 12, and is repeated here so this discussion of Cthulhu will be complete.
[6\ - Edward Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon (New York; Frederick Ungar Publishers, 1965 reprint of 1865 ed), vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 714, col. 1.
[7\ - Monier Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (rev. version of 1899 edition: New Delhi, Munshiram Manohalal,1981), p. 270a.
[8\ - These Chinese characters can be examined in the following sources: Bernhard Karlgren, Analytical Dictionary of Chinese and Sino-Japanese (New York: Dover, 1974 reprint of the 1923 Paris edition) hereafter referred to as ADC. and L Wieger, Chinese Characters (Dover, 1965 reprint of the 1915 edition) hereafter referred to as CC. For the specific characters: kui (also translated kuei) = "demon, spirit" ADC 460, CC 548: tai = "bad, evil" ADC 959; lao = "old, ancient" ADC 515, CC 88; shai = "sea, ocean" CC 595.
[9\ - These drawings are analysed in CC 112, 548.
Snakeappletree's Commentaries:
on Nyarlathotep
On The Crawling Chaos:
Nyarlathotep is a shapeshifter.
Energy configurations have are described by Ordo Octopia as Anima.
Number Three is highlighted here as important to this deity.
Each of the three forms in the text are symbolic, an extrapolation is discussed in the Black book.
Messenger, Heart and Soul are used in affinity with the three books of Ordo Octopia;
the Black book (Perceptual magick), the Red book (Sex magick) and the White book (the lightbody of the Adept).
Nyarlathotep is a Tattva, an energy available to plug into, to experience and use its Anima for our own purposes.
The “enacting of the will of the Gods” is a process of thought-form manifesting as event.
This is a principle of magickal function and therefore Nyarlathotep is a symbol for the process.
That it is a messenger may be interpreted in this light.
eg; a postman is a concept, an individual is representative of the postal service, an organized system and industry.
Nyarlathotep teaches enlightenment through madness.
Thus the madness and insanity brought by Nyarlathotep is merely a teaching-by-trickery, often by revealing the truth which is beyond liminal ability to come to terms with. By courting this awakening-madness is how we learn. By bringing ‘madness’ to the earth is a way of saying; preparing us psychologically for what is to come; the return of the Outer Gods to earth.
“The universe is always one step beyond logic”
the Mentat Handbook, Frank Herbert, Dune
HP Lovecraft is a Horror writer who exagurated the Fear element of the concepts drawn from his Egyptian-freemasonic fathers esoteric library.
Nyarlathotep is an energy for Transition, the first stage of which is destruction of the previous system.
Nyarlathotep is not a predominantly a destroyer but rather an element of necessary change, therefore evolutionary.
This is to maintain Balance in a progressive Reality. It is when things go out of balance that Nyarlathotep is called for.
It is relevant to compare the deity Nyarlathotep of the Cthulhu Mythos with the deity Tzeentch of the Warhammer 40K Mythos that it has inspired.
Nyarlathotep is a shapeshifter.
Energy configurations have are described by Ordo Octopia as Anima.
Number Three is highlighted here as important to this deity.
Each of the three forms in the text are symbolic, an extrapolation is discussed in the Black book.
Messenger, Heart and Soul are used in affinity with the three books of Ordo Octopia;
the Black book (Perceptual magick), the Red book (Sex magick) and the White book (the lightbody of the Adept).
Nyarlathotep is a Tattva, an energy available to plug into, to experience and use its Anima for our own purposes.
The “enacting of the will of the Gods” is a process of thought-form manifesting as event.
This is a principle of magickal function and therefore Nyarlathotep is a symbol for the process.
That it is a messenger may be interpreted in this light.
eg; a postman is a concept, an individual is representative of the postal service, an organized system and industry.
Nyarlathotep teaches enlightenment through madness.
Thus the madness and insanity brought by Nyarlathotep is merely a teaching-by-trickery, often by revealing the truth which is beyond liminal ability to come to terms with. By courting this awakening-madness is how we learn. By bringing ‘madness’ to the earth is a way of saying; preparing us psychologically for what is to come; the return of the Outer Gods to earth.
“The universe is always one step beyond logic”
the Mentat Handbook, Frank Herbert, Dune
HP Lovecraft is a Horror writer who exagurated the Fear element of the concepts drawn from his Egyptian-freemasonic fathers esoteric library.
Nyarlathotep is an energy for Transition, the first stage of which is destruction of the previous system.
Nyarlathotep is not a predominantly a destroyer but rather an element of necessary change, therefore evolutionary.
This is to maintain Balance in a progressive Reality. It is when things go out of balance that Nyarlathotep is called for.
It is relevant to compare the deity Nyarlathotep of the Cthulhu Mythos with the deity Tzeentch of the Warhammer 40K Mythos that it has inspired.
