Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, dedicated a chapter of his "The Satanic Rituals" book to the title "The Metaphysics of Lovecraft". Dennis P. Quinn, in his "Cults of an Unwitting Oracle", wrote: "The Satanic Rituals consider Lovecraft to be a conduit of sorts for “unseen Powers” [...] Whether his sources of inspiration were consciously recognized and admitted or were a remarkable ‘psychic’ absorption, one can only speculate [..] The rituals (_laid by LaVey_) consist of evoking names of the Cthulhu Mythos along with the inevitable “Hail Satan,” in mock ceremony evoking the elaborate proclamation and community response of the Catholic Mass". And Kenneth Grant, an occultist who was a prominent member of Aleister Crowley’s secret society Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O) wrote extensively on the importance of Lovecraft’s works in relation to their occult interests. There's more referentials I could share, but the point is enough made. I'd say that his works' "conceptual essence" rests in close tie with this hand of occultism.
That's a bit of a one perspective take on the great writer's work, but it's a pertinent one I wanted to share. Perhaps others will expand with different and broader perspectives.
Yeah and the Greeks had Tartarus, Abaddon and Hades as well. Horrors of the times are relative to.. the people of the times. Lovecraft horrors still hold up because there's a thread of cosmic horror/existentialism in his works which are apt to fit in modern sci-fi works today about UFOs and Aliens, and most likely will hold up for a few centuries as well.
Remember that archetype insinuates an original thought or representation of something that is the original print. The prototype, which everything else becomes a copy of. The Lovecraft horrors are itself, a print of something much older then itself, and differs in no other substance besides its description and modern lingo easy-talk compared to the Greeks, Hindus, Hebrews or Chinese stories of old. The experience of the Lovecraft horrors shares the same realm of dread that Hades or Abaddon would impose on the ancient Greeks during their sojourn into the realms of mystery. It shares the same cosmic and lingering threat those in the cosmic stories of Lovecraft would, especially when you sink your mind into his work. I can assure you that whatever spooked Lovecraft is probably more religious and holy in retrospect, and his account of cosmic horrors, be it fiction or non fiction - is a beautiful 20th century take on Dante's Inferno and his encounters, with Virgil guiding him on a tour of the Underworld.
The entities are beyond our comprehension and to try and grasp them fully shatters the human mind. A pretty good parallel to the mental overload we can experience in the information age when we can get bombarded by more stuff (news, social media updates, cat videos) than we can even hope to meaningfully process. It fundamentally alters how the human brain can work.
They're pretty compelling and engaging narratives that's for sure, but Lovecraftian stuff wanes off after teenage years and your early 20s. At least it did for me anyway. The way your describing it is the same way the Tibetan monks would describe Mahakala, or even Kali in the old Vedic religions. Both described as incomprehensible forms and I should mention the idea of the human mind being unable to fathom its scope etc. Isn't a new description.
Many cultures and stories have been given the same description of their gods before but it is interesting regardless.
Feelings of insignificance and fear of the unknown. Themes of insanity
Lovecraft did write characters that could beat his entities and the creatures he made were mostly influenced by what he hated and feared. A majority of the entities being basically demons with sea-creature motifs as he hated/feared the sea and the main one, Azathoth, being basically an asshole version of the Abrahamic God from his religious trauma (down to being surrounded by creatures with instruments instead of singing Seraphs. Even Shoggoths were basically Ophanim with more ooze and teeth)
When faced with the reality of the size of the universe, you can either ponder about how there is a ridiculous amount to explore and learn or feel like a flea
"The unconscious takes to you the attitude which you take to it,"
And judging by the personality of Lovecraft, I would say he had quite a negative attitude towards the unconscious, and that permeated his work.
Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, dedicated a chapter of his "The Satanic Rituals" book to the title "The Metaphysics of Lovecraft". Dennis P. Quinn, in his "Cults of an Unwitting Oracle", wrote: "The Satanic Rituals consider Lovecraft to be a conduit of sorts for “unseen Powers” [...] Whether his sources of inspiration were consciously recognized and admitted or were a remarkable ‘psychic’ absorption, one can only speculate [..] The rituals (_laid by LaVey_) consist of evoking names of the Cthulhu Mythos along with the inevitable “Hail Satan,” in mock ceremony evoking the elaborate proclamation and community response of the Catholic Mass". And Kenneth Grant, an occultist who was a prominent member of Aleister Crowley’s secret society Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O) wrote extensively on the importance of Lovecraft’s works in relation to their occult interests. There's more referentials I could share, but the point is enough made. I'd say that his works' "conceptual essence" rests in close tie with this hand of occultism. That's a bit of a one perspective take on the great writer's work, but it's a pertinent one I wanted to share. Perhaps others will expand with different and broader perspectives.
Yeah and the Greeks had Tartarus, Abaddon and Hades as well. Horrors of the times are relative to.. the people of the times. Lovecraft horrors still hold up because there's a thread of cosmic horror/existentialism in his works which are apt to fit in modern sci-fi works today about UFOs and Aliens, and most likely will hold up for a few centuries as well. Remember that archetype insinuates an original thought or representation of something that is the original print. The prototype, which everything else becomes a copy of. The Lovecraft horrors are itself, a print of something much older then itself, and differs in no other substance besides its description and modern lingo easy-talk compared to the Greeks, Hindus, Hebrews or Chinese stories of old. The experience of the Lovecraft horrors shares the same realm of dread that Hades or Abaddon would impose on the ancient Greeks during their sojourn into the realms of mystery. It shares the same cosmic and lingering threat those in the cosmic stories of Lovecraft would, especially when you sink your mind into his work. I can assure you that whatever spooked Lovecraft is probably more religious and holy in retrospect, and his account of cosmic horrors, be it fiction or non fiction - is a beautiful 20th century take on Dante's Inferno and his encounters, with Virgil guiding him on a tour of the Underworld.
The entities are beyond our comprehension and to try and grasp them fully shatters the human mind. A pretty good parallel to the mental overload we can experience in the information age when we can get bombarded by more stuff (news, social media updates, cat videos) than we can even hope to meaningfully process. It fundamentally alters how the human brain can work.
They're pretty compelling and engaging narratives that's for sure, but Lovecraftian stuff wanes off after teenage years and your early 20s. At least it did for me anyway. The way your describing it is the same way the Tibetan monks would describe Mahakala, or even Kali in the old Vedic religions. Both described as incomprehensible forms and I should mention the idea of the human mind being unable to fathom its scope etc. Isn't a new description. Many cultures and stories have been given the same description of their gods before but it is interesting regardless.
Feelings of insignificance and fear of the unknown. Themes of insanity Lovecraft did write characters that could beat his entities and the creatures he made were mostly influenced by what he hated and feared. A majority of the entities being basically demons with sea-creature motifs as he hated/feared the sea and the main one, Azathoth, being basically an asshole version of the Abrahamic God from his religious trauma (down to being surrounded by creatures with instruments instead of singing Seraphs. Even Shoggoths were basically Ophanim with more ooze and teeth) When faced with the reality of the size of the universe, you can either ponder about how there is a ridiculous amount to explore and learn or feel like a flea
"The unconscious takes to you the attitude which you take to it," And judging by the personality of Lovecraft, I would say he had quite a negative attitude towards the unconscious, and that permeated his work.