I'm going to start off by saying that Arceus is big. It encompasses aspects of dozens of primordial deities, references to all sorts of creation myths from around the world, and it represents the culmination of a truly diverse cultural spectrum of ideas. If there is such a thing as a collective unconscious, a "monomyth" if you will, then Arceus is it. It is the ghost of a story we have told ourselves a thousand different times, in a thousand different tongues. Let's start the closest to home, with its origins in Sinnoh.
If Kanto is inspired by the metropolis of Tokyo and Johto represents the historic region of Kansai, Sinnoh is a stand in for the island of Hokkaido, the frozen north. The tallest mountain in Hokkaido is even called the Playground Of The Gods by the native Ainu. It seems fitting, then, that the Ezo mountain range seems to be the inspiration for Mount Coronet. Spear Pillar is a barefaced reference to the shinto creation myth of Izanami and Izanagi using a jewelled naginata to first create the islands of Japan. In the myth of the Kojiki it's said that upon the first land ever raised above the primordial waters, Izanami and Izanagi built a palace with a great pillar at its centre, at which they were married. So Arceus fills the role of not merely the great god Izanagi, father of the major pantheon of Shinto deities we're familiar with, but also his sister and wife Izanami. And the generations of more primordial beings that begat them, as well, known as the Kotoamatsukami. This seemingly paradoxical aspect of Arceus embodying its own creations is in fact reflected within the lore of the franchise, as has been noted that Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina all share visible features resembling Arceus itself, and the appearance of Arceus in a physical form has sometimes even been described as merely a projection of the true creator, a small fragment of what is truly a much greater being.
Taking this idea of gods within gods that embody aspects themselves a bit more seriously, we come to a parallel that I don't see brought up quite as often: the supreme divinity of Hinduism known as the Trimurti. Brahma is said to be the creator of all things, and might be a little bit of a stretch at first glance. Vishnu on the other hand is explicitly the God of Time as well as the protector of good and the cosmic order, while Shiva, the God of Destruction, is an ascetic who lives a quiet home life on Mount Kailash and is both revered and feared for his great power, typically found smiting demons and casting down evil. While all three are individually worshiped as ultimate creator deities in their own right, they are also recognized as aspects of a greater whole that embodies both the supreme creator deity as well as reality itself as a concept, being simultaneously all and everything.
This connection, curiously, takes us in another parallel direction. Christianity. Now, I'm not going to get into the specifics about just what the Holy Trinity is or isn't in a theological context because that subject has been the focus of endless discussion, flame wars, and occasional actual violence (Early Christianity was a wild ride) within the faith, I'm merely here to point out the parallels this shares with our Creation Trio and this intriguing concept of Arceus ruling over aspects of its own existence as almighty ruler and creator of the universe. Arceus does even get in on that Old Testament shit on occasion. Another aspect that could be drawn between the Trimurti and the Trinity, however, would be the allusions drawn by Arceus' physical appearance. Not only is its basic appearance primarily white and gold, which are repeatedly associated with the appearance of both God and Jesus in Biblical scripture, it could be argued that it also bears some cheeky resemblance to the very idol that said creator once banished. Ironic, considering that there is some evidence that very same icon may have been syncretic with Yahweh himself in a context before the major shifting of the Israelite culture and the adoption of monotheism in Judaism. It also connects Arceus both to the Canaanite deity who may in fact have been synonymous with, or syncretised to, Yahweh, as well as having an association with the sacred bull of Egypt from whence the Israelites fled. However, a more important visual resemblance we can take from Arceus is that of its goatfence I meanhalo. Specifically, Arceus displays a cruciform halo, and even the gaps in the ring display shapes that resemble the crucifix in an aesthetic that I must say feels very Renaissance Christian indeed. also the general image of a giant lamb wearing a halo is Christian as balls alright
Speaking of that big hecking ring though, what if I told you that ring in fact represents not only all of Arceus as a concept, but the entirety of the Pokémon world, all of time and space and reality, and all life within it? The Buddhist Bhavacakra is a symbolic representation of Samsara itself, the endless cycle of imperfect existence that all must suffer upon the pursuit of enlightenment and the attainment of nirvana. Now the Bhavacakra on its own is wonderfully intricate and intriguing, to be sure, but I'd like to draw your attention more specifically toward its associations with the path to enlightenment, as the concept of Nirvana entails achieving a sort of non-self consciousness, an existence of pure observation and cognition, a state in which one is at peace completely and separated from the emotional constraints of the universe. Now I'm going to go point at the anime to give us a convenient image of Arceus' associated legendary plates and their role in this symbolism, further reinforcing the Buddhist motif. The ring of all Arceus' power both encapsulates all pokemon elemental Types and thereby represents all life in the universe, symbolically encompassing all of reality, it also subtly references an even older Buddhist iconography that thematically symbolizes the cycle of nature and of Buddhism itself, the turning of the "wheel of time" and the cycle of the Eightfold Path. It is the wheel of Law and the wheel of Nature, as it represents the way in which pokemon Types affect each other in an interconnected endless cycle, and thus how all pokemon, all living beings affect one another in life. I'll also note that there are, currently as of this writing, 18 unique Types and therefore 18 Plates, and there's so much significance to that number I could be here for days. But backing up there for a moment, what's that about transcendence and non-self?
Oh right. Time to talk about The Unown. As they are presented in the games, the Unown take the forms of the twenty-six ordinary letters of the English alphabet, as well as ! and ? which, as the interrogative and the imperative, are endlessly meaningful. We do however see Unown that are clearly non-English in nature elsewhere, and I personally like this implication that the Unown perhaps exist in all sorts of forms in all sorts of languages. They're also all floating eyes. The metaphorical implication of omnipresence and omniscience is pretty dang blunt; the character of the divine as somehow being everywhere at once, being within and throughout all of the universe, as well as all-knowing and all-seeing, are very prominent ideas within many major religious beliefs and myth cycles, and notably relevant to the topics of Abrahamic and Vedic theology and philosophy, further reinforcing Arceus' connection to Biblical God and the Hindu idea of Brahman. Arceus, then, becomes both a creator who is unto itself an entity, an identity that acts as a pure will and personality, and yet simultaneously is no self at all, a purely observational consciousness that exists everywhere all at once and within all things. How literally could we take this? Are the Unown simply serving as Arceus' eyes and ears? Do they represent the host of Heaven whom are tools of the Creator, to enact god's will and serve as intermediaries to mankind, as some have theorized might be implied by the mentions of Arceus' "thousand arms" which it used to create the world? Perhaps they represent the idea that, as the Buddha transcended beyond the earthly cycle of samsara never to return, his teachings yet remain behind to guide others on the path to nirvana? The passage of our worldly knowledge from generation to generation, as the ancient inhabitants of the Ruins of Alph left their knowledge behind after they abandoned what was once their home.
Okay so we've talked about Arceus itself, its visual influences, its plurality of existence as embodied by the Creation Trio (and I haven't even talked about the implications of the Lake Trio yet), the interesting connotations of its giant hecking wheel tiara, even its connection to the Unown and the Ruins of Alph, what haven't we covered yet? Oh. Oh yeah...
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branchandroot
Part 3: Almighty Sinnoh
Date: 2022-07-07 08:21 pm (UTC)If Kanto is inspired by the metropolis of Tokyo and Johto represents the historic region of Kansai, Sinnoh is a stand in for the island of Hokkaido, the frozen north. The tallest mountain in Hokkaido is even called the Playground Of The Gods by the native Ainu. It seems fitting, then, that the Ezo mountain range seems to be the inspiration for Mount Coronet. Spear Pillar is a barefaced reference to the shinto creation myth of Izanami and Izanagi using a jewelled naginata to first create the islands of Japan. In the myth of the Kojiki it's said that upon the first land ever raised above the primordial waters, Izanami and Izanagi built a palace with a great pillar at its centre, at which they were married. So Arceus fills the role of not merely the great god Izanagi, father of the major pantheon of Shinto deities we're familiar with, but also his sister and wife Izanami. And the generations of more primordial beings that begat them, as well, known as the Kotoamatsukami. This seemingly paradoxical aspect of Arceus embodying its own creations is in fact reflected within the lore of the franchise, as has been noted that Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina all share visible features resembling Arceus itself, and the appearance of Arceus in a physical form has sometimes even been described as merely a projection of the true creator, a small fragment of what is truly a much greater being.
Taking this idea of gods within gods that embody aspects themselves a bit more seriously, we come to a parallel that I don't see brought up quite as often: the supreme divinity of Hinduism known as the Trimurti. Brahma is said to be the creator of all things, and might be a little bit of a stretch at first glance. Vishnu on the other hand is explicitly the God of Time as well as the protector of good and the cosmic order, while Shiva, the God of Destruction, is an ascetic who lives a quiet home life on Mount Kailash and is both revered and feared for his great power, typically found smiting demons and casting down evil. While all three are individually worshiped as ultimate creator deities in their own right, they are also recognized as aspects of a greater whole that embodies both the supreme creator deity as well as reality itself as a concept, being simultaneously all and everything.
This connection, curiously, takes us in another parallel direction. Christianity. Now, I'm not going to get into the specifics about just what the Holy Trinity is or isn't in a theological context because that subject has been the focus of endless discussion, flame wars, and occasional actual violence (Early Christianity was a wild ride) within the faith, I'm merely here to point out the parallels this shares with our Creation Trio and this intriguing concept of Arceus ruling over aspects of its own existence as almighty ruler and creator of the universe. Arceus does even get in on that Old Testament shit on occasion. Another aspect that could be drawn between the Trimurti and the Trinity, however, would be the allusions drawn by Arceus' physical appearance. Not only is its basic appearance primarily white and gold, which are repeatedly associated with the appearance of both God and Jesus in Biblical scripture, it could be argued that it also bears some cheeky resemblance to the very idol that said creator once banished. Ironic, considering that there is some evidence that very same icon may have been syncretic with Yahweh himself in a context before the major shifting of the Israelite culture and the adoption of monotheism in Judaism. It also connects Arceus both to the Canaanite deity who may in fact have been synonymous with, or syncretised to, Yahweh, as well as having an association with the sacred bull of Egypt from whence the Israelites fled. However, a more important visual resemblance we can take from Arceus is that of its
goatfence I meanhalo. Specifically, Arceus displays a cruciform halo, and even the gaps in the ring display shapes that resemble the crucifix in an aesthetic that I must say feels very Renaissance Christian indeed. also the general image of a giant lamb wearing a halo is Christian as balls alrightSpeaking of that big hecking ring though, what if I told you that ring in fact represents not only all of Arceus as a concept, but the entirety of the Pokémon world, all of time and space and reality, and all life within it? The Buddhist Bhavacakra is a symbolic representation of Samsara itself, the endless cycle of imperfect existence that all must suffer upon the pursuit of enlightenment and the attainment of nirvana. Now the Bhavacakra on its own is wonderfully intricate and intriguing, to be sure, but I'd like to draw your attention more specifically toward its associations with the path to enlightenment, as the concept of Nirvana entails achieving a sort of non-self consciousness, an existence of pure observation and cognition, a state in which one is at peace completely and separated from the emotional constraints of the universe. Now I'm going to go point at the anime to give us a convenient image of Arceus' associated legendary plates and their role in this symbolism, further reinforcing the Buddhist motif. The ring of all Arceus' power both encapsulates all pokemon elemental Types and thereby represents all life in the universe, symbolically encompassing all of reality, it also subtly references an even older Buddhist iconography that thematically symbolizes the cycle of nature and of Buddhism itself, the turning of the "wheel of time" and the cycle of the Eightfold Path. It is the wheel of Law and the wheel of Nature, as it represents the way in which pokemon Types affect each other in an interconnected endless cycle, and thus how all pokemon, all living beings affect one another in life. I'll also note that there are, currently as of this writing, 18 unique Types and therefore 18 Plates, and there's so much significance to that number I could be here for days. But backing up there for a moment, what's that about transcendence and non-self?
Oh right. Time to talk about The Unown. As they are presented in the games, the Unown take the forms of the twenty-six ordinary letters of the English alphabet, as well as ! and ? which, as the interrogative and the imperative, are endlessly meaningful. We do however see Unown that are clearly non-English in nature elsewhere, and I personally like this implication that the Unown perhaps exist in all sorts of forms in all sorts of languages. They're also all floating eyes. The metaphorical implication of omnipresence and omniscience is pretty dang blunt; the character of the divine as somehow being everywhere at once, being within and throughout all of the universe, as well as all-knowing and all-seeing, are very prominent ideas within many major religious beliefs and myth cycles, and notably relevant to the topics of Abrahamic and Vedic theology and philosophy, further reinforcing Arceus' connection to Biblical God and the Hindu idea of Brahman. Arceus, then, becomes both a creator who is unto itself an entity, an identity that acts as a pure will and personality, and yet simultaneously is no self at all, a purely observational consciousness that exists everywhere all at once and within all things. How literally could we take this? Are the Unown simply serving as Arceus' eyes and ears? Do they represent the host of Heaven whom are tools of the Creator, to enact god's will and serve as intermediaries to mankind, as some have theorized might be implied by the mentions of Arceus' "thousand arms" which it used to create the world? Perhaps they represent the idea that, as the Buddha transcended beyond the earthly cycle of samsara never to return, his teachings yet remain behind to guide others on the path to nirvana? The passage of our worldly knowledge from generation to generation, as the ancient inhabitants of the Ruins of Alph left their knowledge behind after they abandoned what was once their home.
Okay so we've talked about Arceus itself, its visual influences, its plurality of existence as embodied by the Creation Trio (and I haven't even talked about the implications of the Lake Trio yet), the interesting connotations of its giant hecking wheel tiara, even its connection to the Unown and the Ruins of Alph, what haven't we covered yet?
Oh.
Oh yeah...