Many of you have read and rated my other theory, “The Great Gedanken Experiment, A Tale of Time Travel and Schrodinger’s Cat.” Some have offered praise and insightful questions, and others blasted it out of the water… and I appreciate it all! I have been asked if I have other theories, and so I offer for your consideration the following theory. You will find this to be a completely different approach than my first, and while it addresses many questions the Gedanken Experiment theory missed, I will tell you up front that it avoids many others. Perhaps there is a way to join the two; I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have not already, I highly recommend studying the blast door map on Lostpedia before continuing.
There are several key mysteries from Lost that this theory attempts to reconcile. Consider:
□ the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the 108 minute clock
□ the Latin phrases on the blast door map
□ “The Swan”, “The Flame”, “The Arrow”, “The Pearl,” and “The Staff”
□ the numbers of the Valenzetti Equation (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)
Everybody has heard of the Lost Civilization of Atlantis, but there is much that you likely don’t know. Let’s start with ancient Greece, in the time of Plato and Socrates. As you know, ancient Greek religion was governed by the cults of various deities, whose stories were told in the many myths that survive to this day. The story of Atlantis, however, was not a typical myth. It was not a part of Greek culture and religion at all, until Plato told of it. According to Plato, a relative of his, Solon, visited a port on the Nile delta in Egypt, and discussed ancient mysteries with them. The story of Atlantis came not from the Greeks at all, but from Egypt, at least according to Plato. This will be very relevant to the hieroglyphs on the clock.
Plato described Atlantis and its people in detail in two dialogues, Timaeus and Critius. He said that Atlantis was an ancient and highly advanced civilization that lived on a continent in the Atlantic Ocean (this is where the Atlantic gets its name, derived from the king Atlas, son of Poseidon). According to Plato, ancient Egyptian inscriptions and papyri supported the history as fact. While it is often referred to as a continent, the description is actually of a series of islands, with the central island being the most important and reserved for the king’s son. The islands were “enriched with extraordinary fruits and blessed by the Sun, with rivers and inexhaustible mines of precious metals.” Thus they were extremely wealthy. The inner island was protected by concentric rings of defenses, the innermost being a mysterious wall made of “orichalcum,” an unknown metal “which sparkled like fire.”
Socrates was Plato’s teacher and mentor, and he doubted Plato’s tales of Atlantis. They were much forgotten for centuries. As the stories were revived, the conclusion made by many was that the Atlanteans had actually destroyed themselves by experimenting with “cosmic” energies or in a nuclear holocaust. More importantly, it was believed that the Atlanteans had discovered “secret and sacred wisdom.” This knowledge meant great power; and as we know, great power means eventual corruption. According to Plato, the Atlanteans were “filled with boundless greed and drunk with power.” And for this, they were destroyed.
The story of the destruction is important, and here we must return to the Egyptians, for they told Solon something else. In Timaeus a priest tells Solon, “Sometimes those bodies revolving in space around the earth, divert from their usual course. Thus, at wide intervals in time, everything on earth is destroyed by fire… At other times, the gods purify the earth by means of water, by flooding it.” Since the last great “purification” of the earth was by flood, the next apocalypse would be by fire. In fact, these intervals were believed to be fixed, thus the coming apocalypse inevitable. But when? Here enters the fictional Valenzetti Equation, and the numbers that represent the mysterious equation that feature so prominently on the show. We know that the Valenzetti Equation is supposed to predict the exact number of years remaining until humanity is destroyed. Perhaps Valenzetti was able to solve the Egyptian mystery, and determined exactly the dates of the apocalyptic cycle.
This cycle of apocalypse is known as the Osirian Cycle, and is perhaps better described as a cycle of “betrayal and revenge, death and rebirth.” It derives from the mythology of the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Osiris embodied “secret and sacred wisdom” of the whole sphere of knowledge. Isis was both his sister and wife; she represented “Mother of all good, the protectress of right….” Now I should tell you first about their mother, Nut. The great god Ra believed that if Nut bore children, one of them would destroy his reign among men. So Ra laid a curse upon Nut, that she would not be able to bear any child upon any day of the year (any relationship to the problem of conception on the island?) Nut’s brother, Thoth, saved the day by gambling with another god that resulted in adding 5 days to the calendar year (it was previously 360 days). Thus, on those new days, Nut could give birth, getting around Ra’s curse.
Osiris was tricked by their brother Set (also known as Typhon, from which we get the term typhoon) and killed, his body parts scattered around the world to prevent anybody from putting them back together; symbolically destroying the secret knowledge of the ancients. Now check this out: “Isis knew as soon as her husband was dead, though no one told her, and fled into the marshes of the delta carrying the baby Horus with her. She found shelter on a little island where the goddess Buto lived, and entrusted the divine child to her. And as a further safeguard against Set, Isis loosed the island from its foundations, and let it float so that no one could tell where to find it.” After that, Isis made it her goal to find the scattered parts of Osiris and reunite them, to restore Osiris and the knowledge he embodied. “In all parts of the world the virtuous in grief and distress raised their hands to the heavens, pleading for the restoration of the reign of Truth.” (Note that on the blast door map in Latin is the phrase “Sursum corda”—Lift up your hearts to God—is repeated three times.) She found all but one part, and “then she caused the body to be embalmed and hidden away in a place of which she alone knew. And after this the spirit of Osiris passed into Amenti to rule over the dead until that last great battle, when Horus should slay Set and Osiris would return to the earth once more.”
Let’s return to the hieroglyphs. According to Lostpedia, one translation in Middle Egyptian is “She/Rises to the sky/in Flames//He/Dies.” The female part appears with a black background on the timer, while the male has a red background. This would be consistent with the tale of Isis and Osiris, which is thought by many to represent the death of humanity altogether, as in the Osirian Cycle. Osiris dies, humanity dies. If fate can be changed, and Set is destroyed and Osiris restored, humanity survives. Or, this is all symbolic of impending cosmic doom as told to Solon by the Egyptian priest. Either way, there is an Egyptian clock, based on the Osirian Cycle, that predicts the impending doom of mankind by fire.
Getting your attention now? Oh, and by the way, according to the Egyptian historical tradition as described by the Freemasons, Osiris came “into Egypt through the Atlantean Mystery School, of which Isis is the symbol.”
Let’s assume for a moment that Atlantis was real, and its inhabitants were destroyed by advanced technology… VERY advanced. Let’s imagine for a moment that a text was passed from the Greeks to the Romans (Plato lived at a time concurrent with ancient Rome, and did visit there) and survived to this day… in Latin. Let’s imagine that this text contained a diagram of the actual technology that the Atlanteans developed, and that men of great power sought to reconstruct this technology. Now let’s imagine that this island was chosen because of its unique magnetic field and “mineralogical riches.” They are essentially rebuilding Atlantis, or at least its core technology. Let’s imagine that the text was brought to the island as a guide, and when an “incident” occurred, and somebody was trapped inside The Swan as Locke was, he had that text with him and used his time to draw out the map on the blast door, along with notes taken from the text.
What was the “sphere of knowledge” that was so important and so powerful? Perhaps it included a number of different areas of wisdom and power, as represented by “The Swan,” “The Flame,” “The Staff,” “The Pearl,” and “The Arrow.” There is a chamber for each.
“The Staff” may represent medical knowledge, as the note on the blast door says “confirmed site of caduceus medical station (The Staff).” Now this gets really interesting. Picture the American symbol for medicine, a winged staff with two intertwining serpents; that is known as a caduceus (it is misspelled on the map). However, the origin of the caduceus symbol is the Staff of Aesculapius, a more primitive rod with one serpent. Google this staff and you will see that it looks EXACTLY like the last hieroglyph on the Osirian clock… coincidence? And why is it that medicine is represented by a serpent? This is because the snake symbolizes youth and rejuvenation, because of how it periodically sheds its skin. In fact, many believed that snakes live forever. Thus, “The Staff” may instead represent knowledge of rejuvenation and extension of life, not simply medicine. I’d bet that Richard Alpert has visited this chamber, and made use of it.
Let’s consider “The Swan.” This was one of the greatest mysteries to me, seeming totally out of place. The swan is not a hieroglyph, nor easily identified as representing an area of knowledge. That is, until I learned about Socrates’ dream. Remember, Socrates was Plato’s teacher. Socrates told of a very profound dream, in which a fledgling swan grew out of his chest (his heart), grew before his eyes while sitting on his lap, and flew away. The next day, Socrates met Plato. He identified the swan as Plato, his young pupil, who would grow in knowledge and then find his own way, eventually becoming the biographer of Socrates. Thus, the dream was believed to be prophetic, and for many came to symbolize the ability to see into the future. “The Swan” is the ability to see into the future.
As for “The Pearl,” “The Arrow,” and “The Flame,” I don’t know.
Jacob is an oracle. All oracles have a “priest,” an empowered individual who claims the sole ability to hear the voice of the oracle and translate the oracle’s words to believers. If Ben has claimed this power to himself, you can imagine his fury when the oracle speaks to Locke, not him. Also, oracles could speak literally, or “as voices of the rustling of leaves.” All of the inhabitants of the island could hear the voices in the jungle, but Ben claimed his right to lead them by being the ONE who could specifically hear and understand the voice of Jacob… until Locke arrived.
One last idea, which I mentioned in a posting to my Gedanken Experiment theory, is that the Latin phrases on the blast door map look intriguingly like a dialogue, a conversation. Note the phrase “Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse,” which translates as “I think we’re on the same wavelength.” That would be an unusual note on a text. It sounds more like somebody was drawing the map on the door, and consulting somebody/something who was responding in Latin. The phrase also has dual meaning, as “we’re thinking the same thing” AND “we’re using the same frequency.” Also note that “known final resting place of Magnus Hanso” may literally indicate RESTING place, as in an object at rest, not death. In fact, since it identifies this place as “Blackrock,” it is likely that this is a place of entrapment… as in Set capturing Osiris… as in a captive Oracle… as in Jacob, who once believed that HIS twin brother wanted to kill HIM.
There are so many questions that remain. But until now, until this theory, I have heard nothing else that made sense of the hieroglyphs, the chambers, the Valenzetti Equation, and the blast door map.
Steve
Theory by SD Wynn
There are several key mysteries from Lost that this theory attempts to reconcile. Consider:
□ the Egyptian hieroglyphs on the 108 minute clock
□ the Latin phrases on the blast door map
□ “The Swan”, “The Flame”, “The Arrow”, “The Pearl,” and “The Staff”
□ the numbers of the Valenzetti Equation (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42)
Everybody has heard of the Lost Civilization of Atlantis, but there is much that you likely don’t know. Let’s start with ancient Greece, in the time of Plato and Socrates. As you know, ancient Greek religion was governed by the cults of various deities, whose stories were told in the many myths that survive to this day. The story of Atlantis, however, was not a typical myth. It was not a part of Greek culture and religion at all, until Plato told of it. According to Plato, a relative of his, Solon, visited a port on the Nile delta in Egypt, and discussed ancient mysteries with them. The story of Atlantis came not from the Greeks at all, but from Egypt, at least according to Plato. This will be very relevant to the hieroglyphs on the clock.
Plato described Atlantis and its people in detail in two dialogues, Timaeus and Critius. He said that Atlantis was an ancient and highly advanced civilization that lived on a continent in the Atlantic Ocean (this is where the Atlantic gets its name, derived from the king Atlas, son of Poseidon). According to Plato, ancient Egyptian inscriptions and papyri supported the history as fact. While it is often referred to as a continent, the description is actually of a series of islands, with the central island being the most important and reserved for the king’s son. The islands were “enriched with extraordinary fruits and blessed by the Sun, with rivers and inexhaustible mines of precious metals.” Thus they were extremely wealthy. The inner island was protected by concentric rings of defenses, the innermost being a mysterious wall made of “orichalcum,” an unknown metal “which sparkled like fire.”
Socrates was Plato’s teacher and mentor, and he doubted Plato’s tales of Atlantis. They were much forgotten for centuries. As the stories were revived, the conclusion made by many was that the Atlanteans had actually destroyed themselves by experimenting with “cosmic” energies or in a nuclear holocaust. More importantly, it was believed that the Atlanteans had discovered “secret and sacred wisdom.” This knowledge meant great power; and as we know, great power means eventual corruption. According to Plato, the Atlanteans were “filled with boundless greed and drunk with power.” And for this, they were destroyed.
The story of the destruction is important, and here we must return to the Egyptians, for they told Solon something else. In Timaeus a priest tells Solon, “Sometimes those bodies revolving in space around the earth, divert from their usual course. Thus, at wide intervals in time, everything on earth is destroyed by fire… At other times, the gods purify the earth by means of water, by flooding it.” Since the last great “purification” of the earth was by flood, the next apocalypse would be by fire. In fact, these intervals were believed to be fixed, thus the coming apocalypse inevitable. But when? Here enters the fictional Valenzetti Equation, and the numbers that represent the mysterious equation that feature so prominently on the show. We know that the Valenzetti Equation is supposed to predict the exact number of years remaining until humanity is destroyed. Perhaps Valenzetti was able to solve the Egyptian mystery, and determined exactly the dates of the apocalyptic cycle.
This cycle of apocalypse is known as the Osirian Cycle, and is perhaps better described as a cycle of “betrayal and revenge, death and rebirth.” It derives from the mythology of the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Osiris embodied “secret and sacred wisdom” of the whole sphere of knowledge. Isis was both his sister and wife; she represented “Mother of all good, the protectress of right….” Now I should tell you first about their mother, Nut. The great god Ra believed that if Nut bore children, one of them would destroy his reign among men. So Ra laid a curse upon Nut, that she would not be able to bear any child upon any day of the year (any relationship to the problem of conception on the island?) Nut’s brother, Thoth, saved the day by gambling with another god that resulted in adding 5 days to the calendar year (it was previously 360 days). Thus, on those new days, Nut could give birth, getting around Ra’s curse.
Osiris was tricked by their brother Set (also known as Typhon, from which we get the term typhoon) and killed, his body parts scattered around the world to prevent anybody from putting them back together; symbolically destroying the secret knowledge of the ancients. Now check this out: “Isis knew as soon as her husband was dead, though no one told her, and fled into the marshes of the delta carrying the baby Horus with her. She found shelter on a little island where the goddess Buto lived, and entrusted the divine child to her. And as a further safeguard against Set, Isis loosed the island from its foundations, and let it float so that no one could tell where to find it.” After that, Isis made it her goal to find the scattered parts of Osiris and reunite them, to restore Osiris and the knowledge he embodied. “In all parts of the world the virtuous in grief and distress raised their hands to the heavens, pleading for the restoration of the reign of Truth.” (Note that on the blast door map in Latin is the phrase “Sursum corda”—Lift up your hearts to God—is repeated three times.) She found all but one part, and “then she caused the body to be embalmed and hidden away in a place of which she alone knew. And after this the spirit of Osiris passed into Amenti to rule over the dead until that last great battle, when Horus should slay Set and Osiris would return to the earth once more.”
Let’s return to the hieroglyphs. According to Lostpedia, one translation in Middle Egyptian is “She/Rises to the sky/in Flames//He/Dies.” The female part appears with a black background on the timer, while the male has a red background. This would be consistent with the tale of Isis and Osiris, which is thought by many to represent the death of humanity altogether, as in the Osirian Cycle. Osiris dies, humanity dies. If fate can be changed, and Set is destroyed and Osiris restored, humanity survives. Or, this is all symbolic of impending cosmic doom as told to Solon by the Egyptian priest. Either way, there is an Egyptian clock, based on the Osirian Cycle, that predicts the impending doom of mankind by fire.
Getting your attention now? Oh, and by the way, according to the Egyptian historical tradition as described by the Freemasons, Osiris came “into Egypt through the Atlantean Mystery School, of which Isis is the symbol.”
Let’s assume for a moment that Atlantis was real, and its inhabitants were destroyed by advanced technology… VERY advanced. Let’s imagine for a moment that a text was passed from the Greeks to the Romans (Plato lived at a time concurrent with ancient Rome, and did visit there) and survived to this day… in Latin. Let’s imagine that this text contained a diagram of the actual technology that the Atlanteans developed, and that men of great power sought to reconstruct this technology. Now let’s imagine that this island was chosen because of its unique magnetic field and “mineralogical riches.” They are essentially rebuilding Atlantis, or at least its core technology. Let’s imagine that the text was brought to the island as a guide, and when an “incident” occurred, and somebody was trapped inside The Swan as Locke was, he had that text with him and used his time to draw out the map on the blast door, along with notes taken from the text.
What was the “sphere of knowledge” that was so important and so powerful? Perhaps it included a number of different areas of wisdom and power, as represented by “The Swan,” “The Flame,” “The Staff,” “The Pearl,” and “The Arrow.” There is a chamber for each.
“The Staff” may represent medical knowledge, as the note on the blast door says “confirmed site of caduceus medical station (The Staff).” Now this gets really interesting. Picture the American symbol for medicine, a winged staff with two intertwining serpents; that is known as a caduceus (it is misspelled on the map). However, the origin of the caduceus symbol is the Staff of Aesculapius, a more primitive rod with one serpent. Google this staff and you will see that it looks EXACTLY like the last hieroglyph on the Osirian clock… coincidence? And why is it that medicine is represented by a serpent? This is because the snake symbolizes youth and rejuvenation, because of how it periodically sheds its skin. In fact, many believed that snakes live forever. Thus, “The Staff” may instead represent knowledge of rejuvenation and extension of life, not simply medicine. I’d bet that Richard Alpert has visited this chamber, and made use of it.
Let’s consider “The Swan.” This was one of the greatest mysteries to me, seeming totally out of place. The swan is not a hieroglyph, nor easily identified as representing an area of knowledge. That is, until I learned about Socrates’ dream. Remember, Socrates was Plato’s teacher. Socrates told of a very profound dream, in which a fledgling swan grew out of his chest (his heart), grew before his eyes while sitting on his lap, and flew away. The next day, Socrates met Plato. He identified the swan as Plato, his young pupil, who would grow in knowledge and then find his own way, eventually becoming the biographer of Socrates. Thus, the dream was believed to be prophetic, and for many came to symbolize the ability to see into the future. “The Swan” is the ability to see into the future.
As for “The Pearl,” “The Arrow,” and “The Flame,” I don’t know.
Jacob is an oracle. All oracles have a “priest,” an empowered individual who claims the sole ability to hear the voice of the oracle and translate the oracle’s words to believers. If Ben has claimed this power to himself, you can imagine his fury when the oracle speaks to Locke, not him. Also, oracles could speak literally, or “as voices of the rustling of leaves.” All of the inhabitants of the island could hear the voices in the jungle, but Ben claimed his right to lead them by being the ONE who could specifically hear and understand the voice of Jacob… until Locke arrived.
One last idea, which I mentioned in a posting to my Gedanken Experiment theory, is that the Latin phrases on the blast door map look intriguingly like a dialogue, a conversation. Note the phrase “Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse,” which translates as “I think we’re on the same wavelength.” That would be an unusual note on a text. It sounds more like somebody was drawing the map on the door, and consulting somebody/something who was responding in Latin. The phrase also has dual meaning, as “we’re thinking the same thing” AND “we’re using the same frequency.” Also note that “known final resting place of Magnus Hanso” may literally indicate RESTING place, as in an object at rest, not death. In fact, since it identifies this place as “Blackrock,” it is likely that this is a place of entrapment… as in Set capturing Osiris… as in a captive Oracle… as in Jacob, who once believed that HIS twin brother wanted to kill HIM.
There are so many questions that remain. But until now, until this theory, I have heard nothing else that made sense of the hieroglyphs, the chambers, the Valenzetti Equation, and the blast door map.
Steve
Theory by SD Wynn
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49 Comments:
Hi SD - I was just reading some of the older whispers, and I noticed that in both the Ana & Eko in the Jungle and the Sayid and Shannon, there is a line that the Brothers help us, or something like that... could this have any support in your theory of the Brothers Osiris and Set?
I'm wondering about Alvar Hanso and Magnus Hanso... brothers? I don't know. I was intrigued when I read that an oracle can speak as "voices of the rustling of leaves."
Steve
Verrrry interesting. I love these long, thought out, intellecutal theories. I always try to think of how you might pitch it to an network executive. But I guess you could leave out some of the "details." Awesome read.
I really enjoyed that, very interesting atlantis or the bermuda triangle have seemed to be an obvious tie in to the show... being that the island cant be seen.
Steve, my old pal, another fun idea. I confess that I enjoy your Gedanken theory a bit more than this one, however, and it is for philosophical reasons.
Let me pull out my holepuncher...First, a couple of corrections, but perhaps some that might fuel/enhance your theory. Not that it matters, but Atlas was a Titan, not an Olympian. His father was Japet, not Poseidon. When the Olympians defeated the Titans and took over control of the universe, Atlas' punishment was to bear the weight of the earth on his shoulders. Also, Atlantis was not named for Atlas (a common misconception, don't beat yourself up) but for the fact that some old scientists and explorers from way back when thought they had discovered a mysterious "lost city" in the Atlantic ocean. Actually, the concept of a lost city (Atlantis?) appears several times in the great literary repertoire of mankind. One of my favorite theories ties an ancient earthquake on the *island* of Crete (and the Palace of Knossos) to a tidal wave that swallowed an ancient civilization on the island of Santorini--possibly giving birth the the "lost city" concept originally.
It's none of this that turns me off, however. As I read your theory, I found myself falling in love with the idea that the writers are schooled in ancient mythology, and (once again) hoping that your theory is right. Here's where you left me hanging: So much of the Egyptian story is really centered around Isis, a powerful female archetype that has survived centuries. Isis is the protagonist of the story, and became a symbol of femininity and fertility even to this day. Where is the female aspect of your theory? Is Isis on the island, embodied by one of the characters? Is there a "mother nature" force acting upon the losties?
Also, isn't the 365-day calendar called the "Gregorian" calendar? As in approved by Pope Gregory of the Catholic Church? I thought the ancient Egyptians used some kind of sundial calendar.
Angela, it's great to hear your comments! I completely agree with you, especially regarding the female character and how she might represent Isis. Like I said in my other posting, this is a "partial" theory. There is too much on the blast door and the other symbols to be ignored, and I've found a great deal that starts to put the pieces together. However, I can't yet see exactly how the symbolism plays out with the specific characters. The mythology here makes sense, and so I give the writers credit enough that they haven't missed it.
You are right about Atlas, my mistake, however I see that as mythological deities get "adopted" by later generations, the stories change or are adapted. The Freemasons, for example, rely heavily on Greek, Roman, and especially Egyptian mysteries, and here I find many variations of the "original" myths.
As for the calendar, the Egyptian months were different, but they were well aware that a year was 365 days. They demonstrated an advanced knowledge of astronomy.
There are other odd things that just might fit. For example, when the deities Isis and Osiris were essentially adopted by the Greeks, an extensive cult of worship was established there. For the Greeks, Osiris was renamed Sarapis, who "performed miracles of rescue from shipwreck and illness." That taken straight from the book Ancient Greece by Thomas Martin. Rescue from shipwreck? Could that explane how the Losties survived the crash on the Island?
Steve
It's true, mythology is more of a "fluid" form of storytelling. Stories change in detail, names change, even the chronology of events varies across cultures, but the message remains the same. Gosh, how great would it be if the writers were giving a shout out to ancient civilizations?? Now you've got me thinking about all the mythological tie-ins. This Osiris connection you've discovered, my Greek whispering...what about the story of Leto, who gave birth on the island of Delos to twin gods Apollo and Artemis? In ancient Greek law, no mortal has ever been allowed to be born on that island. Then there's Ulysses, who was trapped on an island (in Homer's Odyssey) on his way home from Troy, and not allowed to return home until he basically faced his demons. All the "incestuous" connections between the survivors on the island echo toward the outright incest of the Olympian gods and goddesses.
Ah, but we stray from your Gedanken and my government coverup. Before we get too excited, let's put this Osirian clock to the test Wednesday night.
p.s. Didn't know the Egyptians were such calendar smartypantses.
Angela, great points. I mean, I'm sure it is easy to make the mistake of seeing connections where you want to see them, however... there is too much here to ignore. How about the battle between Horus (son of Isis & Osiris) and Set, in which Horus' eye is gouged out. A glass eye was found in one of the chambers, and of course there is Patchy (not that I think he is Horus). And the Arrow, when you look at it on the badge or elsewhere, looks an awful lot like it could represent not an arrow but a harpoon... Horus used a harpoon to kill Set. But before you think that was the end of the story between Horus and Set, all it did was shift the battle to the afterlife and became a battle for men's souls, ultimately to be settled in the "final battle." More food for thought.
Steve
Steve,
Another great theory...and I didn't really get a chance to savour it, but merely devoured it. I will have to read it a couple of times to really understand it.
I don't know much about mythology, except little bits related to my own name :) This makes me want to go read up on Egyptian mythology!
The only thing I did notice, and wanted to tell you on your last theory page too, was about the phrase “Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse,” which you say translates as “I think we’re on the same wavelength.” Just was wondering if you knew that part of the whole Schrodinger's cat theory was also about solving a wave equation? In these wave equations, you can enter the wavelength and solve it to give you the position. Oooooh. Now, don't ask anymore details, cuz it was years ago when I ever solved a Schrodinger wave equation, and they were hard back then!
Damn it, I wish my friends were into LOST as you guys are!!!
Diana, I missed that connection entirely! Wow, I will have to really think about that one. The word "wavelength" really caught my attention on the blast door. Maybe the pieces of the puzzle are really starting to fall together. Great observation!
Steve
Steve,
Another great theory and very nicely done, but WAY to complicated for the average viewer in my opinion.
As for being too complicated toad... ever been boating? When you're cruising along, enjoying the ride, all you really see is the surface of the water. For many, that might be all that you are interested in. You don't really have to study the depths to enjoy the trip. But I will tell you this: even if you aren't interested in "what's below," everybody can tell that the water is deep... know what I mean? And I appreciate that from the show's creators, that they've taken us on a trip over very deep water, that even those who just stick to the surface will appreciate.
Steve
Ah, another nugget to ponder. The Marshal who pursued Kate was Edward Mars. Come on, nobody's last name is Mars. Another nod to mythology? I don't think these things are Edward Mars = Mars, but the play on myth is deliberate.
Speaking of Mars, guess who was Mars to the Egyptians... Horus, son of Isis and Osiris. They were fascinated by "Horus the Red" (the planet), because seasonally it appeared to regress in the sky, or "traveled backwards" across the sky. Hmmmmm....
OK, are you ready to have your mind blown?
I'm thinking, what on earth does Isis/Osiris have to do with my earlier Gedanken theory?
Answer: Djed Pillar, or Casket of Osiris.
This symbol appears throughout Egyptian murals, sometimes in unusual contexts. Some also believe that it represented an actual device, some 40 feet tall and made of gold that held the actual head of Osiris. Mythologist William Henry writes: "stories say this device had the ability to translate souls from one dimension to another. It could also drill holes in space, creating 'halls' or 'doorways' linking far-off regions of space to 'wells' on Earth. Today, physicists call these 'holes' wormholes or stargates."
---Remember the 'unknown' Dharma symbol of "The Door."---
Furthermore, it is thought that Henry A. Wallace, FDR's Secretary of Agriculture, went to Mongolia in 1934 in search of something. He sent a message back to FDR, which contained the cryptic message "We await the casket, the sacred most precious casket." (Wallace was something of a nut... who would eventually become VP). Remember, Hanso was supposedly an arms dealer in WWII....
One reason why many, including Henry, have thought that the Djed Pillar had fantastic powers is because of the strange combination with other images. For example, a female god is shown putting on a helmet, strapping on a box, and wearing a blue robe whenever interacting with the pillar. The helmet is called the Shugurra helmet, which translates as "that which makes go far into the universe."
As for the robe, she "wears a heavy full-length coat and other garments. This robe is blue, the color of the sea. It is called the PALA garment or 'ruler's garment.'"
Remember the Pala Ferry in Lost? The instruction video directs workers to "use the Pala Ferry" at the end of their shift to return to their barracks?
Whooooaaa.....
This might be worthy of a Grand Unified Theory of Lost!
Steve
OOOOOH! Nice one. A time traveling casket. Genius. I'm gonna lose it if Kate or Claire or somebody dons a blue robe tomorrow night. Maybe that's the thing they "found" on the island. If so, now my theory's back in the ring!!
Remember the guy from last week's episode who first discovers Ben's parents on the side of the road, then is the one who originally takes Roger and Ben to the island? Wasn't his name....HORACE??
Hee hee. This is fun.
Also, and you can be mad at me for harping on this, but I must echo my previous point (and toad's more recent point) about a heady theory for the audience. You are totally right with your boating analogy, but it's hard for me to imagine television creative execs buying into something the writers can't pitch in less than a paragraph. Unless, now that I'm thinking about it, the writers only pitched the surface of the water to the execs, and are now having fun with depth as the show is being written.
Diana, I'd personally pay good money to see you solve a Schrodinger wave equation. Can you also read minds?
Mars--the Roman's new name for the Greek god of battle and warfare, Ares. Hmmm....
Diana, the pitch to the execs goes something like this: "Plane crashes on mysterious tropical island with sexy survivors!" Where do we sign?
Seriously, think about Twin Peaks, X-Files, Dune, 2001... And guess what, both X-Files and 2001 featured Isis-Osiris-Horus symbology... (the starchild at the end of 2001 is Horus, the obelisk is Osiris, etc., I'm not kidding! You can search this on the Internet and you will see that it's true!)
The "fool the executives" approach has been done before very successfully.
Just think about Pala for a minute... to me that proves it. That is such a bizarre word, and to randomly find it associated with nothing less than Osiris casket... case closed!
Steve
You mean 'Angela.' Diana's the chem genius.
Steve, I just want to say that I am impressed by both your theories and am blown away by the casket connection. Also, I appreciate your writing... unfortunately, sometimes a person's technical adeptness and writing skills are inversely proportional.
A question (I should have consolidated my comments--sorry): Could Isis = Danielle? There's way more to her story than what we know now.
no genius here! Just a nerd :)
Angela, I would have to hit my Quantum Chemistry books, and would gladly solve that Schrodinger equation for you...give me a wavelength and I'll find you a location...maybe we can locate the losties after all ;P Of course, that would mean they'd have to be the size of a hydrogen atom. LOL!
So this summer I'm hitting the mythology books...any specific ones you both would recommend? Also, if there's anything to this mythology theory of yours, there has to be a father son connection...as there are too many father son storylines going on. Walt/Michael, Ben/Roger, Jack/Jack's father, Locke/Cooper(or original Sawyer), Kate/her abusing father, Claire/Jack's father, Hugo/his missing and reappearing father, who else am I missing? There are way too many father issues to be a coincidence!
The only father son mythology I know is Oedipus, and that doesn't fit here. So I give it to the experts, do you know any father/son mythology that might work?
Also, it's almost the end of the season, and theories will be flying everywhere after the season finale...I say we set up a chatroom and get together and chat...maybe a week after the season finale, just about the time we are all having withdrawal symptoms?
Michelle, I'm certain that Isis = Claire (which means "Shining Light"), plus Aaron, her baby, is unquestionably Horus. I note that the Staff of Aaron (Google it!) identifies Aaron as the "rightful priest or leader." Osiris I can't quite pin down, it could be one of several characters (Eko, Jack, Locke, Sawyer...)
I'm all for a chatroom!
Steve
Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to get the two goddesses confused back there! ;)
Steve
Duh--yes, I forgot that Aaron is "central to the island's mythology" (could be a paraphrase--quoting from memory). Makes perfect sense.
I think we can create a chatroom in chatzy. Anyone familiar with it?
I'm not sure if this will work, but here's a chatzy link: http://www.chatzy.com/471176849814
Let's talk theories!
Sounds good to me! Problem is, I'm a chat room rookie. I may need more instruction, M.
Steve, I don't know about Claire. Isis is powerful, dominant, strong--caring and gentle, yes, but Claire just doesn't scream "majesty" to me. I don't know, I like the Russo idea. Claire is timid, passive, and troubled--not the goddess type, to me at least. That black woman from early in the show (forgot her name) had a majesty to her. The one dying from cancer, remember? She had a sense of command and respect about her. That's how I'd design an "Isis" character if I were one of the writers. And if not an actual person, I might go for something more esoteric and write Isis as the smoky monster or mother nature herself.
Diana, the first thing you should know is that you share the name of a goddess yourself, once named Artemis by the Greeks--goddess of the hunt. As far as father-son mythology, don't get me started!! Chat room seems necessary, as I will not be able to shut up. I've got the world's biggest amateur collection of mythology books, so I'll look through and see what I'd recommend for more of an overview.
Who's team captaining this chat room idea??
I'm sure we were all watching for the blue cape, but the only person covered in blue was Aaron, in his blue blankie.
Angela, don't fret over the chatroom, you'll be a whiz at it in no time...and it will improve your typing skills too! I went there, but it seemed like Steve had already left.
We should set up a time to meet at the chatroom Michael so cleverly created.
Agree--we should set up a time to chat.
I *think* all you guys have to do is copy that link into your browser address field and click "enter room."
Check out my only mythology contribution fired up by Doug's comment on your Gedanken page. Desmond=Odyssey?
How about Saturday during the day? That way we can have absorbed Thursday night's special...and we can't do it on friday night, because we aren't losers ;P
What time zones are you guys on? PST here. how does 10am PST sound on Saturday?
Check out my only mythology contribution fired up by Doug's comment on your Gedanken page. Desmond=Odyssey?
How about Saturday during the day? That way we can have absorbed Thursday night's special...and we can't do it on friday night, because we aren't losers ;P
What time zones are you guys on? PST here. how does 10am PST sound on Saturday?
Okay, I've got to type this quickly, since I'm going to be out of town for the weekend and away from a computer. Sorry, can't chat... so "talk amongst yourselves!" ;)
1) The whole underlying framework of Lost is Kaballah. Not surprising, since that is the "religion of Hollywood."
2) The blast door map is starting to form a Stellated Earth Grid, one of the most important forms in Kaballah, which "enables the sending and receiving of energy and information." The lines that are formed are 'meridians' that describe the direction and flow of energy.
3) On the blast door map, the symbols "CVI", "CVII," and "CVIII" refer to 'Conception Vessels' which are 'meridians' on the human body that describe the flow of energy, or 'kundalini.' Note that "CVI" is the "Source", cited in "Electromagenetic Field Technologoy" according to one Kaballah source.
4) Last night's episode was all about establishing Charlie as Osiris, and I should have seen it all along. He is shown to be fundamentally good, and even a hero. He is willing to sacrifice himself. Remember that in the myth of Osiris, he is trapped in a coffin (a dark place), the lid closes over him, and he suffocates. If this is that moment for Charlie, then he will die in the Looking Glass station, as he is tricked into a room, a door will close, it will go dark, and he will suffocate/drown. But that won't be the end of him, for Osiris does return... I note that his final words to Aaron were "Take care of your mother WHILE I'M GONE." Not "when" I'm gone, as if he is going to come back... even though he knows he is going to die. Also, the ring was very important, and while everybody seems to think that it stands for "Drive Shaft", it does not. First of all, it is passed down in the family, and I noticed that the background looked like a start... therefore "DS" stands for "Dog-Star" = Osiris! Also, while he was playing guitar in Covent Garden, twice the camera panned across the street and centered on a sign that said "UNDERGROUND." Remember that Osiris becomes Lord of the Underworld after his death. Last, I noticed that all along, the entire time he has been on the island he has worn a shirt with a very subtle, small pentagram centered high on his chest, one of the most important symbols in Kaballah.
5) The Staff refers to the "Staff of Aaron," which in the Bible blooms as a miracle, identifying Aaron as the rightful priest or leader. Remember that Eko's staff is in the ground over his grave, and I won't be surprised if it blooms in the presence of Aaron at some point.
6) I believe the numbers of the Valenzetti Equation refer to coordinates, not in the traditional sense but in the Kaballah concept of a "Magic Square" representation/diagram of DNA. Kaballah's concept of DNA is as a wavelength, among other things, and can be represented by pairs in a Magic Square (2x4x8=64, 64x2=108)... I know I'm not explaining this well, but basically I think they might represent a genetic marker that identifies the "chosen one," likely Aaron.
6) The mark on the back of Juliet's neck is a representation of Curious Meridians on a Fu Xi graph... likely Kaballah for directing negative energy to her as punishment for betraying Ben.
7) This is random but fun: The "unknown" Sri Lanka video and Dharma symbol is simply a wink and nod by Lost's creators to Arthur C. Clarke, who similarly featured Isis-Osiris-Horus mythos in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and who has lived in Sri Lanka for decades.
8) There is a belief in Kaballah that the earth's magnetic poles will flip in 2012, thus ushering in the "Golden Age of Enlightenment"... for those who are prepared.
There is more, and I really should put this in an updated "theory" but I just don't have time. Have fun chewing on this for a while!
Steve
Diana,
PST here too. Unfortunately, I am at a conference all weekend and will be unavailable at that time Saturday. Though, normally I would love chatting at that time. Shall we postpone a week? Michelle?
Your theories are awesome. I wish you didn't keep coming up with them - I was sort of liking that Gendanken one and now I'm all confused. :)
I'm amazed by the Pala thing. I've long wondered about that ferry!!
You know, I've just checked out some pictures of that Djed Pillar ..
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djedpillar.htm
.. does it remind anyone else of part of a certain 6-stringed instrument played by Charlie?
Oooh, that is interesting sbliss30. Never thought of that. Also, interesting that Charlie was singing "...you're gonna be the one that saves me..." in Covent Garden.
Steve
Could the casket be the box Ben spoke of?
The average viewer can understand at least some of this. I'm in 9th grade and having no trouble with this. Your time travel theory is another matter altogether...
Do you have a kiddy version?
Hey Eric! Forget the time travel. Wormholes, maybe. I'm sure you're taking English/literature classes, so you won't be the least bit surprised that modern writers borrow from traditional myths. I'm sure you watched the season finale. So all I can say is, research the myth of Isis-Osiris-Horus, and you will find more analogies than you can imagine.
Consider that weeks ago, in posting about Isis-Osiris-Horus, I told of how a mythical battle involving Horus and Osiris' traitor brother involved an eye-gouging and death by harpoon. And what did we have in the finale? A man with one eye who is killed by... of all things... a harpoon.
Check out www.factsbehindfaith.com/Osiris-and-Resurrection.html. Also, read my updated post "Lost in Kabbalah."
What other myth has eye-gougings, harpoon killings, a Dog Star/Rock Star trapped in a "coffin" to drown/suffocate, floating islands that can't be found, a sacred child that will be the future leader, protected by a mother who is the "shining light"....
This stuff is fun.
Steve
Yeah, I've read the Oddysey and Lord of the Flies (Which both Sawyer and Charlie have made allusions to) which are both related to Lost. But I have a question for you. Have you ever noticed how many times Steve and Scott are mixed up in the first two seasons? Is there some meaning behind it because it's ridiculous how often it happened?
That's pretty observant, I never noticed. Now I see that they talk about that on Lostpedia. Maybe nothing more than an inside joke, but who knows?
Lord of the Flies is great, and maybe there is an analogy between The Beast of that book and The Monster on Lost. In Lord of the Flies, The Beast represents the dark nature that resides within man. So could that be the story with the smokey Monster on Lost?
Steve
Like a manifestation of man's capacity for evil? It probably is. When Eko sees the monster, an image of a woman appears and I think she's there when he shoots the olg guy instead of Yemi.
You're right, I think she is in both scenes.
"In Lord of the Flies, The Beast represents the dark nature that resides within man. So could that be the story with the smokey Monster on Lost?"
In an empire Magazine article Jack Bender says: "The idea was always that it was as much about the monster inside these people as the monsters in the jungle, we had to know the fact they were more lost before they got lost"
I liked your theory & I also remember when you first posted your gedanken theory, I remember it wow-ed me & most people but I also remember it got lots of scorn,& some people were just not going to accept that time travel would play a part. You were ahead of the game, and if you had your own wormhole you could go back in time now and pour scorn on them for being so narrow minded!
I would like to offer some evidence that Steve's theory is is right on the mark! In my research on Isis, I discovered that she was a magician. It is the BEST explination I have found to explain the Smoke Monster....
This is a quote from Isis, TourEgypt,
Thus when she wished to make Ra reveal to her his greatest and most secret name, she made a venomous reptile out of dust mixed with the spittle of the god, and by uttering over it certain words of power she made it to bite Ra as he passed. When she had succeeded in obtaining from the god his most hidden name, which he only revealed because he was on the point of death, she uttered words which had the effect of driving the poison out of his limbs, and Ra recovered. Now Isis not only used the words of power, but she also had knowledge of the way in which to pronounce them so that the beings or things to which they were addressed would be compelled to listen to them and, having listened, would be obliged to fulfil her bequests.
-- Isis, TourEgypt
I didn't find any of your theories here to be particularly compelling, but i absolutely found the history/stories interesting and the comparisons are undeniable. I just don't think you translated that very well into a lost theory. But very interesting indeed...
At the beginning of that last episode the good angel and the bad angel are on the beach. I think Jacob is a bad angel and the other guy who pretended to be John Locke at the end can assume the forms of other people is the good angel. He assumed the form of jacks dad and since the good angel can't kill the bad angel, he finds 'the loophole' to get ben to do it, a human, as jacob said. But he would have had to get ben to believe that he was John Locke that whole time so that goes back probably a long way. i think Jacob represents to us, the viewer, "Big Brother" from 1984. The people on the plane are 'Americans' travelling and trying to escape from that Orwellian Nightmare.
Something like that.
Representatively, Jacob is "Big brother" from 1984, Ben is O'brien and John Locke is Winston Smith. Jack represents God. The Dharma Iniative is 'the inner party' and 'the others' are the proles. The ending is the good angel on the beach coming back from heaven to save the proles in a revolt over big brother 'jacob' and tricking obrien 'ben' to lead the good angel in the form of winston (John Locke).
Pretty sure thats what the first two numbers mean... 4, 8 and Oceanic is like Oceania.