Mythical Astronomy of Ice and Fire
Summary: We believe that George R. R. Martin has put a lot of effort and thought into creating a deeper dimension of archetype and symbol in his writing. He’s created connections between past and future, between sky and ground. He’s built on classic figures from world mythology and twisted them around in new and incredible ways to fashion his own archetypal characters whose divine roles are played out by the characters in the story. He’s done all of this not only to be artistic and clever, but because he’s actually participating in a grand tradition of esoteric, symbolic art. Keeping this tradition alive is of critical importance and tremendous value to society, and that is why I believe this facet of A Song of Ice and Fire is so worthy of study. This podcast is intended to be our vehicle to explore these inner workings, and it is fueled by enthusiasm, yours and mine.
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- Artist: Lucifer means Lightbringer
- Copyright: Copyright 2018 Mythical Astronomy of Ice and Fire
Podcasts:
So many of you commented on our Great Empire of the Dawn episode that we did with History of Westeros that we decided to do a follow up live episode based on your questions and comments. We recorded it Sat Oct. 22 and you can watch the video version on History of Westeros's Youtube channel. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YcOOzIWwtM)
Our long-awaited joint episode with History of Westeros on the long lost Great Empire of the Dawn is here! We're talking about Dawn Age dragonlords, ancient bloodlines, the Long Night and Azor Ahai and how they relate to Westeros and the Last Hero... we'll be giving you plenty to talk about. You don't need to have listened to any of my prior material to enjoy this, so share away. The video of this episode is available on History of Westeros's youtube page (https://youtu.be/JfDBq1c7LdA). This episode is based on an essay I wrote last year in collaboration with Durran Durrandon (http://durrandurrandon.tumblr.com) from Westeros.org. Check out his essay "Daenerys is the Amethyst Empress Reborn (http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/126019-daenerys-is-the-amethyst-empress-reborn/)" for further reading.
Welcome to the Weirwood Compendium, where we will begin to reveal the secrets of the greenseers through the use of mythical astronomy analysis. Our journey to the heart of the weirwoodnet actually begins with the Ironborn mythology, believe it or not, for the Ironborn folklore is actually shot through with covert references to weirwood. Whether it's the weirwood staff of the greatest Drowned Priest, Galon Whitestaff, or the ribs of Nagga, which are almost certainly petrified weirwood, or the tale of the Grey King carving the first longship from the hard, pale wood of the demon tree Ygg, we find that Ironborn culture once had a much stronger connection to weirwood that it does currently. Not only is this connection concealing a huge secret about greenseers and the Ironborn, it's also where we can begin to suss out the relationship between the moon meteors and the greenseers, and that's really the heart of the Long Night story.The matching text to the podcast can be found on lucifermeanslightbringer.com
Venus-based mythology is perhaps some of the most important world mythology to know if you want to understand A Song of Ice and Fire. George has drawn upon it in creating the Night's Watch, House Dayne and the Sword Dawn, and of course, Lightbringer, as well as a few other things. 'Lucifer' is the Latin word for the planet Venus when it appears as the Morningstar - the bright star which appears in the east just before sunrise and heralds the break of day. The word Lucifer also translates to "light-bringer," "dawn-bringer," and "son of the morning." Calling Azor Ahai's famous sword "Lightbringer" directly equates it with Venus, and indeed, heralding the end of the Long Night is what Lightbringer is supposed to do. But due to interesting celestial mechanics, Venus also takes a turn as the Evenstar - the bright star that appears in the west at sunset and heralds the nightfall. This is what our theorizing has told us about Azor Ahai - he's actually the dude who brought on the Long Night. In an interesting parallel, the Bible names both Jesus and Lucifer as the Morningstar. All of this mythology is expressing the dual nature of the planet Venus, and that's what we'll explore in this podcast.As usual, the matching text is available on lucifermeanslightbringer.com
Welcome to the new podcast feed! In our seventh episode, we step back from the close reading of the text to talk about what it is we are doing with our analysis of symbolism and mythology. We'll discuss how A Song of Ice and Fire fits into a critically important tradition of esoteric and symbolic art and literature, and why that is so relevant and compelling to us in today's modern era. This forms the foundation how we at Mythical Astronomy view the books, and thus, our methodology for analyzing them. This isn't just a case of a clever author hiding double-meanings in his writing for his own amusement, but rather the continuation and elevation of a grand literary tradition. We've also got some very important information about the state of the podcast at the beginning. The matching text to this episode and all episodes can be found on lucifermeanslightbringer.com (https://lucifermeanslightbringer.com/methodology/). Featuring the local talents of the Amethyst Koala and the music of Animals as Leaders (http://prostheticrecords.com/?p=499%20target=).
Our first character-centric breakdown takes up the theory that Tyrion is a Targaryen bastard by examining two of his symbolic personas - the gargoyle and the twisted monkey demon. We'll dive into mysteries such as "why are Dragonstone and Winterfell the only two castles with gargoyles on them?" and "Is there a connection between the Last Hero and Azor Ahai?" We'll also ponder one of the first examples of mythical astronomy in the books, Bran's fall from the tower. Featuring the vocal talent of Paige Lawrence & Lady Nightwind. Matching text to the podcast can be found on lucifermeanslightbringer.com (https://lucifermeanslightbringer.com/2016/05/09/tyrion-targaryen/)
Chapter review, Mythical Astronomy style: we rip into the trial by combat scene, of the most detailed examples of mythical astronomy in the series. We'll explore the symbolism of Oberyn Martel and Ser Gregor Clegane, and we will finally answer the question about what the Hammer of the Waters really was, and when it happened. Guest appearances by John the Fiddler, Tyrion the "giant" of Lannister, Sansa the medusa-maiden, the Last Hero, the sword Widow's Wail, and the purple wedding. As always, you can find the text of the podcast in essay form (plus a few pictures)at lucifermeanslightbringer.com (https://lucifermeanslightbringer.com/2016/04/07/the-mountain-and-the-viper/)
A special edition of the podcast - we join up with Aziz and Ashaya from History of Westeros for a joint episode on all things Asshai! Call it the 'Ancient Mythical History of Westeros (and sometimes Asshai).' There is no accompanying essay for this one - podcast only - but the video version of this is available on the History of Westeros Youtube channel (https://youtu.be/McX_v93MaLE), if you'd like to watch (we recorded live). Enjoy!
A special edition of the podcast - we join up with Aziz and Ashaya from History of Westeros for a joint episode on all things Asshai! Call it the 'Ancient Mythical History of Westeros (and sometimes Asshai).' There is no accompanying essay for this one - podcast only - but the video version of this is available on the History of Westeros Youtube channel (https://youtu.be/McX_v93MaLE), if you'd like to watch (we recorded live). Enjoy!
In this episode, we are going to explain: moon blood and a maiden's flowering; Oathkeeper's waves of night and blood; Melisandre's black and bloody tide, Jon Snow's rivers of black ice and Drogo's oily river of darkness; starry cloaks and decapitated bulls; dragon eclipses, lunar eclipses, and solar eclipses; dark stars and black hole moons; black iron roses and black iron ravens. We'll also ponder the possibility of an undead Azor Ahai and his army of zombies, not to mention undead Night's Watch brothers. We'll wave hello to gods and goddesses and get some blood on our hands. As always, you can follow along with the text of the episode on my lucifermeanslightbringer.com (https://lucifermeanslightbringer.com/2016/02/02/wavesofnightandmoonblood/).
The legend of Azor Ahai says that he cracked the moon when he forged Lightbringer. Does this make Azor Ahai "the bad guy?" He stabbed his wife too, and to work blood magic. Is blood magic heroic, or abomination? And what's with this Bloodstone Emperor guy, who worshiped a black meteor during the Long Night? Is there a link between this black meteor, the meteors of the moon explosion, and the greasy black stone? And what does this tell us about the nature of Lightbringer? Follow along with the text of the episode on lucifermeanslightbringer.com (https://lucifermeanslightbringer.com/2016/01/04/thebloodstoneemperorazorahai/)
What was the cause of the Long Night? Who was Azor Ahai, and what was Lightbringer? What is the meaning of the relationship between comets, dragons, and flaming swords? We'll attempt to answer these questions and a few others as we get blood on our podcasting sword for the first time. Follow along with the text of the episode on lucifermeanslightbringer.com (https://lucifermeanslightbringer.com/2015/05/12/astronomy-explains-the-legends-of-planetos/), where you can also find my other essays. A big thanks to Animals as Leaders for allowing us the use of their music.
