Topic: Devil Forgemaster Crest - An analysis

[theplottwist]

First, here is the crest. I believe most members here are familiar with it.



Now, I also believe that most people have no idea what this symbol is supposed to mean. And neither do I. But I'll try to analyse it using my limited knowledge.

To start: I think this symbol is another punch at God from Dracula. It is supposed to be a corruption of the idea of the celestial throne and its guardians - the Seraphs - existing in Abrahamic beliefs, taking their symbols and mashing they all together into an original crest to adorn Dracula's commanders.

Imediatelly obvious are the six wings present. This is christian/judaic imagery right here, pointing to the Seraphs. Islam also has an equivalent of the same angel - the Hamalat al-'Arsh. In the Christian religion, the Seraphs are the highest angels, guardians of God's throne. In Isaiah's vision, they sing praises to God's name.

But further than that, the word Seraph also describes "Serpents" when found in the Hebrew Bible's context. And, of course, we can see two serpents in the crest itself. The serpents depicted here are biting their own tails while forming the shapes of infinity. This refers to the ouroboros and the concept of the eternal cycle.
 
The stars at the center of the crescent moon are hexagrams - Stars of David - and the moon itself is very reminiscent of Islam. These are yet more references to the Abrahamic beliefs. (Worthy of note, however, is that the islamic symbol doesn't utilize the hexagram anywhere, but a pentagram instead.)

Now, in the Castlevania context, it seems that this crest is supposed to represent the fact that Hector and Isaac are Dracula's "highest angels", protectors of his throne. They are Dracula's "Seraphs" represented by the serpents at the bottom. Note that there are two stars and two serpents. This could mean that both the serpents and the stars represent Hector and Isaac in different contexts

But beyond this, I also think this crest spells Dracula's ultimate plans for the Forgemasters.

You see, in the game Death reveals that both Hector and Isaac are able to become Dracula's vessels for they are naturally suffused in Dracula's magic. Even though Hector is favored, "Isaac will do." As the serpents biting their own tails, Dracula also is an eternal being locked in a revival cycle. Interpreted as ouroboros, these serpents represent Hector and Isaac's potential to prolong Dracula's own revival cycle.

If I'm correct with the use of stars representing the Forgemasters in a different context, it could be inferred that the bigger star is meant to reference Hector's bigger potential to become Dracula's vessel, or the fact that he was of even higher trust/competence to Dracula than Isaac was. In this case, then, the stars are representations of the Forgemasters as Dracula's followers, and the serpents are representations of them as Dracula's potential means of revival.

[Shiroi Koumori]

I liked what you wrote.

I, however, when I first looked at the crest... It has 2 dragons of 2 colors which might symbolize the strong potential for light or dark. And whichever side the forgemaster chooses, both sides are intertwined.
As for the moon and stars, it just reminds me of little twin stars.... artistic license.
http://www.sanrio.com/characters-little-twin-stars/little-twin-stars-mug-dreamers
Sorry for adding cutesy stuff in an otherwise serious topic.

[TatteredSeraph]

The dragon eating its own tail is also very close to the main part of the symbol for the Order of the Dragon, in which a dragon is curled into a circle with its tail around its neck.  Either above the dragon, or on its back, is a cross. 

The six wings referencing seraphs makes sense.  Seraphim also appear in Kabbalah, as the highest order of servants to the realm of Beri'ah - Creation.  This could make sense in an alchemical manner in relation to Dracula, as he's a great alchemist, with his Devil Forgemasters also being schooled in it.  In Beri'ah, there is also the correspondance to the Sephirah of Binah (Understanding), whose counterpart on the Tree of Death is the Qliphoth Sathariel - the 'Concealment of God'. 

Looking at the symbol, it seems chock-full of layers of meaning.  The white and black seems to reference yin and yang to me.  I can't think about the symbolism of the arrangement of the mon and stars, unless they refer to astrology/astronomy.

[X]

You see, in the game Death reveals that both Hector and Isaac are able to become Dracula's vessels for they are naturally suffused in Dracula's magic. Even though Hector is favored, "Isaac will do."

I never got this one bit. Dracula doesn't need a vessel in order to resurrect. He's come many times without the need of possessing another body. Even if his remains aren't present he'll come back.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Perhaps when a vessel is used, he can come back at his Full Power immediately, rather than having to fester in another's mind until he succumbs (Maxim in Harmony of Dissonance), or having to use a Loophole in the prophecies in order to wait until Full Power (Richter's role in SotN), or having to use another's supernatural powers and then having to wait until they speed up his power regeneration (Cornell's Power's role in LoD).

Seems it's just a way to speed things along.

[zangetsu468]

I never got this one bit. Dracula doesn't need a vessel in order to resurrect. He's come many times without the need of possessing another body. Even if his remains aren't present he'll come back.

Even though at the start of Rondo - which is a centennial resurrection - there's a cut scene of a young woman (presumably a virgin) being sacrificed by a bunch of evil men to resurrect Dracula.
In COD a vessel was required, in other cases it's a blood sacrifice, in the 64 games (although not canon to the main timeline but still canon to the multiverse) Dracula absorbing Cornell's Lycan powers allowed him to resurrect through Malus, implied to be Cornell's child, in HoD it was through Maxim's subconscious mind, the list goes on. It's safe to say that there's no singular method in resurrrection, some dark shit has to happen.


Now for plot's analysis, it got me thinking...

Seraphim are mention in Isaiah 6:2 :

"Above Him [God] stood the Seraphim.
Each had six wings:
with two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew"

The whole "above God" inference could no doubt be due to Dracula's disdain and cursing God (for eternity as Mathias states in LOI)

Something struck me in the phrase "each had six wings"
There are 6 wings on this crest, which doesn't mean it can't represent two entities, but to me this means this is 1 single
two-headed seraphim. The fact it's eating its own tails creating 3 infinity (figure 8 ) symbols is probably indicative of the nature of Dracula, constantly devouring his own soul upon his departure from this dimension via the Crimson Stone (which in my opinion was actually a part of his pact with Satan, part of the reason he made the pact knowing he could keep on resurrecting if anyone rose to defeat him).

Therefore this dual headed creature is eating its own tail(s) and it is a creature of duality at its essence.
In my opinion, this could represent Dracula himself and his perpetual resurrection, yet it characterizes/ portrays both Hector and Isaac through its nature; Isaac being the darker side with the demonic wings, Hector being the lighter side with the angelic wings.
To reaffirm this assumption I turn to COD, Hector was able to maintain his humanity (although it is clear he's no regular human) by not killing Isaac under the influence of Dracula's curse.

(click to show/hide)

Hector was in fact strong enough to defeat a NCR Dracula with Isaac as the vessel.

Isaac was unable to resist Dracula and became such a vessel. He was overpowered by Hector and there is represented by the smaller star on the crest while Hector is the larger star. Additionally when Hector attains the power to hover/ fly angelic wings appear. Serpent imagery is found in many cultures of the ancient world. Aztecs also had a symbol of a two headed serpent. A fundamental Aztec belief was that the balance between the forces of darkness and the forces of regeneration (resurrection) needed to be maintained by propitiatory rituals involving (blood) sacrifice.

Additional information on Seraphim:
- These types of heavenly beings have six wings, only using 2 to fly.
- They use 2 to cover their face, being so close to God, they would witness His full glory which would be too powerful to behold. - - - 2 are used to cover feet, as feet are considered 'unclean' and so not worthy to be shown to God. 
- Their position is flying above God's throne, where as Cherubim residebeside/around it.
- The Seraph in this crest is covering neither its eyes, nor it's feet which it's potentially devouring. In this sense it's anti-God.

The two stars:
Sirius, coincidentally or not is known in ancient Egypt as Sopdet or Sothis in Green, is recorded in the earliest astronomical records. During the era of the Middle Kingdom, Egyptians based their calendar on the heliacal rising of Sirius, namely the day it becomes visible just before sunrise after moving far enough away from the glare of the Sun. This occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile and the summer solstice. The hieroglyph for Sothis features a star and a triangle. Sothis was identified with the great goddess Isis, who formed a part of a triad with her husband Osiris and their son Horus. It's my opinion that Hector is the brighter closer star to the moon crescent, Isaac is the smaller star which is further away. On the crest, the Angelic side's light rays/ spokes are covering/ enveloping slightly more of the moon crescent as well. It is my opinion (and I know I share this in part with theplottwist that Hector was originally to be the vessel for Dracula's resurrection (NCR) in COD, however, events of the games changed (imo due to St Germain aka Eneomaos) and thus so did Hector's destiny, with him resisting and Isaac becoming the vessel. (Sirius B plan... Bad pun and more on this below)

The moon crescent itself one only has to turn to the Egyptian flag for example. However, aesthetic design aside the closest astrological occurrence I can recall is the relationship between both Sirius A (the larger star Hector) and Sirius B (the smaller star = Isaac)The Moon/ Crescent is notorious for representing fertility, in this case fertility in the form of rebirth via Dracula's perpetual resurrections. The moon crescent plus stars is also literally symbolic of the "fertile crescent", no coincidence there. Therefore, the crescent itself in context symbolises Dracula or his resurrection, both which are perpetual as well as his position in regards to the two DFM's.

A side note to the moon/fertile crescent from Wiikipedia:
Before Islam, the crescent was the symbol of Sassanids, In the 12th century the crescent and star were adopted by the Turks and since then the crescent has been a frequent symbol used by powerful Muslim empires such as the Ottomans and the Mughals. It is a historical symbol of the Turks, associated especially with the Ottoman Empire, but pre-Islamic Turkic nations such as the Göktürks used the crescent and star figure on their coins. I guess Mathias/ Vlad would have had access to this type of symbology given Dracula's context and place in history.

Other Symbology/ Numerology:
-6 wings
-12 rays/ spokes coming out from the centre moon crescent (6 light; 6 dark)
The above could be read as 6-6-6
6+6+6 = 18; 1+8 = 9 (the number of completion)
6 x 6 x 6 = 216; 2+1+6 = 9 (as above) / 2 x 1 x 6 = 12 (self explanatory)

Three infinity symbols from the dual headed Seraphim = 8-8-8
8 x 3 = 24; 2+4 = 6 / 2 x 4 = 8
8 x 8 x 8 = 512; 5 +1+2 = 8

8 symbolises infinity and is the number of God, number of prosperity in Chinese culture.

9 is the number of completion

12 spokes/ rays speaks for itself.

2 stars speak for themselves.

[TatteredSeraph]

Ah yes, the Sothis symbology sounds good.  In addition to the triad (which is a larger change to the relationships, as Isis/Auset was in the earlier stories the wife of Horus/Heru, and not his mother, with Osiris/Ausar appearing later), Isis is known as the 'Great Lady of Magic', and the greatest pupil of Thoth/Dhejuty.  Through studying with him, she learnt the secrets of how to harness the power of Ra (the Sun)'s true name, and in doing so, be able to resurrect Osiris.

[theplottwist]

I never got this one bit. Dracula doesn't need a vessel in order to resurrect. He's come many times without the need of possessing another body. Even if his remains aren't present he'll come back.

I have an hypothesis about this. I'll present it here, but please do not take it seriously. Assume this as merely a brainstorm:

(click to show/hide)

In CoD Dracula is not revived by his remains, but through Isaac. What strikes me odder than Dracula needing a vessel, is Death not knowing that his remains can bring him back just as fine.

I've seen arguments about Dracula's remains needing time to power up, but they don't add up when you consider the time between Castlevania I ~ Simon's Quest. The remains had the potential to revive Dracula just fine in Simon's Quest.

I've though, then, the following: What if Dracula's remains are not his remains at all, but Isaac's remains?

Suppose after CVIII, Dracula was completelly and utterly destroyed, nothing remained but the curse he put in the land. Then, this curse corrupted Isaac, turning his body into a suitable vessel to become Dracula's incarnation. This curse is also deeply linked with the misery it brings to men's hearts.

Had Dracula's body been completelly destroyed, Death would have no remains to look for. Thus the need to use one of the Forgemasters' bodies.

And THEN Isaac died. Where? Inside Dracula's Castle. We clearly see his body being buried by the castle's rubble.

Fast foward to Drac's next resurrection - The Adventure. The Bartleys check the ruins, and what would they find? Bodily remains pulsing with darkness. Of course they'd suppose they belonged to Dracula, as those were the ruins of his castle and those remains pulsed with his power. However, in fact, they'd be Isaac's remains, preserved by the curse that took root in him and linked it with the misery in men's hearts.

This would explain why Death is unaware of the remains in CoD - there are NO remains to be found. By turning Isaac into the vessel, his body (and remains) become Dracula's perpetual way to return to the world, therefore no vessel is ever needed again as it has already been provided ages ago.

[X]

Interesting hypothesis.

[zangetsu468]

Ah yes, the Sothis symbology sounds good.  In addition to the triad (which is a larger change to the relationships, as Isis/Auset was in the earlier stories the wife of Horus/Heru, and not his mother, with Osiris/Ausar appearing later), Isis is known as the 'Great Lady of Magic', and the greatest pupil of Thoth/Dhejuty.  Through studying with him, she learnt the secrets of how to harness the power of Ra (the Sun)'s true name, and in doing so, be able to resurrect Osiris.

You've just pointed out something incredibly important to the crest. The rays emanating from the centre are actually from a sun (more emphasis on Egyptian aesthetics referenced by their flag) being eclipsed by a lunar crescent. ie a Solar Eclipse. In a spiritual sense this raises the negative energy levels or increases something known as the raja-tama on earth, basically allowing ethereal non-physical entities to interfere with humanity. An eclipse is affiliated with al sorts of spiritual occurrences. Good spot.

Plot, it's an interesting hypothesis, just the point about Simon's Quest. In this game the remains don't bring Dracula back, if Simon had actually found ALL the body parts Dracula's spirit/ form would have never manifested. However, he didn't know about Dracula's Fang which was hidden in the altar room, which is how Dracula was able to manifest to begin with, attacking Simon using 'the fang' alone (which is why he was so weak). My point being that the remains would have never brought him back otherwise.

I understand what you're saying about Isaac's remains but I still wonder why a centennial resurrection (Rondo) requires a blood sacrifice, and why this was not altered in the re-release of Dracula X Chronicles. Thoughts?

[theplottwist]

-12 rays/ spokes coming out from the centre moon crescent (6 light; 6 dark)

There is a problem here. There aren't only 12 rays, but 16, 8 for each color.

I also didn't recognize the symbol as being a sun, because the moon in its center is encircled in black. It seems minor, but it's an staple in eclipse iconography to be encircled in white not black. Furthermore, the color of the rays do not correspond to the clear part of the "crescent" (in this case being the sun's still uncovered face). They are independently divided in white rays and black rays regardless of the actual face of the "sun".

But that's just me.

[zangetsu468]

There is a problem here. There aren't only 12 rays, but 16, 8 for each color.

I also didn't recognize the symbol as being a sun, because the moon in its center is encircled in black. It seems minor, but it's an staple in eclipse iconography to be encircled in white not black. Furthermore, the color of the rays do not correspond to the clear part of the "crescent" (in this case being the sun's still uncovered face). They are independently divided in white rays and black rays regardless of the actual face of the "sun".

But that's just me.

Still 6 rays are completely not obscured, + 6 wings, + 3 infinity symbols (8x3=24;2+4=6)
Therefore I stand by the 666 imagery.

One important thing about that sun symbol is that the final form (true form) of Chaos has a black sun/sphere at the centre. Hence this part of the crest is more thank likely a reference to that, as Chaos is the source/ impetus of Dracula's power and allows his resurrection (via the evil in the heart of humanity). The moon crescent symbolising rebirth into the physical world ie resurrection via 1 of the 2 stars; Hector or Isaac. It also symbolises fertility in a literal sense: the crescent moon being the "chalice" or womb enveloping and receiving the two stars for potential conception. 

[TatteredSeraph]

8 is also a nuber associated with infinity - so immortality, and in classical Medieval European heraldry, a Sun is distinguished from a star in part due to having 8 or more rays, in general.  The noting the this looks in some ways to being an eclipsed Sun could point towards why Dracula's castle had to be sealed inside an eclipse, during the Demon Castle Wars, perhaps?

[zangetsu468]

The noting the this looks in some ways to being an eclipsed Sun could point towards why Dracula's castle had to be sealed inside an eclipse, during the Demon Castle Wars, perhaps?

I thought about this before while writing replies. Although there is no direct substantiation, given Saint Germain makes direct reference to the 1999 event in the context of this game it is probable that Dracula's Castle was sealed in an eclipse for a specific reason. As I'd previously stated, the solar eclipse in the astral/ occult sense supposedly allows negative energies to interfere with humanity.

Perhaps sealing the Castle inside this event would ensure that it could not have the chance of  returning for a prolonged period of time (36 years) as per Nostradamus' prophecy.

[TatteredSeraph]

Yup, and through breaking this connection of Dracula's castle to the material plane, and its power, could be why it was possible to stop Dracula, as well as possily break the crimson stone, and kill him once and for all.  This of course resulted in souls being freed, including Dracula's, and so allowing him to reincarnate fully.  Soma isn't a separate soul carrying Dracula's soul, he is Dracula, just having lived through a new life, until he regains his memories alng with his powers.  It definitely has a nice ring to it in terms of the completion.

The fact that we're able to ponder over the symbologies present in just one emblem in the games is one of the things I adore so much about this series.