Dav Flamerock
Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 450
Location: East Bay, CA
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 Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:34 pm Post subject: eXu: The meaning and Importance of the Pseudonym |
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I went scrounging around on the forums because I thought this might have been explored before, but to my surprise I found nothing—so to alleviate this lack of research I am now making this topic for us to discuss and collaborate. I considered making it a part of the "Exu has a name-oh" thread, but since that one is over 2 years old and I'm following a technically different line of inquiry, I would make this thread instead.
So I was online earlier and needed to find a quote of Exu's. Because I'm too lazy to pull up an Outpost Wiki page and go through the steps to find Exu's page, I figured I'd just drop "Exu" into my google search bar and use the link it gave me. When I did that, I discovered that the name Dr. Ukrytywicz chose as his pseudonym isn't as unique as I expected. Then I realized that we never really thought to do research on his pseudonym and its meanings.
According to a particular page I discovered, a page bearing a startlingly familiar image, I read about a kind of south american religion called Santeria, in which various African deities are worshiped (these are called Orishas). The information included on one particular Orisha, Exu, was varied and contradictory. At first he was described as a figure not unlike Satan, yet it seems that such a comparison is not because Exu is evil, per say, but because Exu and Satan have similar rituals associated with them.
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| Exu is worshipped in, in some traditions, by offerings of miniature iron pitchforks placed in vases of blood before a devil statuette. |
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| Before any of these activities can take place, the initiates scratch invocational markings in the earth with a certain kind of chalk that includes pulverized herbs, and is sometimes imported from Africa, and present an offering, which may include a sacrificed black rooster, sugar cane liquor, lighted cigarettes and candles. They tender the offering to Exu... |
However, the second part of the page went on to explain who this Exu deity is, and it begins to sound somewhat familiar. It repeats several times that Exu is a neutral god and a chaotic god with a focus on balance, who is just as likely to do something "good" as he is to do something "evil."
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| In this role, many perceive him as a prankster-a kind of Brazilian Loki, the mischief-maker of Nordic myth. But his tricks are playful, not mean. He toys with human sensibilities and upsets the status quo because he represents the necessary power of disorder which must occur occasionally for one to be able rebuild on more solid ground. In this sense, he is comparable to the Tarot card, the Tower. |
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| If you believe him to be the agent of evil, surely he will rise to the occasion. If you think he is good, he will behave benevolently. If you see him as a neutral agent, again this chameleon will satisfy your expectation. |
Further, it appears that Exu is associated with messages between the Orishas and humans, making his invocation in rituals paramount to any ritual to the gods one might perform. This interpretation has the curious side-effect of making Exu not an Orisha, for he has qualities that all of the other Orishas have yet he does not have any particular domain to which he is associated (as every Orisha is). This sort of makes sense, especially when combined with the following very interesting quality which also will probably sound very familiar to more veteran Sentries: he is an agent of magic, a means by which humans can contact the divine and make their intents manifest as thaumaturgy.
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| So at the beginning of a ceremony, the faithful offer to him first so that he will not disrupt the proceedings, and furthermore will carry their petitions to the gods. It is believed that if one sacrifices to him well, he will be fairly disposed to plead human causes before the gods. |
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| Exu is the point of communication between the sacred and the profane, and as such, can be likened to the Greek god, Hermes, also known as Mercury (Roman), Thoth (Egyptian), and Odin (Norse). He intercedes between the people and what they consider to be their spiritual roots-an idealized Africa, or another dimension of the cosmos. |
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| In a broader sense, Exu is perceived as the interlocutor of the gods because although he may associate with them, he is not one of them. Each orixa works within a specific domain, but Exu is at home in all their abodes, and moves freely among them. Expressed from another point of view, each orixa embodies one or another of Exu's characteristics, but none is wholely like him. |
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| On a deeper level, the fact that Exu is this universal agent of magic implies much more. |
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~Dav Flamerock
"There are probably seven persons, in all, who really like my work; and they are enough. I should write even if I were the only patient reader, for my aim is merely self-expression." ~H.P. Lovecraft
I think this means something, but it's going to take a little more digging. ~ Eddie Pope
(Smith, Tessla, GreenieXIII, Anaru, KyubiKiitsune) |
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