This post is a discussion version of my article of the same title, published on Steemit here. Have tried my best to format the links and images correctly but you may want to read the Steemit version to be able to easily scroll through the screenshots.
Giger's Spell IV
Giger with Occult objects
My previous post in this minor series on HR Giger and Pizzagate is available here, and is recommended reading before diving into the significance of his occult ties. Such influences are meaningful and relevant to Pizzagate thanks to Giger's clearly deliberate use of Pizzagate code words decades before they caused a firestorm via the Podesta Emails.
Giger's Tarot
Some readers may already be familiar with Giger's involvement in the creation of a set of Tarot cards titled The Baphomet Tarot, produced with the Swiss occultist, Akron. The title of the series comes as little surprise, given the centrality of Levi's Baphomet image in of Giger's occult works.
Akron in 2017
In researching Giger's work with Akron, I stumbled upon a lengthy interview of Giger by the host of an occult-themed website, "GlennFWright." During the interview, Giger at first professes very little knowledge of Tarot. Whether that response was truthful is a matter for speculation. Giger also discusses his one-time fascination with the Baphomet image.
"jk: What about Baphomet? That was obviously an image you liked, but why did you use it, was it because it was an image you liked, or because it represented some belief?
Giger: I liked it as an image.
jk: But Akron has turned it into a religion.
Giger: You know, I did that back when I was doing my Spell paintings, 1973-’76 and I was fascinated by this Baphomet image, and so this was long before I met Akron, who I’ve known for about twelve years or so. Maybe ’88 or so. I mean, it has absolutely nothing to do with his ideas."
Giger repeatedly makes an effort to separate his work from "Akron's ideas." In accounting for his attraction to Baphomet, Giger also mentions having read Eliphas Levi's book Transcendental Magic. Levi, as discussed later in this article, drew the Baphomet figure on which Giger's images were based.
"jk: So, back to these Baphomet images, did you know that they originated with an occultist named Eliphas Lévi?
Giger: Sure. I read the whole book [Transcendental Magic] at the time.
jk: You did read that?
Giger: It was much earlier.
jk: What influence do you think those occultist writings had on you?
Giger: I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I was fascinated, like everybody, about these magicians, and I was fascinated by Crowley’s drawings and paintings—I got a catalog of an exhibition of his drawings and paintings in London. I was always very interested in his paintings, because I understood that better than his text. His text is very difficult, and it was not translated much at the time.
jk: It’s difficult in English also.
Giger: Yes, I think so. It’s really hard"
Later in the interview, Giger and his interviewer are discussing a specific series of works titled Pump Excursion, painted in the late 1980s.
Image of 'Pump Excursion'
Fascinatingly, Giger confirms that the background in the series is intended to represent Mayan/Aztec pyramids. Going further, the interviewer directly references the ritual sacrifices which took place on such pyramids, including the removal of the heart.
"jk: Do you mean from India—or an American Indian?
Giger: American Indian
jk: So this pyramid in the back is Mayan or Aztec or something?
Giger: Yes.
jk: OK, good. And you may recall our discussion yesterday about the guillotine blade and how that seemed to be the Magician’s tool but this is not mentioned. And in the Taschen text, in the English version, they don’t even mention this image in the background. Akron talks about steps, but not about the pyramid. So you intended this figure to look Mayan?
Giger: Yes.
jk: What’s interesting, and I don’t know if you’re aware of this or thought about this in the context of the choice of this image for this card, but the steps leading up the pyramid remind us of the blood sacrifice, the removal of the heart, and there is the solar aspect of this, the worship and feeding of the Sun. This is also a part of the occult tradition we find in the discussions of the Fool card. Did you know this when Akron chose this image for this card?
Giger: No."
As a reminder, here are depictions of the steps Giger included or referenced in "Pump Excursion," in their ritual/sacrificial use.
This writer previously discussed Mayan/Aztec cannibalism, in relation to Marina Abramovic's trip to Brazil.
In this author's opinion, this Mayan/Aztec reference is far more indicative of experience or awareness of ritual abuse than the inclusion of Levi's Baphomet in Giger's works, or the depiction of Crowley in others.
Giger also created this image in 2009, titled "Caravan (with Martin Schwarz)."
The image includes an eye, what looks like surgeons in surgical garb, blood and organs, a bird, thorns or beaks, and other material. The 'beak' placed on the surgeon's mask is strongly reminiscent of the mask of a 'Plague Doctor.'
Two faces appear to be wearing clown-like masks. Although this is not a clearly occult image, the material has much in common with the accounts of ritual abuse survivors. In this writer's opinion it is much more strongly indicative of victimization, experience or involvement with actual ritual abuse than Giger's other works that focus on spells or typical occult aesthetic.
Giger also describes his creative process as intuitive, stating that he often does not recognize the artwork until it is complete, and does not feel as if he was the one creating the piece:
"jk: Do you not like to tell people what your paintings mean?
Giger: I don’t know what they mean. To me it is sometimes like when I’ve finished them, they were done by someone else. And some things in it, I can say at that time I was doing the painting, I was fascinated about that, or just during the work on the painting, somebody came with something and I just incorporated that into the painting, like a box or a key or whatever."
If this statement is true, then in this writer's opinion, it is highly suggestive that Giger was abused ritually. Whether he also became a perpetrator later in his life is not clear, but at minimum, he appears to have cognitively been able to choose specific symbols that we now know relate to child abuse.
It is a horrible reality that for some, being a victim of this kind of abuse is intertwined with perpetration: in fact, from the absolute earliest ages, many ritual abuse victims are made to kill small animals and participate in torture, or believe that the torture of others is their fault, in order to indoctrinate such victims into a belief that they are evil and culpable for abuse perpetrated against them and others, whether they are or not. The following are examples from the X-Witness testimony of the Dutroux victims. Extra trigger warning on the following three examples:
e.g. One
e.g. Two
e.g. Three
This is the despicable reality we face when we see someone like Podesta and his "alter-ego," Skippy. However, that does not absolve adult perpetrators in any way. It is simply something to keep in mind as we view people involved with these circles: victim and perpetrator are not always clearly defined, and this is absolutely intentional.
The rest of this post will follow in the comments.
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9217 ago
Occult Influences And Associations
HR Giger incorporated many occult symbols and themes across his painted works and sculptures, and admitted that at one point in his career he was interested in what he called witchcraft. A quote from Giger on the issue reads as follows:
Readers can make of that quote what they will: it is my personal opinion that though Giger used overt occult symbols, as he discussed openly on multiple occasions, the heart of his work is not so much to do with occult symbols, but a subconscious portrayal of trauma combined with in-jokes and nods to real practices or code words (as discussed in my previous post on Giger).
Disclaimer: It is extremely difficult to analyze the significance of Giger's occult ties venturing into total speculation. This piece will endeavor to find a narrow balance between becoming overly-speculative and not giving enough weight to Giger's occult connections. Many of the symbols are either difficult to "translate," or lead us into the realm of "conspiracy theory" so deeply that it makes Pizzagate look like material for a college essay.
HP Lovecraft
We know that Giger was heavily influenced by the work of HP Lovecraft, a fantasy-horror author whose work - especially the concept of the Necronomicon - provided inspiration for some Satanists. An essay published on the Church of Satan's website discusses Giger & Lovecraft's Necronomicon(s) and their relevance to Satanic thought.
HP Lovecraft in 1934
Lovecraft's occult leanings are evidenced in the following quote:
The covers of Giger's 'Necronomicon,' books, a direct reference to HP Lovecraft's fictional grimoire, are pictured here.
It's not just the Baphomet image on the cover of Giger's first Necronomicon that is a clear occult reference. In Lovecraft's universe, the word Necronomicon was fictionally defined as follows:
Although there is much more one could say about Lovecraft's life and work, it is too large in scope to continue in this article. I have instead tried to barely outline the direct overlap between Lovecraft's world-building and Giger's own "inner world."
Aleister Crowley
Another influence on Giger was undoubtedly Aleister Crowley, an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, and founder of "Thelema."
Crowley in Masonic Regalia
The extent of Crowley's influence on Western Esotericism cannot be summarized in this post, but we note that Giger dedicated the following work to Crowley, naming it after him. The image contains a hermaphrodite with a clown-like face or mask, who is making a "666" symbol in her hands. Another figure to the right of Crowley has their face replaced with the Hindu Yoni-Lingam symbol.
"A Crowley The Beast 666 "
The figure at the bottom left of the work was Giger's representation of Crowley, wearing a conical hat reminiscent of the thorn or break shapes in his 2009 'Caravan' image.
Giger stated that he gave Crowley the hat and "ice cream cone" as a representation of the concept of 'As above so below,' which is also at work in photographs of Giger taken at The Ugly Club,(a venue which will become a focus of discussion later in this series) and is the core meaning displayed in Eliphas Levi's Baphomet image.
We know that Giger was familiar with this concept, as well as the idea of "reversal," thanks to his own statements regarding his 'Crowley' piece:
We see the emphasis on distorted reflection in another picture of Giger taken at 'Club Ugly:'
This small section on Crowley does little justice to his influence on Western occult circles, UK military intelligence, etc. However, as in the case of Lovecraft, I have tried to examine Crowley only in the sense of Giger's depiction of him/ inspiration drawn from him.
9217 ago
Éliphas Lévi
Eliphas Levi was a radical French socialist, born as 'Alphonse Louis Constant,' whose spiritual ideas were said to have been influenced by his political persuasion. Levi's Wikipedia entry relates:
Giger's Spell IV
In Giger's Spell IV, he recreates Baphomet amongst multiple pentagrams. The original version drawn by Lévi is included below. The gesture of Éliphas Lévi's Baphomet is known as a representation of 'As Above, So Below.'
Baphomet
Wikipedia tells us that there is a close connection between Levi's Baphomet and the Tarot, and that Levi believed in an ancient form of pagan witchcraft:
Given Giger's admission of fascination with Levi, and Levi's association with Tarot, it seems hard to believe Giger's claim that he was essentially unfamiliar with the subject.
Giger's Baphomet figure is positioned in the 'As above, so below' gesture, while impaling a white female figure suspended above his goat-head. Her position in another similar work, hands outstretched and feet splayed, is also reminiscent of the 'Microcosm & Macrocosm' drawings.
Below, via Wikipedia: Robert Fludd's illustration of man as the microcosm within the universal macrocosm. Fludd states that "Man is a whole world of its own, called microcosm for it displays a miniature pattern of all the parts of the universe. Thus the head is related to the Empyreal, the chest to the ethereal heaven and the belly to the elementary substance."[1]
Vitruvian Microcosm
The same concept was at work in Leonardo Da Vinci's famous "Vitruvian Man."
On the right and left side of Spell IV, Giger has an inverted and non-inverted pentagram, as well as a combination of the two pentagrams in the center, behind the white female figure and Baphomet, which also represent the opposition of polar forces, duality, and reversal.
A key phrase in Thoughtco's description of the concept "As Above So Below, in reference to Levi's Baphomet, also relates to balanced duality.
The concept of duality in terms of integrally interlinked opposites was previously discussed by Rob Ager, in Giger's fusion of birth and death. The idea here would be that within birth there is death - whenever any animal is born, their birth ensures their eventual death. Likewise, when that animal dies, their body will be reused and transform into a plethora of other beings, ie, death ensures life.
Yin-Yang
Such a concept is not ritually abusive or even negative, and is present philosophies like Taoism etc. However, the ritual abuse spin on it, as discussed in my previous piece on Giger, places birth directly within death. This involves some of the worst abuses imaginable to mother and/or child, as documented in both Dutroux victim testimonies, and even pop culture, like the film 'Mother!' It is as much a perversion of duality, as it is a perversion of the Eucharist for Christians.
During the film, Jennifer Lawrence's "Mother" character gives birth.
Shortly afterwards (literally the next scene), the newborn boy is killed by a cult, who shares its body as a cannibalistic sacrament:
GRAPHIC
Infant's body
Cult Members Cannibalizing Newborn
In the Dutroux victim accounts, there are a multitude of abuses of infants, pregnant women and women in labor. This particular account was almost exactly the same as the one depicted in the Mother! film, down to the gender of the child:
Wikipedia also describes Levi's intentional depiction of unified duality when creating the Baphomet image reused by Giger:
Finally, on close inspection, the woman in one of Giger's depictions of Baphomet appears to be holding a wand that looks remarkably similar to the beaks/thorns in his later 'Caravan' piece. It is also similar to Crowley's above-mentioned conical hat and 'ice cream cone.'
Returning to Levi's Baphomet, it is important to consider the word's history. According to Wikipedia, the name Baphomet first appeared in trial transcripts for the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century.
Origin of Baphomet
Levi is described expressing the belief that the Templar Order did indeed worship this figure, stating:
Given that Giger was Swiss, that the Templar Order allegedly created Switzerland, and that Levi believed the Templars worshipped Baphomet, the context for Giger's fascination with the image is compelling in its occult meaning.
9217 ago
Switzerland
"Child Eater Fountain," in Bern, Switzerland. (Note the goat's heads at the bottom of the image)
Listing an entire nation as a potential occult influence might seem absurd, until we delve into the history of Switzerland and specifically, its association with the Templar Order, which was alleged to have worshipped the same Baphomet that Levi drew, and which later fascinated Giger.
One very long thread describes the history of the Templars, suggesting that the Order essentially founded Switzerland after fleeing France.
Switzerland's Old Confederacy was (conveniently) officially founded in 1291, in close proximity with the dissolution of the Order and in the same exact year as the fall of Acre. Of course, Templars were also something of a precursor to modern banking, an interesting parallel with the history of Switzerland's famous and secret banking.
One author of a book on this topic states in an interview:
The famous Swiss Guards are also the oldest military units in the world, and ceremonially protects the Pope in the Vatican to this day.
So, can we then trace the influence of the Templar Order in Switzerland, through to Giger's fascination with Levi's Baphomet? I think it is possible, but we cannot know for sure.
Additional intrigue is added to this scenario when considering the (surprising to me) connection between Switzerland and Egypt, which one will find an enormous amount of material, of varying quality, in a cursory search. Prior to researching Giger, I had no idea about the Swiss connection with Templars, possibly Egypt, or any other NWO-type issues, so this line of research is completely new to me. While such a connection may seem extremely unlikely, some news reports stipulate that half of all Swiss men are related to the Egyptian Pharoah, Tutankhamun, via a shared ancestor.
Giger also included Egyptian motifs in his work. For example, in the following work created as a tribute to his close friend and fellow Swiss Artist, Friedrich Kuhn:
The work includes depicts Egyptian pyramids, and the entire scene rests on a layer of rotting or diseased infants seen in Giger's 'Landscapes.'
Another example of overt Egyptian symbology can be seen in Giger's work titled "Hieroglyphics.".
As previously noted by others, this specific piece evokes Egyptian symbolism in more than just name. The arching figure in the painting is based on the Egyptian sky goddess, Nut/Nuit.
One does not have to stretch the imagination far in order to also recognize the Masonic symbol of the triangle topped by a radiating all-seeing-"eye" in Giger's version of this image.
In addition to the above-mentioned piece, Giger's work in general has the appearance of flat, almost two-dimensional, forward-facing displays, as if the viewer is looking at a carving on a wall, much as Egyptian art is painted and carved into the sides of temples and tombs. For example:
Egyptian hieroglyphs
An example of Giger's very 2-D work
Another occult influence for Giger appears to have been Timothy Leary, whose face Giger included in Illuminatus I, seen below. The image continues Giger's use of Egyptian symbolism, including a pyramid, the Eye of Horus, an Ankh at the bottom of the image, etc.
Illuminatus I
The apple on top of the pyramid is interesting, in that the Adamic apple was the fruit of the tree of knowledge, hence, ultimate - if illicit or forbidden knowledge - and therefore "Illumination"is placed at the top of the pyramid. The placement of the safety pin piercing the female's mouth seems to connote the "safety" of a violently enforced code of silence at the base of the pyramid.
Another piece, Illuminatus II, includes phrases written on the razor blades: "OTO," "Illuminatus," "666," "Cocaine (?)," and "Acid."
Now you may be objecting to the appraisal of Leary as an occult influence, given that most are aware that Timothy Leary and his cohorts were part of the impetus behind the psychedelic movement in the '60s and his purported association with the CIA. However, Leary also claimed on PBS that he was "carrying on the work" of Aleister Crowley.
According to Wikipedia, Leary was also a member of "Illuminates of Thanateros," which is described as:
By including what appear to be likenesses of Leary, Lovecraft and others in a painting titled "Illuminatus," Giger expresses an awareness of Leary's occult connections in addition to his work in the psychedelic realm. This communicates that at minimum Giger was running in similar circles.
Virgil Finlay
Finlay, a 'pulp fiction illustrator,' appears in Giger's Illuminatus I along with Lovecraft and Leary. This makes sense for multiple reasons, one being Finlay's correspondences with HP Lovecraft, whose work Finlay sometimes illustrated. Lovecraft praised Finlay's work:
—HPL in a letter to James F. Morton on the spectacular art of Virgil Finlay. Dated to March of 1937.
Finlay's work often includes occult and macabre themes.
Whether Finlay was actively involved with the occult in some way beyond his artistic expression is not clear, and no information on his membership in Masonic, occult or other similar groups was available after researching the subject.
Sergius Golowin
Sergius Golowin, by HR Giger.
The final likeness included in Giger's 'Illuminatus I' was his friend, the Swiss Folklorist Sergius Golowin, whose Wikipedia entry states:
In this light, Giger's portrayal of Golowin with Leary makes complete sense, and the former's interest in esotericism makes his inclusion in a work titled 'Illuminatus' self-explanatory.
Clearly, Giger's work very carefully incorporates and draws from real and fictional (Lovecraftian) occult material. The inclusion of this subject matter is not in question: the question comes when we try to determine meaning from Giger's occult references and ties. In order to do so, we need to look at not only Giger's symbols, but also important events from Giger's life. For that reason, in the next segment in this series we turn to the death of Giger's first muse and long-time partner, Li Tobler.
YogSoggoth ago
On the Swiss connection, it is my belief that when the Hyksos were kicked out of Egypt, they were later exiled to Hyrcania. Then into Khazaria. The expulsion from there by the Rus/ others. They then traveled back to Caanan only to find the Pheonicians cousins as vassals to Assyria. They still had boats though, and eventually wound up in Spain and France. Kicked out of France (for the usual child sacrifice), they founded Switzerland in the 12 century. This would explain the Egyptian occultism through to the present day, and the real reason for the crusades. The two snakes entwined are representing the creation myth and can be a dragon or lizard in some countries. they are circling the sun in most ancient religions. The Hyksos were snake worshipers, and even after expulsion influenced Egypt by intermarriage to the original Egyptians. This culminated in direct descendant Amenhotep's aten worship, and dereliction of the old temples. He and his priests got kicked out and fled to Caanan as well. He was what we call Moses.
9217 ago
Very interesting theory. However I wonder if the Hyksos explain the genetic connection between Swiss men and Tutankhamun? I am not familiar with the timing of his family's reign[s] in terms of Hyksos invasion/repulsion timelines. Definitely something to ponder!
YogSoggoth ago
I forget where I read it, and the search engine is dumbing down history to almost pre-literature Europe all of the sudden, but the Hyksos getting kicked out did not extinguish the bloodline left in the Egyptian royalty, and they might not have even noticed it. Amenhotep IV's grandmother was a Hyksos. Little king Tut was his son by the lesser wife Kiya(not Nefertiti supposedly) Either way the Hyksos blood would be maintained after El Moses exile in the wilderness of Caanan. He was never a slave of the Egyptians either. He was even allowed to come back to Egypt to beg from relatives periodically before getting kicked out again. Well, he was also most likely testing the waters for his return to power by his popularity (in his own mind.)
9217 ago
Very interesting! Absolutely food for thought, I'll have to do that.
YogSoggoth ago
I had to shorten that so much, that is unintelligible on it's own. Thank you for finding a clue.
9217 ago
Shorten which, the thread here or the steemit post or both? I've already split everything into three parts, the last segment of which I have not finished working on yet.