Yog-Sothoth
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Yog-Sothoth (The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The All-in-One) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. The being was created by H.P. Lovecraft and first appeared in his novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (written 1927, first published 1941). The being is said to take the form of a conglomeration of glowing bubbles.
Mythos summary
Imagination called up the shocking form of fabulous Yog-Sothoth — only a congeries of iridescent globes, yet stupendous in its malign suggestiveness.
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Horror in the Museum"
Yog-Sothoth is an Outer God and is coterminous with all time and space yet is supposedly locked outside of the universe we inhabit. Its cosmic nature is hinted at in this passage from "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" (1934) by Lovecraft and E. Hoffman Price:
It was an All-in-One and One-in-All of limitless being and self — not merely a thing of one Space-Time continuum, but allied to the ultimate animating essence of existence's whole unbounded sweep — the last, utter sweep which has no confines and which outreaches fancy and mathematics alike. It was perhaps that which certain secret cults of earth have whispered of as YOG-SOTHOTH, and which has been a deity under other names; that which the crustaceans of Yuggoth worship as the Beyond-One, and which the vaporous brains of the spiral nebulae know by an untranslatable Sign...
Yog-Sothoth knows all and sees all, surpassing Yibb-Tstll in wisdom and Azathoth in power. To "please" this deity could bring knowledge of many things. However, like most beings in the mythos, to see it or learn too much about it is to court disaster. Some authors state that the favour of the god requires a human sacrifice or eternal servitude.
The Old Ones
Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dunwich Horror"
Yog-Sothoth has some connection to the mysterious Old Ones mentioned in "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), but their nature, their number, and their connection to Yog-Sothoth are unknown. Nonetheless, they are probably allied to him in some way, since Wilbur Whateley, the half-human son of Yog-Sothoth, tried to summon them so that they could control Wilbur's more tainted twin and make it reproduce.
Avatars
Yog-Sothoth has several different avatars. Among them are:
- Aforgomon (disputed)
- The Dweller on the Threshold
- Tawil-at-U'mr
Aforgomon
Aforgomon is an obscure avatar of Yog-Sothoth invented by Clark Ashton Smith. He was revered by many cultures past, present, and future as the God of Time because of his praeternatural ability to manipulate time and space. Little is known of this being's appearance because he only reveals himself to those who have angered him. However, it is known that he is accompanied by a blinding light. He is the mortal enemy of Xexanoth.
Tawil At-U'mr
Tawil At-U'mr (The Most Ancient and Prolonged of Life), also spelt Umr at-Tawil or Tawil-at'Umr, is an avatar of Yog-Sothoth and presides over the timeless halls beyond the Gate of the Silver Key and the strange, near-omnipotent Ancient Ones that dwell there. He is often described as the silhouette of a man behind a strange, shimmering veil. If this being chose to rend this veil, those who viewed that which lay beyond would be driven mad by the sight. Tawil at-U'mr is generally considered to be benevolent, in total contrast to the wrathful Aforgomon.
Popular culture
Though not as ubiquitous as Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth sometimes appears in popular culture as a way to evoke Lovecraftian themes.
Literature
Yog-Sothoth occasionally appears in fiction that does not fall into the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror. For example, in the Illuminatus! trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea, Yog-Sothoth is an extradimensional entity, whose attributes differ widely from those described in the Mythos. Worshipped as a god by some incarnations of the Illuminati, it is known as the Eater of Souls for its habit of feeding from human sacrifices. It is bodiless and invisible, but can possess humans, and can be imprisoned in pentagonal shapes; for several decades, it was imprisoned in The Pentagon by the Illuminati, and fed on traffic fatalities.
In the Doctor Who novel White Darkness by David A. McIntee, it's claimed that the foe known as the Great Intelligence is actually Yog-Sothoth--a connection expanded on in Millenial Rites by Craig Hinton.
Other non-Mythos appearances are allusions or in-jokes. Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Moving Pictures mentions an "outerdimensional being" named Yob Soddoth. A graffiti in Stephen King's 1991 book Needful Things proclaims "Yog-Sothoth Rules". "Eggs Sothoth" are served in H.P.'s Cafe, mentioned several times in Christopher Moore's books.
Music
Bands in the heavy metal genre frequently make reference to Yog-Sothoth. The Morbid Angel album Abominations of Desolation opens with a chant:
- Yog-Sothoth, Lord of Lords, I summon thee, make the gate appear! Yog-Sothoth is the gate in which the spheres meet! Open wide the gate! The ancient ones ruled of old and shall rule again! Come forth through the gate!
Outside of metal, musical references to Yog-Sothoth are rare, though the 1979 song "Spectre vs. Rector" by post-punk band The Fall does name check Yog-Sothoth. "Yog Sothoth" is also the name of a song by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a Lovecraftian rock band.
References
External links
- [The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List], listing of mythos-related novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and other media
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