Crowing
World Ender
Towns Folk
"What if man could harness the power of a god? In a sense, he would need God no longer, yes?"
-Ghost, "From the Pinnacle to the Pit"
Sometimes, I wonder about the nature of higher forces, as I'm sure any curious mind would. Some philosophers speak of a transformation known as apotheosis, the elevation of one into becoming a higher force, a god. How could this be achieved? Possibly, one would suggest extensive knowledge of the occult and convoluted rituals would be exercised to achieve such abilities.
However, I have another idea.
There are some people who are known to be unparalleled in their areas of expertise. In the modern day, we could consider Stephen King to be a master of (horror) literature, for example, while Stephen Hawking is remembered as the greatest scientist of our modern era. Let's take these two examples, horror and science respectively,
King and Hawking are considered masters of their crafts. King, for instance, knows exactly what makes a reader engrossed in a story. He uses this to full effect in creating stories able to reel in an audience even in an age where everything is digitalised. It is this knowledge which makes him a master of his craft. However, all knowledge has its limits... supposedly.
What if one were to truly master their area of expertise, unparalleled, become something greater than a master of their craft... a god of their craft?
The Greek had a pantheon where each concept had a god assigned to it. Poseidon was the god of the sea, Hades the underworld, Apollo of music, and so on. They were, in a sense, gods of their craft. So my idea is this: what if, by mastering a craft to fullest extent, one would become a god of said craft? What if the key to apotheosis lied not in knowledge of the occult, but knowledge of specific crafts? The artist whose vision is unparalleled would become a god of art, the ruthless general holding dominion over war, and so on?
Such a thing is difficult to pinpoint the exact truth of. Such is the nature of the far unknown. I can only speculate, and that which I speculate is of how absolute mastery of a craft would result in their own apotheosis into a pantheon of sorts. A skeptic belief of this would be that the achiever of such a feat would remain here on Earth as a mortal being. However, I'm a little superstitious and writing this essay has made me wonder a little further, so I'll go over some additional ideas I have.
It may be possible that all roads lead to the occult as it is known. After all, occultism is hidden knowledge, and mastery of a craft would require all knowledge in that area. Knowledge that would inevitably veer into the realm of hidden knowledge as all secrets are made to be uncovered. If this is the case, apotheosis would now be proven to be based in occultism as initially assumed, only not in the manner initially believed.
But how would one know when they have mastered a craft? My belief here is that... well, I believe they would simply know. I believe this is where the supernatural would begin to take form. Perhaps, once all roads lead to the realm of hidden knowledge, the higher forces which are so prevalent in occultism would manifest, regardless of what the person was seeking. Perhaps these higher powers are the gatekeepers of knowledge and it is up to them to intervene only when they find we have progressed beyond a certain point.
I've heard accounts of a strange "Threshold Guardian" who manifests after certain occultists have reached a stage of knowledge in the craft. Perhaps this guardian manifests to us all who have sought knowledge greater than what is typically known. I, myself, have had a few strange dreams here and there after my forays into what I'd consider my own area of expertise... but I feel like we're going off on a tangent here. All I'm saying is, it may be possible the Threshold Guardian is the manifestation of what has come down to witness our expertise firsthand. Perhaps he will be the final hurdle for those to truly overcome when the time and desire has come for the master to apotheosize.
Then what? Well, as I've said, the Greek had a pantheon. So did the Egyptians. Perhaps, to some extent, there are gods in rotation, each coming and going as their apotheoses see fit? Perhaps these are all gods who have apotheosized and now hold the dominion over their respective crafts, maybe Johnny is now taking over after Zeus or Osiris were getting tired of their jobs? Who knows? This is all speculation, there is no way to tell as I've said before, so all we can do right now is think. Think, and speculate.
...Speaking of speculation, I've really said a lot, haven't I? This may be the longest essay I've ever written aside from that story I wrote for the contest that one time. I don't even know what inspired me to write this or why I specifically had to write this on a Nintendo forum. All I know is, well-
TL;DR Maybe the key to apotheosis (the ascension into godhood) is through master of specific crafts such as literature and science, rather than occultism specifically, which could lead into the realm of hidden knowledge in each specific craft, where they would be met by a celestial gatekeeper who would ultimately test their mettle before they apotheosize.
Maybe the gatekeeper is specific to each craft. Maybe the gatekeeper is specific for art, science... you know.
-Ghost, "From the Pinnacle to the Pit"
Sometimes, I wonder about the nature of higher forces, as I'm sure any curious mind would. Some philosophers speak of a transformation known as apotheosis, the elevation of one into becoming a higher force, a god. How could this be achieved? Possibly, one would suggest extensive knowledge of the occult and convoluted rituals would be exercised to achieve such abilities.
However, I have another idea.
There are some people who are known to be unparalleled in their areas of expertise. In the modern day, we could consider Stephen King to be a master of (horror) literature, for example, while Stephen Hawking is remembered as the greatest scientist of our modern era. Let's take these two examples, horror and science respectively,
King and Hawking are considered masters of their crafts. King, for instance, knows exactly what makes a reader engrossed in a story. He uses this to full effect in creating stories able to reel in an audience even in an age where everything is digitalised. It is this knowledge which makes him a master of his craft. However, all knowledge has its limits... supposedly.
What if one were to truly master their area of expertise, unparalleled, become something greater than a master of their craft... a god of their craft?
The Greek had a pantheon where each concept had a god assigned to it. Poseidon was the god of the sea, Hades the underworld, Apollo of music, and so on. They were, in a sense, gods of their craft. So my idea is this: what if, by mastering a craft to fullest extent, one would become a god of said craft? What if the key to apotheosis lied not in knowledge of the occult, but knowledge of specific crafts? The artist whose vision is unparalleled would become a god of art, the ruthless general holding dominion over war, and so on?
Such a thing is difficult to pinpoint the exact truth of. Such is the nature of the far unknown. I can only speculate, and that which I speculate is of how absolute mastery of a craft would result in their own apotheosis into a pantheon of sorts. A skeptic belief of this would be that the achiever of such a feat would remain here on Earth as a mortal being. However, I'm a little superstitious and writing this essay has made me wonder a little further, so I'll go over some additional ideas I have.
It may be possible that all roads lead to the occult as it is known. After all, occultism is hidden knowledge, and mastery of a craft would require all knowledge in that area. Knowledge that would inevitably veer into the realm of hidden knowledge as all secrets are made to be uncovered. If this is the case, apotheosis would now be proven to be based in occultism as initially assumed, only not in the manner initially believed.
But how would one know when they have mastered a craft? My belief here is that... well, I believe they would simply know. I believe this is where the supernatural would begin to take form. Perhaps, once all roads lead to the realm of hidden knowledge, the higher forces which are so prevalent in occultism would manifest, regardless of what the person was seeking. Perhaps these higher powers are the gatekeepers of knowledge and it is up to them to intervene only when they find we have progressed beyond a certain point.
I've heard accounts of a strange "Threshold Guardian" who manifests after certain occultists have reached a stage of knowledge in the craft. Perhaps this guardian manifests to us all who have sought knowledge greater than what is typically known. I, myself, have had a few strange dreams here and there after my forays into what I'd consider my own area of expertise... but I feel like we're going off on a tangent here. All I'm saying is, it may be possible the Threshold Guardian is the manifestation of what has come down to witness our expertise firsthand. Perhaps he will be the final hurdle for those to truly overcome when the time and desire has come for the master to apotheosize.
Then what? Well, as I've said, the Greek had a pantheon. So did the Egyptians. Perhaps, to some extent, there are gods in rotation, each coming and going as their apotheoses see fit? Perhaps these are all gods who have apotheosized and now hold the dominion over their respective crafts, maybe Johnny is now taking over after Zeus or Osiris were getting tired of their jobs? Who knows? This is all speculation, there is no way to tell as I've said before, so all we can do right now is think. Think, and speculate.
...Speaking of speculation, I've really said a lot, haven't I? This may be the longest essay I've ever written aside from that story I wrote for the contest that one time. I don't even know what inspired me to write this or why I specifically had to write this on a Nintendo forum. All I know is, well-
TL;DR Maybe the key to apotheosis (the ascension into godhood) is through master of specific crafts such as literature and science, rather than occultism specifically, which could lead into the realm of hidden knowledge in each specific craft, where they would be met by a celestial gatekeeper who would ultimately test their mettle before they apotheosize.
Maybe the gatekeeper is specific to each craft. Maybe the gatekeeper is specific for art, science... you know.