Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

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simeonalo
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Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by simeonalo »

I couldn't find this in the quicklinks or in the reference guide, and I did a search and I scanned through the pages with Ctrl+F. Sorry if I missed a previous topic :P.
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From Wikipedia
Gyromancy is a method of divination in which a person spins around inside or walks the circumference of a circle drawn on the ground, the perimeter of which is marked with the letters of an alphabet. The divination is inferred from the letter at the position where the person either stumbles or falls across the circle’s edge. The person would repeat the practice "...till he evolved an intelligible sentence, or till death or madness intervened."[1] The dizziness brought on by spinning or circling is intended to introduce randomness or to facilitate an altered state of consciousness.[2]
The word is derived from Medieval Latin, gyromantia, which is derived from Greek gyros (circle) and manteia (oracle).[3]
From The Mystica
A method of divination by going around in a circle which circumference was marked with letters of an alphabet. The presage evolved as words formed from the letters onto which the inquirers stumbled when becoming too giddy to stand up.

There is a curious connection between the practice of this divination and the familiar technique of psychic circles. In this practice all siting in a circle place a finger on a glass surrounded by letters of the alphabet. The glass will touch letters in turn to indicate words or messages.

The principle of the repeated circling is to exclude the interference of the will so to reduce the selection of letters to mere chance. In few species of enhancement, however, the art of turning round is to induce prophetic delirium. Some religious dances, particularly the rotation of certain devotees on one foot with arms out stretched, are of this nature. Such incidents indicate a sort of mystical secret.

Another form of gyromancy is where the person walks around in a circle until the individual collapses. The position that the person falls in relation to the circle determines the outcome of future events.

In the phenomenon known as the St. Vitus' Dance manifestations of spirit intelligence were observed the movements of those in convulsions. The action of the spiritual force tends to be spirally rhythmically, whether in language or bodily members. A.G.H.


Now, we know that the Cult has gotten eager, or giddy, to resurrect their God during the time of Silent Hill 1. This is evident by how Dahlia decided to resurrect God early, not waiting for the actual "due date" that was predicted long ago. Dahlia decided to use Alessa, but she somehow knew that Harry Mason would come.

"It was foretold by Gyromancy."

This could point to the fact that even more rituals (mainly originating from Europe) could have been in the Order as well. From the links and the text above, Gyromancy is a method of Divination (telling the future).

This also points to the fact that Dahlia might not have done this, but some past Order member long ago- perhaps there were other attempts (aside from the obvious ones past Dahlia) that involved other rituals other than the Immolation Ritual (that's what I call it), even to the point of telling the future.

So, in short, there has been previous attempts at resurrecting God and predicting certain dates of Cheryl and Harry's arrival, to the point of classical Divination rituals performed, leading up to the point of Dahlia finally predicting Harry's actions and manipulating him.

A little penny for your thoughts :)

Please point me out if there are any holes.
Last edited by simeonalo on 24 May 2010, edited 2 times in total.
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alone in the town
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Post by alone in the town »

I'm not sure I get what you're trying to say.
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simeonalo
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Post by simeonalo »

There might have been other rituals performed prior to SH1 that would have predicted Harry's arrival, and other rushed attempts to bring God back in.

I was just showing people the whole thing behind "It was foretold by Gyromancy."
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Post by alone in the town »

I don't think there was really any gyromancy or rituals involved in this 'foretelling'. You see a flashback near the end where Dahlia predicts Cheryl's return in a much more pragmatic way.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

That, and pretty much everything Dahlia says before the end of the game is a fucking lie.
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Post by LSSJGamer »

^ Darn you beat me to saying that, lol.

I agree that Dahlia didn't do the ritual herself. Then again her crazy psychosis could make me think otherwise. That madness part of the gyromancy ritual seems to stick to her like glue.
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Post by The Adversary »

Why is it impossible for Dahlia to of performed gyromancy to determine Harry and Cheryl's arrival?

Also:

>we know that the Cult has gotten eager, or giddy, to resurrect their God<
The Order wasn't aware of Dahlia's intent to use Alessa prematurely as she did: Dahlia "impulsively carried out the ritual." There was no "due date," nor an expiration date—the ritual could be performed as long as everything was ready.

>the Immolation Ritual (that's what I call it)<
For record's sake: It's officially "the ritual of resurrection."

Note. This was written at a time in which I was deliberately abusing have/of because I thought it was funny.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Why is it impossible for Dahlia to of performed gyromancy to determine Harry and Cheryl's arrival?
Mostly because it's goofy.

But in all seriousness, it's not impossible; it's just not really a trustworthy line considering the context.
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Post by The Adversary »

That . . . doesn't make any sense.
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Post by alone in the town »

It doesn't matter whether or not she actually did a little of the Gyromancy. Could be that she actually did.

However, she herself foretold of Cheryl's return while conversing around Alessa's bed, and it seemed like plain old deduction to me, and certainly Dahlia would not have overlooked the fact that at least one surrogate parent was very likely to accompany her when the time came.

Thus, the Gyromancy, if it happened, was either to clarify vague knowledge Dahlia already had, or it was just redundant. Or, Dahlia just likes to spin in circles.

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Cartoon depiction of Gyromancer
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Post by AuraTwilight »

>That . . . doesn't make any sense.

Every line surrounding the Gyromancy comment is part of Dahlia's roleplaying/elaborate lying act to make Harry trust her and do as she wants. A cryptic line about prophecizing these horrible events helps support the "crazy old lady who knows what's happening" shtick, and it appeals to Harry's genre savviness as a fiction writer.
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Post by spunkytexan »

alone in the town wrote:
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Cartoon depiction of Gyromancer

Awesome!

That is all I have to say.
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Post by simeonalo »

AuraTwilight wrote:>That . . . doesn't make any sense.

Every line surrounding the Gyromancy comment is part of Dahlia's roleplaying/elaborate lying act to make Harry trust her and do as she wants. A cryptic line about prophecizing these horrible events helps support the "crazy old lady who knows what's happening" shtick, and it appeals to Harry's genre savviness as a fiction writer.
Well, I would say that diving into Dahlia making Harry's writing side appeal to Dahlia's lies is a bit far fetched. I mean, does Dahlia know Harry is a writer? Even if she does, why would she go that far to actually make her trust him on his background (that, is, of course only mentioned in the game's manual).

Though your idea does make sense, I wouldn't say that Dahlia is kissing up to Harry's writing side.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

She doesn't necessarily know, but that wouldn't change the fact that it would indeed appeal to that side, and Dahlia seems to be good at dealing with people if she avoided being locked in an insane asylum; most people with a sense of genre savviness would fall for the routine, I'm sure. It was a gamble.
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Re: Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by asphodel13 »

What about the "path of the hermit" gibberish? I realize she was probably acting and lying to harry shure, but i would still like to know if there is some sort of occult reference behind it, for curiosity's sake.
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Re: Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by Soulless-Shadow »

asphodel13 wrote:What about the "path of the hermit" gibberish? I realize she was probably acting and lying to harry shure, but i would still like to know if there is some sort of occult reference behind it, for curiosity's sake.
Here you go. Whole thread dedicated to it.
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Re: Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by KingCrimson »

It's funny, but I always associated the brief animation from the opening FMV where Dahlia looks over her shoulder in disbelief at some green glowing thing offscreen with Gyromancy. She does seem to be running and jumping around in that part.
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Re: Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by Soulless-Shadow »

KingCrimson wrote:It's funny, but I always associated the brief animation from the opening FMV where Dahlia looks over her shoulder in disbelief at some green glowing thing offscreen with Gyromancy. She does seem to be running and jumping around in that part.
I think she probably was doing Gyromancy in that scene. Makes sense. Why else would she be moving about like that? She's crazy, but not la-la crazy.
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Re: Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by AuraTwilight »

I always thought she was running away from something. Like an "ohshit" sort of thing.
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Re: Gyromancy-Divination in the Order

Post by silenced angel »

that scene has always puzzled me.

I'd like to know what the hell was happening in that part, and what's that place, it looks like a temple or something.
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