As the web novel by author Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, Yuan Ye, Lord of Mysteries began its serialization debut in 2018 on Qidian, with its eighth and final volume finished in April of 2020. Thanks to CKTalon, it was officially translated and published on Webnovel. And now with the donghua adaptation being created by B.CMay PICTURES, you won’t want to miss what this blend of Victorian steampunk, Lovecraftian horror, and supernatural mysticism has to offer as the protagonist navigates occult horrors in this dark, fantastical mystery. With some truly innovative takes on the otherwise tiresome isekai genre without overtly claiming the label, the “Beyonders” and “Pathways” in Lord of Mysteries leave a lot to be explained.
Mysticism, divine supernatural powers, secret societies, warring churches, Lovecraftian occult horror, and puzzling mysteries to be solved — this donghua definitely includes a lot of esoteric references to break down. From offhanded comments like Old Neil uttering what he refers to as the Mystery Pryer’s maxim, “Do what that wilt, but never do harm,” that can be traced to a tenet by infamous occultist Aleister Crowley to lore steeped in real-world doctrine, there’s a lot to unpack that can’t necessarily be covered in a single article, but we can try!
A Tale of Transmigration and Tarot
June 28th, 1349 of the Epoch Calendar. Tingen City, Loen Kingdom. Time ticks as Tingen City’s Doomsday on September 9th gets ever closer. And this is the time and place Chinese youth Zhou Mingrui awakens to when his “Luck Enhancement Ritual” goes awry, transmigrating him into the body of university graduate Klein Moretti, a man who’d just committed suicide.
In a world where those with supernatural abilities, called Beyonders, strive to achieve god-like powers on the Path of the Divine, the newly awakened Klein must uncover the truth behind secret mysticism societies and his own mysterious suicide and transmigration. Using his wits to survive and masquerading as a god-like entity is only the beginning, as he forms an organization known as the “Tarot Club” and increases his own powers to return home.
The Path of the Divine is Steeped in Actual Doctrine
“In the hidden world of Beyonders, humans must depend on a variety of potions to travel the path of supreme ascension and attain the occult powers of the Beyonder. There are 22 Pathways, each beginning with Sequence 9. The lower one descends in the Sequence, the greater their Beyonder powers become. Once Sequence 0 is reached, the Beyonder gains powers strong enough to rival gods. Completing this evolution is an exceptional feat. It is the Path of the Divine.”
It’s immediately apparent how overtly steeped in Kabbalistic references Lord of Mysteries really is. The “Path of the Divine”, “Pathways”, “Sequences”, and “Pillars” herein coincide with the Kabbalistic Tree of Life that also contains 22 pathways, 10 total sefirot, and 3 pillars. And, like the Tree of Life, traversing the Path of the Divine also includes the implications of obtaining knowledge, power, spiritual growth, and conscious evolution. Although in the anime the system has its own unique take, the symbolism and structure are very evocative of actual mysticism and religious doctrine and school of thought.
The association with the 72 cards within tarot seems to have connections with the cards within the 22 Major Arcana corresponding to the 22 Pathways/paths and the cards within the 10 Minor Arcana corresponding with the 10 Sequences/sefirot. While tarot has roots going back to he mid-15th century Renaissance Italy as a card game for wealthy families, A.E. Waite, member of the esoteric occult (yes, occult) society of Freemasonry (who also have their own secret pathways/sequences, or the 33 degrees), created a more standard deck (the Rider-Waite deck) more modernly associated with Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn branch of Freemasonry, divination, and corresponding to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Oddly enough, Lord of Mysteries specifically enumerates its own Sefirot, a direct reference to the Kabbalistic sefirot. But instead of specifically corresponding the Kabbalistic sefirot with the Sequences within Pathways, the Sefirot within the story basically correspond to 9 Sequences above Sequence 0, the Great Old One, and the other 9 basic Sequences. Herein, the Sefirah are collections of power that the Ancient Gods believed the Original Creator left behind on Earth.
How do the Beyonders Obtain Such Powers?
In the anime, Beyonders endeavor to traverse these Pathways and Sequences to gain incredible spiritual powers or even a divine quiddity, with all Pathways beginning at the entry-level Sequence 9. As the existence of Beyonders isn’t commonly known to the public, the powers that be, like authority figures, actively attempt to quell any intrigue into such esotericism. For those who do end up seeking advancement within the Pathways, official Beyonders may serve he church; otherwise, “wild Beyonders,” or those who choose to become Beyonders without the church’s sanction, tend to try to avoid the church’s attention and eventual capture.
While the most common method is consuming potions containing materials like Beyonder Characteristics (the will of the Original Creator lying in wait to reawaken as a precipitant of a dead Beyonder), to gain such “Boons” (the gift of Beyonder powers). But advancing isn’t as simple as just drinking potions. Unfortunately, these potions often include adverse side effects like paranoia or hallucinations, which can lead to a Beyonder in failing in their endeavor and succumbing to losing their very quiddity and becoming monsters. So, the Pathways and Sequences act as a guide for those endeavoring to advance a little less blindly. One type of Beyonders, the Boon Recipients, gain their powers and advance through the Pathways and Sequences by instead praying to higher beings such as True Gods. In order to reach levels beyond Sequence 5, rituals are practically necessary.
While the potions would seem like a unique, fantastical twist on advancing in a sort of enlightenment system, they could actually be indicative of various real-world practices. Although the process of pathworking could be taken more metaphorically, the more overt implication would be actual psychoactive substances that alter consciousness, even to the point of possible ego loss, such as with ayahuasca or DMT. There are even some people, or even entire cultures or religions, that focus on such use for spiritual journeys. Not to mention, while Old Neil mixes potions supposedly including ingredients like “Lavos squid blood,” in actual apocryphal texts, some ingredients within real-world religious texts, such as the Tiburtine Sibyl or Egyptian magical texts, may simply be encoded rather than actually including more perplexing substances like “baboon blood”.
Lord of Mysteries can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
What are your thoughts on the intricate magic system and mysticism? Let us know in the comments!
