The 13 Gates of the Necronomicon

by Donald Tyson

  When the stars came right, the secret priests of the cult would liberate Cthulhu from his tomb, and then Cthulhu would lift his spells from the old ones and free them from their tombs. This time would be easy to know, said Old Castro. It would be when mankind was "beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside." Mighty Cthulhu would teach men new ways to kill and destroy. All the Earth would be engulfed in a holocaust of freedom.

  Castro said that in ancient times, the dead-dreaming old ones had talked freely with chosen men in their dreams, but then the island that supported the city of R'lyeh had sunk deep beneath the Pacific ocean, and the great mass of intervening water had severed this psychic link. When the stars came right, the city would rise, and the link would be reestablished with the cult, who would come to the place and free Cthulhu from his tomb.

  There are several points of interest between this account of the Old Ones and those of Wilbur Whatley and Abdul Alhazred. The Old Ones spoke to Wilbur from the sky, and seem to have been under the authority of Yog-Sothoth. By contrast, Castro believed that they would speak to his degenerate cult from the risen island of R'lyeh. Wilbur wrote that the Old Ones cannot take on bodies without human blood-without mingling with human blood to produce hybrids. Castro asserted that the bodies of the Old Ones lay in their stone houses in R'lyeh. Alhazred wrote that they walked the surface of the Earth unbodied and formless, and unnoticed save for the foul odor that follows them.

  It may be that the sky-dwelling Old Ones of Yog-Sothoth and the water-sleeping Old Ones of Cthulhu are two different groups having different characteristics, but are at root the same race described by Alhazred. The revealed body of Wilbur Whateley's brother was described as gelatinous, and this description also applies to Cthulhu, as he appeared during his brief emergence from his tomb. Although Cthulhu may not be an Old One himself, in the strictest sense, he is said by Alhazred to be their cousin, indicating a close link with them. Perhaps it would be useful to think of them as two separate colonies of Old Ones that are bound to the Earth by the malign influence of the stars.

  (At the Mountains of Madness; The Dunwich Horror; The Mound; The Whisperer in Darkness; The Call of Cthulhu)

  Also known as the Ultimate Gods, the Other Gods from Outside are the "blind, voiceless, tenebrous, mindless" gods who dance around the black throne of the demon sultan Azathoth at the central vortex of all infinity, to the "muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes." They are described as awkward and gigantic. Their soul and messenger is Nyarlathotep. In this regard they seem to be an extension of Azathoth.

  In The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath they are called the Other Gods from Outside "whom it is better not to discuss," and are said to protect the gods of Earth, who rule feebly over our dreamlands and have "no power or habitation elsewhere." At least twice these Other Gods "set their seal" upon the granite of this planet, once in antediluvian times as illustrated by a drawing in that part of the Pnakotic Manuscripts that predates writing, and once "on Hatheg-Kla when Barzai the Wise tried to see Earth's gods dancing by moonlight."

  The Other Gods are said to have many agents among men and among alien species that dwell in the dreamlands, agents eager to work their will in return for favors from Nyarlathotep. They are worshipped on the plateau of Leng by the High Priest Not To Be Described, who wears a yellow silken mask. The Other Gods generate nameless larvae in the aether, shapeless black things that lurk and caper and flounder, that are like the Other Gods "blind and without mind, and possessed of singular hungers and thirsts."

  At one time the creatures of the dreamlands known as the gugs built stone circles in the woods and made "strange sacrifices" to the Other Gods and to Nyarlathotep, but they committed an abomination that so horrified the gods of Earth that the gugs were driven to dwell below the surface of the ground thereafter. It is not known what this abomination may have been.

  (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath; The Other Gods)

  Also called the Outer Beings, titles for the Mi-Go of Yuggoth, the planetoid we know as Pluto. It is the title used by members of their cult.

  (The Whisperer in Darkness)

  A reptilian race of Valusia, created by Lovecraft's friend, the writer Robert E. Howard. In the Shadow Out of Time, one of the minds stolen by the Great Race is the mind of a reptilian from Valusia.

  (The Shadow Out of Time)

  Little is known about the minions of Cthulhu, other than they resemble their gigantic master in shape and substance. They were war-like, and vast in number. In At the Mountains of Madness they are described as "a land race of beings shaped like octopi" that filtered down from cosmic infinity and precipitated a war with the crinoid Elder Things. They may resemble octopi only in part, or in one aspect, just as Cthulhu is like an octopus only in the sense that he has tentacles extending from his face.

  Note that the spawn are not water-dwelling, but like mighty Cthulhu himself, were trapped beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean when the island on which the city of R'lyeh was built sank to the sea floor. Prior to this cataclysmic event, when the stars in the heavens took on a configuration that was harmful to Cthulhu's spawn, they withdrew into stone chambers in R'lyeh, the city they had built from an alien green stone that shielded them from the rays of the stars, to await the coming right again of the constellations in the night sky. The sinking of the island took them by surprise, and the ocean became their prison.

  It may be conjectured that the spawn are off-buddings from Cthulhu's own utterly alien substance, and in this sense his children-but only in the way that an amoeba born of cellular fission is considered to be the offspring of its originating cell, or as a mushroom grown from a spore is thought of as the offspring of the mushroom that originated the spore. Cthulhu may be likened to a queen bee, capable of generating countless smaller versions of himself to perform his labors and serve as soldiers in his wars. Most worker bees are never transformed into queens. Similarly, it may be that most or all of the spawn are never destined to develop into giants such as Cthulhu.

  (At the Mountains of Madness; Through the Gates of the Silver Key)

  A race of gaseous beings that dwell in the spiral nebula, and worship Yog-Sothoth in the form of an untranslatable sign.

  (Through the Gates of the Silver Key)

  Around the year 1912 the Reverend Arthur Brooke Winters-Hall succeeded in translating a portion of the Eltdown Shards, which told of a race of worm-like creatures who had conquered their own galaxy through a mastery of interstellar travel and colonized its many star systems. Because they were unable to span the vast distances between galaxy in their ships, they scattered forth across the galaxies devices in the shape of a cube that had the hypnotic property of capturing the mind of any intelligent creature who looked at them, and sending that mind back to the home planets of the worm-like race, where it was investigated. If it was found to be of interest, the mind of one of the worm-like race would travel back along the channel formed by the cube to inhabit the living body of the creature while it investigated the alien world. If a race were discovered that seemed to pose a potential threat, that race would be exterminated through the power of the cube.

  By pure chance one of these cosmic cubes fell to Earth 150,000,000 years ago, during the period our planet was ruled by the cone-shaped Great Race of Yith, who at once recognized its properties and the danger it posed. They killed all those of their own race who had looked upon the cube, then locked the cube safely away in a special shrine, since it was too valuable a scientific device to wantonly destroy. The worm-like race came to be aware of Earth and of the Yithians, but were powerless to vent their hatred because their cube had been rendered impotent. Over the passing aeons the shrine of the cube was lost amid warfare and general chaos, and the great polar city in which the shrine was located met with destruction. Fifty million years ago, the Great Race departed into the distant future to avoid the danger posed by the emergence of the Old Ones from the depths of the earth, where they Yithi
ans had banished them. The forgotten cube was left behind in its lost shrine.

  Lovecraft described members of the worm-like race as resembling gigantic gray worms or centipedes, as thick through the middle as a man, but twice the human length. Their eyeless, disk-like head is fringed with cilia and has a central orifice. The creatures glide along the ground on their rear legs, the front of their body raised so that they can use its two pairs of foremost legs as arms. A purple comb runs down the center of the creature's back, and its body ends in a fan-shaped gray tail. It communicates by means of a ring of flexible red spikes around its neck, which it manipulates to produce the clicking, twanging sounds that serve it as a language.

  (The Challenge from Beyond)

  Yoth is the red-litten cavern world that lies below the blue-litten cavern of K'n-yan. Its native race has passed away, and of its civilization only ruins remain. At their height, the beings of Yoth could create life synthetically. They created various races of creatures for running their industries and transporting their goods, and also created grotesque living things for their amusement. The race of Yoth was believed to be reptilian or reptile-like quadrupeds by the physiologists of K'n-yan. The race of Yoth worshipped the toad-god Tsathoggua, which they learned about by raiding the black inner realm called N'kai that lies below their own red-litten cavern world.

  (The Mound)

  The Key to the First Gate

  Sun passes through Sagittarius: December 18 January 20

  Constellation is represented by a satyr about to release an arrow from a drawn bow.

  Right Pillar: Al Nasl (Arabic: The Point). Astronomical designation: Gamma Sagitta- rii. Astrological nature: Mars-Moon. Influence: penetration, failing vision, blindness. Magnitude: 3. Color: yellow. Sun crosses: December 23. Location: point of the arrow. Comments: The nature of this star is sharp and piercing.

  Left Pillar: Pelagus (Latin: Sea); also known as Nunki. Astronomical designation: Sigma Sagittarii. Astrological nature: Jupiter-Mercury. Influence: truthfulness, optimism, spirituality, good fortune at sea. Magnitude: 2.1. Color: white. Sun crosses: January 3. Location: vane of the arrow. Comments: Always a star of good fortune.

  The astral gate of Sagittarius lies along the arrow of the horse-archer, the star of its right pillar the point of the arrow and the star of its left pillar the vane or fletching of the arrow that is held in the archer's hand. The Sun enters the gate at the winter solstice, crossing the longitude of Al Nasl, the star of the right pillar, around December 23, at the time when the year is renewed and the days begin to lengthen. The transition of the gate takes eleven days, which contain what is generally considered the Christmas holiday season-from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day. The Sun exits the gate around January 3, when it crosses the longitude of the star of the left pillar, Pelagus.

  The key to the First Gate opens Sagittarius, allowing entry into that part of the walled city of the Necronomicon that contains the great races. Use it for divining information or receiving dreams about the dominant alien races of the Necronomicon mythos, or for communicating with a representative of a hierarchy, race, or species when the specific name of an individual you wish to contact is unknown to you.

  Seal of the First Key on the First Gate

  Face the direction of the compass ruled by the First Gate, which is northeast by eastthat is, slightly to the right of the northeast. Visualize the closed gate of the walled city before you so that it is the full height and width of a real city gate, and large enough for you to walk through. Take the time to create on the astral level its shading and texture, the grain of its planks, the shape and patina of its hinges, straps, and nails.

  With the image of the gate clear in your mind and projected upon the astral level to the northeast by east, speak the following invocation to Yog-Sothoth:

  Guardian of the Gate! Defender of the Door! Watcher of the Way! Who art the stout Lock, the slender Key, and the turning Hinge! Lord of All Transition, without whom there is no coming in or going out, I call thee! Keeper of the Threshold, whose dwelling place is between worlds, I summon thee! Yog-Sothoth, wise and great lord of the Old Ones, I invoke thee!

  By the authority of the dreaded name, Azathoth, that few dare speak, I charge thee, open to me the gateway of Sagittarius the Horse-Archer that lies between the blazing pillar Al Nasl on the right hand and the blazing pillar Pelagus on the left hand. As the solar chariot [or, lunar chariot] crosses between these pillars, I enter the city of the Necronomicon through its First Gate. Selah!

  Visualize the key of the First Gate in your right hand some six inches long and made of cast gold. Feel its weight, texture, and shape as you hold it. Extend your right arm and use the key to draw upon the surface of the gate the seal of the key, which should be visualized to burn on the gate in a line of white spiritual fire. Point with the astral key at the center of the gate and speak the words:

  In the name of Azathoth, Ruler of Chaos, by the power of Yog-Sothoth, Lord of Portals, the First Gate is opened!

  Visualize the gate unlocking and opening inward of its own accord upon a shadowed space beyond. On the astral level, walk through the gateway and stand in the dark space beyond. Focus your mind upon the aspect of the mythos you wish to investigate and open yourself to impressions concerning the alien races scried by Lovecraft during his dreams. In a more general sense, this ritual and this gate may be used to scry or communicate with unknown or unnamed representatives of any hierarchy, race, or intelligent species of ruling spirits, or to investigate unknown hierarchies of dominant spirits.

  After fulfilling the purpose for which this gate was opened, conclude the ritual by astrally passing out through the gate and visualizing it to close. Draw the seal of the First Key on the surface of the gate with the astral key in your hand, and mentally cause it to lock itself shut, as it was at the beginning of the ritual. Speak the words:

  By the power of Yog-Sothoth, and authority of the supreme name Azathoth, I close and seal the First Gate. This ritual is well and truly ended.

  Allow the image of the gate to grow pale in your imagination and fade to nothingness before you turn away from the ritual direction.

  The Second Gate

  he most unique personality in Lovecraft's stories was Lovecraft himself. He was forever finding ways to insert himself into his stories, so that he could experience them from the inside, as he had the dreams that gave rise to so many of them. The best example of this practice is Randolph Carter, a character who appears as the protagonist in several of the most important stories-The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Silver Key, Through the Gates of the Silver Key, The Unnamable, and what was perhaps Lovecraft's greatest work, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. He is also mentioned in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Carter is Lovecraft's alter ego, the kind of man he wanted himself to be in his dreams, and perhaps the kind of man he wished himself to be in waking life. He is bold, fearless, and forever questing after new experiences and more daring adventures.

  Carter is by profession a writer of horror stories, an antiquarian by inclination, but his true vocation is dreamer. Dreams are more important to him than waking reality. This is true for a number of Lovecraft's characters, such as titular figure in The Quest of Iranon, and the keeper of the North Point lighthouse at Kingsport, Basil Elton, who appears in The White Ship, but none of the dreamers in the Necronomicon Mythos are as skilled or as practiced as Carter. None of them have gone so deeply into the dreamlands, or have dared to do so many things.

  Besides the figure of Randolph Carter, Lovecraft inserted himself into his stories through various other less epic characters, such as the elderly Ward Phillips in Through the Gates of the Silver Key-Ward is the second half of Lovecraft's first name, and Phillips is his middle name. The short story Ex Oblivion, the narrator of which seeks escape from waking life in the land of dreams, was first published under the pseudonym Ward Phillips, as was the poem `Astrophobos," in which a man imagines how wonderful the distant worlds of the stars near the constellatio
n of Ursa Major must be, only to perceive in a vision that they are terrible and horrifying.

  The unnamed narrator of The Outsider, with his feeling of total alienation from all common human experience and his discovered delight in the things of the grave, is undoubtedly expressing some of Lovecraft's own alienation from normal society. The same may be said for Jervas Dudley, a young man in the story The Tomb, who nightly falls asleep outside the locked door of an ancient family burial crypt, and dreams that he consorts inside with the dead past. He ends up adopting the speech and mannerisms of one of his long-dead relations, even as Lovecraft himself as a young man affected the speech and writing style of an eighteenth-century English gentleman.

  In addition to these various veiled versions of Lovecraft himself, the stories team with a myriad of strange and marvelous characters, most of them the product of Lovecraft's fancy, but some of them based on actual historical figures, or fictional characters created by other writers that Lovecraft chose to incorporate into his stories. The most notable is Abdul Alhazred himself, the mysterious mad Arab who composed the Necronomicon. Alhazred lurks in the background, lending his strange presence through his infamous book, but never coming center stage. Since the Necronomicon had its source in Lovecraft's dreams, it is possible that Alhazred himself was a dream character, although Lovecraft never stated this explicitly.

  The man who translated the book from Greek to Latin, Olaus Wormius, was real enough-he was a Danish antiquarian of the seventeenth century. Lovecraft took the name but shifted him back in time four centuries or so, and made him the translator of the Necronomicon. John Dee, who in the mythos is said to have translated the book from Latin to English, was also a very real historical figure of Elizabethan England. It was this deft habit of merging reality with fantasy that makes Lovecraft's creations so realistic, and also makes it difficult at times to determine what is fact and what is fiction. Some characters, as in the case of the escape artist Harry Houdini, are both. Houdini, an actual stage magician and escape artist of Lovecraft's time, was placed by Lovecraft into Imprisoned with the Pharaohs, an adventure story set in Egypt that had him escaping from his bonds and viewing the ghoulish rites of an evil cult of the undead deep beneath the Pyramids of Giza.