Thank you to everyone who kindly comments on lore I skimmed or missed :)
Come join for more discussion! discord.com/invite/Ubp9AnHxQz

"By framing something as divine you are taking the humanity out of it." Brilliant. Thank you for actually reading elden ring as a text

From this frame, I feel like Rykard is also an example of the shaman lineage being passed to a male, from Radagon to Rykard.  Rykard was able to meld with the Eiglay, rather than simply being consumed.  Furthermore, if we consider Eiglay to be a female serpent, he has basically also met the criteria for embodying both genders.  That may be a fascinating rabbit hole to explore.

Regardless, great video!

I really hope that Ranni’s “I would not be controlled by that ‘thing’” makes it into the ER movie.

Such a hard line. So much of this video in just a few words.

A lot of this is very much what I already thought regarding Marika and Ranni. And I'd add: Ranni specifically rejects ny form of fixed order and her own ending involves her and her consort travelling the stars whilst letting the mortals decide their world for themselves. A world without an outer influence tugging the strings. This could be seen as granting autonomy and freedom for everyone, sme as she wanted for herself.

And I also think there's a very good argument that this is the best ending, which I think is interesting.

Godhood is a cage is such a brutally honest take of being the divine feminine. Thank you

I should also note that the Shamans are clearly not peaceful. You can find festive grease in the area and the region has the same flowers as Dominula, Windmill Village, further tying then together. You can also find a huge pile of human bones hidden next to the Shaman Village. The Shaman Numen were “cannibals.”

A speculative reason why they had the gold threads (runes) inside them is the same way the Tarnished gets it, from killing others.

This puts Godrick's proclamation to "Forefathers, one and all" in even starker contrast when considering this ability he's benefitting from isn't paternally granted.

A few lore things: it is possible the surviving shaman became the erdtree guardians. They have the same silver hair and seem plant like. Some even have a flower growing out of them.  

The shaman ARE sort of special: their flesh melds 'harmoniously'. A trait we see in Marika's descendants-specifically Godrick and his 'scions'. All Empyreans we meet are Marika's children. The GEQ being the only Empyrean we know of who may not be Marika's offspring but that's debatable.

Empyreans are not selected by the two fingers. Rather 'discovered'. This is a localization error in the game.

The only one to escape your rendition of the divine feminine is Ranni. A occult witch backed by a dark moon from a matriarchal clan. Perhaps it was beneath a Carian to be subjugated to Patriarchy.  

edit:

Miquella is not part of the golden lineage. 'golden lineage' refers to Marika's children with Godfrey and their descendants-like Godrick. Godrick is likely not a child of Marika but is a far off descendant.

Godrick-not Messmer is best example of a 'male shaman'. Also it is likely not the ability to meld flesh that makes one an empyrean. Not all of Marika's are empyrean. The ones that are have the following traits: Femininity, special eyes, and great runes. Hence why Messmer is likely not an empyrean. Likely why Melina is not stated to be an empyrean either as she also lacks a great rune. Whether great runes are actually a influencer on being Empyrean is unclear. Ranni and the twins got their runes after the shattering but were presumably empyreans before the shattering. The GEQ has a rune and is an Empyrean but her rune predates the shattering by a looooong time.

I haven't watched the whole video but wanted to bring up these neat lore theories because the bits I have watched seems to not take them into account.

This actually reminded me of Gwyndolyn's story which I consider a tragic one. He was also pushed into this divine feminine role without consent. It seems to be a constant theme for Fromsoft

I am so glad I stumbled upon your channel! This is a phenomenal video. One thing that always struck me in game is that Maidens, as the name implies, are all women. Their ultimate role in life is to sacrifice themselves to burn through the erdtree's thorns after serving as a caretaker of sorts for the Tarnished. I think this fits in nicely with the self-sacrificing divine feminine nature that you dissect throughout the video essay, as they sacrifice their body and soul to create a metaphorical new life (or a new order).

Thank you for your great work!

This is a structural take on the "divine feminine" myth you don't hear nearly enough.

An additional note on Miquella is that he's cursed with eternal youth, forever cursed to present as prepubescent to the point where there's an ongoing criticism of Mohg being a "Peter File" that wishes for a childbride. Only by "mothering" the Haligtree and using it's power to cocoon within is Miquella able to mature slightly as we see in the DLC. If not a spiritual reward towards how Miquella views himself, after passing the Gate of Divinity and fulfilling his role within the Golden Order! If parts of the character is a critique of the "Divine Feminine" then it could also reflect the concept within some groups of being "pronounced as a Women after your first period" regardless of your actual age, as Miquella fed his blood to the Haligtree in its creation and Mohg is also very obsessed with blood as a signifier towards his own power. A dynamic similarly seen between Gwyndolin and Aldrich in the Dark Souls series.
There are several cultural similarities around the world to Shamanism and being Two-spirited or presenting as a Rebis within our own reality. So I'm honestly glad both Miquella and Marika is shown to have this feature instead of it being a single case and therefor used as justification for queerphobia, as seen within the DarkSouls community. Simply based on youth being connected to femininity, like within the "twink-death" discourse.

Your videos are absolute peak,
, I love your unique feminist philosophical takes, I have seen no one else look at fromsoftware games like this! I have a small "correction," although this changes very little of the conclusion and is a minor point, but I want to correct you on a small detail: the "sainthood" reached by jarring is only metaphorical, in Japanese only the term "good person" is used for the endpoint of the ritual, so it's mostly a punitive ritual for Hornsent criminals rather than an attempt at spiritual ascendancy. However, your point is essentially untouched, as "purity" is still part of the "divine feminine" bs

I think Mohg might be a similar situation to Messmer. He hosts the Formless Mother, and melds with his followers through his blood. He is also made into a vessel for Radahn, with his soul discarded so that Miquella can make use of his body.

He also has a blinded eye, which seems to be a visual indicator for Empyreans.

Anyway, great analysis as always!

just finished watching it and this one of my favorite videos you have to date

Hey cupkcakesouls, thanks for another fun video. I disagree on a few points, but to be honest, that shouldn't surprise you at this point. I do think that an interesting note is that while yes, Ranni is Radagon's child and therefore also Marika's, she is also Renalla's child, and I think this is a key reason why Ranni's plots succeed as far as it does, same for Rykard. And now that I think about it, technically Mohg, but that one may not count since he's Godfrey's child, but a key thing I've noticed is that characters that have a tendency towards attempting to keep the lands between stable aren't necessarily rewarded. Radahn halts the star's progress and gets all rotted up for it. Malenia has a heavy stagnation at the Haligtree even as she is clearly shown to be capable of fighting and therefore reuniting with Miuella, and Morgott wants everything to basically go back to pre-shattering and is rejected by the erdtree for it. Godrick is obsessed with the past and therefore doesn't understand that the grafting weakens the user if done improperly so he dies. Miquella dies because he also wants an unchanging world via his age of compassion. Godyn should have known that he could change with the everlasting dragons and was killed for it either by Marika or Ranni, but hear me out, this may be a wild thought perhaps Godwyn let himself be assassinated by the black knife assassins as part of a plan between Ranni, Rykard, and Godwyn to spur their "Parents"( Since Radagon and Marika are one person) into action. I admit that I don't have much solid evidence for this other than it seems odd to me that even outnumbered Godwyn as so easily subdued for a guy that allegedly fought the ancient dragons, and Ranni doesn't seem to really oppose the age of the duskborne ending.

CRAZY REFRESH PULL!! Super excited to dive into this from the thumbnail alone <3 <3

What a great pull from the algorithm.

I just watched Bloodborne's Visceral Femininity video and it was such a good dissection. And it's lead me here! Great analysis.

I'm not sure of the relationship between the Shaman blood (which grants the ability to graft as seen with Rykard, Messmer, Godrick and the scions), the alchemical rebis (Marika-Radagon and Miquella-Trina, both Shamans) and the empyrean selection (which chooses the two rebises, as well as Ranni, Malenia and the GEQ). Not all with Shaman blood are born as a rebis, and not all Shamans can be empyrean either, but both Shaman rebises are empyrean. It is notable that only the male Shamans appear able to graft, and only the women are able to be empyreans. So perhaps these are two expressions of the same power? The male aspect of grafting is voluntary, and involves taking parts from other beings. The female aspect is involuntary, and involves the divine being placed within.

Something that wasn't mentioned is the fact that Ranni chose to kill Godwyn, a male demigod. There's recurrent symbolism between the physical body being masculine, and the spirit being feminine. Ranni's spirit and Godwyn's flesh, Marika the divine goddess symbol vs. the physical boss Radagon that we actually fight, and likewise the worship of St. Trina vs. the boss fight with Miquella and his promised consort comprised of Radahn and Mogh (all three male). And of course the seals of Marika and Radagon boosting only magical and physical stats respectively.