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Dissidia: Fate Symbolism Series

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
Hmm...well, I figured, you guys might appreciate this, and perhaps maybe help me out on it a little, as I'm trying to gather materials for a proper set of tributes to it.

Okay first of all, EXPLANATION TIME:

When Dissidia first came out, Yoshitaka Amano did two very striking posters for the game:

Cosmos and her Warriors: http://i.imgur.com/kf3Rq.jpg
Chaos and his Warriors: http://i.imgur.com/l3QQW.jpg

Now, the discussion at the time was that the arrangement of the warriors of Chaos were such that they looked like an inverted "Sephirot"...that is to say a "Qliploth" or "Tree of Death".

That got me thinking (as an artist) about depicting the characters in such a way as to emit a symbolic gesture of sorts with layers upon layers of symbolism.

After many months of research (and a bit of ad-libbing), I created this:

Dissidia: Ab Fatum Arbor

Ab Fatum Arbor is rough Latin for "Tree of Fate" otherwise known as the Sephirot.

Each Sephirot or "sphere" contains a character, their associated "ecliptic star" (planet), and a symbolic definition associated with that particular sphere and character.

Alongside this, are "paths" and "gates" to each "sphere"...which are numbered according to the walks of life that, in Kabbalism are said to lead to God's Divinity.

Included are 4 Cardinal Suit cards (Diamond, Heart, Club, Spade), and the main Tarot Deck cards associated with each major Path.

All of this is inverted in the "Qliploth" where the ecliptic is replaced by an associated Esper (referencing Final Fantasy XII and FFTactics). There is also an inverted Tarot deck for each path.

EXPLANATION OVER. :quote:

It took me a long time to create, but I'm actually quite proud of the result (I might even make a wallscroll out of it if I had the means).

HOWEVER, I am in the process of creating a new project related to the "Tree of Fate" featuring the characters introduced in Dissidia Duodecim.

Here is the teaser to Antima-Samsaara: Dvaadaza

The theme is more of a Eastern-Asian Religious one relating to Buddhism and the 8-Fold Path, otherwise known as the "Wheel of Fate".

The theme and language are important as they relate to the culture of the work. What's more, there is an emphasis on "cardinality of direction", that is to say, the Four Deities (North, South, East, West aka Turtle, Tiger, Dragon, Phoenix that govern all of Heaven).

With that in mind...the next post will further elaborate on materials I'm trying to garner...so hold on to your brain, folks, I need your help for this one... :D
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
As said before, this work relates to the Four Deities of Heaven...and for that purpose, I have something special in mind...in particular I mean to chart heaven itself, namely the SKY!

This here is a "projected" (another word for flattened) map of the constellations in our Galaxy.

http://i.imgur.com/xnNI4.png

Now, what I want to do, is create a very fancy constellation map of all 88 known mythological constellations...roughly based on Hevelius's illustrations.

If you don't know who Hevelius is, check this out: http://www.uranos.fr/images/Orion_Hevelius.jpg

Here's the versions I have: http://hubblesource.stsci.edu/sources/illustrations/constellations/

Main thing is, I want to obtain illustrations for each and make an expanded transparent map of all 88 constellations, so that people can see the sky as charting the "wheel of fate"....it's also a navigational thing.

If possible, can you guys help me obtain some resources for this?

So far the illustrations I have from Hevelius are incomplete, so I'm trying to find all 88 artworks, either of his or someone else's for this project.

I hope I can get it, cuz you'll really like it once I'm done!
 

The Twilight Mexican

Ex-SeeD-ingly good
AKA
TresDias
This shit is cool, dude. I love this kind of stuff.

I don't think I'll be of any help, but best of luck. I'm really interested in seeing the results.

By the way, any thoughts on the fact that between the Sephiroth and the Qliphoth you have 88 paths, and then you've got the 88 constellations as well? I love these common concepts that show up in so many cultures (the Tree of Life/World Tree/Axis Mundi/Tree of Fate/whatever-you-want-to-call-it being the most interesting to me).
 

Blade

That Man
AKA
Darkside-Ky/Mimeblade
It's "Sephirot"....actually. ;) I know you're used to typing Sephiroth out of habit, lol...

Actually the 88 constellations and 88 paths are most likely coincidental, since historically speaking only a fraction of the constellations were recently discovered in the 15th-17th centuries alone (14xx-16xx)...though mystics love to believe IT'S ALL CONNECTED FATE. lol
 
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