Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
Azathoth is the Blind Idiot God from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos.
Veiled in mystery, it’s said that its long slumber allows our universe to keep on keepin
on.
But what if Azathoth was real?
How would this affect our world as we know it?
Let’s explore.
If you missed our video, What if Cthulhu was real, check it out next.
But first, get ready, it’s time to ask the question: What if Azathoth was Real?
Azathoth is Lovecraft’s version of the creator God, similar to the Abrahamic God found in
The Bible or the Koran.
The being is described in 1931's The Whisperer in Darkness as "The monstrous nuclear chaos
beyond angled space."
It should be noted that in this case, it's believed nuclear referred not to nuclear energy,
but rather referring to the nucleus of the cosmos.
This is because nuclear energy was not an idea that would have been known to Lovecraft
at the time.
In terms of its appearance, there wasn't a huge amount of information given in the Mythos.
This is largely because Azathoth wouldn't be understood by mortal beings, since it's
said to occupy a position outside of the universe.
It is said that Azathoth remains in an eternal slumber, like Cthulhu.
However, when it awakes, Azathoth wouldn’t start taking over worlds or driving people
insane like Cthulhu; our universe would cease to exist, since we exist within its dreams.
Of course, if Azathoth remained asleep, it’s likely that the universe would be largely
unaffected.
The Mythos describes Azothoth as being completely uninvolved in the way the universe functions.
Not only does it not care about the many planets and creatures living within its dreams, it
is completely unaware of their existence.
This was part of the reason it’s called The Blind Idiot God.
However, some believe that even though Azathoth is unaware of our existence, and doesn’t
consciously manipulate the universe, he can still influence it greatly.
Many accounts hold that as Azathoth shifts and moves in its sleep, whole galaxies can
be wiped out, and laws of physics can be turned on their heads.
If the stability of the universe depended on the subconscious thoughts and movements
of this God, it could be that the universe would be a very unpredictable place, even
if the great God remained asleep.
However, if Azathoth awoke, many believe that our universe as we know it would blink out
of existence, no longer being sustained by the dreams of this great God.
Some have related this to the story behind the Red King in Lewis Caroll's Through the
Looking Glass, who was believed by some to be the true dreamer in the story, rather than
Alice.
This idea of depending on the creator to remain asleep might sound rather terrifying at first,
but when you think about it, this isn’t particularly different from some understandings
of the universe.
If we look just at the Earth, we know that eventually the Earth will eventually be engulfed
by the sun, as it goes supernova.
That’s assuming we haven’t destroyed it ourselves by then.
Some even believe it likely that our Universe will eventually blink out of existence, whether
it’s through the ending of a simulation, or a return back to a singularity.
However, the fact that Azathoth could wake up at any time makes this particular story
even more troubling.
It should be noted that while this is probably the most widely-accepted theory as to what
exactly Azathoth is, there are alternate interpretations of the God.
Lovecraft was, after all, extremely vague in describing it.
Some believe it to be a giant beast residing at the centre of the universe, as the King
of Gods.
This is more comparable to a Greek or Roman pantheon, roughly equating Azathoth to Zeus
or Jupitor, rather than the God of the Bible.
Still others believe that by claiming that the Cthulhu Mythos exist within the dreams
of Azathoth, that it was actually the reader who was Azathoth.
By reading and thinking and dreaming about the world created by Lovecraft, we bring it
to life in a way.
By this definition, Azathoth DOES exist, since we humans exist.
At least, as far as we know.
And now we return to our question: What if Azathoth was Real?
Well, if he remained asleep, there may not be a huge amount of change, since by some
accounts it would be uninvolved in our universe.
However, it’s possible that interruptions in the dream, or movements in its sleep, could
cause significant and unpredictable changes throughout the universe.
And if it awoke, it would be so long, and thanks for all the fish.
Our universe would be gone, and Azathoth would have the longest, most satisfying pee ever,
after such a long sleep.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions, I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it further on your own.
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While you’re down there, let me know what YOU would do if Azathoth was real.
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Life’s Biggest Questions, wishing you
the best of luck, on your quest for answers.