Hello Fantastic Beast Fans!
The theory I have for you today is a bit gruesome, so I'm not quite sure what it says about
me that I'm excited to bring it to you.
But here we go!
I'm Susan Şipal with Fantastic Secrets Behind Fantastic Beasts to bring you the clues.
Join me and other Fantastic Beasts fans here on the BeastChaser Forum as we uncover the
secrets, discover what's coming first, and play along with Rowling's newest game.
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I want to read to you a passage from Isis Unveiled, a book on esoteric philosophy written
in the 19th century by Helena Blavatsky, who's considered the inspiration for the name Cassandra
Vablatsky, Professor Trelawney's Seer ancestor.
The story's a bit gory, so, if you're squeamish, you might want to click off now.
It retells a passage from Jean Bodin, a French philosopher and demonologist, who's writing
was influenced by the conflicts of both the Inquisition and Protestant Reformation.
He's recounting an event concerning Catherine de'Medici, who was Queen of France in the
mid-sixteenth century, and her son, King Charles, who became king after the passing of his father
and elder brother.
Blavatsky first gives an intro: "Catherine, the pious Christian--who has so well deserved
in the eyes of the Church of Christ for the atrocious and never-to-be-forgotten massacre
of St. Bartholomew--the Queen Catherine, kept in her service an apostate Jacobin priest.
Well versed in the "black art," so fully patronized by the Medici family, he had won the gratitude
and protection of his pious mistress, by his unparalleled skill in killing people at a
distance, by torturing with various incantations their wax simulacra.
The process has been described over and over again, and we scarcely need repeat it."
Then she tells the story: "Charles was lying sick of an incurable disease.
The queen-mother, had everything to lose in case of his death, resorted to necromancy,
consulted the oracle of the "bleeding head."
This infernal operation required the decapitation of a child who must be possessed of great
beauty and purity.
He had been prepared in secret for his first communion, by the chaplain of the palace,
who was apprised of the plot, and at midnight of the appointed day, in the chamber of the
sick man, and in presence only of Catherine and a few of her confederates, the "devil's
mass" was celebrated.
Let us give the rest of the story as we find it in one of Levi's works: "At this mass,
celebrated before the image of the demon, having under his feet a reversed cross, the
sorcerer consecrated two wafers, one black and one white.
The white was given to the child, whom they brought clothed as for baptism, and who was
murdered upon the very steps of the altar, immediately after his communion.
His head, separated from the trunk by a single blow, was placed, all palpitating, upon the
great black wafer which covered the bottom of the paten, then placed upon a table where
some mysterious lamps were burning.
The exorcism then began, and the demon was charged to pronounce an oracle, and reply
by the mouth of this head to a secret question that the king dared not speak aloud, and that
had been confided to no one.
Then a feeble voice, a strange voice, which had nothing of human character about it, made
itself audible in this poor little martyr's head."
So, basically, we've got a child sacrificed to save the life of an ailing king, done as
part of a Black Mass.
This mass, said before the image of Satan, was believed to summon the devil to answer
a question, predict the future, or do one's bidding, much like we analyzed in the video
of the MACUSA Pentagram scene as symbolic for summoning and controlling demons.
The child's severed head was placed on a paten, which is the plate that holds the consecrated
wafer, or bread, in communion, thought to symbolize Christ's body.
Now, for a bit of background as to why this sacrifice was necessary: King Charles was
believed by his mother to be going mad because of the immense guilt he was feeling for ordering
the murder of thousands of Huguenots in the Saint Bartholomew's massacre…something
his mother is believed to have pushed him to do and he blamed her for.
And the words that the demon spoke through the dead boy's mouth?
"Vim patior."
I suffer violence.
In Catholic mass, the table where the paten and chalice are kept prior to serving from
the altar is called the credence table.
And the long-term storage away from the altar is called the credence cupboard.
Maybe like this?
Could Credence be the child of the sacrifice?
After all, he was virtually killed off last film.
Maybe, but I'm wondering if Credence's role in this scenario is something different.
Instead, Credence is the answer to the question asked of the skull.
He's the Vim Patior…I suffer violence.
In analyzing this skull image in my initial reaction to the Comic-Con trailer, posted
that same day, I thought the bottles and bowls and scissors surrounding the skull might point
to a medical need of Grindelwald's.
And I thought the pipe hooked up to the skull might indicate that he was smoking something
from it, like in a hookah, which I still believe.
But now, I'm wondering if those bowls and bottle might indicate the end of a ritual.
Perhaps one that helps Grindelwald see his visions, as suggested by Gerone Baladhay and
Suvi Holm.
Although Blavatsky called the ritual the Oracle of the Bleeding Head, it falls in line with
a type of necromancy known throughout history among many cultures.
After a skull was defleshed through age, or cleansed of organic matter, it was sometimes
filled with various herbs or other magical ingredients and decorated to represent the
person who died.
These oracular skulls were used to summon the spirit of the deceased who used to call
that skull home.
The request could be quite peaceful, such as predictions of future events.
The oracular skull would then speak with the deceased's voice and offer wisdom from the
spiritual realm.
In my earlier video, I speculated that Grindelwald might be planting a tampered memory to persuade
his supporters of his cause.
But what if he's been using the skull to assist with his visions, could the skull perhaps
speak before the crowd in the voice of a famed witch or wizard replaying the vision Grindelwald
has seen?
Perhaps as part of a ritual.
I've said since the first trailer that this setting speaks to me of an ancient ritual,
especially with Grindelwald firmly centered on that dais.
And if the ritual involves a speaking skull, could it be calling forth other spirits in
the room?
The cast have all talked about how much darker this movie is than the first.
Even if Rowling would not venture so far as a child sacrifice, there's a lot she could
do in dark magic with an oracular skull to convey Grindelwald's vision to his followers.
And with the Muggle Holocaust looming, this series is going to get very dark.
I can well see why Rowling would bring into her story, even if only in subtext, hints
of the violence following the Inquisition and the Protestant Reformation, especially
focused on the massacre of the Huguenots.
The fear, hatred, and mass killings of the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre is explained
by Bruce Lincoln, a History of Religions professor at the University of Chicago, as the result
of "radical otherness" in perception of customs and beliefs that separated the Catholics
from the Huguenots.
We've mentioned a couple of times how Rowling has addressed this series as focused on how
we make beasts of Others.
But, going back to Blavatsky's introduction to the story: who was this supposed priest
who performed the ceremony?
Cosimo Ruggieri, an Italian living in Paris, like Catherine, was an alchemist and astrologer
who basically served as Catherine's spiritual advisor and sometimes hitman.
He also had a reputation as a Seer.
And he combined his skills as a Seer with magic.
Above all, Catherine, as Queen Mother, desired to protect her dynasty.
In the middle of the night, in a dark room of the Chateau Chaumont, Ruggieri had Catherine
gaze into an enchanted mirror to view the fates of her four sons.
According to legend, the mirror correctly predicted three of her sons would be kings,
but of short reign and no heirs.
Which all came to pass, perhaps not as she desired.
Ruggieri also predicted the manner of the Queen Mother's death.
As Blavatsky mentioned in the introduction to the Oracle of the Bleeding Head, Ruggieri
was also greatly feared for his ability to kill from afar by torturing via a wax figurine.
At the time, this was called the death spell, and was a popular tool for causing harm to
one's enemies.
A wax figure was shaped like the intended target, and the person holding it would stab
the wax figure with pins or knives.
The human victim would then suffer pain or trauma in those regions.
In fact, Ruggieri was convicted of using one such wax image against the king himself and
sentenced to death, but due to his connections with Catherine, was eventually freed.
I even read of one instance where a skull, decorated to represent the living target,
was used and stabbed with a knife.
But wait…there's more.
Remember at the beginning of FB1 how we saw Grindelwald in front of what was identified
as a château.
Ruggieri stayed frequently with Catherine in her Château de Chaumont.
Could this the same château Grindelwald stayed in?
Was he perhaps seeking something that remained of Ruggieri, writings perhaps, or a relic?
In a room that bears Ruggieri's name, above the fireplace, is this symbol, attributed
to him.
The three circles, known as the Borromean Rings, could symbolize a lot of things, from
the Christian Trinity to Mind, Body, and Spirit to Heaven, Earth, and Underworld.
Whatever they represent, the rings always show strength in unity.
Together, the circles are unbreakable, but if you remove one, the other two fall apart.
By interlocking them with the triangle, used in alchemy in various forms to represent air,
earth, fire, and water, I think Ruggieri was exploring his vision of alchemy.
The interconnection between physical life and the spiritual realm and the strength in
uniting them through the mystic arts.
Perhaps Ruggieri's symbol is even an early version of the Philosopher's Stone.
And perhaps Grindelwald considers Ruggieri and his symbol an inspiration for his own:
the union of all Magicals for the Greater Good.
As mentioned in my prior theory, Ross Nicholson proposed that the writing on the skull was
German "For the Greater Good."
However, in the comments, Thea Pfeiffer presents an alternative.
Could the German phrase be "The Great Work" instead, referring to the Magnum Opus, the
creation of the Philosopher's Stone?
Either one could work for this particular skull, if it does indeed belong to Ruggieri
or a character based on him.
As he's an alchemist, Ruggieri sought to create the Great Work.
But if the stories of his dark magic are to be believed, he could have justified it as
for "The Greater Good."
If any of these links to Ruggieri are valid, in those short scenes of Grindelwald's followers
moving caskets and lurking about cemeteries…are they looking for Ruggieri?
Who's grave, if it exists, is unknown.
I want to consider too the role Ruggieri might play to Flamel.
While historically speaking, Flamel lived a couple of centuries before Ruggieri, in
Rowling's world, Flamel would have still been alive and in the same city, Paris.
Perhaps Flamel was even Ruggieri's mentor, until he went dark.
Could Ruggieri be the dark magic alchemist to Flamel's good?
If that is his skull, we won't see him onscreen, but could hear about his legend, much like
with Salazar Slytherin.
It would make sense for this story to feature a dark alchemist instead of a dark school
founder.
Alas, Ruggieri met a terrible end.
Because he refused to take the communion of last rite from Capuchine monks, and his reputation
had caught up with him, he was considered a sorcerer.
He was not granted a Christian burial, and his body was dragged through the streets.
Because of growing resentment regarding certain of Ruggieri's connections, his death ushered
in a wave of hostility against French Jews, and Parliament reenacted an old edict to deport
them.
Ruggieri died in 1615.
While it's really hard to read that date on the skull, and I've seen other interpretations
of 1895, my first thought when I enlarged this image, before ever hearing of Ruggieri,
was that it was 1615 or 1613.
However, although I've referred to Ruggieri as a possible character throughout, I doubt
we'd ever hear his name onscreen.
Rowling will most likely, as usual, give her inspirations her own twist.
I believe we'd only find Ruggieri in subtext.
As I've covered a lot of ground, here's a short summary.
I believe it's very possible that Rowling has created an historical wizard character
based on Ruggieri.
Like Slytherin to Voldemort, this person may be an inspiration to Grindelwald, but probably
not an ancestor.
In this short scene we see of Grindelwald (probably) with the skull, he may be drawing
on the power of this ancient Seer for his own visions.
Whether that ritual goes so far as a human sacrifice will depend on how dark Rowling
wants to go.
But we'll see something enacted in a joint ritual in the amphitheater, something that
unites Grindelwald and his followers in a shared vision.
Also, one thing I'd like to note before we end.
I hope you've noticed that I try very carefully to credit people who originate any theories
I present that are not my own.
However, in fandom, when we're following the same thread of clues, we often come to
the same conclusion.
That happens.
And sometimes, because of my poor memory, I might forget to credit someone.
If you believe that to be the case, please let me know.
But, in return, I hope if you're spreading one of my theories around on social media,
which I hope you do, that you'll credit me in return.
Thank you.
So, what do you think?
Is Fantastic Beasts to have its own version of Salazar Slytherin?
If so, the material I'm tossing out on Ruggieri is just the tip.
Let's explore this thread together.
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
And please check out my new Fan Shop on Amazon for books and Funko Pops and wands and all
things Fantastic Beasts!
Until next time!
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