Shub-Niggurath: Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
 
No edit summary
Tag: 2017 source edit
 
(47 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
Shub-Niggurath, often associated with the phrase "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young", is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The creature is sometimes referred to as "The Black Ram of The Forest With A Thousand Ewe", lending a male gender to the Great Old One that is often thought of as female. The being is first mentioned in Lovecraft's revision story "The Last Test" (1928); she is never actually described in Lovecraft's fiction, but is frequently mentioned or called upon in incantations. Shub-Niggurath is also referred to in the works of other Mythos authors, including August Derleth, Robert Bloch and Ramsey Campbell.
{{wikipediainfo}}
'''Shub-Niggurath''' was an inhabitant of [[Pre-universe|the previous universe]] named by [[Rassilon]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Divided Loyalties (novel)|Divided Loyalties]]'') When that universe came to an end, she and others of her kind entered this universe, where they discovered that they were virtually omnipotent. Shub-Niggurath, who was [[pregnant]] at the time, gave [[birth]] on [[Polymos]], thus giving rise to the [[Nestene Consciousness]]. The [[Sixth Doctor]] suggested that she died ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Synthespians™ (novel)|Synthespians™]]'') but later cited her success conquering Polymos with her offspring as embarrassing her peer, [[Great Intelligence|Yog-Sothoth]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Millennial Rites (novel)|Millennial Rites]]'')


==Inspiration==
A group of sentient [[TARDIS]]es from the [[War in Heaven]] shouted "Ia Shub Niggurath!" whilst speaking with their little sister, [[Compassion]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'')
Robert M. Price points to a passage from "Idle Days on the Yann", by Lord Dunsany, one of Lovecraft's favorite writers, as the source for the name Shub-Niggurath:


And I too felt that I would pray. Yet I liked not to pray to a jealous God there where the frail affectionate gods whom the heathen love were being humbly invoked; so I bethought me, instead, of Sheol Nugganoth, whom the men of the jungle have long since deserted, who is now unworshipped and alone; and to him I prayed.[1]  
== Behind the scenes ==
Notes Price: "The name already carried a whiff of sulfur: Sheol was the name for the Netherworld mentioned in the Bible and the Gilgamesh Epic."[2]
Shub-Niggurath was an outer god created by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. Worshipped on [[Earth]] and [[Yuggoth]], her cult is apparently connected with fecundity.


As for Shub-Niggurath's association with the symbol of the goat, Price writes,
In his notes for ''[[The Quantum Archangel (novel)|The Quantum Archangel]]'', [[Craig Hinton]] elaborated on his concept of the wider cosmology of the [[Doctor Who universe|''Doctor Who'' universe]], including the idea of the [[Great Old One]]s as the survivors of an [[earlier race of Time Lords]] from [[Great Old Ones' universe|the previous universe]]. Therein, he identifed Shub-Niggurath as having been "that universe’s equivalent of the head of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency|CIA]]".


we may believe that here Lovecraft was inspired by the traditional Christian depiction of the Baphomet Goat, an image of Satan harking back to the pre-Christian woodland deity Pan, he of the goatish horns and shanks. The Satanic goat is a device of much spectral fiction, as when in Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out the Archfiend's epiphany takes goat-headed form.
{{Dark Times Species}}
 
{{NameSort}}
==See Also==
 
[[Nestene]]


[[it:Shub-Niggurath]]
[[Category:Great Old Ones]]
[[Category:Great Old Ones]]
[[Category:Pre-universe individuals]]
[[Category:Supposed deities from the real world]]
[[Category:Members of the earlier race of Time Lords]]

Latest revision as of 18:37, 3 September 2023

Shub-Niggurath

Shub-Niggurath was an inhabitant of the previous universe named by Rassilon. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties) When that universe came to an end, she and others of her kind entered this universe, where they discovered that they were virtually omnipotent. Shub-Niggurath, who was pregnant at the time, gave birth on Polymos, thus giving rise to the Nestene Consciousness. The Sixth Doctor suggested that she died (PROSE: Synthespians™) but later cited her success conquering Polymos with her offspring as embarrassing her peer, Yog-Sothoth. (PROSE: Millennial Rites)

A group of sentient TARDISes from the War in Heaven shouted "Ia Shub Niggurath!" whilst speaking with their little sister, Compassion. (PROSE: The Taking of Planet 5)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Shub-Niggurath was an outer god created by H. P. Lovecraft. Worshipped on Earth and Yuggoth, her cult is apparently connected with fecundity.

In his notes for The Quantum Archangel, Craig Hinton elaborated on his concept of the wider cosmology of the Doctor Who universe, including the idea of the Great Old Ones as the survivors of an earlier race of Time Lords from the previous universe. Therein, he identifed Shub-Niggurath as having been "that universe’s equivalent of the head of the CIA".

v • e
Species of the Dark Times
Guardians-related
Old Ones
Elder races
Others
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=Shub-Niggurath&oldid=3595684"