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| 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. | | ''Shub-Niggurath'' was an inhabitant of [[Pre-Universe|the previous universe]]. 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]]. ([[MA]]: ''[[Millennial Rites]]'' and [[PDA]]: ''[[Synthespians™]]'') |
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| ==Inspiration==
| | {{wikipediainfo|Shub-Niggurath}} |
| 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:
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| 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]
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| 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]
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| As for Shub-Niggurath's association with the symbol of the goat, Price writes,
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| 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.
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| ===Birth of The Nestene===
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| (Main article: [[Nestene]])
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| At the beginning of the [[universe]], Shub-Niggurath came into this universe from Pre-Universe|the previous universe pregnant. She was able to deliver her child on [[Polymos]], who infused into the entire [[planet]]. This Nestene Consiousness created Swarm Leaders, which it sent out to other [[planet]]s. The Nestene have been invading planets for billions of years, which they use for sources of plastic and protein. They first send several plastic asteroids to the [[planet]]. These asteroids can telepathically control specially created plastics, but are more effective when combined together. The Nestene then tries control people to create [[Auton]] forces to help with the next waves of invaders. Some of the [[planet]]s which the Nestene Consiousness have taken over include [[Cramodar]] and [[Plovak 6]]. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Synthespians™]]'')
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| ==See Also==
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| [[Nestene]]
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| [[Category:Great Old Ones]] | | [[Category:Great Old Ones]] |
