Luu/Inspiration

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes An elegant distillation of Hermetic Philosophy and its Great Work. As influential as it is misquoted. This is the foundation.

Timaeus Rereading Plato's Timaeus was the initial spark behind creating Luu. It's hard to overstate how important and foundational this text is to Hermetic Philosophy. The ideas don't begin here, but they certainly get popularized here. Looking at Plato through the anachronistic lens of Philosopher as a purely rational thinker makes it easy to dismiss some very important esoteric elements contained within this text. That tension gets replicated and distorted in Luu in many different ways. The explanation of Platonic Solids are the basis for Luu's Word, while the story of Atlantis gives her an obsession for latter day occult kitsch.

The Warka Vase Besides depicting the Sacred Marriage ritual, The Warka Vase is also the first work of narrative art we know to exist today. It's no coincidence that one thousand years after the creation of this vase, we see the first recorded poetry in this same temple complex, praising the same Goddess featured on this vase. Sumeria is often overlooked in Western Esotericism, but it's all here. This was a major focus of my former academic career. The cyclical and divine feminine aspects shown here give Luu her Avatar and her name (both Luu and Luule.) Through this Luu traces back magick and civilization to their primordial roots and then traces them forward to the cycles of fashion and its visual language.

Thee Splinter Test A foundational work of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth written by Genesis P-Orridge. The Warka Vase is how Luu understands the past importance and function of the Primordial Goddess, while Thee Splinter Test is how she understands the future importance and function of the Primordial Goddess.

Holy Nonsense This is Third Wave Discordianism and speaks to Luu's present understanding of the importance and function of the Primordial Goddess. It is also the reason she is a member of House Xaos. If you ever doubt the connection between Discordianism and Hermeticism, this book will set you straight. Personally, this book opened in my eyes in an almost terrifying way. It's said that Discordianism is a joke disguised as a religion and a religion disguised as a joke, and that's no joke. Open source illumination for those that dare to tread, The Goddess awaits you.

K-Hole K-Hole's were an early twenty first century trend forecasting group that wrote five glossy brochures and then split to do other things. A lot of people are familiar with the fourth issue, Youth Mode mainly because it introduced the term 'normcore,' which is often misunderstood as dressing like Seinfeld. Luu was built around understanding Youth Mode as the most important fashion manifesto of the twenty first century, and a potent work of Chaos Magick in its own right. If you felt like you heard the word 'hipster' way too many times per day, and then one day realized it had been awhile since you heard at all, thank K-Hole they had a big part in that change.

Sticks and Stones Agency Speaking of hipsters, I do appreciate some of their aesthetics, and this is my go to site for finding PBs. At the end of each shoot, the credits include the model's instagram and this is how I found Luu's PB. There's probably some NSFW content on this site, so be aware.

Charlie Barker The PB for Luu and a Goddess in her own right. Beyond her image, I borrowed a few little details for the character, such as the rollerskating and the unshaven legs and underarms. Having a PB really helps me visual the character's physicality, which in turn helps my writing and role playing, way more than I thought it would. There's probably some NSFW content on this site, so be aware.

Vogue Italia The Bible, plain and simple. Along with it, I was deeply inspired by all the family members and friends who actually made a career out of fashion and beauty.

The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths This work by Bruce Nauman is easy to overlook, but spot on. The title and phrase does a good job of summing up Luu's mission statement. Deceptively minimal, it really needs to be experienced to be fully understood. I find it transcendent and reassuring, and it's shape speaks to the cyclical elements of Luu's magick.

Coil They've created a number of perfect albums. They are a bit obscure and niche and yet have had a startling amount of influence on the musical world. Devotees of Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, but their esoteric influences and influence run the gamut. Luu doesn't draw very directly from them, but their work introduced me to so many things that it would be impossible not to credit them. 'COIL is a hidden universal. A code.' This is the opening line to their manifesto, and it's something of which Luu, myself, and the majority of the other inspirations listed here are very aware.

Pineal Warriors Otto von Schirach, yet another occultist musician. Pineal Warriors is very Mage: The Ascension and very Luu to me. One of the big ideas behind Luu is looking at the way the boundaries between low culture and high art dissolved, and attempting to do the same through her with magick. This is the lighter and sillier side of Luu, but it is also quite serious. Like Timaeus and Luu, Otto is all about the Triangle.

The Swashbuckler's Handbook The third chapter of this book, Hearts and Blades, is probably one of the best things ever written for Mage: The Ascension. It is the only true paradigm deep dive presented among all the books, and it's a paradigm that is magnificently complex in elegant simplicity. This is all the magick I need for this game, but I'll of course take more, the character is a Hermetic after all.

Enheduanna One thousand years after The Warka Vase, and one thousand years before The Epic of Gilgamesh, the High Priestess Enheduanna records the first poetry in praise of The Goddess. It is hard not to be influenced by her. Besides being a general inspiration, she specifically influences the way I think about Luu's relationship to her Avatar; a devotion born of love, too aware to not also be a little terrified, and yet still empowered.

The Laugh of the Medusa 'I shall speak about women's writing: about what it will do.' A magickal act by which we create ourselves on the page and through the page. Alchemical, Hermetic, dangerous to some for existing, and dangerous to others for not existing. Our liberation through love.