Free Discussion

Ouch I guess no one has thick skin anymore.

naw, i thot it was funny. not like, laughable funny, but worth a Kell Smile! lol. cuz those r valuable

Kell Smiles...
Lord, forgive us for we have truly sinned in ways previously unimaginable.
A smiling Kellen...run for it! He's gonna burst!

im not a bomb u caniptic imbecile. lol

Kell's right!

dare de-vil wrote:

im not a bomb u caniptic imbecile. lol

You just proved yourself wrong by blowing up

wait, did i say tat Trev's right? i meant kell's right! sowie.... *puppy eyes*

heres a lil questionnaire: where did u guys come up w/ yer usernames originally?

mine are my initials.

I have been using my name for over 10 years online. It is from 20k leagues under the sea. I always liked the book and I liked the science fiction and Nemo's view of the world fit well for me as a kid who through the world was unfair and cruel (ahhh... such angst!). Now I keep it because I am known by it and it still holds meaning to me in many ways.

Sabazios was a very early Phyrgican god, or ruler of a pantheon of gods, who was depicted as a sky nomad, riding a horse and wielding a staff of power - generic godly stuff. His various emblems were a snake, a snake with the horns of a bull, and a bull/goat. However, he comes to interest as being aligned with the Greek god Dionysus.

Now the thing about Dionysus is that he is almost impossible to pin down: over time and through different faith systems and localities, he has up to four incarnations. Dionysus was a god of farming and fertility who became the god of wine and intoxication; he was the patron god of theatre and dramatic arts who became associated with the idea of secrecy and artifice, concealing one's true self; he was the figure of a secretive cult who believed in the dissolution of the self through sensual pleasures, orgies, drugs and ritual ecstasy in order to tap into a primal force; and he was a resurrection deity of the Odinic, Osiric and Jesuit tradition, who was killed and then reborn from his father, Zeus. He also had horns and the symbol of the snake or the goat/ram, and was aligned with an early god of light called Lucifer (those who know Latin will recognise the 'lux-lucis' root of the word), and as such may well be a part of the Christian conglomerate being known as the Devil, Satan or Lucifer. The names Sabazios, Sabazius and Lucifer all pop up from time to time in the Satanic Bible and in the writings of Nietzsche and Jung as archetypal figures of primal ecstasy, the dark side of human nature and the idea of self-dissolution through bliss.

So what does that all mean? Well, essentially Dionysus, aka Sabazius, is whatever you want him to be. One of the key images in my interpretation is the snake. Snakes have several conflicting meanings in mythology. The shedding skin and continuously lapping coils, as well as the image of the coiled snake eating it's own tail, signify rebirth or an endless cycle of nature and change. The snake is associated with freedom of will and the darker side of human nature, along with special knowledge or awareness. In the Bible, this is seen as a bad thing, nut in Eastern philosophies the snake often symbolises the need for balance, yin and yang. Entwined double serpents represent a higher level of communication or awareness and the connection and balance of primal forces. In addition, snakes in folklore have been associated with intellectual quickness and wit, tactfulness and perceptivity. The goat symbol is associated with the left hand path of individualism and balance in life between dark and light, as well as power and virility. In addition, both the snake and the goat have connotations of trickery, secrecy or concealment, which link back to the idea of Dionysus as one wearing a mask - the theatrical association.

For me, Sabazius represents the ideal for life and philosophy. Not so much a god, but an aspiration for myself. The figure has many contrasting forces within him. At once there are the ideas of the goat - outright power and force, the unthinking loss of self to a bigger primal force, the dark side of human nature, the devil, the dark side, the ritual, the ecstasy and intoxication, sensuality - and then the snake - subtlety, awareness, the search for knowledge, the balance, flowing and cool, individuality and freedom from intellectual dullness, oppression and dogma. My personal philosophy is that we have to be open to what we are, and that passing judgment on ourselves, our world and each other is pointless. We should seek to know as much as possible, but at the same time we should be aware of our existence in the moment, right now, undefinable and unmediated connection to reality that cannot be labeled. So Sabazius is about that finding the balance between those two forces, the different urges of our lives. There's a whole lot of stuff in there, with a lot of links to very different schools of thought: Nietzsche, Jung, Taoism, Zen, Satanism (as a philosophy of the Left Hand Path, not as a religion), empiricism, individuality, freedom.

In essence, Sabazius is how I define myself and my philosophy.

tl;dr
It's complicated, but its a name for what I believe and how I aim to live.

TheCptNemo wrote:

I have been using my name for over 10 years online. It is from 20k leagues under the sea. I always liked the book and I liked the science fiction and Nemo's view of the world fit well for me as a kid who through the world was unfair and cruel (ahhh... such angst!). Now I keep it because I am known by it and it still holds meaning to me in many ways.

Nemo=nobody, am I right? Yeah, it's a great book, and Jules Verne is a pioneer for one of my fave genres, Steampunk fiction.
Also, am I the only one whose username has an extensive and well thought out backstory? I'm not sure if that's cos I'm awesome and incredibly philosophical or just cos I'm a geek who thinks too much. Maybe both...

Sabazius wrote:

image of the coiled snake eating it's own tail, signify rebirth or an endless cycle of nature and change.

the Great Serpent of The Wheel of Time. fan of the wheel of time series?

Sabazius wrote:

My personal philosophy is that we have to be open to what we are, and that passing judgment on ourselves, our world and each other is pointless. We should seek to know as much as possible, but at the same time we should be aware of our existence in the moment, right now, undefinable and unmediated connection to reality that cannot be labeled. So Sabazius is about that finding the balance between those two forces, the different urges of our lives. ... In essence, Sabazius is how I define myself and my philosophy.

I think I may be in love!

As for "painter" it is obvious from my web site. One nice thing about such a common word as a handle is it makes it very difficult for people to find what I've posted on multiple forums over the years.

My name is Chris and 55 was my number in baseball throughout high school

ems wrote:

Sabazius wrote:

image of the coiled snake eating it's own tail, signify rebirth or an endless cycle of nature and change.

the Great Serpent of The Wheel of Time. fan of the wheel of time series?

They have been recommended, but I've never quite found the energy/time to read through them. Or found a complete set actually, which rather puts me off - I hate reading most of the books in a series and then coming to the one that isn't there and not being able to finish!

painter wrote:

Sabazius wrote:

My personal philosophy is that we have to be open to what we are, and that passing judgment on ourselves, our world and each other is pointless. We should seek to know as much as possible, but at the same time we should be aware of our existence in the moment, right now, undefinable and unmediated connection to reality that cannot be labeled. So Sabazius is about that finding the balance between those two forces, the different urges of our lives. ... In essence, Sabazius is how I define myself and my philosophy.

I think I may be in love!

I thought you might appreciate my philosophy, it has some strong links with the kind of ideas you've posted in the past.

Sabazius wrote:

TheCptNemo wrote:

I have been using my name for over 10 years online. It is from 20k leagues under the sea. I always liked the book and I liked the science fiction and Nemo's view of the world fit well for me as a kid who through the world was unfair and cruel (ahhh... such angst!). Now I keep it because I am known by it and it still holds meaning to me in many ways.

Nemo=nobody, am I right? Yeah, it's a great book, and Jules Verne is a pioneer for one of my fave genres, Steampunk fiction.
Also, am I the only one whose username has an extensive and well thought out backstory? I'm not sure if that's cos I'm awesome and incredibly philosophical or just cos I'm a geek who thinks too much. Maybe both...

Nemo does mean nothing. Your not the only one but it would take quite some time (and typing) to explain the whole back story for my user name. Maybe one day I will take the time to explain it all out, but right now I kind of like sharing only the point of origin, with out the full explanation or back story.

That said, I really like your explanation of yours and it is really cool to meet someone who understands the meaning and historical/ sociological implications of ancient and even modern interpretations of historical deity figures! As a fellow geek I salute you!

PS: SteamPunk rocks & Verne was a genius that is rarely appreciated or understood!

PPS: @Sabazius - I am not sure if you know this but the original and most prevalent translation of 20k leagues was wrong. The original translator was not an engineer or scientist so when he came to technical things... he just left them out. So, the modern English- and most other languages lack Verne's knowledge. The Naval Institute Press paid to have a more accurate translation after this was discovered. Arguably one of the best and by most considered to be the most accurate translations- a good read: 20k Leagues on Amazon

Sabazius wrote:

They have been recommended, but I've never quite found the energy/time to read through them. Or found a complete set actually, which rather puts me off - I hate reading most of the books in a series and then coming to the one that isn't there and not being able to finish!

its absolutely brilliant series! i love it and have read all 11 books. book 12 - A Gathering Storm came out on my birthday!

Mine is a name I earned about 8 years ago, I have just used it ever since.

howd u earn it?

kell, what about your username?

me?

well originally i wanted it 2 be sumthin opposite of truth (tfabh's admin's username) & at the same time, i had just recently watched both the movie daredevil & 101 dalmatians & put it 2gether

(cruella) DE-VIL + Daredevil + opposite-of-truth = Dare De-Vil


which is y sum ppl at 1st wanted 2 call me just 'dare' cuz then itd be like both admins from both this site & tfabh. truth or dare lol

have you guys ever wondered whether the $$ that you have in your wallet ever been in the ass crack of a stripper?

ems wrote:

have you guys ever wondered whether the $$ that you have in your wallet ever been in the ass crack of a stripper?

I have to admit that of all the things I've ever wondered about life and the universe, that isn't one of them.