The third continuation of "Ronova is the unfavorite child of the Heavenly Principles". Part 1 | 2
Thank you for the additions @boredasffr! (I'm sorry for the late ass reply😔🙏) Oh boy do I have some things to say (a.k.a unhinged ramblings) about these topics... Please do bear with me🥲
■ Lunar Arcana never stop being sussy for real.
The path to understanding and beauty,
Love, or the smelting and separation that signify it. The clumsy speech of the mundane world cannot describe such opaque mysteries,
And so it calls them "Lovers."
The joy of new life and intertwined souls,
A fated encounter doomed to be broken.
And so — Dance now, dance, O "Lover" mine alone,
My inseparable "other half,"
For every joy-filled yesterday we once shared,
For every tomorrow we once longed for but will never see.
Dance through the wind and snow, through the trials and our final secret wedding,
Even "death" cannot part us.
The card depicts the now deceased I. Ivanovna. N, one of the former members of the Hexenzirkel (she left after she married but still kept in contact with them) and the first mayor of Snezhnograd who was appointed by the Tsaritsa herself, and her husband. He had been suffering from age and grave illness until she put him out of his misery. Hmm, having a tragic love story and being a subordinate of the god of love... This reminds me of a leak (of course, take this with a huge grain of salt) that said that Ronova would be first weekly boss of Snezhnaya. With how love-themed she is, and Pierro's beef with her, I think this isn't unlikely. The crows watching a tragic Snezhnayan couple might add to this too... (why is she watching them in the first place. Girl are you watching them like one would watch romantic fiction??? You would love romantic shōjo mangas😭)
This also remind me of another sussy Lunar Arcana, namely, the High Priestess:
Flowers, bearing fruit, new life born from crystal,
The truths people yearn for, forever hidden within form.
A "High Priestess" seated behind a veil of mystery,
A crowned beauty, lost in false deeds,
Walking the "transcendant" path through the pillars' midst,
In the end, what does your "heart" seek?
The card depicts Rhinedottir and Sebas, an alchemical being she made to be her personal butler. But judging from the DNA motif and the inconscupious flower of life, perhaps the white hand meant to represent Naberius?
Perhaps the quoted "heart" in the description is referring Naberius's heart... Hm, what does her heart truly seek? Maybe it's hinting that there's something more with Naberius's goal... (and if our hypothesis is correct, it's death.)
■ The Whore of Babylon never crossed my mind tbh! Thanks for the addition.
She's said to be the personification of evil, often wearing red and riding a scarlet beast, and also associated with the Beasts of Revelation (the Dragon/Satan, the Beast of the Sea/Leviathan/Antichrist, the Beast of the Earth/False Prophet) who bring forth destruction for the faithful people by allying with the earthly kings and spreading false religion. European/European-adjecent Christians and its adjecent communities) used the Whore to refer to any ruling power that they didn't like. As @/boredasffr has said, some biblical scholars Early Christians used her to symbolize the pagan Roman empire that persecuted them at that time. Later on, some Christians used her as a metaphor for Emirates of Cordoba, the Roman Catholicism, any other branches of Christianism that isn't theirs, etc. But indeed, the most common interpretation is the Roman Catholicism. It isn't a coincidence that this religion has a very, very, very massive influence throughout states and history, especially in Europe.
This wouldn't be the first time Genshin referenced her. Furina/Focalors's (and Egeria) title, "Regina of All Waters, Kindreds, Peoples and Laws", their respective roles as 'sinners', and their relation to Neuvillettet is reminiscent to these Whore of Babylon passages:
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters."
...Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
Kind off-topic but I see people are uncomfortable seeing the Whore of Babylon reference on Furina... While I understand the discomfort, please do remember the context of the society where this figure was born; incredibly patriarchic. Patriarchy would deem women who deviate from their standards (submissive, celibate until marriage, submitting to men, etc) as whorish, regardless of the women's sexual history or the lack of it. Patriarchy will call a powerful woman who didn't submit to them as a whore, a victim of SA a whore, a woman who's exploring her sexuality a whore, etc. The Whore of Babylon is called that because to represent a force of evil, the people of that era dubbed her with the biggest sin a woman could commit; being a whore.
This fits Furina/Focalors' roles as sinners. They aren't evil, their deceits are part of their plan to save Fontaine, but because it goes against the Heavenly Principles's plan, they are referred as sinners. Their very fight against fate made them a sinner.
Tbh much could be said on how the Heavenly Principles resemble the patriarchal religious system (such as the case above and chaining their own daughters, the angels, to be forever submissive to their plans and destroyed them when they rebelled) but that is a topic for another time. (Btw, I am a Christian, but I do realize that my religion is used to be constructed from a very patriarchal framework and being used to uphold the patriarchy. I am being critical to this because I want to live by the true core of Christianity; doing good, not being an upholder of an evil system.) But this could work on Ronova too; she tried her damnedest to do well to the Heavenly Principles after she was punished for doing something that went against their will. From that moment on, she's already a sinner in their eyes. Meanwhile, her actual bad deed --laying the curse of immortality upon Khaenri'ah-- isn't regarded a sin because it is the Heavenly Principles' will.
And returning back to the Whore and the Beasts, if Ronova is the Whore, then perhaps the rest of the Shades are the Beasts? If going by their elements, then Naberius is the Sea Beast and Asmoday is the Earth Beast... and Istaroth is the Dragon? But if we go by the Beasts' stories (the Sea Beast is given authority and power by the dragon, then the Earth Beast exercises all the authority of the Sea Beast and forces everyone on earth to worship the Sea Beast) it doesn't quite make sense... But who knows! Maybe the coming chapters will have more of the Revelation taste!
■ Her eyes being an inverted heptagram is an interesting point! A symbol of rebellion and unholiness👀 What does it imply for her story huh...
Btw, funnily enough, @earth-shaker and I have talked about the possibility of Ronova being inspired from Michael! With Nicole's voiceline referring Istaroth as an Archangel,
...The older angels loved to talk about the exceptional young woman from the neighboring area with ties to the Archangel. Safe to say, Zibai's name came up a lot.
she has confirmed a theory that has been hinted far back in 1.0. Yes, the Shades being Archangels is hinted in Mona's scryglass! Source: 1 | 2
Now assigning the Archangels to the Shades... Honestly, we kind of get to the point where we assume that all the Shades have inspirations from each Archangels.
The dragon-slayer and flaming aspects of Michael makes us think that Ronova is taking more on his side... You know, her involvement in Natlan, the nation of dragons, to help the first Pyro Archon to vanquish the Pyro Dragon?
You know, all these references talking about figures related to beast/dragons make me think that her love interest is a dragon😭 Lmao if Koitar falling in love with an outlander is already apocalyptic imagine the crashout the HP would have if Ronova fell in love with a dragon.
Wtf this is already too long😭 Perhaps Ronova deserves all these yaps (look at this @lurking96 reblog of the 2nd Ronova post to see more!)
Tl;dr: the Lunar Arcanas "The Lovers" and "The High Priestess" perhaps depict Ronova and Naberius, each implying their true desires and goals. Ronova having the Whore of Babylon and Archangel Michael (as the existence of Archangels as Shades has been confirmed by Nicole) references fit her too.
