#abraxas stone

[nekomantia]

An ancient jasper intaglio magical amulet known as an Abraxas Stone featuring a cock-headed anguiped (”snake-legged god”) identified as Abrasax or Abraxas. Dated to 2nd-3rd century AD Rome, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[sh-vi]

Tempest Expedition

Image Reference Numbers: Indigo, Heron, Apogee

Sometimes called the midnight run, the Tempest expedition was the last publicly known expedition into the Far Realm. After the widespread scrutiny of the previous two endeavors came to light, particularly in the case of the casualties of the Mithras expedition, the old empire was not interested in funding any further research into the far realm. Despite this, interest was growing amongst imperial dissidents, particularly among dissatisfied magic users, who would otherwise be pressed into military service in some capacity.

With this in mind, it stands to reason that the final expedition would be made up of Telestean expatriates and defectors. Specifically the expedition was led by the now leader of the Lodge, Sycorax, and a band of brigands, formerly imperial warriors in the TK 11 division.

The Tempest expedition is well known for its discovery and illustration of The Lake, a large body of sterile water in the middle of another landform. The lake served as the resting place for the Abraxas stone, which was pulled from its depths by a team of slaves under the orders of the Telesto Deserter’s company. Some say that other relics were discovered down there, including a page from the Red Book. Nonetheless the results of this expedition made waves throughout the empire, and began a new aesthetic wave of art, focusing on the elements found within the Far Realm.

It should be noted as well that many of the events that transpired on the other side of the vale are still unknown, but it is likely that they set in motion the eventual Wavecrash event in Telesto, what is now Laramidia and the Deep

[archaicwonder]

Roman Abraxas Magic Intaglio, Eastern Mediterranean, 2nd-3rd Century AD

Of red polished jasper, the obverse showing an Abraxas figure, with a blessing gesture, an adorant and a Greek inscription. The reverse shows a lion surmounted by a trident, a crescent and eight stars. Amulets such as these (aka Abraxas Stones) were kept in the hand, under the tongue or sewn into clothing. They bore inscribed formulas or spells and were intended to protect the owner or serve very specific magical purposes to the owner's benefit.

Abraxas was an Egyptian Gnostic solar deity associated by the ancients with Yahweh, Mithras and the Celtic Belenus, as well as Yeshu (Jesus). Amulets and seals bearing the figure of Abraxas were common in the second century AD, and were used as recently as the thirteenth century in the seals of the Knights Templar. By medieval times, Abraxas was relegated to the ranks of demons.

The image most associated with Abraxas is that of a composite creature with the head of a rooster, the body of a man, and legs made of serpents or scorpions. He carries a whip and shield, called wisdom and power, respectively. Abraxas is occasionally depicted driving a chariot drawn by four horses, which representing the four elements.

The word Abraxas was first proposed by the Alexandrian Gnostic scholar Basilides (d. 145 AD), and is created using the first letters of the names of the seven visible planets. Geometrically, the letters in Abraxas add to 365, the number of days in a solar year, and the number of Aeons, or divine emanations, in Gnostic cosmology. Each of the seven letters represents one of the seven planetary powers.