#snake coded character

[marshalllir]

Absolutely cursed… but I love him

[marshalllir]

As for Victor's snake-coded look.

A snake-eye signet ring, a snake-shaped ring, and another snake signet ring.

A leather coat with a snakeskin pattern, a belt buckle with snakes and human skulls.

A forked tongue. Plus, he loves to hiss.

Anyway, the old man spent years carefully putting this outfit together on purpose~

[marshalllir]

[picture credits captaintide_]

Victor Gideon's Ring

The ring features a hybrid decorative infernal motif. The wings are broad, scaly, and veined. The legs are long, segmented, and spiky. The moth has a thick, smooth body. The fly has thinner legs with no pronounced spines. The scarab has broad, digging legs, not long ones.

We also see two skulls, one with a crown, horns, and sun rays, the second inverted and with spikes. The skulls and insect could refer to the life cycle, decay and rebirth, memento mori.

There may be a reference to Beelzebub here, as he is called the Lord of the Flies and is depicted as a demonic fly, a crowned insect, a creature with wings and skulls.

The overall symbolism of the ring's design has several meanings. First, death and decay (the skull and insect the cycle of decomposition). Second, transformation (the moth a symbol of metamorphosis, transition between worlds). Third, power over death (the crown above the skull could signify "king of the dead"). Fourth, occult aesthetics (dark gothic, occult jewelry, vanitas symbolism).

Regarding the "solar crown" symbol around the upper skull, this is the alchemical symbol of the "black sun". In alchemy, the sun is a key symbol, signifying gold, the highest noble metal, the active male principle, spirit, intellect, and perfection. It symbolizes transmutation (purification), embodying immortality and the divine spark. In alchemy, the skull symbolizes the final stage of decay. The combination of these symbols signifies "nigredo" the stage of decomposition before rebirth.

The crown over the skull could mean that death is stronger than power, or conversely, power over life and death. But in dark symbolism, it is sometimes interpreted differently: "king of death" or "lord of decay."

An interesting compositional detail lies in the arrangement of the skulls, the crowned one on top, the spiked one below. This could symbolize above and below, the hermetic principle of "as above, so below." That is, the composition might be built as an axis mundi. The top is spirit, power; the bottom is death, matter.

In occult symbolism, insects often signify decay, transition between states, life emerging from death (flies, beetles, moths). The composition also resembles a magical sigil, a cross, or a "death totem": a vertical axis, multiple skulls, symmetry, rays, and spikes.

The most curious detail is that the posture and shape of the wings strongly resemble a dragonfly. Also, the spine resembles the long, segmented abdomen of a dragonfly. In European folklore, dragonflies have rather grim names: the devil's darning needle, ear cutter, flying adder, snake doctor. In the southern US, there is a belief that dragonflies follow snakes and sew up their mortal wounds.

Dragonflies were considered connected to unclean forces, the devil's mount (possibly a reference to Baphomet), the insect that sews the mouths of liars (folklore), and that the tips of their tails contained venomous stingers or needles. However, in the East, the dragonfly was seen as an embodiment of immortality, regeneration, and a messenger of the underworld; the dragonfly was called the friend of all unmarried girls and the only true advisor. When a girl looked at a man, and at that moment a dragonfly landed on his shoulder, it meant that man was chosen for the girl's enjoyment; if it landed on his head, he would be the only one capable of leading her into the Garden of Eternal Life.

In conclusion, by design, we have a chimeric insect king, blending the imagery of moth, dragonfly, and beetle, and the piece itself is a symbolic object in a dark aesthetic, uniting the themes of life, death, and transformation.