the lesser book of the vishanti
TRANSCRIPT
THE LESSER BOOKOF THE
VISHANTI
A Companion to the Dr. Strange Comic Books
compiled by catherine yronwodewith nagasiva yronwode
CONTENTS | PROLEPSIS | INTROIT | VOLUME ONE | INTERMEZZO | VOLUME TWO | APPENDICES
CONTENTS PROLEPSIS
The History and Format of This Manuscript
Credits
INTROIT
Prologue
Dedication
Contents
Abbreviations Used in This Book
VOLUME ONE: THE ART
The Ritual Artifacts and Power Objects of the Art
Amulets Orb of Agamotto Other Orbs and Orb-like Artifacts Books Wands, Scepters, and Rods Enchanted Jewels Candles Dolls, Models, and Effigies Miscellaneous Weapons Magical Miscellany
Enchantments, Spells, and Incantations of the Vishanti
A Frequency Graph of Rhymed and Unrhymed Spells
Spells from:
Strange Tales (vol.1) 110-111, 114-168 (1963-1968) Spider-Man Annual 2 (1965) Dr. Strange (vol.1) 169-183 (1968-1969) Avengers 61 (1969) (x-over between D.S. 178/179) Sub-Mariner 22 (1970) (x-over after D.S. 183) Incredible Hulk 126 (1970) (x-over after SUB. 22) Marvel Premiere 3-14 (1972-1974) Dr. Strange (vol.2 ) 1-81 (1974-1987) Tomb of Dracula 44 (1976) (x-over between D.S. 13/14 Unpublished Spells Giant-Size Dr. Strange 1 (1975) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange Annual 1 (1976) Nightmare: Marvel Novel Series 7 [XXX date?] (prose) Dr. Strange/Silver Dagger (1983) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange Classics (1984) (reprint; not re-indexed) Marvel Graphic Novel 23 : Dr. Strange: Into Shambhala (1986) Strange Tales (vol.2 )1-19 (1987-1988) Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme 1-90 (1988-1996) Dr. Strange/Dr. Doom Triumph and Torment (1989) (GN) Ghost Rider vol.2 (1991) 12 (X-over between Dr.S.S.S. 27/28) Dr. Strange/Ghost Rider (1991) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme Annual (1992-1994) 2-4 Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme Special (1992) Marvel Select: Strange Tales (GN) Spider-Man/Dr. Strange The Way to Dusty Death (1992) Dr. Strange vs. Dracula (1994) 1 (reprint; not re-indexed)
Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? (1997) (GN) Marvel Knights (2000-20001) 7-9 Amalgam: Doctor Strangefate (1996) Untold Tales of Spider-Man Strange Encounter (1998) Dr. Strange vol.3 (1999) Essential Dr. Strange (2002) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange: A Separate Reality (2002) (reprint; not re-indexed)
INTERMEZZO: THE RELIGION
Toward a Vishantist Cosmology
Spirits, Deities, Powers, Forces, and Sacred Spaces of the Art
VOLUME TWO: THE SCIENCE
Dimensional Theory: An Omniversal "Heresy"
A Prologue and a Possible Explanation, Published in Discrete Little Items for APA-I, 1983
The Wondrous Worlds of Dr. Strange, An unpublished article for Omniverse, 1978
A Proposed Revision of the Theory of Fractional Dimensions
Vibrational Barrier Lands
Objective Dimensions
Subjective Dimensions
Nether-Zones, Nether Dimensions, Nether Worlds, and Two Kinds of Limbo
An Outline of Dimensional Types
Footnotes
Interdimensional Travel: Walking Between the Worlds
A Catalogue of the Dimensions, including instructions on travel to these realms, with a short depiction of their landscapes, inhabitants, and modes of conduct found therein
The Alteration of Time by Means of the Art, including Time-Travel
APPENDICES
Introductory Notes published in "Return from Reality"
A Dr. Strange Chronology by Lou Mougin
The Once and Future Dr. Strange by cat yronwode (from Instant Gratification #1)
The Evolution of an Enchantress by cat yronwode (from Heroine Showcase #15)
PROLEPSIS The History and Format of This Manuscript
Credits
The History and Format of This Manuscript The original manuscript of The Lesser Book of the Vishanti was written out by hand in an antique ledger book in 1977, while i was living with my daughter Althaea in a tiny house on Little Creek, near Mountain Grove, Missouri,
How tiny was the house? It had four rooms and was built in 1910 by a man of normal height whose wife was a dwarf. Althaea, then 5 years old, could stand at the kitchen sink and wash the dishes; i had to crouch to do so. We had no telephone and no indoor toilet, and we heated the house and cooked
on a wood stove, but for the first time since arriving in Missouri five years earlier, we had electric lights. There was no running water -- greywater from the kitchen sink simply drained outside into a downhill trench -- but there was a stone-lined hand-dug well of sweet water outside, and Little Creek, which was of fairly good size despite the name, ran through the back of the property. The water was always cold in Little Creek, and we swam naked, so to avoid cringing with shock, we would jump in quickly and as we did so, we would shout, "No Steve Gerbers!" in reference to a comic book writer who didn't look as if he swam naked very often.
Althaea and i were living at Little Creek because my partnership with her father Peter had just broken up and we had left our former home, a commune in Birch Tree, Missouri called the Garden of Joy Blues. Peter had gone off to Lousiana to work on an oil rig, and was not paying child support, so i was temporarily on welfare. I was 30 years old. I could not drive and the nearest town was ten miles away. My major contacts with human beings aside from Althaea (who had started school and was gone most of the day) came through the mails in the form of comic books and comic book fanzines.
The "dwarf house" was owned by a dairy farmer named Jim Scott, whose home was up the hill, about half a mile away. He didn't charge me any rent, and in exchange i kept an eye on his stock as they wandered my portion of his acreage. The hill up out of Little Creek was so steep that the school bus could not navigate it; every morning i walked Althaea a mile up the hill to wait for it; in the afternoons she walked downhill alone, terrified of the Holstein cows.
Little Creek was so isolated that in the winter, while Althaea was at Peter's during her holiday school break, a heavy blizzard hit the region and cut off all contact with the outside world for two weeks. I caught pneumonia and almost died. My two cats did die. I was saved when my friends Nick Spaeder and Ulrich Arrow Ross -- former residents at the Garden of Joy Blues -- decided on a hunch to check up on me. By that time i had a fever of 105 degrees and was delerious. I did learn one thing from that experience -- those Victorian novels i had read as a child in which a female character catches a fever and then suffers the loss of her hair were based on fact: my hair came out in bunches about two weeks after my fever spiked. The hair grew back immediately, but my lungs have never been the same since.
Although we were on welfare during that year at Little Creek, i did not want to be a drain on society. I decided that the two hundred dollars per month i received was "pay" for a job of my choice -- and what i chose to do was to
pick up litter along the roadsides and to create a topical index to the entirety of my favourite comic book series, Strange Tales and Dr. Strange. Within the fictional world of these comic books, there was a grimoire or spell-book called The Book of the Vishanti, and so, in homage to two famous real-world grimoires, the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key of Solomon, i called my project The Lesser Book of the Vishanti.
In 1978, shortly after completing the index, i met a man named Denis McFarling, the brother of Peter's new lover (now his wife) Paula McFarling. Denis worked as a printer in Kansas City and he was also a comic book fan. We teamed up for a while in the Ozarks, living in a big log cabin deep in the forest near Willow Springs, Mssouri, where i began work on The Spirit Checklist. While indexing The Spirit, i also began publishing thermographic reproductions of some of the hand-lettered pages from the Lesser Book of the Vishanti in a zine called Return from Reality, which was distributed through APA-I, the amateur Press Alliance of [comic book] Indexers. In 1979, Denis and i briefly moved to Kansas City, where the two of us hired on at his father's print shop, Blue Valley McLitho. That got me started as a typesetter, a career i have held off and on ever since.
The first thing i did with my free time in the print shop was typeset one chapter of The Lesser Book of the Vishanti: "Deities, Powers, and Forces." Denis drew a lovely cover for it and we printed 177 copies with purple ink on cream vellum paper and bound it in lavender leatherette index stock imprinted with a bronzed image of the Eye of Agamotto that Denis had drawn. On the front cover the publisher was listed as Alibeck the Egyptian, Memphis, 1577, in double-reference to the Grimorium Verum, which is self described as having been published by Alibeck the Egyptian in 1517, and to my own manuscript's creation in 1977. Because the paper and ink were "liberated" from Blue Valley McLitho, the printer listed on the back cover was Fly By Nite Grafiks ("Our Motto: Integrity"), with an image of a bat flying over a bag of money. I sent copies to everyone i knew in the comics business and to all my friends in fandom. This gave rise to some additions and comments by other fans, notably Lou Mougin and David Cuccio.
Returning to the Ozarks after my Kansas City adventure, i continued to publish further sections of The Lesser Book of the Vishanti in APA-I under the zine name Return from Reality. By that time Althaea and i were living in comparative urbanity on the outskirts of the small town of Willow Springs, in another four-room house, this one with electricity and running cold water in the kitchen sink, but no other indoor plumbing. Peter had begun to share in Althaea's financial support and i had picked up sufficient freelance writing gigs to allow us to leave the welfare rolls. The local library had one of those newfangled photocopying machines, so i just ran off sections of my original Vishanti manuscript without bothering to typeset it. During this period i also wrote two fanzine articles about Dr. Strange -- "Evolution of an Enchantress", an article on Dr. Strange's female companion Clea that appeared in Steven R. Johnson's zine The Heroine Showcase #15 in 1978, and The One and Future Dr. Strange, a rant comparing the atrocious Dr. Strange TV movie of 1979 with the comic book version that was published in Instant Gratification #1.
In 1983, i returned to my birth-state of California, and the APA-I publication of the Lesser Book of the Vishanti continued for a while under the zine name "Discrete Little Items." In 1984 my participation in APA-I was put aside as i went on to other projects.
Although the Lesser Book of the Vishanti remained only partially published, it was pretty well known and respected in fandom by that time, and i was immensely gratified when one after another, various Marvel scripters and editors who worked on the Dr. Strange series asked for copies of the portions that were available. Even more gratifying was the fact that the fictive speculations i had made about the personae of the Vishanti were eventually used to create "canonical" stories that became part of the Marvel Universe. Specifically, my fannish suggestion that the Vishanti were actually Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur, first published in 1979, was eventually made part of the official Marvel mythos in the 1980s, by the scripter Peter Gillis.
In 1986, i was living in Guerneville, California, and working for Eclipse Comics, when the Russian River and its tributary Hulbert Creek flooded and converged, putting my house under eight feet of water. I lost my five file copies of the beautifully printed chapter of The Lesser Book, but two good people, Eluki XXX and Barrance C. Lespine , supplied replacements, for which i am very grateful. My original ledger book manuscript escaped the flood by virtue of having been stored in a loft above the water line.
The Lesser Book in its present form draws upon both my original 25-year-old hand-lettered version and the cleaned-up chapter that i typeset in Kansas City. The antique ledger book in which i wrote the original manuscript was one of those artifacts that have an unexpected effect upon their users: The pages were sequentially numbered from 1 through 64, followed by a section of alphabetically tabbed A - Z index pages for addresses, and then another 64-page run of numbered pages -- and this led to the present format of two internal "Volumes" (The Art and The Science) plus a section called "Intermezzo" (The Religion). The page numbers -- htmlized here in large font size -- are those that were printed at top right or left of the original pages of the ledger book. They are meaningless in the world of html and active links -- but i have retained them here as a visual reminder of the book's past history, when Althaea and i listened to the rooster crow on the radio at six a.m., followed by the hog report, and i scribbled away the long hours in a cabin built for a dwarf.
-- catherine yronwode forestville, california, 2002
Credits
Dr. Strange was created by Steve Ditko and is a trademark of Marvel Comics. The artwork for the published second chapter of the Lesser Book of the Vishanti, reproduced here, is by Denis McFarling. Artwork in the original ledger book was drawn by me.
This online version of the Lesser Book of the Vishanti was key input and htmlized by my husband nagasiva yronwode in 2001-2002, a labour of love that astounds me. He too is a fan of Dr. Strange and he not only typed out my index, he compared every line of it against the comic books themselves -- and he plans to bring the indexing project past the date that i left off. His editing of my text appears in {{double-brackets}}; any text within [square brackets] represents my original hand-lettered notes or notes i have added in subsequent years.
I carried my indexing from Strange Tales (1st Series) #110, published in July 1963, through Dr. Strange (2nd Series) #35, published in 1979. Additions were submitted by David Cuccio (for Dr. Strange 36 - 44) and Lou Mougin (for the Marvel prose novel Nightmare). All indices to subsequent main-line chronology stories and cross-overs were produced by nagasiva yronwode.
Appendices to The Lesser Book include the brief explanatory notes i supplied to APA-I in 1978-79 when reprinting some of the text, a chronology of Dr. Strange's appearances within the greater context of Marvel Universe Chronology from his birth through the events chronicled in Dr. Strange 2nd series #36) which was written by Lou Mougin for APA-I, plus my two fanzine articles mentioned above.
SEARCH THIS SITE: a local search engine and a named link to each Lucky Mojo page
INTROIT THE LESSER BOOK OF THE VISHANTI
Prologue
Dedication
Contents
Abbreviations Used in This Book
1
THE LESSER BOOK
OF THEVISHANTI
2
copied right 1577 © by Erzilie Redwing
Published by Alibeck the Egyptian
-- Memphis --
3
PROLOGUE
The Book of the Vishanti, that storehouse of occult wisdom, said to contain every counter-spell known to the mystic arts [ST 116] exists in but one copy, that being at present in the library of Stephen Strange. Far be it from the intent of this humble compilator to presume to duplicate the immense wealth of knowledge said volume contains -- but greater would be my shame should i let pass into unending oblivion those lesser spells & enchantments which the deathless Vishanti have seen fit to allow Dr. Strange to reveal, if not to the world at large, then at least some small, select portion thereof.
There have been throughout the years several questions raised by students of the theurgic arts as to whether the magic of the Vishanti (and thus of Stephen Strange) is "good" or "evil" -- indeed, it has even been stated that the Book contains only spells of defense, not offence [ST 148] -- in manifest contradiction to the evidence. The root of the problem lies in the fact that human beings, limited as they are in outlook, have presumed to cast the Vishanti in their own strictured mold, and this being a fruitless task, no end of "moral" confusion results.
4 The Vishanti are most often referred to as eternal, blessed and deathless, but in at least one instance [ST 120] their fury is also invoked. Rather than attempt to sift the shifting sands of morality's Maya, i shall let the words of the noted occultist Arthur Edward Waite speak for my translation of the Vishanti texts as they did for his own work on the Clavicula Solomonensis:
"I have ruled out, as will be seen, the distinctions which have subsisted between the good and evil side of the arts and processes ... because the two
aspects dissolve into one another and belong one to another in the root that is common to both ... [but] it should be observed that experiments which have for their object an interference with the free will of another person ... are essentially evil experiments." Let this warning be a word to the wise. and let it serve as notice that i have included in this volume, for the sake of completeness only, the spells used by Baron Mordo, the dread Dormammu, and the unspeakable Umar (as well as those invoking such dubious entities as the supreme Satannish). Any spells not of Stephen Strange's utterance are marked as such in the margin. [like this.]
5 In addition to incantations, this volume also contains a complete list of spirits, forces and sacred spaces, with references to their use as invocatory aids; a catalogue of ritual and power objects; a short treatise on magical time travel; and a list of other dimensions, their landscapes, the nature of their inhabitants, and other needful knowledge for those who would travel to them.
{{graphic: all-seeing eye}}
May the All-Seeing Eye guard you from evil.
6 "No slaves wrought the City of Marvel, but artists toiling at the work they
loved."
-- Lord Dunsany
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the following fellow-travellers -- Walter Vincent & Jimmy Rodgers & Charlie Poole & Leroy Carr & Frances Blackwell & Barry & Anna Carroll & Willie McTell & Willie Johnson & William Saroyan & Walter Roland & Charley Jordan & Harvey Hull & Charlie
Patton & Grace & Carl Moon & Elvis Presley & Ernest Stoneman & Walter Lewis & Gertrude Rainey & Kurt Vonnegut Jr. & Russ Nobbs & Susan Anthony & A. P., Sarah & Maybelle Carter & Don & Phil Everly & Roger Stern & Mark Gruenwald & Winsor McCay & George Herriman & Jim and Bob (the Genial Hawaiians) & Arthur Edward Waite & Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan & Don McGregor & P. Craig Russell & Kenneth Patchen & Nicola Tesla & the white dove & Gus Cannon & Charles Davenport & Esther Averill & Noah Lewis & Ben Ramey & Ben E. King & Steve Englehart & Frank Brunner & Liselotte Erlanger & Will Shade & Jennie Mae Clayton & John Estes & Yank Rachel & Lonnie Chatman & Armentier Chatman & Sam Chatman & Robert Zimmerman & Joe Hill & Marie Laveau & John Hurt & Elizabeth Cotton & Steve Gerber & Lucille Bogan & Robt. Anton Wilson & Jimmy and Estelle Yancey {{flower drawn}} & Mary Skrenes & Jorge Luis Borges & Carl Sandburg & Hudson Whittaker & Tom Dorsey & Leola B. & Wesley Wilson & Huddie Ledbetter & Chuck Berry & Richard Penniman & John Fahey & Wilhelm Reich & Letitia Glozer & Talbot Mundy & Arthur Ward & Stan Lee & Steve Ditko {{flower drawn}} & Robert Graves & Fritz Leiber & J. R. R. Tolkien & James Arnold & Arther Blake & Bob Wills & Alice Stockham & Leo Tolstoy & Bob Johnson & Willie Brown & Kitty Wells & Minnie Douglas McCoy & Pamela Colman Smith & {{flower drawn}} Roy Acuff & Gene Vincent & Antoine Domino II & Michael Wm. Kaluta & Wm. Moore & Walter Gibson & Peter & Althaea Yronwode & Herman Hesse & Carl Jung & Richard Starkey & Gene Stratton Porter & Rene Daumal & Buddy Holley & James Moore & George Harrison & John Lennon & Paul McCartney & Henry Thomas & Tommy McClennan & Marie Severin & Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger & Gene Colan & Roy Thomas & Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel & Theodore Sturgeon & Richard and Mimi Farina & Barry Smith
7
CONTENTS ITEM PAGE
Prologue----------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Volume One
a list of Abbreviations ------------------------------------------- 8
the Ritual Artifacts and Power Objects of the Art ------------ 10
Enchantments, Spells, and Incantations of the Vishanti ------ 15
Intermezzo Deities, Powers, and Forces -------------------------------- A-Z Volume Two outline of Dimensional Types ----------------------------------- 10
Catalogue of Dimensions, including instructions on travel to these realms, with a short depiction of their landscapes, inhabitants and modes of conduct. -------------------------------- 13
the alteration of Time by means of the Art, includingTime-Travel ------------------------------------------ 60
8
ABBREVIATIONS
Many Beings and Concepts re-occur with regularity in this work. Therefore, in order to shorten the task of copying, abbreviations have been resorted to.
A.O. --- The Ancient One, Dr. Strange's MentorAnn. --- Annual (as in SP Ann. 2) --> AV --- Avengers Comics
C. --- Clea, daughter of Umar & Orini, lover & disciple of Dr. StrangeC.Y. --- Catherine [sign] Yronwode -- author
D. --- Dormammu, Child of the Faltine, brother to Umar, uncle to CleaD.A. --- Dan Adkins -- authorD.i.D. --- The Dweller in DarknessDEF --- Defenders ComicsD.Mc. --- Don McGregor -- authorD.O. --- Denny O'Neil -- authorDr.S. --- Doctor Strange (himself) DS --- Doctor Strange Comics
E.F. --- Ectoplasmic (Astral) Form
G.F. --- Gardner Fox -- authorGR --- Ghost Rider Comics
H --- The Incredible Hulk ComicsHTD --- Howard the Duck Comics
J.L. --- Jim Lawrence -- authorJ.S. --- Jim Starlin -- author
9 L.W. --- Len Wein -- author
M. --- Baron Mordo -- ex-disciple of the Ancient One, ally of DormammuM.O. --- Mindless Ones -- inhabitants of Dormammu's Dark DimensionMP --- Marvel Premiere ComicsM.W. --- Marv Wolfman -- author
N.M. --- Nightmare -- Dr. Strange's "Ancient Foe", ruler of the Dream World
P.B. --- Physical Body
R.M. --- Roger Marais -- authorR.Mc --- Ralph Macchio -- authorR.S. --- Roger Stern -- authorR.T. --- Roy Thomas -- author
S.E --- Steve Englehart -- authorS.G. --- Steve Gerber -- authorS.L. --- Stan Lee -- authorS.of S. --- Sons of Satannish -- a group of evil sorcerers a.k.a. the Sons of the Spanish.SP --- Amazing Spiderman ComicsST --- Strange Tales ComicsSUB --- Submariner Comics
TOD --- Tomb of Dracula ComicsTORICL --- A Treatise on Reality in Comic LiteratureTreas. --- Treasury Edition (as in HTD Treas.)
U. --- Umar, child of the Faltine, sister of Dormammu, mother of Clea
V.B.L. --- Vibrational Barrier Land
W. --- Wong, Dr. Strange's man-servant
VOLUME ONE: THE ART The Ritual Artifacts and Power Objects of the Art
Amulets Orb of Agamotto Other Orbs and Orb-like Artifacts Books Wands, Scepters, and Rods Enchanted Jewels Candles Dolls, Models, and Effigies Miscellaneous Weapons Magical Miscellany
Enchantments, Spells, and Incantations of the Vishanti
A Frequency Graph of Rhymed and Unrhymed Spells
Spells from:
Strange Tales (vol.1) 110-111, 114-168 (1963-1968) Spider-Man Annual 2 (1965) Dr. Strange (vol.1) 169-183 (1968-1969) Avengers 61 (1969) (x-over between D.S. 178/179) Sub-Mariner 22 (1970) (x-over after D.S. 183) Incredible Hulk 126 (1970) (x-over after SUB. 22) Marvel Premiere 3-14 (1972-1974) Dr. Strange (vol.2 ) 1-81 (1974-1987) Tomb of Dracula 44 (1976) (x-over between D.S. 13/14
Unpublished Spells Giant-Size Dr. Strange 1 (1975) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange Annual 1 (1976) Nightmare: Marvel Novel Series 7 [XXX date?] (prose) Dr. Strange/Silver Dagger (1983) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange Classics (1984) (reprint; not re-indexed) Marvel Graphic Novel 23 : Dr. Strange: Into Shambhala (1986) Strange Tales (vol.2 )1-19 (1987-1988) Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme 1-90 (1988-1996) Dr. Strange/Dr. Doom Triumph and Torment (1989) (GN) Ghost Rider vol.2 (1991) 12 (X-over between Dr.S.S.S. 27/28) Dr. Strange/Ghost Rider (1991) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme Annual (1992-1994) 2-4 Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme Special (1992) Marvel Select: Strange Tales (GN) Spider-Man/Dr. Strange The Way to Dusty Death (1992) Dr. Strange vs. Dracula (1994) 1 (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? (1997) (GN) Marvel Knights (2000-20001) 7-9 Amalgam: Doctor Strangefate (1996) Untold Tales of Spider-Man Strange Encounter (1998) Dr. Strange vol.3 (1999) Essential Dr. Strange (2002) (reprint; not re-indexed) Dr. Strange: A Separate Reality (2002) (reprint; not re-indexed)
10
RITUAL ARTIFACTS & POWERS OF THE ART
AMULETS -- Doctor Strange has possessed 2 amulets of Light and Truth
ST 110 --- the first one, the Enchanted AmuletST 111 --- was also called the All-Seeing EyeST 120 --- and was used as a 3rd eyeST 123 --- it could create a "protective shield".ST 127 --- the second amulet was given to Dr. S. by the A.O.ST 130 --- it also can create a shield called an "ionic screen"ST 136 --- the light produced by the amulet was originally said to "come from" the All-Seeing Eye of AgamottoST 138 --- the second amulet had been given to the A.O. by EternityST 141 --- and was called the Mystic EyeST 143 --- it has both a "spiritual" and a "physical" formST 145 --- the 3rd eye form came to be called the All-Seeing Eye of
AgamottoST 149 --- then the Amulet itself was called the Amulet of AgamottoDS 177 --- the Eye can travel through dimensions on errands;since that time its name & attributes have remained fixed.
A note on the real-world origins of this amulet: Steve Ditko apparently got the idea for the visual look of the Amulet of Agamotto from a fairly common kind of amulet found in the Buddhist regions of Northern India. Called "The Eye of Buddha," it is a pendant, worn on a necklace cord as an apotropaic charm to ward off the Evil Eye (Mal Occhio) and to protect the bearer from misfortune. Around the eye itself, which is generally made of a type of brown-and-white ringed agate stone called "eye agate," there is a circle of sixteen smaller circular bosses -- which
on close inspection prove to be representations of small snail shells. These refer to a celebrated incident in the life of Buddha when he became engrossed in meditation while sitting in the hot sun and was in danger of dying from heatstroke until a band of devoted snails crawled up onto his head and gave their lives by secreting mucus until they had cooled his head. Statues and paintings of Buddha seated in meditation with what apears to be a strange hair-do of tight little curls all over his head are actually examples of "snail-headed Buddha" and the eye charm shown here also reverentially immortalizes the sainted land-mollusks, known affectionately as the Snail Martyrs.
The scripter Stan Lee, probably not familiar with Steve Ditko's visual sources, first called this item "the Enchanted Amulet," but that was a too-generic name, so he changed it to the "All-Seeing Eye," in reference to conventional European images of the eye of Jehovah, the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian creator-god. Jehovah is often depicted as a single eye looking down from the heavens, but never shown surrounded by sixteen circular snail-shells, as is the Eye of Buddha. Early issues of Dr. Strange often display this cultural tug-of-war, with Ditko referencing Indian, Tibetan, and Nepalese religio-magical images, in keeping with the
character's origin story, and Lee bringing in European-sounding names as he scripted over Ditko's stories.
Eventually the Jewish-Christian-Islamic "All-Seeing Eye" was re-named the "Mystic Eye"; later still it came to be identified with another Ditko creation, the Orb of Agamotto (a crystal ball), and henceforward it was known as the "Amulet of Agamotto," although fans generally refer to it as the "Eye of Agamotto."
(Thanks to Denis McFarling for the drawing of the Amulet of Agamotto. To order your very own Eye of Buddha Charm from the Lucky Mojo Curio Co. CLICK HERE.)
ORB OF AGAMOTTO
ST 118 --- Originally it was a world globe which could be used to pinpointoutbreaks of evil magic -- it was called The Earthly ScannerST 125 --- While still a world globe, it was called the Eye of AgamottoST 132 --- also the Eternal Eye and the Orb of Agamotto.ST 141 --- one other name was the Mystic GlobeST 147 --- It was called the Crystal of Agamotto & from that time on it has been a crystal ballMP 3 --- Dr. Strange broke it once in the realm of N.M.MP 5 --- but Clea restored itDS 1 --- It acquired a new holder of twisted metalDS 28 --- and later appeared on a pedestal of stone without a holderDS 1 --- There is an "unreal" subjective dimension inside the OrbTOD 44, DS 14 --- and it can be used to store bodies in also.
11 ORBS are common ritual objects -- several other famous ones are:
ST 133 --- the Mystic Symbol Globe of Shazana, broken by Dr.S.ST 148 --- Kaluu's Crystal BallST 162 --- Mordo's Enchanted GlobeDS 175 --- the Satan-Sphere -- an extra-large crystal used by the S.of S.
Similar to ORBS, and used in divination & telepathic communication are
MP 4 --- The Oracle of Agamotto -- a back-up device used by Dr.S.after the ORB was broken and before Clea mended it.ST 151 --- The Lamp of Lucifer -- Umar's tool for revealing flashbacksANN1. --- The Soul-Mirror of Phaseworld which links Lectra's & Phaydra's souls.It gets broken.
BOOKS of MAGIC, or GRIMOIRES
ST 116 --- The Book of the Vishanti contains "every counter-spell known to themystic arts"ST 148 --- "It may never be used to attack, but only in defence."ST 148 --- The book itself is enchanted and can reflect evil spells.DS 175 --- It is guarded with a spell called "the Shield of Not-Seeing"
There are many other famous BOOKS of magic --
ST 145 --- The Book of Oshtur -- also owned by Dr. S.MP 4 --- The Thanatosian Tomes, the Black Sea Scrolls and Von Junet'sUnausprechlichen Kulten are in the public library at Statesboro, Vermont.[c.f. Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues"]MP 5 --- The Nekronomicon (one copy of it, that is) is in the Vatican LibraryMP 12 --- The Book of Cagliostro, dealing with all the secrets of time, was ownedby Lilias & stolen by MordoANN 1 --- The Book of Continuous Writing at the Temple of Man recordsall events which transpire there.
12 There are numerous WANDS, SCEPTORS, and RODS --
ST 116 --- The Mystic Prod a.k.a. Rod-Wand is owned by N.M.ST 129 --- The Wondrous Wand of Tiboro produces an "ectoplasmic ray" --DS 178 --- but it was apparently destroyed by the Black Knight.SP Ann. 2 --- The Wand of Watoomb is a two-faced dorje "from another dimension";DS 179 --- Dr.S drains its power into the Eye of Agamotto.
[A note on the real-world origins of this amulet: Steve Ditko may have gotten the idea for the visual look of the Wand of Watoomb from a popular regious tool found in Nepal and Tibet. Called a dorje (or vajra in Hindi), it represents a thunderbolt from heaven and symbolized spiritual power. It is handled and carried by priests of the indigenous Bon religion and by lamas of Tibetan Buddhism (a religion that blendsIndian Buddhism with Bon) during worship services. ] .
ST 162 --- The Staff of Polar Power, owned by Nebulos, was captured by the Living Tribunal.DS 175 --- The S.of.S possess sceptors --DS 176, Av 61 --- as well as the scepter-like Crystals of Conquest.H 126 --- The Sceptre of Shadow owned by Nightcrawler, created darkness,until it was broken by Barbara Dentin Norris. MP 14 --- The priests of death at Sodom (or Gomorrah) possess magical scepters.
Similar to WANDS are ENCHANTED JEWELS --
ST 119 --- Aggamon's Jeweled Demolisher Beam is a weapon powered by the will.ST 119 --- The Purple Crystal is a "device to bridge the dimensions" -- it ledST 123 --- to the Purple Dimension & Loki tried to break it while fighting with Dr.S.ST 167 --- The Transhypnotic Jewel is both a dimension-spanning device & a link toone's dimension. It was owned by the A.O. and has the power totransform matter into imagination. (see dimensions)DS 31 --- The Eye of Zartra, an enchanted "eldritch gem" is plucked by Prince Namor Ifrom theDS 32 -- Sword of Kamuu (thus halving its power) and given as a token of friendshipto Dr.S.
CANDLES have magical properties. --
ST 112 --- A Paralyzing Vapour Candle is used by Mordo -- if allowed to burn itself out, the victim dies; if it is snuffed, the victim lives.ST 124 --- candles can be used for time travel
ST 150 --- and it is implied that they then partake of the flames of the Faltine.
13 The "Voodoo"-like use of DOLLS or MODELS is not uncommon --
ST129 --- The Screaming Idol, effigy of Tiboro found in Peru, transports people tothe 6th dimension.ST 115 --- Mordo conjures the Vapours of Valtorr around a statue of the A.O.DS 169 --- Note: in another version of this story, the doll does not appear &the vapors have been replaced by the Flames of the Faltine. This laterversion is corrupt however, as the Faltine were not mentioned untilST 142! This error is attributable to the scribe R.T.'s having misplacedhis spectacles.ST 117 --- Mordo also enchants Dr.S.' house (& self) into another dimensionby means of a model.DS 19 --- Stygyro uses a model of the earth to produce an earthquake.SS 183, SUB 22 --- The Undying Ones seek to enter Earth via a statue of theNameless One.DS 32 --- N.M.'s dream-images of sleeping mortals can be crushed to gain controlover said mortals.
Some miscellaneous WEAPONS with magical powers --(see also WANDS and JEWELS as some of these are WEAPONS)
ST 140 --- the Pincers of Power owned by the Dread Dormammu, & used forhand-to-hand mystic combat.DS 1 --- Silver Dagger's Silver Dagger, which can pierces auras. it is "enchanted."DS 31 --- the Sword of Kamuu, an Atlantean artifact, wielded by Alaric until his defeatDS 32 --- due to the sword's curse on those who injure Atlanteans. Namor I gainspossession of it. (see JEWELS -- Eye of Zartra)
MAGICAL MISCELLANY --
ST 127 --- The Cloak of Levitation, owned by Dr.S., was a gift from the A.O.ST 136 --- it is controlled "by the will alone"DS 172 --- and has "powers independent of" its owner.ST 117 --- The Ring of the Ancient One can be used to allow Dr.S.' E.F. do everything his P.B. can do -- as well as to take on the form of the A.O. himself.ST 149 --- The Serum of the Seraphim is "the most potent medicine known to theoccult"ST 159 --- The Mystic Shield, engraved with strange runes reveals the source of evil.ST 158 --- The Glass of Doom a.k.a. the Sands of Death is an oversized hourglassowned by The Living Tribunal.DS 32 --- two mirrors are needed for a "radical spell" used to renew the shield aroundDr.S's sanctum.The Creators use the Cosmic Wheel of Change to become stars.
14 {{this page was left blank to accomodate future additions to the list of Ritual Objects. }}
15
ENCHANTMENTS, SPELLS &INVOCATIONS OF THE VISHANTI
The task of indexing the rhymed & unrhymed spells given in The Book of the Vishanti & collected from other sources is beyond the reach of the present author. A more or less chronological order is therefore followed and marginal notes establish whether the incantation falls into one of the following rather broad categories:
ConjurationsBanishments
Control over the Minds or Bodies of OthersTime -- Distortion and Travel
Space -- Dimensional Travel, Teleportation, LevitationMiscellaneous
and further specify the exact nature of the spell.
Two families of spells are also given an additional notation:
Sat-Van Spells are a rhymed sub-set of Banishments in which the words "Satannish" and "vanish" appear at the ends of lines.
Whence Spells are a sub-set of Banishments that contain the phrase "get thee back from whence thou came" or a recognizable variant thereof.
Unrhymed spells are given in plain text, rhymed spells in italics.
Unless the incantation was made by Dr. Strange the speaker is also indicated by a marginal note.
Initials appearing in conjunction with title and issue numbers are those of the scripter.
Spells from Strange Tales begin on page 16Spells from (old series) Dr. Strange on page 30Spells from Marvel Premiere on page 37Spells from (new series) Dr. Strange on page 40Spells from Defenders begin on page 60Spells from x-overs (e.g. AV 61, H 126, etc.) are inserted in chronological order Spells from guest appearances start on page 65Unpublished spells begin on page 70
=( FREQUENCY GRAPH OF SPELLS / AUTHORS )=
Rhymed = R / Unrhymed = U========================
ST 110 -- S.L. -- 0 111 -- S.L. -- 0 114 -- S.L. -- 0 115 -- S.L. -- 2U 116 -- S.L. -- 1U 117 -- S.L. -- 1U 118 -- S.L. -- 1U 119 -- S.L. -- 0 120 -- S.L. -- 2U 121 -- S.L. -- 1U 122 -- S.L. -- 1U 123 -- S.L. -- 1U, 1R 124 -- S.L. -- 1U, 2R 125 -- S.L. -- 0 126 -- S.L. -- 1U 127 -- S.L. -- 2U 128 -- S.L. -- 0 129 -- S.L. -- 0 XXX somewhere in here (check Lou's Chronology) Sp. Ann. 2 -- S.L. -- 1U, 1R ST 130 -- S.L. -- 1R 131 -- S.L. -- 1U, 1R 132 -- S.L. -- 2U 133 -- S.L. -- 0 134 -- S.L. -- 0 135 -- S.L. -- 1R 136 -- S.L. -- 1U, 1R 137 -- S.L. -- 0 138 -- S.L. -- 1U 139 -- S.L. -- 0 140 -- S.L. -- 0 141 -- S.L. -- 1U 142 -- S.L. -- 1R 143 -- R.T. -- 1R 144 -- R.T. -- 0 145 -- D.O. -- 0 146 -- S.L. -- 1U 147 -- S.L./D.O. -- 2U 148 -- D.O. -- 1U 149 -- D.O. -- 3U 150 -- R.T. -- 1U 151 -- S.L. -- 3R 152 -- S.L. -- 3R 153 -- S.L. -- 2U, 2R 154 -- S.L. -- 2R
155 -- S.L. -- 2U, 2R 156 -- S.L. -- 2R 157 -- S.L. -- 1U, 2R 158 -- R.T. -- 2R 159 -- R.T. -- 4R 160 -- R.M. -- 3R 161 -- R.M. -- 0 162 -- J.L. -- 1U, 5R 163 -- J.L. -- 2R 164 -- J.L. -- 1U 165 -- J.L. -- 1U, 4R 166 -- J.L./D.A. -- 1R 167 -- D.O. -- 1U, 1R 168 -- D.O. -- 2U, 1R DS 169 -- R.T. -- 3U 170 -- R.T. -- 1R 171 -- R.T. -- 1R 172 -- R.T. -- 1U, 1R 173 -- R.T. -- 2U, 1R 174 -- R.T. -- 1R 175 -- R.T. -- 1U, 2R 176 -- R.T. -- 2U, 1R 177 -- R.T. -- 3U, 2R 178 -- R.T. -- 2R AV 61 -- R.T. -- 1R DS 179 -- REPRINT Sp. Ann. 2 180 -- R.T. -- 1R 181 -- R.T. -- 1U, 2R 182 -- R.T. -- 1R 183 -- R.T. -- 2R SUB 22 -- R.T. -- 1R H 126 -- R.T. -- 2R MP 3 -- S.L. -- 4U, 2R 4 -- A.G. -- 0 5 -- G.F. -- 1U, 1R 6 -- G.F. -- 1U 7 -- G.F. -- 1R 8 -- G.F. -- 2U, 1R 9 -- S.E. -- 1R 10 -- S.E. -- 1R 11 -- REPRINT ST 115 12 -- S.E. -- 1U, 1R 13 -- S.E. -- 1R 14 -- S.E. -- 0 DS 1 -- R 2 -- S.E. --0 3 -- REPRINT ST 125 4 -- S.E. -- 1R 5 -- S.E. -- 0
6 -- S.E. -- 2R 7 -- S.E. -- 2U 8 -- S.E. -- 0 9 -- S.E. -- 3R 10 -- S.E. -- 1R 11 -- S.E. -- 1R 12 -- S.E. -- 1R 13 -- S.E. -- 1R TOD 44 -- M.W. -- 1U DS 14 -- S.E. -- 1U 15 -- S.E. -- 1U, 2R 16 -- S.E. -- 1U, 1R 17 -- S.E. -- 0 18 -- S.E. -- 2R 19 -- M.W. -- 1U 20 -- M.W. -- 3U, 1R DS ANN 1 -- M.W. -- 2U DS 21 -- REPRINT DS 169 22 -- M.W. -- 2U, 2R 23 -- M.W. -- 1R 24 -- J.S. -- 0 25 -- J.S. -- 0 26 -- J.S. -- 0 27 -- R.S. -- 0 28 -- R.S. -- 1U 29 -- R.S. -- 1R 30 -- R.S. -- 2R 31 -- D.Mc./R.S. -- 1R 32 -- R.S. -- 1U, 2R 33 -- R.Mc. -- 3U, 2R 34 -- R.Mc. -- 2U 35 -- R.Mc. -- 1U 36 -- R.Mc. -- 0
16 =(SPELLS FROM (FIRST SERIES) STRANGE TALES )=
ST 115 (S.L.) Banish: Forces of Darkness
I summon the powers of the Vishanti! By the spell of the Dread Dormammu,in the name of the All-Seeing Agamotto --
all thy powers I summon --- begone, Forces of Darkness!
[A.O.]
[Note: see p. 30, this volume]
ST 115 (S.L.) Conjure: Evil Power of Dormammu
Dormammu accept my incense offering!Let the force of your power descend upon my enemy! Let him feel your fatal touch!I beseech you, Dormammu!
[M.]
[Note: see p. 30, this volume]
ST 116 (S.L.) Conjure: the Mists of Hoggoth & the Path of Hoggoth which leads to N.M.'s world (dimension #1, vol. 2, page 13)
In the name of the Dread Dormammu --in the name of the All-Seeing Agamotto --by the Powers that dwell in Darkness --I summon the Hosts of Hoggoth!Lead me to the source of Evil!Obey the words of Dr. Strange!
[Note: this is said to be a "dangerous" incantation.]
ST 117 (S.L.) Invoke: Forces of Good
By the power of the Vishanti --in the name of the All-Seeing Ancient One --I summon all the forces of good --and focus their blinding power upon you,through the facets of this ring!
[Note: this must be used in conjunction with a ring.]
ST 118 (S.L.) Space: Dimensional Travel (to dimension #4, see vol. 2, page 14)
By the dread power of the Vishanti --in the name of the Mighty Mormammu [sic] --let my cloak pierce the barrier between dimensions -- -- thus!
[Note: this must be used in conjunction with a cloak]
17 ST 120 (S.L.) Banish: Eerie Imprisoning Mists
In the name of the Dread Dormammu!!By the Hosts of the Hoary Hoggoth!I call upon the Mystic Realm!Let the fury of the ageless Vishanti show itself -- Dr. Strange commands!By the twelve moons of Munnopor --my will must be done!!
[after the mists dissolve]
It is done! In the name of the veneratedAncient One, I dismiss the powersthat be! They have served me well!
ST 120 (S.L.) Banish: a Being to its Home Dimension (in this case, dimension #6, vol 2, page 15)
Let the vapors of the Vishanti driveyou from the sight of man! Let themystic Hosts of Hoggoth prevent youfrom ever returning again!
ST 120 (S.L.) Repulse: Humans, 5' Radius
I summon the spellsof the omnipotent Oshtur!
ST 121 (S.L.) Banish: Beings From Whence They Came (Whence Spell) (1st Whence Spell)
Begone denizens of the dark! Let theclean light of my enchanted amuletbathe over you! Let all the Hosts ofHoggoth send you back to the nether-world from whence you came!!Begone -- I command you!!
[Note: to be used in conjunction with an amulet]
ST 122 (S.L.) Banish: Being From Whence it Came (Whence Spell)
Begone Gulgol! Begone thing of darkness --- return --- return to thenetherworld from whence you came!Dr. Strange commands you!
[Note: this is a fake spell as the Gulgol was actually a hypnotic illusion created by Dr.S.]
18 ST 123 (S.L) Conjure: a Giant Hand from a Shadowy Dimension (dimension #7, possible home of Hoggoth's Hosts)(see dimension #7, vol. 2, page 15)
In the name of the Dread Dormammu --by the power of the deathless Vishanti --I call upon the Hosts of Hoggoth!heed the words of thy mortal servant!
ST 123 (S.L.) Time: Distortion (1st Rhymed Spell) (see vol. 2, page 60)
Hammer of Thor, return to your master!Though he was falling, you fall faster!
ST 124 (S.L.) Time: Travel to the Past (see vol. 2, page 60)
By the power of the Dread Dormammu!By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!I bid you fade -- fade -- fade away!Take shape again in yesterday!
ST 124 (S.L.) Banish: Darkness (While on a Time-Trip) (see vol. 2, page 60)
By the shades of the Seraphim --I forbid the darkness to close in!
[Note: this spell fails to achieve the desired effect.]
ST 124 (S.L.) Banish: Someone to the Time of their Origin (see vol. 2, page 6)
By the power of the Dread Dormammu,let the mists of time envelop thee --let the centuries reclaim their own!!
ST 126 (S.L.) Space: Dimensional Travel (see dimension #9, vol. 2, page 16)
By the shades of the Seraphim --in the name of the All-Seeing Agamotto --I dispatch thee to -- the domain of the Dread Dormammu!!!
[A.O.]
ST 127 (S.L.) Banish: All-Purpose
Back, creatures of the night!!Back -- I command you, by theseven rings of Raggadorr!
[D.]
19 ST 127 (S.L.) Misc: Strengthen Another
May the light of the Vishanti shineupon Dr. Strange -- and may theomnipotent Oshtur grant him wisdomand strength!
[A.O.]
ST 130 (S.L.) Control: Paralyze Another
In the name of the eternal Vishanti, I command you, let your limbs become like stone -- Let the power of movement be lost to you --Until I am gone!
ST 131 (S.L.) Control: To Teleport Another
Let your body vanish -- and your atoms race --With the speed of thought thru time and space!!
M.
ST 132 (S.L.) Conjure:Bands of Cyttorak
Let the crimson bands of Cyttorak surge forth,seeking the one who is near.
Minion of M.
ST 132 (S.L.) Banish: Bands of Cyttorak
Let the crimson bands thus be dissolved!
Minion of M.
ST 132 (S.L.) Conjure: Orb (called "Eye") of Agamotto
By all the hoary hosts of Hoggoth,I command thee, awesome Agamotto,let thine all-seeing eye open before me!
XXX says 131, but out of order, please check ST 131 (S.L.) Banish: Beings From Whence They Came (Whence Spell)
By the omnipotent Oshtur!By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!In the name of the eternal Vishanti!Begone! Return to the nothingnessfrom whence you have come
[Note: the beings had not come from "nothingness",but from Dormammu's realm. Nevertheless the spellproves effective.]
20 ST 135 (S.L.) Control: To Teleport Another
By the seven rings of Raggadorr --By Cyttorak's crimson bands!
I send thee through the unseen door --Go thou where my spell command!
ST 136 (S.L.) Space: Dimensional Travel (see dimension #13, vol. 2, page 16)
Demons of darkness at my command --Transport me to the hidden land!
[Note: because the scroll upon which this spellwas written was badly deteriorated, Dr.S. was under the mistaken impression that it would take him to Eternity's realm.
ST 136 (S.L.) Banish: Beings From Whence They Came (Whence Spell)
In the name of the eternal Vishanti,may the light of the all-seeing Eye ofAgamotto send them back from whencethey came! Begone, helpless ones!You are free!
ST 138 (S.L.) Banish: Mind-Clouding Spell
By the vapors of Valtorr, let thy mind be cleared!
ST 141 (S.L.) Banish: Vapors of Valtorr
May the shades of the Seraphim banishthe vapors of Valtorr! In the name ofthe Vishanti I speak!
ST 142 (S.L.) Banish: Entrapping Spell
By the mystic moons of Munnopor --By the demons of night and day --
By the flames of the flawless Faltine --Let yon spell be dissolved away!
the Demon
21 ST 143 (R.T.) Conjure: Cloak or Amulet
Cloak or amulet, wherever ye may be --May the crimson bands of CyttorakReveal thee to me!
ST 146 (S.L.) Banish: Evil Spells of Entrapment and Exile
Let those banished to hidden dimensionsbe returned to their rightful place!Let the dominion of evil be lifted fromtheir hearts! By the shades of theSeraphim do I command it!
ST 147 (S.L./D.O.) Conjure: Shades of the Shadow Demons
By the seven rings of Raggadorr,may my future actions be visibleonly to the evil ones before me! Heed my incantation, O shades of the shadowy demons! Reveal thyselves to the blackheartedmortals who stand before thee!Thus speaks thy master! Thus speaks Dr. Strange!
ST 147 (S.L./D.O.) Banish: Shades of the Shadowy Demons
Shadowy demons -- begone!The die is cast! Thus speaks Dr. Strange!
ST 148 (D.O.) Control: Paralyze and Brainwash
You will be immobilized for a day!And, when the spell is gone, you willsee the evil your master proposes!By the spirits of the sky and earth do Icommand it!
A.O.
22 ST 149 (D.O.) Banish: Mystic Bonds
By the omnipotent Oshtur -- by theenchanted realm of the Vishanti --let these mystic bonds melt intothe void! Thus do the Ancient One andDr. Strange command!
A.O. & Dr.S.
ST 149 (D.O.) Banish: Demons of Denak
Let the amulet of Agamotto bathe thecreatures of darkness in light! Bythe shades of the Seraphim do I socommand!
ST 150 (R.T.) Banish: Marduk's Sacred Griffin
By the crimson bands of Cyttorak,by the shadowy shades of the Seraphim,I command thee -- begone!
A.O.
ST 151 (S.L.) Conjure: Visions of the Past
By the demons of darkness!By the oath I now speak!Umar commands --Reveal what I seek!
U.
[Note: used with the Lamp of Lucifer]
ST 151 (S.L.) Conjure: Visions of the Past
By the flames of the Faltine,I command you -- show me!What Umar wills must ever be!Such is my power, my dark sorcery!
U.
[Note: used with the Lamp of Lucifer]
ST 151 (S.L.) Conjure: Visions of the Past
Flaming Lamp of Lucifer!By Cyttorak's Crimson Bands!Reveal the image I do seek --Umar so commands!
U.
[Note: used with the Lamp of Lucifer]
23 ST 152 (S.L.) Banish: Hostile Demons
By Raggadorr's Seven Rings!By Cyttorak's Crimson Bands!Let yon demons feel Valtorr's Stings --So Dr. Strange commands!
ST 152 (S.L.) Conjure: Twin Spirits
By the demons of darkness --by the touchstone of fear --at the summons of Umar --let twin spirits appear!
{{U.}}
ST 152 (S.L.) Banish: Enchanted Bonds
Let my amulet shine brighter than day!Let freedom be mine --Let the bonds turn to clay!By Raggadorr's seven Rings -- It must be so!
ST 153 (S.L.) Control: Mindless Ones
Back, you denizens of the deepest dark --Back, you murderous mockeries of mortalman -- Dr. Strange commands!!!Let the pulsating power of everlastingenchantment scatter you before me!
[Note: this spell doesn't work because the M.O.'s possess powers of sorcery too.]
ST 153 (S.L.) Control: Mindless Ones
By the shining, shimmering shades ofthe Seraphim, I now command --Let the gleaming, glittering glare
issue forth --- with the suddenstunning fury of a serpent's sting!{{SIC}}
[More fine-tuning of the html coding to be done; what follows is raw, but readable. This sub-site is under construction!]
24 ST 153 (S.L.) -- Banish: Control Over Others (Sat-Van Spell)
By the power of darkness,in the name of the Satannish,I release the brainless multitude --let my mind control now vanish!
U.
ST 153 (S.L.) Banish: an Enchanted Prison
Venerated Vishanti,I do supplicate thee!Everlasting Vishanti,let fair Clea be free!
ST 154 (S.L.) Misc.: To Rejoin the E.F. and P.B.
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!Let my mystic will be done!Now as I command it,let my double selves be one!
ST 154 (S.L.) Banish: Demons With Munnopor's Mists (ING Spell)
By the Seven Rings of Raggadorr!By the power of dark and gloom!Let the mystic mists of Munnoporsend yon demons to their doom!In the name of the all-seeing --in the name of the all-knowing --in the name of the all-freeinglet the mists be ever growing!
ST 155 (S.L.) Space: Rapid Dimensional Travel (to V.B.L. #23 -- see vol. 2, p. 27)
By the Vapors of Valtorrwherein the Nameless dwell --by the roving Rings of Raggadorrlet my speed exceed her spell!
ST 155 (S.L.) Banish: an Evil Spell
Let that which is be not!Let that which was live on!Let Clea be forgot!Reverse thy course! Begone!
25 ST 155 (S.L.) Banish: an Evil Spell (Sat-Van Spell)
By the demons of darkness --in the name of Satannish --by the Flames of the Faltine --let the deadly sting vanish!
ST 155 (S.L.) Banish: Mystic Bonds
Let the fiery Flames of the Faltinefree you of your sudden bondage!!Let that which I ordain come to pass!
ST 156 (S.L.) Misc.: To Revive Zom
In the name of the eternal --by the Rings of Raggadorr --though his spirit be infernal --Zom must live once more!
ST 156 (S.L.) Banish: Self (Sat-Van Spell)
By the demons of darkness,in the name of Satannishby the Flames of the FaltineLet Umar now vanish!
U.
ST 157 (S.L.) Misc.: an Oath of Vengeance (Ing Spell)
In the name of the all-seeingon the sight {{SIC}} of the Stonehenge --in the name of the all-freeingyou shall be avenged!
ST 157 (S.L.) Banish: the Mystic Maze of Madness
In the name of the eternal Vishanti --By the omniscience of my departed mentor --Let the distortion cease!
ST 157 (S.L.) Control: Another Being (Zom)
Merciless fiend whose mane I entwine,Do what you will, these strands must be mine!
26 ST 157 (S.L.) Space: Levitation Without a Cloak
May the Vapors of Valtorr,where're they be found,form a cushion about methat I may float to the ground!
ST 158 (R.T.) Space: Teleportation
By the shades of the shadows --by the Wand of Watomb --may no object prevent me --may I pass from this room!!
Anon. occultist
ST 158 (R.T.) Conjure: Rings of Raggadorr
By the awesome nameless race,by the evil I abhor --let my fearsome foe now face --the Rings of Raggadorr!!
ST 158 (R.T.) Misc.: Restore Cloak
By the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak --by Hoggoth's Hoary horde --
by the dreaded demons of Denak --my cloak now rise -- restored!!
ST 159 (R.T.) Conjure: a Strange Tale
Let the flames thus flicker low,let the silent shadows steal,let the lonely candles' glowour mystic tale -- reveal!!
ST 159 (R.T.) Banish: an Evil Spell (Sat-Van Spell)
By the demons of darkness -in the name of Satannish --by the Flames of the Faltine --let Umar's spell vanish!!
27 ST 159 (R.T.) Conjure: a Vision
Let Hoggoth's pale handsclutch the Wand of Watomb --let death's golden sandsappear in this room!!
ST 159 (R.T.) Conjure: a Sign Leading to the Source of Evil
By yon long-forgotten spells --by the Seraphim's grim shield --to that place where evil dwells,the way now stand -- revealed!
ST 160 (R.M.) Banish: an Enemy (Whence Spell)
By the Hoary Host of Hoggoth,by the flawless Faltine's Flame,let thy wicked power vanishgo thee back to whence thou came!
ST 160 (R.M.) Control: "The Spell of Exorcism"
By the Vapours {{SIC}} of Valtorr,by Munnopor's moonlit maze --let the shadow of thy heartinto my hands now -- blaze!
ST 162 (J.L.) Control: Transferral of Powers
By the loathesome demon's names --by the thrice-infernal flames --as you cringe in trembling fear --beam your powers into this sphere!
M.
ST 162 (J.L.) Conjure: Black Lightning
Soul of evil -- guide this dartof black lightning to his heart!
ST 162 (J.L.) Banish: an Enemy (Whence Spell)
By the ghastly shades beyond,let Hades' foulest flamesblast him back through fathoms dark --to that world whence he came!!
M.
28 ST 162 (J.L.) Banish: "The Spell of Cosmic Banishment" (Dimensional Travel to V.B.L. #23, vol. 2, page 17)
By the Seraphim's dread shadow --by Munnopor's moonlit vale --get thee hence, foul spawn of evil --far beyond the cosmic pale!
ST 162 (J.L.) Space: Teleportation
By fire & smoke, let my mystic cloaklevitate me hence -- instantly!
ST 162 (J.L.) Banish: the Glass of Doom
By the seven Rings of Raggadorrby the lance that Oshtur hurledlet the glass that here before me stands --be cast forth from our world!
ST 163 (J.L.) Control: Attract Attention
By the Seraphim's command,by Munnopor's mystic maze,let their struggle dim its fury!Unto me now draw their gaze!!
ST 163 (J.L.) Banish: the Talons of Cosmic Fire
By the Wand of Watoomb,and the Seraphims' shade,let these talons be quenched --let their dread fire now fade!
ST 164 (J.L.) Space: Levitation With a Cloak
By the Vapors of Valtorr -- Let the magiccloak of levitation slow my descent!
ST 165 (J.L.) Misc.: Open Doors
By the demons that swoop
o'er the shadowy shores --let a mystical bolt
pierce these barrier doors!
29 ST 165 (J.L.) Misc.: 2nd Attempt at Opening Doors
Bolts burn brightly -- fiercely swell --as I strengthen now my spell!
ST 165 (J.L.) Misc.: Last Ditch Attempt at Opening Doors
More powerful still -- by the sheer force of will!
ST 165 (J.L.) Misc.: Destruction of Threatening Things (Machines)
By the full powers at my command,Let the Flames of the Faltine blast thatwhich threatens me!
ST 165 (J.L.) Conjure: Flaming Whip
By Cyttorak's seventh crimson band --Let this flaming whip ensnare your hand!
ST 166 (D.A./J.L.) Conjure: Darkness
Pall of darkness -- gravelike gloom --Enshroud this thing which seeks my doom!
ST 167 (D.O.) Space: Levitation
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth --By the many Moons of Munnopor --Let us be borne upon the winds!
ST 167 (D.O.) Conjure: Vapors of Valtorr
Omnipotent Oshtur, Lord of Skies,let now the magic vapor rise!
[Note: two minds are needed for this incantation]
DS & A.O.
ST 168 (D.O.) Misc.: Using the Cloak of Levitation as a Weapon
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth --By Oshtur's mystic prayer --let the cloak of levitationbe a villain's snare!
ST 168 (D.O.) Conjure: Light
By the seven rings of Raggador [sic]Let the amulet's beam guide me!
ST 168 (D.O.) Banish: Subjective Vikings (Whence Spell)
May the many Moons of Munnopor banish these phantom blade-wielders to the eternal void from whence they came!
30 =(SPELLS FROM (FIRST SERIES) DOCTOR STRANGE)=
DS 169 (R.T.; cf. ST 115 (S.L.)) Conjure Evil Power of Dormammu
Accept my offering of incense, O Dread Dormammu! Let the old fool feel your touch of death -- the sting of your hatred! Thus pleads Mordo -- he who is your most faithful disciple!
[Note: this is another translation from Mordo's spell from ST 115 (page 16, 2nd spell in this volume) -- the "Thomas version", a corrupt variation. the earlier "Lee version" is preferable.]
M.
DS 169 (R.T.; cf. ST 115 (S.L.)) Conjure: Vapors of Valtorr and Form an "Iron Clamp" of Them
Hear me again, O Dormammu! Let the Vapors of Valtorr carry out my innermost desires! Let the lips of the western dog be forever stilled -- so that I am safe to do your bidding!
[Note: this is taken from the corrupt "Thomas" text. the original "Lee version" (ST 115) showed the vapours but gave no incantation]
DS 169 (R.T.; cf. ST 115 (S.L.)) Banish: Forces of Darkness
Begone, Forces of Darkness! By the power of the All-knowin Vishanti -- By the vision of the All-seeing Vishanti, I command you --- Begone!
[Note: this reformist version of spell no. 1, page 16 (from ST 115) demonstrates Thomas' attempt to remove the "stigma" of an invocation to Dormammu plus an inexplicable substitution of the Vishanti for Agamotto.]
A.O.
31 DS 170 (R.T.) Control: Awaken an Enchanted Sleeper
By Oshtur's fearsome visage,'fore which all things do shake --by Hoggoth's Hoary legions,which bid the cosmos quake --let all veils now be lifted --the Ancient One awake!!
DS 171 (R.T.) Conjure: the Herald of Satannish -- This Spell is Called "the Parable of Power (Sat-Van Spell)
From the realm of dread Satannish,whence come the forms of fear,let all dark veils now vanish --thy herald now -- appear!
[Note: to be used in conjunction with an Orb.]
DS 172 (R.T.) Banish: Young Women to Earth-M (Whence Spell; Sat-Van Spell)
By the roving Rings of Raggadorrwhich bind the cosmic night --by the mystic Moons of Munnoporwhich bathe the stars in light --by the power of great Satannish --by the might of Oshtur's name --let the captive girls now vanish --return from whence I came!!
DS 172 (R.T.) Banish: Demons
By the power unparalleled which is mine -- by the sceptre of supremacy which has returned to me -- now be you consigned to oblivion unending! Dormammu has spoken!
D.
DS 173 (R.T.) -- Banish: Vertigo
In the name of the All-seeing -- In the name of the All-freeing -- Let the Flames of the Faltine Now free me from this maddening merciless vertigo!
32 DS 173 (R.T.) Conjure: Cloud Conjealment
By the Vapors of great Valtorr,which do all things conceal --by the prowess of my mentor --now let the clouds conjeal!!
DS 173 (R.T.) Banish: Beings From Whence They Came (Whence Spell)
Let the whirling winds of Watoomb rise from the nether regions ---- to carry you back from whence you came!
DS 174 (R.T.) Banish: Clock Pendulums
May Ikonn's shifting sandsnow heed my uttered spell --while Oshtur's mighty handsyon pendulums dispell!
[Note: this spell is only partially successful -- the pendulums are transformed into fiery liquid, probablly because, although Ikonn may heed spells, his sands assuredly cannot.]
DS 175 (R.T.) Banish: To Stop Someone From Levitating
In the name of the ever watchful Vishanti -- Let waves of mystic force now waft the girl back to earth!
DS 175 (R.T.) Conjure: "The Invocation of Satannish"
From realms where planets bow beforeone fearful entity --come now -- our vengeful spirits shore -- {{sic}}Satannish, hear our plea!
S.of S.
33 DS 175 (R.T.) Banish: Rings of
Negativistic, Nihilistic ForceBy the seven Bands of Cyttorak --by whom all things are held --by the dark-souled Demons of Denak --now be these bands dispelled!
DS 176 (R.T.) Control: Awaken Another From a Mystic Trance
May the Images of Ikonn dispell the haze which surrounds thee -- May the Omnipotent Oshtur restore thee to the land of the living!
DS 176 (R.T.) Conjure: Light (With the 3rd Eye)
Let the awesome Eye of Agamotto be as one with its bearer -- that its sacred light may illumine the skulking evil which cloaks itself in darkness!
DS 176 (R.T.) Banish: A Cube of Nothingness Composed of
Ribbons of NihilityBy the seven Rings of Raggadorr --by the dozen Moons of Munnopor --may the bonds that now beset me sore --be now cast off -- forevermore!
DS 177 (R.T.) Banish: Protoplasmic Forms (or Anything
Which Abhors the Light)By the Shades of the Seraphimwhich rule the black of night --
by the Flames of the Faltine --let all be bathed in -- light!
DS 177 (R.T.) Conjure: An Image in an Orb
Hear me, O ye powers of Darkness -- Show me whither has gone the Book of the Vishanti -- that book on which supreme Asmodeus has laid his thrice-cursed hand!
[Note: to be used in conjunction with an orb.]
Asmodeus
34 DS 177 (R.T.) Misc.: "The Trance of Transferral"
By the dark that hides the day --by the misbegotten wordto one whom we obey --our powers be now -- transferred!
S.of S.
DS 177 (R.T.) Banish: Dark Forces and a Mystic Trap
By the wisdom of Oshtur --by the curse of Watoomb --let the forces which threatennow know only doom!
DS 177 (R.T.) Conjure: Ymir and Surtur ["The Spell of Fire and Ice"]
Thermidorus -- Frigibus -- Nihilius!!
[Note: to be spoken with the right hand on the Book of the Vishanti]
Asmodeus
DS 178 (R.T.) Banish: Party-Goers (Sat-Van Spell)
By the demons of darkness --in the name of Satannish --by the Flames of the Faltine --let yon revelers vanish!!
DS 178 (R.T.) Conjure: Crystalline Imprisonment
By the roving Rings of Raggadorrby the myriad Moons of Munnopor --may yon brutes which sprang from founts unseen --be encased in prisons crystalline!!
AV 61 (R.T.) Control: To Teleport Demons (Sat-Van Spell)
By this crystal of SatannishBy the Hoary Hoggoth's race --Now afar two demons vanish --reappearing face to face!
[Note: to be used with the Crystal of Conquest]
35 DS 179 (SP Ann. 2; S.L.) Banish:Webslingers (Sat-Van Spell) [1st use of Sat-Van]
Demons of darkness!In the name of Satannish!By the Flames of the FaltineLet Spiderman vanish!
DS 179 (SP Ann. 2; S.L.) Control: Involuntary Telepathy
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, I order you to unlock your brain, so that I may learn all that exists within your past!
DS 180 (R.T.) Banish: Vikings and Savages Who Intrude into the Present
By Hoggoth's grim clan,by Valtorr's dread clime --
let arms and their mannow fade from this time!
DS 181 (R.T.) Banish: Demons to a Darksome Doom (Said to be "a Long-forgotten Spell)
From their bitter blazing land --may the Faltine raise their hand.May their flames now leap and hiss --open wide great abyss!!
DS 181 (R.T.) Banish: Demons by Conjealing Them
Mighty Oshtur, tower of towers --without limit are thy powers!To yon fiendish ones, reveal them --into one mass now -- congeal them!
DS 181 (R.T.) Conjure: Light & Eye
Awaken, O Mystic Eye of Agamotto! Let the Dark One again feel your sting of Truth and Light!
36 DS 182 (R.T.) Misc.: Cloak and Amulet Control
Let my cloak be now transportedthru {{sic}} the dark enshrouding gloom --let it fly as if 'twere living --for it runs a race with doom! --let the eye that hath offendednow make haste to its own tomb!and let all now join their master,on the Winds of wild Watoomb!!
DS 183 (R.T.) Conjure: Illusion of One's Body
By the images of Ikonn --by the Wand of weird Watoomb --
let a gazer fix his eye 'ponmy form sleeping in this room!
DS 183 (R.T.) -- Conjure: Light
As the three dark shades detect me --may the Seraphim direct me --may they shield me and protect me!Let the shrouding night be gone --Let the loathsome pit-born spawnstand before me midst the dawn!
[Note: accompanied by ripping open the curtains]
SUB 22 (R.T.) Banish: False Appearances
By the sands that time has shifted --by the Winds of weird Watoomb --let the masking veil be liftedthough it means a demon's doom!
37 H 126 (R.T.) Banish: Someone to the Realm of Night-Crawler (no. #37)
Let the spinning disk be whirled,like the Winds of wild Watoomb --let the man who thus is hurledusher in a planet's doom --let Satannish grant thee powerlet Dormammu give thee speed --that ere long may sound the hourthe Undying Ones are freed!!
Van Nyborg
H 126 (R.T.) Space: Teleportation to Earth
By the Seraphim's silent chant --by Munnopor's mystic Moon --
may omnipotent Oshtur grant --this fateful final boon!!
=(SPELLS FROM MARVEL PREMIERE)=
MP 3 (S.L.) Control: Stop a Truck
Halt -- In the name of the Vishanti!
[Note: Dr.S. only imagines he has spoken this spell.]
MP 3 (S.L.) Conjure: Tiling a House
By the seven Rings of Raggadorr, Let my portal close -- and let it open to none till the spell be ended!
[Note: an imaginary spell, as Dr.S. is actually being put into an ambulance at the time.]
MP 3 (S.L.) Misc.: Release the E.F. From the P.B. (Ing Spell)
In the name of the All-seeing,in the name of the All-spawning,in the name of the All-freeing --let my ectoplasmic form be borning!
MP 3 (S.L.) Conjure: an Image in the Orb of Agamotto
In the name of the All-seeing,in the name of the All-knowing,in the name of the All-being --let your visage now be showing!
38 MP 3 (S.L.) Conjure: Light & Eye
I summon forth the all-seeing Eye of Agamotto! Now let my amulet open!
MP 3 (S.L.) Control: Brainwash
There have been mystic words -- enchanted thoughts unleashed here this night -- By the Shield of the Seraphim, let them be banished from your brain!
MP 5 (G.F.) Conjure: Vapours of Valtorr
I call upon the Vapors of Valtorr to surround us! Let their hidden lightnings serve my will!
MP 5 (G.F.) Misc.: To Restore a Broken Orb
By the power in the wood,by the power in the stone,let these shattered shards alonebe now as they always should!
Clea
MP 6 (G.F.) Control: By Means of a Cloak
By the Sacred Vishanti -- Let my Cloak of Levitation rise -- and pull that trident from her grasp!
MP 7 (G.F.) Control: To Clear a Hypnotised Mind
I call upon the good spirits in the astral plane! Guide these magicks I direct at Stephen Strange!
MP 8 (G.F.) Banish: "Living Wickedness" From Furniture
Let the Flames of the Faltine blaze forth -- to quell this unholy usurpation of inanimate matter! Back to your former shapes, let that frightful spirit that is within you -- begone!
39
MP 8 (G.F.) Conjure: a Spiral of Demon-Destroying Energy Now do I name Raggadorr and Cyttorak as well! Let Ikonn & Watoomb join their ranks and thus shall the growing spiral swell! 'Round and about me let it whip gathering matter in its grip! Stab out, spiral, lash out force!
Now shall these energies take their course!
MP 9 (S.E.) Banish: Servants of Kaa-U
Demons of darkness, hear my plea: let the servants of Kaa-U fall before me!
MP 10 (S.E.) Misc.: a "Dangerous" Spell of Self-Radiation With Light
Let the arcane Eye of Agamotto rise from my Amulet -- and focus all my sorcerous strengths within myself!
MP 12 (S.E.) Space: Teleportation
Shades of the Seraphim -- select from the daypower enough to wish us away!
40 MP 12 (S.E.) --- Conjure: Illusion of Normality
Let my form change -- to disguise my true garb wtih more conventional fashions!
MP 13 (S.E.) Banish: a Disguise
Let deception vanishwithin this mystic spacelet Mordo in his wisdom see --your true form -- and your face!
M.
=( SPELLS FROM (NEW SERIES) DOCTOR STRANGE )=
DS 1 (S.E.) Misc.: To Cease Dying
Agamotto O crystal --where bound'ries decay --I know the will to live --grant me the way!
DS 4 (S.E.) --- Misc.: Spell Against Death Which Was "Not Permitted"
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti, through the hands of omnipotent Oshtur -- Aaargh!{{sic}}
DS 6 (S.E.) Banish: Umar
Now Umar so haughty --no more hold you sway!May the Winds of Watoomb --waft you away!
DS 7 (S.E.) Control: Another's Mind
By the Shades of the Shadowy Demons -- let his mind collapse before mine!
U.
DS 7 (S.E.) Conjure: The Circle of Cyttorak
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti, grant me the Circle of Cyttorak!
41 DS 9 (S.E.) Conjure: Crimson Bands of Cyttorak
Seven rings has Raggadorr --indigo to deepest black --but Oshtur grant me something more --crimson Bands of Cyttorak!
DS 9 (S.E.) Misc.: to Free the Earth Spirit
Imprisoned in amphorasleeps the dim and monstrous Zom --he never shall escape againhis barricades are strong --but not all prisons are so cold --for them there is a key --a goddess in her paradise,great Oshtur must pluck free!
C.
DS 9 (S.E.) Banish: Crimson Bands of Cyttorak
Vanish away now, Bands of red --the need for you has likewise fled!
DS 10 (S.E.) Conjure: Mists of Morpheus
Vapors of Valtorr --swirl 'round thy brow!may the Moon's Mists of Morpheusenvelop thee now!
DS 10 (S.E.) Conjure: the Illusion of Reality
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti,I conjure the illusion of reality for humanity's minds once more!
DS 11 (S.E.) Space: Teleportation
By candle-dark and starry day --out from this place I would away!
DS 12 (S.E.) Control: Banish Another's Consciousness (Sat-Van Spell)
Demons of darkness --in the name of Satannish --by the Flames of the Faltine --let Clea's mind vanish!
M.
42 DS 13 (S.E.) Banish: Night-Gaunts
The dark forces gather --then die with the dawn --by the light deep within mebegone!
TOD 44 (M.W.) Conjure: Image in an Orb
In the name of the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing, the All-Freeing, -- appear before me now! Rise from the Eye of Agamotto -- rise before the Sorcerer Supreme! Doctor Strange commands it!
[Note: must be used with an orb.]
DS 14 (S.E.) Banish: the Spell of Darkness
By the power of the Undead and the power of hte All-Life -- I abjure the spell of Darkness from thy brow -- and now -- myself!
DS 15 (S.E.) Conjure: an Awning to Cushion Someone's Fall
In the name of the eternal Ancient One --in the name of Adam Qadmonlet she who beholds death's silvery grinnot yet depart the sun!
DS 15 (S.E.) -Conjure: Mists of Morpheus
Vaapors of Valtorr --swirl 'round thy brow!May the Moon's Mists of Morpheusenvelop thee now!
DS 15 (S.E.) Banish: Demons
Back, spawn of Evil!Back to your leprous halls!
43 DS 16 (S.E.) Conjure: Power
In the name of the All-Life Tetragrammaton -- grant me thy might!
[Note: this one doesn't work for magic is "a fickle ally"]
DS 16 (S.E.) Misc.: Transmute Ordure to Water
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti,the King, Queen, Son and Daughter --may the filth in which I'm sinking now --transmute to surging water!
DS 18 (S.E.) Banish: Sea Monster
In the name of hte dream that grew --in the name of the dream that died --cast this creature from the dark sea depths --down again, and from our side!
DS 18 (S.E.) Conjure: Winds
Poseidon, deep father --through thy realm we go --we'd sail without seamen --if thy winds would blow!
DS 19 (S.E.) Banish: Skeletal Illusion
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth --Away with you! Away! --In the name of the Eternal Vishanti --Return to the earth & mud which spawned you! Begone!
DS 20 (M.W.) Conjure: Shield of the Seraphim
By enchantments Satannic,by evil Tyrannic --no spell shall they wieldto shatter Seraphim's shield!
44 DS 20 (M.W.) Conjure: Power
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth --Give me power! Give me the power!The power!
DS 20 (M.W.) Banish: Falsehood
Illusions of Ikonn -- reveal the truth to your master! Unveil the lies I see before me! Reveal what I've come here to find!
DS 20 (M.W.) Banish: Winds of Watoomb
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti -- let the Winds of Watoomb cease!
ANN 1 (M.W.) Banish: Storms
I command the storms to cease -- Calmness to your seas! Calmness along the pathways which lead to Allandra! The Empress of Phaseworld thus commands!
'Lectra
ANN 1 (M.W.) Control: Power Over Others "An Enchantment that None Can Resist."
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti -- cease!
[Note: accompanied by a mudra linking the little fingers of both hands together]
DS 22 (M.W.) --- Conjure: Snakes From Guns
By the Vipors of Valtorr! You will be stopped!
C.
DS 22 (M.W.) Conjure: Hurricane
Let he winds howl! Let my power be the power!
C.
DS 22 (M.W.) Conjure: Octopus
Let the Vermin control the earth!
C.
45 DS 22 (M.W.) Control: Teleport Others to an Assumed VBL
Winds of the Watoombtake the innocents away!Hide them in the deepest shadows --lest evil hold sway!
DS 22 (M.W.) Control: to Reverse the Foregoing Spell
Let all be as it once was!
DS 22 (M.W.) Control: Psychoprophylaxis
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth --by all that is sacred and true!By the sinister Sons of Satannish --let Clea's mind be new!
DS 23 (M.W.) Banish: Misbegotten Roots
By the power of the dread Dormammu --by the omniscience of the venerated Ancient One --
I call upon the Eternal Vishanti --for all misbegotten to begone! Begone!
DS 28 (M.W.) Misc.: to Restore a Cosmos to its Original Shape
In the name of the All-Seeing --Let my Cosmos be restored!
DS 29 (R.S.) Conjure: Shield of the Seraphim
'Fore the gathering doommay my power never yield --let the Winds of Watoombstrengthen Seraphim's Shield!
DS 30 (R.S.) Conjure: Light and Guidance
By Daranthon's lost loremake the darkness recedeand to my master's sidelet thy mystic light lead!
C.
46 DS 30 (R.S.) Banish: Despair Through Light
By the power that movesand breathes and flowsand grows with us as one --may Nirvalon quash all despairthrough pure white lightbe done!
Dr.S. & C.
DS 31 (D. Mc/R.S.) Banish: a Villain into a Pocket-Dimension
Let the risks all now be endinglet the blade fly to its heir!And in Dyzakk's Cage Unbendingshall the villain drift fore'er!
C.
DS 32 (R.S.) Space: Teleportation to Nightmare's World (no. #1).
Arise, you sulfurous mists! Heed the power of Fear! Carry me now to The Realm Unreal -- carry me to -- The Dimension of Dreams!
D.i.D.
DS 32 (R.S.) Conjure: a Triple Shield of Protection
By the Images of Ikonn --by the Darkhold's foul Tree --let our aegis grow thrice-fold --so mote it be!
[Note: this "radical spell" requires "careful co-ordination of incantation & movement" and it must be performed between two mirrors.]
Dr.S. & C.
DS 32 (R.S.) Banish: an Evil Bird
Bird of evil -- hear my call!By Balthakk's Bolts shall now you fall!
L.M. (Lou Mougin) p. 3 MNS 7 (W.R.) Effect??
By Oshtur's fearsome visage,before which all things do shake,by Hoggoth's hoary legionswhich bid the cosmos quake....
[Note: This is a re-use of the spell to awaken an enchanted sleeper in DS 170 , with the part about the sleeper left off and the scansion of line 2 ruined. The original was committed to paper by scribe R.T., who had a finer ear for poetry than W.R.]
MNS 7 (W.R.) Banish: Horde of Demons
The dark forces gather,then die with the dawn.By the light deep within me --Begone!
[Note: This is a re-use of the spell to banish Night Gaunts in DS 13 , first committed to paper by scribe S.E.]
Back to 46 DS 33 (R.S.) Banish: Mirror Images (Whence Spell)
Return -- return to the shining surfacefrom whence you came -- your native reality, the bi-dimensional plane.
47 DS 33 (R.Mc.) Banish: Evil Entity
O beam of purest light,heightened by Aggamon's distant might,smite this entity of eviland remove his substance from my sight!
[Note: the light from the Amulet of Agamottomust be focused through the Purple Crystal of Aggamon.]
DS 33 (R.Mc) Banish: Cold / Conjure: Warmth
I call upon the Flames of the Faltine to dissolve this frigid prison as the Shield of the Seraphim surrounds my love with its warming glow.
DS 33 (R.Mc.) Banish: Tempest
Cease your fury, O thundrous tempest. Your master bids you -- abate!
DS 33 (R.Mc.) Conjure Nightmare
Let the Vapours of Valtorr divide,in the name of the All-seeingreveal my ancient enemy,in whose realm all lay dreaming.
DS 33 (R.Mc.) Conjure: Faltine Flames
Let the unquenchable Flames of the Faltine consume you in their emerald embrace.
DS 33 (R.Mc.) Conjure: Light
Let Agamotto's all-revealing LightIlluminate the emptiness of your tainted soul.
DS 33 (R.Mc.) Misc.: Reassemble Broken Statue
Let the All-seeing Eye come forth -- and reverse the flow of time. As Agamotto grants this request and bids you statue arise. Arise!
[Note: all words to the contrary, Time's flow is not reallyreversed here. All that transpires is the reassembling of a broken statue.]
D.C. (David Cuccio) p. 1 DS 38 (C.C.) Summon: Astral Body to Earth Plane
By the demons that swoop o'er the shadowy shores --Let a mystical bolt pierce these barrier doors!In the name of the Eternal Vishanti!
Let the trances by donelet the veil be torn,with new life begun,be you now -- reborn!
C.
DS 38 (C.C.) Conjure: Gaping Abyss
From the bitter blazing landmay the Faltine raise their hand --may their flames now leap and hissopen wide a great abyss!
DS 39 (C.C.) Banish: Illusory Presence(Whence Spell)
By the Omnipotent Oshtur! By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! In the name of the Eternal Vishanti! Spirit form -- begone! Return to the dust from whence thou came!
DS 39 (C.C.) Transfer: Forms
By the light that gives life --By the power that we serve --in the name of the right --let our forms be transferred!!
C.
DS 39 (C.C.) Banish: Illusions
By the sand that time has shifted --By the Winds of Weird Watoomb --let the masking veil be lifted --though its lifting might bring doom!
DS 40 (C.C.) Banish: Spirit (Whence Spell)
By the Hoary Host of Hoggoth --By the Flawless Faltine's flame --let thy wicked power vanish!Go back to whence thou came!
D.C. p. 2 DS 40 (C.C.) Conjure: Constraining Rings
By the awesome nameless race --by the evil I abhor --let my fearsome foe now face --the Roving Rings of Raggadorr!
DS 42 (C.C.) Conjure: Concealing Mists
By the Vapors of Great Valtorr,which do all things conceal.By the powers of my mentor,now let the clouds congeal!
DS 44 (C.C.) Banish: Weapon's Power
By the Winds of Watoomb,and the Seraphim's Shade,let these mystic darts be quenched,let their dread fire now fade!
DS 44 (C.C.) Release: Captive
In the name of the Tetragrammaton!O Great Unmanifest!Hear my plea!Let this soul of one who died for love, for life --be free!!
65 {{Volume One, MS. Page 48}} =( SPELLS FROM GUEST APPEARANCES )=
SP 109 (S.L.) Space: Levitation With a Cloak
By the seven Rings of Raggadorr --Since I have donned my cloak of levitation --We shall journey now together!
SP 109 (S.L.) Banish: Weapon (Sat-Van Spell)
Demons of darknessin the name of Satannishby the Flames of the Faltine --let yon weapon now vanish!
SP 109 (S.L.) Control: to Awaken Someone From a Trance
In the name of the Eternal Vishanti --let the trance be done!Let the veil be torn!With new life begun --be you now -- reborn!
GR 30 (R.Mc.) Banish: Demonic Motorcyclist
By the fearsome Flames of Faltineand by Umar's cursed pawnin the name of the Vishanti -- go to Hades, demon-spawn!
GR 31 (R.Mc.) Banish: Dormammu
Now as I speak the arcane runelet swirl the raging Wind of Watoomb!And to his own dark world unnamedmay Dormammu be reclaimed!
HTD Treas. (S.G.) Banish: Combatants With Vapors of Valtorr
Come ye, Vapors of Valtorr, ye billows of enchantment, and waft away these combatants 'upon your wind of sorrow and silence!
HTD
70 {{Volume One, MS. Page 49}} UNPUBLISHED SPELLS
[A note on these spells: In 1978, while indexing all the spells published to date in the Strange Tales / Dr. Strange mythos, i believed that recent writers had fallen far from the high quality of rhymed spells that had once distinguished the series, especially under the scripting aegis of Stan Lee and Roy Thomas. When i spoke to a couple of Marvel writers about this, they told me that they felt rhymed spells were difficult to create. In response, i wrote a selection of samples to demonstrate to them that rhymed spells in various meters are easy and fun to concoct. Several of the demonstraion spells i wrote contained references to facets of actual occultism or to fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories outside the comic book series, which i thought might be worthwhile for the scripters to read for inspiration. In preparing this material for the web, i have appended pointers to some of those references as notes.]
CY Conjure: Power
Omnipotent Oshtur, hear my plea --as I will, so mote it be!
[Note: A reference to Freemasonry and its linguistic, if not philosophical, derivative, Gardnerian Wicca.]
CY Banish: Darkness
By the hissing of Hoggothwhose words are unspoken --may the powers of darknesslie scattered and broken!
CY Control: Sap Another's Strength (Sat-Van Spell)
By the loathsome mark of the Yellow Signmy power shall grow & yours decline --my strength shall wax and yours shall vanish --I command -- in the name of Supreme Satannish!
[Note: A reference to a favourite fantasy-horror book, "The King in Yellow" by Robert W. Chambers, as well as a demonstration of how one might vary the all-too-predictable Sat-Van Spell formula by reversing the positions of the words "Satannish" and "vanish."]
CY Misc.: "The Emerald Law"
In Hermes' name -- as above so belowby Faltine's Flame -- it must be so!
[Note: A reference to The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismagistis.]
CY Banish: Mystic Bonds
I call thy name, Eternity --unbound thou art by space or time!The cosmos dances to thy tune --yet i shall bind my will to thine!Eternity -- I will it so --that as thou art, so shall I be!Eternity -- I call thy name --no bonds can hold me -- I am free!
[Note: A demonstration of quartain form, varying from the usual couplets employed by the scripters.]
CY Conjure: Light
Gather darkness, stars like dust --dream questers do that which they must --begone, ye demons of the night --Agamotto -- light! More light!
[Note: A reference to three favourite science fiction and fantasy tales of my youth ("Gather Drakness" by Fritz Leiber, "The Stars Like Dust" by Isaac Asimov, and "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" by H. P. Lovecraft), as well as a nod to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's famous Freemasonic last words.]
71 {{Volume One, MS. Page 50}}
CY Conjure: Rings of Raggadorr
By the curse that befell Bethmoora --by her death in the Strangling Sands --may the roving Rings of Raggadorrentrap your helpless hands!
[Note: A reference to a fantasy story by Lord Dunsany.]
CY Conjure: Winds
By the Shadow Out of Timeby the Colour Out of Space --by Ningauble's Seven Eyes --and by Sheelba's eyeless face --by the whisperer in darkness --and the awesome nameless race --we shall ride upon the winds --Watoomb, lift us from this place!
[Note: A reference to some of my favourite stories by H. P. Lovecraft and Fritz Leiber.]
CY --- Conjure: Mystic Bonds ("The Spell of Seven Sevens")
By all the seven deaths Satannish bringsmy foe encased in seven crimson Bands!Encircle him with seven roving rings!As seven seas do circumscribe the lands!By seven darkly shadowed Seraphimwhose seven veils the secret sigils hide --these powers shall enshroud & prison him'til seven seals at last shall open wide!
[Note: The comic book scripters made no use of conventional real-world magical number symbolism, so i demonstrated here how it might be done.]
CY Conjure: Visions in an Orb
Ningauble of the Seven Eyesand Sheelba of the eyeless face --
let Agamotto's orb now riserevealing truth, by Oshtur's grace!
[Note: More Friz Leiber.]
CY Misc.: Strengthen Another
By Faltine's greater Flamesmay these worldly fires pale --and may the sacred Seraphimrestore this body frail!
THE LESSER BOOKOF THE
VISHANTI
A Companion to the Dr. Strange Comic Books
compiled by catherine yronwodewith nagasiva yronwode
CONTENTS | PROLEPSIS | INTROIT | VOLUME ONE | INTERMEZZO | VOLUME TWO | APPENDICES
INTERMEZZO: THE RELIGION
Towards a Vishantist Cosmology
by cat [sign] yronwode
Page 1 The Marvel Universe, like our own "Real" one, is a vast unknown to the inhabitants thereof. Even though Earth-M's scientific & magical knowledge surpasses ours and contact with extradimensional races such as the Kree, Skrull, Asgardian & Undying has become routine, the central problems which face Marvel-Earth's philosophers are the same as thos e we face: What is the nature of the Universe? How did it come to be? What is life? When, where, why and how did it originate? What is death? What affect does it have on consciousness? There are no proven answers to these questions on Earth-M, any more than there are here, but people on both worlds (and probably on all worlds) have produced an almost infinite variety of theoretical ones, based on years of metaphysical speculation and personal vision.
Historically-speaking, the majority of hypothetical solutions to the problem of existence have been philosophies and religions. There is no sharp dividing line between these two categories, but in general, philosophies can be said to merely propound theories of belief, "answers" if you will, while religions, in addition to supplying "answers, further stipulate the necessity of worshipful behavior toward some greater-than-human entity or force known as "deity"; a goddess, or a god or any number of such theoretical beings. "Orthodox" religions usually emphasize the all-powerful nature of deity and humanity's subservience to It, whereas "magical" religions propose to control earthly events through manipulation of Deity, Its attributes or Its powers.
Because Earth-M and our Earth ("Earth-Real" to all
Page 2 you chauvinists) are so similar in other ways, it is natural to assume that many our religious and philosophical systems are analogous to each other. The data found in comic books bears this out -- not only are Christians, Jews, Hindus, Moslems and Buddhists encountered in the Marvel world, but present-day people there recall ancient Norse and Greek religions (whose gods and goddesses bear an uncanny resemblance to the living extra-dimensional Asgardian and Olympian peoples or "gods" -- which in turn raises some interesting insoluable questions as to what exactly constitutes "godhood" in the Omniverse). Virtually every religious system on Earth-Real has its counterpart on Earth-M, from Aztec to Voodoo, and even recent pseudo-philosophies such as Silva Mind Control and the Unification Church and the Yucchies.
In addition to the numerous analogous belief systems which appear on both worlds, there are some religions & philosophies which to date have only occurred on one Earth or the other. Among these are several of Earth-Real's defunct religions -- Scythian reindeer-shamanism and the Cretan Mother-Goddess cult come to mind at once -- however, the fact that these obsolete religions haven't been mentioned in comic books so far doesn't preclude their past existence on Earth-M. After all, most Earth-Real people don't think much about the Scythians nowadays either, yet they once held a territory vaster than the U.S.S.R.
Even if Earth-Real's ancient cults cannot be proven to have never flourished on Earth-M, there are some Earth-M religions which we can almost prove to have never existed on Earth-Real. I say "almost" because the historical and pre-historic records of our world are fragmentary at beast and,
Page 3 while it is unlikely that this planet ever possessed a sunken city called R'lyeh or a hidden Himalayan kingdom called Kamar-Taj, these possibilities cannot be conclusively disproven, given the current state of archaeological knowledge. However, it is extremely unlikely that the cult of Cthulhu or the Order of the Vishanti were known on Earth-Real prior to the time when the first stories about them were published, and the fact that both of these magical religions now exist on our world is more likely to be an example of cross-dimensional drift than a recrudescense from our own dim past. The Cthulhoid cult in particular has been found to have spread to a number of worlds for, in addition to its ancient existence on Earth-M and its recent (circa 1927) appearance on Earth-Real, i have also run into references to it in stories set on Earth-DC-I, Earth-REH, Earth-Charlton, Earth-Warren and Earth-HPL, the latter continuum beings its probable point of origin.
The Vishantist Order has not spread as far, cross-dimensionally-speaking, as the Cthulhu cult. To date, with the exception of one fleeting remark made by a wizard on Earth-Warren (in EERIE [[##?]]) and even more obscure reference to Tantrik Vishantism in a rather bizarre little underground comic entitled DR. STRENGE 184, i have only seen mention of this cult on Earths-M and -Real. It is interesting to note that there are Vishantist graffitti in a public toilet in Austin, Texas and an actual Altar of the Blue Elf Vishantist Geek Orthodox Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Earth-Real, for even on its home-continuum, Vishantism is a very esoteric sect, being rarely seen outside pages of STRANGE TALES, DR. STRANGE, and DEFENDERS comics. Luckily, the truths
Page 4 inherent in any cosmological belief system cannot be judged by counting the number of its adherents and thus, since no metaphysical theories have ever been proven unequivocally true or false, Vishantism is potentially as valid as any other schema in the eye of the philosophically-detached beholder, and further, if said eye belongs to a poetically-inclined beholder, Vishantism, its demoniac dozens of deities described by strange strings of alliterative adjectives and its doggeral enchantments breaking every known rule of versification, can be seen to possess a quaint and powerful charm not found in the stuffy orthodox canons with which an ignorant populace contents itself.
The term "Vishantism" is of course unknown on Earth-M. Even on Earth-Real it is merely a convenient misnomer for a whole complex of myths, conjurations, prayers and practises. The affirmation of belief in the existence of a group of omnipotent beings known as the Vishanti is but one facet of this pantheistic metaphysical conglomerate and, while adherents of the system on Earth-M refer to it as "The Mystic Arts" or "Our Occult Order", it could as readily be called Hoggothism or The Faltinian Faith by outsiders, for the Vishanti are not considered supreme deities but are simply the most consistently-benevolent and powerful of a whole host of super-human entities and cosmic forces. A complete catalogue of all the forces, powers and deities invoked during typical Vishantist conjurations would fill almost as many pages as a Catholic hagiography. For the purposes of this short introduction to the subject, i propose to present a brief annotated history of the sect, its major articles of faith and some speculations as to the nature of its gods & goddesses. Every deity or cosmic force is followed by a reference to the comic book in which it first appeared, and subsequent important references are also noted when necessary. Abbreviations are as follows:
ST - STRANGE TALESDS - DR. STRANGEMP - MARVEL PREMIERE
Page 5 DEF - DEFENDERS
Until his death and unification with the Universe (a.k.a. Eternity) in 1973, the hierophant of the Vishantist Order on Earth-M, the so-called Sorcerer Supreme, was a man known only as The Ancient One. According to his own account (ST148, DS4), The Ancient One was born sometime prior to 1373 A.D. in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Kamar-Taj, where both he and his rival, the wicked Kaluu, practised Vishantism. Although the name of The Ancient One's teacher is unknown, his skeleton and those of several generations of Sorcerers Supreme were seen in the Crypts of Ka-uu, the traditional resting place for leaders of the order (MP10). After the fall of Kamar-Taj in 1466 A.D. (ST148), The Ancient One took up a hermit-like residence in a cave-temple. In ST115 his home is said to be in Thibet, but in DS169 the area is referred to as northern India, so one can assume that it lies along the disputed borderlands between the two countries.
From sometime ("years" -- ST115) prior to 1963, and until his death, The Ancient One's chief disciple was an American doctor named Stephen Strange. When The Ancient One became one with the Universe (MP10), Dr. Strange succeeded him as head of the Order. Strange took as his chief disciple an extra-dimensional woman known as Clea (MP12). Clea, who first appeared in ST126, was revealed, in DS9, to have a most interesting genetic-spiritual lineage. She was raised by her father Orini, a human disciple of the flame-headed demi-god Dormammu, Dr. Strange's sworn enemy but, unbeknownst to anyone save her parents, she is the daughter of Dormammu's half-sister, Umar The
Unrelenting. Dormammu (who refers to himself as "a concept, a shared belief") and the half-human "goddess" Umar are children of the Flawless Faltine, a group of deities who are discussed in more detail below. Thus Clea is 3/4 human and 1/4 deity. For a complete biography of Clea, see my article in THE HEROINES SHOWCASE 15, available from Steven R. Johnson, P.O. Box 1329, Campbell, California, 95008.
Page 6 So much for the historical and mundane aspects of the Vishantist Order -- for the most part it appears to be a lose anarchic confederation of wizards, magicians, sorcerers and enchanters, not a Church in the usual sense of the word. What follows is a partial list of the deities and places deemed sacred by members of the Vishantist faith. Much of the data given here is speculative, but that is a property common to all philosophies and religions and should pose no problem to the prospective student of the subject.
The Vishanti, known variously as "the deathless", "the eternal", "the blessed" and "the all-seeing", are a group of deities of indeterminate number, first mentioned in ST115. Three Vishanti were seen in MP5 but they stated then that the physical forms they appeared in were donned solely for the occasion and bore no resemblance to their actual visages. Just for the record, one Vishanta took the form of a blue-grey man with faceted insectile eyes, the second attired itself as a flame-eyed orange lion with an ankh on its forehead, and the third came dressed as a crowned green woman with stars for eyes. (See figure 1.) It is important to note that all three Vishanti had abnormal eyes and that each one took on some vivid colouration. The symbolism of the Eye and the magical use of colour are central to Vishantism as a whole and re-appear continually in other contexts. The word "Vishanti" itself is probably derived from the Sanskrit
and is related to the name of one of the three chief Hindu gods, Vishnu. Its meaning is "The Preservers" or "Those Who Maintain [Life]". This derivation agrees very well with the "ageless" or "eternal" nature usually attributed to the Vishanti, as well as explaining why the greatest magical text of the Order, The Book of the Vishanti, is basically a compendium of counter-spells or defensive magicks and cannot be used for destructive purposes (ST116, ST148). Whether the Vishanti themselves wrote the book which bears their name is not known, but the volume first appeared on Earth-M in Babylonia at the temple of the priests of Marduk (ST148, ST150).
Page 7 Vishantism has its share of paradoxes and contradictions -- no religion is immune from inconsistency -- and one of its worst cases of illogic centers around the deity known as the Omnipotent Oshtur (first for having "hurled a lance" (ST162) and for having a "fearsome isage" (ST170). In addition to Oshtur's fierceness, the "wisdom" of the deity is also mentioned ([[ST]]177) as is "Oshtur's mystic prayer" (ST168). Rather than being a prayer to Oshtur, this invocatin is more likely one of the many ascribed to the hand of the deity and collected in The Book of Oshtur (ST145). The confusion surrounding Oshtur is a question of gender -- in one passage ("Omnipotent Oshtur, Lord of the Skies" -- ST167) it is indubitably male, but in several other references Oshtur is unquestionably addressed as "Goddess" (DEF55). Since "Oshtur" is obviously a cognate of Ishtar, Oestara and Astarte, various names applied to the Middle Eastern and European fertility goddess, it is my contention that the title "Lord of the Skies" was a translator's error and should read "Lady of the Skies". Oshtur may well be the green starry-eyed Vishanta seen in MP5, green representing her fertility and the star-eyes linking her to the skies by reference to the symbolically "green" planet
Venus, which was similarly consecrated to Ishtar on Earth-Real.
Another entity whom i believe to be one of the Vishanti, although this is pure speculation, is the All-Seeing Agamotto. "All-Seeing" is a phrase often encountered in Vishantist circles, due to the extraordinary value the cult places on eyes. It can be a purely honourary term, as when The Ancient One is called "All-Seeing" (ST117), or it can have literal meaning, as in the case of deities such as The Vishanti and Agamotto. Agamotto is renowned as the creator or former-possessor of two of the cult's most important power-objects -- the Amulet (or "Eye") of Agamotto (ST127) and the Crystal ("Orb", "Eye") of Agamotto (ST118). Both the Amulet and the Crystal have been called Eyes because,
Page 8 in addition to their several other functions, both can be used for scrying. (See figure 2.) Within the Orb of Agamotto there is a subjective and "unreal" dimension (DS1-5) and it is here that Dr. Strange meets Death and dies. When he is born again, an ankh, the symbol of Life, blazes on his forehead -- in the same position that the Amulet-Eye is placed when in use. I believe this points to the conclusion that Agamotto is one of the Vishanti ("Preservers of Life") -- the flame-eyed leonine Vishanta with an ankh on his forehead!
The Hosts of Hoggoth, usually called the "Hoary" Hosts (ST116), are forces for good, like Oshtur & Agamotto. It is said that Hoggoth "aids not the wicked" (ST125). In ST123 there is a confusing statement to the effect that "every little Hoggoth grows up to be a Vishanti." Because these words are part of a last-panel teaser by Stan Lee and do not purport to be spoken by a member of the Vishantist faith, i have chosen to interpret them to mean that there is but one Hoggoth -- and every little member
of Hoggoth's Hosts grows up to be a Vishanta (the singular of Vishanti). If Hoggoth's Hosts are larval Vishanti, it logically follows that Hoggoth himself is one of The Blessed Ones, presumably the blue-green lens-eyed man. Hoggoth and his Hosts live in "a shadowy dimension" from which Dr. Strange once conjured a Hoary Hand. The "Mists of Hoggoth" reveal dimensional doorways and the "Path of Hoggoth" guides trans-dimensional travelers to safety (ST116).
The most enigmatic entity in the Vishantist pantheon is a being known as Eternity, about whom endless speculations and contradictions have been voiced since his first mention in ST134. In ST137-8 the situation is rather straightforward: by chanting "one of the most potent spells of all time -- in words so secret, phrases so soul-shattering, that we dare not reveal them here to your mortal gaze!!" and thus causing the Amulet of Agamotto to enlarge
Page 9 and create a dimensional doorway, Dr. Strange enters another dimension. He encounters a microcosm there which soon grows to superhuman proportions and assumes "the image of a man" formed of suns, planets, nebulae and other galactic detritus. It is this cosmic man whom Dr. Strange addresses as "Eternity." Since that time, Eternity has come to be known as "the All-Being, the Universe" (DS13). If this means what it seems to mean, the implication is that the Universe is a microcosm embedded in another Universe which is reached by leaving the Universe -- a somewhat paradoxical state of affairs, to say the least. Eternity has had numerou encounters with humanity -- he gave The Ancient One the Amulet of Agamotto which Dr. Strange now wears (ST138), he caused world-wide memory-changes to create the short-lived "Stephen Sanders" secret identity for Dr. Strange (DS182) and, before his cataclysmic clash with
Dormammu (ST146), he and the Dread One were allies in league against the monstrous Zom (ST157). When The Ancient One became "one with the Universe" it was Eternity he became part of (as seen in DS13) and when Dr. Strange faced Death within the Orb of Agamotto, it was Eternity's vacant form which kept him alive (DS4). It has been explicitly stated that Eternity is not "God" (JHVH, the Judeo-Christian deity), although he was capable fo recreating the Earth after Nightmare caused him to destroy the original model during a bad dream. It was also stated at that time (DS13) that Eternity's dreams are as reality to the inhabitants of Earth (Earth-M, that is). The questions this raises about the subjectivity of the Universe, the nature of human consciousness, and the possible existence of the human soul have never been satisfactorily answered. Frankly, speculation as to the true nature of Eternity is a bootless task, given the vast amount of irrational and contradictory data which has been written concerning
Page 10 him. Suffice it to say that he has been identified with Adam Qadmon, the Macrocosmic Man of the Hebrew Kabala, and leave it at that.
There is another link between the Kabala and Vishantism in the persons of The Seraphim, a group of six-winged Hebrew angels which the Vishantists invoke in the form of a magical "shield." Typically the Vishantist emphasis on magical manipulation of power sources, rather than worshipful subservience to godhead, results in the Seraphim's demotion from Jewish Holy Spirithood to the rank of mere "Shades."
Judeo-Christian overtones can also be found in the name of another Vishantist deity, The Supreme Satannish. Although the names are similar, this entity, a monstrous flaming humanoid, is not to be confused with Satan, a.k.a.
Lucifer or Beelzebub, the Devil of Christian myth. According to Dr. Strange, the reality of Satan and his habitat, Hell, is entirely subjective (DS16) while Satannish, to the best of my understanding, is the "evil" but objectively real denizen of another dimension (DS174). The similarity of names may have originated in translation, as so many errors do.
If Oshtur, the Vishanti, Eternity, Satannish and the Seraphim can be seen as analogues to known figures of Earth-Real religions, the Flawless Faltine surely cannot. First mentioned in ST142, the Faltine are said in DS181 to dwell in a "bitter blazing land", presumeably a far-off dimension similar to that inhabited by the green felinoid Tazza (ST144) where the very landscape burns in eternal twilight. Tazza is an ally of the Faltinian demi-god Dormammu, part-time ruler (with his rival-sister Umar) of the Dark Domain. The combination of darkness and fire is the
Page 11 embodiment of "evil" in Vishantist circles, especially when contrasted with the "good" symbols of the Eye and light. Evil or negative attributes of deity are invariably seen as subjective -- Dormammu, son of The Faltine, states that he is "a concept" brought to life by "the masses' cry of 'Dormammu'" -- and his reality is oddly reminiscent of Sir James. M. Barrie's Tinkerbell who also depends for her existence on the collective will of her audience. Umar, who is half human and half Faltine, is the result of some unknown person mating with his or her own "concepts" -- an unusual but not unique, metaphysical trick. As stated above, the chief disciple of the head of the Vishantist Order is Clea, unacknowledged daughter of Umar by the extra-dimensional human Orini -- a woman who is 3/4 human and 1/4 subjective deity. This is not so bizarre as it might seem, for at the core of all Vishantist philosophy there is a firmly subjectivist
worldview, perhaps most thoroughly explored by author Steve Englehart in MP8-14 and DS1-17, particularly DS1, DS2, and DS4 (the "Death" issues) and DS10-13 (the "End of the World" saga). The Faltine are also interesting to the student of Vishantism for another reason -- they are prime examples of the unusual Vishantist practise of invoking the power of one's enemies, or of evil spirits, for the purpose of good. Not only have The Ancient One and Dr. Strange routinely called up the Flames of the Flawless Faltine, but in times past, they regularly implored th aid of the Dread Dormammu (ST115). To this day, Clea still
Page 12 swears oaths in Umar's name (DS15).
The remaining Vishantist conjurations may or may not be addressed to deities. Some, such as "the Twelve Moons of Munnopor" (ST120) obviously refer to a sacred place. "The Seven Rings of Raggadorr" (ST124) may be the finger jewelry of some cosmic being, but most likely, due to the fact that mention is made (in ST148) of a "dimension of Raggadorr," the "Rings" are those which encircle a planet similar in appearance to Saturn. The Rings are said to range in colour "from indigo to deepest black" (DS9) and these are, not-so-coincidentally, the colours assigned to Saturn in the Hebrew Kabala. The Crimson Circles of Cyttorak (ST125), more commonly referred to as the Crimson Bands (ST126) are likewise most probably not the possessions of Cyttorak, a super-human entity, but rather some cosmological landmark from The Crimson Cosmos [of Cyttorak] (DS182). A good case can be made that The Images of Ikonn (DS172) and The Forbidden Ritual of Ikonn (DS145) refer to an otherwise unknown deity, but Denak, whence come Demons (ST149) is obviously a non-Earthy dimension, not a god.
Other lesser lights of the Vishantist pantheon include Farallah, an entity with fangs (DS1); Watoomb, the namesake of a dorje-like wand (SP.ANN2) and the force behind some agical winds (DS173); and Valtorr (ST11[[3?]]), in whose vapors dwell The Nameless (ST155) and from whence come Vipers (ST144). This list is by no means exhaustive.
Page 13 Simply knowing the names and attributes of a pantheon of goddesses and gods tells the reader very little about the religious practises devoted to them. Basically, Vishantist magicians do not worship, they conjure. Although countless magically-oriented cultures, from the Assyrians on down to the Assinboine, have independently originated similar methods, only Vishantism and European Ceremonial Magic have developed such rigidly exact formulas for the production of supernatural egvents. The best Vishantist conjurations are spoken in rhyme. A classic and oft-used spell of banishment may run as follows:
DEMONS OF DARKNESSIN THE NAME OF SATANNISHBY THE FLAMES OF THE FALTINELET [---] NOW VANISH!
[SP.ANN2 -- STAN LEE]
All that is necessary for the performance of the feat is to insert the name of the vanishee in the appropriate space. Some Vishantist verses are rank limping doggeral:
O BEAM OF PUREST LIGHTHEIGHTENED BY AGGAMON'S DISTANT MIGHTSMITE THIS ENTITY OF EVILAND REMOVE HIS SUBSTANCE FROM MY SIGHT!
[DS33 -- RALPH MACCHIO]
-- but others have a genuine poetic majesty in spite of their functional nature:
MIGHTY OSHTUR, TOWER OF TOWERS --WITHOUT LIMIT ARE THY POWERS!TO YON DEMONS NOW REVEAL THEM --INTO ONE MASS NOW -- CONGEAL THEM!
[DS181 -- ROY THOMAS]
Traditionally, the cantrips are accompanied by specific hand-gestures (or mudras as they are called in Sanskrit). The importance of these mudras is such that a sorcerer whose hand
Page 14 are bound is rendered virtually ineffective (ST143). By far the most ubiquitous gesture is one known in Sanskrit as the Karana Mudra (see figure 3). There is hardly an issue of STRANGE TALES or DR. STRANGE which doesn't depict some Vishantist making what Steve Ditko once called "The Sign" [in BLUE BEETLE comics, of all places!]. The Sign seems to have the same degree of importance to Vishantists that crossing oneself does to members of the Catholic cult, although the former is magically-aggressive, while the latter is religiously-protective.
This brief survey of the Vishantist faith would be incomplete without one final note: on the letters page of STRANGE TALES 129 a reader wrote to ask whether the deities mentioned in hte stories were "the gods of some long-dead religion" or whether Stan Lee "made them up as [he] went along". Lee offered "a late-model no-prize" to the person who could come up with the best answer to this question -- but apparently no satisfactory answers have been received during the ensuing 13 years,
because none have been printed and the prize has never been awarded. I think a genuine uncirculated 1965 model no-prize would look nifty-keen on the dashboard of my 1932 Bugatti, so i am herewith submitting my entry into what may be the longest-running contest in Marvel history.
The Vishantist faith, as documented above, embraces a world-view which can best be labeled "intersubjective." If one were to ask Baron Mordo or Dr. Strange whether their deities had been "made up" or were remnants of an ancient cult, they would probably laugh and
Page 15 turn away. To even ask would be to reveal oneself as a cowan, an outsider. Actually, to the subjectivist-magician, the question, as phrased, is utterly meaningless. It matters not at all whether the deities were or were not at one time "made up" because they are now in Dormammu's words, "a shared belief" and, as such, they have become the goddesses and gods of a cult as ancient and as "real" as its collective adherents believe it to be. Furthermore, the zen-Vishantist might chuckle -- you too are only the composite of your own self-conceptions and what others think you are: what we believe is what we get, and a "magician" is simply one whose powers of belief are adamantine and unswerveable in the face of danger.
Of course, this answer will not satisfy the objectivist reader who thinks that Vishantism is a "fiction" which appears in "comic books." In fact, i doubt that any answer will please such a reader, but what the hey -- it's worth a try anyway. The existence of "other dimensions" cannot be disproved by any known objective science, at least not at this time, and the nature of "other dimensions" is open to any interpretation one chooses to make. One theory of "other dimensions", the so-called
"Omniversal Theory", postulates that "all 'fiction' is 'real' -- somewhere" and that there are "alternative universes" where "comic books" are "reality." Omniversally speaking, the Vishantist pantheon was neither "made up", nor is it the remnant of "some long-dead religion." Vishantist deities are exactly what they purport to be -- the living goddesses and gods of an active Occult Order on another continuum, the "alternative universe" we call Earth-Marvel.
'Nuff said, Hoggoth-lovers -- and may your Amulet never tickle!
=( DEITIES, POWERS, AND FORCES )=
A FirstAppearance____
Abyss --- (The Eternal __) ST 162 (M.).
Adam Qadmon --- See Eternity.
ST 115 Agamotto --- First mentioned in ST 115, Agamotto may be one of the Vishanti.
He is the creator of two Power Objects, the Orb (or Crystal) and the Amulet (or Eye). The latter was presented to Dr. Strange by the Ancient One, who in turn had it from Eternity.
(__'s All-Revealing Light) DS 34 (All Seeing __) ST 115 (A.O.), 116, 126, 129, 160, 162
{{??}}, 164
(All-Seeing Eye of __) ST 129, 130, 136, 158, 164, 166, SP ANN 2 (= DS 179), GR 29, DS 34
(Awesome __) ST 132, 133
(Eternal Eye of __) ST 140
All-Being --- MP 3. [Note: this may be Eternity.]
ST 154 All-Freeing --- ST 154, 157, DS 172, MP 3, 8, TOD 44. [Note: this may be Eternity..]
ST 154 All-Knowing --- ST 154, TOD 44, DS ANN 1. See also Vishanti.
All-Life --- (The Power of the __) DS 14, DS 16. [Note: this may be Eternity.] All-Mind --- (The Omniscience of the __) DS 11.
ST 154 All-Seeing --- ST 154, 157, 163, DS 172, MP 3, TOD 44, DS 33.
See also Agamotto, Ancient One, Vishanti. All-Spawning --- MP 3. [Note: this may be Eternity.] All-Wise --- ST 162. See also Vishanti. Almost Seen --- (Mystic Gesture of the __) ST 166. {{??}} Amtor --- This is the Venusian name for Venus. See Carson of Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
(The Unspeakable __) ST 150
ST 117 Ancient One --- First seen in ST 110, Dr. Strange's mentor was originally
referred to as "The Master" and he was not invoked in a spell until ST 117. The Ancient One was born circa 1400 AD in the Himalayan kingdom of Kamar-Taj and died near there, in the Crypts of Kaa-U in 1973, becoming one with the Universe, or, to put it more accurately, one with Eternity. ST 129, 161, 166, DS 171, DS 20, ANN 1, GR 31, DS 34.
(All-seeing __) ST 117 (Eternal __) DS 15
[MY MENTOR] DS 172
(My Departed __) ST 157, MP 14, DS 17
(My Vanished __) ST 158
Antimatter --- (The Ninth Theorem of __) ST 165 (Yandroth).
B Balthakk --- (__'s Bolts) DS 32. Belial --- (The Twin Horns of __) ST 164. See also Satan. Bromagdon --- (__'s Ruby Rain) DS 19.
C Chaos --- DS 28. See also Order. Cinnibus --- (The Seven Suns of __) DS 34. Cone --- (Conjurer's __) ST 127. Creators --- The Creators are a group of evil sorcerers from all times who banded together to control several dimensions by becoming sentient stars.
(The Almighty __) DS 26 (demonic hag).
Crystal --- (The Living __) DS 27. [Note: this is not to be confused with the Crystal (Orb) of Agamotto, which is a Power Object]
ST 125 Cyttorak --- It has never been conclusively determined whether Cyttorak,
first mentioned in ST 125, is an entity or a place. The most likely hypothesis is that Cyttorak is a red ringed planet in The Crimson Cosmos, a dimension which can only be reached by reciting the "Spell of Cyttorak." See also Raggador for a comparison between these two entries. MP 8.
(__'s Seventh Crimson Band) ST 165 (Circle(s) of __) DS 7
(Crimson Bands of __) ST 126, 128 (Demon) 132 (M.'s minion), 133, 134 (D.), 142, 143, 151, 152, 154, 158, MP3, 8, DS 1, 9, 12, TOD 44, DS 15, 19, 20, (Xander), 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, SP 109, DS 34
(Crimson Crystals of __) ST 155, MP 5, 6, 8, DS 17, 34
(Scarlet Sphere of __) DS 17
(Seven Bands of __) ST 157, DS 175
D Danak --- See Denak. Daranthon --- (__'s Lost Lore) DS 30. Dark --- (The __) DS 177 (S.ofS.), MP 13.
ST 115 Darkness ---
(Demons of __) See Demons of Darkness. (Forces of __) ST 115 (A.O.), DS 169 (A.O.)
(Powers of __) ST 115 (M.), 116, 153 (U.), 154, DS 177 (Asmodeus)
Daughter --- (The __) DS 16.
ST 129 Demons ---
(__ Beyond Dimensions) ST 166 (__ of Darkness) ST 151 (U.), 152 (U.), 155 (U.), DS 178
SP ANN 2 (= DS 179), MP 9, DS 12 (M.) (__ of Denak) (spelled Danak in first two entries) ST 149 (Kaluu), 155
(U.), 157 (Zom), 158, DS 172, 173, 175, 176, MP 6, 9 (guard), DS 6, 7, 9 10, 11, 12, TOD 44, DS 16 (C.), 17 (C.), 18, 19, 20, ANN 1, 22, 23, 24, GR 29, 30, 31 (C.)
(__ of Dread) DS 177
(__ of the Dark Dimension) i.e. D.'s Dimension ST 151 (U.). See also Dormammu's Demons.
(__ of Night and Day) ST 142 (Demon)
(Loathesome __) ST 162 (M.)
(Shades of the Shadowy __) ST 129 (Tiboro)
[Note: there is also a place called the Dimension of Demons (ST 141) which has never been seen. It may be identical with the Dimension of Denak.]
ST 149 Denak --- First mentioned in ST 149, where it was spelled Danak, this
presumed dimension is known only for the fact that it is the home of Demons. These Demons can be conjured up, appearing in the form of grotesque and colourful flying entities. All entries for Denak are listed under Demons, since the word has never appeared in any other connection.
ST 115 Dormammu --- A flame-headed entity, sometimes called a "demi-god", who
dwells in The Dimension of Darkness, also known as The Dark Domain. His half-sister, who shares one Faltine parent with him, is Umar. His unacknowledged niece is Clea, lover and disciple of Dr. Strange. Dormammu is first mentioned in an invocation in ST 115. He was, at one time, an ally of Eternity (and possibly the
Ancient One) in the fight against Zom. He is first seen in ST 126, and from that time forward has been one of the more persistent enemies of Dr. Strange. See also Mormammu. ST 153 (U.), 160 (M.), H 126 (V. Nyborg).
(__'s Demons) DS 1, 8 (C.), 15 (C.), 16 (C.), 17 (C.), 18, 19, 26 (C.), 34
(Dark Domain of __) DS 170 (N.)
(Dread __) ST 123, 124, 125, DS 169 (M.), MP 4, 9, DS 8 (Orini), TOD 44, DS 19, 23
(Spell of __) ST 115 (A.O., M.)
Dream --- (The __ That Grew, the __ That Died) DS 18. Dyzakk --- (__'s Cage) (a "pocket dimension") DS 31.
E Elder Ones --- (__ of the Universe) MP 7. See also Gods, eldritch. For a further discussion of these entities, the reader is advised to consult the works of Lovecraft, Derleth, Von Juntz, et al. Elementals --- (Low Level __) DS 26. Eternal ---
(The __) ST 156 [Note: this is probably the Vishanti.] (Eye of the __) ST 160 [Note: if Agamotto is indeed one of the
"Eternal" Vishanti, this may be another way of saying "The Eye of Agamotto."]
ST 134 Eternity --- First seen in ST 134, this one-time ally of Dormammu and friend of
the Ancient One, is never invoked under his own name, but is always referred to as Adam Qadmon, the All-Being, {{and?}} the Universe when called upon in
mystic rituals. The Ancient One, upon his death in MP 10, became "one with the Universe", that is, one with Eternity. DS 13, 15, 26 (A.O.) Evil --- ST 158
(__ Eternal) ST 154 (U.) (__ Tyrannic) DS 20
(Soul of __) ST 162 (M.)
Eye --- (Mystic __) ST 137. See also Eternal, Eye of the , and Agamotto, All Seeing Eye of.
F Faltine --- First mentioned in ST 142, The Faltine seem to be a group of "conceptual entities" or gods. They dwell in a "bitter blazing land" (DS 181) and are parents of Dormammu and the half-human Umar (DS 9). They are often referred to as "flawless" by both those who worship them and by the enemies of their worshippers. DS 181.
(Faltinian Flames) DS 31 (Alaric) (The Flames of the __) ST 145, 151, (U.), 155 (U.), 158, 160, 161,
163, 164{{?}}, 165, 166, DS 169, 172, 176, 177, 178, SP ANN 2 (= DS 179), SUB 22, MP 4, 5, 8, DS 8, 12, (M.), 19, 23, 27, GR 30, DS 33, 34
(The Flames of the Flawless __) ST 142, 165 (Demon)
DS 1 Faralla --- (The Fangs of __) DS 1.
Fear --- (The touchstone of __) ST 152 (U.). Fire ---See also Flames and Faltine.
(__ and Smoke) ST 162 (The Talons of Cosmic __) ST 163
Flames ---See also Fire and Faltine. (Hades' Foulest __) ST 162 (M.) (Thrice Infernal __) ST 162 (M.)
Forces --- (Intradimensional __) MP 7.
G God --- DS 17 (J. Mandarin), 22 (innocent bystander), DS 29.
See also Gods, JHVH and Lord.
Gods --- (Eldritch __) DS 2, 26 See also Elder Ones. ([All] the __) MP 13 (M.), DS 1, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
Good --- (The Forces of __) ST 117 (The powers of __) MP 8
See also Spirits, good.
H Hannah --- A Jewish prophetess.
(Holy __) ST 129 (T.V. Man).
Head --- (My Father's __) DS 2 (S. Surfer). Heavens ---
(The __) DS 24 (Apalla) (Good __) DS 15
ST 116 Hoggoth --- First mentioned in ST 116, very little is known about Hoggoth aside
from the fact that he "aids not the wicked" (ST 125) and commands a host of "hoary" followers. The word "hoary" may either refer to the fact that the HOSTS are aged, or to their greyish white or ice-like hue. When the "Hoary Hand of Hoggoth" was conjured up in ST 123, it was seen to be grey, humanoid, and of monstrous proportions. Hoggoth may be one of the Vishanti. ST 131, DS 28, 33, 34, 35. See also Hosts.
(__'s Grim Clan) DS 180 (__'s Hoary Legions) DS 170
(Ever Helpful Hosts of __) DS 181
(Hoary Hand of __) This hand is conjured up from "a shadowy dimension in ST 123, but is not invoked as a power until two issues later. ST 125 (M.), 139, 140
(Hoary Hosts of __) ST 116, 123, 124, 126, 127, 130, 132, 133, 135, 137, 141, 144, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155 (A.O.), 157, 159, 160, 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, DS 174, 175, 176, 178, SP ANN 2 (= DS 179), SUB 22, MP 3, 4, 8, 9 10, 12, 14, DS 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26
(Hook of __) MP 7
(Hosts of the Hoary __) ST 120
(Mists of __) ST 116
(Path of __) ST 116
Hosts --- (The __) GR 29 (D. disguised as Dr.S.), 30. These Hosts are more than likely the Hosts of Hoggoth, and knowing that "Hoggoth aids not the wicked", Dormammu attempted to invoke them while disguised as Dr. Strange, carefully not mentioning Hoggoth's name.
I ST 145 Ikonn --- Virtually nothing is known about the being called Ikonn., aside from the
fact that s/he is an illusionist and the author of a "Forbidden Ritual" performed in ST 145 by Master Rasputin. MP 8.
(__'s Shifting Sands) DS 174 (Illusions of __) ST 145, 183, DS 20
(Images of __)
Ikthalon --- (The Icy Tendrils of __) DS 33. Infernal --- (The __) ST 160. Infinite --- (Icons of the __) ST 156. Ishtar --- See Oshtur.
J JHVH --- Jehovah Tetragrammaton is the principle Judeo-Christian deity. See also God, Gods, and Lord, etc.
(__! O Great Unmanifest) DS 14 {{16?}}
K King --- (The __) DS 16. Krakkan --- (The Chains of __) MP 7 (Blondine).
L Light --- There are many forms of Light invoked by practitioners of the Mystic Arts. See also Agamotto, whose "Eye" is, among other things, a source of Light, and Nirvalon, who is called upon for Light.
(Mystic __) DS 35 (Dweller) [Note: this is probably identical with the Mystic Light of Nirvalon.]
(Untainted __) DS 24 (Apalla)
Lord --- (Good __) DS 5 (S. Dagger) (The __) DS 15 (innocent bystander)
See also God, Gods, and JHVH.
M Madness ---
(The Mystic Maze of __) ST 157, MP 3, DS 16, 22, 24. See also Munnopar, the Mystic Maze of as these may be identical.
Marduk --- A God of ancient Babylon. Not to be confused with one of the cultists known as The Sons of Satannish, who took the name as an alias.
(The Sacred Griffin of __) ST 150
Mhytorr --- (The Curse of the __) DS 30. Mormammu --- It has been suggested that Mormammu, first mentioned in ST 118, is a typographical error for Dormammu. There is no real evidence to
support this contention, however, especially since Mormammu is referred to with the alliterative adjective "Mighty", in the typical Mystical tradition of Bardic Appellation. It is even possible that Mormammu is one of the Faltine, perhaps, being the common parent shared by Dormammu and Umar.
(The Mighty __) ST 118, 119
Morpheus --- The Greek God of Dreams, son of Hypnos, God of Sleep. (The Mists of __) DS 1 (The Moon's Mists of __) DS 10, 15
Mother --- (__ of Mercy) DS 5 (S. Dagger). [Note: this is a common name for The Blessed Virgin Mary, a Christian Goddess.]
ST 120 Munnopor --- First mentioned in ST 120, Munnopor, is like Cyttorak and
Raggadorr, probably a planet in another dimension, although, unlike the aforementioned pair, there is no hint as to the name of this realm, nor how to enter it. It is obvious that, in addition to having twelve moons, Munnopor was once inhabited (and may still be) by a race of maze-builders.
(__'s Moonlit Maze) ST 160 (__'s Moonlit Vale) ST 162
(__'s Mystic Maze) ST 163
(Dozen moons of __) DS 176
(Many moons of __) ST 131, 168, DS 170, 178
(Mists of __) DS 34
(Myriad Moons of __) DS 171, 178
(Mystic Mists of __) ST 154
(Twelve Moons of __) ST 120, 125, 126
N Nameless --- The Nameless are said to dwell in The Vapors of Valtorr. They may be identical with the Nameless Race. They are not to be confused with The Nameless One, leader of the other-dimensional Undying Ones See also, The Awesome Nameless Race and Valtorr. ST 155. Night and Day ---
(Demons of __) ST 142 (Demon). See Demons.
Nihility --- (Ribbons of __) DS 176 (S.ofS.)
Nirvalon --- DS 30 (Mystic Light of __) DS 35. See also Light, Mystic.
O Order --- DS 28. See also Chaos.
ST 120 Oshtur --- There is a great deal of confusion surrounding the identity and gender
of Oshtur, first mentioned in ST 120. All references in ST, DS and MP are neutral, with the exception of one in ST 167 ("Lord of Skies"), whereas in the pages of DEF (unfortunately not detailed in this index), Oshtur is repeatedly referred to as a Goddess. Four possibilities present themselves:
1. Oshtur is a hermaphrodite;
2. there are two Oshturs, one male & one female;
3. the Goddess invoked in DEF is actually Ishtar, misspelled;
4. the appellation "Lord of the Skies" in ST 167 is a misprint for "Lady of the Skies."
Ishtar was a Babylonian and Assyrian Goddess who was identified with both war and fertility. In other places she was known as Astarte, Astoreth, Ostera, Oester and Easter. The author believes that Oshtur is Ishtar and furthermore, that Oshtur is one of The Vishanti. There is also a volume of spells known as The Book of Oshtur, seen in ST 145. ST 120, 125, 157, 159. DS 180, 181. MP 4. DS 9.
(__'s Fearsome Visage) DS 170 (__'s Mighty Hands) DS 174
(__'s Mystic Prayer) ST 168
(__'s Name) DS 172
(Eyes of __) HTD Treas.
(Hands of the Omnipotent __) DS 4
(Omnipotent __) ST 120, 126, 127, 129, 131, 136, 137, 141, 143, 144, 145, 149, 150, 153, 155 (A.O.), 158, 160, 163, 166, 167, DS 176, 178, AV 61, SP ANN 2 (= DS 179), H 126, MP 5, 8, 9, TOD 44, DS 26, SP 109, GR 30 (C.), HTD Treas.
(Omnipotent __, Lord of the Skies) ST 167
(Spells of the Omnipotent __) ST 145
(The Lance That __ Hurled) ST 162
(The Wisdom of __) DS 177
P Pohldahk --- (The Planes of __) DS 27. Poseidon --- Greek God of the Sea. (__, Deep Father) DS 18.
Q Qadmon, Adam --- See Eternity. Queen --- (The __) DS 16.
R Race --- (The Awesome Nameless __) ST 158. [Note: this may be the same as The Nameless who dwell in The Vapors of Valtorr. Not to be confused with the other-dimensional enity known as The Nameless One.] Raggador --- See Raggadorr.
ST 124 Raggadorr --- First mentioned in ST 124, Raggadorr seems to be a ringed planet
located in The Dimension of Raggadorr, one-time residence-in-exile of The Ancient One's enemy Kaluu (ST 148). The Rings of Raggadorr are said to vary in colour from indigo to black (DS 9) in the same way that Cyttorak's are always said to be crimson. Taking these colours in their usual Kabalistic sense, this would identify Cyttorak with the Sephiroth of Severity and Raggadorr with that of
Understanding. Variant spellings of Raggadorr have occured twice: in ST 124 it was Raggedor and in ST 128 it was Raggador. Doubtless these were mere errors of transcription. ST 137, 139 (M.), MP 8.
(Rains of __) MP 5 (Rings of __) ST 156, 158, 160, 164, 166, MP3 4, 5, 6, 9, TOD 44,
DS 23, 27, 31
(Roving Rings of __) ST 131, 158, DS 172, 178, MP 5, 7, DS 15
(Seven Rings of __) ST 124, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 133, 134, 141 (D.), 142, 143, 146, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 162, 168, DS 170, 176, MP 3, 7, DS 6, 9
Raggedorr --- See Raggadorr. Realm --- (Mystic __) ST 120, 147. Rune --- (The Arcane __) GR 31.
S Sacred and True --- (All That Is __) DS 22. Sands ---
(__ That Time Has Shifted). See Time. (Ikonn's Shifting __). See Ikonn.
Satan --- In Judaism and Christianity, Satan is the opposer of JHVH or God. He has been identified with many Gods of other religious, particularly Baal, Lucifer, Pan, and the Priapic fertility Gods found throughout the world. He is often called The Devil. See also Belial. (__'s Seven Sins) DS 17 (J. Mandarin)
ST 144 Satannish --- Despite the similarity of names, The Supreme Satannish is not the
same entity as the Judeo-Christian Satan. Although Satan lives in a fiery place called Hell, he is usually depicted as a humanoid with horns, hooves, and a tail. Satannish, on the other hand, is composed entirely of flames and is monstrous in size, albeit vaguely human in form. He is worshipped on Earth by a group known as The Sons of Satannish, first seen in DS 174, as was Satannish himself. Members of this cult have included Lord Nekron, Dr. Charles Benton (alias Asmodeus) and many others whose true identities were concealed beneath aliases, such as Marduk. Oddly, long after The Sons of Satannish had ceased to be a threat to him, Dr. Strange began to invoke them in his mystic spells. Satannish was first mentioned by name in ST 144 and he is most often called upon in spells of vanishment and banishment. ST 153 (U.), 155 (U.), DS 178, SP ANN 2 (= 179), H 126 (Van Nyborg), MP 13 (M.), 14 (M.), DS 12 (M.), 26 (Dr. Stranger Yet), GR 30.
(Great __) DS 172 (Sinister Sons of __) DS 22, 26
(Supreme __) ST 144, 150 (Kaluu), DS 173
(The Swirling Storms of __) DS 33
ST 124 Seraphim --- The Seraphim, celestial beings with three pairs of wings who figure
prominently in Judeo-Christian mythology, are first mentioned in ST 124, but have never been seen. For some reason they are referred to as "sinister" in ST 127. DS 174, 183.
(__'s Command) ST 163 (__'s Dread Shadow) ST 162
(The __'s Silent Chant) H 126
(The Circle of the __) ST 154
(Secrets of the __) ST 155
(The Shades of the __) ST 124, 126, 127 (D.), 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151, 153, 156 (A.O.), 157, 163, 164, 165, 166, DS 170, 177, MP 9, 12, DS 13. See also Shades.
(The Shield of the __) ST 147, 159, DS 170, 180, MP 3, 5, 8, 13, 14, DS 5, 6, 17, 19, 20, ANN 1, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, HTD Treas. DS 32, 33.
(Sign of the __) ST 158 (Living Tribunal)
(The Skill of the __)ST 129
(The Spell of the __) ST 154
Shades --- (Ghastly __) ST 162 (M.). See also Seraphim, Shades of the, Shadows, Shades of the and Demons, Shades of the Shadowy.
Shadows --- (Shades of the __) ST 158 (Anon.). Shumagorath --- A monstrous prehistoric evil, worshipped as a deity, Shuma Gorath may be related to The Great Old Ones of ill-repute in the works of Lovecraft et al.
(__, the Father of all Evil) MP 7 (Dagoth) (The Dread Dreams of __) MP 6 (Ebora)
Son --- (The __) DS 16. See also Satannish, Sinister Sons of Spirits --- (Good __ in the Astral Plane) MP 7 (C.) Stone --- (The Power in the __) MP 5 (C.)
T Tetragrammaton --- See JHVH. Tiboro --- Ruler of the Sixth Dimension (code no. number 10), first seen in ST 129 and DS 178. DS 31. Time ---
(The Sands That __ Has Shifted) SUB 22. [Note: may be Ikonn's Sands, which see.]
(The Tendrils of __) DS 174.
Tree --- (Darkhold's Foul __) DS 32.
U Umar --- First seen in ST 151, Umar is the half-sister of Dormammu, and like him, lives in The Dark Dimension. She is half human and half Faltine, and is sometimes referred to as a "Goddess." Her unacknowledged daughter by Orini is Clea, disciple and lover of Dr. Strange. Although she is known as "The Unre- lenting", she has occasionally been invoked by those who have most reason to distrust her.
(__'s Cursed Pawn) GR 30 (__'s Name) DS 15 (C.)
(The Hoardes of __) DS 17 (Stygyro)
(The Unconquerable __) DS 9 (U.)
(The Unspeakable __) DS 19, 22, 23, GR, 29 (D. disguised as Dr.S.)
Undead --- (The Power of the __) DS 14. Unmanifest --- (The Great __). See JHVH, for whom this is another name.
V
ST 115 Valtorr --- This place, first mentioned in ST 115, was said, in ST 155, to be the
home of The Nameless (who are perhaps the same as The Awesome Nameless Race). ST 155 refers to "The Valtorr", but this is not a title -- rather it is used in the same sense as we do when speaking of "The Matterhorn" or "The Sahara". Valtorr is a region of mists, inhabited by reptiles (who may in fact be Nameless).
(__'s Dread Clime) DS 180 (Vapors of __) ST 115, 125 (M.), 126, 127 [Note: as a metaphor
for death], 131 (M.), 138, 141, 143 (M.'s helper), 155, 160, 164, DS 169, 173, H 126, MP 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, DS 10, 15, 25, HTD Treas. (HTD), DS 33
(Vipers of __) ST 144, 150, 151, 152, DS 178, SP ANN 2 (= DS 179), 181, MP 9 10, DS 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 27, 28, 29 34, 35
Vipers --- (The __) ST 129 (Tiboro) See also Valtorr, the Vipers of.
ST 115 Vishanti --- If the Mystic Arts can be said to have supreme deities,
certainly The Vishanti hold the highest warrants in respect of the claim. First invoked in ST 115, they are best known for their treatise on Magic, The Book of the Vishanti a tome so powerful that its mere physical presence repulses evil spells. The Vishanti were seen in MP 5, and although their forms were explicitly said to be created for the occasion, they are still worthy of note. The first was a blue-skinned man with compound eyes, much like an insect's. The second was a green-skinned woman who wore a jewel on her brow and whose eyes were stars. The third was a golden lion, bearing an ankh on his brow and having flames for eyes. It is of note that all three had singular eyes, the EYE being the most prominent symbol in the tradition followed by .Dr. Strange. It is
the present author's contention, supported elsewhere in lengthy argument, that the Vishanti are none other thanHoary Hoggoth, Lord of Hosts; Omnipotent Oshtur, Lady of the Skies; and All-Seeing Agamotto, Lion of the Truth. ST 142, 143, 146, 152, 153, 154, MP 5, 14, DS 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 27, 28, 29, GR 30, 31 {{(W.?)}}, DS 31, 32, 34 (C. Black), 36.
(The All Knowing __) DS 169, 170. See also All-Knowing. (The All Seeing __) DS 169, 170, 23. See also All-Seeing.
(The All Wise __) MP 5. See also All-Wise.
(The Beard of the __) ST 167. [Note: this refers to the leonine Vishanti.]
(The Deathless __) ST 159, DS 176, 178, AV 61, DS 180
(The Deathless Chants of the __) ST 152
(The Divine __) ST 159
(The [Dread] Powers of the __) ST 115, 117, 118, 131, 133
(The Enchanted realm of the __) ST 149
(The Eternal __) ST 125, 128, 130, 131, 135, 136, 142, 145, 146, 155, 157, 158, 159, 160, 163, 166, MP 3, 4 (Wong), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, DS 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, Ann. 1, 23, 24, GR 31 (C.), HTD Treas.
(The Ever Watchful __) DS 175
(The Fury of the Ageless __) ST 120
(The Hosts of the __) ST 125. [Note: if Hoggoth is one of the Vishanti, these would be the Hosts of Hoggoth.]
(The Light of the __) ST 127. See Agamotto and Light.
(The Mighty __) DS 183
(The Undying __) ST 159, MP 5
(The Unresting __) DS 169
(The Venerated, Everlasting __) ST 153, 164
W ST 147 Watoomb --- First mentioned in ST 147, Watoomb lives in The Dimension
of Watoomb and is "retired from mystic affairs" (DS 34). He is to all appearances human, and was once the owner of the famous Wand of Watoomb. The Wand first appeared in SP ANN 2 as a Power Object. Oddly, it was never used in an invocation until long after its power had been drained into The Amulet of Agamotto! MP 8, DS 34.
(The Curse of __) ST 147 (M.), DS 177 (The Wand of __) ST 150, 158, 163, 164, DS 183
(The Winds of [Wild] __) DS 173, 180, 181, 182, SUB 22, H 126, MP 9, DS 20, 29, GR 31.
Wisdoms --- (The Dark __) MP 6. Wood --- (The Power in the __) MP 5 (C.). Word --- (The Misbegotten __) DS 177 (S.ofS.).
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THE LESSER BOOKOF THE
VISHANTI
A Companion to the Dr. Strange Comic Books
compiled by catherine yronwodewith nagasiva yronwode
CONTENTS | PROLEPSIS | INTROIT | VOLUME ONE | INTERMEZZO | VOLUME TWO | APPENDICES
VOLUME TWO: THE SCIENCE
Dimensional Theory: An Omniversal "Heresy"
A Prologue and a Possible Explanation, Published in Discrete Little Items for APA-I, 1983
The Wondrous Worlds of Dr. Strange, An unpublished article for Omniverse, 1978
A Proposed Revision of the Theory of Fractional Dimensions
Vibrational Barrier Lands
Objective Dimensions
Subjective Dimensions
Nether-Zones, Nether Dimensions, Nether Worlds, and Two Kinds of Limbo
An Outline of Dimensional Types
Footnotes
Interdimensional Travel: Walking Between the Worlds
A Catalogue of the Dimensions, including instructions on travel to these realms, with a short depiction of their landscapes, inhabitants, and modes of conduct found therein
The Alteration of Time by Means of the Art, including Time-Travel
DIMENSIONAL THEORY:AN OMNIVERSAL "HERESY"
A Prologue and a Possible Explanation Published in Discrete Little Items for APA-I, 1983
In 1977 i read a book by Mark Gruenwald entitled "A Treatise on Reality in Comic Literature." This book, known as TORICL to Mark and his friends, proposed an orderly theory of comic book universes, interlocking and otherwise. The theory was called the "Omniversal Theory," "alternate realities" as handled by comic book scripters.
Soon after the book was published (in a very small edition), Mark was hired as an assistant editor at Marvel. Roy Thomas had been impressed with Mark's theory, and he wanted to work with Mark in an effort to tie upo some longstanding loose ends in Marvel continuity, using the TORICL approach to comic book reality. Within months Mark's Omniversal concepts became accepted at Marvel, and a new title, What If...? was used as a primer in Omniversal theory, relying heavily on Mark's ideas about alternate realities. Eventually the Omniversal theory became official Marvel dogma, and that situation still holds true.
However, during the early days of the Omniversal theory, before it had hardened into "fact" for many Marvel professionals, Mark Guenwald invited comments, suggestions and even criticism of his ideas from fellow fans. To my knowledge he never accepted any of these suggesteions, but he did make the offer to print them in his fanzine, Omniverse. That zine was published by Mark and his then room-mate, Dean Mullaney. Two issues appeared before their partnership was dissolved, and a third one (containing material written up to five years ago) is said to be in the works at present {{1983}}.
As an early Ommie (that's what we called adherents to the Omniversal theory), i was invited to submit an article for Omniverse on the subject of Dr. Strange. I had previously prepared a catalogue to all the dimensions the Doctor had visited in his main-line continuity, so i wrote an introduction to this catalogue as the "article" proper, intending to see it accompanied by the catalogue when the whole was printed in Mark and Dean's zine.
The trouble was that i did not agree with Mark's theory, and i took several paragraphs out to explain why i thought he was wrong in assigning the typical "Ditko" dimension visited by Dr. Strange to a subsidiary category he called "fractional," instead of granting it status as a "whole number" with my "heresy," and the article, originally scheduled for issue no. 2 of Omniverse, was bumped to issue no. 3, pending what i was told would be
"massive rewrites" by party-line Ommies. Many years passed and issue no.3, once considered a pipe-dream, now seems to be on the road to reality, but it turns out that my article was bumped again, because it does not upbold the "official explanation of "magical" dimensions as currently propounded by Gruenwald and his cohorts.
I feel a little bit like Leon Trotsky at this point.
Anyway, since it is apparent that the article will never see print in Mark's zine without a total rewrite, i have decided to put it through APA-I as the preface to my original catalogue of dimensions visited by Dr. Strange. I realize that some of the terminology ("VBL," "fractional dimension," etc.) will be hard to understnad if one hasn't ever read TORICL, but the gist of the work is still clear, i hope, being merely an attempt to categorize the dimensions Strange has visited in strictly philosophical (or metaphysical) terminology, i.e. "subjective," "objective," etc.
Next time i'll get to the actual catalogue of dimensions, and that will be easy enough for even non-Ommies to follow because the only referents to this present article which occur in the catalogue are those which "type" the dimension ("Subjective -- Unstable -- Real") according to the terms set forth herein.
What follows is my original typescript, as written in 1978.
1 THE WONDROUS WORLDS OF DR. STRANGE By Cat {{sign}} Yronwode An unpublished article for Omniverse, 1978
Beginning with his initial appearance in ST 110 (July 1963), Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has been a regular traveler to other dimensions.1 His journeys are usually accomplished via occult incantations, talismans, rhymed spells and ancient artifacts, in the time-worn Vishantist tradition. For reasons unknown, the good Doctor has never visited a parallel Earth and thus, to the casual reader, his travels may seem
incomprehensible and his destinations a mere grab-bag of random "netherworlds" -- or worse yet, the fantastic delusions of a paranoid schizophrenic who went insane when a car accident deprived him of his skill at surgery. However, on closer examination, all but two of Dr. Strange's over 50 dimensional voyages are logically consistent within the premises of the Omniversal theory, and furthermore, they serve as admirable case studies for construction of a comprehensive overview of all realities, not just the earth-like one's most people are familiar with. As for the inconsistent travels -- a "massive reinterpretation" in the honourable OMmie tradition is all that's needed to set matters right -- and may also serve as an example of the kinds of logical pitfalls the unwary author should avoid.
But first, as they say, let us define our terms. And while we're at it, it will be necessary to re-define some of them too.
A PROPOSED REVISION OF THE THEORY OF FRACTIONAL DIMENSIONS
In his book TORICL, Mark Gruenwald lumped what he called "magical", "alien", and "mythological" dimensions into one category which he referred to as "fractional" -- that is, existing between whole-number "Earths". He stated frankly at the time that one reason for doing so was that no systematic catalogue had yet been made of the various non-Earth multiverses. This first attempt at such a catalogue, limited as it is, points up some fallacies in Gruenwald's Earth-chauvinistic theory. In order to account for the bulk of Strange's travels with the least amount of
2 "reintegration", or to phrase it another way, to give any credence to any of the data presented in ST, MP and DS comics, requires a revision of this area of the Omniversal
theory. I certainly mean no disrespect to Gruenwald, but there's 15 years' worth of data in these comics that contradicts the idea that "magical", "alien", or "mythological" are useful adjectives in defining a dimension! What follows here is my attempt at clarifying the situation -- and i welcome any responses from readers.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "MAGICAL" DIMENSION
For all practical purposes the term "magical" is useless in defining a multiverse. In some realities "magic" may excel over "science", or vice versa, but in every major comic book reality of which I have heard, "magic" and "science" co-exist. If this were not so, Dr. Strange could not function alongside Mr. Fantastic, nor could Princess Projectra join the Legion of Super-Heroes. Earth-real has magic too (just ask your local pagans) but of course, in the same way that our scientific knowledge lags behind that of a Braniac or Henry Pym, so does our magical knowledge seem primitive when compared to that of even such a minor four-colour adept as Chondu the Mystic. In my opinion "magic" and science are basically the same thing -- selective manipulation of matter and energy. An electro-magnetic definition of magic wherein the Vishanti and other deities can be seen as analogues to the Guardians of Oa is another topic for another time. Suffice it to say that the use of rhymes is not merely a "coincidence" in the pages of GL.
Axiom: One Doctor's science is another one's sorcery.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "MYTHOLOGICAL" DIMENSION
This lies beyond the scope of the present article, but i would like to note that although "mythological" may be a more useful term than "magical" in defining the nature of a given multiverse, particularly in relation to any
3 of the several Earths, the inhabitants of these so-called "mythic realms" are simply living out their own day-to-day existences. If some blundering human being witnesses their rather awesome soap-opera and upon returning home makes a "religion" out of what she saw, that no more defines the beings in question as "gods" than does the fact that because some misguided South Pacific islanders worship cargo planes, airline pilots are "gods."
Axiom: One man's shopping list is another one's cargo cult.
VIBRATIONAL BARRIER LANDS
So-called "magical," "alien" and "mythological" dimensions are not fractional. They are whole-number multiverses just like the Earth-series dimensions are. Dr. Strange and his mentor are very cognizant of this fact as are all of the dozen authors who have worked on the series. 2 One travels through "barriers", "interdimensional corridors", "nether-zones" and so forth until one arrives in "another dimension". Only these Vibrational Barrier Lands (VBLs) can be said to lie "between dimensions".
VIBRATIONAL BARRIER LANDS ARE THE ONLY TRUE FRACTIONAL DIMENSIONS
Although the worlds Dr. Strange travels to, even those with human inhabitants, are obviously not close parallels of the Earth-series dimensions, they cannot for that reason be said to lie "between Earths" -- in fact, the logical supposition, corroborated by numerous textual references, is that they are rather far away from the Earths -- "an unimaginable distance," "far beyond," "at the edge of infinity" and so forth.
Axiom: All realities are created equal.
The question remains -- how can one get into transition with such distant multiverses? My attempt at an answer is just a theory, but, since that's what this game is all about, here it is: In TORICL Gruenwald used low CPU numbers such as 2, 4, 6, and 8 to demonstrate the theory of divergences. Such low numbers have few common denominators, leading one to the erroneous belief that transitional worlds are hard to find. In actual fact, the CPU's of most current reality lines are much much higher -- along the lines of 37, 648, 118; 73, 197, 490; and 37, 537, 398 -- and common denominators are a dime a dozen. Even such dissimilar places as
4 Earths Real, M, Prime, 1, 2, S, and so forth cannot have diverged before the origin of the human species and since we know that the omniverse is at least 4.5 billion years old (because Earth Real is that old) it is obvious that there has been enough time for some really radially divergent universes to develop within one prime system. I'm not trying to propose that all the diverse dimensions Dr. Strange has visited were once united, but given the idea of divergences and a time-span like that, it's not illogical nor impossible.
OBJECTIVE DIMENSIONS
Philosophically, that which exists in and of itself, independent of the mind is said to be Objective. What anyone thinks about Objective data is irrelevant -- it simply is. While some people may dispute this, most human beings believe the world we live in has an existence which can and will continue without their consciousness. Objective things are commonly said to be "real" but this i is not an exact definition, because if one defines Objective as "real," one is very likely to fall into the semantic trap of defining its opposite, Subjective, as "unreal" -- and this is definitely not the case. Most of the
dimensions Dr. Strange has visited are Objective -- they do not depend on his thoughts, or the thoughts of any others, for their existence. Furthermore they can be classified into three groups, which i have labelled
Planetary Unstable and "Artificial".
The Planetary realms are those which possess a stable surface (no matter how bizarre in appearance) and enough mass for gravity to be an important factor of life. The inhabitants (if any) may be either alien or human. All the Earth-series reality-lines are Objective and Planetary of course, and although not strictly "planetary", the intergalactic spaces between planets can be considered under this heading.
The second type of Objective dimension, the one which is most closely associated with the name of Dr. Strange in the minds of comic book readers, has an Unstable surface geography. Gravity may be similar to Earth's, much
5 lighter or virtually nonexistent. Grotesque land-forms and strangely-shaped objects about, many of them reminiscent of things on Earth, but seen out of their normal contexts. Some of these multiverses contain so-called "worlds within worlds"" and may in fact be made up of not just one continuum but several interlocked realities which drift down the time-line together, remaining in permanent conjunction. The landscapes of Unstable worlds are sometimes called "surreal" but i prefer not to use this term, as it casts doubt upon their "reality." Therefore i have named the more bizarre and colourful regions of the unstable realms "Ditko Areas," after Steve Ditko, the first person from Earth-real to
discover them. If anyone is in doubt as to what exactly constitutes a Ditko Area, the all-time definitive version can be found in Spiderman Annual #2, reprinted as Dr. Strange #179. (Thank you Steve, you have increased our knowledge of Reality immensely.) Incidentally, although many if not all Unstable universes contain Ditko Areas, this does not constitute a definition of these dimensions per se. One type of VBL (Interdimensional Corridors AKA Nether-zones) i also Ditkoid in appearance.
The third group of Objective-Unstable worlds are those which can best be termed "Artificial." These are relatively uncommon dimensions, said to be "created" by certain powerful sorcerers. There is considerable doubt in my mind as to whether anyone, no matter how well-versed in the arcana of Oshtur, can actually create an Objective reality, one which exists independently of their consciousness, but the fact is that none of these Artificial realms has ever been stated to be Subjective and all are reached through the usual magical channels of invocation and ritual. If i had the slightest excuse, i would classify them as Subjective, but the subjectivity of all Subjective domains is always lovingly and verbosely dwelt on by both narrators and participants. Everyone involved seems to delight in relating all the subtle
6 nuances of subjectivity3, so the fact that these Artificial worlds are never explicitly stated to be Subjective leaves but one other logical explanation: the "creators of Artificial dimensions are liars. They find some uninhabited Objective-Unstable multiverse that suits them, dress it up with a few personal trinkets, such as Lord Nekron did with his Clock Dimension (no. 22 in the catalogue), and then they brag that they are "Creators." Dr. Strange may be slightly gullible to believe these grandiose claims to demigodhood on the parts of his foes, but actually, that is a more tenable hypothesis than one
which would leave the Master of the Mystic Arts, trained by a Thibetan Sorcerer Supreme, unable to distinguish an Objective from a Subjective reality.
SUBJECTIVE DIMENSIONS
The major problem with Dr. Strange's extra-dimensional travels is not to distinguish VBLs from true whole-number dimensions -- it is to make sense out of the handful of so-called "Subjective" spaces in which he has sojourned. A subjective state is one which does not exist independently of some mind or minds. A good case could be madce to prove that the entire Omniverse is actually a collectively subjective experience, but I shall resist the temptation. Usually, among present-day Americans and Europeans, subjectivity is equated with "unreality;" it is then but a short step to the erroneous conclusion that "since unreal things by definition don't exist, subjective spaces do not exist." However, this materialistic philosophy is not accepted throughout even all of Earth-real as the truth. Just to give one example, the Thibetans have long asserted that there is no such thing as an "unreal" idea, because by the very act of imagining it -- it is real. They say "The mind cannot conceive an image of that-which-is-not, therefore all images seen by the mind are of real things." This accords with the basic Omniversal premise that "all fiction is true __ somewhere." The realon i mention the Thibetans in this connection is that Dr. Strange studied magic in Thibet, under the
7 Ancient One, a native of the nearby lost civilization of Kamar-Taj.4 Undoubtedly his mentor taught him to accept the fact that what we in the West call "subjective states" (such as imagination, dreams, and drug-induced hallucinations) are actually real -- somewhere. A journey to these Subjective realms is not to be confused with
sitting around and tripping, although an uneducated non-participant observer may fail to grasp the distinction. Subjective worlds are not just "fantasy" -- events experienced there are true. Merely imagining that someone walks up and stabs you will not cause your death on Earth-real, but if you were to travel via Transhypnotic Jewel to the Dimension of Imagination (DIM30 in the catalogue), and were stabbed to death while there, you would be dead on both your own Objective world and that Subjective one you were visiting. The reality of subjective states and their subtle causal link to the objective state we call "normal waking life" explains the mechanisms behind voodoo and hexes, as well as forming the bais for virtually all of the religious and superstitious dogma of Earth-real. One can enjoy Dr. Strange Comics without an appreciation of these matters, but i would like to recommend Alexandra David-Neel's Magic and Mystery in Thibet. Julian Huxley's The Invisibles: Voodoo Gods of Haiti and Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan series to those who want to explore the Subjective realms more thoroughly.
Having granted Subjective realms reality, there remains one puzzling anomaly. This is the realm inside the Orb of Agamotto (DIM48 in the catalogue) which alone of all the multiverses Dr. Strange has journeyed to is said to be "unreal." The "unreality" of the Orb Realm is a rather disturbing conundrum in a magazine where everything else is, including dreams and fantasies. It is logical to assume that the author, Steve Englehart, was being semantically careless and meant Subjective when he said Unreal. This is the only explanation which can also reconcile other statements made about the Orb in the pages of DEFENDERS, wherein the interior of the Orb can be used to teleport actual
8
living beings. However, in the hopes that Mr. Englehart can explain in semanticaly precise terms what he means by "Unreal," i have given the Orb a tentative position in the category Subjective-Unreal -- that is, a state which is dependent upon consciousness but does not exist. Philosophy is a slippery matter, and as Sir Francis Bacon once said, "He who knows least is fittest to ask questions."5
Finally, there are a few dimensions which cannot be categorized, simply because we lack sufficient data about them. These have been grouped together as "Unknown" until such time as more information is forthcoming.
NETHER-ZONES, NETHER DIMENSIONS, NETHER WORLDS, AND TWO KINDS OF LIMBO
The word "nether" means "lower" (as in beneath) but it has been used to connote "scary" and "bizarre" since the days of H. P. Lovecraft (whose nether-spawned horrors incidentally really did come from the depths). Perhaps Stephen Strange and the Ancient One have rotted their minds reading pulp fiction -- for some reason they are overly fond of describing every unusual dimension as "nether." This of course is confusing to the reader. Basically though, there are three kinds of Nethers:
Nether-Zones --- these are Ditko Area Vibrational Barrier Lands, and except for the name, are indistinguishable from Ditko Area Interdimensional Spaces and Corridors -- therefore i shall group them together in the catalogue.
Nether Dimensions --- these are poorly-named, being actually Lattice-Work VBLs and not true whole-number dimensions at all.
Nether Worlds --- these are true "dimensions" but are no more "nether" than any of the above. They are simply Objective-Unstable-Inhabited universes, someofwhich contain some Ditko Areas and/or Lattice-Work, as well as
more familiar flora and fauna. The inhabitants may be either human or alien.
"Limbo" is a word almost as often misused as "nether." Technically, as defined
9 in TORICL, a Limbo is a timeless state, consisting of but one Atomic Instant, although one may subjectively experience the passage of time there. In the pages of DS Comics, the word is used to indicate any Vibrational Barrier Land wherein one might be "trapped," either by accident or the malintent of a foe. Lattice-Work ("nether dimension") VBLs are called "Limbo," as are Ditko Area Interdimensional Ciorridor ("nether-zone") VBLs. Aside from the fact that the nomenclature is confusing, Dr. Strange seems to be fully aware that one doesn't age in Limbo and that it consists of but one Atomic Instant.6
For the sake of clarity, the words Limbo and Nether are always accompanied by a more precise synonym in the catalogue. It is unfortunate that the authors of DS Comics seem to possess such a limited stock of such adjectives, for by constant repetition they have renedered the names of many of hte dimenmsions useless. In addition to all the varied Limbos and Nethers, there are three entirely different multiverses named respecitvely, the Dimension of Dreams, Nightmare's Dream Dimension, and Nightmare's World! It is for this reaosn that i have resorted to giving every dimension a number and an alternate name when the title given in the comic book has already been used before or is so vague as to be meaningless.7
The catalogue which follows chronicles all dimensional travels in the main-line DS stories -- those in ST 110-168, DS 169-183, MP 3-14, DS 1-30, and such multi-part cross-overs as SUB 22, H 126 and TOD 44. None of Dr.
Strange's adventures from DEF are included, nor are any "team-ups" considered, other than SP ANN 2 (= DS 179). I have avoided giving plot synapses, preferring to recount only such action as is integral to an understanding of the wondrous worlds of Dr. Strange.
10 AN OUTLINE OF DIMENSIONAL TYPES"No. #" refers to the following Dimensional Catalogue (DIM##).
Vibrational Barrier Lands (VBLs)
Lattice-Work: 3, 11, 20, 35 Having the Appearance of Galactic Outer Space: 23, 40, 50, 52 Ditko Area VBLs (Nether-Zones, Interdimensional Spaces, and Dimensional Corridors): 11, 17, 22, 24, 25, 29, 38, 39, 44, 47
Objective Dimensions
Planetary (Possessing a Stable Surface):
Human Inhabitants: 48 Alien Inhabitants: 4, 5, 6, 28, 41 Uninhabited: 15, 26
Unstable (Semi-Liquid Surface, Little Gravity and/or Ditko Areas)
Inhabited: 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 27, 31, 37, 49, 53 Uninhabited: 22, 33, 34 "Artificial" (Originally Uninhabited): 32, 46, 51
Subjective Dimensions (All Subjective Dimensions seen to date are Unstable)
Real: 1, 14, 30, 45
"Unreal": 48
Unknown, Due to Insufficient Data: 2, 7, 8, 16, 21, 36, 42
11 FOOTNOTES
1) Actually, Dr. Strange's exploration of alternaate realities predates his comic book debut, becausein that very first story, Nightmare, ruler of the Dream Dimension, refers to him as an "ancient foe".
2) possible exceptions being Steve Englehart, whose semantic lapses are responsbile for much confusion surrounding Eternity's World and the Orb of Agamotto, and Marv Wolfman, who made several misleading statements about a dimension known as the Quadraverse. These problems are dealt with in the catalogue accompanying this article.
3) For example, not only does author Denny O'Neil tell us that the Dimension of Imagination (which he calls "dreams"; ST 168) is a place where things have "no substance" yet are "deadly", but editor Stan Lee sticks in his two cents' worth to explain why some berzerk Vikings want to kill Victoria Bentley and sacrifice her to "the spirit of Death" in order to please him in the hopes that "he will remove us from this devil's land and send us back to our own sacred shores." In the words of Mr. Lee: "Although the Vikings are only illusions, they believe they are real -- and so in this wold of time gone mad -- they are!"
The Smiling One was only trying to make sense out of O'Neil's jumbled logic, but by bringing time into it, he made matters much more confused. In the realm of subjectivity, explanations can be "deadly" too.
4) destroyed in 1466 A.D. See ST 148 for details.
5) New Atlantis (1626). Please consider this an invitation, Steve. If you do not explain your terms by the vernal equinox of the seventh year after this sees print, i shall be forced to discountenance your claims in respect of the Orb and reclassify it under the heading of Subjective-Real.
6) See catalogue entry DIM25, the Dreaded Interdimensional Road of Repetition for details.
7) Examples of meaningless names are: "A Nameless Place" and "Some Timeless Unknown Other" [Dimension] -- better known as the worlds of Shazana and the Undying Ones, respectively.
12
INTERDIMENSIONAL TRAVEL: WALKING BETWEEN THE WORLDS
The word "Dimension" is used very loosely in the pages of ST, MP, and DS Comics, as well as in other titles where the Mystic Master appears. For the purposes of this catalogue Fractional Dimensions also known as Vibrational Barrier Lands, Interdimensional Spaces, etc.) will accord with Mark Gruenwald's theoretical "Fractional Dimensions" as defined in TORICL. All other Dimensions, whether Objective or Subjective will be classified as actual whole-number Dimensions -- a practice which goes against Gruenwald's Theory.
[Note: the phrase "Ditko Area" is used to described those unique places (first discovered by Steve Ditko) whose geographical landmarks consist of such diverse matter as planets, disembodied fanged mouths, lakes, billiard balls, bridges of dripping stones, ropes strung with geometric solids, giant
mah-jonng tablets, volcanoes, and other cosmic flotsam.]
13
A CATALOGUE OF DIMENSIONS
DIM01
Name: The Dimension of Dreams
a.k.a. The World of Nightmare, Nightmare's Dimension, Nightmare's Dream World, The Realm Unreal
[Note: not to be confused with "The Nightmare World" of Yandroth (DIM28)) or "The Dimension of Dreams" [Dimension of Imagination] (DIM30).]
Ref: ST110, ST122, DS170, DS180-181-182, MP3, DS10-13, DS32, DS34
Type: Subjective -- Unstable -- Real
Inhabitants: N., at least one humanoid servant, a spiney-beast, N.'s Mare, "Minions of Nightmare" (monsters), the dream images of sleeping
Comments: One can only enter this dimension when asleep ("having a nightmare") or in a mystical trance. in ST110, Dr.S. puts his body into a trance and then enters through another man's dream. In ST116, N. has a "mystical potion" in an "occult device" (made by a servant) which enables him to bring humans from Earth and trap them in the Dream Dimension. Dr.S. uses the Mists of Hoggoth to reveal the Dream Dimension's location, goes into a trance and enters on "the Path of Hoggoth." In ST122, Dr.S. enters in his sleep. In DS170, N. is incorrectly stated to ride a "stallion". In DS180, a dream is again the mode of entry, but in DS181, N. manages to pull Dr.S.'s physical body in, leaving his
"psychic shell" behind in DS182. In MP3, Dr.S. is hit by a truck and, while unconscious, enters N.'s world in his physical body. While there, he contacts the A.O. in Thibet and breaks the Orb of Agamotto, which is later repaired by Clea on Earth-M! N.'s dimension thus is real, though subjective. Incidentally, during this encounter, N. was acting under orders from Shuma-Gorath, an Eldritch mind-parasite of the A.O.'s
(Continued on page 45)
45 [inserted here for ease of reading]
The Dimension of Dreams(continued from page 13)
N. has twice attempted to capture E. The first time occurred when E. clashed with D. (ST146) but was not revealed until several years later (DS180-182), when he showed his captive to Dr.S., who made a heroic effort to free "the image of a man." Ironically, E. was just allowing N. to keep him and could have freed himself at any time. Since "Eternity is the Universe", N.'s infliction of bad dreams on him produces an aberrant reality on Earth. This is again demonstrated in DS10-15, where N. catches E. napping and causes him to dream of the destruction of the Earth, a reality which then comes to pass because E.'s thoughts (including his dreams) are what Earth-M is comprised of, in some poorly-understood way. In both of these instances it is to be presumed that since E. had entered the Domain of Nightmare, all of Earth-M was at these times suffering from a collective bad dream. The dates in question for E's two captive periods are July 1966 - July 1969 (the Vietnam Era) and October 1975 - February 1976 -- this latter time of disturbed reality, however, having been negated when E. recreated the Earth in DS134 and left no memory of events in any minds but Dr.S.'s, for which we
can all be thankful. In DS32, the DiD. travels from the Halls of Fear (DIM56) to the Dimension of Dreams by means of an invocation. He hopes to enlist N.'s aid in defeating Dr.S., but is refused. N. does allow his "cousin" (a relationship he denies) to leave with one of his dream-images of a sleeping mortal. When the DiD. crushes the image, the sleeper awakes as his pawn. In DS34, N. captures the sleeping Dr.S. and brings him here to fight Cyrus Black.
14 DIM02
Name: "Another Plane, a Mystic Dimension"
Ref: ST112
Type: Unknown due to insufficient data -- lightning and clouds are seen
Comments: M. and Dr.S. enter this dimension in their astral forms for one panel while fighting. It may be a VBL similar to DIM47.
DIM03
Name: "An Unknown Dimension"
a.k.a. "Strange," "Dark"
Ref: ST117
Type: VBL -- lattice-work [probably a "nether-dimension" parallel to DIM20 and DIM35
Comments: M., using an echanted model, causes Dr.S. and his house to be transported to this place. It is
weightless and mauve in colour. Dr.S.'s astral form leaves easily. No inhabitants encountered.
DIM04
Name: "An [Alien] Dimension Not Far
From Our Own" [The Greenie's Dimension]
Ref: ST118
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien
Comments: Separated from us by a "dimensional barrier". Inhabited by green, mouthless humanoids with antennae who all wear red pants and purple turtle-neck sweaters. They enter Earth by means of a teleportation device much like tha tused onboard the federation starship "Enterprise", materializing in Bavaria and taking possession of human bodies. Dr.S. uses a spell to enter this dimension and subsequently casts a spell which will seal the Bavarian "dimensional entrance", "forever". Of course the aliens, having created one entrance can presumeably open another, but to date they have not done so.
15 DIM05
Name: The (Dread) Purple Dimension
Ref: ST119, ST123
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien
Comments: The Purple Dimension lies "beyond the Purple Veil" (a VBL) and is reached via the Purple
Crystal; ruled by Aggamon the All-Powerful, a green humanoid, and peopled with greenie natives and human slaves who toil in the mines. The landscape is desert -- fantastic and devoid of flora. In ST123 the god Loki breaks the Purple Crystal as Dr.S. is trying to send him to The Purple Dimension
DIM06
Name: "Another Space-Time Continuum"
a.k.a. The Shadow World [of Haunted Houses]
Ref: ST120
Type: Objective -- Planetary (?) -- Alien
Comments: This dimension is the home of an alien protean being capable of disguising itself as a "haunted house" for the purpose of observing Earth. (!) Dr.S. banishes it with a spell.
DIM07
Name: "A Shadowy Dimension"
[NOTE: Hoggoth's Dimension; not to be confused with DIM06, "The Shadow World" or with DIM33, "The Shadow-Land")
Ref: ST123
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data
Comments: Dr.S. conjures an ethereal hand from this plane which soon solidifies and, at Dr.S.'s bidding, grabs Thor's Uru Hammer from him while he is flying, thus causing the Thunder God to fall to Earth. The text of the spell implies that the hand belongs to one of Hoggoth's Hosts, who may live in this dimension.
16 DIM08
Name: The Mystic Realm
Ref: ST120
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data
Comments: Mentioned in an invocation, never seen
DIM09
Name: Dormammu's Dimension
a.k.a. The Realm of Darkness, The Dark Domain, The Dismal Domain, The Dark Dimension, The Domain of Dormammu, "The Dimension of Death", etc.
Ref: ST126-127-128, ST130, ST133-4, ST139, ST145-6, DS6-7-8, ST151-155
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains several "Ditko Areas"
Inhabitants: There are several distinct life-forms here -- D. and U. are children of the (Flaming) Faltine, althought the half-human U. looks like a woman. Orini (a human) and U.'s daughter is the almost-human C., whose only Faltine traits are unruly hair and a quick temper (C. moved to Earth-M in 1968 and is the lover and disciple of Dr.S.). The Dark Domain is guarded by a being whose name is the Guranthic Guardian, a stone hulking monster. Asti, one of D.'s servants, is a disembodied mask. Behind a "barrier" at "the border" of the Dark Dimension live the M.O., grey shambling cyclopean beings who "only live to kill". Within the Realm of
Dormammu one can also find a lower level wherein dwell the metallic Dwellers Below. D. also commands a legion of etheric wraiths whom he sends to Earth-M, where they are usually referred to (incorrectly) as M.'s minions. There are numerous references made to Dormammu's Demons, which may or may not be the same as the Dykkors he acquired while exiled in "The Realm Unknown" (DIM31), and who also accompanied him to the core of Earth-M (DS6). Veritas, a non-embodied "embodiment of truth" roams freely through the Dismal Domain and "Umar's Hordes" also lurk
17 somewhere, flapping their demonic wings -- unless Dr.S. killed them all in ST154.
Comments: In ST126 The Dark Domain is reached by a spell, but from that time on Dr.S. merely materializes there at will, having memorized the co-ordinates, presumably. D. views happenings on Earth-M and sends ectoplasmic wraiths to aid the evil M. through a "dimensional screen" in ST130 and subsequently. In ST146 the Dark Domain is hyperbolically and incorrectly stated to be "a place which is not a place -- a state of existence where neither time nor matter are real." In fact it is quite "real" but very unstable, never maintaining the same geographcal landmarks for more than a few months at most. In ST139 it is called "distant" and said to be "countless dimensions away" from Earth-M. The political status of the Realm of Darkness is almost as unstable as its geography, with a constant power-struggle being waged between D. and U. Since D.'s exile to "The Realm Unknown (DIM??), following his rash encounter with E. (ST146), there has been no real peace. If U. and D. aren't battling each other, they are trying to capture the Earth. No wonder C. left home! The architecture here is as diverse as are the inhabitants. D. prefers Ditkoid floating chairs and geometrical abstracts, U. has a castle
on a mountain peak, C. was raised by Orini in a cave, and most of the others make do with barren ground or bizarre landforms. No visible agriculture is practiced and it may be the lack of fertile soil which impells both D. and U. to conquer the greener pastures of Earth. U. also makes a cameo appearance in DS35, where she refuses to ally herself with the DiD.
18 DIM10
Name: The Sixth Dimension
a.k.a. The Realm of Tiboro
Ref: ST129, DS178, DS35
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: When the "Screaming Idol", an effigy of T. ("Lord of the Seething Volcano", "Spirit of Decay") is unearthed in Peru, where it has lain since the civilization which worshipped him collapsed, it begins to pull innocent bystanders into Tiboro's Realm,the Sixth Dimension. T. keeps these people in bondage until Dr.S., who has allowed himself to be captured by the idol, shows up and rescues them. Several years later Dr.S., accompanied by the Black Knight, travels to the Sixth Dimension in a "vortex of blinding light" to rescue the witless SoS., who have been duped into exile by their leader, Asmodeus (Dr. Benton). The geography is highly unstable and surrealistic. T. is seen in cameo appearance snarling at the DiD. in DS35.
DIM11
Name: An Unnamed Series of Fractional Dimensions,
Liquid, Lattice-Like and Surreal
Ref: ST133
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional spaces and lattice-work
Comments: Dr.S. becomes "a shapeless form" flying "through the infinite at a speed beyond human comprehension -- passing from dimension to dimension -- losing itself in the mystic maze of infinity -- propelled by a spell so powerful, so irresistable, that it shatters every obstacle, every barrier which stands in its way!" and in fact we can see this "form" traversing a number of liquid areas, lattices, and other "Ditko" spaces.
19 DIM12
Name: "A Nameless Land, A Timeless Time"
[Shazana's Realm]
Ref: ST133
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: The Nameless Land lies "an unimaginable distance from the world known as 'Earth' and is reached by travelling through a long series of fractional dimensions and veils (detailed in DIM11). It is inhabited by humans and pseudo-reptilian domestic animals. More Earth-like than most Objective-Unstable dimensions, it possesses both vegetation and dwellings, albeit both of a
rather unusual typek, to say the least. Dr.S. arrives here inadvertantly (he was escaping from a losing battle with M. and D.) and immediately becomes involved in the political machinations between the unnamed blonde queen-in-exile and her evil sister Shazana, who has usurped the throne by magical means. The blonde queen is restored to the throne and Shazana driven mad when Dr.S. breaks the "mystical symbol globe", source of Shazana's powers. Dr.S. uses the energy contained in the globe to propel him home through the countless VBLs which lie between this dimension and Earth-M.
[NOTE: The Nameless Land is obviously a very close parallel to the dimension known as Phase World (DIM49) -- both had evil dark-haired queens in green clothes who had wrested power from weak-but-good blonde sisters wearing pinks and purples -- and in both cases Dr.S.'s interference changed the course of events radically.]
20 DIM13
Name: The Hidden Land
[The Mask-Demon's Dimension]
Ref: ST135
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: Dr.S. enters this dimension when he mistakenly uses a spell given to him by a senile Thibetan sorcerer named The Aged Genghis, who has told him that it will take him to E.'s realm (DIM14). The spell produces an entrance-way in the air and when Dr.S. steps through this nexus, he finds himself in the Hidden Land, which consists of many tall columns of masks. An evil and nameless mask-demon with "enchanted" hypnotic green
eyes is the only functional inhabitant, for all the other occupants are beings, alien and human, "from all ages" (and presumeably from as many dimensions) whom the mask-demon has entrapped by making masks of their faces, through how making a plaster-cast of someone's face enslaves them is hard to understand. Perhaps, using his hypnotic skill, the mask-demon convinces his slaves that the making of a mask puts them under his control. In any case, Dr.S. defeats the mask-demon, frees the slaves, breaks the masks and causes the entire dimension (or at least all human knowledge of it) to "vanish forevermore", on one reality-line at least.
DIM14
Name: Eternity's Realm
a.k.a. The World of Eternity, Eternity's Plane of Existence
Ref: ST137-8, ST146, DS10-13
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited in appearance but may be actually Subjective -- Real, according to some data (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: There is probably no character in the Marvel Universe about whom more speculations and contradictions have been voiced than the awesome enigma known as E. It has been explicitly stated on numerous occasions that he is not "God" (JHVH,
21 the Judeo-Christian deity), although he was capable of recreating the Earth after N. caused him to destroy the original model as a result of a bad dream. It was stated at that time (DS13) that E.'s dreams are as reality to the
inhabitants of Earth -- (Earth-M anyway...) and since that time E. has become known as "Adam Qadmon, the All-Being, the Universe." Be that as it may, he was at one time the friend of Dr.S.'s mentor, the A.O., and in fact gave the Thibetan master an amulet called "the Eye of Agamotto" which was later passed down to Dr.S. After the A.O. became "one with the universe" (MP10) he was still able to manifest himself as apart from E., something that would be difficult to do if E. is the universe. E.'s other skills consist of telepathy and the ability to cause world-wide memory-changes, as he did when he created the short-lived "Stephen Sanders" identity for Dr.S. in DS182.
If E. himself is an enigma, the nature of the level of reality he occupies is no less ill-defined. In ST137-138 the situation is rather straightforward: by chanting "one of the most potent spells of all time -- in words so secret, phrases so soul-shattering, that we dare not reveal them here to your mortal gaze!!", and thus causing the Amulet of Agamotto to enlarge and form a dimensional doorway, Dr.S. enters into an archetypically-unstable "Ditko Area" where "time and distance, as we know them, are meaningless." Within this surrealistic dimenison is a microcosmic universe capable of expanding until it assumes "the image of a man", it is this "image of a man", composed of galactic detritus, whom Dr.S. addresses as "Eternity." E.'s world must be very hard to reach because he states (in ST138) that only the A.O. and Dr.S. have ever stood before him.
E's visits to Earth do not concern us here, nor does the presence of "the hole where he used to be", in the subjective (?) void of outer space where Dr.S. encounters death (DS4) seem to bear any relation to E's home-dimension.
Lastly, there is the very confused and confusing series of events chronicled in DS10-13, the now-famous "end-of-the-world" saga. Dr.S. entes what is purported to be E's world by "focusing his mind to crystal clarity", a power he gained by having filled
22 E.'s form as he died (in DS4). He materializes in an area of dense fog which bears no relation to the landscape previously encountered in E.'s dimension. E. prophesies the end of the world and Dr.S. is catapulted through a series of encounters with fragments of his own personality in a world which changes from "a swirl of shifting shadows" to an exact analogue of the White House in Washington D.C. But, to make a long story short, none of these "nebulous nether worlds" take place in E.'s Realm, even the first foggy one -- for E. has all along been captive in N.'s Dimension of Dreams (DIM01)! Obviously the key to understanding the numerous inconsistencies lies in this fact and its corollary -- E's dreams are experienced as "reality" on Earth-M. This leads us no closer to an understanding of the true nature of E.'s world, but for the sake of this catalogue, I will venture to theorize that to visitors from Earth-M (like Dr.S.) it is objective, unstable and inhabited, whereas to E., everything in his universe is subjective, unstable (or rather, in this case, malleable) and real, E. being both the "dimension" and the "image of a man" who inhabits it.* [NOTE: Or else we are faced with the hitherto unheard-of idea that "the universe" (which is E.) is embedded within another dimension! More next time -- cat [sign]] For more on E.'s role in "the end of the world" epic, see N.'s world (DIM01). It is my sincere hope that someone will someday answer the question "who is that image of a man, anyway?" but if you thought i would, you were sadly mistaken. And while the world awaits the answer, let us all ponder another conundrum: whatever happened to the "Stephen Sanders" identity (and everyone's memory of it) between H126, when Dr.S. took a vacation, and MF1 (Def.) when he returned, once more "Stephen Strange"?
For more information on N.'s initial capture of E., see ST146, DS182, and DIM01, The Dream-World.
23 DIM15
Name: "A Neutral Dimension"
Ref: ST140
Type: Objective -- Planetary (?) -- Uninhabited
Comments: D., ruler of The Dark Domain (DIM09) sends M., Dr.S., the A.O., and himself to this "lonely, lifeless dimension, at the edge of infinity." by "a wave of the hand". He also summons the rulers of his apparently Objective-Unstable "neighboring dimensions" (the "Lords of the Netherworlds") and they enter the Neutral Dimension by "spectral doorways" (portable nexi?) to witness a duel between D. and Dr.S. The victor will be "Master" of Earth-M and D. states that "the most coveted treasture of all" is to have "total mastery of Earth" and the supreme voice in "the highest council of the known dimensions.
[NOTE: Can you imagine the highest council of the unknown dimensions? -- cat [no sign]]
Presumably this council consists only of unstable dimensions because, although Dr.S. defeats D. and attains the prize, he has never sat on the council, to my knowledge. It is possible that this council gave rise to the later "congress of realities" (in Adventure Into Fear #19 and Manthing #1) in much the same way the League of Nations led to the United Nations on Earth.
24 DIM16
Name: The Dimension of Demons
Ref: ST141
Type: Unknown -- Inhabited
Comments: Presumeably inhabited by demons, this dimension is otherwise unidentified, beyond the fact that D. transports his agent M. there as a punishment, "through a spectral doorway from the Neutral Dimension (DIM15). On the occasions of D.'s defeat (if that's the right word) by E. in ST146 all of the Dread One's spells are undone, thus freeing M. to return to Earth, none for the worse for wear.
DIM17
Name: "A Dimensional Corridor"
Ref: ST144
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Spaces
Comments: The A.O. is seen "drifting" through this "Ditko Area" on his way to "an unfamiliar universe" (DIM18).
DIM18
Name: "An Unfamiliar Universe"
[The Stop-Over]
Ref: ST144
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: The A.O., attempting to find the vanishing C., arrives here and engages the aid of the friendly unnamed human ruler of "this far-flung world." When he senses a magic spell in a further dimension, he
summons his disciple, Dr.S. Dr.S. arrives through a spectral doorway and after getting directions (and a warning) from the A.O. and his ally, sets off to the Kingdom of Tazza (DIM19), lured by D.'s spell.
25 DIM19
Name: The Twilight Dimension
a.k.a. The Kingdom of Tazza
Ref: ST144
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: It is always night here, a night lit by fires blazing across the unstable terrain. The only native encountered by Dr.S. is Tazza, a green cat-like humanoid with the ability to change his shape at will. He also possesses magical powers and freezes unwary intruders to stone, setting them up as statues in his home, which he claims is "the only dwelling in my dusky realm". The Twilight Kingdom of Tazza is said by the ruler of the "Unfamiliar Universe" (DIM18) to lie on "the outer edge of infinity", which shoudl place it in the vicinity of the Neutral Dimension (DIM15) which is also "At the Edge of Infinity". Dr.S. is lured here by a spell cast by D., in the belief that he will find C. D. has meanwhile told Tazza (via dimensional screen) that Dr.S. comes to attack him. Dr.S. defeats Tazza and restores the spirits to their statues, who then come to life and thank him profusely. Tazza is left unharmed when Dr.S. realizes that he knows nothing of C.'s whereabouts and Dr.S. "drifts homeward" through a dimensional corridor (DIM17).
DIM20
Name: "The Nether Dimension"
a.k.a. "Limbo"
Ref: ST145, ST146
Type: VBL -- Lattice-work
Comments: In ST145, the evil Mister Rasputin (R.) sends Dr.S.'s astral form into "Limbo" (a black and red lattice) during a battle. Eventually Dr.S. uses his cloak to suffocate R. into unconsciousness, thus allowing the Mystic Master to escape. Except for colour, this "Nether Dimension" is virtually identical with "An Unknown Dimension" (DIM03). In ST146, C. is released from her captivity in a yellow and black lattice-work dimension, also called a "Nether Dimension."
26 DIM21
Name: The Dimension of Raggadorr
Ref: ST148
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data -- probably a VBL
Comments: This dimenmsion is never seen, so its type cannot be determined. The name implies that it is ruled by Raggadorr, known also as the creator of several magic spells often used by Dr.S. The spells produce either "seven roving rings" which can be used to bind an opponent in mystic combat or an occult "rain" which is basically cleansing. However, the mysterious Raggadorr has never been explicitly stated to be a being and thus it is remotely possible that Raggadorr is in fact a ringed planet with a tropical climate. Fruitless speculation aside,
it is known that when the evil magician Kaluu of Kamar-Taj (on Earth-M), long-time foe of the A.O., bungled his plans for domination of the Hilayas in 1466, he went into voluntary exile in the dimension of Raggadorr "where there is magic far beyond that known to other mortals." This dimension lies "beyond the Edge of the Universe" but it must not be too far beyond because the barrier which separates it from Earth-M is "shattered" by E.'s cataclysmic clash with D. (in ST146). If one remembers that "Eternity is the universe", this makes sense. It also explains M.'s escape from the Dimension of Demons (DIM16) -- in that one catastrophic moment all the dimensions under D.'s mental control were flung open and "the universe", that is, the dimension in which Earth-M exists, was likewise temporarily riddled with nexi. Dr.S. then called all "exiles" forth from their "netherworlds" (in ST146) and somehow the evil Kaluu must have slipped in unnoticed amongst the rejoicing throng. Dr.S. didn't see him because he was transfixed at the sight of C., freed at last from her months in "Limbo" (a lattice-work VBL, DIM20).
27 DIM22
Name: "Limbo"
[NOTE: not to be confused with the lattice-work "Limbo" (DIM20)]
Ref: ST150, ST146
Type: VBL -- Nether Zone -- "Ditko Area"
Comments: The name "Limbo" is obviously a misnomer for both these "Ditko Area" nether-zones and the lattice-work "nether dimensions". In any case, there is probably more than one "Ditko-like "Limbo, since Dr.S. refers to them collectively as "hidden dimensions" (plural) when
freeing the exiles in ST146. Kaluu is banished to a "Ditko nether zone in ST150.
DIM23
Name: "The Fearsome Void Which Exists
Between Dimensions" a.k.a. Everlasting Nothingness
Ref: ST151, ST155, ST162
Type: VBL -- Outer Space-like
Comments: U. sends C. into what appears to be an orbit around a cratered green planet in outer space, but is specifically said to be the "void" -- "between dimensions". When Dr.S. arrives to rescue her, he travels through a VBL "Ditko interdimensional area and arrives where C. floats waiting near some asteroids. M. is banished here too, in ST162, by "the Spell of Cosmic Banishment."
DIM24
Name: The Forbidden Dimensions
Ref: ST155
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Spaces
Comments: These "Ditko Areas" exist between Earth-M and the Dimension of Dormammu and Umar (DIM09). Normally Dr.S. can bypass them magically, but when accompanied by the powerless C., he must undertake to cross them in order to bring her safely to Earth. See also DIM25.
28 DIM25
Name: "A Dreaded Interdimensional
Road of Repetition" and "The Realm of Nothingness"
Ref: ST155
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Spaces
Comments: While rushing through the Forbidden Dimensions (DIM24) at a speed "faster than any living being has travelled before"
[NOTE: Dr.S. may be mistaken in this -- i venture to say that it is faster than any living being has travelled through the Forbidden Dimensions before, but as to ultimate speed, I fear the Mystic Master is hopelessly outclassed by quicksilver of Earth-M and the Flashes of Earths 1 and 2.]
C. and Dr.S. inadvertantly "create a Dreaded Interdimensional Road of Repetition" which looks like a yellow Moebius strip. For reasons unexplained they each simultaneously develop two bodies, as if this were not bad enough, "it is impossible to stop -- or to turn back" and Dr.S. cannot use his cloak to levitate for, "once off the road -- we may drift in Limbo forever!" [NOTE: to dimension-collectors: the "Limbo" referred to here is not one of the lattice-work nether-dimension "Limbos" (DIM19) nor is it one of the "Ditko Area" nether-zone "Limbos" (DIM22). To all appearances it is simply a vast expanse of pale blue half-tone dots -- helpful cat [sign]] In any case, Dr.S. determines to "shatter" the Road of Repetition or else, as he tells C, "we'll continually repeat our action -- throughout Eternity" [NOTE: meaning "time", not "the image of a man" who goes by that name -- confused cat [sign]]
It is interesting to note that Dr.S. says "action" in the singular, thus indicating his belief (shared by Mark Gruenwald in TORICL) that a true "timeless" Limbo consists of but one atomic instant. The "Awesome Gleam" from Dr.S.'s amulet severs the "deadly band" but this only casts the sorcerer and C. into an utterly black "realm of nothingness" where they "must wait for the other semblances of [their] own true selves" -- the aforementioned bodily doubles, who for reasons no more obvious than their existence in the first place, have remained in living colour. When the two Dr.S.s meet they both say the same things until they are rejoined. From this point on, Dr.S. and C. resume their journey through the Forbidden Dimensions (DIM24), finally being brought safely to Earth on a "mental bridge" by the A.O.
29 DIM26
Name: "A World Beyond Worlds" [Zom's Prison]
Ref: ST156
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Uninhabited (except for genies in amphorae)
Comments: This world contains nothing but a low step-pyramid upon which rest various assorted vases and lamps containing unseen "demon-guards". At the top of the steps is a larger amphora of Z. who was imprisoned there long ago by E. Since the "guards" do nothing to hinder Dr.S. from freeing Z., it is probable that they are not there to guard Z. but were rather members of Z's hypothetical "palace guards" and were also imprisoned by E. No native flora or fauna is seen. Incidentally, Z. states (in ST157) that D. is responsible for the iron hand-restraints he wears. Were E. and D. allies insome long-forgotten past? Is this why the A.O., a close friend of E.'s
(and now "one with" him) used to swear oaths in D.'s name?
DIM27
Name: The World of the Million Perils
a.k.a. The Planets Perilous [World of Nebulos]
Ref: ST161-163
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: This world is incorrectly stated to be a "world between worlds" and a "limbo" but if it is in fact a "Ditkoid" nether-zone or interdimensional corridor, it is the only one with an ocean, 6 moons and a native resident alien that Dr.S. has ever encountered. I believe the World of the Million Perils is not a VBL but instead an Objective, Unstable, Inhabited dimension in its own right. It contains a dark "Ditko Area" featuring a giant floating number 9, the aforementioned ocean and moons, some bestial monsters, and the floating green non-humanoid-being known as Nebulos, said to be the only creature of intelligence in this realm. The Planet[[??s??]] Perilous is destroyed during a battle between Nebulos and the L.T., with the help of Dr.S. Nebulos' fate remains unknown. (Dr.S. and V.B., his friend, are incidentally sent here to die by the wicked M.)
30 DIM28
Name: "The Nightmare World"
[Yandroth's World]
[NOTE: not to be confused with "Nightmare's World" (DIM01).]
Ref: ST164-6
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien (with one human inhabitant)
Comments: This planet is obviously grossly misnamed -- it is not only not a subjective realm like N.'s Dimension (DIM01), but "Nightmare" as a descriptive phrase is highlyy inappropriate -- it is simply a rather bizarre alien jungle-world which the human "Scientist Supreme" Y. uses as a hangout. The surface sports exotic flora, gargantuan, cyclopean slugs and bat-winged predators. Y. lives underneath the ground in a system of natural and artificial caves, surrounded by his scientific apparatus. He has a machine with which he can traverse space and dimensions. V.B., a friend of Dr.S.'s, is transported to this realm by Nebulos (of the Planets Perilous (DIM27)) and Dr.S. is transported after her by the L.T. (a cosmic guardian of magic) as a favour, after Dr.S. helps him defeat Nebulos. Y. decides to make V.B. his unwilling bride, but when Dr.S. defeats both he and his large robot Voltorg, Y. takes her and attempts to flee by "teleportation tube". Dr.S. tries to set the controls for Earth, but Y. and V.B. disappear as he is in the act of turning the dial. When he enters the tube he is transported to Stonehenge (on Earth-M) but the Scientist Supreme and his captive are nowhere in sight."
DIM29
Name: "Space-Warp", "Nether Zone"
Ref: ST167
Type: VBL -- Nether Zone [unseen, no further data]
Comments: When Y. and V.B. don't arrive on Earth after teleporting from Y.'s world (DIM28), the A.O. theorizes
that they may have been "trapped" in a nether zone -- if true, this would be a "Ditko Area", but the A.O.'s guess is wrong, so it's a moot point.
31 DIM30
Name: "The Dimension of Dreams"
[Dimension of Imagination] [NOTE: not to be confused with N.'s Dream Dimension (DIM01)
Ref: ST167
Type: Subjective -- Real
Comments: This is another wretched misnomer -- although Subjective and Real in the same way that the Dream Dimension (a.k.a. N.'s Realm) is, this is not the same place! For one thing, the A.O. asserts that "no mortal has returned from that dread world"
[NOTE: how does he know? -- skeptical cat [no sign]]
which is obviously not the case with N.'s World, for Dr.S. and numerous humans have repeatedly escaped N.'s clutches. Secondly, the A.O. calls it "a state where all of mankind's fantasies, memories and wishes are living reality" and this is not true of N.'s Realm, which only consists of humanity's troubled dreams made real. Finally, one does not travel to this dimension by sleeping or going into a tance, as will be seen. All i can conjecture is that the author of this tale, Denny O'Neil, meant day-dreams, but in order to avoid confusion as much as possible I will refer to this realm as the Dimension of Imagination [NOTE: and if you're smart, you will too -- smug cat [sign]]
If i was smart [NOTE: but I'm not] , i wouldn't bother to note that this dimension is also misnamed "The Dimension of Yandroth" (incorrectly called "The Nightmare World") is DIM28 and Y. only got space-warped into imagination-land by Dr.S.'s tampering with his teleporter. [NOTE: !]
So much for nomenclature. Dr.S. magically locates Y. and V.B., but reaching the Realm of Imagination requires two people and a "transhypnotic jewel". The A.O. hypnotizes Dr.S. into releasing his "hold on earthly existence" and the jewel somehow converts this idea into reality. The A.O. remains behind, telepathically linked to Dr.S. If he should lose consciousness, Dr.S. would be unable to return to "the normal universe."
Geographically, the Dimension of Imagination is a "Ditko Area" composed of the usual assortment of colourful globs, lattices, ameboid
32 detritus and surrealistic sculpture. All the inhabitants (one dinosaur and a small horde of viking warriors) are said to be "illusions" but the vikings, at least, believe themselves to be real (which they are, subjectively speaking). Y. falls into an abyss and Dr.S. rescues V.B. They are both then retrieved by the mental command of the A.O. I would like to note that if this dimension does in fact contain "all of mankind's [and womankind's] fantasies, memories and wishes", only a minute fragment of it was viewed in this story!
DIM31
Name: "The Realm Unknown"
[The Realm of Vanishment]
Ref: DS170
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited [contains "Ditko Area"]
Comments: This is the dimension where people placed under "The Spell of Vanishment" go. The A.O. sent C. there for safekeeping (in ST155) and when D. clashed with E. (in ST146) he was sent here too. Other non-native inhabitants are the multi-coloured dykkors ("demons" also banished here by the A.O. long ago). As far as voluntary visits go, it must be entered by two people at once, one man and one woman, each of whom can only make the trip once in their lives. It is a region of "Ditko Areas" and may in fact include more than one permanently conjoined multiverse, for in this realm "each droplet may contain a cosmos." For reasons i fail to comprehend, it is also called "a time which has spatial existence" but, there being no evidence to support that rather hyperbolic claim, it can, i believe, be regarded as erroneous data.
33 DIM32
Name: "Yet Another Bleak Dimension"
[The Clock Dimension]
Ref: ST174
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- "Artificial"
Comments: This dimension, composed entirely of timepieces, is said to have been "created" by the evil Lord Nekron. It lies at the end of a short "eerie [interdimensional lattice-work] corridor} and is in
actuality a rather oddly decorated trap for sacrificial victims offered to the Supreme Satannish While not in truth the "creation" of Nekron, this "clock dimension" does possess one peculiarity -- the time flow is not consistent in velocity, nor does it correspond to time on Earth. It was probably this characteristic which prompted Nekron to decorate it as he did. Apparently the time-flow is either subjective or can be objectively controlled through magic, because Dr.S. casts a spell to "make time go faster", although he admits -- "nor could I have done such a thing -- but in a world of time gone mad!"
DIM33
Name: A Hostile Dimension
a.k.a. The Land of Shadows [NOTE: not to be confused with DIM06, The Shadow World or DIM07, A Shadowy Dimension)[The Cult and the Curse Dimension]
Ref: DS177, DS36
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Uninhabited
Comments: Dr.S. and C. are banished here by the SoS., who use a spell from the Book of the Vishanti to transport them through a "wondrous whirlpool" to this place of exile. It is uninhabited save for green "floating protoplasmic shapes" and grey "living foliage", both of which are apparently carnivorous. In DS36, this dimension is referred to as "some fathomless netherworld."
34 DIM34
Name: "A Place Which Could Serve as a
Stage Setting For Alice In Wonderland"
[The Wondrous World]
Ref: DS179 [a reprint of Sp.ANN2]
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Uninhabited
Comments: This is the archetypal Ditko-dimension. The descriptive name it bears doesn't come near to doing it justice. The evil sorcerer X. banishes Sp. to this dimension by means of the oft-used "Satannish-vanish" spell. However, the webslinger manages to grab the accursed Wand of Watoomb as he disappears into thin air. X. sends his two hypnotized thugs after Sp. to capture the wand & they all return to Earth-M just as Dr.S. arrives on the scene and matters are set right in short order. The Wondrous World is probably the most beautiful dimension of it stype, containing floating islands, sinking ringed planets, ameboid tendrils on ropes, cratered globes, pink clouds, lattice-work spheres, an ocean of stalagmites, strings of manila envelopes, suns, stars, underwater caves, and pools of airborne liquid.
DIM35
Name: The Crimson Cosmos
[Of Cyttorak]
Ref: DS1-2
Type: VBL -- Lattice-work
Comments: Cain (The Juggernaut) Marko, who had been banished to this realm was kept from returning to Earth by "The Spell of Cyttorak." While here he apparently learned some powerful magicks (much as the evil Kaluu did while he was exiled in the dimension of Raggadorr, DIM21). Dr.S., engaged in a losing battle with N. (because the ruler of the dream world has captured E.) temporarily escapes into the nearby Crimson Cosmos and convinces Marko to fight on his behalf. The Juggernaut gains Dr.S. some time, but eventually betrays him and joins N.'s side. In the end N. and The
Juggernaught inadvertantly free E., who consigns them to "oblivion," an unseen VBL.
[NOTE: to be continued [sign]]
35 DIM36
Name: "Some Timeless Unknown Other [Dimension]"
[The Realm of the Undying Ones]
Ref: SUB22, H126
Type: Unknown, insufficient data -- Objective and inhabited but unclear as to surface type
Comments: This is the original home of the U.O., bipedal multi-formed demons led by N.O. who has a double-torso and two heads. They invaded Earth in prehistoric times but in 969 A.D. they returned to their own world to rest for 1,000 years. In 1969 A.D. they sought to re-enter Earth through a statue of the N.O., and later through Nightcrawler's Dimension (DIM37), but were defeated by Dr.S., H., Sub., and Barbara Denton Norris (whose martyrdom in this cause led indirectly to her new persona as the Valkyrie). The landscape of this dimension is said to be "barren" but only one white cliff is glimpsed, so no conclusions as to surface type can be drawn.
DIM37
Name: "An Adjacent Dimension [to DIM36"]
[Nightcrawler's Dimension]
Ref: H126
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: This is a very primitive world of mere twisted globs of matter and empty space. Nightcrawler, a blue reptiloid with a masked human face, lives here alone. H. unwittingly "destroys" this dimension with a loud handclap and it is absorbed by the Dimension of the Undying Ones (DIM36). The mechanism by which this occurs is not revealed, but in any case it can only have occurred on one reality-line.
36 DIM38
Name: An "Other World"
[Dagoth's Exile]
Ref: MP7
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Space
Comments: Upon his defeat by Dr.S., Dagoth the sea-born, a red demon, is placed in "spatial exile" in this "realm beyond man's imaginings", ruled by "interdimensional forces". It is a crystalline VBL in appearance.
DIM39
Name: "Intradimensional Spaces"
Ref: MP8
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Space [contains "Ditko Areas" and lattice-work]
Comments: Entered through the power of Kathulos (a living planet); it is said that Dr.S.'s magicks "will not work" here --
for reasons not given, but most likely a hypnotic effect produced by Kathulos.
DIM40
Name: "Cold Voids of the Outer Universe"
Ref: MP8
Type: VBL -- Having the Appearance of Outer Space
Comments: Dr.S. is said to travel "through space -- through time itself" while in this VBL, but as usual, I think the use of the word "time" is meant hyperbolically, as there are no other indications of time-travel in the story, particularly upon his return journey to Earth.
37 DIM41
Name: Kathulos
Ref: MP8
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien
Comments: In appearance this planet closely resembles DIM28, Y.'s World, being essentially a florid jungle. However, unlike Y.'s Realm, there is only sentient vegetable being whose spirit actually is the entire life of the planet. In order to escape, Dr.S. is forced to kill the floral Kathulos and destroy the entire planet, returning home through an outer space-like VBL as he had come.
DIM42
Name: "A Dimension Diametrically-Opposed
To Our Own" [Shuma Gorath's World]
Ref: MP10
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data
Comments: This dimension was the original home of the octopus-like S.G., who came to Earth in prehistoric times "to feed upon the strengths of this realm's Sorcerer Supreme". By the early 1970s he had overcome the A.O.'s will, but when Dr.S. killed his mentor, S.G.'s only comment was a loud, "No-o-oo-o!" and it is to be presumed that he has no taken up residence in the mind of Stephen Strange! In keeping with the "diametrically-opposed" nature of his home-world, S.G. can also take on a "negative" image of his host. It is possible that S.G.'s World is composed of anti-matter, but this has never been explicitly stated.
38 DIM43
Name: The Orb of Agamotto
Ref: DS1-5, DS14, TOD44
Type: Subjective -- "Unreal"
Comments: The confusion surrounding this realm "where bound'ries decay" is very hard to make sense of. In the pages of DEF, the orb has been seen to possess, among its other virtues, the power to teleport living beings on Earth. However, when Dr.S., "minutes away from death by stabbing", at the hands of S.D., recites a spell before the orb, he is inexplicably grabbed by a tentacle and dragged through "solid infinite glass -- into the Eye of Death". Following this, he meets various "unreal" analogues to beings from Earth-M, as well as some from Lewis Carroll's universe. Lastly, he travels to what looks like a medieval village inhabited by characters from Entertaining
Comics and exits from the orb to confront the death he had sought to evade. The rest is history, as they say. The only logical extrapolation which can be made is that the inside of the orb is a subjective space which consists of echoes and reflections from other, "real" realities. However, this does not explain how Dr.S. could later use the orb to keep his man-servant W. in suspended non-animation after Dracula kills him, nor why W. returns to life after his ordeal -- unless unbeknownst to us, W. is now also "virtually immortal" -- or, more likely, wasn't really dead in the first place. In the latter case, his cold-storage in the orb would be similar to its use in DEF as a teleportation vehicle. All in all, i am more inclined to attribute all the events in DS1-5 to the delirium of a mortally-wounded man's misconceptions. Dr.S. is so used to travelling to other dimensions that he automatically assumes his hallucinations are actually occurring, even while calling them "unreal". This leaves the orb-world with the powers of clairvoyance, teleportation, and functioning as a dimensional doorway (nexus) to some kind of timeless "limbo" which can be used to approximate suspended animation -- but it begs the question of whether there is a "subjective-unreal" dimension inside the orb.
39 DIM44
Name: "Nether-Planes"
Ref: DS15
Type: VBL -- Nether-Zone [may contain "Ditko Areas", but not shown]
Comments: Some ugly demons come from this VBL when Dr.S.'s spell to invoke the A.O. goes awry. He banishes them easily.
DIM45
Name: Hell
Ref: DS15-16
Type: Subjective -- Real
Comments: This is the home of Lucifer, a.k.a. Beelzebub, Satan, Old Nick, Mephistopheles, etc., a horned, flaming, humanoid. The landscape is composed for the most part of fire and ordure, with occasional miasmas, and is entirely under Lucifer's mental control. He summons people here to serve him and to suffer torture at his hands, but although real, "the Evil One exists only if you allow him to" and "if we look beyond the barriers and help each other when the darkness falls -- none of us need ever enter Hell again!" -- or so says Stephen Strange, who promptly leaves, taking C. and the Satan-worshipping James Mandarin with him.
40 DIM46
Name: The Quadriverse
Ref: DS19, DS23
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- "Artificial"
Comments: Somewhere beyond [N.Y.C.] in a dimension never before [sic] visited by man, lies the entrance to The Quadriverse, a four-sectioned area of space where life and death haave no relationship [sic] to any other part of the known universe." This statement by author Marv Wolfman, contradicts his earlier declaration that The Quadriverse is inhabited "by a group of [human] sorcerers from all times" called The Creators. Perhaps he was asleep when he wrote DS23. In any case, his information is in error because wherever there are humasn life and death do have some relationship to another part of the known [omni]verse and of course, wherever
there are humans, the place in question has been visited by man (not to mention woman)! There are four levels of "reality" in The Quadriverse, and in some unstated way they are controlled by or exist within the mind of a rather somnambulant "Guardian." The four sections are called "Menace," "Calmness,"Hell," [not the same as Earth-M's Hell (DIM45)] and "Home." The highly-unstable landscape consists of "Ditko Areas", a medieval castle, an island, parasitic mind-reptiles, talking plants, black and white voids, living worm-worlds, etc. The Creators dwell in a "solar sphere" when they visit The Quadriverse, which they falsely claim is an "artificial" continuum. Obviously they found it, and either subdued and hypnotised the original human inhabitants, or, more likely, imported people from some Earth-like dimension to act as guards of their second home-away-from home, Creation II (DIM51). The inconsistencies in the description of this dimension are a blot on the escutcheon of fictional reality and should be disregarded utterly.
41 DIM47
Name: "Another Dimensional Plane"
"A World Between Existence, Teetering on Realities -- "A World Sandwiched Between All Other Worlds" [Cloud-Land]
Ref: DS20
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Space
Comments: Dr.S. sends XtM., herald of The Creators, here by "a simple spell of transference" and then follows to battle him amidst colourful cloud formations shot through with light.
DIM48
Name: The Temple of Man
Ref: DSANN1
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Human
Comments: The Temple of Man, an exact analogue to the famous Temple of Shiva in India, lies "Beyond the Veil", presumably an unseen VBL. This is the only nearly Earth-like dimension Dr.S. has ever visited and it is inhabited by humans, among them Sargor the Librarian, and scores of priests. It may be an alternate Earth, but aside from the temple (the interior of which is evocative of the Slumberland Dimension visited by Little Nemo), there is insufficient data to draw any further conclusions as to the nature of this world, which Dr.S. leaves through his enlarged amulet.
42 DIM49
Name: Phaseworld
Ref: DSANN1
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited [contains "Ditko Areas"]
Comments: This beautiful dimension is incorrectly stated to "float freely between realities" but it is not actually a true VBL. A close parallel of Shazana's Realm (see DIM12 for details), it lies both in another dimension and "across endless space". Phaseworld is ruled by 'Lectra, who commands a legion of animated corpses, a sea-serpent named Brotan (slain by Dr.S.), a swan-man named Tempus, and her weak-but-good mute sister Phaydra. The capital city, Allandra, lies beneath the ocean until 'Lectra summons it forth. Phaseworld is destroyed "or perhaps just thrust into another existence" when the magic mirror which linked 'Lectra's and Phaydra's souls is broken.
DIM50
Name: "Cold Space"
Ref: DS22
Type: VBL -- Outer Space-like
Comments: After the collapse of Phaseworld, Dr.S. is left floating in "Cold Space", searching for "the proper co-ordinates" (nexus) to re-enter Earth's dimension. While here, he encounters a Space-Dragon which closely resembles an Earthly pteradactyl. Eventually he re-enters the Earth-continuum through his amulet.
43 DIM51
Name: Creation II
Ref: DS24-5
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- "Artificial"
Comments: Hyperbolically and incorrectly stated to be "a place without location or time", manufactured by The Creators (who are attempting to turn themselves into stars), this so-called "artificial" dimension is reached through The Quadriverse and guarded by Visimajoris, the Divider of Souls. Like all the other "artificial" realms, this one was probably discovered rather than "created" and The Creators themselves are nothing more than cosmic con-men. This realm either contained or was later furnished with a "Cosmic Wheel of Change", a tool The Creators are using to further their evil designs. Creation II "collapses" when The Creators depart to take up their new life as stars in Earth-M's sky, while Dr.S., C. and W. emerge within the vicinity of Alpha Centauri. They then all "fly" back to a rather disheveled Earth. The "collapse" of Creation II, like the
"destruction" of Phaseworld, occurs on only one reality-line, of course.
DIM52
Name: An "Outer Dimension"
Ref: DS26-7
Type: VBL -- Outer Space-like with some "Ditko Area" overtones
Comments: Reached by a mystic "portal" (nexus) conjured by the A.O., the only sentient being encountered here is TIB. who soon casts Dr.S. into his own dimension (DIM53).
44 DIM53
Name: The Inbetweener's Dimension
Ref: DS27-8
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: The Inbetweener's Dimension is a close harmonic of Creation II, in that it contains a duplicate Wheel of Change, equally capable of affecting the stars (and thus all life) in the universe of Earth-M. (The mechanism of this is not explained.) In addition, The Inbetweener's Realm consists of several "levels of reality", some of which are "fantasy."
DIM54
Name: "Darkness"
[NOTE: not to be confused with D.'s Dark Domain, DIM09]
Ref: DS30, DS32, DS35-6
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data, probably a VBL
Comments: This is the sleeping-place of the DiD., who floats in an electrically-charged void on a stone slab and intends to control the Earth through a fear-feeding agent known as the Slithe who lives in the sewers beneath N.Y.C. In DS32, it becomes apparent that the stone slab can be used as a dimensional doorway because the DiD. steps through it to emerge "an incalculable distance away" at the Halls of Fear (DIM56). The DiD. possesses some sort of interdimensional viewing screen similar to D.'s by means of which he can observe and control agents on Earth such as Dreamweaver and an anonymous hirsute New Yorker.
45 (displaced to follow page 13, for ease of reading)
46 DIM55
Name: Unnamed Dimensions -- A Series
["Beneath the Sanctum's Floor"]
Ref: DS31
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Uninhabited
Comments: During the course of the battle between Alaric the Mystic (who wields the Atlantean Sword of Kamuu) and Dr.S., C. and the Sub., the combatants gradually traverse a long series of dimensions which at first resemble the Sanctum but become progressively more given over to "Ditko Areas" and lattice-
work. By the time Alaric meets defeat, the whole crew has been transported to a blue pool surrounded by living green-grey spaghetti under a pink sky. The group returns "across the dimensional planes" (of which eight are shown) "to the reality from which they'd fallen", leaving Alaric's head imprisoned in an art-nouveau pocket-dimension called "Dyzakk's Cage."
DIM56
Name: The Halls of Fear
Ref: DS32, DS35
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited [contains "Ditko Area" and a castle.]
Comments: This "impossibly ancient citadel" is the "estate" of the DiD., who arrives there via his Portable Nexus-Slab (see DIM54 -- Darkness). It is inhabited by his thralls, who are in turn being leeched of power by d'Spayre, who is just passing through after his defeat at the hands of Sp. and Man-Thing on Earth-M. The DiD. leaves the Halls by means of an invocation and travels to the Dimension of Dreams (DIM01). Using a dimensional portal in DS35, he "pierces the veils of a thousand dimensions" to speak to Tiboro, U., Ludi and several unnamed sorcerers and demons.
47 DIM57
Name: The Endless Dimensions of the Vishanti
Ref: DS33
Type: Subjective -- Real
Comments: This series of dimensions exists within the Book of the Vishanti. Dr.S. sends Dreamweaver here to confront "the
shambling denizens that stalk the hidden landscapes of [her] own mind" and watches while they "shred the gossamer-thin veil which separates [her] Ego from [her] Id." The landscape is unstable, the "denizens" are bodiless, toothy, monstrous, warty heads, and there is a vortex (like "some big drain") with an eyeball at its center.
DIM58
Name: The Endless Void
Ref: DS34
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data. may be a "pocket dimension" VBL
Comments: Dr.S. shrinks and banishes some Valtorrian vipers to this dimension. The dimension itself is not seen.
DIM59
Name: [Ludi's Dimension]
Ref: DS35-6
Type: Unstable -- Objective -- Inhabited
Comments: This is the home of the demon Ludi, once worshipped as a dark god, and his brother Ningal who, until he is freed by the DiD., is trapped in stasis (in a "block of lambent energy") with the human Murdoch Adams.
48 - 59 (blank)
60
TIME DISTORTION AND TIME TRAVEL Aside from the hyperbolic (and incorrect) use of the word "time" in such phrases as "a nameless place, a timeless time" and "a time which has spatial existence", Dr.S. has had a few actual dealings with both time distortion and time travel (to the past only). These are given here chronologically, with some possible explanations of events in an Omniversal framework. [ST133, DS170]
By means of a rhymed spell, Dr.S. causes time to "spin back, back, back ... until before Thor's fall is finished." This is not the case, however -- the spell (see Volume I, p. 18) only conjures Thor's hammer to "fall faster" than The Thunder God -- and it is only the hammer which travels back in time, not time itself, which spins back. [ST123 -- SL]
The A.O. chants a spell (see Volume I, p. 18) over a candle, enabling Dr.S.'s E.F. to go back in tiem along the mystic vapour trail surrounding a woman (Cleopatra) who "does not belong in our time." This auric trail leads him back to her era, where he materializes in the "impulse transmitter" of the evil Zota, who had sent her into the 20th century. When the candle goes out, the light of the temporal path back to Dr.S.'s home-time is extinguished, despite his spell (Volume I, p. 18), and he floats weightlessly "somewhere between limbo and the shadowy endless past". The light of his amulet saves him & he then returns Cleopatra to her own era with a spell (Volume I, p. 18). [ST124 -- SL]
A "spell of forgetfulness" cast by Dr.S. causes time to "go back" to a moment prior to an event he wishes bystanders to not see. This implies that in actuality he causes a divergence and chooses to allow his subjective sense-of-self to live on the reality-line where the event did not occur. The amount of energy needed to accomplish this feat must be enormous and Dr.S. has never repeated it, preferring the much more expedient courses of simply hypnotising bystanders into forgetfulness or keeping
them in a VBL "limbo" until the excitement subsides. [ST129 -- SL]
61 D. gives M. an (unrecorded) spell for placing the A.O. in a "mystic time trap". This trap either places one in a timeless "limbo" VBL or causes one to remain stationary on the time track. It renders the victim invisible. [ST138 -- SL]
Kaluu uses an unrecorded spell to cast the Book of the Vishanti back "to the hour and place from whence it came". [ST148 -- DO]
Again, candles are used for time-travel -- this time by both Dr.S. and the A.O., who journey to the time-space continuum of ancient Babylonia to retrieve the Book of the Vishanti. There is a subjective experiencing of time & space on this trip. [ST150 -- RT]
When the Book of Cagliostro is cast into the near past, Dr.S. can detect its auric tail. Using a spell from the book he then travels to the more distant past and eventually, following in the temporal wake of Siseneg, a sorcerer from the future, he & M. reach the moment of Creation itself, a sight which drives M. insane and nearly unhinges Dr.S. When Siseneg decides that his "uncreation" of the world was an inappropriate use of magical power, Dr.S. & M. are cast forward precipitously into their own time again. [MP12-4 -- SE]
Dr.S. & C. travel to 1618 A.D. (and also, simultaneously, from New York City to London) by "magically slowing [themselves] so that the wave [of time] moves on without [them]." The visual effect is that of an enormous whirlpool, containing a rainbow of the type that Superman & Supergirl sometimes encounter on their
time-travels, although, unlike theirs, this one contains no dates. [DS17 -- SE]
More swirling vortex time-travel -- from London, 1618 A.D. to London, March 1775, followed also by Stygyro, prince of sorcerers, who came from 1618 A.D. and who threatens to kill Ben Franklin. C. denies the possibility of this, saying to Dr.S., "After all -- Ben did live to see the [Revolutionary] War fought!" Dr.S. responds, "Our being here changes history, Clea." This is only true by the remotest standard, for in fact, if Stygyro kills Franklin on
62 one time-line there will still be the divergent reality (Dr.S.'s home-reality) wherein Franklin lived. C., admonishing her teacher to "watch the bright side" of things, may be wiser than her master, fo she implies that one can choose by magic to let one's subjective sense-of-self follow the reality-line most satisfactory to one's wishes. [DS18 -- SE]
Dr.S. is still confused because, when Stygyro causes an earthquake to devastate Philadelphia in 1775, he says, "There has never been any mention of this earthquake in history books -- which means this is -- an image-play for my eyes only!" Stygyro, who also sesms to be subjectively caught in a single reality-line, while trying vainly to create divergences, replies, "Thou art incorrect! What thou dost bear witness to does indeed occur! Your world is destroyed!" All time-villains share this non-Omniversal outlook -- or else they'd realize the meaninglessness of their acts. Dr.S., just as non-Omniversally aware, then manages, at the cost of "great personal pain" to halt time's flow & even reverse it! When it flows on again, the earthquake does not occur again. Obviously either the whole affair was an "image-play" (hypnotically-induced illusion) or (if Stygyro was telling the truth) Dr.S. managed to leave the reality-line he was then on (and on
which the earthquake destroyed Philadelphia), travel back in time and jump over to the regular, Earth-M-line wherein the history books make no mention of the earthquake. The "pain" he experienced may have been due to wrenching his subjective sense-of-self across the dimensional barrier -- or it may have been a byproduct of Stygyro's hypnosis. In any case, Dr.S. and C. return through "the endless gateways and bridges which span two centuries" and arrive in New York City, none the worse for wear. [DS19 -- MW]
Dr.S. claims to "reverse time's flow" while reassembling a broken statue of The Black Knight, but, of course, all he is doing is causing the statue to regain the wholeness it once had. Neither the statue nor Dr.S. travel in time to accomplish this. [DS35 -- RMC]
SEARCH THIS SITE: a local search engine and a named link to each Lucky Mojo page Lucky Mojo Site Map: a descriptive entry-level index to the whole Lucky Mojo pile Lucky W Amulet Archive Home Page: an online museum of folk-magic charms Hoodoo in Theory and Practice: an online book about African-American folk-magic Sacred Sex Home Page: essays on tantra yoga, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship The Sacred Landscape Home Page: essays on archaeoastronomy and sacred geometry Freemasonry for Women Home Page: a history of mixed gender freemasonic lodges The Lucky Mojo Curio Co.: manufacturers of spiritual supplies for hoodoo and conjure catherine yronwode, the eclectic and eccentric author of all the above web pages nagasiva yronwode: tyaginator, nigris (333), hara/mulla, nocTifer, lorax666, boboroshi,! The Lucky Mojo Esoteric Archive: captured internet files on occult and spiritual topics
copyright © 1978-2010 catherine yronwode. All rights reserved. Send your comments to: [email protected].
THE LESSER BOOKOF THE
VISHANTI
A Companion to the Dr. Strange Comic Books
compiled by catherine yronwodewith nagasiva yronwode
CONTENTS | PROLEPSIS | INTROIT | VOLUME ONE | INTERMEZZO | VOLUME TWO | APPENDICES
VOLUME TWO: THE SCIENCE Dimensional Theory: An Omniversal "Heresy"
A Prologue and a Possible Explanation, Published in Discrete Little Items for APA-I, 1983
The Wondrous Worlds of Dr. Strange, An unpublished article for Omniverse, 1978
A Proposed Revision of the Theory of Fractional Dimensions
Vibrational Barrier Lands
Objective Dimensions
Subjective Dimensions
Nether-Zones, Nether Dimensions, Nether Worlds, and Two Kinds of Limbo
An Outline of Dimensional Types
Footnotes
Interdimensional Travel: Walking Between the Worlds
A Catalogue of the Dimensions, including instructions on travel to these realms, with a short depiction of their landscapes, inhabitants, and modes of conduct found therein
The Alteration of Time by Means of the Art, including Time-Travel
DIMENSIONAL THEORY:AN OMNIVERSAL "HERESY"
A Prologue and a Possible Explanation Published in Discrete Little Items for APA-I, 1983
In 1977 i read a book by Mark Gruenwald entitled "A Treatise on Reality in Comic Literature." This book, known as TORICL to Mark and his friends, proposed an orderly theory of comic book universes, interlocking and
otherwise. The theory was called the "Omniversal Theory," "alternate realities" as handled by comic book scripters.
Soon after the book was published (in a very small edition), Mark was hired as an assistant editor at Marvel. Roy Thomas had been impressed with Mark's theory, and he wanted to work with Mark in an effort to tie upo some longstanding loose ends in Marvel continuity, using the TORICL approach to comic book reality. Within months Mark's Omniversal concepts became accepted at Marvel, and a new title, What If...? was used as a primer in Omniversal theory, relying heavily on Mark's ideas about alternate realities. Eventually the Omniversal theory became official Marvel dogma, and that situation still holds true.
However, during the early days of the Omniversal theory, before it had hardened into "fact" for many Marvel professionals, Mark Guenwald invited comments, suggestions and even criticism of his ideas from fellow fans. To my knowledge he never accepted any of these suggesteions, but he did make the offer to print them in his fanzine, Omniverse. That zine was published by Mark and his then room-mate, Dean Mullaney. Two issues appeared before their partnership was dissolved, and a third one (containing material written up to five years ago) is said to be in the works at present {{1983}}.
As an early Ommie (that's what we called adherents to the Omniversal theory), i was invited to submit an article for Omniverse on the subject of Dr. Strange. I had previously prepared a catalogue to all the dimensions the Doctor had visited in his main-line continuity, so i wrote an introduction to this catalogue as the "article" proper, intending to see it accompanied by the catalogue when the whole was printed in Mark and Dean's zine.
The trouble was that i did not agree with Mark's theory, and i took several paragraphs out to explain why i thought he was wrong in assigning the typical "Ditko" dimension visited by Dr. Strange to a subsidiary category he called "fractional," instead of granting it status as a "whole number" with my "heresy," and the article, originally scheduled for issue no. 2 of Omniverse, was bumped to issue no. 3, pending what i was told would be "massive rewrites" by party-line Ommies. Many years passed and issue no.3, once considered a pipe-dream, now seems to be on the road to reality, but it turns out that my article was bumped again, because it does not upbold the "official explanation of "magical" dimensions as currently propounded by Gruenwald and his cohorts.
I feel a little bit like Leon Trotsky at this point.
Anyway, since it is apparent that the article will never see print in Mark's zine without a total rewrite, i have decided to put it through APA-I as the preface to my original catalogue of dimensions visited by Dr. Strange. I realize that some of the terminology ("VBL," "fractional dimension," etc.) will be hard to understnad if one hasn't ever read TORICL, but the gist of the work is still clear, i hope, being merely an attempt to categorize the dimensions Strange has visited in strictly philosophical (or metaphysical) terminology, i.e. "subjective," "objective," etc.
Next time i'll get to the actual catalogue of dimensions, and that will be easy enough for even non-Ommies to follow because the only referents to this present article which occur in the catalogue are those which "type" the dimension ("Subjective -- Unstable -- Real") according to the terms set forth herein.
What follows is my original typescript, as written in 1978.
1 THE WONDROUS WORLDS OF DR. STRANGE By Cat {{sign}} Yronwode An unpublished article for Omniverse, 1978
Beginning with his initial appearance in ST 110 (July 1963), Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has been a regular traveler to other dimensions.1 His journeys are usually accomplished via occult incantations, talismans, rhymed spells and ancient artifacts, in the time-worn Vishantist tradition. For reasons unknown, the good Doctor has never visited a parallel Earth and thus, to the casual reader, his travels may seem incomprehensible and his destinations a mere grab-bag of random "netherworlds" -- or worse yet, the fantastic delusions of a paranoid schizophrenic who went insane when a car accident deprived him of his skill at surgery. However, on closer examination, all but two of Dr. Strange's over 50 dimensional voyages are logically
consistent within the premises of the Omniversal theory, and furthermore, they serve as admirable case studies for construction of a comprehensive overview of all realities, not just the earth-like one's most people are familiar with. As for the inconsistent travels -- a "massive reinterpretation" in the honourable OMmie tradition is all that's needed to set matters right -- and may also serve as an example of the kinds of logical pitfalls the unwary author should avoid.
But first, as they say, let us define our terms. And while we're at it, it will be necessary to re-define some of them too.
A PROPOSED REVISION OF THE THEORY OF FRACTIONAL DIMENSIONS
In his book TORICL, Mark Gruenwald lumped what he called "magical", "alien", and "mythological" dimensions into one category which he referred to as "fractional" -- that is, existing between whole-number "Earths". He stated frankly at the time that one reason for doing so was that no systematic catalogue had yet been made of the various non-Earth multiverses. This first attempt at such a catalogue, limited as it is, points up some fallacies in Gruenwald's Earth-chauvinistic theory. In order to account for the bulk of Strange's travels with the least amount of
2 "reintegration", or to phrase it another way, to give any credence to any of the data presented in ST, MP and DS comics, requires a revision of this area of the Omniversal theory. I certainly mean no disrespect to Gruenwald, but there's 15 years' worth of data in these comics that contradicts the idea that "magical", "alien", or "mythological" are useful adjectives in defining a dimension! What follows here is my attempt at clarifying
the situation -- and i welcome any responses from readers.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "MAGICAL" DIMENSION
For all practical purposes the term "magical" is useless in defining a multiverse. In some realities "magic" may excel over "science", or vice versa, but in every major comic book reality of which I have heard, "magic" and "science" co-exist. If this were not so, Dr. Strange could not function alongside Mr. Fantastic, nor could Princess Projectra join the Legion of Super-Heroes. Earth-real has magic too (just ask your local pagans) but of course, in the same way that our scientific knowledge lags behind that of a Braniac or Henry Pym, so does our magical knowledge seem primitive when compared to that of even such a minor four-colour adept as Chondu the Mystic. In my opinion "magic" and science are basically the same thing -- selective manipulation of matter and energy. An electro-magnetic definition of magic wherein the Vishanti and other deities can be seen as analogues to the Guardians of Oa is another topic for another time. Suffice it to say that the use of rhymes is not merely a "coincidence" in the pages of GL.
Axiom: One Doctor's science is another one's sorcery.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "MYTHOLOGICAL" DIMENSION
This lies beyond the scope of the present article, but i would like to note that although "mythological" may be a more useful term than "magical" in defining the nature of a given multiverse, particularly in relation to any
3
of the several Earths, the inhabitants of these so-called "mythic realms" are simply living out their own day-to-day existences. If some blundering human being witnesses their rather awesome soap-opera and upon returning home makes a "religion" out of what she saw, that no more defines the beings in question as "gods" than does the fact that because some misguided South Pacific islanders worship cargo planes, airline pilots are "gods."
Axiom: One man's shopping list is another one's cargo cult.
VIBRATIONAL BARRIER LANDS
So-called "magical," "alien" and "mythological" dimensions are not fractional. They are whole-number multiverses just like the Earth-series dimensions are. Dr. Strange and his mentor are very cognizant of this fact as are all of the dozen authors who have worked on the series. 2 One travels through "barriers", "interdimensional corridors", "nether-zones" and so forth until one arrives in "another dimension". Only these Vibrational Barrier Lands (VBLs) can be said to lie "between dimensions".
VIBRATIONAL BARRIER LANDS ARE THE ONLY TRUE FRACTIONAL DIMENSIONS
Although the worlds Dr. Strange travels to, even those with human inhabitants, are obviously not close parallels of the Earth-series dimensions, they cannot for that reason be said to lie "between Earths" -- in fact, the logical supposition, corroborated by numerous textual references, is that they are rather far away from the Earths -- "an unimaginable distance," "far beyond," "at the edge of infinity" and so forth.
Axiom: All realities are created equal.
The question remains -- how can one get into transition with such distant multiverses? My attempt at an answer is just a theory, but, since that's what this game is all
about, here it is: In TORICL Gruenwald used low CPU numbers such as 2, 4, 6, and 8 to demonstrate the theory of divergences. Such low numbers have few common denominators, leading one to the erroneous belief that transitional worlds are hard to find. In actual fact, the CPU's of most current reality lines are much much higher -- along the lines of 37, 648, 118; 73, 197, 490; and 37, 537, 398 -- and common denominators are a dime a dozen. Even such dissimilar places as
4 Earths Real, M, Prime, 1, 2, S, and so forth cannot have diverged before the origin of the human species and since we know that the omniverse is at least 4.5 billion years old (because Earth Real is that old) it is obvious that there has been enough time for some really radially divergent universes to develop within one prime system. I'm not trying to propose that all the diverse dimensions Dr. Strange has visited were once united, but given the idea of divergences and a time-span like that, it's not illogical nor impossible.
OBJECTIVE DIMENSIONS
Philosophically, that which exists in and of itself, independent of the mind is said to be Objective. What anyone thinks about Objective data is irrelevant -- it simply is. While some people may dispute this, most human beings believe the world we live in has an existence which can and will continue without their consciousness. Objective things are commonly said to be "real" but this i is not an exact definition, because if one defines Objective as "real," one is very likely to fall into the semantic trap of defining its opposite, Subjective, as "unreal" -- and this is definitely not the case. Most of the dimensions Dr. Strange has visited are Objective -- they do not depend on his thoughts, or the thoughts of any
others, for their existence. Furthermore they can be classified into three groups, which i have labelled
Planetary Unstable and "Artificial".
The Planetary realms are those which possess a stable surface (no matter how bizarre in appearance) and enough mass for gravity to be an important factor of life. The inhabitants (if any) may be either alien or human. All the Earth-series reality-lines are Objective and Planetary of course, and although not strictly "planetary", the intergalactic spaces between planets can be considered under this heading.
The second type of Objective dimension, the one which is most closely associated with the name of Dr. Strange in the minds of comic book readers, has an Unstable surface geography. Gravity may be similar to Earth's, much
5 lighter or virtually nonexistent. Grotesque land-forms and strangely-shaped objects about, many of them reminiscent of things on Earth, but seen out of their normal contexts. Some of these multiverses contain so-called "worlds within worlds"" and may in fact be made up of not just one continuum but several interlocked realities which drift down the time-line together, remaining in permanent conjunction. The landscapes of Unstable worlds are sometimes called "surreal" but i prefer not to use this term, as it casts doubt upon their "reality." Therefore i have named the more bizarre and colourful regions of the unstable realms "Ditko Areas," after Steve Ditko, the first person from Earth-real to discover them. If anyone is in doubt as to what exactly constitutes a Ditko Area, the all-time definitive version
can be found in Spiderman Annual #2, reprinted as Dr. Strange #179. (Thank you Steve, you have increased our knowledge of Reality immensely.) Incidentally, although many if not all Unstable universes contain Ditko Areas, this does not constitute a definition of these dimensions per se. One type of VBL (Interdimensional Corridors AKA Nether-zones) i also Ditkoid in appearance.
The third group of Objective-Unstable worlds are those which can best be termed "Artificial." These are relatively uncommon dimensions, said to be "created" by certain powerful sorcerers. There is considerable doubt in my mind as to whether anyone, no matter how well-versed in the arcana of Oshtur, can actually create an Objective reality, one which exists independently of their consciousness, but the fact is that none of these Artificial realms has ever been stated to be Subjective and all are reached through the usual magical channels of invocation and ritual. If i had the slightest excuse, i would classify them as Subjective, but the subjectivity of all Subjective domains is always lovingly and verbosely dwelt on by both narrators and participants. Everyone involved seems to delight in relating all the subtle
6 nuances of subjectivity3, so the fact that these Artificial worlds are never explicitly stated to be Subjective leaves but one other logical explanation: the "creators of Artificial dimensions are liars. They find some uninhabited Objective-Unstable multiverse that suits them, dress it up with a few personal trinkets, such as Lord Nekron did with his Clock Dimension (no. 22 in the catalogue), and then they brag that they are "Creators." Dr. Strange may be slightly gullible to believe these grandiose claims to demigodhood on the parts of his foes, but actually, that is a more tenable hypothesis than one which would leave the Master of the Mystic Arts, trained
by a Thibetan Sorcerer Supreme, unable to distinguish an Objective from a Subjective reality.
SUBJECTIVE DIMENSIONS
The major problem with Dr. Strange's extra-dimensional travels is not to distinguish VBLs from true whole-number dimensions -- it is to make sense out of the handful of so-called "Subjective" spaces in which he has sojourned. A subjective state is one which does not exist independently of some mind or minds. A good case could be madce to prove that the entire Omniverse is actually a collectively subjective experience, but I shall resist the temptation. Usually, among present-day Americans and Europeans, subjectivity is equated with "unreality;" it is then but a short step to the erroneous conclusion that "since unreal things by definition don't exist, subjective spaces do not exist." However, this materialistic philosophy is not accepted throughout even all of Earth-real as the truth. Just to give one example, the Thibetans have long asserted that there is no such thing as an "unreal" idea, because by the very act of imagining it -- it is real. They say "The mind cannot conceive an image of that-which-is-not, therefore all images seen by the mind are of real things." This accords with the basic Omniversal premise that "all fiction is true __ somewhere." The realon i mention the Thibetans in this connection is that Dr. Strange studied magic in Thibet, under the
7 Ancient One, a native of the nearby lost civilization of Kamar-Taj.4 Undoubtedly his mentor taught him to accept the fact that what we in the West call "subjective states" (such as imagination, dreams, and drug-induced hallucinations) are actually real -- somewhere. A journey to these Subjective realms is not to be confused with sitting around and tripping, although an uneducated non-
participant observer may fail to grasp the distinction. Subjective worlds are not just "fantasy" -- events experienced there are true. Merely imagining that someone walks up and stabs you will not cause your death on Earth-real, but if you were to travel via Transhypnotic Jewel to the Dimension of Imagination (DIM30 in the catalogue), and were stabbed to death while there, you would be dead on both your own Objective world and that Subjective one you were visiting. The reality of subjective states and their subtle causal link to the objective state we call "normal waking life" explains the mechanisms behind voodoo and hexes, as well as forming the bais for virtually all of the religious and superstitious dogma of Earth-real. One can enjoy Dr. Strange Comics without an appreciation of these matters, but i would like to recommend Alexandra David-Neel's Magic and Mystery in Thibet. Julian Huxley's The Invisibles: Voodoo Gods of Haiti and Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan series to those who want to explore the Subjective realms more thoroughly.
Having granted Subjective realms reality, there remains one puzzling anomaly. This is the realm inside the Orb of Agamotto (DIM48 in the catalogue) which alone of all the multiverses Dr. Strange has journeyed to is said to be "unreal." The "unreality" of the Orb Realm is a rather disturbing conundrum in a magazine where everything else is, including dreams and fantasies. It is logical to assume that the author, Steve Englehart, was being semantically careless and meant Subjective when he said Unreal. This is the only explanation which can also reconcile other statements made about the Orb in the pages of DEFENDERS, wherein the interior of the Orb can be used to teleport actual
8 living beings. However, in the hopes that Mr. Englehart can explain in semanticaly precise terms what he means
by "Unreal," i have given the Orb a tentative position in the category Subjective-Unreal -- that is, a state which is dependent upon consciousness but does not exist. Philosophy is a slippery matter, and as Sir Francis Bacon once said, "He who knows least is fittest to ask questions."5
Finally, there are a few dimensions which cannot be categorized, simply because we lack sufficient data about them. These have been grouped together as "Unknown" until such time as more information is forthcoming.
NETHER-ZONES, NETHER DIMENSIONS, NETHER WORLDS, AND TWO KINDS OF LIMBO
The word "nether" means "lower" (as in beneath) but it has been used to connote "scary" and "bizarre" since the days of H. P. Lovecraft (whose nether-spawned horrors incidentally really did come from the depths). Perhaps Stephen Strange and the Ancient One have rotted their minds reading pulp fiction -- for some reason they are overly fond of describing every unusual dimension as "nether." This of course is confusing to the reader. Basically though, there are three kinds of Nethers:
Nether-Zones --- these are Ditko Area Vibrational Barrier Lands, and except for the name, are indistinguishable from Ditko Area Interdimensional Spaces and Corridors -- therefore i shall group them together in the catalogue.
Nether Dimensions --- these are poorly-named, being actually Lattice-Work VBLs and not true whole-number dimensions at all.
Nether Worlds --- these are true "dimensions" but are no more "nether" than any of the above. They are simply Objective-Unstable-Inhabited universes, someofwhich contain some Ditko Areas and/or Lattice-Work, as well as more familiar flora and fauna. The inhabitants may be either human or alien.
"Limbo" is a word almost as often misused as "nether." Technically, as defined
9 in TORICL, a Limbo is a timeless state, consisting of but one Atomic Instant, although one may subjectively experience the passage of time there. In the pages of DS Comics, the word is used to indicate any Vibrational Barrier Land wherein one might be "trapped," either by accident or the malintent of a foe. Lattice-Work ("nether dimension") VBLs are called "Limbo," as are Ditko Area Interdimensional Ciorridor ("nether-zone") VBLs. Aside from the fact that the nomenclature is confusing, Dr. Strange seems to be fully aware that one doesn't age in Limbo and that it consists of but one Atomic Instant.6
For the sake of clarity, the words Limbo and Nether are always accompanied by a more precise synonym in the catalogue. It is unfortunate that the authors of DS Comics seem to possess such a limited stock of such adjectives, for by constant repetition they have renedered the names of many of hte dimenmsions useless. In addition to all the varied Limbos and Nethers, there are three entirely different multiverses named respecitvely, the Dimension of Dreams, Nightmare's Dream Dimension, and Nightmare's World! It is for this reaosn that i have resorted to giving every dimension a number and an alternate name when the title given in the comic book has already been used before or is so vague as to be meaningless.7
The catalogue which follows chronicles all dimensional travels in the main-line DS stories -- those in ST 110-168, DS 169-183, MP 3-14, DS 1-30, and such multi-part cross-overs as SUB 22, H 126 and TOD 44. None of Dr. Strange's adventures from DEF are included, nor are any "team-ups" considered, other than SP ANN 2 (= DS 179). I have avoided giving plot synapses, preferring to recount
only such action as is integral to an understanding of the wondrous worlds of Dr. Strange.
10 AN OUTLINE OF DIMENSIONAL TYPES"No. #" refers to the following Dimensional Catalogue (DIM##).
Vibrational Barrier Lands (VBLs)
Lattice-Work: 3, 11, 20, 35 Having the Appearance of Galactic Outer Space: 23, 40, 50, 52 Ditko Area VBLs (Nether-Zones, Interdimensional Spaces, and Dimensional Corridors): 11, 17, 22, 24, 25, 29, 38, 39, 44, 47
Objective Dimensions
Planetary (Possessing a Stable Surface):
Human Inhabitants: 48 Alien Inhabitants: 4, 5, 6, 28, 41 Uninhabited: 15, 26
Unstable (Semi-Liquid Surface, Little Gravity and/or Ditko Areas)
Inhabited: 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 27, 31, 37, 49, 53 Uninhabited: 22, 33, 34 "Artificial" (Originally Uninhabited): 32, 46, 51
Subjective Dimensions (All Subjective Dimensions seen to date are Unstable)
Real: 1, 14, 30, 45 "Unreal": 48
Unknown, Due to Insufficient Data: 2, 7, 8, 16, 21, 36, 42
11 FOOTNOTES
1) Actually, Dr. Strange's exploration of alternaate realities predates his comic book debut, becausein that very first story, Nightmare, ruler of the Dream Dimension, refers to him as an "ancient foe".
2) possible exceptions being Steve Englehart, whose semantic lapses are responsbile for much confusion surrounding Eternity's World and the Orb of Agamotto, and Marv Wolfman, who made several misleading statements about a dimension known as the Quadraverse. These problems are dealt with in the catalogue accompanying this article.
3) For example, not only does author Denny O'Neil tell us that the Dimension of Imagination (which he calls "dreams"; ST 168) is a place where things have "no substance" yet are "deadly", but editor Stan Lee sticks in his two cents' worth to explain why some berzerk Vikings want to kill Victoria Bentley and sacrifice her to "the spirit of Death" in order to please him in the hopes that "he will remove us from this devil's land and send us back to our own sacred shores." In the words of Mr. Lee: "Although the Vikings are only illusions, they believe they are real -- and so in this wold of time gone mad -- they are!"
The Smiling One was only trying to make sense out of O'Neil's jumbled logic, but by bringing time into it, he made matters much more confused. In the realm of subjectivity, explanations can be "deadly" too.
4) destroyed in 1466 A.D. See ST 148 for details.
5) New Atlantis (1626). Please consider this an invitation, Steve. If you do not explain your terms by the vernal
equinox of the seventh year after this sees print, i shall be forced to discountenance your claims in respect of the Orb and reclassify it under the heading of Subjective-Real.
6) See catalogue entry DIM25, the Dreaded Interdimensional Road of Repetition for details.
7) Examples of meaningless names are: "A Nameless Place" and "Some Timeless Unknown Other" [Dimension] -- better known as the worlds of Shazana and the Undying Ones, respectively.
12
INTERDIMENSIONAL TRAVEL: WALKING BETWEEN THE WORLDS
The word "Dimension" is used very loosely in the pages of ST, MP, and DS Comics, as well as in other titles where the Mystic Master appears. For the purposes of this catalogue Fractional Dimensions also known as Vibrational Barrier Lands, Interdimensional Spaces, etc.) will accord with Mark Gruenwald's theoretical "Fractional Dimensions" as defined in TORICL. All other Dimensions, whether Objective or Subjective will be classified as actual whole-number Dimensions -- a practice which goes against Gruenwald's Theory.
[Note: the phrase "Ditko Area" is used to described those unique places (first discovered by Steve Ditko) whose geographical landmarks consist of such diverse matter as planets, disembodied fanged mouths, lakes, billiard balls, bridges of dripping stones, ropes strung with geometric solids, giant mah-jonng tablets, volcanoes, and other cosmic flotsam.]
13
A CATALOGUE OF DIMENSIONS
DIM01
Name: The Dimension of Dreams
a.k.a. The World of Nightmare, Nightmare's Dimension, Nightmare's Dream World, The Realm Unreal
[Note: not to be confused with "The Nightmare World" of Yandroth (DIM28)) or "The Dimension of Dreams" [Dimension of Imagination] (DIM30).]
Ref: ST110, ST122, DS170, DS180-181-182, MP3, DS10-13, DS32, DS34
Type: Subjective -- Unstable -- Real
Inhabitants: N., at least one humanoid servant, a spiney-beast, N.'s Mare, "Minions of Nightmare" (monsters), the dream images of sleeping
Comments: One can only enter this dimension when asleep ("having a nightmare") or in a mystical trance. in ST110, Dr.S. puts his body into a trance and then enters through another man's dream. In ST116, N. has a "mystical potion" in an "occult device" (made by a servant) which enables him to bring humans from Earth and trap them in the Dream Dimension. Dr.S. uses the Mists of Hoggoth to reveal the Dream Dimension's location, goes into a trance and enters on "the Path of Hoggoth." In ST122, Dr.S. enters in his sleep. In DS170, N. is incorrectly stated to ride a "stallion". In DS180, a dream is again the mode of entry, but in DS181, N. manages to pull Dr.S.'s physical body in, leaving his "psychic shell" behind in DS182. In MP3, Dr.S. is hit by a truck and, while unconscious, enters N.'s world in his physical body. While there, he contacts the A.O. in Thibet and breaks the Orb of Agamotto, which is later repaired by Clea on Earth-M! N.'s dimension thus is real, though
subjective. Incidentally, during this encounter, N. was acting under orders from Shuma-Gorath, an Eldritch mind-parasite of the A.O.'s
(Continued on page 45)
45 [inserted here for ease of reading]
The Dimension of Dreams(continued from page 13)
N. has twice attempted to capture E. The first time occurred when E. clashed with D. (ST146) but was not revealed until several years later (DS180-182), when he showed his captive to Dr.S., who made a heroic effort to free "the image of a man." Ironically, E. was just allowing N. to keep him and could have freed himself at any time. Since "Eternity is the Universe", N.'s infliction of bad dreams on him produces an aberrant reality on Earth. This is again demonstrated in DS10-15, where N. catches E. napping and causes him to dream of the destruction of the Earth, a reality which then comes to pass because E.'s thoughts (including his dreams) are what Earth-M is comprised of, in some poorly-understood way. In both of these instances it is to be presumed that since E. had entered the Domain of Nightmare, all of Earth-M was at these times suffering from a collective bad dream. The dates in question for E's two captive periods are July 1966 - July 1969 (the Vietnam Era) and October 1975 - February 1976 -- this latter time of disturbed reality, however, having been negated when E. recreated the Earth in DS134 and left no memory of events in any minds but Dr.S.'s, for which we can all be thankful. In DS32, the DiD. travels from the Halls of Fear (DIM56) to the Dimension of Dreams by means of an invocation. He hopes to enlist N.'s aid in defeating Dr.S., but is refused. N. does allow his "cousin" (a relationship he denies) to leave with one of his dream-
images of a sleeping mortal. When the DiD. crushes the image, the sleeper awakes as his pawn. In DS34, N. captures the sleeping Dr.S. and brings him here to fight Cyrus Black.
14 DIM02
Name: "Another Plane, a Mystic Dimension"
Ref: ST112
Type: Unknown due to insufficient data -- lightning and clouds are seen
Comments: M. and Dr.S. enter this dimension in their astral forms for one panel while fighting. It may be a VBL similar to DIM47.
DIM03
Name: "An Unknown Dimension"
a.k.a. "Strange," "Dark"
Ref: ST117
Type: VBL -- lattice-work [probably a "nether-dimension" parallel to DIM20 and DIM35
Comments: M., using an echanted model, causes Dr.S. and his house to be transported to this place. It is weightless and mauve in colour. Dr.S.'s astral form leaves easily. No inhabitants encountered.
DIM04
Name: "An [Alien] Dimension Not Far
From Our Own" [The Greenie's Dimension]
Ref: ST118
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien
Comments: Separated from us by a "dimensional barrier". Inhabited by green, mouthless humanoids with antennae who all wear red pants and purple turtle-neck sweaters. They enter Earth by means of a teleportation device much like tha tused onboard the federation starship "Enterprise", materializing in Bavaria and taking possession of human bodies. Dr.S. uses a spell to enter this dimension and subsequently casts a spell which will seal the Bavarian "dimensional entrance", "forever". Of course the aliens, having created one entrance can presumeably open another, but to date they have not done so.
15 DIM05
Name: The (Dread) Purple Dimension
Ref: ST119, ST123
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien
Comments: The Purple Dimension lies "beyond the Purple Veil" (a VBL) and is reached via the Purple Crystal; ruled by Aggamon the All-Powerful, a green humanoid, and peopled with greenie natives and human slaves who toil in the mines. The landscape is desert -- fantastic and devoid of flora. In ST123 the god Loki
breaks the Purple Crystal as Dr.S. is trying to send him to The Purple Dimension
DIM06
Name: "Another Space-Time Continuum"
a.k.a. The Shadow World [of Haunted Houses]
Ref: ST120
Type: Objective -- Planetary (?) -- Alien
Comments: This dimension is the home of an alien protean being capable of disguising itself as a "haunted house" for the purpose of observing Earth. (!) Dr.S. banishes it with a spell.
DIM07
Name: "A Shadowy Dimension"
[NOTE: Hoggoth's Dimension; not to be confused with DIM06, "The Shadow World" or with DIM33, "The Shadow-Land")
Ref: ST123
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data
Comments: Dr.S. conjures an ethereal hand from this plane which soon solidifies and, at Dr.S.'s bidding, grabs Thor's Uru Hammer from him while he is flying, thus causing the Thunder God to fall to Earth. The text of the spell implies that the hand belongs to one of Hoggoth's Hosts, who may live in this dimension.
16 DIM08
Name: The Mystic Realm
Ref: ST120
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data
Comments: Mentioned in an invocation, never seen
DIM09
Name: Dormammu's Dimension
a.k.a. The Realm of Darkness, The Dark Domain, The Dismal Domain, The Dark Dimension, The Domain of Dormammu, "The Dimension of Death", etc.
Ref: ST126-127-128, ST130, ST133-4, ST139, ST145-6, DS6-7-8, ST151-155
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains several "Ditko Areas"
Inhabitants: There are several distinct life-forms here -- D. and U. are children of the (Flaming) Faltine, althought the half-human U. looks like a woman. Orini (a human) and U.'s daughter is the almost-human C., whose only Faltine traits are unruly hair and a quick temper (C. moved to Earth-M in 1968 and is the lover and disciple of Dr.S.). The Dark Domain is guarded by a being whose name is the Guranthic Guardian, a stone hulking monster. Asti, one of D.'s servants, is a disembodied mask. Behind a "barrier" at "the border" of the Dark Dimension live the M.O., grey shambling cyclopean beings who "only live to kill". Within the Realm of Dormammu one can also find a lower level wherein dwell the metallic Dwellers Below. D. also commands a legion of
etheric wraiths whom he sends to Earth-M, where they are usually referred to (incorrectly) as M.'s minions. There are numerous references made to Dormammu's Demons, which may or may not be the same as the Dykkors he acquired while exiled in "The Realm Unknown" (DIM31), and who also accompanied him to the core of Earth-M (DS6). Veritas, a non-embodied "embodiment of truth" roams freely through the Dismal Domain and "Umar's Hordes" also lurk
17 somewhere, flapping their demonic wings -- unless Dr.S. killed them all in ST154.
Comments: In ST126 The Dark Domain is reached by a spell, but from that time on Dr.S. merely materializes there at will, having memorized the co-ordinates, presumably. D. views happenings on Earth-M and sends ectoplasmic wraiths to aid the evil M. through a "dimensional screen" in ST130 and subsequently. In ST146 the Dark Domain is hyperbolically and incorrectly stated to be "a place which is not a place -- a state of existence where neither time nor matter are real." In fact it is quite "real" but very unstable, never maintaining the same geographcal landmarks for more than a few months at most. In ST139 it is called "distant" and said to be "countless dimensions away" from Earth-M. The political status of the Realm of Darkness is almost as unstable as its geography, with a constant power-struggle being waged between D. and U. Since D.'s exile to "The Realm Unknown (DIM??), following his rash encounter with E. (ST146), there has been no real peace. If U. and D. aren't battling each other, they are trying to capture the Earth. No wonder C. left home! The architecture here is as diverse as are the inhabitants. D. prefers Ditkoid floating chairs and geometrical abstracts, U. has a castle on a mountain peak, C. was raised by Orini in a cave, and most of the others make do with barren ground or
bizarre landforms. No visible agriculture is practiced and it may be the lack of fertile soil which impells both D. and U. to conquer the greener pastures of Earth. U. also makes a cameo appearance in DS35, where she refuses to ally herself with the DiD.
18 DIM10
Name: The Sixth Dimension
a.k.a. The Realm of Tiboro
Ref: ST129, DS178, DS35
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: When the "Screaming Idol", an effigy of T. ("Lord of the Seething Volcano", "Spirit of Decay") is unearthed in Peru, where it has lain since the civilization which worshipped him collapsed, it begins to pull innocent bystanders into Tiboro's Realm,the Sixth Dimension. T. keeps these people in bondage until Dr.S., who has allowed himself to be captured by the idol, shows up and rescues them. Several years later Dr.S., accompanied by the Black Knight, travels to the Sixth Dimension in a "vortex of blinding light" to rescue the witless SoS., who have been duped into exile by their leader, Asmodeus (Dr. Benton). The geography is highly unstable and surrealistic. T. is seen in cameo appearance snarling at the DiD. in DS35.
DIM11
Name: An Unnamed Series of Fractional Dimensions,
Liquid, Lattice-Like and Surreal
Ref: ST133
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional spaces and lattice-work
Comments: Dr.S. becomes "a shapeless form" flying "through the infinite at a speed beyond human comprehension -- passing from dimension to dimension -- losing itself in the mystic maze of infinity -- propelled by a spell so powerful, so irresistable, that it shatters every obstacle, every barrier which stands in its way!" and in fact we can see this "form" traversing a number of liquid areas, lattices, and other "Ditko" spaces.
19 DIM12
Name: "A Nameless Land, A Timeless Time"
[Shazana's Realm]
Ref: ST133
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: The Nameless Land lies "an unimaginable distance from the world known as 'Earth' and is reached by travelling through a long series of fractional dimensions and veils (detailed in DIM11). It is inhabited by humans and pseudo-reptilian domestic animals. More Earth-like than most Objective-Unstable dimensions, it possesses both vegetation and dwellings, albeit both of a rather unusual typek, to say the least. Dr.S. arrives here inadvertantly (he was escaping from a losing battle with M. and D.) and immediately becomes involved in the political machinations between the unnamed blonde queen-in-exile and her evil sister Shazana, who has
usurped the throne by magical means. The blonde queen is restored to the throne and Shazana driven mad when Dr.S. breaks the "mystical symbol globe", source of Shazana's powers. Dr.S. uses the energy contained in the globe to propel him home through the countless VBLs which lie between this dimension and Earth-M.
[NOTE: The Nameless Land is obviously a very close parallel to the dimension known as Phase World (DIM49) -- both had evil dark-haired queens in green clothes who had wrested power from weak-but-good blonde sisters wearing pinks and purples -- and in both cases Dr.S.'s interference changed the course of events radically.]
20 DIM13
Name: The Hidden Land
[The Mask-Demon's Dimension]
Ref: ST135
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: Dr.S. enters this dimension when he mistakenly uses a spell given to him by a senile Thibetan sorcerer named The Aged Genghis, who has told him that it will take him to E.'s realm (DIM14). The spell produces an entrance-way in the air and when Dr.S. steps through this nexus, he finds himself in the Hidden Land, which consists of many tall columns of masks. An evil and nameless mask-demon with "enchanted" hypnotic green eyes is the only functional inhabitant, for all the other occupants are beings, alien and human, "from all ages" (and presumeably from as many dimensions) whom the mask-demon has entrapped by making masks of their faces, through how making a plaster-cast of someone's
face enslaves them is hard to understand. Perhaps, using his hypnotic skill, the mask-demon convinces his slaves that the making of a mask puts them under his control. In any case, Dr.S. defeats the mask-demon, frees the slaves, breaks the masks and causes the entire dimension (or at least all human knowledge of it) to "vanish forevermore", on one reality-line at least.
DIM14
Name: Eternity's Realm
a.k.a. The World of Eternity, Eternity's Plane of Existence
Ref: ST137-8, ST146, DS10-13
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited in appearance but may be actually Subjective -- Real, according to some data (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: There is probably no character in the Marvel Universe about whom more speculations and contradictions have been voiced than the awesome enigma known as E. It has been explicitly stated on numerous occasions that he is not "God" (JHVH,
21 the Judeo-Christian deity), although he was capable of recreating the Earth after N. caused him to destroy the original model as a result of a bad dream. It was stated at that time (DS13) that E.'s dreams are as reality to the inhabitants of Earth -- (Earth-M anyway...) and since that time E. has become known as "Adam Qadmon, the All-Being, the Universe." Be that as it may, he was at one time the friend of Dr.S.'s mentor, the A.O., and in fact gave the Thibetan master an amulet called "the Eye of
Agamotto" which was later passed down to Dr.S. After the A.O. became "one with the universe" (MP10) he was still able to manifest himself as apart from E., something that would be difficult to do if E. is the universe. E.'s other skills consist of telepathy and the ability to cause world-wide memory-changes, as he did when he created the short-lived "Stephen Sanders" identity for Dr.S. in DS182.
If E. himself is an enigma, the nature of the level of reality he occupies is no less ill-defined. In ST137-138 the situation is rather straightforward: by chanting "one of the most potent spells of all time -- in words so secret, phrases so soul-shattering, that we dare not reveal them here to your mortal gaze!!", and thus causing the Amulet of Agamotto to enlarge and form a dimensional doorway, Dr.S. enters into an archetypically-unstable "Ditko Area" where "time and distance, as we know them, are meaningless." Within this surrealistic dimenison is a microcosmic universe capable of expanding until it assumes "the image of a man", it is this "image of a man", composed of galactic detritus, whom Dr.S. addresses as "Eternity." E.'s world must be very hard to reach because he states (in ST138) that only the A.O. and Dr.S. have ever stood before him.
E's visits to Earth do not concern us here, nor does the presence of "the hole where he used to be", in the subjective (?) void of outer space where Dr.S. encounters death (DS4) seem to bear any relation to E's home-dimension.
Lastly, there is the very confused and confusing series of events chronicled in DS10-13, the now-famous "end-of-the-world" saga. Dr.S. entes what is purported to be E's world by "focusing his mind to crystal clarity", a power he gained by having filled
22
E.'s form as he died (in DS4). He materializes in an area of dense fog which bears no relation to the landscape previously encountered in E.'s dimension. E. prophesies the end of the world and Dr.S. is catapulted through a series of encounters with fragments of his own personality in a world which changes from "a swirl of shifting shadows" to an exact analogue of the White House in Washington D.C. But, to make a long story short, none of these "nebulous nether worlds" take place in E.'s Realm, even the first foggy one -- for E. has all along been captive in N.'s Dimension of Dreams (DIM01)! Obviously the key to understanding the numerous inconsistencies lies in this fact and its corollary -- E's dreams are experienced as "reality" on Earth-M. This leads us no closer to an understanding of the true nature of E.'s world, but for the sake of this catalogue, I will venture to theorize that to visitors from Earth-M (like Dr.S.) it is objective, unstable and inhabited, whereas to E., everything in his universe is subjective, unstable (or rather, in this case, malleable) and real, E. being both the "dimension" and the "image of a man" who inhabits it.* [NOTE: Or else we are faced with the hitherto unheard-of idea that "the universe" (which is E.) is embedded within another dimension! More next time -- cat [sign]] For more on E.'s role in "the end of the world" epic, see N.'s world (DIM01). It is my sincere hope that someone will someday answer the question "who is that image of a man, anyway?" but if you thought i would, you were sadly mistaken. And while the world awaits the answer, let us all ponder another conundrum: whatever happened to the "Stephen Sanders" identity (and everyone's memory of it) between H126, when Dr.S. took a vacation, and MF1 (Def.) when he returned, once more "Stephen Strange"?
For more information on N.'s initial capture of E., see ST146, DS182, and DIM01, The Dream-World.
23
DIM15
Name: "A Neutral Dimension"
Ref: ST140
Type: Objective -- Planetary (?) -- Uninhabited
Comments: D., ruler of The Dark Domain (DIM09) sends M., Dr.S., the A.O., and himself to this "lonely, lifeless dimension, at the edge of infinity." by "a wave of the hand". He also summons the rulers of his apparently Objective-Unstable "neighboring dimensions" (the "Lords of the Netherworlds") and they enter the Neutral Dimension by "spectral doorways" (portable nexi?) to witness a duel between D. and Dr.S. The victor will be "Master" of Earth-M and D. states that "the most coveted treasture of all" is to have "total mastery of Earth" and the supreme voice in "the highest council of the known dimensions.
[NOTE: Can you imagine the highest council of the unknown dimensions? -- cat [no sign]]
Presumably this council consists only of unstable dimensions because, although Dr.S. defeats D. and attains the prize, he has never sat on the council, to my knowledge. It is possible that this council gave rise to the later "congress of realities" (in Adventure Into Fear #19 and Manthing #1) in much the same way the League of Nations led to the United Nations on Earth.
24 DIM16
Name: The Dimension of Demons
Ref: ST141
Type: Unknown -- Inhabited
Comments: Presumeably inhabited by demons, this dimension is otherwise unidentified, beyond the fact that D. transports his agent M. there as a punishment, "through a spectral doorway from the Neutral Dimension (DIM15). On the occasions of D.'s defeat (if that's the right word) by E. in ST146 all of the Dread One's spells are undone, thus freeing M. to return to Earth, none for the worse for wear.
DIM17
Name: "A Dimensional Corridor"
Ref: ST144
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Spaces
Comments: The A.O. is seen "drifting" through this "Ditko Area" on his way to "an unfamiliar universe" (DIM18).
DIM18
Name: "An Unfamiliar Universe"
[The Stop-Over]
Ref: ST144
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: The A.O., attempting to find the vanishing C., arrives here and engages the aid of the friendly unnamed human ruler of "this far-flung world." When he senses a magic spell in a further dimension, he summons his disciple, Dr.S. Dr.S. arrives through a spectral doorway and after getting directions (and a warning) from the A.O. and his ally, sets off to the Kingdom of Tazza (DIM19), lured by D.'s spell.
25 DIM19
Name: The Twilight Dimension
a.k.a. The Kingdom of Tazza
Ref: ST144
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: It is always night here, a night lit by fires blazing across the unstable terrain. The only native encountered by Dr.S. is Tazza, a green cat-like humanoid with the ability to change his shape at will. He also possesses magical powers and freezes unwary intruders to stone, setting them up as statues in his home, which he claims is "the only dwelling in my dusky realm". The Twilight Kingdom of Tazza is said by the ruler of the "Unfamiliar Universe" (DIM18) to lie on "the outer edge of infinity", which shoudl place it in the vicinity of the Neutral Dimension (DIM15) which is also "At the Edge of Infinity". Dr.S. is lured here by a spell cast by D., in the belief that he will find C. D. has meanwhile told Tazza (via dimensional screen) that Dr.S. comes to attack him. Dr.S. defeats Tazza and restores the spirits to their statues, who then come to life and thank him profusely. Tazza is left unharmed when Dr.S. realizes that he knows nothing of C.'s whereabouts and Dr.S. "drifts homeward" through a dimensional corridor (DIM17).
DIM20
Name: "The Nether Dimension"
a.k.a. "Limbo"
Ref: ST145, ST146
Type: VBL -- Lattice-work
Comments: In ST145, the evil Mister Rasputin (R.) sends Dr.S.'s astral form into "Limbo" (a black and red lattice) during a battle. Eventually Dr.S. uses his cloak to suffocate R. into unconsciousness, thus allowing the Mystic Master to escape. Except for colour, this "Nether Dimension" is virtually identical with "An Unknown Dimension" (DIM03). In ST146, C. is released from her captivity in a yellow and black lattice-work dimension, also called a "Nether Dimension."
26 DIM21
Name: The Dimension of Raggadorr
Ref: ST148
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data -- probably a VBL
Comments: This dimenmsion is never seen, so its type cannot be determined. The name implies that it is ruled by Raggadorr, known also as the creator of several magic spells often used by Dr.S. The spells produce either "seven roving rings" which can be used to bind an opponent in mystic combat or an occult "rain" which is basically cleansing. However, the mysterious Raggadorr has never been explicitly stated to be a being and thus it is remotely possible that Raggadorr is in fact a ringed planet with a tropical climate. Fruitless speculation aside, it is known that when the evil magician Kaluu of Kamar-Taj (on Earth-M), long-time foe of the A.O., bungled his plans for domination of the Hilayas in 1466, he went into voluntary exile in the dimension of Raggadorr "where there is magic far beyond that known to other mortals."
This dimension lies "beyond the Edge of the Universe" but it must not be too far beyond because the barrier which separates it from Earth-M is "shattered" by E.'s cataclysmic clash with D. (in ST146). If one remembers that "Eternity is the universe", this makes sense. It also explains M.'s escape from the Dimension of Demons (DIM16) -- in that one catastrophic moment all the dimensions under D.'s mental control were flung open and "the universe", that is, the dimension in which Earth-M exists, was likewise temporarily riddled with nexi. Dr.S. then called all "exiles" forth from their "netherworlds" (in ST146) and somehow the evil Kaluu must have slipped in unnoticed amongst the rejoicing throng. Dr.S. didn't see him because he was transfixed at the sight of C., freed at last from her months in "Limbo" (a lattice-work VBL, DIM20).
27 DIM22
Name: "Limbo"
[NOTE: not to be confused with the lattice-work "Limbo" (DIM20)]
Ref: ST150, ST146
Type: VBL -- Nether Zone -- "Ditko Area"
Comments: The name "Limbo" is obviously a misnomer for both these "Ditko Area" nether-zones and the lattice-work "nether dimensions". In any case, there is probably more than one "Ditko-like "Limbo, since Dr.S. refers to them collectively as "hidden dimensions" (plural) when freeing the exiles in ST146. Kaluu is banished to a "Ditko nether zone in ST150.
DIM23
Name: "The Fearsome Void Which Exists
Between Dimensions" a.k.a. Everlasting Nothingness
Ref: ST151, ST155, ST162
Type: VBL -- Outer Space-like
Comments: U. sends C. into what appears to be an orbit around a cratered green planet in outer space, but is specifically said to be the "void" -- "between dimensions". When Dr.S. arrives to rescue her, he travels through a VBL "Ditko interdimensional area and arrives where C. floats waiting near some asteroids. M. is banished here too, in ST162, by "the Spell of Cosmic Banishment."
DIM24
Name: The Forbidden Dimensions
Ref: ST155
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Spaces
Comments: These "Ditko Areas" exist between Earth-M and the Dimension of Dormammu and Umar (DIM09). Normally Dr.S. can bypass them magically, but when accompanied by the powerless C., he must undertake to cross them in order to bring her safely to Earth. See also DIM25.
28
DIM25
Name: "A Dreaded Interdimensional
Road of Repetition" and "The Realm of Nothingness"
Ref: ST155
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Spaces
Comments: While rushing through the Forbidden Dimensions (DIM24) at a speed "faster than any living being has travelled before"
[NOTE: Dr.S. may be mistaken in this -- i venture to say that it is faster than any living being has travelled through the Forbidden Dimensions before, but as to ultimate speed, I fear the Mystic Master is hopelessly outclassed by quicksilver of Earth-M and the Flashes of Earths 1 and 2.]
C. and Dr.S. inadvertantly "create a Dreaded Interdimensional Road of Repetition" which looks like a yellow Moebius strip. For reasons unexplained they each simultaneously develop two bodies, as if this were not bad enough, "it is impossible to stop -- or to turn back" and Dr.S. cannot use his cloak to levitate for, "once off the road -- we may drift in Limbo forever!" [NOTE: to dimension-collectors: the "Limbo" referred to here is not one of the lattice-work nether-dimension "Limbos" (DIM19) nor is it one of the "Ditko Area" nether-zone "Limbos" (DIM22). To all appearances it is simply a vast expanse of pale blue half-tone dots -- helpful cat [sign]] In any case, Dr.S. determines to "shatter" the Road of Repetition or else, as he tells C, "we'll continually repeat our action -- throughout Eternity" [NOTE: meaning "time", not "the image of a man" who goes by that name -- confused cat [sign]]It is interesting to note that Dr.S. says "action" in the singular, thus indicating his belief (shared by Mark Gruenwald in TORICL) that a true "timeless" Limbo
consists of but one atomic instant. The "Awesome Gleam" from Dr.S.'s amulet severs the "deadly band" but this only casts the sorcerer and C. into an utterly black "realm of nothingness" where they "must wait for the other semblances of [their] own true selves" -- the aforementioned bodily doubles, who for reasons no more obvious than their existence in the first place, have remained in living colour. When the two Dr.S.s meet they both say the same things until they are rejoined. From this point on, Dr.S. and C. resume their journey through the Forbidden Dimensions (DIM24), finally being brought safely to Earth on a "mental bridge" by the A.O.
29 DIM26
Name: "A World Beyond Worlds" [Zom's Prison]
Ref: ST156
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Uninhabited (except for genies in amphorae)
Comments: This world contains nothing but a low step-pyramid upon which rest various assorted vases and lamps containing unseen "demon-guards". At the top of the steps is a larger amphora of Z. who was imprisoned there long ago by E. Since the "guards" do nothing to hinder Dr.S. from freeing Z., it is probable that they are not there to guard Z. but were rather members of Z's hypothetical "palace guards" and were also imprisoned by E. No native flora or fauna is seen. Incidentally, Z. states (in ST157) that D. is responsible for the iron hand-restraints he wears. Were E. and D. allies insome long-forgotten past? Is this why the A.O., a close friend of E.'s (and now "one with" him) used to swear oaths in D.'s name?
DIM27
Name: The World of the Million Perils
a.k.a. The Planets Perilous [World of Nebulos]
Ref: ST161-163
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited (contains "Ditko Areas")
Comments: This world is incorrectly stated to be a "world between worlds" and a "limbo" but if it is in fact a "Ditkoid" nether-zone or interdimensional corridor, it is the only one with an ocean, 6 moons and a native resident alien that Dr.S. has ever encountered. I believe the World of the Million Perils is not a VBL but instead an Objective, Unstable, Inhabited dimension in its own right. It contains a dark "Ditko Area" featuring a giant floating number 9, the aforementioned ocean and moons, some bestial monsters, and the floating green non-humanoid-being known as Nebulos, said to be the only creature of intelligence in this realm. The Planet[[??s??]] Perilous is destroyed during a battle between Nebulos and the L.T., with the help of Dr.S. Nebulos' fate remains unknown. (Dr.S. and V.B., his friend, are incidentally sent here to die by the wicked M.)
30 DIM28
Name: "The Nightmare World"
[Yandroth's World] [NOTE: not to be confused with "Nightmare's World" (DIM01).]
Ref: ST164-6
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien (with one human inhabitant)
Comments: This planet is obviously grossly misnamed -- it is not only not a subjective realm like N.'s Dimension (DIM01), but "Nightmare" as a descriptive phrase is highlyy inappropriate -- it is simply a rather bizarre alien jungle-world which the human "Scientist Supreme" Y. uses as a hangout. The surface sports exotic flora, gargantuan, cyclopean slugs and bat-winged predators. Y. lives underneath the ground in a system of natural and artificial caves, surrounded by his scientific apparatus. He has a machine with which he can traverse space and dimensions. V.B., a friend of Dr.S.'s, is transported to this realm by Nebulos (of the Planets Perilous (DIM27)) and Dr.S. is transported after her by the L.T. (a cosmic guardian of magic) as a favour, after Dr.S. helps him defeat Nebulos. Y. decides to make V.B. his unwilling bride, but when Dr.S. defeats both he and his large robot Voltorg, Y. takes her and attempts to flee by "teleportation tube". Dr.S. tries to set the controls for Earth, but Y. and V.B. disappear as he is in the act of turning the dial. When he enters the tube he is transported to Stonehenge (on Earth-M) but the Scientist Supreme and his captive are nowhere in sight."
DIM29
Name: "Space-Warp", "Nether Zone"
Ref: ST167
Type: VBL -- Nether Zone [unseen, no further data]
Comments: When Y. and V.B. don't arrive on Earth after teleporting from Y.'s world (DIM28), the A.O. theorizes that they may have been "trapped" in a nether zone -- if true, this would be a "Ditko Area", but the A.O.'s guess is wrong, so it's a moot point.
31 DIM30
Name: "The Dimension of Dreams"
[Dimension of Imagination] [NOTE: not to be confused with N.'s Dream Dimension (DIM01)
Ref: ST167
Type: Subjective -- Real
Comments: This is another wretched misnomer -- although Subjective and Real in the same way that the Dream Dimension (a.k.a. N.'s Realm) is, this is not the same place! For one thing, the A.O. asserts that "no mortal has returned from that dread world"
[NOTE: how does he know? -- skeptical cat [no sign]]
which is obviously not the case with N.'s World, for Dr.S. and numerous humans have repeatedly escaped N.'s clutches. Secondly, the A.O. calls it "a state where all of mankind's fantasies, memories and wishes are living reality" and this is not true of N.'s Realm, which only consists of humanity's troubled dreams made real. Finally, one does not travel to this dimension by sleeping or going into a tance, as will be seen. All i can conjecture is that the author of this tale, Denny O'Neil, meant day-dreams, but in order to avoid confusion as much as possible I will refer to this realm as the Dimension of Imagination [NOTE: and if you're smart, you will too -- smug cat [sign]] If i was smart [NOTE: but I'm not] , i wouldn't bother to note that this dimension is also misnamed "The Dimension of Yandroth" (incorrectly called "The Nightmare World") is DIM28 and Y. only got
space-warped into imagination-land by Dr.S.'s tampering with his teleporter. [NOTE: !]
So much for nomenclature. Dr.S. magically locates Y. and V.B., but reaching the Realm of Imagination requires two people and a "transhypnotic jewel". The A.O. hypnotizes Dr.S. into releasing his "hold on earthly existence" and the jewel somehow converts this idea into reality. The A.O. remains behind, telepathically linked to Dr.S. If he should lose consciousness, Dr.S. would be unable to return to "the normal universe."
Geographically, the Dimension of Imagination is a "Ditko Area" composed of the usual assortment of colourful globs, lattices, ameboid
32 detritus and surrealistic sculpture. All the inhabitants (one dinosaur and a small horde of viking warriors) are said to be "illusions" but the vikings, at least, believe themselves to be real (which they are, subjectively speaking). Y. falls into an abyss and Dr.S. rescues V.B. They are both then retrieved by the mental command of the A.O. I would like to note that if this dimension does in fact contain "all of mankind's [and womankind's] fantasies, memories and wishes", only a minute fragment of it was viewed in this story!
DIM31
Name: "The Realm Unknown"
[The Realm of Vanishment]
Ref: DS170
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited [contains "Ditko Area"]
Comments: This is the dimension where people placed under "The Spell of Vanishment" go. The A.O. sent C. there for safekeeping (in ST155) and when D. clashed with E. (in ST146) he was sent here too. Other non-native inhabitants are the multi-coloured dykkors ("demons" also banished here by the A.O. long ago). As far as voluntary visits go, it must be entered by two people at once, one man and one woman, each of whom can only make the trip once in their lives. It is a region of "Ditko Areas" and may in fact include more than one permanently conjoined multiverse, for in this realm "each droplet may contain a cosmos." For reasons i fail to comprehend, it is also called "a time which has spatial existence" but, there being no evidence to support that rather hyperbolic claim, it can, i believe, be regarded as erroneous data.
33 DIM32
Name: "Yet Another Bleak Dimension"
[The Clock Dimension]
Ref: ST174
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- "Artificial"
Comments: This dimension, composed entirely of timepieces, is said to have been "created" by the evil Lord Nekron. It lies at the end of a short "eerie [interdimensional lattice-work] corridor} and is in actuality a rather oddly decorated trap for sacrificial victims offered to the Supreme Satannish While not in truth the "creation" of Nekron, this "clock dimension" does possess one peculiarity -- the time flow is not
consistent in velocity, nor does it correspond to time on Earth. It was probably this characteristic which prompted Nekron to decorate it as he did. Apparently the time-flow is either subjective or can be objectively controlled through magic, because Dr.S. casts a spell to "make time go faster", although he admits -- "nor could I have done such a thing -- but in a world of time gone mad!"
DIM33
Name: A Hostile Dimension
a.k.a. The Land of Shadows [NOTE: not to be confused with DIM06, The Shadow World or DIM07, A Shadowy Dimension)[The Cult and the Curse Dimension]
Ref: DS177, DS36
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Uninhabited
Comments: Dr.S. and C. are banished here by the SoS., who use a spell from the Book of the Vishanti to transport them through a "wondrous whirlpool" to this place of exile. It is uninhabited save for green "floating protoplasmic shapes" and grey "living foliage", both of which are apparently carnivorous. In DS36, this dimension is referred to as "some fathomless netherworld."
34 DIM34
Name: "A Place Which Could Serve as a
Stage Setting For Alice In Wonderland" [The Wondrous World]
Ref: DS179 [a reprint of Sp.ANN2]
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Uninhabited
Comments: This is the archetypal Ditko-dimension. The descriptive name it bears doesn't come near to doing it justice. The evil sorcerer X. banishes Sp. to this dimension by means of the oft-used "Satannish-vanish" spell. However, the webslinger manages to grab the accursed Wand of Watoomb as he disappears into thin air. X. sends his two hypnotized thugs after Sp. to capture the wand & they all return to Earth-M just as Dr.S. arrives on the scene and matters are set right in short order. The Wondrous World is probably the most beautiful dimension of it stype, containing floating islands, sinking ringed planets, ameboid tendrils on ropes, cratered globes, pink clouds, lattice-work spheres, an ocean of stalagmites, strings of manila envelopes, suns, stars, underwater caves, and pools of airborne liquid.
DIM35
Name: The Crimson Cosmos
[Of Cyttorak]
Ref: DS1-2
Type: VBL -- Lattice-work
Comments: Cain (The Juggernaut) Marko, who had been banished to this realm was kept from returning to Earth by "The Spell of Cyttorak." While here he apparently learned some powerful magicks (much as the evil Kaluu did while he was exiled in the dimension of Raggadorr, DIM21). Dr.S., engaged in a losing battle with N. (because the ruler of the dream world has captured E.) temporarily escapes into the nearby Crimson Cosmos and convinces Marko to fight on his behalf. The Juggernaut gains Dr.S. some time, but eventually betrays him and joins N.'s side. In the end N. and The Juggernaught inadvertantly free E., who consigns them to "oblivion," an unseen VBL.
[NOTE: to be continued [sign]]
35 DIM36
Name: "Some Timeless Unknown Other [Dimension]"
[The Realm of the Undying Ones]
Ref: SUB22, H126
Type: Unknown, insufficient data -- Objective and inhabited but unclear as to surface type
Comments: This is the original home of the U.O., bipedal multi-formed demons led by N.O. who has a double-torso and two heads. They invaded Earth in prehistoric times but in 969 A.D. they returned to their own world to rest for 1,000 years. In 1969 A.D. they sought to re-enter Earth through a statue of the N.O., and later through Nightcrawler's Dimension (DIM37), but were defeated by Dr.S., H., Sub., and Barbara Denton Norris (whose martyrdom in this cause led indirectly to her new persona as the Valkyrie). The landscape of this dimension is said to be "barren" but only one white cliff is glimpsed, so no conclusions as to surface type can be drawn.
DIM37
Name: "An Adjacent Dimension [to DIM36"]
[Nightcrawler's Dimension]
Ref: H126
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: This is a very primitive world of mere twisted globs of matter and empty space. Nightcrawler, a blue reptiloid with a masked human face, lives here alone. H. unwittingly "destroys"
this dimension with a loud handclap and it is absorbed by the Dimension of the Undying Ones (DIM36). The mechanism by which this occurs is not revealed, but in any case it can only have occurred on one reality-line.
36 DIM38
Name: An "Other World"
[Dagoth's Exile]
Ref: MP7
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Space
Comments: Upon his defeat by Dr.S., Dagoth the sea-born, a red demon, is placed in "spatial exile" in this "realm beyond man's imaginings", ruled by "interdimensional forces". It is a crystalline VBL in appearance.
DIM39
Name: "Intradimensional Spaces"
Ref: MP8
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Space [contains "Ditko Areas" and lattice-work]
Comments: Entered through the power of Kathulos (a living planet); it is said that Dr.S.'s magicks "will not work" here -- for reasons not given, but most likely a hypnotic effect produced by Kathulos.
DIM40
Name: "Cold Voids of the Outer Universe"
Ref: MP8
Type: VBL -- Having the Appearance of Outer Space
Comments: Dr.S. is said to travel "through space -- through time itself" while in this VBL, but as usual, I think the use of the word "time" is meant hyperbolically, as there are no other indications of time-travel in the story, particularly upon his return journey to Earth.
37 DIM41
Name: Kathulos
Ref: MP8
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Alien
Comments: In appearance this planet closely resembles DIM28, Y.'s World, being essentially a florid jungle. However, unlike Y.'s Realm, there is only sentient vegetable being whose spirit actually is the entire life of the planet. In order to escape, Dr.S. is forced to kill the floral Kathulos and destroy the entire planet, returning home through an outer space-like VBL as he had come.
DIM42
Name: "A Dimension Diametrically-Opposed
To Our Own" [Shuma Gorath's World]
Ref: MP10
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data
Comments: This dimension was the original home of the octopus-like S.G., who came to Earth in prehistoric times "to feed upon the strengths of this realm's Sorcerer Supreme". By the early 1970s he had overcome the A.O.'s will, but when Dr.S. killed his mentor, S.G.'s only comment was a loud, "No-o-oo-o!" and it is to be presumed that he has no taken up residence in the mind of Stephen Strange! In keeping with the "diametrically-opposed" nature of his home-world, S.G. can also take on a "negative" image of his host. It is possible that S.G.'s World is composed of anti-matter, but this has never been explicitly stated.
38 DIM43
Name: The Orb of Agamotto
Ref: DS1-5, DS14, TOD44
Type: Subjective -- "Unreal"
Comments: The confusion surrounding this realm "where bound'ries decay" is very hard to make sense of. In the pages of DEF, the orb has been seen to possess, among its other virtues, the power to teleport living beings on Earth. However, when Dr.S., "minutes away from death by stabbing", at the hands of S.D., recites a spell before the orb, he is inexplicably grabbed by a tentacle and dragged through "solid infinite glass -- into the Eye of Death". Following this, he meets various "unreal" analogues to beings from Earth-M, as well as some from Lewis Carroll's universe. Lastly, he travels to what looks like a medieval village inhabited by characters from Entertaining Comics and exits from the orb to confront the death he had sought to evade. The rest is history, as they say. The only logical extrapolation which can be made is that the inside of the orb is a subjective space which consists of echoes and reflections from other, "real" realities. However, this does not explain how Dr.S.
could later use the orb to keep his man-servant W. in suspended non-animation after Dracula kills him, nor why W. returns to life after his ordeal -- unless unbeknownst to us, W. is now also "virtually immortal" -- or, more likely, wasn't really dead in the first place. In the latter case, his cold-storage in the orb would be similar to its use in DEF as a teleportation vehicle. All in all, i am more inclined to attribute all the events in DS1-5 to the delirium of a mortally-wounded man's misconceptions. Dr.S. is so used to travelling to other dimensions that he automatically assumes his hallucinations are actually occurring, even while calling them "unreal". This leaves the orb-world with the powers of clairvoyance, teleportation, and functioning as a dimensional doorway (nexus) to some kind of timeless "limbo" which can be used to approximate suspended animation -- but it begs the question of whether there is a "subjective-unreal" dimension inside the orb.
39 DIM44
Name: "Nether-Planes"
Ref: DS15
Type: VBL -- Nether-Zone [may contain "Ditko Areas", but not shown]
Comments: Some ugly demons come from this VBL when Dr.S.'s spell to invoke the A.O. goes awry. He banishes them easily.
DIM45
Name: Hell
Ref: DS15-16
Type: Subjective -- Real
Comments: This is the home of Lucifer, a.k.a. Beelzebub, Satan, Old Nick, Mephistopheles, etc., a horned, flaming, humanoid. The landscape is composed for the most part of fire and ordure, with occasional miasmas, and is entirely under Lucifer's mental control. He summons people here to serve him and to suffer torture at his hands, but although real, "the Evil One exists only if you allow him to" and "if we look beyond the barriers and help each other when the darkness falls -- none of us need ever enter Hell again!" -- or so says Stephen Strange, who promptly leaves, taking C. and the Satan-worshipping James Mandarin with him.
40 DIM46
Name: The Quadriverse
Ref: DS19, DS23
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- "Artificial"
Comments: Somewhere beyond [N.Y.C.] in a dimension never before [sic] visited by man, lies the entrance to The Quadriverse, a four-sectioned area of space where life and death haave no relationship [sic] to any other part of the known universe." This statement by author Marv Wolfman, contradicts his earlier declaration that The Quadriverse is inhabited "by a group of [human] sorcerers from all times" called The Creators. Perhaps he was asleep when he wrote DS23. In any case, his information is in error because wherever there are humasn life and death do have some relationship to another part of the known [omni]verse and of course, wherever there are humans, the place in question has been visited by man (not to mention woman)! There are four levels of "reality" in The Quadriverse, and in some unstated way they are controlled by or exist within the mind of a rather somnambulant "Guardian." The four sections are called "Menace," "Calmness,"Hell," [not the same as Earth-M's Hell (DIM45)] and "Home." The highly-unstable landscape consists of "Ditko
Areas", a medieval castle, an island, parasitic mind-reptiles, talking plants, black and white voids, living worm-worlds, etc. The Creators dwell in a "solar sphere" when they visit The Quadriverse, which they falsely claim is an "artificial" continuum. Obviously they found it, and either subdued and hypnotised the original human inhabitants, or, more likely, imported people from some Earth-like dimension to act as guards of their second home-away-from home, Creation II (DIM51). The inconsistencies in the description of this dimension are a blot on the escutcheon of fictional reality and should be disregarded utterly.
41 DIM47
Name: "Another Dimensional Plane"
"A World Between Existence, Teetering on Realities -- "A World Sandwiched Between All Other Worlds" [Cloud-Land]
Ref: DS20
Type: VBL -- Interdimensional Space
Comments: Dr.S. sends XtM., herald of The Creators, here by "a simple spell of transference" and then follows to battle him amidst colourful cloud formations shot through with light.
DIM48
Name: The Temple of Man
Ref: DSANN1
Type: Objective -- Planetary -- Human
Comments: The Temple of Man, an exact analogue to the famous Temple of Shiva in India, lies "Beyond the Veil", presumably an unseen VBL. This is the only nearly Earth-like dimension Dr.S. has ever visited and it is inhabited by humans, among them Sargor the Librarian, and scores of priests. It may be an alternate Earth, but aside from the temple (the interior of which is evocative of the Slumberland Dimension visited by Little Nemo), there is insufficient data to draw any further conclusions as to the nature of this world, which Dr.S. leaves through his enlarged amulet.
42 DIM49
Name: Phaseworld
Ref: DSANN1
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited [contains "Ditko Areas"]
Comments: This beautiful dimension is incorrectly stated to "float freely between realities" but it is not actually a true VBL. A close parallel of Shazana's Realm (see DIM12 for details), it lies both in another dimension and "across endless space". Phaseworld is ruled by 'Lectra, who commands a legion of animated corpses, a sea-serpent named Brotan (slain by Dr.S.), a swan-man named Tempus, and her weak-but-good mute sister Phaydra. The capital city, Allandra, lies beneath the ocean until 'Lectra summons it forth. Phaseworld is destroyed "or perhaps just thrust into another existence" when the magic mirror which linked 'Lectra's and Phaydra's souls is broken.
DIM50
Name: "Cold Space"
Ref: DS22
Type: VBL -- Outer Space-like
Comments: After the collapse of Phaseworld, Dr.S. is left floating in "Cold Space", searching for "the proper co-ordinates" (nexus) to re-enter Earth's dimension. While here, he encounters a Space-Dragon which closely resembles an Earthly pteradactyl. Eventually he re-enters the Earth-continuum through his amulet.
43 DIM51
Name: Creation II
Ref: DS24-5
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- "Artificial"
Comments: Hyperbolically and incorrectly stated to be "a place without location or time", manufactured by The Creators (who are attempting to turn themselves into stars), this so-called "artificial" dimension is reached through The Quadriverse and guarded by Visimajoris, the Divider of Souls. Like all the other "artificial" realms, this one was probably discovered rather than "created" and The Creators themselves are nothing more than cosmic con-men. This realm either contained or was later furnished with a "Cosmic Wheel of Change", a tool The Creators are using to further their evil designs. Creation II "collapses" when The Creators depart to take up their new life as stars in Earth-M's sky, while Dr.S., C. and W. emerge within the vicinity of Alpha Centauri. They then all "fly" back to a rather disheveled Earth. The "collapse" of Creation II, like the "destruction" of Phaseworld, occurs on only one reality-line, of course.
DIM52
Name: An "Outer Dimension"
Ref: DS26-7
Type: VBL -- Outer Space-like with some "Ditko Area" overtones
Comments: Reached by a mystic "portal" (nexus) conjured by the A.O., the only sentient being encountered here is TIB. who soon casts Dr.S. into his own dimension (DIM53).
44 DIM53
Name: The Inbetweener's Dimension
Ref: DS27-8
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited
Comments: The Inbetweener's Dimension is a close harmonic of Creation II, in that it contains a duplicate Wheel of Change, equally capable of affecting the stars (and thus all life) in the universe of Earth-M. (The mechanism of this is not explained.) In addition, The Inbetweener's Realm consists of several "levels of reality", some of which are "fantasy."
DIM54
Name: "Darkness"
[NOTE: not to be confused with D.'s Dark Domain, DIM09]
Ref: DS30, DS32, DS35-6
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data, probably a VBL
Comments: This is the sleeping-place of the DiD., who floats in an electrically-charged void on a stone slab and intends to
control the Earth through a fear-feeding agent known as the Slithe who lives in the sewers beneath N.Y.C. In DS32, it becomes apparent that the stone slab can be used as a dimensional doorway because the DiD. steps through it to emerge "an incalculable distance away" at the Halls of Fear (DIM56). The DiD. possesses some sort of interdimensional viewing screen similar to D.'s by means of which he can observe and control agents on Earth such as Dreamweaver and an anonymous hirsute New Yorker.
45 (displaced to follow page 13, for ease of reading)
46 DIM55
Name: Unnamed Dimensions -- A Series
["Beneath the Sanctum's Floor"]
Ref: DS31
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Uninhabited
Comments: During the course of the battle between Alaric the Mystic (who wields the Atlantean Sword of Kamuu) and Dr.S., C. and the Sub., the combatants gradually traverse a long series of dimensions which at first resemble the Sanctum but become progressively more given over to "Ditko Areas" and lattice-work. By the time Alaric meets defeat, the whole crew has been transported to a blue pool surrounded by living green-grey spaghetti under a pink sky. The group returns "across the dimensional planes" (of which eight are shown) "to the reality from which they'd fallen", leaving Alaric's head imprisoned in an art-nouveau pocket-dimension called "Dyzakk's Cage."
DIM56
Name: The Halls of Fear
Ref: DS32, DS35
Type: Objective -- Unstable -- Inhabited [contains "Ditko Area" and a castle.]
Comments: This "impossibly ancient citadel" is the "estate" of the DiD., who arrives there via his Portable Nexus-Slab (see DIM54 -- Darkness). It is inhabited by his thralls, who are in turn being leeched of power by d'Spayre, who is just passing through after his defeat at the hands of Sp. and Man-Thing on Earth-M. The DiD. leaves the Halls by means of an invocation and travels to the Dimension of Dreams (DIM01). Using a dimensional portal in DS35, he "pierces the veils of a thousand dimensions" to speak to Tiboro, U., Ludi and several unnamed sorcerers and demons.
47 DIM57
Name: The Endless Dimensions of the Vishanti
Ref: DS33
Type: Subjective -- Real
Comments: This series of dimensions exists within the Book of the Vishanti. Dr.S. sends Dreamweaver here to confront "the shambling denizens that stalk the hidden landscapes of [her] own mind" and watches while they "shred the gossamer-thin veil which separates [her] Ego from [her] Id." The landscape is unstable, the "denizens" are bodiless, toothy, monstrous, warty heads, and there is a vortex (like "some big drain") with an eyeball at its center.
DIM58
Name: The Endless Void
Ref: DS34
Type: Unknown, due to insufficient data. may be a "pocket dimension" VBL
Comments: Dr.S. shrinks and banishes some Valtorrian vipers to this dimension. The dimension itself is not seen.
DIM59
Name: [Ludi's Dimension]
Ref: DS35-6
Type: Unstable -- Objective -- Inhabited
Comments: This is the home of the demon Ludi, once worshipped as a dark god, and his brother Ningal who, until he is freed by the DiD., is trapped in stasis (in a "block of lambent energy") with the human Murdoch Adams.
48 - 59 (blank)
60
TIME DISTORTION AND TIME TRAVEL Aside from the hyperbolic (and incorrect) use of the word "time" in such phrases as "a nameless place, a timeless time" and "a time which has spatial existence", Dr.S. has had a few actual dealings with both time distortion and time travel (to the past only). These are given here
chronologically, with some possible explanations of events in an Omniversal framework. [ST133, DS170]
By means of a rhymed spell, Dr.S. causes time to "spin back, back, back ... until before Thor's fall is finished." This is not the case, however -- the spell (see Volume I, p. 18) only conjures Thor's hammer to "fall faster" than The Thunder God -- and it is only the hammer which travels back in time, not time itself, which spins back. [ST123 -- SL]
The A.O. chants a spell (see Volume I, p. 18) over a candle, enabling Dr.S.'s E.F. to go back in tiem along the mystic vapour trail surrounding a woman (Cleopatra) who "does not belong in our time." This auric trail leads him back to her era, where he materializes in the "impulse transmitter" of the evil Zota, who had sent her into the 20th century. When the candle goes out, the light of the temporal path back to Dr.S.'s home-time is extinguished, despite his spell (Volume I, p. 18), and he floats weightlessly "somewhere between limbo and the shadowy endless past". The light of his amulet saves him & he then returns Cleopatra to her own era with a spell (Volume I, p. 18). [ST124 -- SL]
A "spell of forgetfulness" cast by Dr.S. causes time to "go back" to a moment prior to an event he wishes bystanders to not see. This implies that in actuality he causes a divergence and chooses to allow his subjective sense-of-self to live on the reality-line where the event did not occur. The amount of energy needed to accomplish this feat must be enormous and Dr.S. has never repeated it, preferring the much more expedient courses of simply hypnotising bystanders into forgetfulness or keeping them in a VBL "limbo" until the excitement subsides. [ST129 -- SL]
61
D. gives M. an (unrecorded) spell for placing the A.O. in a "mystic time trap". This trap either places one in a timeless "limbo" VBL or causes one to remain stationary on the time track. It renders the victim invisible. [ST138 -- SL]
Kaluu uses an unrecorded spell to cast the Book of the Vishanti back "to the hour and place from whence it came". [ST148 -- DO]
Again, candles are used for time-travel -- this time by both Dr.S. and the A.O., who journey to the time-space continuum of ancient Babylonia to retrieve the Book of the Vishanti. There is a subjective experiencing of time & space on this trip. [ST150 -- RT]
When the Book of Cagliostro is cast into the near past, Dr.S. can detect its auric tail. Using a spell from the book he then travels to the more distant past and eventually, following in the temporal wake of Siseneg, a sorcerer from the future, he & M. reach the moment of Creation itself, a sight which drives M. insane and nearly unhinges Dr.S. When Siseneg decides that his "uncreation" of the world was an inappropriate use of magical power, Dr.S. & M. are cast forward precipitously into their own time again. [MP12-4 -- SE]
Dr.S. & C. travel to 1618 A.D. (and also, simultaneously, from New York City to London) by "magically slowing [themselves] so that the wave [of time] moves on without [them]." The visual effect is that of an enormous whirlpool, containing a rainbow of the type that Superman & Supergirl sometimes encounter on their time-travels, although, unlike theirs, this one contains no dates. [DS17 -- SE]
More swirling vortex time-travel -- from London, 1618 A.D. to London, March 1775, followed also by Stygyro, prince of sorcerers, who came from 1618 A.D. and who threatens to kill Ben Franklin. C. denies the possibility of this, saying to Dr.S., "After all -- Ben did live to see the [Revolutionary] War fought!" Dr.S. responds, "Our
being here changes history, Clea." This is only true by the remotest standard, for in fact, if Stygyro kills Franklin on
62 one time-line there will still be the divergent reality (Dr.S.'s home-reality) wherein Franklin lived. C., admonishing her teacher to "watch the bright side" of things, may be wiser than her master, fo she implies that one can choose by magic to let one's subjective sense-of-self follow the reality-line most satisfactory to one's wishes. [DS18 -- SE]
Dr.S. is still confused because, when Stygyro causes an earthquake to devastate Philadelphia in 1775, he says, "There has never been any mention of this earthquake in history books -- which means this is -- an image-play for my eyes only!" Stygyro, who also sesms to be subjectively caught in a single reality-line, while trying vainly to create divergences, replies, "Thou art incorrect! What thou dost bear witness to does indeed occur! Your world is destroyed!" All time-villains share this non-Omniversal outlook -- or else they'd realize the meaninglessness of their acts. Dr.S., just as non-Omniversally aware, then manages, at the cost of "great personal pain" to halt time's flow & even reverse it! When it flows on again, the earthquake does not occur again. Obviously either the whole affair was an "image-play" (hypnotically-induced illusion) or (if Stygyro was telling the truth) Dr.S. managed to leave the reality-line he was then on (and on which the earthquake destroyed Philadelphia), travel back in time and jump over to the regular, Earth-M-line wherein the history books make no mention of the earthquake. The "pain" he experienced may have been due to wrenching his subjective sense-of-self across the dimensional barrier -- or it may have been a byproduct of Stygyro's hypnosis. In any case, Dr.S. and C. return through "the endless gateways and bridges which span
two centuries" and arrive in New York City, none the worse for wear. [DS19 -- MW]
Dr.S. claims to "reverse time's flow" while reassembling a broken statue of The Black Knight, but, of course, all he is doing is causing the statue to regain the wholeness it once had. Neither the statue nor Dr.S. travel in time to accomplish this. [DS35 -- RMC]
SEARCH THIS SITE: a local search engine and a named link to each Lucky Mojo page Lucky Mojo Site Map: a descriptive entry-level index to the whole Lucky Mojo pile Lucky W Amulet Archive Home Page: an online museum of folk-magic charms Hoodoo in Theory and Practice: an online book about African-American folk-magic Sacred Sex Home Page: essays on tantra yoga, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship The Sacred Landscape Home Page: essays on archaeoastronomy and sacred geometry Freemasonry for Women Home Page: a history of mixed gender freemasonic lodges The Lucky Mojo Curio Co.: manufacturers of spiritual supplies for hoodoo and conjure catherine yronwode, the eclectic and eccentric author of all the above web pages nagasiva yronwode: tyaginator, nigris (333), hara/mulla, nocTifer, lorax666, boboroshi,! The Lucky Mojo Esoteric Archive: captured internet files on occult and spiritual topics
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APPENDICES Introductory Notes published in "Return from Reality"
A Dr. Strange Chronology by Lou Mougin
"Evolution of an Enchantress" by cat yronwode (from Heroine Showcase #15, 1978)
"The One and Future Dr. Strange" by cat yronwode (from Instant Gratification #1, 1979)
Introductory Notes published in "Return from Reality" (for APA-I)
Return from Reality #1 (1978)
cat {{sign}} yronwode,Route One,Willow Springs, Mo. 65793
This is my first zine for APA-I, but even stranger, it's my first zine since "Motorcycle Kidneys" way back in 1965. "Gafiated but not forgotten" has always seemed like a fitting epitaph on the tombstone of my fannish days. So now i'm back, resurected (but still making the same old typos) and ready to play. In case you wonder, i left fandom because it seemed so trivial in the light of the Vietnam War, the Psychedelic Revelation, the Immanent Socio-Economic Collapse of Civilization As We Know It, the Ravages of Pollution, the Need to Raise A Family, and so forth. I came back to fandom because deep in my heart there is an overwhelming love of triviality, after all. Maybe even a need for it.
So anyhow, this little thing you hold in your hands (or feet) is the first installment of "The Lesser Book of the Vishanti," a mammoth crazy index
to all facets of Doctor Strange's reality. Part of The Lesser Book, dealing with alien dimensions, will appear in "Omniverse 3", if Gruenwald & Mullaney don't forget {{the much-delayed Omniverse 3 came out many years later, and my contribution was not included}} -- and, although i doubt the whole bizarre compendium will ever see print, further installments can be expected to surface in APA-I mailings from time to time.
Why Dr. Strange? Oh, i guess i just liked Steve Ditko's art -- and even after he left I stayed attached to the concepts.
Why index? Well, frankly i don't know. My mother was a librarian, -- so maybe it's genetic.
Return from Reality #3 (1979)
This is Return from Reality 3, presenting Chapter Two {{actually the Intermezzo between Volumes One and Two}} of The Lesser Book of the Vishanti: an index to the various deities, interdimensional forces, supernatural agencies, preternatural entities, and power objects invoked by Dr. Stephen Strange and his enemies and allies who practice the Mystic Arts in the pages of Strange Tales, Dr. Strange, Marvel Premiere, and a number of other titles. This index does NOT cover any material from Defenders for the simple reason that the author is lacking a few early issues of that title. Because the character of Dr. Strange is handled quite differently in his "non-team" appearances than in his own book, the loss is not a serious one. Invocations in Defenders are usually limited to simple epithets involving the half-dozen most common deities. However, should any reader care to loan me the necessary material, future editions of this work will include all Vishantist references from Defenders. The cover of this index is from a drawing by Denis McFarling. Typesetting (and errors) are by cat yronwode. Printed in the basement by Fly By Night Grafiks (that's us). Additional copies may be had for 50 cents each from Route One, Box 287, Willow Springs, MO 65703.
Characters © 1979 MCG
All invocations are by Dr. Strange unless another's name appears in parentheses. The wise reader will note the steady deterioration of recent Doctor Strange comics by paying heed to the extinction of many old forms of address, the overall lessened frequency of invocations, and the disturbing
tendency of late to substitute Judeo-Christian deities for the more magical Vishantist ones.