The Effects of Social Isolation on Grail Expression: a Comparative Analysis
Abstract
The paper analyzes two studies which explored the key differences in methodology and ideology between opposed Grail practitioners, Copper Secateur and Velvet Covers. Data were gathered by means of semi-fictionalized biographies collected by Sunuli (2024) and Bodhisattva (2021). The collected data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results of the studies demonstrated that, despite both practitioners having been exposed to a variety of situations which cut them off from their peers and encouraged unhealthy attachment patterns, their solutions developed in significantly different directions, indicating that other aspects of relational psychology beyond the simple lack of interpersonal emotional connections contribute to personal conceptions of Grail.
Keywords: Sacrament, Hour Symbolism, Apollonian/Dionysian Divide, Enneagram Model.
1. Introduction
Grail and its connection to interpersonal relations have generated significant interest among social researchers in recent years. This is because while the Apollonian principles – Lantern, Forge, and Edge – can all be characterized through solitary, ascendant practices, the Dionysian – Heart, Grail, and Moth – are descending and encourage or even require the participation of multiple subjects. While neither Apollonian or Dionysian, Winter is especially focused on the absence of social connection, and as such is not touched upon in this paper.
As described by Kennedy et al. (2018), Grail is the principle of hunger, lust, and the drowning waters, honoring both the birth and the feast. It should be noted, however, that not all of its aspects are equally applicable to the concept of companionship and family – hunger especially is considered among scholars to be the most withdrawn aspect of Grail, except for its secondary participation in rituals such as the Crime of the Sky, which already utilize other aspects primarily. Neither of the study participants engaged significantly with the more physical aspects of Grail, preferring instead to primarily increase their perceived status amongst their social circles, further justifying the decision to focus only the drawing out and the cutting away, the umbilical strings of affection, instead of a broader image of Grail as a whole.
Taking the above into consideration, the studies reported in this paper investigated the social circles of Velvet Covers and Copper Secateur in order to determine how they connected to the aspects of Grail which the two participants chose to embody. The paper commences with a short review of relevant literature. Next, designs of the studies are described, followed by the presentation of their results. The paper closes with discussion and conclusions.
2. Literature Review
Little research has been conducted into Grail in recent years, largely as a result of the interference of various regulatory bodies. However, according to Fludd (1601), "the Great Mother remembers," a rejoinder which this paper takes as an identification of the Red Grail as the first of the Gods-from-Blood. While the Apollonian Principles are generally considered to be more deserving of serious academic inquiry, the Dionysian constitute an older and more fundamental aspect of pony nature, which can reveal important insights into both antediluvian ethnography and more modern psychological inquiries.
Fludd's seminal work,
The Orchid Transfigurations (1598), served to first establish the mystic connection between birth and consumption, as well as to give an account of the formation of alukites. "This devouring is the natural course of history," he argued. "We must devour and be devoured, and we cannot be undevoured, just as we cannot be unborn. Any time before the inevitable [ascension] is nothing more than a transitional state; the formless mass still floating in the womb." However, later scholars such as Malskær (1866) rejected the idea that the Grail reveled in the birthing-bed, describing the contrast between its Enticements and its Torments. Further research of the Red Grail focused primarily on close examinations of particular enticements or torments, such as
The Thirsting Tantra (Burial, 1821) and
The Devoured Tantra (Schaller & Ivory, 1844). Though this paper does not share their naming scheme, its goal is similar; to closely examine a single aspect of Grail and how it fits into broader patterns of pony behavior.
3. Methodology
3.1. Research Goals
Both studies set out with the objective of fully chronicling the participants' journey through the Mansus and the Wake as they learned of the Lores, the secret principles which turn the world. However, due to time and budgetary constraints, only significant events were able to be recorded, while 'non-essential' detail was often omitted.
3.2. Participants
The two participants of the studies were Velvet Covers and Copper Secateur, both mares, ponies residing within the town of Ponyville, and members of a cult dedicated towards stopping the Worms from devouring the world. Velvet Covers was a unicorn noblemare, while Copper Secateur was an earth pony gardener. At time of writing, both had conceptualized Grail to at least the fourth degree and were capable of performing Grail rituals. Copper Secateur held a Grail sacrament.
3.3. Data Collection and Analysis
The two studies examined in this paper both followed similar formats; the data were gathered via a novelization of the life events of the participant from their own perspective, with occasional asides to show outside perspectives in a supporting role. While analyzing the accounts, researchers noted the self-reported quality of interpersonal relationships, as well as information about their quantity and length. This format was chosen intentionally to allow for greater depth of the subjects' personal philosophy and Lore insights to shine through, which more formalized methods such as structured interviews or surveys would have blocked.
In the account, each participant was encouraged to use whatever style of narration they felt most comfortable with. Velvet Covers used second-person narration, while Copper Secateur used third-person limited. In both cases, permission was acquired to publish digital recordings of the account.
4. Findings
A thorough analysis of the gathered data yielded two different categories of close relationship; friends, and family. Note that a close relationship is defined in this paper as one from which both recipients draw emotional support and validation. If a relationship was one-sided or otherwise strained, it was not counted among the gathered data.
4.1. Close Friends
Figure 1 shows the number of self-reported close friends for both Copper Secateur and Velvet Covers, over a period of 20 months following their induction into the Lores. It demonstrates that Copper's psychological dependence on external validation to maintain her positive self-esteem resulted in both higher numbers of friends and a more rapid acquisition of those friends than Velvet Covers. This paper notes that the sharp decline in Copper's number of friends near the end of the studied period correlates to a deteriorating mental condition.
Meanwhile, Velvet Covers maintained a smaller number of friends, which remained very stable compared to Copper's relationships. This reflects both how Velvet's driving motivation to acquire friends was tempered by her much larger number of close family members when compared to Copper, as can be seen in the next section, and how her fundamental desire was less able to be satisfied with large numbers of weaker relationships.
4.2. Close Family Members
Figure 2 shows the number of self-reported close family members for Copper Secateur and Velvet Covers, over a period of 20 months following their induction into the Lores. Here, the pattern has reversed, with Velvet Covers being the subject displaying continual growth in her social circle. However, due to greater social stability within her peer hierarchy, she does not demonstrate a decline in her relationships near the end of the studied period.
Copper's lack of close family relations can be connected to her differing perspective on socialization than Velvet; she believes that social connections are inherently temporary and must be taken advantage of while they last, while Velvet creates long-term relationships which she intends to maintain indefinitely.
5. Discussion and Conclusions
The picture that emerges from the analysis of the collected data indicates that the desire for a particular type of social connection which a Grail practitioner wishes to fulfill can greatly influence the manifestation of their expressed abilities. Velvet Covers' worry over being abandoned by her family led her expression to develop into a rope or leash, a binding thread that would not come loose without her express permission, allowing her to regain control over the relationship on her own terms and keep that way for as long as she wanted.
To contrast, Copper Secateur's transient view of relationships and resentment over being treated as lesser by many different ponies drove her to interpret her Grail expression through the lens of cultivation, planting seeds within other ponies and nurturing them into new emotions on a large scale, allowing her the opportunity to maintain a much larger social web at the expense of increased upkeep costs and a lesser degree of power over each individual relationship.
Delving further into the personal factors which motivated the Grail expressions of the participants, this paper turns towards the deeper mysteries as analyzed by Dusk in
The Skeleton Songs (1907); the Mountain-Mother has not only fruits and chastisements, but also gardens and regrets. There are nine gardens, which this paper takes as corresponding to the nine enneatypes described by Ichazo in
Protoanalytical Theory, System, and Method (1958).
From her intense desire for perfection and susceptibility towards hypocrisy and hypercriticism, it is easy to characterize Velvet Covers as type 1, disintegrating into 4 and integrating into 7. This paper connects her childhood trauma of being emotionally neglected by her parental figures in favor of her brother to her activated type 4 stress response of feeling as though she has no distinct identity or significance, as well a hyperactive imagination, both of which carry strong associations with Moth.
Likewise, when safe and content, Velvet takes on aspects of the type 7, developing far-reaching and extensively detailed plans for herself, though still occasionally falling into the trap of searching for a nonexistent 'perfect solution' which could have been reached by following a different path. Placing her onto the Wheel, this paper finds Velvet to be Lantern-primary, descending into Moth and ascending into Forge. She is torn between the Black-Flax and the Meniscate; the first embodies her love of keeping secrets and Moth connection, while the Knock of the Meniscate attempts to draw her into the Apollonian virtue of Lantern and Forge. This paper also notes the association of the Meniscate and the moon, and the close personal relationship between Velvet and Selene.
Taking a similar approach, this paper places Copper Secateur as a type 2, disintegrating into 8 and integrating into 4. Her base state is that of the provider, whose greatest fear is being considered unworthy of love on her own merits and frequently relies on social manipulation and denial of her own needs in order to fulfill her desire for emotional connection. When her connections are forcefully severed and she is obligated to rely on herself for validation, she descends into type 8, responding violently towards any perceived external control and attempting to deceive herself with the idea that she is fully self-sufficient. This disintegration often comes with a heavy focus on self-defined 'justice', which acts as a foundational personality value until emotional connections can be restored.
In the other direction, when Copper feels secure in her social circle, she integrates into the positive aspects of type 4, developing a unique identity and pursuing self-fulfillment without worrying about how others will perceive it. On the Wheel, this paper describes Copper as Grail primary, descending into Heart and ascending into Moth. From this, it follows naturally to place Copper within the domain of the Ring-Yew, whose aspects are Grail, Heart, and Moth. This also serves to characterize her close connection to Starry Dancer, as the Ring-Yew once loved the Thunderskin before its death.
From these two Hour-connections, the conflict between Velvet and Copper can be synthesized into the conflict between the Black-Flax and the Ring-Yew, and later between the House of the Moon and the House of the Sun. Near the inciting incident, both Copper and Velvet were sworn to Moth as members of a cult, each embodying aspects of their connected Hours. Velvet spoke little with other members of the cult and was widely considered to be a myth, echoing the ideas of the Black-Flax's namelessness and love of hidden secrets. Likewise, Copper enacted the Ring-Yew through the encompassing of lower-status cultists and cultivation of new growth. However, when their guiding figure vanished, only Copper remained true to her prior allegiance, Velvet instead taking the Knock-Wound as an opportunity to dedicate herself to the Meniscate and fully align herself with the return of Luna as a primary goal.
Furthermore, this paper draws a connection between the guiding principle of the cult, Moth, and each participant's relationship towards it. Velvet enacted Lantern, descending into Moth, while Copper enacted Grail, ascending into Moth. This paper notes that Velvet deserted the cult at her first opportunity – less than halfway through the studied period – while Copper remained loyal to its ideals until the end of the studied period, indicating that approaching a Lore from different directions can contribute to a vastly different interpretation and personal significance of the Lore.
This paper concludes that Grail expressions, unlike previously thought, are not standardized between different practitioners, instead being based on a wide variety of unique personality traits which vary between different ponies. However, the limited sample size of the examined studies contributed to the paper's focus on only very particular aspects of Grail, and the author encourages further study in this field once additional data have been gathered.
References:
Sunuli, J. (2024)
Chthonic Paean
Bodhisattva, B. (2021)
Esquestria: the House of the Sun
Kennedy, A., et al. (2018)
Cultist Simulator
Fludd, R. (1598)
The Orchid Transfigurations, Vol. 1: a Feast
Fludd, R. (1601)
The Orchid Transfigurations, Vol. 2: a Birth
Malskær, N. F. (1813)
Twenty-Six Enticements, Seven Torments
Burial, G. C. (1821)
The Thirsting Tantra
Schaller, S. J. & Ivory, F. (1844)
The Devoured Tantra
Dusk, A. (1907)
The Skeleton Songs
Ichazo, O. (1968)
Protoanalytical Theory, System, and Method
Fun fact, this was all just an overly-elaborate way to tell you that I'm writing a
recursive fic. (I am physically incapable of not committing to the bit.)
@OurLadyOfWires, if you're looking for an "In which" title, I'm quite partial to "In which we call upon the Malachite."
