Destiny - The Seven Heavens (Story Investigation)

[Adam91]

This will be an updated series

 

 

Bungie has a history of connecting their story's or making references to biblical and Mythological event's. For example in Halo the forerunners made an array of weapons which is made up of 8 installations, 7 of them being the actual weapons (the rings) and 1 of them being the place to activate the rings (the ark). The purpose of this array was to wipe out a parasitic threat called the flood and as I stated the ark is the place where it can happen, this is a reference to the biblical event of Noah's ark, Noah's ark was to save life from the flooded earth.

 

Also the covenant seen these installations as sacred structures and they wanted to activate them believing they would become gods and as you know the ark is the place to do this which is another biblical reference to story "The ark of the covenant". Another reference bungie used was Mjolnir which was from Norse mythology and it was the hammer of Thor, Mjolnir were cyborgs the humans used in the game marathon and also the name of a type of spartan armor in Halo. They were many more of these kind of references but I just wanted to use a few as examples.

 

So what has Bungie been doing this time for destiny? Well I think we might have some connections between destiny and an ancient religious story called the "The seven heavens" or "The seven layers of heaven" which are affiliated with some parts of Christianity and Islam.

 

They can be read here.

 

http://www.archangels-and-angels.com/misc/seven_heavens.html

 

http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina40712.htm

 

 

It was believed that heaven was made up of seven layers or worlds, here is a quote from the article from the first link explaining this belief.

 

"The ancients believed that there were Seven Heavens which related to the seven observable planets in our solar system. The Sun and Moon, where referred to as planets by the ancients due to lack astronomical understanding and with these they also included the five planets which were visible by the naked eye, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. According to this belief each planet occupied its own layer of Heaven or potion of the sky/space, each occupying an orbit further and further away from Earth, as Earth was the considered centre of the Universe. Today we realize that this apparent distance is in fact the planets orbit around the Sun, not distance from the Earth."

 

These planets also represented each day of the week as stated in the second link provided above.

Monday to Moon
Tuesday to Mars
Wednesday to Mercury
Thursday to Jupiter
Friday to Venus
Saturday to Saturn
Sunday to Sun

Two weeks ago on the week of February 11th Bungie started an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) for Destiny, this game was on a website called alphalupi.bungie.net and on that site there are seven sections that correspond to each day of the week. To access each section on the day it corresponds to we had to rearrange a series of dots, once these dots were arranged correctly they made up geomantic figures. Geomantic figures was an art that was practiced in Europe during the middle ages. There are 16 of these figures and they each represents the state or mind of the world and each figure is associated with the planets in the solar system.

Out of the 16 figures here are the seven that Bungie used for the ARG, each of the seven figures represents the same 7 planets that were believed to be the 7 heavens.

The first symbol to retrieve was this

This symbol is called Populous which is Latin for "The people" and it is affiliated with the moon. Just like in the seven heavens story the moon represents Monday which was the day we had to retrieve this symbol in the ARG

The Second symbol was this
This symbol is called Puer which is Latin for "The Boy" and it is affiliated with the planet Mars, and in the seven heavens story Mars represents Tuesday which was the day this symbol was used in the ARG.

The third symbol was this
This symbol is called Albus which is Latin for "White" and it is affiliated with the planet Mercury which represents Wednesday in the myth and it was the day this symbol was used in the ARG.

The fourth symbol was this
This symbol is called Acquisito which is Latin for "Gain" and it is affiliated with the planet Jupiter which represents Thursday in the myth the same day this symbol was used for the ARG.

The fifth symbol was this
This symbol is called Puella which is Latin for "The girl" and it is affiliated with the planet Venus which represents Friday in the myth the same day this symbol was used for the ARG.

The sixth symbol was this
This symbol is called Tristitia which is Latin for "Sorrow" and it is affiliated with the planet Saturn which represents Saturday in the myth the same day this symbol was used for the ARG.

The seventh and final symbol was this
This symbol is called Fortuna Major which is Latin for "The Greater Fortune" and it is affiliated with the Sun which represents Sunday in the myth, and it's the same day this symbol was used for the ARG.

That was the first connection I believe destiny has to the seven heavens, the symbols representing the planets from the story and were used on the same days that the planets represented, In my opinion I think that may be a good connection.

 

The next thing that at noticed was this piece of the the story from the second link:

"There are seven earths. The first is called Ramaka, beneath which is the Barren Wind, which can be bridled by no fewer than seventy thousand angels. With this wind God destroyed the people of Ad. The inhabitants of Ramaka are a nation called Muwashshim, upon whom is everlasting torment and divine retribution.

 

 

The second earth is called Khalada, wherein are the implements of torture for the inhabitants of Hell. There dwells a nation called Tamis, whose food is their own flesh and whose drink is their own blood.

 

The third earth is called Arqa, wherein dwell mulelike eagles with spearlike tails. On each tail are three hundred and sixty poisonous quills. Were even one quill placed on the face of the earth, the entire universe would pass away. The inhabitants thereof are a nation called Qays, who eat dirt and drink mothers' milk.

 

The fourth earth is called Haraba, wherein dwell the snakes of Hell, which are as large as mountains. Each snake has fangs like tall palm trees, and if they were to strike the hugest mountain with their fangs it would be leveled to the ground. The inhabitants of this earth are a nation called Jilla, and they have no eyes, hands or feet but have wings like bats and die only of old age.

 

The fifth earth is called Maltham, wherein stones of sulphur hang around the necks of infidels. When the fire is kindled the fuel is placed on their breasts, and the flames leap up onto their faces, as He hath said: The fire whose fuel is men and stones (2:24), and Fire shall cover their faces (14:50). The inhabitants are a nation called Hajla, who are numerous and who eat each other.

 

The sixth earth is called Sijjin. Here are the registers of the people of Hell, and their works are vile, as He hath said: Verily the register of the actions of the wicked is surely Sijjin (83:7). Herein dwells a nation called Qatat, who are shaped like birds and worship God truly.

 

The seventh earth is called Ajiba and is the habitation of Iblis. There dwells a nation called Khasum, who are BLACK and short, with claws like lions. It is they who will be given dominion over Gog and Magog, who will be destroyed by them…"

Note that each of the heavens/worlds has only one nation, just like in destiny humanity is reduced to only one last city on the planet and the people in that city are probably known as the last and only nation left on the planet. We could later find out that there could be 6 other planets that are suffering the same situation at earth but at the minute this theory isn't certain yet.

 

Going back to the first linked site I may have found 1 or 2 other connections to destiny, but again this theory isn't certain yet but I thought it was worth mentioning.

"The First Heaven was also considered to be the place where Adam and Eve lived and here you would experience winds and the landscape contains water and clouds.

The Second Heaven was the place that Moses visited and is considered to be the place where the Fallen Angels are imprisoned. Moses visted Raquia and met the angel Nuriel who hade governorship over 50 myriads of angels, who are composed water and fire.

The Third Heaven has a small contradiction, Firstly it is considered the place of the Garden of Eden, juxtaposed to this, it is also thought to be the location of Hell to the North .It is also reputed to be the home of the Tree of Life.

The Fourth Heaven contains the heavenly city of Jerusalem. Also the location of the Garden of Eden

The Fifth Heaven, Samael the Ruling Archangel is served by two millions of angels. These are divided among the four quarters of the world, in each quarter three, who control the twelve months, and over these are twelve chief angels. The northern regions of this Heaven is the area where the Watchers, (Grigori) reside. To the South reside the angels (ministering) who endlessly chant the praises of God."

The Sixth Heaven, Archangel Sachiel, with two millions of angels. The angel Zebul is placed over these during the day, and another angel, Sabath, during the night. They rule over kings, create fear, and give protection from enemies. This Heaven is covered in snow and frequently experiences many storms.

The Seventh Heaven is reputed to be the Holiest of all the Heavens and contains the Throne of Glory which is attended by the Seven Archangels.The 7th Heaven is the home of God and his Throne. He is surrounded by the angels of the orders of Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Fanuel (Penuel) are introduced as "the four angels of the face of the Lord."In Enoch, lxxi. 7-13, these four stand near the crystal throne of God, which, encircled by fire, is surrounded by the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ofanim. 

I tried to connect somethings with what we know so far in destiny.

 

The third world is where the Garden of Eden is and it is thought to be the location of the hell of the north, in destiny there is a place called the black garden, why would it be called the "black" garden. Maybe it is place of evil or a fierce enemy? Also worth noting that there is a place in destiny called "hell mouth" but that is on the moon and most likely the black garden is on one of the planets.

 

And the fifth world has angels or beings that control the twelve months, to me that sounds like time control or time travel and in destiny there is a faction of robots/ AI's called "Vex" and they have the ability to time travel.



Thats all I have so far, this may seem crazy or over the top to some but I believe these may have connections and if you think about it, it would seem that it does.

 

:down: UPDATE :down:

 

2/26/13

 

 

Ok as you have seen I put two links near the top of this post of two sites that explain the ancient 7 heavens myth and each of them explain and provide what these seven heavens are. They both talk about the same planets and they are both in the same order, some of their explanations and descriptions of each of the planets/heavens are fairly the same as each other and some are also a bit different to each other as they are mostly just two variants/versions of the same myth. I have color coded the 2 descriptions like I did previously (one yellow the other orange) from the two sites. I am going to go through some other theories and it will easier to see which one I am referring to as I explain it. So before I explain I want to let you know that some points of my theory may connect to one variant/version of the myth and not the other (as I said that they both give some different decriptions to each other).

 

Ok we are going to talk about the ARG again and as I explained about it previously each of the geomantic symbols that was used connected to the same day and planet that was stated in the myth. Once we accessed each section of the ARG there was a poem that was to be revealed. 

 

On day 1 of the ARG was a monday, the geomantic symbol that we had to use represented the moon and in the myth the moon represents monday and the first heaven. 

 

Here is that poem. 

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/98862748014.jpg

 

In that poem it mentions the wind metaphorically "Your voice whispers, murmurs and urges into larger winds". Both versions of the myth describe the first heaven (the moon) of having strong winds on it. 

 

"There are seven earths. The first is called Ramaka, beneath which is the Barren Wind, which can be bridled by no fewer than seventy thousand angels. With this wind God destroyed the people of Ad. The inhabitants of Ramaka are a nation called Muwashshim, upon whom is everlasting torment and divine retribution."

 

"The First Heaven was also considered to be the place where Adam and Eve lived and here you would experience winds and the landscape contains water and clouds."  

 

Day 2 (Tuesday) poem

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/09394972304.jpg

 

In this peom it talks about a voice flowing through red rock and through dead valley's, volcanoes exploding and filling the air with black ash. It gives the sense of a place of evil and misery, like hell. Both versions of the myth describes the second heaven (Mars) as hell and with fire.

 

"The second earth is called Khalada, wherein are the implements of torture for the inhabitants of Hell. There dwells a nation called Tamis, whose food is their own flesh and whose drink is their own blood."

 

"The Second Heaven was the place that Moses visited and is considered to be the place where the Fallen Angels are imprisoned. Moses visted Raquia and met the angel Nuriel who hade governorship over 50 myriads of angels, who are composed water and fire." 

 

At the end of the first quote it says the inhabitants of that world eat their own flesh and drink their own blood, it was revealed that in destiny there are creatures that are zombies or similar to zombies called the Hive. So as we know creatures like this consume the bodies of the living and those who fall victim to it become one of them, which brings my attention to one of the lines from the ARG poem "in the midst of a thousand careful disasters, you watch the transformation with your own eyes"

 

Day 3 (Wednesday) poem

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/590881739283143985.jpg

 

I couldn't find a good connection with this poem to the myth but this is what I came up with. In the poem it says some thing that as wet and fertile was kicked into space stealing everything that was of value. And also there's a part that says that something offers itself. In one of versions of the myth it mentions the tree of life.  

 

"The Third Heaven has a small contradiction, Firstly it is considered the place of the Garden of Eden, juxtaposed to this, it is also thought to be the location of Hell to the North .It is also reputed to be the home of the Tree of Life." 

 

That poem seem to be referring to life and the taking of life, " Something that was wet and fertile stealing away everything of value" "what thrived here for a day or ten million years decided to leave"  "a name offers itself, and another and a thousand more" "you realize the union between the past and future is now" the aspects of life is the past, present and future.

 

Day 4 (Thursday) poem

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/1291670595463907.jpg

 

I struggled with this one I came up with a very vague connection but I'm not sure about it but here it is anyway. In the poem it says "you deliver your last orders to an army that needs nothing anymore, not instruction, courage or even prayers".

 

This made me think of what was said about the fourth world in one of the versions of the myth, that inhabitants has no eyes, hands or feet. ("the army that needs nothing anymore")

 

 

"The fourth earth is called Haraba, wherein dwell the snakes of Hell, which are as large as mountains. Each snake has fangs like tall palm trees, and if they were to strike the hugest mountain with their fangs it would be leveled to the ground. The inhabitants of this earth are a nation called Jilla, and they have no eyes, hands or feet but have wings like bats and die only of old age"

 

 

Day 5 (Friday) poem

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/010258608004307500961392069234939781476.jpg

 

Another hard one I tried to find something that could connect.

 

In this poem it seems to talk about good things happening, evil going away, the world returning to normal "Fierceness is chilled and thinned, made sweet again" "A new ocean emerges, thick and salty and hot, from springs and geysers that drench the dead ground" "You wonder will this worlds second birth be it's finest? you draw deep inside seeking direction, truth"  A good high power could be conducting these acts of that world.

 

In the myth it says angels endlessly chant the praises of god, this new birth of the world from the poem could be what these angels are praising about. But I'm not too sure heres the quote. 

 

"The Fifth Heaven, Samael the Ruling Archangel is served by two millions of angels. These are divided among the four quarters of the world, in each quarter three, who control the twelve months, and over these are twelve chief angels. The northern regions of this Heaven is the area where the Watchers, (Grigori) reside. To the South reside the angels (ministering) who endlessly chant the praises of God."

 

 

Day 6 (Saturday) poem

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/231500044149.jpg

 

The part where it says "A cold giant shows it's night face to you" "Eyes that never close gaze everywhere and at everything. You see them in their hiding place. And they see you too" 

 

This seems to connect with what is said in one of the versions of the myth, it mentions an angel of the night that rules over kings, creates fear etc. 

 

"The Sixth Heaven, Archangel Sachiel, with two millions of angels. The angel Zebul is placed over these during the day, and another angel, Sabath, during the night. They rule over kings, create fear, and give protection from enemies. This Heaven is covered in snow and frequently experiences many storms." 

 

This giant that shows it's night face could be the night angel from the myth, the giant's eyes gazing at everything and keep watch at everyone could be referring to the night angel ruling over kings and creating fear. 

 

Day 7 (Saturday) Poem 

http://alphalupi.bungie.net/x99634869174.jpg

 

This poem clearly talks of good things, hope returning, answers revealed, becoming stronger and everything is now safe. Well the myth describes the seventh and final heaven to be the holiest of all the heavens and contains the throne of glory, the arch angels standing beside god. There is a very strong connection of feeling with the last poem and the seventh heaven.

 

The Seventh Heaven is reputed to be the Holiest of all the Heavens and contains the Throne of Glory which is attended by the Seven Archangels.The 7th Heaven is the home of God and his Throne. He is surrounded by the angels of the orders of Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Fanuel (Penuel) are introduced as "the four angels of the face of the Lord."In Enoch, lxxi. 7-13, these four stand near the crystal throne of God, which, encircled by fire, is surrounded by the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ofanim.   

 

 

UPDATE

 

Another thing that could relate to the 7 heavens is a video from E3, Bungie presented a video (shown below) that was only shown to those who attended, it was a video that cycled through the planets in our solar system. The video didn't show all the planets but only 7 from our solar system. The sun, the moon, venus, murcury, mars, jupiter and saturn. The same and only planets that the 7 heavens spoke about.

 

 

So why has nothing been said about Neptune and Uranus in Destiny? No concept art, nothing spoke about them by bungie and from the video those 2 planets are absent and don't appear to be featured in the game. I personally believe this alone is enough to tell me Destiny may whether how big or small revolve around this ancient belief.   

[Absolute Dog]

adamj that is some down right serious journalism. I am amazed at the parallels you where able to draw from your research. I really think you have begun an intriguing look at the world of Destiny and it potential basis in world religion.

[SatanicBagels]

One does not often see Higher level discussion about video games like this very often. This is some stuff you would expect to examine in a college course titled "Advanced Video Game Writing".

 

This thread should be nominated for video game article of the decade.

Edited February 24, 2013 by SweatyBagels

[Drizzy_Dan]

This is one of the best news pieces I've ever seen. Adam you've always had a knack for sleuthing puzzles and creating interesting hypotheses and finding great theories but this one takes the cake. This makes me so much more excited for Destiny and really brings back the Bungie feel. The feeling that if you look into it, you'll find something very secret. Very nicely done Adam

[haloman 2]

i like all comments. great article adam. and good hypotheses. keep it up

[Adam91]

i like all comments. great article adam. and good hypotheses. keep it up

Thanks very much, Ive just made an update with new theories check it out.

[Drizzy_Dan]

The update is a very good summary and I like it Adam, that's good work once again. Destiny is looking like a GRRREAT GAAMEE

[Pbrabbit]

The Amount of time it took to make this article boggles my mind. Thank You and may I say what an awesome article too. I never really knew bungie put some mythical/biblical events in their games. There's something new I learned! Also now I know a lot more about destiny. Thanks again!

[Adam91]

The Amount of time it took to make this article boggles my mind. Thank You and may I say what an awesome article too. I never really knew bungie put some mythical/biblical events in their games. There's something new I learned! Also now I know a lot more about destiny. Thanks again!

All together now it's taken me about 8 hours to present this, with typing reading over things and searching for references and connections, I'm glad you like this It means a lot thank you very much. 

[Absolute Dog]

Nice work on the updated information!

[DoctorB77]

Yay more puzzles ask me if you want any help with this.

[dfgh]

Wow thats alot of information from a few symbols and poems! Im so exicted for destiny, i just hope activision dont do to it what they did to call of duty (i know its going to be every 2 years but i trust bungie to not do a new story and map pack every release thing)

[Fox McCloud]

Nice work adam.

[Father B]

That's some DaVinci Code stuff right there, bro.

 

Love it. Some of it feels a bit off to me, but I could just be knit-picking.

Overall I think you really have something there. Exciting stuff, adam.

[NinetysBorn]

Such in depth analysis, even for an assumption, all the reasoning is sound. I absolutely love this, when games go the extra mile. Bungie made Halo the game it is today. The brilliant legacy it left behind with the first 3 Halo's to be released. If this is true or not, Bungie will make Destiny the game we want it to be. If this is true, man is this game setting up for something extraordinary. REALLY excited about Destiny

[I_Make_Big_Boom]

You deserve a medal or something. Like a Golden Chicken atop a pedestal made of used bottle caps and crap. I mean come on. This is some Grade A stuff my friend 

[Akali]

destiny looks like an amazing game i cant wait

[Kilo Actual]

Never would have thought of this stuff... Nice work... I see the connections myself and the reasoning.. SO EXCITED

[Akali]

wow that is alot of reading and even though i dont like reading i read it all and i really like it and if the story is of the seven heavens i cant wait for destiny

[junglemantis]

this is what the bungie forums were all about! (ok yeah its now 343industries)

 

I remember on the run up to Halo 3 there was lots of threads and theories in regards to are humans reclaimers? what is the ark? other halo installions etc.

 

Bungie do put alot of references to biblical and Mythological event's into their games and its nice to see people spectulating on the story of Destiny. Keep up the good work Adam, what a refreshing read

[Adam91]

this is what the bungie forums were all about! (ok yeah its now 343industries)

 

I remember on the run up to Halo 3 there was lots of threads and theories in regards to are humans reclaimers? what is the ark? other halo installions etc.

 

Bungie do put alot of references to biblical and Mythological event's into their games and its nice to see people spectulating on the story of Destiny. Keep up the good work Adam, what a refreshing read

Thanks man there are thing's in my post where I'm not too sure about anymore but I'm looking forward to find out if there is a connection with it as a whole. 

[TruSlick87]

Holy Batarang! This is such a great post.  I knew the story would go deep but you brought it to a whole new level...Awesome job, I already couldnt wait for the game/beta to come out, now i really can't wait to see how the story unfolds. Go warlocks

[Silent Orbis]

Nice job. This stuff is probably true about Destiny.