If you're someone who routinely purchases the
Blessing of the Welkin Moon in Genshin Impact, then you're definitely familiar with this
Lady right here… At the start of every day the first time you log in to the game,
she'll be right there waiting patiently for you to stir her magical cauldron with
her staff and bless you with 90 Primogems. Yet… Despite her being part of our game EVERY
SINGLE DAY… We don't know who she is… Not even her name… So, for the sake of this video, I will call
her the Welkin Moon Maiden… Or Witch… Whichever one you want really… Because as you will see in a
few minutes, the two aren’t very different at all. The concept of Witches and Fair Maidens is one
that I’ve been indenting to talk about for a long time now as I believe that it has fascinating
implications which would further our understanding of Genshin Impact’s cosmology… And it all has
to do with Foxes, and a very special Hawk that sits atop the World Tree Yggdrasil… How you
may ask?... Well, watch and you will see. When you think of Witches,
in the traditional sense, the imagery that comes to mind is that of an Old
Crone living in her isolated hut in the woods, concocting blasphemous potions in her cauldron
and making pacts and deals with devils. Usually, and especially in Fairy Tales, these
Witches end up in some kind of struggle with a Fairy Maiden, where the Witch often seeks
to kill the Maiden out of jealousy or greed. As for the Fair Maidens themselves…
This one is not as straightforward… Because what really constitutes a Fair Maiden? Well, to put it in simple terms… The opposite
of a Witch… A figure of kindness and in a way abundance… A symbol of Divine Purity such as
a damsel or a dove… I suppose the easiest and simplest example I can give to get the message
across would be that of the Virgin Mary, who is also dubbed as the Mother of God,
the vessel through which Divinity takes human form… She represents the highest,
most noble iteration of such a concept. And now… We have a problem… Just a bit earlier
I said that a Witch and a Fair Maiden aren’t so much different… Which… Given the attributes I
just highlighted about the two, sounds absolutely preposterous… On the one hand, you have this Evil
Crone that is associated with the Devil; while on the other, you’ve got this Young, Beautiful
Maiden that represents piety to the Divine Will. These two things CANNOT BE MORE
DIFFERENT… Except… Things are not always what they appear to be… Because
keep in mind that the Gods of Teyvat, the supreme embodiments of Holiness… Are each
and all named after Demons… Fallen creatures of Hell… While Dragons… Well… The Dragon is commonly
used as a Symbol of the Devil, of Ultimate Evil, the Enemy of God… Think of the Seven-Headed Dragon
from the Book of Revelation for an easy example. So in that sense, the Dragon represents the final
and most challenging obstacle on the path of the Hero’s Journey… But the Dragons of Genshin are
not like that whatsoever… They are the exact opposite of that… Dragons on Teyvat are Deities
of Life… They are the Angels in Genshin’s Story, and their King, Nibelung, was the Master
of the Light Realm… The Heavenly Realm. This puts them much closer to the idea of
Divinity in Orthodox Christianity than the Demon Gods… And using that logic, the Dragons
of Genshin follow their depiction in Chinese culture and mythology… Where Dragons are
indeed heavenly rulers of Divine Order. The point is… Whether something is inherently good
or evil in Genshin has less to do with its direct source of inspiration and more with how creatures
are classified within the game's cosmology. So, when I say that Witches and Fair Maidens
aren’t too different in Genshin… Think of all the clues and evidence that Hoyoverse
have given us to support such a claim… And… Trust me… You won’t have to think for too long…
Because right at the start of the game’s story, the Traveler meets Signora… A Witch…
Who is LITERALLY CALLED The Fair Lady. And Rosalyne is not just any Witch,
she is the Crimson Witch of Flames, one of the most infamous in all of Tayvet…
But before that, she was a damsel… A Fair Maiden from Mondstadt who loved to sing and
fell in love with the Wolf Pup Knight Rostam. However, given her voice lines in Tenshukaku, Rosalyne doesn’t seem to appreciate being
referred to as a Witch, and I find that interesting because it implies that this moniker
carries a negative connotation in her mind. Furthermore, given Peruere’s voice line about her,
the High and Refined Rosalyne, deep down seemed to have always longed for a time when she was a
humble young Maiden, who sang in the city square. As you can see, Signora is a very good example
of how Hoyoverse combines Witches and Fair Maidens into a single coherent design…
But Rosalyne was just the appetizer… Now, let’s get to the main dish because
there happens to be a certain Greek Diety that meshes our two concepts
of interest almost perfectly… I am talking about Hecate, the Greek Goddess of Night,
Magic, and most importantly… The Moon. The sole daughter of the Titan of
Destruction, Perses and the Titan Goddess of Falling Stars and Divination,
Asteria, Hecate was a Triple-Faced Lunar Goddess who was granted Dominion for siding with
Zeus following his victory against the Titans. Hecate was a Virgin Goddess, similar to Artemis
and Hestia, and just like the aforementioned two, she was of profound importance to the
daily lives of people in Ancient Greece. As a Goddess of Magic, over time, Hecate came to be associated with Witchcraft… As the
Ancient Greeks understood it back then, which is NOTABLY DIFFERENT from later
depictions from Europe’s Middle Ages. Regardless, who’s to say that
the developers at Hoyoverse don’t lean more toward the Greek depictions for
their designs of Genshin Impact’s Witches? In fact… I am almost certain they do. Remember Hecate’s mother?
Asteria, the Titan Goddess of Falling Stars and Divination… I don’t think I am
blowing anyone’s mind here when I say that being the Patron of such things, Asteria was heavily
associated with Astrology in Ancient Greece… And her daughter… Hecate… Is a Goddess of Magic… And
like I said earlier, MORE IMPORTANTLY… The MOON. Now, since we are on the topic of Witches… And you know… Hecate’s mother Asteria is a
Goddess of Divination and Astrology… I cannot ignore the Elephant in the Room
here… The Hexenzirkel Witch, Barbeloth. You see, Barbeloth is a practitioner of Astrology,
and given her title… Astromancer Trismegistus, she is likely one of the most Elite, if
not THE most elite Astrologist in the entire world… To add to that, it is implied
during the Archon Quest: Masquerade of the Guilty that Barbeloth stands on the same
playing field as the Visionary Veðrfölnir. And Veðrfölnir is the name of a Hawk
from Norse Mythology who sits atop the World Tree Yggdrasil and can
ONLY be killed using Lævateinn, a magical sword crafted by Loki… And this
Lævateinn will likely play a huge role in the future as it is brought up in Mr.
Nine’s Book, Flowers for Princess Fischl. All in all, what I am trying to say is
that Barbeloth is wise… And considering that she is on par with Veðrfölnir… She is
also likely to be exceptionally powerful. So, Barbeloth is the equivalent of Asteria, a
Patron Deity of Falling Stars and Divination and crucially, the mother of the Moon Goddess
Hecate… But… Hold on a second… Barbeloth doesn’t have anything to do with the Moon… And as far as
we know she isn’t the mother of a Moon either… Well… Actually, no… She is…
She adopted one… It’s Mona… OK, listen, Let Me Cook… I promise you I will
elaborate on what I mean when I say that Mona is a Moon… But before I do, I am going to
HAVE to talk about Sunday and Penacony. The Story of the World of Penacony in
Honkai: Star Rail parallels the World of Teyvat to an extremely precise level
where if you look well enough you will see that most of the fundamental themes and
symbolisms in Penacony correspond directly to the ones found in Genshin Impact… With a
heavy emphasis on the Sun, the Moon, Music, the struggle to find truth and happiness within a
Dreamland, and most importantly, Angels and Eggs. If you are interested, I have already
gone over some of the major reoccurring themes between the two stories in this video right here… So, in the interest of time and
conciseness, I won’t rehash them here. Alongside the Trailblazer, the story of Penacony
revolves around a guy named Sunday who is an Advocate of the Aeon of Harmony, Xipe… And
you will quickly notice that Xipe’s design is very much Analogous to the traditional
Greek depictions of Hecate… Particularly in their Triple-Faced nature where Sunday
refers to Xipe as the Triple-Faced Diety. Now, in reality, Sunday is not
truly loyal to the Harmony… Instead, he is a follower of Ena, the Order, another
Aeon whom Xipe assimilated a LONG time ago. Sunday’s ultimate plan was to
create a Dreamscape where there would be neither weak nor strong and
where everyone could find happiness. To do this, Sunday used the power
of the Penacony Grand Theater, which is symbolically considered to be Penacony’s
Moon, to become the Cordmaster of the Harmony’s Song and subdue all the people in the world to
the tune of the Order’s Music… Where he would become The Sun… The Only Star in the Sky and ALL
THE DREAMS OF THE PEOPLE would belong to HIM. So, we already established that the Aeon
of Harmony, Xipe, looks like Hecate, a Goddess of Magic and the Moon… And Sunday
used the Moon’s power to become the shining Sun… Interestingly, before fighting him, Sunday
spends some time telling The Nameless about the world's creation in Seven Days… And…
Let’s be honest here, the wordplay is extremely obvious… It’s in his name… “Sun”
“Day”, The Sun’s Day… And Sunday himself even says that in his Dream, every day shall be
Sunday, while all other days will be removed… But the irony is that once Sunday is defeated,
you get the achievement “And Then It Is Monday…” Alright… From here onwards, this video is
going to get REALLY CRAZY… So buckle up. At first glance, this achievement
“And Then It Is Monday…” seems like a perfectly straightforward joke… You defeat
Sunday, and after Sunday comes Monday. However, when you take into account the
high likelihood of Penacony being one giant allegory to the Teyvat Chapter of Genshin…
Heh, follow along… You’re about to see. Akin to how Sunday means The Sun’s Day, the
English name for Monday means The Moon’s Day and it comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Mōnandæg,
where Mōna is the Old English word for the Moon. Now I spent a great portion of this video
discussing Witches and Fair Maidens within the context of Genshin Impact, along with how
Hecate, the Goddess of Magic and the Moon and the daughter of the Titan Goddess of Divination
Asteria, represents both The Maiden AND The Witch. I also talked about how the equivalent
of Asteria in Genshin is Barbeloth, and her adopted daughter is Mona,
whose name means Moon… But… Once again, we have a problem… I could have EASILY just told
you that Mona is the Old English name for Moon and that it comes from Mōnandæg,
which means Monday in Anglo-Saxon. So… Why the heck did I spend so much time yapping
about Sunday and Penacony if they are redundant? It’s because of Foxes… … Yes,
you heard it right… Foxes… To properly understand what I am trying to
say, let me remind you of another seemingly pointless piece of information that I threw
in at the start of this video… Specifically when I brought up how Genshin subverts
the conventional motifs of Divinity where the Gods of Teyvat are the Demons while
the Dragons are more akin to the Angels. That, of course, is because the Dragons of
Teyvat are modelled after their counterparts from Chinese Culture and Mythology, where
Dragons symbolize Royalty and Divine Authority. But here’s the cool thing… It’s not
just Dragons… If you look well enough, you will start to see that EVERYTHING
in the story of Genshin Impact has some type of Chinese Twist to it in one way or
another… And the Hexenzirkel is no exception. You see, Foxes are actually a considerably
recurring animal in the game’s story… Just, not in your face kinda way… References
to them are more elusive, tucked away behind the various books and stories which
the Travaler gathers around Teyvat… And what’s peculiar is that these sources
often depict Foxes as magical creatures. Ignoring the most obvious ones of Yae Miko
and the rest of Inazuma’s Kitsune… There are two stories with Magical Foxes that I want to
point your attention towards… The first is a book called Heart’s Desire which talks about a
Fox-Eyed Lady who owns a Magical Antique Shop… We know that this Fox-Eyed Shopkeeper is at
least over a thousand years old because one of her suppliers and customers is Parsifal,
a legendary figure from Ancient Mondstadt. The second book is The Fox in the Dandelion Sea, written from the point of view of a Hunter
who meets a Magical Talking Fox who could transform into a tremendously beautiful woman
with black hair and eyes reflecting moonlight. Now these beautiful Fox ladies should
be based on the Chinese Fox Spirits, also known as Húli Jīng or more commonly as
Huxian, which translates to Fox Immortals… And just like the Fox Ladies from
Teyvat’s Fairy Tales, the Chinese Huxian are traditionally characterized by both
shapeshifting and longevity… They can transform into extremely beautiful humans and have prolonged
lifespans, gaining more magical power as they age. OK… Earlier I asked you to Let Me Cook…
NOW SIT DOWN, AND GET READY TO FEAST. Although for the most part, they are seen
as benevolent and charming, the Húli Jīng, that is Fox Spirits, can also be very
sly and use their cham for rather mischievous deeds such as manipulating
humans or stealing their life force. On the other hand, the Fox Immortals,
Huxian, are Fox Spirits who achieved a higher level of existence through spiritual
cultivation and the amassing of magical power over the ages… At which point they become
Spirit Guardians or even Divine Emissaries. You know what, let’s make this dish a
little more spicy… The Huxian tend to be individualistic in nature with varying
personalities, goals, and motivations, often quarrelling and competing with each other
for spiritual advancement. Several Chinese tales portray them vying for positions as guardians
or facing off for access to mystical resources. Let me ask you… Does this remind you
of a certain group of magical women? Because I’ve been LITERALLY DESCRIBING
THE WITCHES OF THE HEZENZIRKEL. That’s right, I believe that the Witches
of the Hezenzirkel are based on… Well, Greek Mythology, in tandem with the
Fox Immortals of Chinese Folklore… They are Mages who have reached
the Height of Magical Prowess… Also, you know how the Huxian gain more magical
power as they age?... Notice that Alice is called the Elder of the Hexenzirkel… And “Elder” can
mean Leader, similar to how Dan Feng was the High Elder of the Vidyadhara… But the word Elder
can also be used in reference to Age… Which by extension would make Alice the oldest of the
Hexenzirkel Mages, and therefore their strongest. Despite their individualistic nature, the Huxian
can also work together to achieve a common goal and to that end, they will form small communities…
You know… Like a Coven of Witches for example. Additionally, some Huxian are known to take on
younger disciples to whom they can act as mentors, passing down knowledge and power… This is also
something that the Hexenzirkel Witches do… Alice has Klee, Rhinedottir has Albedo, and finally, we
come back to Barbeloth, who has the Moon… Mona. Now recall that Barbeloth and her disciple
Mona are supposed to respectively correspond to the Greek Asteria, the Goddess of Falling
Stars and Divination, and her daughter Hecate, the Triple-Faced Goddess of Magic and
the Moon… The Witch and the Fair Maiden. Also, recall that in Star Rail,
Sunday attempted to become the Sun, the Chordmaster of the Harmonious Choir and
subdue the Dreamscape of Penacony under the Music of the Order using the power of Xipe… Who is
critically a Triple-Faced Diety, just like Hecate. And Sunday did ALL OF THIS… On the Moon. And GET READY, cuz in case you weren’t aware, THIS IS A BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE DEAL,
and I’ve already prepared an Extra Dish. There is a book in Genshin
called Fables de Fontaine, which is inspired by the stories of
the French poet, Jean de La Fontaine, who was famous for writing anthropomorphic
stories featuring animals that represent humans. The first of three fables in the book is called
“The Maiden and the Sun”... And it tells of how The Adopted Daughter of the Fox grew to become
the most Graceful Lady in the Land… So her adoptive mother, the Fox, asked her to choose a
husband, for all would be honoured to be the one. So the young Maiden then told her mother to wed
her to the most powerful being in the world… Thus, the Wise Fox went to The Sun, asking him
to take her daughter’s hand in marriage… But the Sun refused… Saying that the Clouds are
mightier than he, for they can block his radiance. Likewise, the Cloud spoke of the Mountain, and
the Mountain spoke of the Mouse, and the Mouse of the Cat, and the Cat of the Dog, and the Dog
of the Wolf, ALL THE WAY until the Old Fox found herself once again facing the Glorious Sun…
As thus did the young beauty marry the sun. The moral of the story at the end states
that Destiny cannot be changed or evaded and that one must take responsibility
for the duty one must shoulder. Alright, Now Hold Your Horses and relax… Mona
isn’t getting married anytime soon… Remember, this story is HEAVILY metaphorical. But, if we are to read between the lines… Given
the overarching theme of Destiny in this story, along with the fact that the Maiden
is the ADOPTED daughter of the Fox, where again, the Magical Foxes should be
the Witches of the Hexenzirkel… Then the Fox and her daughter are Barbeloth and
Mona… Or more specifically, the Moon. And if you take a closer look at Mona,
you will notice a very particular Lunar Symbol on her hat… This one right
here, with a Star from the inside… And speaking of Stars, let’s go back to where
we left off in Star Rail… Which is when Sunday attempted to usurp the Music of Xipe’s Harmony and
control the Dream from the Penacony Grand Theater. There are a few things to point out about
this Theater… The first is really simple, if you look at it from Dreamflux Reef, it
appears like an Eye on the Moon… This is a clear and obvious reference to the Eye
that Rises from the Sea in the Dream of the Nameless Boy from Mamoru Oshii’s OVA,
the Angel’s Egg… Which not only forms the narrative foundation of Penacony but also
ALL of Genshin Impact as well… Where it is mentioned in the Book Perinheri as the Eye
of the Crimson Moon… But, let’s be real, I think most of you already know this… And if you
don’t here’s a video I made on the Angel’s Egg. Moreover, the symbolic Moon of the Penacony
Grand Theater also functions as a Mirror, reflecting the Heavens and the Earth, where
if you are to leave Dreamflux Reef and look at it from the Sweet Dream, you will observe the
Theater inverted upside down from the other side, with this symbol at the top… A Primogem
with Two Wings and a Crown… That is the symbol of the Primordial One as it is
described in Before Sun and Moon and a similar variation of it can be found
on the Murals of Teyvat’s Domains. With that being said if we
go back to Dreamflux Reef, you end up with a different Symbol on Top, a
Moon Arc with a Star in the Middle… THE EXACT SAME SYMBOL ON MONA’S HAT… And if you think
that this is a coincidence, then think again. Here, here… Come with me…
Now look up… You see this? The Sky of Dreamflux Reef is the Sweet Dream of
Penacony… The two Dreams are reflections of one another with the Moon acting as the Mirror…
And in the description of Peruere’s weapon, the Crimson Moon’s Semblance, it is written that
the Astrologists of Ancient Khaenri’ah saw the Origins of the World’s Fate through
the inverted image of the False Sky. Both Barbeloth and Mona are Astrologists… This
is NOT a coincidence… And if it is true that Mona corresponds to Asteria’s daughter, Hecate…
Then we have a very cool conclusion to infer. Mona’s name means Moon, and she currently resides
in Mondstadt, which is German for “Moon City”... And in addition to being a Moon Goddess, Hecate
was also a Goddess of Crossroads… The reason I say this is because if you go to Tsurumi Island
and translate this Mural right here into English, it says: “You are called the powerful Trivia, and
you are called the Moon by your Borrowed Light.” Where Trivia means “Three Ways” and is the Roman
epithet of Hecate… A Triple-Faced Lunar Goddess that over time became a Deity of Witchcraft
in Ancient Greece… And when the Mural says that she is called the moon by her borrowed light, it might be referring to the fact that the Moon
is a Mirror which reflects the Light of the Sun. After all, Sunday wanted to use the
Moon of Penacony, the Grand Theater, to project the Light of the Sun, the Music of
the Order, onto the entire Dreamscape… Using the power of the Triple-Faced Xipe… And the
Moon Sisters in Genshin were Triple Goddesses of Music and Poetry who governed Fate… And
you can kinda see how these two concepts are similar but it still feels like something is
missing… That’s where Hecate comes into play. Hecate is basically the perfect sweet spot
right in between Xipe and the Moon Sisters… Just like Xipe, she is Triple-Faced,
and just like the Three Moon Sisters, she is a Goddess of the Moon… And when it
comes to the aspects of Fate and Destiny, well, Mona is an Astrologist, her job revolves around
deciphering Fate… So you’ve got that covered too. Nonetheless, Mona is not the actual equivalent of
Hecate on Teyvat, whoever that ends up being… Mona is akin to Amy, although they represent
certain aspects of a historical figure, they are obviously not that figure themselves. But, have no fear… I won’t leave you without some
type of answer… Remember the Crescent Moon Symbol with the Star on Mona’s Hat?... The same Symbol
that appears on top of the Penacony Grand Theater? Heh, To some of us… This Symbol is a VERY familiar
sight… Because we see it at the start of every day the first time we log in to Genshin Impact…
It is right behind the Welkin Moon Witch. And if Sunday wanted to turn all
other days of the week into his own, while we are always greeted with
the one called Welkin Moon by her Borrowed Light… Then could it possibly
be that on Teyvat… Every day… Is Monday. But why would a Witch want to merge the
power of the Moon and the Sun into one? The answer is actually quite
simple… And it has to do with the Fontainian Fable of The Maiden and the Sun. In Western Alchemy, there is a process known
as the Chymical Marriage, which involves the Union of the Lunar Queen with the Solar King as
a prerequisite for the production of Rubedo, Red, The Philosopher's Stone… Which grants a myriad
of great powers such as transcendental wisdom, immortality, and the ability to manipulate matter. And given what I said earlier about the Huxian, the Fox Immortals of Chinese Folklore who
seek enlightenment and the amassment of knowledge… The Philosopher’s Stone sounds like a
considerable object of desire to such creatures. But the Witches of the Hexenzirkel aren’t
necessarily the only ones after the Philosopher’s Stone… You see, while looking into
Hecate for the purposes of making this video, I stumbled across this artwork by
the Italian Painter Marco Liberi, which depicts Hecate’s mother Asteria being
pursued by the King of the Olympians Zeus, who took the form of an Eagle and
attempted to force himself on her. And this painting made me realize
something… When you take into account the fact that Barbeloth shares
a number of characteristics with Asteria… Then her being mentioned in
the same vein as Vedrfolnir starts to become quite suspicious if this piece
of artwork has anything to do with that. What I am about to say is
purely based on mythology, so take it with a huge grain of salt…
During Masquerade of the Guilty Mona hints that Barbeloth is likely someone who
has the abilities of a Visionary, allowing her to foresee Divine Prophecies… This aligns
with Asteria who was a Goddess of Divination. The only other Visionary we
hear about is Vedrfolnir… The one who in Norse Mythology can only be
killed using Loki’s Sword, Laevatainn… Now, while it is true that Vedrfolnir is a Hawk
and not an Eagle like what Zeus transformed into… Vedrfolnir does stand between the Eyes of
a Giant unnamed Eagle in Norse Mythology. And his name when broken down
can be translated into Vedr, meaning Storm, and Folnir, which
means one who sees hidden things. Once again, this is purely based on mythology,
but in Genshin there is only one character who has the ability to see all hidden things…
And that… Oh boy… Happens to be The Sinner… After all, when the Traveler returns to the
future, Dainsleif says that it was too late, and that The Sinner has already seen them. The thing is, due to the fact that much of the
original myth is lost… We don’t know why Zeus went after Asteria aside from his own lust and
it’s all up for speculation beyond that… However, one common consensus happens to be
that Zeus always desired control, and perhaps subduing Asteria would have granted
him some sway over the night sky or prophecies. And it will be very interesting to see if
Genshin goes with this… Not necessarily historically accurate, but rather, more…
Contextual route with the Greek myth? If you personally ask me, I still think that The
Sinner is Nibelung, however, Greek mythology tends to be extremely involved in Genshin Impact’s
cosmology and lore… And what’s crazy is that Greek myths have a very high track record of being
accurate in Genshin… So… I guess we will see. However, we will likely have to wait at least
until the end of Natlan to know whether The Sinner is Nibelung or Vedrfolnir… And watch how by the
time we get there it will turn out to be neither of them… He will probably end up being some
random new character we never heard about before… Now, I was going to keep yapping for a few more
minutes about Kiana and Paimon… But patch 4.7 is fast approaching, and The night is still too
short… So… I suppose this is a good place to stop. And if you find this sad or annoying, then don’t
worry, with Imaginarium Theater coming out soon, we are going to be talking about the
Hexenzirkel for a LOOONG time… I promise you. So as always, huge thanks to everyone
who supports this channel on Patreon, and thank you for watching this video… For
now, I’ve been My Name For Now, and I will see you… After I recover from the upcoming
lore that Dainsleif is gonna throw on my ass.
