Patterns in the Dark: Occult Symbolism and Red Shoes

The Band on Gab; The Band on Oneway

This is another interruption from the usual stuff to take a look at some disturbing imagery that has been opening eyes recently. A regular post looking at globalism, empire and English Enlightenment should be up soon, but the Band is also a good vehicle to bring together historical threads that relate to current events. Occult symbolism has been in a spotlight lately, so what better time to think about framing the depraved imagery that has come to light.

WARNING: THIS POST INCLUDES VERY DISTURBING THEMES AND IMAGES.  

A sampling of occult symbolism for everything from "edgy" tattoos to blood sacrifice. It's not surprising that their usage can be inconsistent.













The first problem is that symbols are slippery and hard to conclusively define. What does "occult" even mean? The term is impossibly broad, ranging from crystal cultists to Satanic Cabalists. What viewpoint are we talking? From a Christian perspective, all occult groups through the ages are just variations on Satanism, but the groups themselves often maintain rigid distinctions between each other. Then there is level of commitment. How do you separate the LARPers from legitimate criminals? 

The first consideration is to narrow the field. Getting caught up in the subtle differences in the orientation of a pentagram is pointless. What evidence there is suggests that the occultist element of elite globalism is clearly diabolical in nature, and believes that their rituals have real power. This means that they have to be taken seriously regardless of your own metaphysical beliefs, because they behave as if it is real. If this is the case, the various LARPers and their distinctions are a useful, if unwitting, smokescreen.

Researchers postulate a pyramidal structure, where individuals on the lower tiers may believe they are not connected, or even opposed to, other sections. 














The second consideration is to think in terms of actions and not statements. Information is foggy, reliable information is scarce, and the whole thing seems ridiculous. This should have no bearing on being able to see that there is something off about global elites partaking in demonic rituals. Read that last sentence again. We need to be very clear on this. Arguing over the "meaning" of symbols misses the point - what matters is who is doing what and why. 

Martin van Maële, Witches' Sabbath, from the 1911 edition of Jules Michelet's La Sorcière

Medieval witchcraft is socially complex, but the motivation of occult "leaders" is the same as it ever was - the quest for unearned power or knowledge at the cost of others' well-being or even lives. From here, it doesn't matter if some symbol really represents a continuity from ancient Babylon or somewhere; what matters is that the people use it for those ancient connotations and identify themselves with them. 

Are the rituals "authentic"? Who knows? 


Symbols gain meaning through association. Historical meanings may be lost or distorted but the uses aren't. When you look broadly patterns appear that bring clarity to the confusion.







The third consideration is to look at what ISN'T there. The patterns can be negative or absences; curious holes in the historical record that outline something where something should be. Finding inexplicable red shoes in different contexts that all seem to hint as the same thing, for example. This is a bit like recognizing the shape of a puzzle piece from its hole in the finished work. When you see it enough times, you start to figure it out.

Clockwise from top left:

Francisco Goya, Witches' Sabbath, 1797-98, oil on canvas, 43 × 30 cm, Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid

A close associate of the Democrat elite

Habib Faris, Sacrificing to Moloch, in his Sirakh al-Bari, Cairo, 1891

Pedophilic totem in Arkansas, 2018

The history of the occult is full of curious gaps, but the pattern, when it comes to children, is clear. 













But puzzle negatives are abstract. A concrete example of this sort of "negative" spotting would be the pope's Satanic throne from the last short post. The bizarre absence of information on the iconography of this thing in any of the usual places is the sort of hole that is worthy of attention.

Red shoes have proven to be a similar thing. 

Biljana Djurdjevic, Systematic Examination, 2005, oil on canvas

A piece from the collection of Democratic hack and suspected pedophile Tony Podesta.










The idea of Satanic red shoes burst into conscious with revelations about some horrifying imagery in Tony Podesta's art collection, and the possibility that it indicated something much worse. The Band has spent enough time looking at this filth and lacks the desire to recap the details, but the Neon Revolt post that inspired this look is linked. The horrifying connections between the globalist elite, Satanic ritual, and red shoes is a dizzying descent into madness. Hold on.

The catch your breath image from the Neon Revolt post including another fine Djurdjevic in the Podesta collection.


















Readers know that the Band is comfortable with symbols and history, and looking into this seemed like a natural way to expose some backstory. Surely something as striking as this must have a vivid story behind it, but despite inspiring this post, it doesn't. Internet searches dealing with red shoe symbolism turn up thousands of hits, but very little depth. The same few historical sources appear again and again, but they hardly seem the sorts of things to have much influence in the present. In some cases, the "sources" don't even really make sense. That's a curious absence - a negative pattern. Why keep rooting a widespread "personal empowerment" symbol with poorly fitting exemplars that no one cares about?

Helen Stratton, print from "The Red Shoes" from Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales, published by Blackie & Son, 1940

The weirdest source is Hans Christian Anderson's "The Red Shoes", the story of a poor girl who longs for catchy red shoes, then wears them pridefully to a dance. They turn out to be cursed and make her dance without stopping until the executioner cuts off her feet. She reconciles with God before passing while the feet in their shoes dance for eternity.















The meaning seems to be to not aspire beyond your station; at least, that's the feminist interpretation anyhow. Anderson's story may not be widely known, but it has become a bit of a feminist symbol, only inverted into a fable of the dreams of girls smashed by a harsh patriarchy. This "reading" isn't surprising from parasitic propagandists who expected to "have it all" without cost considerations. 

For your pleasure, an excerpt from Nina Martin's "Red Shoe Diaries: Sexual Fantasy and the Construction of the (Hetero)Sexual Woman" in the Journal of Film and Video 46, 2 (Summer 1994). This is typical.

If you really want to shred brain cells, try this.

Or some quality feminist fiction courtesy of Joyce Goldenstern, a heretic with a future of Merlot and cats who "teaches" at the Dominican University in River Forent, Il. Fittingly, there is little connection to Catholicism found on the website. This gem is from her "The Fabulist: Red Shoes", in The North American Review, vol. 279, no. 4 (1994), p. 39.

Margret Atwood apparently earned them too. 

“The Red Shoes” by Martha Laverick

Feminism as a philosophy is dependent on set-asides and handouts from the productive, so for them, the magic realism of the shoes is wish fulfillment. That said, the punishment is severe; too severe, even in those times, for a bit of class envy. Something is missing. 

When feminists gloss over the demonic power and the severity of the consequences in the name of some vague patriarchy, they miss the point of the story. 

What are the origins of this story?

Hendrik Hondius, The Dancing Mania, late 16th or early 17th century, after a drawing by Pieter Bruegel the Elder from 1564: The Pilgrimage of the Addicts to Meulebeeck, copper engraving 

Compulsive dancing has roots in European folklore, going back to the mysterious "dancing plagues" or "dancing mania" of the Middle Ages. Historians have linked it to the cult of St. Vitus, which was nominally Christian, but involved non-Christian practices like dancing in front of a statue. There are connections between this contagion, shoes, and the color red, which proves nothing, but speaks to a cultural memory in Anderson's story. The relative difficulty in finding this material is strange. 









These themes come together in Anderson's story, but they are more explicit in the original version of Snow White, or "Little Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm. At the end of this tale, the witch is forced dance to death in red hot iron shoes. 

An illustration from page 31 of Mjallhvít, an 1852 Icelandic translation of the Grimms' Snow White

Then they put a pair of iron shoes into burning coals. They were brought forth with tongs and placed before her. She was forced to step into the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down dead.

It isn't the same story, but we can see the same pattern of ingredients pointing at a similar set of ideas. There is clearly a sense that red, and especially red footware, is symbolic of dark forces, with children particularly vulnerable. The entry point is vanity, but "vanity" alone isn't grounds for such terrible punishment - it is where vanity can lead. It isn't "girl's dreams" being punished, as idiot feminists would have it, but turning to the occult for illegitimate gain. 



The next popular red shoe "source"would be the Wizard of Oz, written by Frank L. Baum, and published in 1900 with tremendous success.

At least there's nothing disturbing about the cover. These are the 1908 and 1930 editions. The red shoes become prominent late. 

Baum was a noted occultist with ties to Theosophy, one of many "unification of all religions" popular in the late nineteenth-century. 

The Seal of the Theosophical Society

Click for a breakdown of the symbolism. The particulars are distinctive, but the basic idea of the human mind attaining enlightenment through its own means is typical. 

Still from The Wizard of Oz, a 1939 movie my MGM

The Theosophists considered The Wizard of Oz to be an allegory of occult enlightenment, with the red shoes symbolizing spiritual transformation. 

But it was the movie that fixed the red shoes, I mean ruby slippers, in the public imagination.

Life imitates art. Judy Garland's history of abuse and exploitation is has even been acknowledged by the mainstream media. Imagine the reality. 

Moira Grayland's book is a harrowing survivor's story of the pedophilic culture in science fiction. The grim pattern it describes is a much wider warning. Not an easy read, but an important one.

The notion of the special child, tramatically ripped from home and surrounded by adults is a pedophilic fantasy 

Uncredited image. Google "can't" turn up anything on an image search.

[Edit: a reader provided a link. It's worth a look]

This demented projection is one reason why "White Rabbit" imagery is common with both occult and pedophile networks. Not surprisingly, there is considerable overlap between the two "lifestyles".

Interesting playbill for a recent high school performance

Think about patterns - What sort of transformation has red shoes as a prize?

One old story of a witch and a journey with magical red shoes called "The Fairies' Cave at Cobo" appeared in the June 1890 edition of The Guernsey Magazine: A Monthly Illustrated Journal of Useful Information, Instruction, and Entertainment, a long-forgotten miscellany. The Band is not concerned with trying to figure out whether Baum knew of this story, or if both reflected a larger set of ideas. What is important is that it is another repetition of a pattern.

What varies is the perspective taken on the transformation. For the feminist, it is purely secular - change your attitude and people have to give you stuff. For the Theosophist, it is a positive spiritual evolution. To the Christian, it is a horrifying spiritual threat. For the Satanist?

This was the photo that seemed... off, in light of Tony's taste in art (click at your own risk) and connections to persistent and disturbing rumors. It needs to be noted that he has not actually been convicted of any crimes related to these rumors. But there's the sort of smoke that you would associate with the cross between a burning supertanker and a forest fire. 





Art collecting is a very personal hobby because art is such an emotional form of communication. One way to put it is that on some level collectors collect themselves. This is not evidence as much as pattern recognition, but consider: people who are into art are sensitive to its messages. Collectors are on the extreme edge of "into art" - not necessarily intellectually or practically, but in a material, self-defining way. No one with a healthy psyche who is sufficiently moved by art to become a significant collector could surround themselves with that much projected psychic ugliness. 

Tony Podesta's living room

Biljana, Synchronized Swimming, 2008, oil on canvas, 82 x 146 in, the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection, Washington

This is old news, conveniently memory holed 
when pizzagate was "debunked" by an actual actor firing a single shot into the floor of a DC pizza place that happened to destroy a hard drive. That all happened. 











But what about the really out there stuff, like ritual sacrifice and shoes made from human skin? Even there, there is a faint pattern. 

Margi Geerlinks is a pedophilic themed artist that Tony quite likes. Her Podesta work is almost completely scrubbed from the net. Search for "Eve II" the picture of hers that Tony donated under images. Nothing.







There is something historical that extends beyond freakish art and real Satanist pals. Hearing accounts that the Payseur family, generally considered the most important of the Cabal families, was descended from the French crown called a historical curiosity to mind. Here's Neon Revolt with the summary. King Louis XIV famously posed in red shoes in a spectacular royal portrait.

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of Louis XIV, 1702, oil on canvas, 313 x 205 cm, Palace of Versailles  

The red shoes are often commented on, but never really analyzed beyond "royal custom" or something. 

Antoine-François Callet, Portrait of Louis XVI of France, 1781, oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum 

Looking more closely, it turns out his grandson Louis XVI did as well. Louis was beheaded during the revolution, but by some accounts was the putative father of Daniel Payseur, who was brought to America. 

For what it's worth, Diderot, that icon of the Enlightenment, records that Louis XVI received shoes made of human skin, but historians have paid almost no attention to this. The material is too far out for most to take seriously. He goes on to explain how to tan human hide .

So there's that.

Ultimately, your thoughts on this will depend on whether you see the patterns, and these keep shifting as more information is released. But there is nothing in the weird symbolic history of the red shoes - its frequency or lack of critical attention - that undermines the images and facts that launched this post. If anything, the smoke is swirling a little thicker. That's enough for now. We can wrap with a couple of cases that reflect on patterns in occult imagery. The first is an heads up, the second a proof of concept.  


The Red Shoe Movement, or a warning from the pattern:

The "Red Shoe Movement" is a Latina-focused women's "empowerment" network founded by Mariela Dabbah. On first glance it just looks like a typical cash grab, but the backfround site makes little sense.

The two Louis, Anderson, and Baum are mentioned, seemingly at random and without explanation, before shifting into boilerplate about femininity and how Dabbah's insights will launch a "quantum leap in global consciousness". The history and the personality cult don't fit. Reading the site explains it - the goal is to teach women unfulfilled by the rat race that fulfillment isn't a place... it is the rat race itself that is fulfulling! And it's fabulous in red shoes. An anti-science message on sex elsewhere, and the pattern suggests less than honorable motives. 


Meet Ray, or it really only takes a whiff:

Ray Caesar is an artist Podesta could really get behind. His Iron Shoes turned up in a broad image search for the witch's last dance in the Grimm version of "Snow White", but it immediately set off an alarm bell in how it veered disturbingly from the story.

Ray Caesar, Iron Shoes, 2011, ultrachrome pigment print on Epson paper, 30 x 24 Inches

Why is the victim a child in an up-skirt pose?!?!

But the next question is 

what's up with Ray?!?!

You be the judge:

All quotes and black and white images from Ray's "about" page. Colors are from his gallery. 

This appears sincere.

























Where there's smoke...

That's enough Ray for one lifetime, barring helicopters or lampposts. To be frank, wallowing in this filth is spiritually taxing, so let's just leave it with a question: