The Esoteric Interpretation of the Movie “9”: Heralding the Age of Horus

Tim Burton’s “9” is a computer animated movie that was released on 9/9/09. While some critics claimed that the movie “lacked substance”, it nevertheless conveyed powerful messages through symbolism. It even defines a “new age” for humanity as seen by occult secret societies. We’ll look at the esoteric meaning of “9”.

Warning: Gigantic spoilers ahead!

9 takes place in a dark, post-apocalyptic world where intelligent, self-reproducing machines destroyed all life on Earth. In this desolate setting, a small relic of humanity remains: Nine rag dolls animated by a scientist’s soul. These dolls, however, are constantly targeted by the machines that are determined to eradicate anything resembling life on Earth. The dolls must therefore band together to fight and destroy these evil robots.

The above paragraph pretty much sums up the plot of 9 in its entirety – and that is probably what most viewers got out of the movie. However, like all works infused with an esoteric dimension, there is more to the movie than meets the eye. Through symbolism and references, the movie describes humanity as a whole and the transitional phase it is going through. More precisely, 9 describes the world as seen by occult secret societies and the “new age” they are all predicting: the Age of Horus or the Age the Aquarius.

Before we look at the movie, let’s look at the occult philosophy behind it.

The Age of Horus

The occult elite believes that humanity needs to go through a period of great tribulation in order for it to “purge its impurities”. According to occult writers, these “impurities” include traditional religions and governments as we know them. Manly P. Hall, a 33rd degree Freemason, describes what should happen in the next phase of humanity. We’ll later see how this fits perfectly with the vision portrayed in 9.

“The criers of the Mysteries speak again, bidding all men welcome to the House of Light. The great institution of materiality has failed. The false civilization built by man has turned, and like the monster of Frankenstein, is destroying its creator. Religion wanders aimlessly in the maze of theological speculation. Science batters itself impotently against the barriers of the unknown. Only transcendental philosophy knows the path. Only the illumined reason can carry the understanding part of man upward to the light. Only philosophy can teach man to be born well, to live well, to die well, and in perfect measure be born again.”
– Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages

The most prominent occultist of the 20th century, Aleister Crowley, stated that the last 2,000 years were the “Age of Osiris”. Osiris was the “king of the living and ruler of the dead” and his Age was characterized by strong governments and religions, notably Christianity’s “emphasis on death, suffering, sorrow and the denial of the body”. However, since the 20th century, Crowley claims that humanity entered the Age of Horus, who is the child of Osiris. In this phase, humans would learn to become their own gods.

“In plain language, the Aeon of Horus means that the Godhead is being passed down to the individual who needs to learn to activate and find the God-Within themselves. This latest Aeon sees the beginning of the end of Divine Power and authority being owned by kings, queens, religions, governments, big institutions and dictatorships, which will increasingly all begin to fail spectacularly. The individual will have the opportunity to become fully liberated, in charge of their own spiritual destiny. ”
– Paul Dunne, The Magic of the New Aquarian Age and the New Aeon of Horus

Through subtle symbolism, 9 describes the fall of authority (mainly the Christian Church) in an new era ruled by the Luciferian philosophy of obtaining godhood through one’s own powers. Using rag dolls and very little dialogue, 9 describes the basis of this occult philosophy and shows how it will prevail.

The heroes of the movie are themselves the product of an ancient occult concept: They are homunculi, “little men” artificially created through a magical process. They are the epitome of man playing God and giving life.

Homunculi

Scientist creating 9, the last of the 9 homunculi that remain on Earth.

Homunculi (Latin for “little men”) is a concept that can be found in several ancient alchemical documents. In Jewish folklore, the Golem, an animated anthropomorphic being created entirely from inanimate matter, is documented in the Talmud and the Sefer Yetzirah (there are even accounts of Kabbalist rabbis successfully animating such Golems).

For a brief moment, the movie acknowledges the occult roots of its premise:

Visible for about a half a second, the cover of this book explains the origins of the rag dolls and indicates the occult meaning behind the entire movie. You might recognize the ubiquitous symbol of the All-Seeing Eye inside a triangle. However, the title of the book is even more telling.

The title of the book, “Annuls of Percelsus”, basically tells the viewers: “This movie is based on hermetic philosophy and alchemy”. Paracelsus was one of the most renowned occultists of the Renaissance. His work in the field of Hermetism, alchemy and medicine are still thoroughly studied to this day, in practically all occult circles.

“In any matter of Realization and Ritual, Paracelsus is an imposing magical authority. No one has accomplished works greater than his, and for that very reason he conceals the virtue of ceremonies and merely teaches in his occult philosophy the existence of that magnetic agent which is omnipotence of will; he sums also the whole science of characters in two signs, the macrocosmic and microcosmic stars. It was sufficient for the adepts, and it was important not to initiate the vulgar. Paracelsus therefore did not teach the Ritual, but he practised, and his practice was a sequence of miracles.”
– Eliphas Levi, Rituel de la Haute Magie

Paracelsus’ work De natura rerum (1537) is the first alchemical work that mentions the creation of homunculi. It actually describes a technique to create a “little man” using horse dung and human sperm.

The concept of creating homunculi subsequently appeared in other seminal occult texts, such as the Rosicrucian work Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616) and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, Part 2 (a German legend about a man making a pact with the Devil). More recently, Aleister Crowley and his followers were obsessed with the creation of a homunculus (Crowley used the term “Moonchild”). Crowley even added the creation of a homunculus as a “secret instruction” when one is initiated to the O.T.O’s (an occult secret society) 10th degree.

With this reference, 9 therefore taps into a crucial part of Western Occultism.

19th century engraving depicting the creation of a homunculus from Goethe’s “Faust part II”

In 9, the rag dolls read  “Annuls of Peracelsus” and find a drawing documenting their creation. That drawing was probably inspired by the Faust engraving above.

In addition to the creation of homunculi, the movie also includes other parts of Paracelsus’ research, such as the use of magically charged Talismans, a tool Paracelsus used to treat his patients.

Understanding that the backstory of 9 is steeped in ancient occultism gives the movie’s storyline a specific color: It describes the world as seen by members of occult secret societies. The evolution of the characters in 9 tells it all.