Scooby-doo! Illuminated site!

[scottobear]

 

"SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU?" AND THE OCCULT The popular children's show "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" is warmly embraced by generations of viewers. It is seemingly a charming story about four teenagers (Fred Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy) and their lovable talking dog, Scooby-Doo, who travel around the country solving supernaturally-based crimes. These crimes inevitably turn out to be hoaxes with an occult veneer.  However, beneath this seemingly hostile attitude towards the supernatural lies a deeper core which is actually sympathetic towards the occult. An examination of the show's theme song will reveal, in fact, that it is a rather blatant attempt at invoking an ancient spirit, who possesses the group's canine companion and acts at the invoker's behest. Quite probably, this apparent conflict of interests is an attempt by the five main characters to strip away the public's misconceptions about the supernatural and to promote a positive image for the  practitioners of the occult arts.    "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" Scooby-Dooby-Doo (1), Where Are You? We got some work to do now. Scooby-Dooby-Doo, Where Are You? We need some help from you now. (2) Come on Scooby-Doo, I see you... pretending you got a sliver But you're not fooling me, cause I can see, the way you shake and shiver. (3) You know we got a mystery to solve, so Scooby Doo be ready for your act. (4) [Scooby Doo] Uh-uh Uh-uh (5) Don't hold back! And Scooby Doo if you come through you're going to have yourself a scooby snack! (6) That's a fact! Scooby-Dooby-Doo, here are you. You're ready and you're willing. (7) If we can count on you Scooby Doo, I know you'll catch that villian. (8) (1) An obvious reference to marijuana or hashish. The "doobie" is another name for the marijuana cigarette. Scooby-Doo is also a corruption of the pre-Columbian deity Xipe Totec, known as "Our Lord the Flayed One". At the end of a 52-year period, this deity's representative was castrated and flayed alive, and his skin was worn as a garment by the priest. For another reference to human sacrifice, cf. (8), below. (Note: A suggested connection to the noted performer Frank Sinatra has been found to be without merit, though the Doobie Brothers bear further investigation.)  (2) Ritual invocation of the Scooby-Doo spirit, reminding it of its obligations to the cultists; typical part of the occult invocation. (3) Acknowledgement of the presence of the spirit, which seems curiously reluctant to manifest. Possibly a psychological ploy by the spirit to increase the tribute offered to it? If so, the ploy seems to be ineffective, and a minor deviation from standard occult formulae. Another possible interpretation, however, might be that the "shaking and shivering" might be a reference to the ecstatic trance the cultists entered into.  (4) Obvious connections to the ancient pagan mystery religions (e.g. Cybele, the Eleusinian Mysteries, Orphism), where ritual dramas were re-enacted.  (5) The spirit acknowledges its presence; another typical occult feature. (6) The offer of reward to the spirit. The "scooby snack" is in all probability a small herbal cake laced with hashish (cf. note (1) above), which is sacred to the spirit. Evidence from the televised episodes indicates that these "scooby snacks" also act as a powerful euphoric/hallucinogen on humans as well, since Shaggy (the group's scapegoat/shaman) ingests them from time to time and evidences massive changes in personality.  Peyote may be another ingredient in the scooby-snack, confirming its ties to pre-Columbian mystery cults.  (7) The cultists confirm that the spirit, now propitiated, is ready to manifest itself for the benefit of the cult.   (8) A confirmation of the connection between Xipe Totec and Scooby-Doo (cf. Footnote (1)). The cult of Scooby-Doo obviously practices human sacrifice, since Scooby-Doo is expected to "catch that villain" (from MF, villein, serf or peasant). Another curious deviation from the standard is that the spirit is expected to procure his own sacrifice, who may have been targeted by the cult for this purpose. This ritual could preserve the memory of an ancient conflict between the priests of the Xipe Totec cult with a rival mystery cult.

 

WHAT'S IN A NAME? We never learn the last names of any of Scooby-Doo's friends (the Gang), which probably means that they are using pseudonyms or cult names.  "Fred Fred" is a reference to the ancient belief in the magical powers of twins; he invokes within himself the  power of the twin. An example of this kind of naming in folklore comes from the New Testament: the Apostle Thomas, called Didymus; Thomas is from an Aramaic work meaning "twin", and Didymus is the Greek word for "twin".Possibly he once had a twin brother, whom he sacrificed to enhance his own mystic abilities.  In ancient Europe, the tanist was regarded as a twin of the sacred king, possibly to be sacrificed in his place; perhaps this custom survived clandestinely until the present day? Fred Fred embodies the male principle for the group, though the manifestation of this principle is somewhat ambiguous; despite his obvious handsomeness and athletic physique, there is no hint of a sexual relationship with Daphne, the most obvious target of his affections; this might have something to do with Daphne's cult status, as discussed next.  "Daphne" is Greek for "laurel", the leaves of which were chewed by the Oracle at Delphi to invoke a prophetic trance. Daphne is obviously the High Priestess for the group, and embodies the female (but not the maternal) principle.  Thus, she might be identified with Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt.  Artemis was also the only god among the Greeks to whom humans were sacrificed (e.g. Iphigeneia, daughter of Agamemnon).  Therefore, Daphne is probably still virginal, in order to offer up human sacrifices to her savage goddess.  This explains her apparent lack of sexual interest in Fred Fred, or indeed in any male.  "Velma" is an obvious corruption of Bellona, the Roman goddess of conflict, as well as the name of the Finnish sea-goddess Vellamo, who herded cattle and raised crops on the bottom of the sea. Velma's high intelligence, aggressive tendencies, and ambiguous sexuality evoke the image of Pallas Athene as a defender of the  community.  Perhaps there is a physical relationship of sorts between Velma and Daphne, since neither of them have shown signs of seeking such a relationship with the available males of the group, Fred Fred and Shaggy.  The name "Shaggy" is descriptive of the cult's scapegoat and shaman, both of which traditionally appear in a  wild and disheveled state. Shaggy is the High Priest of the cult, and is most often the one to interpret the words of the oracular hound, Scooby-Doo.  He often partakes of the "scooby snack", and is powerfully affected by the drug's euphoric and mind-altering properties, preparatory to entering into the mystical trance in which he communes with the world of spirits. Shaggy is the sacred interpreter of the words of Scooby-Doo, being gifted with the power to understand his speech by whatever supernatural pact summoned up the creature. The twin interpretations of "Scooby-Doo" as a corruption of Xipe Totec and as a reference to marijuana have  already been commented upon. Possibly, in the light of Xipe Totec's predilection for flaying, Scooby-Doo was  in fact not a dog but a human medium who adopted (for unknown reasons) the identity of a dog, wearing the  flayed skin of a dog, acting as the vessel of Xipe Totec's spirit.  His barely-intelligible speech typical of reports of witches' familiars in the Middle Ages, who often croaked or had speech impediments not unlike Scooby-Doo's.

Comments

[peradouro.livejournal.com]

look for evil and you will find it, even if you have to make it up yourself.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

absolutely!!

Stored for comedic value.

What brings you to this weird slot in the past?

surf mode

[peradouro.livejournal.com]

sometimes when I'm looking at websites I just keep clicking links to see where I end up. doing so on a journal like yours is interesting because you have such a variety of doohickeys to play with or read. I think it's a leftover from when I used to look up words then follow the root words or synonims on to other words. I'd do the same with encyclopedias where it says "see also". so anyway I just keep clicking "previous day" while I look at other stuff or type my own journal. sorry if it weirds you out, no injury intended.

Re: surf mode

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

nah, not wearded out in a bad way, just thought it was a rather random spot in the past.

I'm glad you're enjoying the journal!