Hello, Aislings.
Today we’re going to continue our exploration of the gods as processes that loop and feed back onto themselves.
We’ve arrived, finally, at Gramail, which as everyone is aware, I view fairly dimly. Not just because I am of Deoch; but also because too often we try to substitute law and political aspirations for what I feel is missing the most from our daily lives: Deoch. Inspiration.
Angelique once said to me, “May Gramail keep you”. There are quite a few reasons why I shuddered to recall that. One is, you could be forgiven for seeing Angelique as the literal avatar of the law. And not with scales, but a flaming sword. Another is: do I want to be kept by structure? Gramail keeping me might mean wisdom - but it also means architecture.
Are we not surrounded by architecture? And what does it do for us besides slowly decay into ruins? We see this architecture all around us: politics and the law most especially. The architecture, bereft of the beating heart, the blood that fought for it and built it - has no real meaning. It has ossified, calcified to something operated for ghosts.
So in a sense: no, Gramail. Do not keep me. I shall instead remain in the fumes of inspiration, seized by the warm blood of Deoch. But as a philosopher, I similarly must recognize your importance. As we discussed last time - the bolt of lightning delivered by Luathas has a target. It breaks apart a frozen system. If we are lucky, it is not too frozen, and the strike bears fruit. And we must come to Gramail once we have understood the message of gnosis. Integration allows us to hold this message, to shape it - to let it sail into the mists of time. Integration within the law - within the architecture of our societal systems and traditions - allows this kick to the cart to be passed on to future generations.
Begrudgingly, then, I’ll admit: Gramail has a clear purpose. But this purpose can often be twisted. Architecture fed back on itself, without disruption - becomes a tomb. Whether through inactivity or dogma, the life drains from the system, the dynamism is lost. We’re left with sigils that we recognize - but they no longer make us feel anything.
I tried to think, at length, about the impact of the looping nature of the law. Wisdom fed back into wisdom. Within the domain of most of the other deities - this cycle is virtuous. Compassion begets compassion. Inspiration begets compassion. Gramail cannot be seen in such a fashion. The law, and the architecture of civilization tself, must be in service of all other domains, not superior to them. Law for the sake of the law is merely tyranny, both of spirit and in practice.
Therefore, Gramail is unusual amongst the gods. Deoch observes himself via inspiration. Glioca observes herself through compassion practiced in the world. Gramail, however, cannot simply observe the law, or systems - Gramail depends on inputs from the rest of the Octagram to integrate into the law. Law fed back onto law produces bureaucracy, stagnation, obsessions with semantics and definitions, until the structure collapses underneath its own weight. But the law and systems - fed back into themselves with kernels of understanding from around the Octagram - that produces real progress. Law that does not update itself to meet the present challenges of society and civilization quickly becomes useless, and loses all credibility. These updates may take time, however. The domain of Gramail after all being responsible for so much structure, so much architecture - cannot easily integrate change. Gramail’s domain is multigenerational. Change in the law, outside of outright revolution, rarely happens overnight. We do not wake up to sweeping new architectures. It takes time to integrate what Gramail learns through others. So he has a unique function - he must resist change, but when committed to it - must commit to it entirely, and use it to rebuild all foundations. In this way, our societies can move forward and continue to advance.
That isn’t to say Gramail doesn’t observe himself. The law after all, governs behavior. What is and is not permissible. This changes over time, and also, as a byproduct - must produce complexity. Anyone who has been a lawyer, a judge or a politician knows - whenever you make a law, there are ten people thinking about either how to carry on with what they’re doing, or how to exploit it to their advantage. These complexities yield searches for more law. In a dynamic society, law is almost always guaranteed to expand indefinitely - but there is also a scythe within time itself that cleaves away nonsense that no longer matters. In a properly governed society, the law is a self-optimizing process. On the other hand: if anyone ever encounters a truly well-governed society, this philosopher would like to be informed immediately.
Still, without Gramail: the spark doesn’t start a fire. Compassion is an isolated incident. Knowledge appears, and then vanishes. With Gramail: the spark starts a civilization. That civilization may come to encode compassion as a foundational ethic.
There is a certain irony to a Deochan saying that he recognizes the value of Gramail. But if I were to simply remain in the Deoch temple, drunkenly cavorting - would any work ever get done? Deoch inspires us but also, remember - sets us on a journey. We must embark. Gramail is there to receive our experiences along the journey and begin the long path of distilling them down into wisdom.
So: we must ensure that our messages, our wisdom, our ethics, our feelings are worth encoding into his multigenerational structure. We must be worthy of surviving across the depths of time. Gramail, given sufficient reason, will distill our journeys into wisdom, and that wisdom will be propagated. In that way, we achieve an immortality, even the mundane, that we cannot know in any other way.
Gramail, I suppose, does keep us - whether we like it or not. Gramail decides what survives. If it can be encoded within the law - within structure - it survives. It is expressed in law and architecture. And if not…it will be lost to the mists of time. And this sifting ensures our societies remain dynamic and healthy. Therefore, bring the best harvest possible to Gramail, so that one day we may drink a fine brandy and remember individual moments.
Thank you for your time today.