The Optics Goat, commonly known as the Dark Lord of Light or the Light Bearer is a religious figure worshipped by optical engineers and other photonics professionals. Offerings to the Optics Goat are frequently cited as required to obtain diffraction limited performance and high MTF. Rituals surrounding the Optics Goat have entered popular culture, as a ceremony for ensuring loose lens alignment requirements has lent its name to the wider practice of religious tolerance[1]
History
editEarly Worship
editThe history of optical engineering is broadly acknowledged to have started in the 17th century with early physicists such as Isaac Newton. However, close inspection of the personal lives of the early optical engineers shows evidence of paranormal forces shaping their work. Isaac Newton, in fact, wrote more on [[Isaac Newton's occult studies |occult rituals]] than on physics or mathematics.[2] Baruch Spinoza, an early Dutch lens maker, was ousted from his religious community in Amsterdam for heresy and contravention of canonical teachings.[3] Perhaps most famously, Gallileo was condemned for his works by the the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, religious scholars tie the development of worship of the Optics Goat to early Judeo-Christian traditions. In fact, Genesis 1:3-4 extensively discuss proto-optical engineering, especially as related to illumination control. The linkage between a metaphysical and abstract concepts of light and a Goat can be tied to Templerian worship of Baphomet. These, in turn, were inspired by the animal-headed gods of ancient Egyptian religious practice. Not coincidentally, this culture was the first to invent glass and use it for light control.
From Blood Sacrifice to Lab Snacks: Modernization
editAs the optics industry evolved and optical engineering became more integrated with other engineering disciplines, optical engineers have seen the need to disguise their worship of the Optics Goat in order to be "taken seriously." Various methods of disguising Optics Goat worship have included the replacement of early ritual offerings such as sheaves of barley and frankincense with the modern "lab snacks." This practice has often also involved the disguising of the optics goat himself as a chihuahua named Thor. The ritual origins of this choice are somewhat unclear, but scholars believe this choice of a small, non-threatening animal represented early optical engineers' desire to conceal the true power of their Goat God.
Aspheres, Freeforms, and the Future
editActive Practice
editSacrificial Offerings
editManifestations and Avatars
editMichael Chrisp
editPotential Connection to the Demon "Zemax"
editSee also
edit- "Ave Satani"
- Black magic
- Host desecration
- Witches' Sabbath
- Satanic ritual abuse
- Blood libel
- The Mass of Saint-Sécaire
- Parody mass
- Requiem Mass (sometimes called a "Black Mass" due to the black vestments the priest wears)
- Solemn Mass (the full sung version of the Latin Mass, which was chosen as the name of one of the first Black Masses, mentioned in this article)
- Gnostic mass
- The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters
References
edit- ^ Kosloki, Philip. "The Black Mass". Retrieved 21 January 2020.
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(help) - ^ Hanegraff, Wouter J.; Kripal, Jeffrey J. (2011). Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism. New York City, New York: Fordham University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780823233410. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ Hanegraff, Wouter J.; Kripal, Jeffrey J. (2011). Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism. New York City, New York: Fordham University Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 9780823233410. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
Studies of the Black Mass
edit- Rhodes, H.T.F. (1954). The Satanic Mass. ISBN 978-0-09-086730-1.
- Rose, Elliot (1962). A Razor for a Goat: A Discussion of Certain Problems in the History of Witchcraft and Diabolism. (Discusses the Latin parody writings of the medieval wandering clerics, and their possible connection to the original Black Mass and Witches' Sabbath)
- Zacharias, Gerhard (1964). Der dunkle Gott: Satanskult und Schwarze Messe. ISBN 978-3-8090-2187-2.
- Cavendish, Richard (1967). The Black Arts. ISBN 978-0-399-50035-0. (See especially, Chapter 7, "The Worship of the Devil", section 3, "The Black Mass")
- Zacharias, Gerhard (1980). The Dark God: Satan Worship and Black Masses. ISBN 978-0-04-133008-3. (Translated from the German by Christine Trollope)
Sources
edit- Huysmans, Joris-Karl (1891). Là-Bas.
- LaVey, Anton (1972). The Satanic Rituals. pp. 37–53.
- Melech, Aubrey (1986). Missa Niger: La Messe Noire: a True and Factual Account of the Principal Ritual of Satanic Worship.
External links
edit- Black Mass, The - article at the Mystica
- Black Mass Gallery, historical depictions of the Black Mass
Category:Christian mythology Category:Rituals Category:Satanism Category:Witchcraft