Accelerator's wings

[levelshift]

https://www.reddit.com/r/toarumajutsunoindex/comments/16mki9u/explaining_accelerators_wings_system_and_how_he/

“It made him look like an angel ascending into heaven. An angel who had fallen into the pit of the earth, utterly disgraced and defiled, baring his fangs toward paradise above.” -OT8

Introduction:

The setting of Toaru is an infinitely fascinating world, with a diverse cast of characters, complex world building, and a ton of unsolved mysteries. One of the most notable, being the meaning and purpose behind Accelerator’s wings. Appearing on his back whenever he is at an emotional peak or breakthrough, changing and developing along with him, and giving him further power. What is going on here?

I decided to look into this topic for fun, and potentially create a video in the future. But then it ballooned exponentially, and now, multiple months later, I am here. (Maybe I will make it into a video one day…) So, I have made some big mistakes, but I suppose I might as well share the fruits of my labour. Today we’re talking about Accelerator; specifically, the symbolism and meaning behind his wings. Trust me, it goes really, really deep.

Now, to lay the groundwork to understand Accelerator’s wings, we first need to understand Academy City, SYSTEM and its ties to the occult. The most important of which are Kabbalah, Gnosticism, Hermeticism and Aleister Crowley’s Thelema. Each of these are real life spiritual systems that have important connections and links to Academy City, its goals, and of course the meaning behind Accelerator’s wings. Let's get into it.

SYSTEM:

“Isn’t our real objective something beyond that…Hahh? ...Oh, that. What was it again? Something like, ‘Humans cannot calculate god, so we need to acquire a body that exceeds humanity before we can arrive at god's answer’, right…. Hah. Don’t make me laugh. What is all this about the ‘brain of god’?”-OT1

From the very beginning Academy City has been rooted in the esoteric and mystical. Misaka herself introduces concepts relating to God in the first volume's prologue… So what does it mean?

What Misaka is referring to is Academy City’s goal, SYSTEM, or as Komoe describes in OT 3, “one who is not a god yet reaches the will of the heavens.” Komoe also goes on to clarify that this is meant to bring a human closer to understanding God and thus the truth of the world, a state beyond level 5. Now, whether SYSTEM is level 6 or not is vague. Characters in the series have used these terms rather interchangeably (Therestina in Railgun episode 24 and Misaka's 6-shift chapter in Railgun being titled System). So Level 6 is SYSTEM right? Unfortunately, it is not so simple.

The confusion comes when Aleister mentions the concept of going beyond level 6 in OT 13:

“Beyond...Level 6?"

“If I do not, going out of the way to call Imagine Breaker in from outside would have been meaningless.” -OT13

If level 6 is SYSTEM, then does that imply that beyond level 6 is beyond SYSTEM? I think Kamachi is keeping it vague on purpose. It is even possible that most characters in the series aren’t exactly sure. I personally think there could be a distinction between level 6 and true SYSTEM. Before I explain more on this, let's continue looking deeper into what SYSTEM is.

A particularly relevant aspect of SYSTEM is its ties to Kabbalah, something Index herself notes:

“She recognized what she had just heard. Kabbalah had the concept of the Tree of Sephirot. It was a diagram with ten levels that divided up the positions of humans, angels, and God. And on that Tree of Sephirot, the crucial position of God was nowhere to be found. Ain Soph Aur, Ain Soph, Ain. 000, 00, 0. As God’s territory could not be understood by humans and the concept could not be expressed by humans, it was not shown on the Sephiroth.” OT3

To put it simply, the Kabbalah is an idea in Jewish mysticism that depicts 10 (or sometimes 11) spheres or states, with the bottom being closer to the physical world and the top closest to God. This diagram is often known as the tree of Sephirot. Each of these spheres, known as sephira, originate from the emanations of God's divine light, and contain divine knowledge and attributes:

"The light is revealed in each world by what Kabbala calls the sefirot. These are divine emanations by which G‑d reveals Himself to man and by which He conducts the worlds, as the introduction to the Zohar states, "You are He who brings forth ten…sefirot." - Chabad.org

Different ideas, angels, and other things have been symbolically placed into different parts of the tree over time as it has been studied by occultists and scholars. In a sense, like Tsuchimikado explains, it as a ranking system:

“The Tree of Sephirot is basically a ranking chart. It has the ranking of the souls of God, angels, and humans graded on a ten-step pyramid. Just think of it like that.” -OT4

Continuing, the tree doesn’t actually depict the ‘true’ infinite God itself as pointed out by Index, but represents its knowable aspects. Instead beyond the tree is the realm of zeroes, or the realm of God, who in Kabbalah is a formless, infinite and unknowable being known as the Ain Soph. The Kabbalah is often used as a means of ascending spiritually, becoming closer to God. It is important to note that many many differences in interpretation exist regarding Kabbalah, as it has been reinterpreted and recontextualised by people of different beliefs and time periods.

The top sphere in Kabbalah is Keter, which is usually the highest position one can achieve.

In the Accelerator manga, the idea of reaching Keter is directly compared to the status of reaching Level 6.

The Accelerator manga conflates level 6 and Keter numerous times.

This sets a good foundation for understanding level 6 and what Aleister meant when he talked about going beyond level 6. While Keter is usually the highest position, in the world of Toaru it is implied the goal of SYSTEM aligns with directly reaching the Ain Soph, which exists beyond the tree. Remember what Index thought when she heard System? She specifically mentions the idea of the Ain Soph, implying that SYSTEM connects with the idea of entering that territory. This is strengthened by something Qliphah states in NT22:

“We shall arrive beyond Keter! We need not fear the unknown territory that is no more than a series of zeroes!!” -NT22

Ultimately, this is what Aleister meant by wanting to go beyond level 6. He meant going beyond the sphere of Keter, into the realm of God. This is why I think the interchangeable use of level 6 and SYSTEM is misdirection by Kamachi, and it is more accurate to say that level 6 could be a major stepping stone to actually achieve SYSTEM, which is the likely reason why they are connected. Basically, while level 6 isn’t SYSTEM itself, it being Keter makes it a necessary milestone to reach before truly reaching System. Though going beyond Keter is probably not something that could be performed using the regular tree of life. I will touch on this later. Now moving onto another connection Index makes to SYSTEMs namely Gnosticism:

“A religious system had appeared to take advantage of that. Their doctrine stated that, if humans could not understand, they merely had to gain bodies that surpassed those of humans. They claimed that humans were gods in the process of being purified, so they could gain the bodies of gods and freely use the techniques of God by training themselves. They were the first mavericks of the Christian Church and they were even considered dangerous by the Apostle John.” - OT3

In short, Gnosticism is a religious group of thought that appeared during early Christianity, believing the creator of the material world to be a false imperfect and evil God known as the Demiurge or Yaldabaoth. Gnostics think that humans contain a divine spark of the true God beyond the material creator and that with the proper training they could use this divine spark to ascend, gaining divine abilities and knowledge. The end goal of this was escaping the material creator, transcending the physical world and the Demiurge to reunite with true divinity. Christians believing the creator God in the Old Testament to be the only God obviously took a big issue with these ideas.

The idea of SYSTEM also bears heavy similarities to Hermeticism, another group of religious thought sometimes counted under Gnosticism but usually kept separate.

It originated from a collection of writings dating between 300 BCE and 1200 CE that was attributed to a figure known as Hermes Trismigutsus. Hermeticism is a big deal, heavily influencing alchemy, and modern mysticism. The ultimate goal of Hermeticism is to ascend one's soul through rituals and magic in order to be reborn with a divine mind in unity with God.

"The aim of Hermetism, like that of Gnosticism (a contemporary religious-philosophical movement), was the deification or rebirth of mortals through the knowledge (gnosis) of the one transcendent God, the world, and humankind." -Britannica

This is due to a belief that humans already have a sort of divinity and godliness within them. Overall, very similar to how SYSTEM is described as: "Those who are not deities that reach the sense of the heavens.”

Something that is important and connected to Hermeticism is the alchemical concept of the ‘Great Work,’ the process of creating the philosopher's stone or the Rebis.

Introducing the Great Work, Aleister’s Magnum Opus.

Contrary to what Harry Potter may lead you to believe, the creation of the philosopher stone in Hermeticism is not necessarily just a physical one, but also a spiritual one. It is a spiritual path to attain enlightenment and transcendence, being the method of ascending one's soul to higher levels of divinity.

This idea has already been introduced into the story through Ars Magna which means Great Art in latin. It is not usually written as Ars Magna, but rather as Magnum Opus which is translated as Great Work. Though it is pretty clear that Kamachi uses Ars Magna to refer to the alchemical Great Work, due to how it's described when SYSTEM is mentioned:

“Ars Magna, Himegami muttered while touching the large cross at her chest. The man who had once used alchemy to reach Ars Magna had likely belonged to that ideology. After all, Ars Magna of alchemy was not the technique of turning lead to gold. It was the technique of sublimating a human soul that had been dulled like lead into an angel’s soul that was like gold.” -OT3

The ideas of ascending and changing the soul comes directly from ideas within Hermeticism, as well as Ars Magna being described as alchemical just like the Great Work. Essentially, Ars Magna and the Great Work are the same, and Kamachi probably chose the less common title because it sounds better as the name of a spell.

As you can see Kabbalah, Gnosticism and Hermeticism are all incredibly similar, all believing in some sort of spiritual transformation and ascension through proper practice. Many later scholars and occultists noticed these similarities and often used aspects of some or all of them. One of these being Aleister Crowley.

Aleister borrowed many of these ideas, specifically the hermetic great work and Kabbalah for Thelema. Thelema itself has its own interpretation of the Great Work, mixing ideas from these systems:

“The first condition of membership of the A.'.A.'. is that one is sworn to identify one's own Great Work with that of raising mankind to higher levels, spiritually, and in every other way.” - Magick Without Tears

Aleister believed it to be the path to attain True Will, or one's Thelema, among other things. The path of Thelema has many major and minor hurdles that someone needs to go through, more on that later. For example, one important part of Thelema is concentration, specifically the ability for one to have rapid, accurate and efficient control of thought, being able to cease something that is necessary for all espers to calculate their abilities. Though there is more to the idea of concentration in Thelema than just this.

All of these also believe in humanity containing some sort of divinity within them. Gnostics and Hermetics, to put it simply, believed that humans contained a divine spark that could be cultivated and grown. Kabbalah believes in a connection between the tree of sephirot, aka the attributes of God and the human body, as well as sometimes having its own version of a divine spark. Finally Crowley stated that man's inmost nature is in and of itself God.

The idea of this fundamental divinity connects with the ascension of one's soul through the Great Work, and the idea of spiritual growth doesn’t even end here. Attaining enlightenment in Buddhism and the realisation of Atman in some schools of Hinduism are other examples. While I won’t be touching on these too much, more parallels and comparisons can definitely be drawn.

So, what is the actual path to complete the Great Work, and how does it relate to Accelerator’s wings?

Carl Jung:

The Great Work has had many different interpretations over the years, with many different processes and steps. Kamachi has specifically chosen to take inspiration from Carl Jung and Crowley's interpretations. This is also why Izzards method was different, however the end result would be similar if not the same anyways.

The Great Work begins using something called the Prima Materia that is then changed through different steps. Different alchemists have different numbers of steps, sometimes having 4, or 7, or even 12. However, in the context of Index, only the four phases focused on by Carl Jung are included. These four steps are: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and finally Rubedo.

"The Alchemical process of transformation has four distinct stages: Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo. These stages are the framework of Jung’s characterization of the four stages of character transformation: Confession, Illumination, Education, and Transformation" - Waking Times

Each of these steps were assigned psychological meaning by the same Carl Jung. For those who don’t know, Jung was an influential psychologist and philosopher who took major influence from the concepts we’ve discussed so far, interpreting them in a more modern lens. He was even mentioned by Kamachi in Old Testament 2, when talking about Ars Magna, so it is clear that Kamachi has taken ideas from Jung.

“In the story itself, the spell Aureolus used that made everything in his head become reality was closer to the Zurich style of alchemy. This mixed the original alchemy with the psychology of Carl Jung; “doing alchemy in your head” is the gist of it.” -OT2 Epilogue.

Prima Materia, the first and pure matter, and the beginning of transmutation:

The ‘material’ used in the creation of the Great Work, known as the Prima Materia, is a formless matter considered the base of all matter. It literally translates into “First Matter.” Carl Jung interpreted the Prima Materia as being a projection of an individual's unconscious from their inner world (Source: Carl Jung on "What is Prima Materia.")

The AIM Diffusion Fields (--and Personal Realities) both link heavily into this idea of a projection of the unconscious. The AIM field is the unconscious projection created by espers from their personal reality:

https://preview.redd.it/6zz4s2nlz5pb1.png?width=394&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c80a8f5085a0a8a8b701c51b663571c1e245861

"AIM stands for ‘An Involuntary Movement’, which are things done unconsciously, without thinking about them. These AIM diffusion fields are just that—fields of energy emitted naturally from espers, kind of like body heat.” -OT6

This is exactly how Jung describes the Prima Materia. So putting these ideas together, AIM is the basis of creating a Philosopher’s Stone, the Rebis and completing the Great Work.

Mercury as also pointed out by Carl Jung (same source as above), can also be used to symbolise the Prima Materia. Mercury is an important substance in alchemy, representing the mind and being associated with the spirit. This small detail will become important later, so keep it in the back of your mind. It is also interesting to note that Prima Materia being known as the base of all matter, or the first matter, brings to mind the idea of the pure world, something AIM has an implied connection to. Maybe a topic for another day. Anyways, let's move on.

Nigredo, the painful blackening of the soul:

The first stage of the Great Work is Nigredo, the blackening of the Prima Materia. Carl Jung refers to this stage as the ‘dark night of the soul,’ acknowledging the darker aspects of oneself. This stage is often accompanied by confusion and emotional turmoil far greater than anything the individual has imagined previously (source: Carl Jung on "Nigredo".) The alchemical symbol for this stage is the raven or the crow, most interesting being their black wings. Accelerator’s own development reflects this idea. After the 6 shift experiment is shut down, Accelerator becomes contemplative and confused, questioning his morality and self. Eventually, Accelerator acknowledges the injustice of the experiment and admits to the darkness within him.

This leads into the first time the black wings fully appear, which is during the confrontation with Kihara Amata, the man responsible for Accelerator’s trauma and darkness. This being symbolic for Accelerator confronting the negative aspects within himself, making it an appropriate place for the Nigredo, or black wings to fully manifest. After this, Accelerator becomes obsessed with the archetypes of heroes and villains, referring to himself as the latter. This is him acknowledging his own darkness.

The black wings are the embodiment of this phase, showing Accelerator’s painful struggle with himself. They are also, in a more literal sense, the blackening of the Prima Materia, or AIM from Accelerator. As Accelerator begins the Great Work, his personal reality and soul begins to transform, becoming more divine and angelic. Hence why they manifest in the form of wings. The attitude Accelerator displays in this stage is characteristic of the Aeon of Osiris, which real life Crowley characterised as representing suffering.

“the second [Aeon] is of suffering and death: the spiritual strives to ignore the material. Christianity and all cognate religions worship death, glorify suffering, deify corpses.” - The Equinox of Gods.

Aiwass himself makes this point when seeing the Black Wings:

“Unfortunately, that is from the wrong rggrAEONipiregj. Your rsgPOWERnophe is from Osiris’s time. With that, you cannot truly hosefOPPOSEqierd one from Horus such as myself.” -OT19

A quick aside, isn’t it interesting that Isaac, who was trying to reach level 6, began developing some angelic features, as well as shift 6 Misaka with her halo?

Misaka on top of gaining traits from Nuit, also gains a halo.

Isaac gains wings and a symbolic (not literal) halo.

Seems like the idea of gaining angelic features as you ascend isn’t exclusive to Accelerator. Anyways, going back to the Black Wings, an important detail is how Index compares its energy to Telesma, yet notes it is distinctly different.

Introducing the Great Telesma and it’s connection to the AIM:

In OT6 the idea of Academy City and the Imaginary Number district being an artificial heaven is brought up:

“Aleister...You can’t be trying to construct an artificial heaven, can you!?”... Creating an artificial heaven...No. If you could create one using only scientific ability, you couldn’t use existing words like “heaven” or “hell” for it. It would be an entirely new world, a “phase”, for which nothing—not Kabbalah, not Buddhism, not Christianity, not Shinto, not Hindu—had a name for.” -OT6

Telesma is the divine energy that exists within another phase. The similarity between AIM and Telesma is probably due to the Imaginary Number District being an artificial heaven, where AIM replaces Telesma as the energy existing within it. Essentially, if Aleister wants to create a new “phase” or something that acts similar to a phase, he needs his own energy to perform the same function as Telesma, filling this phase with a substance that is distinct from it, yet is similar in its role, function and attributes. AIM does this for the Imaginary Numbers District. This is an idea that will be relevant later.

Divinity and Knowledge as revealed by the art of Science and Maths:

It is also important to mention how the manifestation of the wings relate to Accelerators deepening understanding of magic. This connects to the idea present in the religious systems mentioned prior, that being the need to attain esoteric knowledge to develop one's soul. Deepening knowledge is an essential part of spiritual growth. In Hermeticism and Gnosticism, the idea and importance of deepening knowledge is known as Gnosis, and climbing the Kabbalah is inextricably linked to insight and understanding. In fact, in spiritualism, mystical knowledge often relates to mathematical and scientific knowledge of the world. Many famous mathematicians like Isaac Newton also practised things like Alchemy.

One specific person I want to mention is Pythagoras, and his ideas. Yes I am going to talk about the maths guy. For the unaware, Pythagoras was not only a mathematician, but also a mystic. He and his cult, the Pythagoreans, believed that numbers and patterns and the oddities that existed within them had spiritual meaning (source: Pythagoras: The Cult of Personality and The Mystical Power of Numbers.) This is a concept Kihara Amata mentioned when seeing Accelerator’s Black Wings:

“If he had grabbed a hold of some unscientific theory, did it matter what calculations he could make? The occult. That was what appeared to be a set of irregular laws that showed themselves ever so slightly after thousands and tens of thousands of experiments and that only a researcher of Kihara’s level would know about.

(He’s achieved a new Clearance level for what he can control? What values did he input into his Personal Reality? What has he secured a method of communicating with!?)” -OT13

Pythagoreans believed that a mathematical approach to divine and spiritual matters was a method of purifying one's soul and ascending to the divine. This is why Accelerator's understanding and ability to compute magic and the divine is intrinsically connected to his ascension and the development of his wings. Accelerator could be seen to be achieving a type Gnosis, learning subconsciously and consciously the spiritual truths of reality.

This also isn’t the last time this idea comes up in relation to the Kihara’s:

“All four walls, the ceiling, and the floor were utterly covered with small writing and numbers. As she read through them one at a time, Kihara Yuiitsu shook her head. That writing could easily smash all of human civilization four or five times over. She had her doubts about how much that uneducated guard had understood, but he seemed to have instinctually grasped that it would reject the world he lived in. And that shock had caused him to pass out.” -NT15

The Kihara’s sheer scientific and mathematical knowledge is continuously reaffirmed to be higher level, almost mystical in what it reveals about reality. In addition, this connection between mathematical/scientific understanding and the occult relates to a Thelemic concept I will mention later.

Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel:

Before moving on to the second step, it is important to bring up the first important event in the path to attaining one's true will in Thelema, this being a discussion of one's Holy Guardian Angel. This is an important event, allowing for an individual to learn more about their true will or Thelema:

"This entity which was the Exempt Adept has been built up in years of unremitting toil, as worthy Workshop wherein the Great Work should be accomplished. It has moreover been sanctified and glorified by the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. -Magick Without Tears

Accelerator completed this event when talking to the Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass in OT19. Here Aiwass offered important guidance to Accelerator, revealing information on Academy City, Last Order and directing him to Russia, where he will realise the next step of the Great Work.

Albedo, the blissful purification and cleansing of one's soul.

After Nigredo comes the Albedo stage, also known as the Whitening. This stage focuses on purification in order to reach clarity and involves removing one’s inflated ego from the psyche (source: Psychological Alchemy - Albedo.) The alchemical symbol for this stage is the dove or swan, birds with white wings. Accelerator unlocks this after his rematch with Touma where Touma acts as the purifier, removing the Nigredo. Here Accelerator's obsession with his shadow and ego are removed, and the impurities of labels like heroes and villains are destroyed.

Accelerator is now capable of self actualisation himself, and begins the road to realising his Thelema. Touma (The one who purifies Gods and Slays Demons) purifies Accelerator (the One Who Wields the Power of God) and slays his inner demons. Accelerator fully manifests his white wings when protecting without worrying about his morality, starting his path to follow his True Will. The clarity is represented by his ability to remain in control of this power, as opposed to the black wings which he couldn’t control. Most importantly, it signals Accelerator finally entering the Aeon of Horus, beginning a new journey. Ultimately, the Prima Materia or AIM is purified, whitening, just like his wings.

“That was his transformation. With that mental change, he became a source that spewed forth a unique power into the real world.” - OT22

In the light novels, a unique power is mentioned when he transforms. This is the transformed AIM from Accelerator and the Sisters network, which is the invisible power that is often mentioned along with his wings.

Citrinitas, wisdom and individuality through discovery and learning. The Solar Dawn of the soul:

The next stage of the Great Work is the Citrinitas. It is the part usually in between Albedo and Rubedo, though sometimes removed by Alchemists. It is connected to an individual becoming wiser and building connections between the world and others. Here they gain a sense of originality and a higher level of awareness, focusing on education and learning (sources: Jung's Four Stages of Character Transformation & Carl Jung Four Stages of Alchemy.) Accelerator develops through this stage in NT, using his new found clarity to gain a sense of place within the world, and wisdom to not repeat the mistakes he has made previously.

When Accelerator leaves Academy City for Britain, he uses it as an opportunity to educate himself. Accelerator gains a deeper knowledge of the world, and uses his experiences to empathise and relate to Qliphoth Puzzle 545, building personal connections. Accelerator choosing to learn magic connects to this stage and the probationer grade within Thelema, which comes from a student's pursuit of self-knowledge. Coronzon calls him this during NT22:

“You partially installed the power’s directionality into the calculations for your power? Tch. That is the number 11 which exists in the Qliphoth yet is not an imaginary number. Is that the guide to the upside-down tree I built? This awkward product of science has insolently reached the level of Probationer!?” -NT22

Him becoming Board Chairman is the ultimate symbol of his growing wisdom and connection with the world. Here Accelerator will now need to navigate the world in new ways, dealing with his new responsibilities. This is him separating his path from Touma, and instead of trying to replicate what he does, he finds a new original path, becoming more of an individual. While the wings may be platinum rather than yellow, when Aiwass first manifest them, the colour gold, often associated with Citrnitas, is mentioned:

“They were not simply gold coloured. They were a palely glowing platinum that had a white core. ...That wasn’t quite accurate, but it was how Accelerator expressed it in his brain.” OT19

Perhaps as Accelerator becomes wiser and more knowledgeable they will become yellower, or alternatively this is just a creative choice Kamachi made. The stage of Citritinas does refer to the stage where silver becomes Gold. Perhaps the yellowy-platinum look is in reference to this aspect of it. The important part is that kamachi specifies the colour yellow when talking about the platinum wings, keeping with the colour themes of the Great Work. With this stage, Accelerator continues his Thelemic path. The crossing of the abyss is considered to be another major part needed to be achieved in Thelema and its Great Work, along with the gaining of kabbalah knowledge being a minor milestone. As we know Accelerator completed this when implanting Clonoth into the world.

Clonoth, the tree of the Aeon of Horus created from the emanation and divine light of the individual:

Speaking of Clonoth, the importance of the Misaka network in Accelerator’s development has been vague up until this point. Aside from possibly supplying more AIM and, the invisible energy Accelerator uses and calculation power. But now NT22 clarified that Clonoth and the Sisters Network are one and the same:

“Yes. It had been with him from the very beginning. It had been invisible, but it had been there supporting the strongest Level 5’s power. It branched out into countless individuals, but it could be wielded as a single great whole. The invisible third tree. The large data entity constructed by the brains of the military clones linked by EM waves.” NT22

The reason why the wings manifest when connecting to the network is most likely due to Accelerator’s ascension of the tree ever since he connected to the Misaka network. This is because, AIM, in a sense, is its own divine energy, similar to Telesma. I mentioned this idea earlier if you recall.

In regular Kabbalah, the sephirot and the tree are created from the emanation of God's (aka the Ain Soph) light, which Hermes Trismegistus called the ‘Great Telesma’.

"WE have spoken at length of a substance diffused through infinity, the single substance which is heaven and earth, that is, volatilised or fixed, according to its different degrees of polarisation. This substance is what Hermes Trismegistus calls the Great Telesma. When it produces refulgence, it is called light. This is the substance which God created before all things, when He said, Let there be Light!" - Mysteries of Magic by Eliphas Levi.

Instead of the energy coming from God however, AIM is emanated from the individual espers, including the Sisters. This combined energy is what created the artificial phase known as the Imaginary Numbers District. On the other hand, the emanation and AIM from the sisters is what forms the Clonoth. This is similar to how God’s emanating light, aka the Great Telesma, forms the Tree of Sephirot. Remember when Index said Accelerator’s wings were made from something similar to Telesma? Yeh.

Aleister is using AIM as a multifaceted tool, one fit for transmutation, creation of phases like the Imaginary Number District, as well as the creation of a third tree. Whether this means that phase Telesma and the Great Telesma that creates the regular trees are the same is debatable. However it shouldn’t matter regardless, as AIM is a similar yet unique substance, and was probably made to specifically fit different needs.

Anyways, these ideas are why Misaka’s forceful connection to the network began her level 6 transition, where she was filled with AIM energy from the network to ascend. Just like angels are filled with Telesma, filling someone with AIM is probably another means of ascending and gaining power. This is somewhat demonstrated through Sasha Kreutzev gaining unique traits due to the residual Telesma left within her after Angel Fall. Accelerator having the aptitude to contain this much energy is probably the reason he can reach level 6, as other level 5’s would self-destruct.

This is similar to how regular magicians can only contain so much Telesma, with some like saints and God's Right seat being able to take more. Both AIM and Telesma share similar risk when taking too much in. This can be seen when analysing what happened to Acqua. Acqua permanently damaged his body after taking in Telesma from Gabriel:

“Under the dark blue sky and shining full moon, Acqua began absorbing the enormous Telesma of the angel. Power flowed into him from every pore on his body. This amount of energy could not be tolerated by a human’s body. Just like how a fan could only suck in a predetermined amount of air. If you forcefully tried to take in more than your limit, the consequences would be dire. Blood started pouring out from his legs and chest.”- OT21

Misaka who had no control of her intake, and probably less aptitude than Acqua would logically suffer a harsher consequence then he did, going beyond permanent damage to self destruction. These common attributes between them is something Kamachi has set up for a long time, and has massive implications. Moving on, the exact details of how Clonoth relates to the other trees, if it is different or achieves the same purpose as climbing the Sephiroth, is hard to know given that Clonoth seems to be an Index original idea. Based on what we know however, this is the most likely purpose for the sisters network other than providing calculations to Accelerator.

Accelerator, Academy City’s new Master of the Temple:

Another interesting detail is that in Thelema, crossing the abyss is connected to the 8=3 grade, the third highest grade possible. This grade so happens to be known as Magister Templi, meaning Master of the Temple:

“It is most necessary that you should understand what happens when one goes from Adeptus Exemptus 7 = 4 to Magister Templi 8 = 3. As you see from a glance at the Tree of Life, this advance entails the Crossing of the Abyss” - Magick Without Tears

Academy City is heavily implied to be its own Temple, based on Aleister's original temple of Thelema. It is even directly called an alternatively shaped temple:

“My plan has failed again. I will give you the alternatively-shaped temple known as Academy City.” - NT17

Soon after Accelerator crossed the abyss becoming 8=3, he became the master of this Temple, a Magister Templi. Oddly fitting, isn’t it? With Accelerator crossing the abyss, and implanting Clonoth, came a new level of power similar to Holism. Now, why does Clonoth give him abilities similar to a holistic esper?

Understanding the intrinsic union behind the Macrocosm, the whole, and the Microcosm, the individual:

In Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism and Thelema, the development of one's soul leads to a higher understanding of the universe, both the spiritual and material aspects. This is because the inner soul is a microcosm of the macrocosmic universe, as they are considered mirrors of each other.

"With the idea of God's Creation of the universe, the concept of man as a microcosm flourished in Scholasticism. Thomas Aquinas explained that man exists in a level between the angelic and the animal realm, or between the spiritual and physical realm. In other words, he conceived the human being as a microcosm that encapsulates the entire cosmos by containing both spirituality and materiality. " - New World Encyclopaedia: Microcosm and Macrocosm.

"The microcosm is an exact image of the Macrocosm; the Great Work is the raising of the whole man in perfect balance to the power of infinity." - Magick in Theory and Practice.

Simply put, the individual is considered to be a smaller version of the universe, the planets, and sometimes even God. A microcosm of the whole macrocosmic world. This is a fundamental connection. Accelerator, using his higher knowledge, implants Clonoth to affect the macrocosm, which in turn affects the microcosm of Coronzon’s body. This is explicitly stated in NT22:

“The microcosm of the body and the macrocosm of the planet were linked. When something happened to one, it affected the other. That theory was usually applied to use the micro as a way of moving the macro. To put it extremely simply, refining magic power in the body and moving the arms or legs would distort the larger physical world and produce flames or ice from the hand. But this monster was different. He used the macro as a way of moving the micro.” -NT22

Essentially this quote implies that regular espers and magicians use the refinement of power within their bodies to distort the macrocosmic universe, while a holistic esper inverts this by affecting the macrocosmic universe to distort the microcosmic human body. This goes back to Thelema, as Aleister states in Magick Without Tears that the Great Work is a way to unite the soul with the microcosm and the macrocosm.

Basically the more knowledge you have on yourself and spirituality, the more you can learn about the universe. These ideas are also present within the other belief systems I have mentioned. Accelerator’s development through the Great Work and his deepening understanding of the universe is why he can use this ability.

Phases, Planes, and Accelerator’s growing insight:

Now, another small detail I should mention regards the phases, or as occultists in real life know them as, planes. Let me explain. In different occult practices, like Rosicrucianism, parts of Hermeticism, and Thelema exist the concept of planes, that are a type of veil beyond the typical physical world.

"Each plane is a veil of the one above it; the original individual Ideas become diversified as they express their elements. " -Magick in Theory and Practice.

There is a lot of extensive and conflicting information on planes, and so I will only be going into how it relates to phases. Honestly, it could be its own analysis in and of itself.

There are often considered to be several major planes, with larger planes encapsulating other sub-planes. Aleister in Magick in Theory and Practice said that within the greater umbrella of the Astral plane, are many other planes. He said that there is a corresponding plane for every religion that existed past and present, much like how there is a phase for every religion in Index:

"There are also a number of sub-planes, as, for example, the Alchemical." - Magick in Theory and Practice.

"The are also planes corresponding to various religions past and present, all of which have their peculiar unity" -Magick in theory and practice.

He even said that there exist planes for every parable, fable, folk-lore, country, creed and literature, also fitting in with how Toaru implies that there are phases corresponding to things like the lovecraftian mythos, with the Forgotten God, and other magic based off it. The idea of planes being veils is also similar to how phases are described as paint over a canvas.

Magick in theory and practice continues by mentioning that within planes can exist unique formless inhabitants, similar to how beings can exist within phases:

"Let the Magician therefore adventure himself upon the Astral Plane with the declared design to penetrate to a sanctuary of discarnate Beings" -Magick in Theory and Practice.

These planes can even interact and affect each other just like phases. Specifically, in the Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception by Mark Heindel, the concept that different planes can interpermeate each is brought up:

"It must be kept in mind that the Worlds and Cosmic Planes are not one above another in space, but that the seven Cosmic Planes interpenetrate each other and all the seven Worlds. They are states of spirit-matter, permeating one another, so that God and the other great Beings who are mentioned are not far away in space."

The most interesting evidence is how planes are conceptualised as being numerous densities and vibrations, somethin Tsuchimikado directly describes in he introduces the concept in OT4:

“It’s the ultraviolet rays in comparison to infrared light, and low-frequency waves compared to high-frequency ones. They’re of opposite phases. They just have different wavelengths, but they’re all the same waves. So normally, if an angel were standing next to a demon, neither of them would realize it. They would have to interfere with the wavelength in between heaven and hell, or Earth.” -OT4

In science, waves are simply defined as a type of vibration relating to energy, which fits how phases themselves are composed of unique energy. This even connects to a newer age occult belief known as the principle of vibrations, which states that planes are nothing more than different undetectable vibrations:

"And these degrees form what occultists call "Planes." The higher the degree of rate of vibration, the higher the plane, and the higher the manifestation of Life occupying that plane. So that while a plane is not "a place," nor yet "a state or condition," yet it possesses qualities common to both." - The Kybalion.

To nail my point in, the Japanese name for phases, Iso, also refers to waves. Basically, planes in occult are known as vibrations, waves are vibrations, and phases, or Iso, means waves. This shows a deliberate and intentional connection between them. Even the idea of a material/physical plane exists that sounds similar to Toaru’s pure world. The idea of planes relates to the Thelemic Great Work, as Crowley said that experiencing these Astral Planes is an important aspect of the process.

The concept is that an experienced and knowledgeable enough magician, sometimes one who is processing the Great Work, can learn to experience or sense these planes, gaining value from them. This is even implied by Tsuchimikado in OT4:

“Heaven may not seem to the untrained eye to have any point of contact with Earth, but depending on the time and place, it can still have effects on Earth.”

He seemingly implies that a trained eye could detect it. Now, when Accelerator unlocked his Platinum Wings, something interesting is stated:

“Something else overlapped the world Accelerator could see.”

There is a chance that what he saw was the Imaginary Number District. This means, like how Crowley described, through experiencing and learning, he was able to perceive a higher plane. Back in OT6, it is stated that the Sisters were spread across earth to connect the rest of the world to the Imaginary Number District:

“The scheme had clearly been successful. In reality, the various Church factions, not least of all the Anglican Church, had not noticed that the Sisters had been distributed outside the city walls. And even if they had, they wouldn’t be able to grasp its importance. They wouldn’t think of it as anything more than the cleanup for one of the city’s private problems.” -OT6

“Its esper development would expand to a global scale, and once everyone in the world had awakened to esper powers, the entire world would be covered with AIM diffusion fields. The Imaginary Number District, too, would blanket the whole world, having been limited to only Academy City.” -OT6

So it makes sense that it appears outside of Academy City, and seen in an event heavily connected to the network. There is a chance this could just be Clonoth, but even then, Clonoth is most definitely connected to the Imaginary Number District with both being made of AIM and both being connected to the Sisters, so it could even be both. Accelerator perceiving this as he progresses through the Great Work, and gains knowledge of the divine, matches the ideas present in Thelema. Maybe in the future we may see this idea come up again or be further developed.

Yeh, it’s getting pretty complicated, so I think it is better if we finally move on to the final stage.

Rubedo, the completion of the Great Work, the realisation of the Self, ones Thelema. The wholeness of the soul

Anyways, you may have noticed that only the first 3 stages of the magnum opus have appeared in the series so far, despite there being 4 stages. But what if I told you that the fourth stage has already been foreshadowed? First let's get into what the fourth stage is.

Now it is finally time to get to the final step of the Great Work, that being Rubedo the redness.

Being the final and most important stage, it rightfully symbolises the wholeness and completion of the Great Work, the creation of the philosophers stone, and finally reaching gold. It completely merges the self with the ego, creating the self archetype, and finding one's true nature. To make it more simple, Aleister believed it to be the completion of one's True Will, or their Thelema:

"What you want now is to learn how to apply the knowledge and power that you have gained to the execution of your True Will, to accomplishment of the Great Work." -Magick Without Tears

The result of the process creates a new personality and internal conflict should be diminished. It can be both chaotic and peaceful. While vague, this fits the direction of the story and Accelerator’s character, finally fully understanding himself, and achieving peace. Something interesting to note is that the alchemical symbol for this stage is the phoenix, red wings representing rebirth.

The red wings have already been foreshadowed in NT6:

“He stomped on the ground and controlled that vector to jump straight up into the air. By the time he reached the height of the arena-like upper level, he could already feel something writhing on his back. They were likely wings. Those wings could be either black or white, but the wings that would burst out in another second would probably be dyed in a color more grotesque than any anyone had ever seen.” -NT6

On top of this, the previous generation esper from the Mental Out manga is capable of manifesting red aurora like wings:

https://preview.redd.it/81rojvxz06pb1.png?width=915&format=png&auto=webp&s=3b8404d7a523bdf458aa8846de8efee2ebb97de3

In addition, the previous generation seems to suffer recoil in a similar, albeit far smaller scale then Accelerator does when using his Platinum Wings.

https://preview.redd.it/4v1pjyd816pb1.png?width=964&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee0de6b3abf188a984cf2f9f2cb615fb28565db1

I will leave whether that is a coincidence or not to your imagination.

Now, since this stage is yet to appear in the series, it is difficult to say exactly how Kamachi will integrate it into the story. Given how this stage is associated with Gold, perhaps that colour will be integrated into the design, and maybe that is why Kamachi decided not to use yellow for the platinum wings. Anyways, there has been a lot of information, so I think it is an appropriate time for a recap.

Recap:

To quickly summarise the main points, Accelerator is going through the process of The Great Work, also known as Ars Magna. This is the process of going through four stages of transmutation, Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo. The Great Work, as pointed out by the series, is the process of transforming a human soul into an angel.

The process of the Great Work is also important in Thelema, being a way to achieve one's True Will, and gain a deeper connection to the universe, the microcosm and the macrocosm and God. This ascension is not only connected to the Great Work, but also linked to his ascension of the tree, becoming closer and closer to the divine and Godhood.

This obviously reflects Accelerator's development, first confronting his Nigredo, then purifying it to reach Albedo, gaining knowledge to awaken Citrinitas, and in the future completing the work and finding his true self. The colours of the wings reflect this, with AIM, or Prima Materia, being transmuted into the colours black, then white, then yellowish, and eventually red. This transmutation isn’t only limited to the AIM, but also Accelerator’s soul, which becomes more angelic and divine as he goes through the process, hence why the transmuted AIM appears in the form of wings. Speaking about this, remember when I brought up how Mercury is associated with the Prima Materia earlier?

Wings of Mercury? Maybe.

Let me quickly introduce Samael Aun Weor, a controversial occultist of more recent times. Quite fitting for the series given the occultist already introduced. Anyways, this guy essentially combined a lot of ideas from different spiritual traditions, like many occultists did. He primarily believed that humanity's purpose is to become God, a being filled with great power and the knowledge of all systems work. His teachings rolled the Greek god Hermes and Mercury into one, drawing upon some similarities between them. The material mercury is the personification of these Gods.

The important thing about this however is one of his quotes: “The wings of Mercury elevate us to the world of gods.”

If you remember, mercury is associated with Prima Materia, which is AIM, which is what is transmuted to create Accelerator’s wings. In other words, this idea, the idea of wings of Mercury elevating someone to the world of Gods, related to Accelerators AIM wings, and his angelic soul, bringing him into the territory of God. In fact, mercury in regular alchemy is associated with the transition of base metals into gold (source: The 22 Main Symbols of Alchemy Symbols and Their Meanings), which we know isn’t a literal transformation, but rather the spiritual transformation. It is even an androgynous substance in alchemy, which matches Accelerator's own androgyny.

So this idea of mercury being associated with transformation applies in standard alchemy and Samael Aun Weor’s one. In a sense, Mercury gives us wings so we can reach the Gods. Very fitting for Accelerator and his divine ascension, wouldn’t you say? Now moving on.

Remaining small steps and details:

It is important to remember, that there are still a few smaller steps left in Thelema, with the biggest one being the City of Pyramids and Night of Pan, something that happens after crossing the abyss. This is giving oneself to a being known as Babalon, and without going into detail, it gets very weird. I won’t describe it, but feel free to research it on your own, and I umm wonder how Kamachi will write that one if he includes it. Another important aspect of Thelema is the invocation of deities and spiritual beings (source: Thelemapedia). Accelerator as of late has been constantly calling in both Puzzle and Kazikiri. Interesting to think about isn’t it? So what does this all mean? What is the meaning behind Accelerator completing the Great Work, gaining more knowledge, climbing the trees, and ascending spiritually?

The purpose and meaning behind Accelerator’s development:

So far, I have talked about the process itself, but what does the actual completion of this really mean? The completion of the great work and the ascension of the soul can have many different meanings, in different spiritual traditions, and especially in the context of Toaru.

In kabbalah, the ultimate goal is to achieve understanding of the self and God through studying and climbing the tree. Achieving the reunification of human will with the divine (source: The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah, Kabbalah.info). In Gnosticism the goal is to reunite with the true god above the Demiurge through attaining knowledge (source: Gnosticism World History). In Hermeticism the goal is to gain personal knowledge of God and reach divine unity with God, a rebirth of a mortal into a kind of deity (source: Hermeticism, Knowing the Bible & Traveling Templar: Introduction To Hermeticism.) Finally the goal of completing the Great Work in Thelema is the discovery of one's True Will, and ultimately the union with the Microcosm and Macrocosm, the universe, and God:

"The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego." Magick Without Tears.

This is SYSTEM.

In essence, it is the ascension and transmutation of the human soul and its inherent divinity through the process of gaining knowledge, climbing the Kabbalah, following one's Thelema, and achieving the Great Work. Through its completion, it allows a mere human to gain divine knowledge, coming to understand the universe, God, and oneself. Essentially, full knowledge over the system of the world. Ascending someone to a type of godhood, into the realm of the Ain Soph.

The wings represent Accelerator’s spiritual and literal transformation, and are quite literally associated with ascending. And as I mentioned earlier, the Wings of Mercury, or AIM, can bring someone to the territory of Gods. As a reminder, all of these bear incredibly close similarities to the goal of the System, "Those who are not deities that reach the sense of the heavens."

As such, the completion of the Great Work, and the complete ascension of one's soul, is most likely the completion of SYSTEM. This is why Kamachi brought up the Great Work, Gnosticism and Kabbalah when initially discussing SYSTEM and what it is. This is Aleister’s plan for Accelerator, and the reason behind why his wings exist. Ironically, the level 6 shift project never ended, but rather kept going through an alternate/better path. Accelerator’s ability to go beyond level 5 is probably the reason he was selected.

Calculation, and the development of the ‘Brain Of God.’

Also, remember when I mentioned the spiritual aspects of numbers and mathematics? Well, Aleister Crowley himself wrote about this concept in relation to God, specifically writing that “God is the great Arithmetician.” He then went on to explain that we need to understand God according to these mathematical ideas:

“God is the Great Arithmetician.” “God is the Grand Geometer.” It is best therefore to prepare to apprehend Him by formulating our minds according to these measures. - Magick in theory and practice.

This is why calculations are an essential aspect of achieving SYSTEM, with espers being required to understand the Universe and God through mathematics. This is the importance behind Accelerator learning to understand the universe and calculate magic.

This goes back to ideas in OT1, like calculating God, and the Brain of God. These were mentioned by Misaka when she first introduced the concept of SYSTEM. Probably not a coincidence. In terms of what this could actually do, I think it is relevant to take a look at what a complete Ars Magna was stated to be in OT2. Also a reminder that Ars Magna and the Great Work are the same thing.

The power of the Magnum Opus, perfected Ars Magna:

“The power to warp the world into whatever you want—it was the ultimate objective of alchemy, and no one has yet accomplished it. Didn’t Stiyl explain that to him before?” OT2

Stiyl initially explains it as the ability to warp the world however you want, much like a God.

“If one can understand every law of the world, one could create a perfect simulation in their brain. Of course, if even a single law is wrong, the internal image would be distorted.” OT2

He then says if you were able to understand every law in the world, you are able to create a perfect simulation in the brain. This is similar to how the process of the Great Work, the climbing of the Kabbalah, the gaining of knowledge in Hermeticism and Gnosticism and the completion of Thelema are linked to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the universe and God.

“Bringing something you picture in your mind into the real world, such as ectoplasm or an image using Telesma to summon an angel, isn’t really an unusual method in the world of magic.” Stiyl folded his arms. “Therefore, the power to imagine an accurate world has huge consequences. In simple terms, you’d be able to use everything in the world like your own hands and feet, even gods and devils.” - OT2

This is similar to the connection between the Microcosm and Macrocosm, where human bodies are mirrors of the larger universe. As all espers and magicians do, the distortion of the human body through either AIM or mana creates a macrocosmic distortion. We understand that this ability is heightened through the Great Work, as Accelerator is able to reverse this process with his Platinum Wings, distorting the Macrocosm to effect and individuals Microcosm.

To recall, Aleister in real life mentioned that the completion of the Great Work is the unification of the Microcosm and Macrocosm, which is what Stiyl is referring to here. Where everything in the universe can be used as if it was a part of your body. Essentially, the microcosm, the person, and the macrocosm, the universe, become one.

“It was really only something like humans being an incomplete version of God, so if a human was to train and become “complete”, then he could become a god. Obviously that all sounds like a mess of cultic hubbub, but as you can see the term “God” in there, you can tell that Christian culture got mixed into alchemy.” -OT2

Finally, Kamachi at the end of the volume directly mentions some Hermetic and Gnostic ideas, which obviously connects to the Great Work and alchemy. As I mentioned before, both of these believe in humans containing a divine spark, and that through training, we can become more godlike and divine. Slight differences exist, Gnostics believe the body is a cage that must be escaped, like mentioned in NT22, while Hermetics took a more neutral position on the material world. Both of these faiths believed however that this divine spark, can lead to the raising of the soul, and either become a God or become united with God.

This goes for Kabbalah and Thelema as well. Regardless, the completion of Ars Magna aka the Great Work is connected to achieving Godhood, like SYSTEM. The need to simulate the universe in one's mind directly links to SYSTEMS concept of the brain of God. What I mean is the ability to simulate the entire universe, is comparable to omniscience, a divine ability associated with God. In essence, you need to gain the brain of god to perform this simulation, demonstrating just how Ars Magna and SYSTEM really connect. The knowledge gained through progressing through the Great Work and Kabbalah is probably important to reach this.

Calculation, simulation through personal reality.

So, looking more into the whole idea of simulating the universe, you might begin to see some connections. Specifically, it ties to how espers need to calculate to change and distort reality.

Think about it. Espers are gifted with higher calculation power then a normal person. They need to mentally simulate the very complex changes by calculating everything they do with maths. Maths in a sense is what we use to describe and predict reality. A simulation of it, you could say. This calculation ability is the simulation of the world within the microcosm, a person's body, to distort the macrocosm, the universe. An esper simulates a small part of reality within themselves when making calculations, and they are able to bring out this personal reality into the real world. They bring out the microcosm to affect the macrocosm in a way.

This is starting to sound similar to Idol Theory, you know, the foundation of magic and power for magicians within the series. The thing where a replica of something is able to retain a portion of the magic power of the original. Here it seems to be reversed, where espers create an imitation of reality within themselves, and that accurate simulation distorts the real version. Stiyl actually describes this exact thing, remember one of the quotes I used earlier?

“Bringing something you picture in your mind into the real world, such as ectoplasm or an image using Telesma to summon an angel, isn’t really an unusual method in the world of magic.” -OT2

This is one of the ways espers connect with the magic side. They are performing a type of idol theory, however instead of basing it on pre-existing religions or mythologies, they are basing it on their personal reality. Fitting for the Aeon of Horus, wouldn’t you say?

A completed Great Work, or a completed System would be this simulation on a universe wide level, aka, achieving the Brain of God. This would in theory allow Accelerator to simulate the entire universe, maybe even including the phases, and the trees, within his mind, thus being able to control it as if it was an extension of his body. Basically Izzards Ars Magna on a large scale. A perfect Ars Magna.

While Izzard chose a roundabout method to achieve an incomplete Ars Magna, Accelerator has taken the full process, enlightening himself, purifying his soul, and gaining complete knowledge on the Kabbalah and universe. This is why Accelerator will succeed in a perfect Ars Magna where Izzard did not.

Accelerator’s ability for higher calculations than normal espers is of course also related to why he can do this. Wait a second, why Accelerator of all people? Why was he chosen out of all espers? Why is he gifted with such great abilities?

Accelerator’s natural affinity and talent:

I mean, I guess Accelerator’s appearance is similar to the depiction of Jesus in the book of revelations, having white hair and red eyes:

"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire." Book of revelations.

That could be a sign of a divine connection. Speaking about his appearance, the completion of the Great Work creates the Rebis, which is sometimes considered to be the final product along with the Philosopher's Stone. The Rebis is a symbolic depiction of the union between opposites, including male and female qualities. (source: Rebis: the Result of the Great Work in Alchemy.)

Accelerator has been stated to be androgynous, with their gender remaining canonically unknown:

“It’s just that my power’s too strong. My hormones are out of balance or somethin’ because there’s barely any outside influence, so now I’ve got this androgynous body.” -OT3

This itself could be another reference to not only the Alchemical Great Work, but also the Ain Soph, which is also a union of male and female.

Considering this with his title “The One Who Wields The Power Of God,” it becomes clear that Accelerator probably has a natural affinity to reach SYSTEM. That seems to be the reason he is gifted with great powers as well as the ability to go beyond level 5.

The importance of Clonoth in his process of reaching this state shouldn’t be overlooked either. It is a third tree made outside of God, instead created by humans. This will probably play a major part in how Accelerator achieves SYSTEM. A third tree that is outside of God, created instead by humans, probably operates outside of the usual rules and limitations. Maybe even using it to go beyond the restrictions of the sephirot, go beyond Keter and enter the realm of zeroes known as the Ain Soph. I speculate that this could potentially allow Accelerator, with his new powers, to take control of the world's System as a new human born God, finally being able to change the systems of the world that Aleister detest so much.

I mean as I said, Accelerator already has God symbolism all over him, on top of now being the board chairman. In a sense, he is the God of Academy City now, a God over the artificial heaven constructed by Aleister, and a God of a new, pure world. This process will most definitely be connected with Touma in some way, but maybe something else lies in store for Kamijou, the One Above God. Only time will tell how things turn out.

Kamachi is insane:

Now that I am coming to the end of the theory, I should probably address an interesting fact. You may have realised that I used a lot of quotes from old testament 3 in this volume, and that is because most of this information was foreshadowed all the way back in Accelerator’s introductory volume. Ascending the Kabbalah and its similarities to System was mentioned:

“She recognized what she had just heard. Kabbalah had the concept of the Tree of Sephirot. It was a diagram with ten levels that divided up the positions of humans, angels, and God. And on that Tree of Sephirot, the crucial position of God was nowhere to be found. Ain Soph Aur, Ain Soph, Ain. 000, 00, 0. As God’s territory could not be understood by humans and the concept could not be expressed by humans, it was not shown on the Sephiroth.” - OT3

The idea of Gnosticism, purifying one's soul, ascending to understand God, and the ideas link to SYSTEM:

“A religious system had appeared to take advantage of that. Their doctrine stated that, if humans could not understand, they merely had to gain bodies that surpassed those of humans. They claimed that humans were gods in the process of being purified, so they could gain the bodies of gods and freely use the techniques of God by training themselves. They were the first mavericks of the Christian Church and they were even considered dangerous by the Apostle John.” -OT3

Even the idea of the Great Work, which is referred to as Ars Magna, and how it can transform a human soul into an angelic one. I mean, this literally alludes to the idea of Accelerator manifesting angelic traits through going through the Great Work:

“The man who had once used alchemy to reach Ars Magna had likely belonged to that ideology. After all, Ars Magna of alchemy was not the technique of turning lead to gold. It was the technique of sublimating a human soul that had been dulled like lead into an angel’s soul that was like gold.” -OT3

Hell, there is literally a line that directly mentions Accelerator’s wings during his battle with Touma:

“The white boy laughed insanely as he crouched on the ground like a demon about to grow wings.” -OT3

Unrelated but there is also a line comparing Touma’s movements to a serpent. Take that knowledge as you will….:

“Accelerator tried to grab the fist that was stabbing in at his face, but the smooth serpentine movements of Kamijou’s hand prevented him from doing so.” -OT3

It is crazy to think how all these concepts were brought up back when he was introduced, and over 50 volumes later we are still seeing the development of these ideas.

Accelerator’s story, in essence, is one of an angel, who committed a great sin, fell, and then repented, struggling and struggling to regain his divinity, and in the process, discovering new fundamental truths of the world, and learning more about himself. With this, he takes on new responsibility, becomes wiser, and eventually rises higher than he ever did, reaching Godhood, and changing the System of the world that allowed those tragedies. It is seriously impressive how Kamachi has managed to take all these complex topics, and mingle them together while keeping consistency, and I am really excited to see what direction it will go in.

Conclusion:

Thank you for watching if you made it this far. I honestly feel like I have only scratched the surface of what Kamachi is cooking, and I mean it. It feels like there is so much more to this iceberg that can be uncovered then what I have done here. I mean he has been researching this stuff for the past 20 years, so who knows what I have missed. I didn’t even touch much on the four worlds, Adam Kadmon or the Rosicrucians for example, which may contain even more information. Before this ends, I am going to give a special shout out to Imagen_Breaker.

Imagen_Breaker is a great Toaru theorist that recommended me to take a closer look into the Accelerator manga, which helped tie up some loose ends about the difference between level 6 and System. His massive and ambitious theories also motivated me to work on my own, so I recommend you check them out.

For me, I may make more essays exploring these things, as well as adding and possibly reinterpreting parts of this analysis as I find more knowledge and new information is given in the series. Among doing other things of course.

See you next time.