Definition: A discrete unit of meaning or presence that can be transmitted or interpreted. Scope: Communicative acts, signs, or manifestations across any medium.
Subtypes:
- Vocal – cry, chant, slur
- Visual – glyph, emoji, icon
- Behavioral – gesture, ritual movement
- Data-based – packet, tweet, beacon
Signals reveal intent, identity, or state, but do not require conscious authorship.
2. Vector
Definition: A carrier or conduit that transmits something else (memes, forces, ideologies, agents). Scope: Functional transference across hosts, mediums, or structures.
Subtypes:
- Embodied – person, avatar/profile, demon
- Symbolic – meme, spell, program, sign
- Systemic – platform, engine, spellform
Vectors are about movement and delivery; they are semantically secondary to what they carry.
3. Interface
Definition: A boundary layer or threshold where two systems or entities interact. Scope: Points of mediation, exposure, or transformation.
Subtypes:
- Embodied/social – persona, kink role, gender presentation
- Technical – GUI, API, shell
- Ritual/theoretical – altar, invocation, Holy Guardian Angel
An interface is not (inherently) a system; it is the contact between systems. It exists to enable friction or flow.
4. System
Definition: A coherent set of interrelated rules, roles, and feedback loops capable of sustaining or reproducing structure. Scope: Ideological, technological, mythic, or energetic structures.
Subtypes:
- Technological – OS, infrastructure, botnet
- Social/ritual – cult, market economy, lodge, order
- Metaphysical – demonological hierarchy, memetic matrix
Systems process and contain; they are operational totalities. Interfaces plug into them, but are not reducible to them. Capitalism and the Qliphoth are both systems of control and circulation.
5. Residue
Definition: A trace or remainder left by a process, interaction, or event; evidence of passage without full presence. Scope: Emotional, ritual, informational, or symbolic traces.
Unified Subtypes:
- Affective – grief, shame, imprint
- Energetic – miasma, engram, leakage current
- Informational/Symbolic – metadata, error, logs, trope shell, appropriation
Residue proves that something occurred, even if it no longer persists. It lingers without acting.
6. Zone
Definition: A bounded domain where conditions or rules differ from the outside, enabling transformation or suspension. Scope: Ritual, spatial, conceptual, or social pockets of altered logic.
Subtypes:
- Ritualized – circle, dream, dungeon
- Cultural – rave, forum, orgy
- Metaphysical – nexion, liminal space, virtual spaces
Zones are containers of exception: ritualized or ambient sites where normal rules distort.
7. Form
Definition: An abstract shape, pattern, or ideal that structures perception or manifestation across multiple instances. Scope: Archetypes, myth-forms, code-patterns, aesthetic tropes.
Subtypes:
- Narrative – myth arc, initiatory path, meme loop
- Platonic – The Gate, The Warrior, The Trick
- Symbolic – spiral, glitch, mirror
🧭 Forms are ontological blueprints—repeating themselves in different media and meanings.
8. Mask
Definition: A symbolic or functional overlay that conceals, reframes, or performs identity. Scope: Avatars, personas, sigils, decoys, drag, irony.
Subtypes:
- Performative – drag persona, alter ego, demon name
- Protective – pseudonym, obfuscation, symbolic ward
- Archetypal – Clown, Monster, Saint
🧭 Masks are semiotic shields and mirrors—tools of becoming and refusal.
9. Binding
Definition: A force, act, or mechanism that links entities, restricts motion, or instantiates obligation. Scope: Contracts, relationships, spells, protocols.
Subtypes:
- Magical – oath, pact, sigil-binding
- Social/psychic – trauma bond, obsession loop, secret
- Technical/ritual – daemon leash, invocation seal, license agreement
🧭 Bindings establish relations—voluntary or imposed—between forces, entities, or systems.
10. Pattern
Definition: A recognizable repetition or structure across time, scale, or instance. Scope: Predictive loops, archetypes, memetic templates.
Subtypes:
- Temporal – cycle, feedback loop, escalation curve
- Symbolic – trope, motif, gesture set
- Affective – erotic recursion, trigger matrix
🧭 Patterns generate meaning through recurrence. They are detectable regardless of content.
Overlaps
concept | can contain/include | is not equivalent to |
---|---|---|
System | Patterns, Bindings, Zones | Interface, Mask |
Interface | Masks, Zones, Vectors | System, Signal |
Residue | (extraneous) Signals, (sub-)Processes | Signal, Binding |
Zone | Interface (sites), Signal (theatres) | System |
Mask | Interface surface, Persona field | Form, System |
Vector | Signal (carrier), Form (transmitter) | System, Interface |