Guide to Literary, Historical, Folklore, Occult and Alchemist Themes in "Nosferatu" (2024)

A simplified list of references in “Nosferatu” (2024):

• Literary themes: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker (1897); and "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë (1847);
• Historical themes: Historical context. Early 19th century (1838) Germany. Victorian era; "Victorianism”. Strict gender roles; views on female sexuality (sickness; contagious; sin); sexual and power repression/liberation; “love” and “passion” as opposite concepts; Melodrama; Ellen’s power medicalized as “hysteria” and “melancholia";
• Folklore themes: Changeling (European); Strigoi myth (Balkans); Șolomonari (Romanian); Nachzehrer (Germanic);
• Occult themes: Agrippa; Angels and Daemons; Spiritism (Allan Kardec); Enchantress; Aleister Crowley Thelema - Sex Magick; Dove vs. Serpent Laws; Babalon and the Beast; Nosferatu Occult Meaning
• Alchemy themes: "Sylph" and Paracelsus; Humorism (Humoral theory); Alchemical Gold (Chrysopoeia; Gold-making); Myth of Isis and Osiris.

Literary Themes

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker

• "The Threat of Female Sexual Expression": Based on 1980's Feminist Literary Criticism (Second Wave of Feminism). the physical figure of the "sick woman" as one of the principal ways in which female sexuality manifests as a contagious disease (Lucy Westenra and her degeneration into vampirism) - Ellen's character as seen by the Victorian characters (especially Friedrich Harding)
• 19th century "Contagionism" theory: Victorian medicine on disease origin. Disease spread from individual to individual (neglecting environmental issues like polluted water or unhygienic spaces)

"I thought it was agreed you were to keep the girls from her. You mustn’t be swept up in her fairy ways."

Subverted Themes

Robert Eggers subverted every literary theme in “Dracula”, like he revealed in one interview: “My influences are all very clear, and Nosferatu is a remake, after all,” Eggers says, yet he plays with the canon, with expectations and clichés – “hopefully subverting them to do something unexpected.”

• The Promise of Christian Salvation: This is a Anti-Christian story (as in organized religion), at its core. Religious items have no power against Orlok; he even choses a Christian church as the resting place for his sarcographus; he can’t enter the Orthodox convent because he's denied entrance (not because God forbids him); the God-fearing and religious character (Anna) is the first to die; and the female heroine Ellen not only rejects the Christian God (calls it “destiny) but also says she needs "no salvation" (rejecting Christian salvation, completely); 
• Madness: Neither Ellen, Professor Von Franz nor Herr Knock are “lunatics”, but the Victorian characters think they are. Knock is in full control of his mental capacities, he’s just a religious fanatic obsessed in discovering Orlok’s secret to immortality and he’s behaving the way he does because he wants to become a strigoi, too, and will stop at nothing to achieve it (even seeking a “violent death” to seal the deal);
• The Consequences of Modernity: Ellen’s character and the medicalization of her supernatural gifts and mediumship by Victorian society;
• Money as a instrument of evil: in the novel it’s associated with Count Dracula ability to navigate the modern world (buy property around London, travel, etc.); here with the Victorian characters. Friedrich Harding (the Victorian patriarch) is wealthy and loans money to Thomas, who drowns himself in debt, in his ambition to climb the social ladder and being “no longer a pauper”. Ellen, the female heroine, rejects money. Orlok gives Thomas a sack of gold in exchange for his signature in the “covenant papers” (the divorce papers) as he’s paying for Ellen’s dowery;
• The Threat of Female Sexual Expression: Ellen breaks Nosferatu curse and “saves the day” by embracing her sexuality. 
• Fear of Outsiders: the titular foreigner character (Count Dracula) is the villain in the novel. Here, it's the Victorian characters and Victorian society who are the true villains of the story by their oppression of the female hero, Ellen.

"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë 

“I think that what ultimately rose to the top, as the theme or trope that was most compelling to me, was that of the demon-lover. In “Dracula,” the book by Bram Stoker, the vampire is coming to England, seemingly, for world domination. Lucy and Mina are just convenient throats that happen to be around. But in this “Nosferatu,” he’s coming for Ellen. This love triangle that is similar to “Wuthering Heights,” the novel, was more compelling to me than any political themes.”

Dream of Death: Robert Eggers on “Nosferatu” Interview 

• Love triangle between a free-spirited and medicalized woman (Catherine/Ellen) with a beastly men (Heathcliff/Orlok) and a gentleman (Edgar/Thomas);
• Ghost at the window (Orlok's shadow at Ellen's window during her teenage years);
• Themes of the all-consuming, obsessive and self-destructive passion, wrecking the lives of everyone around them and only stops when they are both dead; 
• The Destructive Power of Love;
• Blend of Hatred and Love; 
• Separated by death/United by death; couldn’t be together in life, united in death and reunited in the spiritual world.

Historical Themes

Historical context: early 19th century (1838), Victorian era

• Strict gender roles: marriage and motherhood as a woman’s destiny; social reputation and provider as a men’s destiny; domestic (women) vs. public (men) spheres;
• Infantilization of women: the ideal Victorian woman was a model of virtue, purity and modesty who obeyed their husbands; women were seen as innocent, ignorant and naïve about the world, and were thought to have no minds of their own; the average Victorian woman wasn't allowed to be educated nor possess knowledge outside of domestic life. A woman’s entire life revolved around men: obeying their fathers, preparing for marriage, seeking an husband and as a wife, living for her husband;
• Women as their husbands' property; marriage was the institution where Victorian men fully accomplished their male responsibility and privilege: to form a household, provide safety and comfort, and exercise authority over dependents (wife and children) where the trademark of a successful man. This was also connected to their social and professional success, making them respectful in the eyes of other men. A man who couldn’t govern his wife was also seen as unfit, socially, professionally and morally; and the wife’s behavior would reflect on the husband (which is why Friedrich Harding accuses Ellen of being a social embarrassment to Thomas);

"I envy you. You’ve truly taken your father’s place now… it’s incredible."

• Victorian views on female sexuality: female sexuality seen as a plague and a monstrosity in need of containment (sickness, contagious, wicked, sin); women should have no sexual desire whatsoever (Ellen's shame; "I'm unclean"); married heterosexual sex was the only socially acceptable sexual expression in the Victorian era, and everything else (masturbation, homosexuality, prostitution, etc.) was considered deviant, “sinful” and “evil”; sex was a marital duty women had to go through to have children and serve their husbands (women’s sexuality owned and controlled by their husbands);
• Repression/liberation of sexuality (sex) and power (death): illustrated by Ellen's corset, as Linda Muir, the costume designer, reveals in her interview "The Costumes of ‘Nosferatu’ Are Gorgeous - They Also Tell a Story About Female Repression and Liberation": “Her [Ellen] true nature [takes over] in the end. She liberates herself by ripping herself open, ripping her striped dress open. She liberates herself by wearing the same garment over and over and over again when she’s staying at Harding’s home. So she’s liberated herself in that she doesn’t feel the need to dress up completely each and every day. And then she liberates herself completely in the end.”
• “Love” and “Passion” as opposite concepts: Victorian love (Thomas) was meant to be chaste, modest and restrained, tempered devotion confined to the household; and the sacrament of marriage ("sacred") was meant to repress and contain "passion". Passion (Orlok), on the other hands, was erotism, sexuality and sexual desire, considered "animalistic" and corruptive;
• Melodrama: Robert Eggers gave Thomas and Ellen the "melodrama" treatment (and to the Victorian characters in general), from late 18th century theater tradition, and very popular during the Victorian era (to the point some critics have classified this film as a "melodrama" when it isn't, it's a Gothic Folk Horror movie). Melodrama it's characterized by over-the-top dramatic attics, excessively sentimental displays, focus on dialogue and facial expressions; overacting, but ultimately feels flat, theatrical and performative. Because it is. It's not real, it's fake emotion and this was intentional from Eggers' part because we do see the difference with Ellen and Orlok (more fluid and natural acting, and they are given the "cinematic treatment" with visual storytelling devices and all the symbolism behind their characters). Thomas is "love" in this narrative, but it's all appearance and no substance; he "loves" her but doesn't understands nor sees her, and is dismissive of her (like Robert Eggers himself tells us). This love, at its core, is meaningless and a farse, just like the rest of Victorian society in this film. This is also part of the social commentary behind this film. 

"Find the dignity to display the respect to your caretaker. And for your husband’s sake, I pray you might learn to conduct yourself with more deference."

• Ellen’s power medicalized as “hysteria” and “melancholia”: Ellen is described as a deeply misunderstood and isolated character, who is dismissed by everyone around her, until Professor Von Franz arrives at the plot, and provides her with the real reason behind her Victorian diagnose. Robert Eggers tells us in one interview: “[Ellen is a] victim to 19th-century society […] she can see into another realm, and has a certain kind of understanding that she doesn’t have the language for,” Eggers said. “But people are calling her melancholic and hysteric and all of these things.”
• "She [Ellen] has this understanding of this other world, and this other way of thinking that she doesn’t have language for, so she’s isolated. But the pull to it is very strong, and so people consider her melancholic and hysterical, and we can see her fighting within herself. I think having it stem from the realities of a woman who’s a victim of 19th-century society is something that makes it hopefully work." (Robert Eggers; Variety)
• “She’s [Ellen] as much a victim of 19th-century society as she is a victim of the vampire. People talk a lot about Lily-Rose Depp’s character’s sexual desire, which is a massive part of the character, of what she experiences — being shut down, and corseted up, and tied to the bed, and quieted with ether. Misunderstood, misdiagnosed. But it’s more than that. She has an innate understanding about the shadow side of the world that we live in that she doesn’t have language for. This gift and power that she has isn’t in an environment where it’s being cultivated, to put it mildly. It’s pretty tragic. Then she makes the ultimate sacrifice, and she’s able to reclaim this power through death.” (Robert Eggers; The New York Times)
• “She’s [Ellen] an outsider. She has this understanding about the shadow side of life that is very deep, but she doesn’t have language for that. She’s totally misunderstood and no one can see her […] this demon lover, this vampire, who is the one being who can connect with that side of her." (Robert Eggers; Time Magazine)
• “Ellen’s husband loves her, but he can’t understand these ‘hysteric’ and ‘melancholic’ feelings she’s experiencing, and he’s dismissive of her. The only person she really finds a connection with is this monster, and that love triangle is so compelling to me, partially because of how tragic it is.” (Robert Eggers; The Verge)

"Untie this child at once! [...] Untie her! [...] Drugged?"

Folklore Themes

Changeling (European)

"Father… he would find me in our fields… within the forest… as if – I was his little changeling girl." 

“Changelings” are human-like creatures from European folklore. They are children kidnapped by fairies, elves or demons and a substitute child being left in their place. Ellen's father called her this because she she enjoyed playing and being in nature, when she was supposed to be indoors (domestic sphere).

Strigoi myth (Balkans)

Count Orlok: quintessential strigoi morti, a undead creature from Dacian mythology and, consequently, from Romanian folklore, who raises from its grave to feed on the living and must return to it before dawn:

• Appearance: walking corpse; bald and leathery; skin infested with maggots, cracked and oozing with putrescence and decay; long, spidery fingers; fangs cannot be retracted (sores on his lips and chin); dressed in moldy, torn out clothing (the one he was buried in);
• Cause of curse:  Ellen resurrected Orlok and cursed him at the prologue (confirmed four times in the film). Connected with his tragic backstory Robert Eggers won't share with the public (but influenced Bill Skarsgård entire performance and gives meaning to the ending of the film); late 16th century voivoide (count) from Transylvania, was married (couple bedroom where he attacks Thomas) and had a family (multiple sarcophaguses on his castle cript);
• Characteristics: "psychic vampire"; it's not blood he feeds on specifically, but souls (soul trapped in the blood), and that's what sustains him (and that's why Thomas had to be exorcised). Plague-carrier ("blood plague"); controls animals (rats and wolves); astral projection powers (shadow); and manipulation of dreams (nightmares to create fear).
• Haunting: strigoi haunt the person they loved the most when they were alive, and drag them to their grave. Reincarnation theme. 

Strigoi "repelling" blessings and tokens:

“Dau cu ustoroi de strigoi. Dau cu ustoroi de strigoi”

Ritual to locate a strigoi grave:

"The means of repelling and destroying vary greatly from region to region [...] Their efficacy is plainly unknown. Boiling wine, a spike of cold iron transpiercing the navel, decapitation, incineration…"  (Professor Von Franz to Dr. Sievers)

A virgin girl on horseback will be attracted to the strigoi grave and locate it. Then the strigoi can be killed. Here with a spike of cold iron. This ritual is all wrong on purpose, because it’s usually a black stallion and done during the day (when strigoi are resting on their graves). No strigoi was killed in this scene because the Roma people work for Orlok (as in the "Dracula" novel) and he wanted Thomas to see this ritual.

Solomonari (Romanian)

"A black enchanter he [Orlok] was in life. Solomonari. The Devil preserved his soul that his corpse may walk again in blaspheme."

Solomonari (or Șolomonari) are dark wizards from Romanian folklore, who were believed to ride a dragon (“balaur”) and control the weather, and usually present themselves as beggars, travelling from place to another.They were considered great sorcerers of storms and winds, master of all lakes, tall mountains and deep caves, creators of frost, mist and hail. They were described as tall, red-haired and dressed in white long coats, always carrying his Magic Book (the source of all his powers) and a piece of wood (summoning the winds) and an iron axe to create hail. Some accounts describe boys (with distinctive signs over their faces or bodies) were chosen and taken by an old Solomonar to be trained at the Solomonărie. 

The Solomonărie (or “Scholomance”, in the Germanic version); some call it “Devil’s school”, others “School of the Dragon”. They are said to be taught by the Devil himself, and their school was located underground, at the End of the Earth, in a deep cave. According to many sources, this school was in the Carpathian Mountains, in Transylvania. The name Solomonari is associated with King Solomon and Alchemy. 

According to folklore, there were seven, ten or thirteen students, who didn’t saw the sunlight during the seven or nine years duration of their studies. Some accounts describe them as “strigoi vii” (living strigoi; wizards and witches); but this isn’t Orlok’s case otherwise Robert Eggers wouldn’t be so secretive about his backstory (the reason for his curse is something else). At the Solomonărie, they learned magic (spells), the secrets of nature and the language of all living things; as well as ride flying dragons and control the weather.

As their final assignment to become a Solomonar, they had to copy their entire knowledge of humanity into a “Solomonar’s book”, a book of wisdom, which would become the source of their power. Which is what we see in “Nosferatu” with the Solomonari codex of secrets Professor Von Franz finds in Herr Knock’s office; it was written by Orlok himself as his final assignment to become a Solomonar.

A "codex" is a book of laws or a set  of rules, and an ancient manuscript in book form, usually written in Latin, and illuminated, which deals with themes like Bibical Scripture, early literature, or ancient mythological or historical annals. 

Orlok himself addresses this codex in one scene with Herr Knock: "The compact commands she must willingly re-pledge her vow. She cannot be stolen." Nowadays, "compact" is an agreement between parties; related to the law. "Compact" originated in the late 16th century, from the Latin "compactum"; and it was most commonly used in classical Latin texts where the concepts of physical compactness or philosophical compactness were explored. "Physical compactness" as in the verb "brief": "a short and compendious book", "a compact style is brief"; "succint comparisons", a "summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject".  

In this context, the "compact" Orlok talks about is the brief text (instructions; rules; laws) from the Solomonari codex of secrets where the word "willing" is also mentioned, marked, and written in it's Latin form "voluerunt". The root for “volontario” (Italian); “volontaire” (French), “voluntario” (Spanish); “voluntário” (Portuguese); and “voluntariat” (Romanian). In English, “voluntary”, or “willing” as it is used in the film.

At the end, it’s said one of the students was chosen by the Devil to be the “Weathermaker” and tasked with riding a dragon to control the weather. This dragon was said to be kept submerged in a mountaintop lake, south of Sibiu. While the other was selected to be servant to the Devil himself; which is what the Orthodox Nuns believe Orlok to be, as does Professor Von Franz:“Our Nosferatu is of an especial malignancy. He is an arch-enchanter, Solomonari, Satan's own learned disciple.”

However, Orlok is no “devil worshipper”, because like his iconography tells us, he’s a Pagan enchanter, follower of the Dacian god Zalmoxis, owner of the secrets of life and death. 

• The "demonized Pagan": the connection between Zalmoxis worship and the folkloric Solomonari began in the early 20th century by Romanian social scientist Traian Herseni, who proposed the “Dacian cloud travelers” and “Solomonari weathermakers” are connected, and this myth has its roots in Dacian religion. Nowadays, this theory is openly embraced by xenoarchaeologist Jason Colavito. No matter the historic validity, this is the interpretation Robert Eggers is using in “Nosferatu” (2024). 

Orlok sigil: an heptagram (seven-pointed star) surrounded by a Dacian Draco ouroboros (rebirth; reincarnation; immortality); the letters are cyrillic for “Zalmoxis”; the center is the alchemist symbol for blood; the symbols appear to be Vinča;  archeological findings in Romania with these symbols being over 8,000 and 6,500 years old, and consider by many as the oldest form of human writing, but their meaning is still unknown (they are here either to show Orlok comes from an ancient bloodline; or he has known reincarnations throughout the ages)

Heptagrams are connected to the seven elements of Alchemy but aren’t usually represented like this. Heptagrams are also connected to divine feminine goddesses, like Babalon and Isis.

 Nachzehrer (Germanic)

When Professor Von Franz discovers the Șolomonari book in Herr Knock's office, he also finds a cryptic writting: "His thunder roars from clouds of carcasses, I feedeth on my shroud, and death avails me not. For I am his.” 

This is based on Germanic folklore, where the "nachzehrer", also known as "shroud eater", is a sort of vampire who needs to devour both its burial shroud and body in order to survive. It's immortal, and lives off humans even after death. In folklore, it's believed the most common way for a person to become a nachzehrer is to commit suicide or die accidentally (which is what happens to Herr Knock and what he was seeking). It's also associated with disease, for in Germanic folklore, when a large number of people die because of a plague, the first people to have succumbed to it would be transformed into a nachzehrer.

"I relinquished him my soul. I should have been the Prince of Rats – immortal... but he broke our covenant... for he cares only for his pretty bride [...] Strike again. I am blasphemy!” 

Occult Themes

Agrippa

"He [Professor Von Franz] became obsessed with the work of Paracelsus, Agrippa, and the like [...] Alchemy, mystic philosophy… the occult."

Henry Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was one of the most famous occultists in Europe in the 16th century. He was a versatile scholar, and knowledgeable in the fields of science, medicine, magic, philosophy and theology. However, he was dismissed as a charlatan and self-promoter by many, while others praised him for his pioneer role in the scientific revolution, especially due to his intellectual curiosity (in opposition to the church authority).  

His works incorporated elements of the kabbalah, numerology, mathematics and theology; a mix of Christianity, Neo-Platonism and occult science. His most notorious treaty is called “The Nobility of the Feminine Sex” (1532) where he asserts the natural superiority of women, and counterarguments Greek and Roman philosophers and even the Christian Bible, advocating for social gender equality.  

Professor Von Franz is probably based on Agrippa, mostly his “reputation” as a charlatan and self-promoter (he’s an outcast in Victorian society and considered a “lunatic”), and he's the only human character who recognizes and respects Ellen’s supernatural gifts, as well as her agency.

Angels and Daemons

When Professor Von Franz tries to determine with whom Ellen is communicating with, he uses his Abraxas stone ring to compel her to speak, and he conjures both angels and demons during this scene:

"Who, damn you!? Speak!! I command you, hearken to my voice. By the protection of Chamuel, Haniel, and Zadkiel, impart your speech unto me. In the name of Eligos, Orabas, and Asmoday, impart your speech unto me."

• Chamuel: Also known as Kamael, "One who seeks God", is the angel of peaceful relationships, and considered one of the seven Archangels (who have the honor of living in God's direct presence in Heaven) by Jewish Kabbalah and some Christians;
• Haniel: "Joy of God", is the Archangel of joy who's known for taking Enoch to Heaven; 
• Zadkiel: "Righteousness of God", is the angel of God's mercy;
• Eligos: is a "Great Duke of Hell", ruling 60 legions of demons. He reveals hidden things and knows the future of wars;
• Orabas: is a "Great Prince of Hell", with 20 legions of demons under his control. He answers questions and gives one power and control over others;
• Asmoday: is the "King of Demons", in the legends of Solomon and the constructing of Solomon's Temple. 

Abraxas stone rings were considered magical talismans or charms since the Middle-ages, connected to the Seven Olympic Spirits (Aratron (Saturn); Bethor (Jupiter); Phaleg (Mars); Och (Sun); Hagith (Venus); Ophiel (Mercury) and Phul (Moon)); and to Gnosticism (personal spiritual knowledge above organized religion), who considered Abraxas as “the God above all Gods”.

This is also connected to Agrippa, “Occult Philosophy”, book three, which covers the intellectual world of Pagan gods and spirits (including angels and demons), and gives magical procedures for invocation and communication with them, as well as with God (sigils, amulets, magical alphabets, sound, perfumes, etc.); and the kabbalistic tree of life (hierarchies of angels and Demons associated with each sephirot). The idea behind this conjuring is to infuse the lower angelic orders with the light they receive from God, as the conjurer instructs the orders. And with the "Ars Goetia" of anonymous authored 17th-century grimoire "Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis" ("The Lesser Key of Solomon").

"Daemons" are considered by many as Pagan elemental entities or spirits; from the Greek "daímôn", usually connected with fate or will-power, and they can be good, evil or morally ambiguous. 

Spiritism (Allan Kardec)

"Yes, cursed. The dear young creature is obsessed of some spirit ... perhaps some daemon."

Professor Von Franz physically examines Ellen, as her “trance” is beginning, and, at the end, he determines she's obsessed of some spirit, most likely a daemon because "daemonic spirits more easily obsess those whose lower animal functions dominate - Daemons like them, they seek them out. Hysterics, children, lunatics... which reminds me - Sievers, you must introduce me to your mad man tomorrow. Somnambulists afflicted with these perversions oft possess a gift: a second sight into the borderland."

Spiritual obsession is when a person's behavior is influenced by evil spirits, through mental communication (words), compelling them to act a certain way, usually out-of-character, morally corrupted or even criminal. In his “The Book of Mediums”, Allen Kardec establishes three main degrees of "obsession", and the end goal is possession ("the free Spirit replaces, so to speak, the incarnate Spirit; he takes up residence in his body"):

• Simple obsession: "it occurs when a bad spirit imposes itself on a medium, intrudes itself against its will in the communications it receives, prevents it from communicating with other Spirits and replaces those that are evoked";
• Fascination: "it is an illusion created directly by the Spirit in the medium's thought and that paralyzes in a way his ability to judge communications";
• Subjugation: “it is an involvement that paralyzes the victim's will, causing him to act in spite of himself. [...] The subjugated is led to make decisions that are often absurd and compromising which, for a kind of illusion, he considers sensible.” 

And this mental subjugation is so powerful it can cause disturbances in the medium’s internal organs, mental capacities (brain) and cause involuntary body spasms (muscles). 

In his “The Book of Mediums”, Allan Kardec says mediums are more vulnerable to this sort of haunting, which is what Professor Von Franz believes to be Ellen’s case. A obsessive spirit will shut down other spirits and prevent them from communicating with the medium; they influence the medium to behave a certain way. Obsessive spirits are like little devils whispering in the medium's ear and telling them to do this, or do that. 

Professor Von Franz knowns Ellen "hysteric fits" are all on herself, but he believes it's Orlok who influences her to behave like this because of what he whispers in her ear. Except this is not the case, it’s Ellen herself who is conjuring him for their communications to happen because the narrative establishes Orlok needs to be summoned. From her part, Ellen doesn't understand any of this, and will believe Orlok is like a demon possessing her body, when he's not (which is what she'll discover during her "possession scene").

Enchantress

Ellen has been a somnambulist since infancy, and she always had supernatural abilities; premonitions (“I know things”), as she would know what her Christmas presents were before opening them, and when her mother would die, which indicates she always had a connection to the spiritual world.

Professor Von Franz recognizes Ellen's spiritual power and ability to communicate with the spiritual world (“I believe she has always been highly conductive to these cosmic forces, uniquely so”). She's a medium (or a psychic); someone with the ability to connect with the spirits of deceased loved ones, spirit guides, and other non-physical entities. 

What the Victorian doctors call “hysterical fits” and “epilepsies”, are, in fact, trance-like states of spiritual communication (trance mediumship), similar to Pagan priestesses. Like Von Franz tells the audience, Ellen inhabits the “borderland”, a peripheral area, a portal between the two worlds: the physical (matter) and the spiritual. And this is what Victorian society medicalizes in Ellen, and tries to restrain with drugs and corsets, is not only her sexuality, but her spiritual power, her own nature.

Orlok calls Ellen "enchantress". Historically, enchantresses were practitioners of feminine magic: oracles, healers, herbalists, midwives and shamanic shapeshifters. They were what’s commonly known as “witches”. These female magicians studied and practiced their art in goddess temples, mystery schools, alchemy schools and hedge schools. The alchemists of the Middle-ages studied these dynastic lineages of “wise women”, and they had several names: "enchantresses", "chantresses", "encantrices", or "incantrix". 

Ellen is, then, a "incantrix": uses words, incantations, songs, spells and prayers to shape reality. They were, also, the priestess of an old religion (as Professor Von Franz also calls her "great priestess of Isis"), gifted with magic power and authority to command the elements or the body by the power of their word. She was able to ressurect Orlok with the power of her word, alone (necromancer), when she was 15 years old, after all. She doesn't need to assemble a ritual room like Herr Knock to communicate with the spiritual world, either. Orlok doesn't have power over her (when we saw Thomas and others crumbling before his presence). Her spiritual power in this story is remarkable. 

Aleister Crowley Thelema: Sex Magick

The presence of Aleister Crowley occult system Thelema in "Nosferatu" 2024 are a tribute to Albin Grau, the producer and production designer of the original 1922 version. Grau was an occultist and a member of the Fraternitas Saturni (German magical order devoted to Saturnian doctrines) under the magical name Master Pacitius. Within the occult leaders there was tension due to their beliefs, and Grau eventually sided with Aleister Crowley Thelema, and, later in life, he was briefly an initiate of Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis. Sex magic is far older than Aleister Crowley, he was, the one who gave it a theorical corpus. 

Every Şolomonari ritual in "Nosferatu" (2024) is a Sex Magick ritual, and they are three. According to Crowley, Sex Magick was the key to unlock the secrets of the universe, and, probably, his most (in)famous theory/practice, due to his open engagement in all sorts of sexual activity during the Victorian era, which earned him the nickname "the wickedest man alive", and he fully embraced the title "the Beast". 

"Sex Magick"; as described by Aleister Crowley, is the pratice of using sexual energy towards magical and spiritual goals. It's ritualistic, and it's purpose is not carnal pleasure for its own sake, but to harvest the potency of sexual acts to manifest will (visualization and focus on the desire outcome or goal of the ritual) and transform consciousness. Crowley believed sex is a sacrament in itself, and that sexual energy was transmutated into spiritual energy (energetic transmutation). Every sexual act in Sex Magick has meaning, and represents spiritual and mystical truths. 

Ellen's conjurings (sexualized body spasms) of Orlok can also be considered Sex Magick, because she's using her sexual energy to call him to her, for them to communicate. These communications are spiritual, not physical; they talk with each other, telepathically. 

1) Herr Knock summons Orlok

Herr Knock uses sexual energy (masturbation) to summon Orlok and communicate with him. Which gives the audience two bits of information: (1) it's sexual energy that conjures Orlok; (2) he has to be conjured (invited) for these spiritual communications to happen. 

Which tells us all the moaning and body spams it's Ellen herself summoning Orlok to her (and not him doing things to her body): she is in full control of their entire communications and he could only appear to her, if she invited him in.

2) Orlok feeds on Thomas

Robert Eggers’ Orlok solely motivation in the story is to merge souls with Ellen, and that’s what drives his every action in the plot. He commands his servant, Herr Knock, to send Thomas Hutter to his castle in Transylvania to divorce him from Ellen, both physically and spiritually. He tricks Thomas into the signing the covenant papers (which are, in fact, divorce papers, where Thomas offers Ellen to Orlok), and Orlok pays for Ellen dowry by giving him a sack of gold.

Then, he uses Thomas as his masturbation assistant (sexuality assaults him by dry humping on him) as part of his Sex Magick ritual to divorce him from Ellen, in the spiritual realm, as he drinks from his soul (strigoi myth). Orlok, then, confirms "your husband is lost to you" which translates into "you are divorced".

3) Breaking of the Nosferatu curse

“And so the maiden fair did offer up her love unto the beast, and with him lay in close embrace until first cock crow, her willing sacrifice thus broke the curse and freed them from the plague of Nosferatu.”

The “breaking of the Nosferatu curse” is, also, a Sex Magick ritual: “with him lay in close embrace until first cockcrow” indicates sex (which is what we see happening in the actual scene, because the first penetration can be heard in the sound design, so the audience has no doubts about what’s happening). Orlok drink Ellen’s blood (soul), as their spirits are merging together inside of his rotten corpse (strigoi myth). At dawn, when its destroyed, their united souls are set free as the blood comes out of it (“freed them from the plague of Nosferatu”). The "willing sacrifice" is Ellen allowing Orlok to kill her, obviously. 

What breaks the curse is sexual energy, and that’s the power Ellen and Orlok are harvesting to manifest their will into being (break the curse). Near the end of the ritual, Ellen has an orgasm as the dawn begins to remove the decay from Orlok’s face, and he starts to resemble his human-self, indicating the Nosferatu curse on him is being broken. At the end, the ritual is confirmed to have been successful (according to the Şolomonari instructions), by Professor Von Franz, as he places their symbolic lilacs around their bodies. 

Aleister Crowley Thelema: Dove vs. Serpent Laws

“Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well!”

Aleister Crowley, “Book of the Law”

“He is Infinity… Eyes shining like a jewelled diadem. Putrescence. Asphyxience. Devourance.”

(Pigeons and doves are from the same family bird)

Herr Knock eats the head of the pigeon/dove in a very graphic way. Dr. Sievers asks him why he does this. There’s no verbal explanation. The occult explanation it’s him not choosing the “dove” in this Thelemic dichotomy of dove/serpent (“choose ye well!”).

The “Dove” is religion and its worship. Crowley saw the “law of the dove” as repressed Christian love: pure and divine. It’s blind and obedient love, taught in religious circles. This is what Herr Knock rejects, and what Ellen has with Thomas. Thomas and Ellen share Christian love, sanctified by church marriage, as they made a holy oath before God (sacrament).

The “Serpent” is Spirit with its devotion, wisdom and delight. While the “Dove” descends; the “Serpent” rises. It’s the fire from below, kundalini (divine feminine energy from Hindu tantrism) ascending, it’s Eros: erotic sexual love. It’s physical and animalistic expression of love. It’s ecstasy, passionate and hungry love. It’s spiritual and transformative love, the circle of life and death, and rebirth (immortality).

Ellen: “I have felt you like a serpent crawling in my body.”

Orlok: “It is not me. It is your nature.”

“My vocation is the Serpent”, says Babalon (the deity Ellen is a earthly manifestation of). Which is why Orlok says “love” (as in “law of the dove”) is inferior to Ellen. The “law of the serpent” is the love Ellen and Orlok share, it’s beastly, sexual and ravishing love. As she tells Thomas: “You could never please me as he [Orlok] could.”

But “love”, according to Aleister Crowley, is “harsh” as well, as he defines it as “love may best be defined as the passion of Hatred inflamed to the point of madness, when it takes refuge in self-destruction.”

Orlok cannot love as in the “law of dove”, he loves as in the “law of serpent” Ellen, as a manifestation of Babalon, loves both ways, because the Dove (Thomas and Anna) is love, and the Serpent (Orlok) is love, too. But like Crowley demands: “Choose ye well!” And Ellen chooses the "law of the serpent", because that's her vocation.

Babalon and the Beast

The birth of the New Aquarius was already the occult meaning of the original 1922 “Nosferatu”. While Stoker saw Count Dracula as pure evil, Grau reinterpreted the vampire as a symbol of transformation through confrontation with darkness. Saturn, in esoteric tradition, represents restriction, death, and rebirth (forces that initiate profound spiritual change). Grau viewed the vampire as a reflection of these principles, a shadowy force that compels the aspirant to face mortality, fear, and their own inner darkness. And his death symbolized the birth of the New Age of Aquarius (Saturn as the traditional ruler of Aquarius), a new era of collective awakening and innovation.

Robert Eggers included the divine feminine (Babalon), his heroine is already a dark character, as he describes his Ellen as “dark chthonic female heroine”, who makes the ultimate sacrifice to "reclaim this power through death". Chthonic are gods or spirits who inhabit the Underworld; and, in his version, Orlok gifts Ellen with immortality and rebirth (not death like the "virgin sacrifice" in the original "Nosferatu").

When Ellen and Thomas are returning home, there’s a man in the streets rambling bits from the “Book of Revelations” (Apocalipse) from the Bible: “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.” (Revelations, 13:1).

This passage is about Orlok arrival and his "blood plague", but there's a character (also from the "Book of Revelations") connected to this beast: the Whore of Babylon, the “Mother of Prostitutes and All Abominations of the Earth”, and she rides this Beast, which is the same as Crowley’s Babalon. 

Revelations 17 (Victorian Point of View):

"One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." 

"Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth."

• "Scarlet Beast with seven heads" = Orlok and his heptagram (seven-pointed star) sigil;
• "Ten horns" = ten lilac flowers;
• "Dressed in purple and scarlet" = lilacs and blood;
• "glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls" = sunlight
• "golden cup" = womb
• "filled with abominable things" = sex with undead Orlok (necrophilia)
• "filth of her adulteries" = church marriage to Thomas

"I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come."

“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilleld. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Aleister Crowley did a positive reinterpretation of this biblical figure, symbolizing liberated female sexuality by embracing the powers of the Divine Harlot. Also known as the “Scarlet Woman” and “Great Mother”, this complex and mysterious figure was established in 1904 in “The Book of Law”, however her origin is far older, and can be found in the Enochian tradition, a magical system by John Dee and Edward Kelly, dated from the late 16th century.

Initiatrix, Creator and Destroyer, Babalon is the “Great Mother” because she represents Mother Earth. Like Isis, she’s the Archetypical Mother, the Womb, the Great Sea and the Divine Blood itself. According to Crowley, the “whore/harlot” facet is about enjoying sex without the burden of reproduction; and the “mother of abominations” connects with destruction like natural catastrophes, plagues, etc. She’s the ruler of the cosmological sphere and a dual-spirit entity, both good and evil (as evil as elemental forces can be or are considered as). Babalon is the guardian of the Seven Principles of the Underworld, a place of darkness and transformation. Babalon is also the goddess of the liminal point, who can access other realms. As Goddess of vengeance, Babalon punishes when life is out of balance, and exerts violence and corruption upon those who are in the wrong. Ellen ("mother of abominations") unleashes Orlok onto the world, and we can interpret him bringing plague into Wisburg as Ellen’s reckoning against Victorian society, which ostracizes her and will never accept her.

In Ophidian Thelema, Babalon is, also, the Goddess of magick (“Heka”), of the Liberation of the Spirit (ecstasy), and of the Principles of Life. Their priestesses use the female body (vulva and womb) to channel their power during their magic rituals. This is similar to Ellen’s “hysterical fits” when she’s summoning and communicating with Orlok in the spiritual world (“hysteria” was considered a disease caused by “wandering womb”). The “liberation of spirit” is in the form of a Serpent, which manifests in the flesh. Priestesses of Babalon are also in control of their “trances” when they access the spiritual world; which we also see with Ellen during her "possession scene" with Thomas.

According to the Thelema, Babalon is the “Sacred Whore”, and her primary symbol is the Chalice or Graal (symbolic womb). She’s the consort to the Beast, who has seven heads, which is symbolically represented in her heptagram sigil (parallelling Orlok's heptagram). To Crowley these are archetypes in his Sex Magick beliefs: the “Scarlet Woman” is the High Priestess, and the “Beast” is the Hierophant: Ellen (the priestess, enchantress) and Orlok (priest-shamam; enchanter); the witch/wizard archetypes. Orlok is described as a “beast” several times in the film, and he says Ellen’s passion is bound to him, like Babalon’s passion is united with the Beast.

"Your passion is bound to me."

All rites and initiations of the Underworld Goddesses include rites of sex and death. Which is what we see with Ellen at the end of “Nosferatu” (2024). By Thelemic occult tradition, she (Babalon) has sex with the Beast (Orlok), “representing the passion which unites them” and her womb (Holy Grail; cup) is “aflame with love and death” (sexual climax, orgasm, with an un-dead vampire), to give birth to the New Age of Aquarius ("sacrament of the Aeon”). Crowley described Babalon: 

“She rides astride the Beast; in her left hand she holds the reins, representing the passion which unites them. In her right she holds aloft the cup, the Holy Grail aflame with love and death. In this cup are mingled the elements of the sacrament of the Aeon”.

Nosferatu Occult Meaning

Robert Eggers’ "Nosferatu" figure occult and metaphysical role is a combination of the original 1922 Nosferatu as created by Albin Grau (member of the magical order Fraternitas Saturni) and the philosophy of Thelemite occultist Kenneth Grant, disciple of Aleister Crowley. 

Where Bram Stoker saw the vampire as a symbol for Victorian moral panic and of absolute evil; Albin Grau reinterpreted it as a figure of Saturnian initiation; where the predatory nature serves the higher symbolic purpose of forcing those who encounter it to confront their own limitations and mortality, and initiate profound spiritual transformation through the engagement with the shadow side of life. In esoteric tradition, Saturn represents restriction, death and rebirth, and Grau’s Nosferatu is a shadowy force that compels the initiate to face mortality, fear and their own inner darkness.

The vampire, then becomes, a metaphysical figure, whose appearance and bloodthirst evoke existencial reflection, and its behavior embodies Saturnian ideals of disruption and challenge, serving both as a destroyer and a guide for spiritual growth. Saturn has strict, disciplinary and uncompromising energy whose purpose is to test the initiate. It’s usually seen as a Karmic planet (“you reap what you sow”), whose energy either punishes or rewards. Those who master themselves and are aligned with collective consciousness and physic energy reach a higher spiritual development (reward). At the end, the Saturnian figure of Nosferatu is destroyed by the Sun (the opposite planet to Saturn) and the New Age of Aquarius is born.

To Thelemite occultist Kenneth Grant, the vampire is a symbol for humanity engagement with primordial, elemental and extraterrestrial female energies. The vampire, then, embodies forbidden knowledge, liminal spaces of existence and extraterrestrial intelligence; and is a emissary of the “Nightside”, the subconscious realms of existence and magical practice. To Grant, the source of vampiric force is the Qliphoth (The Tree of Night) the dark, chaotic inverse of the Tree of Life. These spheres represent the realms of shadow and dissolution, holding potential for profound spiritual transformation. The vampire then becomes a liminal figure, a intermediary between conscious and unconscious realms, human and alien, terrestrial and cosmic. 

Grant saw the vampire as a figure of Divine feminine initiation, as an avatar of repressed feminine energy, tied to lunar and stellar mysteries, the Dark Side of the Moon, both empowering and annihilating. The consuming and bloodthirsty nature of the vampire mirrors the psychic demands of the Nightside path; destructive and transformative, and compels those who encounter it to confront their own female shadow self. It represents the yearning for higher and darker female forces, the aspiration to transcend human limitations and descent into a vortex of madness, hallucinations and cosmic insight. As the vampire feeds, it eats away sanity and vitality, and lures its victims deeper into the mysteries of the Qliphoth.

The goal is to balance the allure of dark female cosmic forces and the dissolution into madness, mastering oneself and reaching spiritual transformation, after confronting the unknown (fear and desire) within and beyond. Those who do not master it, lose their individuality, and risk psychic dissolution, becoming trapped in destructive cycles of desire and fear. 

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is both a initiator and a destroyer, who forces those who encounter him to face their own inner darkness, mortality, repressed female energy, fears and desires. As a Saturnian figure, he destroys and creates severe obstacles, to test others and impulse their spiritual transformation. He’s not here to compromise; he punishes those in the wrong, and rewards those in right, because he’s a karmic catalyst force. Orlok was cursed by Ellen herself, symbolizing her vengeance and punishment upon Victorian society. Because she’s the manifestation of another figure of Thelema occult tradition; Babalon, and Orlok is her Beast, her sacred consort, fully embodying her role as “mother of abominations” and Goddess of vengeance who punishes when life is out of order. 

But Ellen is out of touch with her own female energy and spiritual path, and so, she fears and considers herself a victim to the monster of her own creation; she’s trapped in the destructive cycles of fear and desire. As karmic catalyst force, Nosferatu will create obstacles connected to what prevents her from reaching higher spiritual development (Victorian society), forcing her to confront her inner darkness (Nosferatu), to master herself, and when she does, at the end, she’s rewarded with hidden knowledge, and the secrets of life and death, and immortality. 

Orlok himself is being tested by the Saturnian figure of Nosferatu, because he didn’t chose this. Ellen cursed him. He’s also reaping what he sow, and getting punished by this karmic force; as he seeks to free himself from this curse, and reach higher spiritual development because his soul did not ascend, it was trapped in the “darkest pit”. To him, Ellen is the Divine feminine initiation figure, and only through her, can he reach spiritual evolution, and the dissolution of his own shadow (Nosferatu). When Ellen accepts him, he’s rewarded with spiritual ascend. 

Both Ellen and Orlok are each others’ pathway to spiritual enlightenment. And, at the end, to break the curse of Nosferatu, they both accept their sacred roles of Babalon and the Beast, as the figures of the priestess and the hierophant, the enchantress and the enchanter, as their Sex Magick ritual gives birth to the New Age of Aquarius. In the original “Nosferatu” (1922), Grau focused in Orlok in specific (due to his own occult beliefs), Robert Eggers included the Divine feminine, because he wanted to tell the story from Ellen's perspective.

The non-initiates (like Thomas Hutter and Anna Harding) collapse before Orlok’s presence because they do not possess the spiritual preparation to confront their own inner darkness nor master their own fears and desires, and instead of achieving spiritual enlightenment, their path is that of insanity, psychic dissolution and being devoured by their own shadow, trapped in the destructive circles of fear and desire. Thomas has to be exorcised because he can’t cope, at all. They are in the darkness of ignorance and lower stages of spiritual development, and perfectly content to be there, and, as such, are punished by this karmic catalyst force. 

Alchemy themes

"Sylph" and Paracelsus

"Do extend my tardy congratulations to your wife. She is truly a… A nonpareil of beauty. Almost a sylph." (Herr Knock to Thomas Hutter)

A “sylph” is air spirit (or nymph) from the 16th century works of Swiss physician, alchemist and theologist Paracelsus, with roots in folklore. Sylphs are invisible beings of air (or air elementals), connected to fairies and pixies. On his “A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies and Salamanders, and Other Spirits”, Paracelsus described the four elemental beings, each corresponding to one: Salamanders (fire), Gnomes (Earth), Undines (water) and sylphs (air).

Sylphs are formed and live in air, and they have power over the air element, particularly the wind and the clouds, where they move freely. They do not fare well outside of their element; they burn in fire, drown in water and get stuck in earth. They are portrayed as the guardians of secret knowledge, and protectors of nature. 

During the 19th century, there was a renewed interest in sylphs in European society, especially in theatre, where they appeared in several plays and operas as ethereal, graceful, charming and ultimately unattainable.  

Ellen is compared to a fairy three times in the narrative: by Herr Knock ("sylph"), by her father ("his little changeling girl") and Friedrich Harding ("her fairy ways"). We also see her floating at the prologue when she meets Orlok. 

In alchemy, the air element is connected to "blood". Another reference to Ellen and Orlok; who are both associated with the Air element (Șolomonari; Blood; Sylph; Fairy). It has always been associated with knowledge, communication, wisdom, intellectual pursuits and the spirit. It’s connected to healing, divination, transformation of consciousness and the power of the mind.  

Humorism (Humoral theory)

“You [Dr. Sievers] have bled her to decrease the congestion? […] And her menstruations are also? [Liberal]. Too much blood. Too much.”

Professor Von Franz physically examines Ellen, as her trance is beginning, and determines she has “too much blood”: in connection to “Humorism” (or “humoral theory”) with possible origins in Ancient Egyptian medicine, and then used by Ancient Greeks and Romans. Hippocrates suggested that humors are the vital bodily fluids, and they are four: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. This belief was common during Middle-ages in Europe.

Ellen having “too much blood” means she has a sanguine temperament (not a melancholic temperament); it was believed that, when in good health, “sanguines” are cheerful and loving; but when there’s an imbalance, they are “hysterical”, which is what Victorian doctors also diagnose Ellen as (“hysteria”). 

The treatment is bloodletting (bleed the patient, drain their blood; a practice still used in the early 19th century), to remove the excessive blood; which is what Von Franz also advices in Ellen’s case. “Congestion”, in the medical sense of this time period, means “containing an unnatural accumulation of fluid”, in Ellen’s case it’s blood. This diagnose will come full circle when Thomas and Dr. Sievers discover that Orlok is with Ellen when they go to Grünewald Manor. Von Franz tells them “She wills it! Your wife wills it!” and Orlok himself “can’t resist her blood", which means Orlok cannot resist Ellen, herself. 

"He is my shame! He is my melancholy!"

"You are my affliction."

Mutual healing theme: 

• Ellen is the one who curses Orlok to become a strigoi, when she brings him back from the dead; and Orlok also curses her to “melancholy” and “hysteria”, in return (her power medicalized by Victorian society). They curse each other with disease at the prologue of the film;
• At the end, Orlok drains Ellen of her excessive blood, balancing her “sanguine temperament” and ending her “hysteria” and “melancholy” (he also gives her an orgasm, a nod to hysteria as repressed and frustrated female sexuality); and Ellen’s love and willing sacrifice sets their souls free from the rotten vessel they were trapped in ("and freed them from the plague of Nosferatu"); as they are reunited in the spiritual realm, now fully healed.

Alchemical Gold (Chrysopoeia; Gold-making)

"I had nearly unlocked the final key of the Mysteriorum Libri Quinque. No… No matter. I miscalculated the stars. Hermes will not render my black sulfur gold this evening." (Professor Von Franz to Dr. Sievers and Friedrich Harding)

“Mysteriorum Libri Quinque” is part of a collection of mystic writings by mathematician, hermetic philosopher and astronomer Dr. John Dee (16th century). An avid learner of the secrets of nature, he made no distinctions between mathematical research and the supernatural (which he considered mere tools to achieve a transcendent understanding of divine forms underlying the visible world, called “pure verities”). In 1580, he began experimenting with evocations to contact and communicate with angels, and Edward Kelly joined him in this project in 1582. They both documented every interaction they had with angels and wrote about their language, which they called “Enochian”. This collection of esoteric writings was only found, by accident, after John Dee’s death.  

Alchemy, at its core, is the transmutation of base materials (lead, etc.) into noble ones (gold), and the pursuit of immortality (“philosopher’s stone”). Occultists reinterpreted this as a spiritual quest of self-transformation, purification and regeneration of the human soul. Hence physical death being seen as a gateway to another life (rebirth, reincarnation).

This reference will come full circle in Professor Von Franz last interaction with Ellen, when he talks about "redeem us". In Alchemy, “redemption" is connected to the “Philosopher’s Stone”, the “Stone of the Wise”, the “Magnum Opus” of transformation and enlightenment: “gold-making”, Chrysopoeia, transmuting common metals into gold; which was what Von Franz himself was attempting when we, the audience, are introduced to him.

Professor Von Franz is telling Ellen only her can transmute black sulfur into gold, only her can redeem Orlok (break his curse), and himself (because he's seen as a charlatan and a fraud). All she needs to do in order to accomplish this is be faithful to her nature, her power, fully embrace herself. And this is no coincidence, because Orlok has the alchemist symbol for blood on his personal sigil, which indicates he was an alchemist himself in the late 16th century, and Von Franz recognized him as such, after reading the Solomonar codex of secrets.

At the end, both Ellen and Orlok evolve from a diseased and corruptive state (black sulfur; Nosferatu) into regenerative and perfect state (gold; spiritual world), after being purified by fire (Sun). Nosferatu is an empty shells, as their spirits ascend. This also finds parallel in the myth of Isis and Osiris, as they both went from “daemons” to Gods in the Plutarch essay.

"I believe only you have the faculty to redeem us [...] You are our salvation."

At the end, Von Franz succeeds in calculating the stars and Hermes renders the black sulfur (Nosferatu) gold (sunlight; spiritual realm), as he, too, emerges redeemed and avenged by Ellen’s fulfilling her covenant with Orlok. 

In modern occult beliefs, alchemy is considered as a mystical system designed to transmute the soul from a “base” or “leaden” state of spiritual impurity to a “gold” or purified state of divinity, with the chemical procedures of alchemy being an elaborate metaphor for psycho-spiritual development. This idea was popularized by Carl Jung, among others.

In alchemy, this “gold” wasn’t like common gold, it was a miraculous, incorruptible substance, “the true and indubitable treasure”, which can only be perceived by those who can see with their mind’s eye.

Myth of Isis and Osiris

The “Osiris Myth” is one of the major surviving pieces of Egyptian mythology. It’s a ancient tale, with its early versions dating back to the 5th Dynasty (c. 24th century B.C.). It has known several adaptations throughout Egyptian history. The most complete version is in “The Moralia” by the 1st-century scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea, a collection of essays about Greco-Roman culture; that became very popular during the Renaissance era (14-16th centuries) and the Enlightenment period (18th century) in Europe. 

Isis and Osiris were brothers, and according to Ancient Egyptian religion, they were in love with one another before they were born, and enjoyed each other in the dark before they came into the world. They eventually married. They had a brother, Seth (or Typhon in Plutarch essays), the God of deserts, storms, disorder and violence, who murdered Osiris to take his throne. He tricked Osiris into climbing into a wooden chest/coffin, shut the lid, sealed it shut, and threw it down the Nile River, knowing Osiris would never be able to survive. In some versions, it’s said Seth cut Osiris body into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt..

Osiris had two facets as a God: in life, he was the God of fertility, agriculture, and vegetation, being considered a “Shepherd God”; in death, he was the God of the Underworld, the judge and Lord of Dead, the afterlife and resurrection. The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were associated with Osiris in death, because as he rose from the dead, so would they unite with him and gain eternal life through imitative magic. Which is also the covenant between Orlok and Herr Knock in “Nosferatu” (2024), as Knock seeks to earn immortality like Orlok, by serving him.

Isis is the epitome of the mourning widow in this myth, as she mourns Osiris’ death deeply. Here enters the symbolism of the lilacs in "Nosferatu", the visual storytelling device of Ellen and Orlok: in the Victorian era, they were associated with widows because they represented a memento of a deceased lover. Isis sought for Osiris’ mangled body and with help of tree other Gods (Nepthys, Thoth and Anubis), they sew Osiris’ body back together, and then wrapped it head to toe in strips of linen, creating a mummy. At the end, Orlok’s corpse appears almost mummified, as well.

In the Osiris myth, Isis uses powerful magic (incantations and magic spells) to bring her dead lover back to life; similar to Ellen who resurrects Orlok with her summoning prayer. In one version, this happened on a night of the full moon; in “Nosferatu” (2024) we also have a full moon connected to Ellen and Orlok, at the prologue, when he reveals himself to her:

According to Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, it’s Isis sorrow, sexual desire and anger that empower her magic to be able to bring Osiris back to life. When Ellen prays for a companion of “any celestial sphere” in the prologue, she’s crying (sorrow), she’s upset because her father recoils from her now that’s she’s no longer a child (anger) and she’s in her teenage years/puberty (sexual desire). Like Isis with Osiris, it’s the combination of these emotions that power her magic to unconsciously resurrect Orlok. 

However, Osiris can’t remain among the living, because he has to return to the Underworld and become King of the Afterlife. But before he goes, Osiris and Isis conceive Horus, the God of the sun and the sky, who will restore peace and order to the universe.  In the online version of the script of “Nosferatu” (2024), Professor Von Franz says that “with Jove’s holy light” (instead of "sun", like in the actual film) before dawn, the plague will be lifted. “Jove” is Jupiter, the “King of the skies”, who’s connected with the Egyptian Horus. Horus and Ra are often merged together in Ancient Egyptian religion, making Isis and Osiris the metaphorical parents of the Sun.

In “Nosferatu” (2024), as Orlok and Ellen complete their covenant, consummate their wedding and she gives him her soul, the sun is also the metaphorical result of their union. As dawn breaks, the sunlight vanquishes them both from the physical world, as they both die in the material realm, united. After being buried by Isis, Osiris goes into the Underworld to rule over it. And from then on, Isis herself is also associated with funeral rites, as she would guide the souls of the dead, helping them entering the afterlife. Through her magic, Isis helped resurrecting the souls of the dead, as she did with Osiris, acting as a mother to the deceased, providing protection and nourishment. At the end of "Nosferatu" (2024) we see Ellen fulfilling her role as “priestess of Isis” as the Goddess of healing, who ends the blood plague in Wisburg, and guides her dead lover Orlok with her to the Underworld.

Since we are discussing the Egyptian Gods, I have to mention Greta the Cat, Ellen’s domestic cat. Her name is an obvious homage to Greta Schröder, the actress who played Ellen Hutter in the original 1922 “Nosferatu”. Indeed, cats are predators to rats, however, the Egyptian Goddess Bastet is considered to be Isis’ daughter. She's the "cat goddess" for cats were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt. Bastet was associated with sun gods like Horus and Ra. Bastet was the goddess of pregnancy, childbirh, and protection against contagious diseases.