Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe Theories

Let’s Revisit & Reanalyze What We Know on Codename Hexe

Some of you may remember u/bool0011’s original Reddit post about some of this a few months ago,

but if not, I wanna get deep into the weeds of what Access The Animus assumed early on, and what else has come to light. Things we the always questioning should take into account when looking at the decoding of the

Official Logo, and what it might mean for the game on the way, albeit far from now!

AtA did somewhat reveal most of the secrets hidden

within, with their early access to the trailer allowing them

to get out in front of the pack the day of the Ubisoft

Forward. While they were correct in much of their findings,

we can thank @AC_Mac for their infographic translation

and u/bool0011 for their more astute directions towards

where and when we might be visiting in game, along with

a commenter on their video sharing some interesting

inputs regarding German history!

As you might know, the AC Hexe logo contained several

secret messages hidden around what’s called a Pentacle.

The star inside that circle in the Hexe logo is the *Seventh

Pentacle of Mars* from the book called The Key of

Solomon, or Clavicus Salomonis in Latin.

The symbols chalked inside each leaf of the pentacle and

around the outside used a form of The Alphabet of the

Magi, and we really should look into the front page for

said alphabet on Wikipedia:

“The Alphabet of the Magi is the modern name of a variant

of the Hebrew alphabet used for inscriptions in talismans

in 17th-century occultism. ... It is based on a variant of the

Semitic alphabet given by Theseus Ambrosius (1469–1540)

in his introduction in chaldaicam linguam (1539, pp. 202f.)

...Ambrosius here simply gives variant glyphs of the

Hebrew alphabet, labelled Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He,

Vau, Zain, Hhet, Teth, Iod, Caph, Lamed, Mem, Nun,

Samech, Ain, Phe, Zadai, Coph, Res, Sin, Thau. The alphabet is different from the other variants of the

Semitic abjad given by Ambrosius in that he mentions that these letters are said to have been

invented by Gamaliel and transmitted in the a book called Liber ignis associated with the angel

Raphiel. Claude Duret (1570?–1611) included it in his Thresor (1613, p. 117) under the name "the

characters of the angel Raphael", citing Ambrosius.”

“Edmund Fry included it in his Pantographia (pp. 28–29), stating:

"Theseus Ambrosius asserts that this character was brought from Heaven by the Angel Raphael by who

it was communicated to Adam who used it in composing Psalms after his expulsion from the

terrestrial paradise. Some authors pretend that Moses and the prophets used this letter and that they

were forbidden to divulge it to mortal man." ... That alphabet is described in the pseudo-Paracelsian

Archidoxis magica, translated into English by R. Turner (1656). S.L. MacGregor Mathers included it in his

1888 edition of the Key of Solomon (plate XV) under the name "Alphabet of the Magi."”

‘Hexe’ itself was also a clue, as its origins come from Old Germanic and means “Witch”, so if the Blair

Witch sticks and occult spiral of symbols wasn’t enough, there’s easy confirmation for witchy rituals

happening. Now back to AtA’s findings.

We now know the message around the outside of the circle to read:

WIR ARBAITEN IM DEM TUNKEL UM DEM LICHT ZUDIENEN.

“We work in the dark to serve the light.” An easy pull given

the context of an AC game, despite “Tunkel” being an even

older form of German for ‘dark’, as one commenter on their

post has since said:

“Love the analysis, some additions from a German native

speaker: "Arbaiten" and "Tunckel" both are words written in

"altdeutsch" (old german) used in the 15th to 16th century

germany. U V W are the same letter because Latin only

had the U. V and W evolved in the Romance languages as

did J. So V and W are categorized with U and J with I and

Y.”

The words spirally etched into the pentacle itself read:

MEPHISTO / RACHE / HAUS, and the native speaker in the comments shared more insights:

“"Rache" is a noun translating to "revenge", singular imperativ would be "räche" In Goethes "Faust I."

Faust uses the pentagram to keep MEPHISTO trapped in his home (HAUS), some would say to get the

opportunity for revenge (RACHE). Act I. Study, line 1393 and on if you want to look it up. It could be an

analogy to Faust I. but pentagrams were often used as a sign to protect your house from all Evil

including the Devil (=Mephisto). Historic evidences of the Pentagram, e.g. the "Drudenfuß" found at a

gate in "Ahrweiler", correlate to the era of witchhunts in Germany (16th century).”

[Top right of the image, source: https://www.sacred-texts.com/

grim/kos/kos30.htm ]

But first, about the Key of Solomon book (full book here).

“The Key of Solomon (Latin: Clavicula Salomonis; Hebrew:

שלמה מפתח]\ Mafteah Shelomoh\]) is a pseudepigraphical

grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to King

Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century

Italian Renaissance. It presents a typical example of

Renaissance magic.”

“The Key of Solomon is divided into two books. It describes

the necessary drawings to prepare each "experiment" or, in

more modern language, magical operations.”

“Unlike later grimoires such as the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (16th century) or the Lemegeton (17th

century), the Key of Solomon does not mention the signature of the 72 spirits constrained by King

Solomon in a bronze vessel. As in most medieval grimoires, all magical operations are ostensibly

performed through the power of God, to whom all the invocations are addressed. Before any of these

operations (termed "experiments") are performed, the operator must confess his sins and purge

himself of evil, invoking the protection of God.”

“Elaborate preparations are necessary, and each of the numerous items used in the operator's

"experiments" must be constructed of the appropriate materials obtained in the prescribed manner, at

the appropriate astrological time, marked with a specific set of magical symbols, and blessed with its

own specific words. All substances needed for the magic drawings and amulets are detailed, as well as

the means to purify and prepare them. Many of the symbols incorporate the Transitus Fluvii occult

alphabet.”

Interestingly enough, Key of Solomon was referenced in Goethe's Faust, and where? With

Mephistopholes! “For such as your half-hellish crew – The Key of Solomon will do.”

Now getting back to our Seventh Pentacle of Mars.

“Write thou this upon virgin parchment or paper with the blood of a bat, in the day and hour of Mars;

and uncover it within the Circle, invoking the Demons whose Names are therein written; and thou

shalt immediately see hail and tempest. “

Editor's Note.--In the centre of the Pentacle are the Divine Names, El and Yiai, which have the same

numerical value when written in Hebrew. The Letters in Hebrew, and in the Secret Alphabet called the

Celestial, compose the Names of Spirits. Round the Pentacle is: --'He gave them hail for rain, and

flaming fire in their land. He smote their vines also, and their fig-trees.'--Psalm cv. 32, 33.

What about other pentacles?

The First Pentacle of Mars, Figure 25. --It is proper for

invoking Spirits of the Nature of Mars, especially those which

are written in the Pentacle. Editor's Note.--Mystical Characters

of Mars, and the Names of the four Angels:--Madimiel,

Bartzachiah, Eschiel, and Ithuriel written in Hebrew around

the Pentacle.

The Second Pentacle of Mars, Figure 26. --This Pentacle

serveth with great success against all kinds of diseases, if it

be applied unto the afflicted part. Editor's Note.--The letter Hé,

in the angles of the Hexagram. Within the same the Names

IHVH, IHSHVH Yeheshuah (the mystic Hebrew Name for

Joshua or Jesus, formed of the ordinary IHVH with the letter

SH placed therein as emblematical of the Spirit), and Elohim.

Around it is the sentence, John i. 4:--'In Him was life, and the

life was the light of man.' This may be adduced as an

argument of the greater antiquity of the first few mystical verses of the Gospel of St. John.

The Third Pentacle of Mars, Figure 27. -It is of great value for exciting war, wrath, discord, and

hostility; also for resisting enemies, and striking terror into rebellious Spirits; the Names of God the All

Powerful are therein expressly marked.Editor's Note.--The Letters of the Names Eloah and Shaddai. In

the Centre is the great letter Vau, the signature of the Qabalistic Microprosopus. Around is the versicle

from Psalm lxxvii. 13:--'Who is so great a God as our Elohim?'*

The Fourth Pentacle of Mars, Figure 28. --It is of great virtue and power in war, wherefore without

doubt it will give thee victory. Editor's Note.--In the Centre is the great Name Agla; right and left, the

letters of the Name IHVH; above and below, El. Round it is the versicle from Psalm cx. 5:--'The Lord at

thy right hand shall wound even Kings in the day of His Wrath.'*

The Fifth Pentacle of Mars, Figure 29. --Write thou this Pentacle upon virgin parchment or paper,

because it is terrible unto the Demons, and at its sight and aspect they will obey thee, for they cannot

resist its presence. Editor's Note.--Around the figure of the Scorpion is the word HVL. The versicle is

from Psalm xci. 13:--'Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou

tread under thy feet.'

The Sixth Pentacle of Mars, Figure 30. --It hath so great virtue that being armed therewith, if thou art

attacked by any one, thou shalt neither be injured nor wounded when thou fightest with him, and his

own weapons shall turn against him. Editor's Note.--Around the eight points of the radii of the

Pentacle are the words 'Elohim qeber, Elohim hath covered (or protected),' written in the Secret

Alphabet of Malachim, or the writing of the Angels. The versicle is from Psalm xxxvii. 15:--'Their sword

shall enter into their own heart, and their bow shall be broken.'

Also, we should collect as much info as possible from the book itself, not just pictures.

THE ORDER OF THE PENTACLES:

Seven Pentacles consecrated to Saturn = Black

Seven Pentacles consecrated to Jupiter = Blue

Seven Pentacles consecrated to Mars = Red

Seven Pentacles consecrated to the Sun = Yellow

Six Pentacles consecrated to the Moon = Silver

Five Pentacles consecrated to Venus = Green

Five Pentacles consecrated to Mercury = Mixed

CHAPTER XVIII CONCERNING THE HOLY PENTACLES OR METALS

These Pentacles are usually made of the metal the most suitable to the nature of the Planet; and then

there is no occasion to observe the rule of particular colours. They should be engraved with the

instrument of Art in the days and hours proper to the Planet.

Saturn ruleth over Lead; Jupiter over Tin; Mars over Iron; the Sun over Gold; Venus over Copper; Mercury

over the mixture of Metals; and the Moon over Silver.

They may also be made with exorcised virgin paper, writing thereon with the colours adopted for each

Planet, referring to the rules already laid down in the proper Chapters, and according to the Planet

with which the Pentacle is in sympathy.

Wherefore unto Saturn the colour of Black is appropriated; Jupiter ruleth over Celestial Blue; Mars over

Red; the Sun over Gold, or the colour of Yellow or Citron; Venus over Green; Mercury over Mixed

Colours; the Moon over Silver, or the colour of Argentine Earth.

CHAPTER II OF THE DAYS, AND HOURS, AND OF THE VIRTUES OF THE PLANETS

It must, therefore, be understood that the Planets have their dominion over the day which

approacheth nearest unto the name which is given and attributed unto them-viz., over Saturday,

Saturn; Thursday, Jupiter; Tuesday, Mars; Sunday, the Sun; Friday, Venus; Wednesday, Mercury; and

Monday, the Moon.

The rule of the Planets over each hour begins from the dawn at the rising of the Sun on the day which

takes its name from such Planet, and the Planet which follows it in order, succeeds to the rule over the

next hour. Thus (on Saturday) Saturn rules the first hour, Jupiter the second, Mars the third, the Sun

the fourth, Venus the fifth, Mercury the sixth, the Moon the seventh, and Saturn returns in the rule

over the eighth, and the others in their turn, the Planets always keeping the same relative order.

Note that each experiment or magical operation should be performed under the Planet, and usually in

the hour, which refers to the same. For example:--

In the Days and Hours of Saturn thou canst perform experiments to summon the Souls from Hades,

but only of those who have died a natural death. Similarly on these days and hours thou canst operate

to bring either good or bad fortune to buildings; to have familiar Spirits attend thee in sleep; to cause

good or ill success to business, possessions, goods, seeds, fruits, and similar things, in order to acquire

learning; to bring destruction and to give death, and to sow hatred and discord.

The Days and Hours of Jupiter are proper for obtaining honours, acquiring riches; contracting

friendships, preserving health; and arriving at all that thou canst desire.

In the Days and Hours of Mars thou canst make experiments regarding War; to arrive at military

honour; to acquire courage; to overthrow enemies; and further to cause ruin, slaughter, cruelty,

discord; to wound and to give death.

The Days and Hours of the Sun are very good for perfecting experiments regarding temporal wealth,

hope, gain, fortune, divination, the favour of princes, to dissolve hostile feeling, and to make friends.

The Days and Hours of Venus are good for forming friendships; for kindness and love; for joyous and

pleasant undertakings, and for travelling.

The Days and Hours of Mercury are good to operate for eloquence and intelligence; promptitude in

business; science and divination; wonders; apparitions; and answers regarding the future. Thou canst

also operate under this Planet for thefts; writings; deceit; and merchandise.

The Days and Hours of the Moon are good for embassies; voyages envoys; messages; navigation;

reconciliation; love; and the acquisition of merchandise by water.

Thou shouldest take care punctually to observe all the instructions contained in this chapter, if thou

desirest to succeed, seeing that the truth of Magical Science dependeth thereon.

The Hours of Saturn, of Mars, and of the Moon are alike good for communicating and speaking with

Spirits; as those of Mercury are for recovering thefts by the means of Spirits.

The Hours of Mars serve for summoning Souls from Hades, especially of those slain in battle.

The Hours of the Sun, of Jupiter, and of Venus, are adapted for preparing any operations whatsoever of

love, of kindness, and of invisibility, as is hereafter more fully shown, to which must be added other

things of a similar nature which are contained in our work.

The Hours of Saturn and Mars and also the days on which the Moon is conjunct with them, or when

she receives their opposition or quartile aspect, are excellent for making experiments of hatred,

enmity, quarrel, and discord; and other operations of the same kind which are given later on in this

work.

The Hours of Mercury are good for undertaking experiments relating to games, raillery, jests, sports,

and the like.

The Hours of the Sun, of Jupiter, and of Venus, particularly on the days which they rule, are good for all

extraordinary, uncommon, and unknown operations.

The Hours of the Moon are proper for making trial of experiments relating to recovery of stolen

property, for obtaining nocturnal visions, for summoning Spirits in sleep, and for preparing anything

relating to Water.

The Hours of Venus are furthermore useful for lots, poisons, all things of the nature of Venus, for

preparing powders provocative of madness and the like things.

But in order to thoroughly effect the operations of this Art, thou shouldest perform them not only on

the Hours but on the Days of the Planets as well, because then the experiment will always succeed

better, provided thou observest the rules laid down later on, for if thou omittest one single condition

thou wilt never arrive at the accomplishment of the Art.

For those matters then which appertain unto the Moon, such as the Invocation of Spirits, the Works of

Necromancy, and the recovery of stolen property, it is necessary that the Moon should be in a

Terrestrial Sign, viz.:--Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn.

For love, grace, and invisibility, the Moon should be in a Fiery Sign, viz.:--Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius.

For hatred, discord, and destruction, the Moon should be in a Watery Sign, viz.:--Cancer, Scorpio, or

Pisces.

For experiments of a peculiar nature, which cannot be classed under any certain head, the Moon

should be in an Airy Sign, viz.:--Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius.

So here are the associations regarding Mars pentacles:

• Its pentacle is made over Iron metal

• Its adopted color is Red

• Its dominion is on Tuesday

• Mars comes third in the planet rule from the dawn;

• Experiments under Days and Hours of Mars are cast for war, courage, giving death, military honour

• Mars is also used in its hours to summon the souls from Hades, specifically if killed in battles, and

to speak with the spirits

But how does all this tie back into what we’ve already been told in Assassin’s Creed history? Where

else have we heard of such True Magic and Divine Science before? It’s time we got deeper in the

weeds on Project Legacy’s potential connections, beginning with the other alchemists we’ve met that

had handled a very similar tome - or tomes - as the one we’ve been exploring, and may yet help us in

theorizing when, who, and what we’ll be looking forward to in Hexe!

Nicholas Flamel, Edward Kelley, John Dee, Paracelsus Bombastus, Giovanni Borgia, William Robert

Woodman, Mina Bergson/Moina Mathers, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, William Wynn Westcott,

Aleister Crowley.

All these names either handled, experimented with, or otherwise knew of the secrets contained within

a sacred alchemical text that had been split in two, in the hopes that its secrets would remain lost to

whomever held only one or the other, though as it turned out, plenty of miracles and magick could be

performed if the right reader researched its indecipherable pages. Heavily connected - though not

explicitly confirmed - to the Voynich Manuscript we’ve seen pop up several times in various sources,

Divine Science and True Magic have only been known to be combined in one man’s hands: Abraham of

Würzburg. His name is mentioned by a lot of the above alchemists, and for good reason - they all

attribute their findings to this man’s work before them, written and published into a grimoire titled

The Book of Abramelin, or alternatively, The Book of Abraham. However, this book is somewhat

confusing, as is the man it’s about, but we can diffuse as much confusion as possible by looking into

things further.

One such “Book of Abraham” was a collection of

scrolls discovered in an early 19th century

archeological expedition to Egypt by a man

named Antonio Lebolo, which were then sold on

July 3rd, 1835 to none other than Joseph Smith,

the founder of Mormonism - and known Templar

in AC - who then went on to translate and claim

it to be the story of Abraham from the Bible, his

early life in Canaan and Egypt, and his vision of

the cosmos and creation. Smith then published

this translated Book of Abraham into part of The

Pearl of Great Price in the Book of Mormon. I

can’t say definitively that Assassin’s Creed lore conflates this story with what I’m about to explain, but

I think it holds much significance with the arguably more important Abraham at play in the lore.

There’s another book that has manuscripts dating back to 1608, attributed to a man named Abraham

von Worms, about a different Egyptian mage named Abraham from the 14th century (henceforth

referred to as Abra-Melin). Abra-Melin made a grimoire that he then taught to another German man

from the 14th century named Abraham of Würzburg, and this German Abraham’s journals of his trip to

Egypt and his studies under Abra-Melin were catalogued into 4 major parts - “an autobiographical

account of the travels of Abraham of Worms to Egypt, a book of assorted materials from the corpus of

the practical Kabbalah (including some which is duplicated in the German-Jewish grimoire called "The

Sixth and 7th Books of Moses") and the two books of magic given by Abramelin to Abraham.”

Two books of magic, they said? Interesting... Now, the pages of this grimoire that Abra-Melin gave to

Abraham of Würzburg are never claimed in our history to relate to the later-discovered Book of

Abraham that would wind up in the Book of Mormon, but I think the culturally congruent Egyptian

Abrahams both having books of particular importance revolving around nature and how things came to

be, should put both of these stories in the same vein when talking about how this could be and has

been used in AC.

For an irrefutable example, we can look to the most famous grimoire to

spawn from Samuel Mathers’ macabre magicks in the Hermetic Order of the

Golden Dawn, whom took the writings of this supposed Abra-Melin as

possibly more fervent gospel than Smith took his scrolls! Mathers would go

on to publish his studies and findings into his own translated grimoire,

titled The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, in 1897,

sparking new interest in the occult in the early 20th century.

But where does all this bring us in answers about Hexe? To sum up my

theory on the story, it’s been posited for a while that we’ll be seeing 17th

century German witch trials, but what I think is that we’ll be witnessing the

fallout of whoever found these 1608 manuscripts regarding Abra-Melin,

perhaps practicing what it contained, communing with “spirits of Hades”, and eventually being outed

or going into hiding during the 1625-1631 Würzburg Witch Trials, a harrowing time in 17th century

Germany for anyone showing any occult interests, and a hotbed for hidden Assassin and Templar - and

Hermetic Order - secrets to discover! What did they know of Isu writings? Could the language connect

to the ritualistic Hebrew and Alphabet of the Magi we see in the pentacles? I could add that Abramelin

Oil is used in consecration rituals, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole of possible connections I’ll

leave for you to explore further if you wish!

But what are your thoughts? Am I stretching too many threads to make sense of what little we’ve been

given so far? Or do you think my Spidey-senses are spot-on? What are you most excited for that might

be coming in Codename Hexe? Let’s discuss!

• Your Friendly Neighborhood Mentor

ṇoænos wahæáid oænosr zàrhṇdichṛ