Some of my unorganized thoughts on the occultism in Who's Lila? so far

[Donkle]

This is just a fly by the seat of my pants post. I really want to put more thought into this once I finish up the game fully and get the rest of the achievements. So far I've managed to get all the tarot, but there's one achievement on top of the hidden ones that I have yet to receive and I haven't taken the time to really dig deep into this stuff just yet so bare with me.

I'm far from an expert in occultism, so take the things I say with a grain of salt. It's a personal interest of mine and something I use quite frequently in my own writing which is what really drew me to this game in the first place!

So I think it goes without saying that Carl Jung was a pretty big influence and it's easy to see from the quotes found in the school to the use of Jung's model of the psyche which can be found in the game. Carl Jung's psychology was heavily influenced by occult teachings. Hermeticism, spiritual alchemy (not quite the same as turn lead into gold alchemy that a lot of people tend to think of) and, of course, the tarot. So it's no surprise to see all of these aspects and more in the game in one form or another.

I think the biggest take away people should look into from Carl Jung, at least what seems pretty apparent to me in the moment, is the concept of the Persona, Ego, and the shadow self as well as the concept of "animas". I need to refine my thoughts on this but I believe strongly that Lila is some kind of anima to William. Without going into too much detail in this already too long post, anima are a kind of personification of the feminine found within the masculine. Feminine and masculine are pretty important concepts to all of the subjects I listed above. All people possess the feminine and masculine and the "ideal" self is typically someone who is in balance with the feminine and masculine. So an anima is kind of a personification of that feminine found in the masculine much like an animus is the masculine personified within the feminine. I suspect that Lila, similar to say Maria to James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2, is either that in a literal sense, or maybe just metaphorically if nothing else.

I've noticed that the endings and I feel some of the characters heavily correspond to these tarot cards. I find it quite notable that two cards typically associated with femininity, Empress and Temperance, are both reversals rather than upright cards. For the life of me I don't remember in the moment which endings necessarily correspond with those cards, but I'll definitely be replaying the endings and can refine me thoughts on just why those are reversals.

For those unaware, tarot cards can either be upright when presented or they can be reversals. Each card has many meanings that change depending on which way the card is facing. More often than not with only a few exceptions, upright cards tend to be more positive while reversals could be negative aspects or a warning sign you should pay attention to. The Empress card for instance is typically associated with motherhood (literally or spiritually and masculine people can also fall under the empress). It is heavily associated with motherhood, nature, and nurturing. It can also be about lavishness and bounty.

When reversed though, the Empress arcana (which I currently believe is associated with Lila specifically until I receive more information) takes on a much different meaning. At its best, the reversal may be warning you to take care of yourself both mentally and physically. Maybe you're so focused on other people and nurturing them that you end up neglecting yourself. At its worse, it could be signifying a more obsessive and controlling form of motherhood. I think it's important to note that there's a dialogue option you can get while being interrogated that talks about Williams' childhood with his mother and he lays out some very abusive/overmothering tendencies from her, things he just assumes is a sign she loved him but it clearly had an impact on him in a negative way. This I feel has to mean something... I think there might be a connection between his mother's behavior as a reversal of the empress AND Lila being the empress reversed.

I think it's also possible that Lila is maybe the high priestess if not the empress, so maybe alternatively the mother is the empress? I'd be open to thoughts on that if anyone else here knows anything about tarot. The main reason I think Lila is the empress is because in the secret diary where William talks about Lila, the symbol of Venus is found at the very end. Not only is that symbol associated with the Empress card, but it's also the achievement symbol for the empress card ending! coming right after talking about Lila, I think that's a strong connection.


Sorry for the long winded and very unorganized post. This is literally just notes off the top of my head and I need a lot of time to really think through them. I just hope this nugget of information is enough to maybe get other people's minds brrrring.

[Moth]

Spoilers ahead.

The Empress is connected to the boiler room lady, who also seems to represent Will's mother.
1. The boiler room lady says that Lila is a 'naughty, naughty girl', which is exactly what Will's mother said about his crush.
2. Yu talks about the devouring mother archetype when you pick the Empress (Reversed) card.
3. Lila says that 'she' is helping William in the Wheel of Fortune ending, 'her' presumably being the boiler room lady.
4. If you have Daemon activated in the boiler room, it says that 'the lady touched the burning wires', which goes in line with what Will says about the death of his mother.
You could also argue that the reason you can't look at the boiler room lady is related to how traumatic her death was for Will.
An interesting detail is that Will seems to speak about Martha in a manner reminiscent of that of his mother, even calling her naughty at one point.

Regarding Lila, the game gives many hints and one very clear answer about her nature. You can get it by translating the Morse code you receive near the utility pole beyond the veil. Here is the translated message (it's a big spoiler): Lila is the mystery of not knowing who Lila is.
Besides that, there can be many versions of who Lila actually is—Lilith, the anima, Will's trauma, and so on.

[Donkle]

Originally posted by Moth:

Spoilers ahead.

The Empress is connected to the boiler room lady, who also seems to represent Will's mother.
1. The boiler room lady says that Lila is a 'naughty, naughty girl', which is exactly what Will's mother said about his crush.
2. Yu talks about the devouring mother archetype when you pick the Empress (Reversed) card.
3. Lila says that 'she' is helping William in the Wheel of Fortune ending, 'her' presumably being the boiler room lady.
4. If you have Daemon activated in the boiler room, it says that 'the lady touched the burning wires', which goes in line with what Will says about the death of his mother.
You could also argue that the reason you can't look at the boiler room lady is related to how traumatic her death was for Will.
An interesting detail is that Will seems to speak about Martha in a manner reminiscent of that of his mother, even calling her naughty at one point.

Regarding Lila, the game gives many hints and one very clear answer about her nature. You can get it by translating the Morse code you receive near the utility pole beyond the veil. Here is the translated message (it's a big spoiler): Lila is the mystery of not knowing who Lila is.
Besides that, there can be many versions of who Lila actually is—Lilith, the anima, Will's trauma, and so on.

Very good point, i think it's highly possible you're right. That being said Lila also used the naughty line on Martha so I think there's probably a more concrete connection between the mother figure and Lila. That being said that makes me lean more towards Lila being the high priestess which makes a ton of sense to me.

[Яйцевидный Лист]

Originally posted by Moth:

Spoilers ahead.

The Empress is connected to the boiler room lady, who also seems to represent Will's mother.
1. The boiler room lady says that Lila is a 'naughty, naughty girl', which is exactly what Will's mother said about his crush.
2. Yu talks about the devouring mother archetype when you pick the Empress (Reversed) card.
3. Lila says that 'she' is helping William in the Wheel of Fortune ending, 'her' presumably being the boiler room lady.
4. If you have Daemon activated in the boiler room, it says that 'the lady touched the burning wires', which goes in line with what Will says about the death of his mother.
You could also argue that the reason you can't look at the boiler room lady is related to how traumatic her death was for Will.
An interesting detail is that Will seems to speak about Martha in a manner reminiscent of that of his mother, even calling her naughty at one point.

Regarding Lila, the game gives many hints and one very clear answer about her nature. You can get it by translating the Morse code you receive near the utility pole beyond the veil. Here is the translated message (it's a big spoiler): Lila is the mystery of not knowing who Lila is.
Besides that, there can be many versions of who Lila actually is—Lilith, the anima, Will's trauma, and so on.

Damn i remember this scene when Will tells how his mother called his first love "naughty naughty girl", but what ending was it?

[hipotermia]

Originally posted by Joseph Stalin:

Originally posted by Moth:

Spoilers ahead.

The Empress is connected to the boiler room lady, who also seems to represent Will's mother.
1. The boiler room lady says that Lila is a 'naughty, naughty girl', which is exactly what Will's mother said about his crush.
2. Yu talks about the devouring mother archetype when you pick the Empress (Reversed) card.
3. Lila says that 'she' is helping William in the Wheel of Fortune ending, 'her' presumably being the boiler room lady.
4. If you have Daemon activated in the boiler room, it says that 'the lady touched the burning wires', which goes in line with what Will says about the death of his mother.
You could also argue that the reason you can't look at the boiler room lady is related to how traumatic her death was for Will.
An interesting detail is that Will seems to speak about Martha in a manner reminiscent of that of his mother, even calling her naughty at one point.

Regarding Lila, the game gives many hints and one very clear answer about her nature. You can get it by translating the Morse code you receive near the utility pole beyond the veil. Here is the translated message (it's a big spoiler): Lila is the mystery of not knowing who Lila is.
Besides that, there can be many versions of who Lila actually is—Lilith, the anima, Will's trauma, and so on.

Damn i remember this scene when Will tells how his mother called his first love "naughty naughty girl", but what ending was it?

If I recall correctly, it's not a specific ending but rather a dialogue that gets triggered if William's confidence gets very low when talking to the first police officer.