Rain World: What do the Echo’s names mean? [SPOILERS]

WARNING: There are many big spoilers in here that are significant to the plot of Rain World, so if you have not finished the game and do not want to be spoiled, PLEASE do not read any further!!!

The echos, mysterious spirits that only appear in certain places at certain times and can only be understood with the mark of understanding. These beings attempted to ascend long ago, but failed in the process and got stuck between two worlds. If you look at the achievements you get after finding them, you will notice that they all have very weird names... well, I did some research on those names and might have stumbled upon some things that make sense. If you have any information or theories on the meaning of an echo’s name, please tell me in the comments! Enjoy!

P.s. The “branding image” as Steam calls it, was uploaded by a Youtuber called Applebread in one of their videos. Just wanted to give them credit.

Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections

“Behold this empty husk of a land... Populated only by storms, ruins and abominations. It wasn’t always thus. I was once the Count of 2 living blocks, esteemed by my peers. I had progeny!
From within my vessel of flesh, I would perch upon this spot to observe the rising of the sun.
Corporeal matters seem so distant now. Most have forgotten this place, but I remain. Perhaps I reminisce because I cannot go. Perhaps I cannot go because memory traps me here.”



First, I looked at the meaning of the number nineteen. I found many, MANY mixed opinions from different people, websites, and religions, but the one that really stood out to me was the combination of the meanings of one and nine: the number one represents uniqueness. This echo was obviously highly praised and looked up to, making it stand out among the others, and was thus very unique compared to everyone else around it.The number nine has a lot to do with spiritual matters, such as enlightenment and ascension, which was what this being tried to do, but failed in the process.

Next, I looked at the meaning of spades. Spades have many meanings as well, but the ones that fit this echo best were the representation of action, death, and a leaf of a cosmic tree. This echo performed the action attempting to permanatly die. The definition of cosmo is “relating to the world or universe” and since this echo is trapped between two universes as a result of its failure to properly ascend, it is most defiantly related to the universe in one way or another.

This echo is cursed to endlessly reflect on the life it once had, and its reflections of its memories are most likely the reason why it could not ascend, acting as a tether of sorts, making the echo unable to properly ascend.

Six Grains of Gravel, Mountains Abound

“We can feel your presence, little creature.
Your attunement has become... much closer to ours.
The mark you received is an unimaginable gift.
The struggle, the cycles...
It can all fade, like a morning mist beneath the glory of the sun.
We found a way.”



In the Bible, the number six represents man and man’s imperfection. This echo says that “We found a way” to end the struggle of the endless cycles. However, this solution turned out to be imperfect and dangerous, as it had the possibility to strand imperfect and unelightend beings, like this echo, between two worlds. Looking at its monologue, I think that this echo still believes the solution that it found to be perfect and effective, even though it is not. The echo’s thoughts and denial on this topic is most likely what keeps it stranded. It is possible that the gravel mentioned in the echo’s name refers to impurity, the same way the number six does. Also, while looking through Looks to the Moon's red pearl dialogue I found that the ancients used to consume nothing but herbal tea and gravel when trying to shed the human desire of gluttany. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with this echo, but it sure is interesting!

This one is a bit of a stretch, but I’m going to put it in anyways. Just some food for thought!
I could not find a specific or strait answer for the representation of mountains that made complete sense, so I went with the best one I had. Mountains are considered obstacles; they are tall, wide, and are in the way of many things that people want to get to. The “struggle” of making it through the cycles over and over again can be meteforically considered a mountain in the way of a common goal. The struggle to find a working solution to end the cycles is even more of a mountain. There seem to be mountains everywhere, or “mountains abound” in this echo’s life.

A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads

“Strange... something still draws me here, even after all this time. The weather is so different now, but the fields, I do not need eyes to know that the grasses still gently sway in the wind. To have grasped at the boundless infinities of the cosmic void... yet here I am contemplating these same fields as I once did, talking to some sort of rodent.”




Bells have significance in almost every single culture in the world, making my research a little harder than usual... I was, however, able to come up with a summary of everything I researched that made sense. Bells represent the gaining of wisdom and spiritual peace and communication. In order to ascend, a being must be fully enlightened and have no earthly tethers left to hold on to, allowing the being to find everlasting peace. However, this echo failed to do so, as it still had an earthly tether, like all the other echos did. I believe this tether was its quest for wisdom that was not yet fulfilled, and thus held it back from ascension. It does not seem to understand why it was held back and continues to contemplate the same things it did in life in an endless search for answers.

Now, as you may have guessed, almost all of Rain World’s lore is based on Budism beliefs. In the religion, there is something called Buddhist Prayer Beads, which is essentially a string of 108 beads representing the desires of humans that need to be overcome in order to reach enlightenment. It is possible that similar prayer beads were used by the Ancients in Rain World and that this echo only managed to surpass 18 human desires before getting impatiant and attempting to ascend. Maybe the Anceints only used 18 beads instead of 108, or maybe the 18 beads in this echo’s name were meant to only make a reference towards the 108 prayer beads. @1MINISKIDI brought up a possible connection to amber in the comment section (Thanks, dude!) Fossilized amber has a tendancy to be found holding ancient bugs that were trapped in the sticky substance long ago. It is possible that the "Amber Beads" in the echo's name hints towards the fact that the echo became trapped inside the 18 (or 108) human desires, just like a bug gets trapped in amber, and was unable to ascend because of this.

Four Needles under Plentiful Leaves

“You have no name. I once had! I was embalmed, adorned, readied for the journey. So proud! There was jubilation. My name was sung, loud and clear. Did they know? That I didn’t quite leave, didn’t quite stay? Should I be ashamed? That I linger here, where my memories are kept? Should I be ashamed that I now envy your flesh prison?”




I looked at many differant meanings of the number four and have come to the conclusion that this number mostly represents order, devotion, and perseverance. This echo was most definitely the orderly type, judging by the fact that it was “readied for the journey”. This echo was also very devoted to its ascension, persevering until it was finally ready, so proud of itself that it was finally time. Pride is most likely the tether that held this echo back, not allowing it to properly ascend, even after all of its hard work.

I didn’t find too much on needles, only that they are used often in literature in explaining the impossibility of things, such as “It’s easier to fit an elephant through the eye of a needle than do that!” (That was terrible, sorry, I literally just made that up of the top of my head in less than five seconds!) Maybe the four needles are supposed to represent perseverance to do hard things?? That’s kind of a stretch, though... If anyone has any ideas on this, please share!

While reading through the comment section, I found that @Fingerthing made a good theory on the possible representation of plentiful leaves and four needles. This echo askes “Should I be ashamed? That I linger here, where my memories are kept? Should I be ashamed that I now envy your flesh prison?” This echo is not sure what to think about its past life and its fate anymore, all of its senses of right and wrong dulled by time. Think of the floor of a forest, with four needles laying on top of it. These needles represent this echo’s senses, its sense of pride and shame. They could also represent the things that I mentioned above. Now, think of those needles covered in many, many leaves. Those leaves represent time, covering up this echo’s senses of pride and shame, dulling the needles, softening this echo’s emotion. Now, this echo is not sure what to think of anything anymore, a lost soul with only an echo of emotion, buried by “plentiful leaves”.

Two Sprouts, Twelve Brackets

“A little beast! But not as dim as the rest, perhaps? So down into the depths you go, as many others before you, drawn to the void again and again, an endless drip drip drip. Much like these tunnels and caves that amuse me so. The bones of forgotten civilizations, heaped like so many sticks. Did they dig too deep? Or not deep enough? Fools. We were right to drill straight through them!”



I did not find anything that made sense on the number twelve or on brackets... this echo’s name is confusing and I had trouble finding anything at all on this one, so this section might be a little more far fetched than others. If you have any ideas or info that can help, please put it in the comment section! Thanks!

The number two symbolizes both union and division, opposition, and in some cases, partnership. The representation that makes the most sense in this situation is union and opposition (to me at least!) This echo was obviously part of the group of Ancients that decided to drill into the Void Sea in an attempt to get their hands on some void fluid. Acording to this monologue, the ruins that are down in the depths were not built by the Ancients and probably belonged to a civilization long forgotten, its people ascending into void like the Ancients did. And now I shall go into SPECULATION MODE!!! The Ancients united themselves and drilled into these ruins, most likely damaging some of it on the way down. The guardians in the Depths were probably there before the ancients arrived, but were unable to stop unworthy Ancients, like this one, from trying to ascend. The Ancients opposed the guardians and somehow won... but this echo will not admit that it was wrong to oppose the guardians, and this idea is what is keeping it from ascending. “Fools. We were right to drill strait through them!” But that’s just my take on it. It’s only a theory...

Sprouts are baby plants, new to the world and, if they had a brain, would be naive and innocent. This echo was naive enough to go into void fluid unprepared and unreadied, but not willing to admit it. Either that, or it didn’t know that it wasn’t ready. Either way, that seems pretty naive in my book.

Droplets Upon Five Large Droplets

“Do you hear it, little one? The buzzing in the air? The endless chatter of a thousand voices, long
dead? They are gone, and yet they speak neither here nor their. Does that seem familiar? Yes, it is quite amusing for a being in my predicament!”




I had so do some thinking to figure out something logical for this one, but I think I may have stumbled onto something... something BIG.

So, you all know about the water cycle, obviously, but I’m going to do a quick recap, just because. Water starts out as water vapor, floating around in the atmosphere. The water vapor attaches to more water vapor, creating clouds. As the cloud collects more and more water vapor, it begins to get heavy. All of the water vapor gets too heavy to stay up in the sky, so it falls to earth in the form of water, creating rain. Eventually, the water gets evaporated and turns into water vapor again, only to repeat the same cycle over and over and over for as long as it exists... do you see what I’m getting at here?

So, let’s say that the water and the water vapor represents every living thing in Rain World. They used to be water vapor, but then they fell down to earth. Then, the Ancients started to realize that every time they evaporate (AKA die) they just fall right back down to earth again, stuck in an endless cycle, like water in the water cycle! The void fluid permanently removes them from this “water cycle” allowing them to evaporate into the sky (die) permanently. The water represents impurity and the water vapor represents purity, so if a being has too much water (impurity) in them, they will not be able to ascend and get stuck in between two worlds forever. These failed ascensions are the voices the echo mentions and are the first droplets in its name.

The other five droplets are the other echos that you can encounter in-game. There are six echos in total, including Five Droplets, who is speaking about all the rest of the failed ascensions. The six echos that you meet in-game represent the impurities of mankind, much like the number six does.

Am I being overspeculative? I feel like I'm overspeculationg. Oh well! What's done is done.

Looks To The Moon (Big Sister Moon)

"Hello little creature. What are you? If I had my memories I would know. Perhaps... I saw you before?"








There are near countless meanings and interpretations about the moon out there, but one of the most prominent ones is feminine energy. As most of you know, Moon is supposed to be female, despite being a machine. She calls herself "Big Sister Moon" for this reason and because of the fact she is older than most of, if not all, the Iterators.
Another connection to the moon that she has is water, or more specifically the ocean. Moon is found in the Shoreline Region, a place almost completely covered in water and is essentially the ocean of Rain World. In real life, our moon controls the tide cycle in the ocean, its gravity lightly pulling on the water to create the tides. Moon's chamber is also flooded out at the end of every cycle because of the rain. Her connection with water, even if she can't control it, is definitely something that I can't ignore.
Also something worth noting: The Moon is interpreted by some cultures as a god, and it can also be interpreted as a metaphor for a relationship with God. Iterators like Moon are, in the words of Five Pebbles, "...godlike in comparison" to the Slugcat and all other creatures in Rain World. As with everything in the guide, this could have been purposeful, or it could simply be a coincidence.

Now into the "Looks To" part of Looks To The Moon. As a lot of you know, Five Pebbles stole much of Moon's water and life source in attempt to save himself from his fatal experiment. Because of his actions, Moon broke down and fell to earth. Once standing above the clouds, she is now forced to look up at where she once was, sitting in the ruins of her broken can, powerless.

Five Pebbles (Erratic Pulse)

"Me and my kind have as our purpose to solve that very oscillating claustrophobia in the chests of you and countless others. A strange charity-you the unknowing recipient. I the reluctant gift. The noble benefactors? Gone."







This one actually comes from inside the game itself! More specifically from one of the red pearls in Farm Arrays. It mentions the "five urges which tie a creature to life". As most of you know, iterators such as Pebbles cannot ascend, and the ancients could not properly ascend without ridding themselves of the five urges. It is possible that the number five represents Five Pebbles inability to ascend.

I found very little on pebbles, so most of this section is going to be me guessing about things and creating theories. Again, if you have any ideas, a comment would assist me a lot! Anyway, I decided to go looking around at religions, and sure enough I found something interesting. Apparently the Jewish religion has a tradition of putting small stones on graves. No one knows where this tradition came from, but they have interpreted it in several ways. One idea is that the pebbles keep the spirit in this world, or keep their memory alive. Now, Five Pebbles biggest frustration, along with all the other iterators, is, again, their inability to ascend, sort of like what is supposed to happen to the spirits who's grave has stones on it. Unfortunately, that was the only thing I could find that seemed to make sense. Completely speculatory at this point.

As for Five Pebble's alias, "Erratic Pulse", the name is simply supposed to disguise Pebble's true identity. However, he might have gotten it from his tendancy to act before thinking, like his fatal genome experiment and the accidental downfall of Moon.

In Conclusion...

Thank you so much for getting all the way through this guide! I honestly was not sure anyone would listen to my blabbering... so what do you think about my conclusions and theories? (Especially the last echo!) Am I on to something, or am I just crazy and overspeculative? Put any ideas or info you have in the comment section. Thanks again!

Small note: It seems as if the echo's names were also their names in life, since, according to names I found in Moon's pearl dialogue that didn't belong to iterators, the ancients had strange names just similar in structure to the echos. The iterators also have the same name structure, so I assume that these names are normal in Rain World's lost society.

People who have helped: 1MINISKIDI, Fingerthing, waterwoman59

[Faulted Nova]

Just adding on that eratic pulse was refering to the way that seven red suns describes them as bugs moving eraticaly through a maze. This was pre-downpour lore.

[HI]

for Six Grains of Gravel, Mountains Abound if you think about it the iterator cans are like mountains and to get to them you have to scale the "mountain" and you can see more "mountains" in the distance when you reach the top

[waterwoman59]

Part #4

FOUR NEEDLES UNDER PLENTIFUL LEAVES - Needles are painful if stabbed, and the experience is not easily forgotten, while falling leaves symbolize passing time. Four Needles feels conflicted because their peers seem to have buried their memory, forgetting that Four Needles even existed (who they once openly praised), consumed by their own selves.

TWO SPROUTS, TWELVE BRACKETS - Two different sprouts: the Ancients, and the civilization that came before them, who built their home in the deepest parts of the world. Same goal. Two Sprouts believed the latter failed, and that their results would differ from their predecessors, having created twelve Iterators to find the Solution — twelve brackets separating the two.

DROPLETS UPON FIVE LARGE DROPLETS - Water vapor fusing with water droplets, becoming the ever-persistent Rain. Droplets observed intently, wishing to understand the Great Cycle. After failing to fully ascend, they now had only one thing to do: observe and ponder fate.

[waterwoman59]

Part #3

So, after considering everything that has been said, then comparing them to my own theories, here's what I think the names mean: (credit to everyone for their ideas, as I could not have come up with the following on my own!)

NINETEEN SPADES, ENDLESS REFLECTIONS - Spades are designed to dig. The Ancients dug deep to get to the void fluid, and now Nineteen Spades has to spend eternity reflecting on their decisions.

SIX GRAINS OF GRAVEL, MOUNTAINS ABOUND - Grains are thought to be small, or not very significant. Six Grains felt a "mountain" of pride when their peers found a way to break the endless cycle.

A BELL, EIGHTEEN AMBER BEADS - Bells are often painted as either a soothing sound that invites deep thought, or an alarming one that marks time. A Bell felt that it was "their time" to ascend, but their failure to do so resulted in a long period of time in which they must think deeply about what has passed. They are "trapped in amber" in a sense, like prehistoric insects.

[waterwoman59]

Part #2

Well, the void fluid is technically a liquid, and other substances without a solid form tend to diffuse throughout a given space. In some religious views, it is thought that when you die, your spirit doesn't take a particular form. So, when the Ancients started to ascend, they started losing their bodies' physical forms, and thus their consciousness got spread out across the cavity in which they contacted the void fluid. A few Ancients in particular were able to mostly retain their physical form, though solely because they had more trouble letting go than the rest of their peers, so they could not even half-ascend like the others who got stuck, and are merely an echo with a lesser level of partial-ascension. They still wouldn't be able to keep the solidity of their body, so the essence of their peers (who are still there, just invisible to slugcat) would still flow through them, essentially being "one" with them.

[waterwoman59]

Part #1

This could be wrong, but I've been thinking a lot about their names lately, and it almost seemed like the numbers could represent their position in society. Nineteen, for example, is the highest number we've heard the Ancients use. Nineteen Spades stated that they were once the "Count of two living blocks." Meaning, they were in charge of two different cities in the sky (as they've built their cities on big "blocks" of material), and these blocks were "alive" with people who had residence there. In basic words, they were pretty high up in the social ranks.

Or maybe the numbers represent how many Ancients are trapped inside one form, as if there were multiple people in one body. The echoes often use "we" or "us," so it makes sense. And for how difficult and risky the process of ascension was said to be, I doubt there were only six of them in total that couldn't properly ascend, when there were thought to be so many of their kind. But how did they merge to become one?

[Mightyenacrush]

I don't think Five Pebbles is necessarily bad, he just seems frustrated, fed up with having his entire purpose be a near unsolvable mystery, and the fact that he will likely be stuck with it forever.

He sure does act like a jerk if you stay too long in his chamber, though!

[we are number one]

so five pebbles bad guy???

[Are you lost?]

Amber could refer to how small insects get usually trapped in it reminds me how the echos are trapped in the world unable to ascend

[Mightyenacrush]

@1MINISKIDI I don’t know about the Else songs until now, thanks for the info!