Updated: Mar 5, 2020
After BigHint : Begins and BigHint : Neverland, it's time to wrap up this trilogy with one final BigHint!
HINT 3: PSIQUE and CUPID
Like the hint in Neverland theory, this hint was also shared as a hashtag on BigHit's official instagram at the release of the concept photos for 화양연화 pt.1.
The hashtags on most of their photos are standard ones like #butterfly (in three different languages) and #DREAM but on the photo of this hand, they added one other hashtag: #Psique
The hand belongs to Jin but even on the other parts of this image (face, shoulder, etc), the hashtag doesn't resurface. It's hidden almost like an Easter egg.
And it's not the only Easter egg.
Here is another strange addition that also only shows up once: #CUPID
It appears on the underside of Jungkook's arm.
According. To this hint:
Jungkook = Cupid and Jin = Psyche
Now this might not seem like much, unless you know a little about Psique and Cupid, so let me tell you their story.
The story of Cupid and Psique (most commonly spelled Psyche in English) comes from Greek mythology written down in the novel "Metamorphoses" by Apuleius in the 2nd century.
Many of you might know about Cupid, also called Eros or Amor. He is the god of desire and sexual love. Cupid carries a bow and arrow and anyone shot by one of his arrows is instantly filled with desire.
Psyche is introduced as being the youngest and most beautiful daughter of a king and queen.
She had many admirers who even worshipped Psyche and her beauty to the point of neglecting their worship to the goddess Venus (also called Aphrodite). Her worshippers referred to Psyche as Venus' hidden daughter.
Venus became furious that she was being discarded, so she enlists Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with someone ugly and horrible.
As he is about to extract Venus' revenge over Psyche, Cupid accidentally scratches himself on one of his arrows, and falls madly in love with Psyche.
Psyche's two sisters marry away but she doesn't. Her father is concerned and seeks the advice from an Oracle. The Oracle tells him that Psyche will have no human husband but instead a husband that harasses the world with fire and iron and is feared even by the creatures of the underworld.
In order to let her destiny unfold so she can marry, Psyche is dressed in funeral clothes and forced to go through a rite of passage both of marriage and death.
She is then left in a beautiful meadow.
She goes off to explore and finds a beautiful house. A voice tells her to make herself comfortable. Here she enjoys a feats and then the voice guides her to a dark bedroom.
In the night a visitor sneaks into her bed and departs again before sunrise. Night after night the visitor returns and forbids Psyche to look at him.
Psyche's sisters come for a visit to this house and are jealous of the comforts of her life. When they hear about her night time visitor they convince her to discover her husband's true identity, telling her that he must be a monster to hide so.
That night, after Cupid falls asleep, Psyche brings out a candle and a dagger to kill the monster. In her bed she is surprised to find Cupid, a beautiful man, not a monster, and accidentally stabs herself on one of his arrows. Mad with desire for him, she accidentally drops hit wax onto Cupid, who awakens.
Cupid flees and Psyche leaves on a long wandering, looking for her lost love.
I won't go into more details of her travels (you can read the story for that) but suffice to say that it ends on a happy note where Cupid and Psyche are joined in marriage with no more secrets between them.
I find it very interesting that BigHit has chosen to refer openly to this story and also that they chose to do so by referring to Jin as Psyche (well.. it sort of makes sense; prettier than a goddess and all) and Jungkook as Cupid.
Mainly because throughout the HYYH era both Jungkook and Jin appear to be aware that there's something wrong about their world; something is off.
Cupid and Psyche don't live in the real world, nor do they live in the underworld, and they both know that their union is a strange one.
Now that's just the basics that I needed to lay out.
Things are about to get very creepy...
Psyche's name in Greek, ψυχή, also means Butterfly..!
Not only does it mean Butterfly, it also means soul, or life. In our concept photos and MVs it's mostly Jin who is directly linked to butterflies.
In the Prologue Jin films a butterfly and seems to realise that something is off...
From Greek, Psyche can be translated as butterfly, but it can also mean soul, or life.
Psyche is, of course, also someone's mental state or their consciousness.
By designating Jin as Psyche, are BigHit suggesting that he is the consciousness? That the other boys simply live inside him and that Jin is the main consciousness?
Or might they be suggesting that because Jin is Psyche, which can also be translated from Greek as life, that he is the only one truly alive?
In Greek folklore it is believed that when a person dies, their soul flies from their mouth...
Remember: Psyche = soul = butterfly.
Let's rephrase that: in Greek folklore it is often believed that when a person dies, a butterfly flies from their mouth!
Yes. Take a moment. Breathe.
This was a saying popularised by Homer, a legendary Greek author who wrote the 'Odyssey' and the 'Iliad'.
Mainly for this reason, Butterflies are often depicted as guides that lead souls to the land of the dead.
This would certainly suggest that Suga is dead (which in turn would suggest that a lot of the boys are dead).
Where does Jin come into this? Well he is identified as the Psyche, and that would make him the butterfly. He is the spiritual guide to the afterlife. Either that or he is the only one who is real and alive.
(Psyche=Butterfly=Life)
It is a popular at belief that seeing a butterfly after the death of a friend or a loved one, signifies their soul going away peacefully, being guided to the afterlife.
#BTS #BIGHIT #THEORY #Butterfly #Wings
Read More:
Part one of this theory. We examine clues that Bighit left for us in old promotions, specifically during the Begins concert.
Secrets of Satoori Rap Did you know that RM, Suga and J-hope were on the news before the other members joined BTS? Did yoou know that BTS change a part of Satoori rap each time they perform it? Do you know what the song is about? What the title hides? Discover the secrets behind Satoori Rap.
Translation : Jin Recipe Diet Food Pre-debut BTS ate a lot of diet food and had a lot of fun. Pre-debut Jiini wrote funny blogs about the food he woould cook for BTS. This is my translation of one of those blogs.
Theory : Symbolism in Blood Sweat and Tears
We look at statues, paintings, books and more to uncover all of the symbolism in the Blood Sweat and Tear music video.