THE WORLD OF IDEAS AND MATTER
The world of Homestuck is composed from dualities, stark contrasts which connect and admixture in a variety of ways. One of those dualities is the separation of Idea and Matter. The world of Paradox Space is a world where ideas become real. Grist is the substance of an argument turned actual substance to be collected and stored. Alchemy recombines the underlying ideas behind existing objects and fills the conglomerate notions with grist to make them real as well. Even the Aspects themselves are suffused with this duality, being feelings and ideas, similar to the Aeons of Gnostic thought, but also properties of very real objects and events. Void is found in the sensation of irrelevance and the loneliness of being ignored, but it is also found in pumpkins, horses, and the deep sea. For more on this duality, see Tex Talks’ video series on this and other Homestuck-related topics.
This is the first thesis of the Aspect Zodiac, then, that some Aspects are more closely tied to the notion of the world as immaterial Idea, and others more closely hew to the notion of the world as solid Matter.
The upper section of the wheel, filled with bright and breezy colors, is the domain of the Ideal Principle, filled with Aspects more closely connected to the notion of Paradox Space as a world of Ideas. At its peak is found Breath, the Aspect of thought unfettered by any uncertainties or worries for the concerns of the material world.
Those wielding the notional Aspects have an ability to perceive what might be, what is desired, or what is simply made up, and strive to make it reality. I speak of John, and his dread innocence. I speak of Vriska, and her infinite ambitions. I speak of Feferi, and her grandiose designs. I speak of Jake, and his mastery of the art of delusion. Rose struggles with this, but, well, that’s the thing, she struggles. And the more she struggles, the less her symbology leans toward Light, and the more she is swallowed up by Void. Terezi has similar complications, especially once she is selected for predation by Gamzee, and struggles to imagine all but a finite set of possibilities, all unpalatable.
The bottom section of the wheel, filled with dark and dreary imagery, is the domain of the Material Principle, filled with Aspects more closely connected to the notion of Paradox Space as a world of Matter. At its bottom is found Blood, the Aspect of worries and fetters, the most notable of which is the ever-complicated fact that other people exist independently of you and have their own personalities and desires which do not always coincide with your own.
This, then, is the material world, of nothingness, of self, of loss, of truth, of bond. It is solid, it is real. Not to be dreamed up as possibility or flight of fancy and then discarded just as quickly. Dirk fights constantly to rid himself of the aspects of his personality that he dislikes but finds that he cannot (until perhaps at the close of it all); Equius’ very body is of such intensity that he cannot help but cause consequence upon all things he touches, and his presence repels the omniscience of Scratch, erasing his environment from the notional; Sollux is constantly concerned not with what might come to pass, but with what will, and pays a steep price whenever he tries to fit it to his liking, and Karkat is pretty much constantly busy bringing things back into reality with reminders of time limits and the need for teamwork. Gamzee’s path through this is one of struggle, of course, as he uses sopor and the power of delusion to hide from himself the truth of what his gods (who are very real and not simply to be accepted on faith) demand from him, and initially does not wish to live through the consequences of following through on those demands (though of course he eventually does).
THE WORLD OF YIN AND YANG
Another duality, one arguably even more well established in the Homestuck universe, is that of Passive and Active. Now, it is well established that the Classes can be divided into categories of Passive and Active, though what exactly that means is in some dispute. Personally, I subscribe to the notion put forth in OptimisticDuelist’s Force and Flow essays, which emphasizes that the Active classes operate primarily based on their own needs and desires, and the Passive classes operate primarily based on the needs and desires of others.
But the Classes are not the only thing in Homestuck that are divided along these lines. It is a semi-obscure piece of Homestuck lore that the moons of Prospit and Derse drive their respective dreamers to behavior falling in line with the Active and Passive principles as well, though the mechanisms of cultural osmosis. Again, OptimisticDuelist explains it better than me.
But the moons themselves have a peculiar affinity for certain players. I am speaking, specifically, of the fact that every single hero of Space in Homestuck is identified as a Prospit dreamer, and indeed they’ve all spent quite a bit of time there. Even Porrim, who we barely see any of, carries a memory of a particular Prospitian railway as the solution to a minor puzzle, directly connecting her to the place. By contrast, every hero of Time dreams of Derse, often in an almost uncontrollable manner, as with Dave being awake without knowing it, or Aradia’s dreamself resting within Derse’s core and, if certain theories are to be believed, using her powers to manifest the spirit of her dead waking self into the world of the living.
Sidenote: With the advent of the Troll Call and Friendsim, we’ve been introduced to trolls who buck this trend, such as Tagora (Derse/Space), Mallek, and Skylla (both Prospit/Time). Actually, only one Troll Call troll follows it, Remele (Prospit/Space). What this means for the Aspect Zodiac and/or WP-related media going forward is unknown.
So if the Passive/Active dichotomy is bound to Prospit and Derse, and Prospit and Derse are bound to the Aspects of Space and Time, does it then follow that Space and Time themselves, and perhaps all the Aspects, are connected to the Passive/Active dichotomy? It certainly seems so. The most Passive Class of all, the Muse, is held by a Spacebound, Calliope, and the most Active Class, Lord, is held by a Timebound.
So what does Passive and Active mean, then, when referring to the Aspects? Near as I can tell, it means scope. Broad or narrow, multitudinous or singular.
The left side of the wheel, filled with cool and distant colors, is the domain of the Passive Principle, filled with Aspects more closely connected to the notion of Paradox Space as a broad and complex world, filled with interconnecting and intersecting patterns. At its center is found the Aspect of Space, with its clinical white on black galaxy pattern, the Aspect of endless breadth and a creative potential that oftentimes seems more a duty than a calling.
Where bearers of Passive Classes are prone to putting the needs and desires of the their friends before their own, bearers of Passive Aspects are prone to perceiving reality in a broad sense, zooming out to look at a bigger, more objective view of things.
The right side of the wheel, filled with hot and fiery colors, is the domain of the Active Principle, filled with Aspects more closely connected to the notion of Paradox Space as a world which exists only in the individual’s perception. At its center is found Time, the Aspect of individual destiny, mortality, and, ultimately, the challenge to choose one’s path for oneself.
Where bearers of Active Classes are prone to putting their own needs and desires before those of others, bearers of Active Aspects are prone to perceiving reality in a narrow sense, zooming in to look at a more particular, subjective view of things.
