Mem Aleph
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Mem Aleph is a Demon in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey.
Profile
Origin
Mem Aleph is a concept taken from Barbara G. Walker's books, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. These two books largely center around explaining the history of human society through a feminist lens, arguing that all religion around the world is rooted in the belief of a Great Mother Goddess. Walker's work has been heavily criticized for not accurately reflecting her cited sources and should not be considered historically accurate.
Walker claimed that Mem Aleph was derived from a Persian goddess she called Mourdad-Ameretat.[1]
Design
She appears as a woman lying on her side, with entirely golden skin and a strapless dress of the same color. She has black hair that somewhat resembles an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh headdress with matching black lips, and an open third eye on her forehead. Behind her upper torso and head are two intricate wheels, both of which have rods extruding from them. Her overall appearance gives off the aura of regalness and resembles something that would be seen in ancient Japanese artwork.
In her Empty form, Mem Aleph is reduced to an embryo with an exposed brain, an emphasized spine that goes down to form a tail, and limbs that lack any opposable digits. She floats in the fetal position surrounded by a blue membrane, presumably made of water as it produces bubbles, which is in turn surrounded by various lines resembling the paths electrons make around atoms.
Gameplay
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Compendium
| Compendium Entries | |
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| Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux |
Mother
Mother spirit in representation of what Earth once was. Central being of Schwarzwelt. Mem Aleph is not a name of a specific demon, but a name derived from MA: in Hebrew, M, phonetically read mem, represents water, and A, read aleph, represents beginning. Globally, the word for "mother" shares the phonetic sound MA. When the Schwarzwelt is released upon Earth, she will become the "Mother" of all beings. Empty The bare power of Mem Aleph, achieved by abandoning everything as a Mother. Void of her motherly form, void of her advanced knowledge, and void of her future - it now has the power to reduce its enemies to less than a dust of spirit.
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Game Appearances
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
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Shin Megami Tensei IV
A statue of Mem Aleph is worshipped by members of the Ring of Gaea in Tsukiji Hongwanji.
Trivia
- Mem Aleph is not able to be recruited as a demon normally, though can instead be obtained via a password in the original version of Strange Journey.
- Despite her role in the story indicating her Chaotic disposition, in the original version of Strange Journey, Mem Aleph's alignment during battle is listed as Neutral. This was changed in Strange Journey Redux.
Nomenclature
Her name comes from the Hebrew letters מ (m) and א (a), which represent "water" and "the beginning" respectively, in reference to the mother goddess Ma in Cappadocia culture.[1]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
メムアレフ | Mem Aleph |
Gallery
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Mem Aleph being worshipped by the Ring of Gaea in Shin Megami Tensei IV
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hebrew letters MA, the Mother-charm signifying "water" and "the beginning," written on protective amulets of the 9th century B.C.¹ The magic name of the Great Goddess Ma. A concept borrowed from the Persians, who called the maternal spirit Mourdad-Ameretat (MA: Death-Rebirth)." [1]. Retrieved February 22, 2024. Twitter.