"The Master of the Crabs" is a somewhat typical Clark Ashton Smith tale (whatever typical means in the context of the great hierophant Klarkash-Ton). The premise is simple, a sorcerer (Mior Lumivix) wants something another sorcerer (Sarcand) happens to have. The story progresses in a fairly straightforward Sword and Sorcery fashion leading up to a fairly embarrassing demise of Sarcand at the end. My enjoyment of this particular Clark Ashton Smith story has less to do with the story itself but more its evocative imagery and symbolism that is surprisingly deep and profound on an esoteric level. There is a highly Typhonian component to many of Smith's works, but this one, in particular, has many different tangents that can be observed on a much deeper level.

Background: The Nightside Tree of Qabalah

To understand the Typhonian side of "The Master of the Crabs" one has to be somewhat versed in Qliphotic lore. The Qliphoth is the literal "other side" of the traditional Western-oriented Qabalah that was made so famous via Aleister Crowley and many other adherents of Ceremonial Magick in the early 1900s. Consider a small coin laying on the ground. It has two sides, one that is struck by light and is illuminated properly, the other remains in complete darkness. The illuminated portion of the coin is Qabalah, the darkened portion is the Qliphoth. Each aspect of this traditional universal map/model of the soul has its various correspondences that are beyond the scope of this particular article. Suffice to say, though, that there's a legion of angels and demons forever and always at the ready to be summoned by any intrepid karcist.

The Typhonian Tradition of Kenneth Grant is highly influenced by this Nightside Tree and its numerous pathways known as The Tunnels of Set. Grant himself was quite the avid reader of Lovecraft, and in many cases spoke of Lovecraft's stories and pantheons as literal emanations from this Qliphotic "other side." This perspective is the one that is being taken when writing this article, but for Clark Ashton Smith's varied works instead.

The Zothique Cycle is highly Qliphotic in essence. All manner of gloom, doom, violence, and unrestrained sexuality are all aspects of the Nightside Tree. There's a lush, obsidian deliciousness that emanates from every word of Smith's verse on the numerous and sultry tales of decaying yet extravagant civilizations at the end of days. Smith's Zothique stories are a complete antithesis to more "upbeat" and virtuous tales that are seen during Smith's time. They are full of adventure and suspense but also trappings of French Decadent romanticism and gothic horror as well; two themes that correlate with such Nightside energies quite strongly.

Many of the astral denizens of the Qliphoth are vampyric and are highly deranging when it comes to human beings interacting with them (without the proper protections in place, that is). It is the author's personal opinion that Smith, much like Lovecraft has been accused of, accidentally channeled Qliphotic elements via his dreams and brought them to us in a short-story format. While this cannot be proven on a material level, it can feasibly be understood on a more subconscious one. Essence, after all, can be more powerful than the form itself.

On The Symbolism of The Crab

The crab is the totemic animal of choice for the zodiac sign of Cancer. This particular zodiac sign is also under the planetary aegis of the Moon, which in classical astrology and Septenary correspondences relates to the subconscious and oneiric realms. This corresponds quite well with Smith's Zothique mythos, especially when one considers that the Sun of that particular world is dying, and soon only the Moon shall remain. This will be of immense benefit to the more nocturnal denizens of Zothique; that is until their food sources (including the now defenseless humans) fade into obscurity.

On The Isle of Iribos

“Under the late moon, that had curved and sharpened to a slim scimitar, we unmoored our boat...”

Iribos, and its looming celestial details mentioned in the story, paint a fairly esoteric image that is fitting within the overall Cancerian theme of the entire tale. It seems as if the Moon is the driving factor towards this story as a whole. As mentioned before, Cancer is a lunar-dominant zodiac sign that is represented by a crab. There's certainly no shortage of crab and moon-related references when it comes to this remote island of horror and wonder. Early on in the story, the area where Manthar and Lumivix shipwreck is even described as a "half-moon" shape, yet another example of this Cancerian/lunar essence woven through this tale.

It's also worth noting that Smith mentions both Scorpio and Capricorn in this story. Scorpio is another water sign, much like Cancer. Capricorn, interestingly enough, is a Saturn-dominant zodiac sign. This correlates well with the persona of the main antagonist, Sarcand, as Saturn traditionally is a planetary archon suitable for necromantic works and other dealings involving the dead. Curiously, Smith has left out a fairly obvious reference to Cancer, but with all of the crab and lunar references, one can only assume that Smith felt that he didn't need to push this subject any more than he already had with his evocative imagery in the story itself.

On Sarcand

Illustration by Andrew Smith in The Black Book of Clark Ashton Smith — Illustration by Andrew Smith in *The Black Book of Clark Ashton Smith*

Sarcand himself is a frightening image of the sorcerer who knows naught of humanity and kindness, at least anymore. He's described as being quite large in stature, dark-skinned as the night itself, and having teeth sharp like the residents of the deep ocean realms. The offspring of a (presumably) Caucasian male necromancer and a female cannibalistic pseudo-African inhabitant of the Isle of Naat, Sarcand is a literal other, especially in the time of H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. His very essence straddles the line between the more "civilized" essence of mainland Zothique, and the more primitive and unsophisticated inhabitants of the outer islands such as Naat. Despite being human in origin, his unusual ancestry and necromantic abilities make him dangerous and truly beyond the pale. This liminal nature of Sarcand makes him otherworldly and disturbing in a lot of ways, and is a perfect example of a Qliphotic ideal in fictional form.

Sarcand's darkness, both internal as well as external, is reminiscent of the Shichiriron aspect of the Nightside lunar zodiac (otherwise known as the Qliphoth). Shichiriron correlates with the sign of Cancer as well and is inherently related to the ocean and some of the more malignant forms of sea life that can be found in its darkest of depths. It is quite obvious that despite his affinity for necromancy (a more Saturn-oriented magical practice, in the Occidental sense) he has quite the affinity for the occult manipulation of mundane sea creatures, such as the crabs of this particular tale. This may be more due to the finding of the eldritch signet-ring of Basatan, however.

Sarcand's embarrassing demise via his crab army is Typhonian in the sense that Lovecraft is Typhonian. That is, dark forces can easily overwhelm the aspirant, causing tribulation, and perhaps even madness…

On The Ring of Basatan

“Sarcand held aloft the hand on whose index finger gleamed the immense emerald set, as we now perceived, in a ring that was wrought with the tentacles of a kraken clasping the orblike gem.”

“It is the signet-ring of Basatan, the sea-god.”

These two short statements on Sarcand's ring from in the treasure trove he found on Iribos are quite telling. One can't help but speculate who or what this Basatan sea god might be. It's easy to speculate that Basatan is another nom de guerre of the dread Cthulhu himself, especially when considering the kraken-related imagery of the ring's description. There is, however, yet another tantalizing snippet that CAS gives us giving more credence to this Cthulian argument:

“He who looks long and deeply into the emerald may behold distant scenes and happenings at will.”

While Cthulhu's aegis is usually relegated to more oneiric matters (i.e. dreams) it's not too much of a stretch to also assume that some of Cthulhu's mystical fetish items would also have enchantments that give sorcerers the means of seeing with astral eyes a-la Saruman's palantir orb from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The emerald also seems to hold an enthralling effect in general, as Manthar nearly succumbs to its siren song before Mior Lumivix commands him to snap out of it.

The ring can also control "the winds and currents of the sea and over the sea's creatures, by describing certain signs in the air..." We're all quite aware by now that Cthulhu lies beneath the ocean. Esoterically speaking it isn't too much to assume that Cthulhu, especially with his enormous psychic/astral capabilities (i.e. implanting himself into the dreams of his acolytes) that he wouldn't have this sort of domain over sea life and weather forces as well.

The only real counter to this Basatan = Cthulhu argument is that Cthulhu's place of rest and sleep lies more in the southern Pacific Ocean. Zothique, according to Smith, was more oriented in a more Middle East/Asia location (if we are to compare it with our current world). However, it's worth noting that Cthulhu, being an Old One, doesn't necessarily have to be fixed in one geographical location. The same mentality applies to R'lyeh as well, which could possibly be seen as more of a state of being (or perhaps no-mind) than an actual physical locale.

While it is not clear where (and when) exactly the Zothique Cycle takes place, Smith has gone on the record comparing it to the Theosophical theories on past/future continents that exist no more (such as Atlantis). If Zothique is indeed a progression of our current civilization after a significant worldwide cataclysm, then there's a chance that Cthulhu's cultus might still live on in the form of Basatan, especially with these scant and tantalizing textual clues that Smith has given us in this story.

Conclusion

Clark Ashton Smith knew of Theosophy and was reported to have had some interest in Buddhism prior to his death in 1961. While this doesn't necessarily presume that he had an inclination towards all things occult, it certainly showcases a well-read individual who had no problem going a little deeper for his art.

Interestingly enough, according to Cults of the Shadow by Kenneth Grant, a sect of Voudon Gnosis practitioners (who are somewhat Typhonian in essence) known as La Couleuvre Noire claim to have been in contact with Smith in an astral "beyond death" sense back in the 1970s. However one feels about such a statement is really up to the individual, however, I think I speak for a lot of us by hoping Klarkash-Ton indeed still lives on in the Otherworld(s). With any luck, he is dancing somewhere under a dying sun with hauntingly beautiful succubi following his every move, somewhat akin to an eldritch Krsna with his harem of vampyric cowherds.