Seal of Metatron

The Seal of Metatron, also known as the Seal, Talisman, Talisman of Metatron, Virun VII Crest, and Circle Emblem, is a recurring item in the Silent Hill series that appears in Silent Hill, Play Novel: Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill: Downpour, Silent Hill: Book of Memories, and Silent Hill: Revelation. Depending on its appearance, it may be a collectible item, a non-collectible object, or merely an image for decoration.

The Seal was said to be given the name after the angel Metatron because of its difficulty to control. An official Silent Hill guidebook claims that according to the Kabbalah, the angels Metatron and Samael "originally shared the same existence." This text refers to them not being the same entity which is erroneous, but rather, they were both angels who existed in the Seven Heavens.

Purpose
The Seal, previously thought to be the Mark of Samael by Harry Mason because he was deceived by Dahlia Gillespie, is in fact the Seal of Metatron. As far as the Order is concerned, the Seal is nothing more than a talisman and is of no particular significance.

Claudia Wolf claims that the physical Seal seen in Silent Hill 3 is nothing more than a talisman and calls it a piece of junk, although it is unclear if this is true or if she was only lying to discourage Heather Mason from using it. A book claims the talisman actually does have magical protective and dispelling properties and that using it will bring results regardless of whether the target is good or evil. It is possible that one purpose of the Seal may be to help people to "awaken" their "inner selves", as when Heather examines an imprint of the Seal, she remembers who Lisa Garland was from her past life. After this, Heather finds herself in the Otherworld, another possible effect of the Seal.

The "Seal" which Alessa Gillespie tries to use, however, is said to be like a spell of annihilation, and does seem to exhibit magical properties as it is seen glowing. Had Alessa fully completed her task of placing the symbol throughout Silent Hill's Paleville, it is unknown what may have happened, or if that power would have been controllable.

Some believe that the Seal can prevent God's awakening; however, this doesn't seem to be the case, and this has never proven to be true.

Silent Hill
"To seal this town to the abyss, the mark of Samael. When it's completed, all is lost. Even in daytime, darkness will cover the sun, the dead will walk and martyrs will burn in the fires of hell. Everyone will DIE!
 * —Dahlia Gillespie lying to Harry Mason about the Seal's name and purpose"

Alessa Gillespie's astral projection inscribes the symbol around the town to try and prevent the birth of the Order's chief deity in her womb by purging Silent Hill from the world. Bound by the cult's spell and living in an endless nightmare in agony, Alessa's wish is for a complete death. Since she is unable to die in a normal fashion while under the influence of the power of the malevolent deity, Alessa intends to "annihilate" herself by the power of the Seal of Metatron with the nightmare world at hand. Alessa creates the Seal of Metatron at:
 * Midwich Elementary School
 * Alchemilla Hospital
 * Green Lion Antiques
 * Lighthouse
 * Lakeside Amusement Park

Drawing lines connecting the seals and their placement creates an enormous Mark of Samael throughout the town. The Seal may also have been created in other places as well.

In an attempt to mislead protagonist Harry Mason during his quest for his daughter Cheryl, Dahlia convinces him that the symbol is that of Samael (often times attributed as the Angel of Death), and she tells him it is the "Mark of Samael".

Towards the end of the game, Dahlia refers to the Seal as the "talisman of Metratron" (captioned "...Metraton"; both typos of "Metatron"). At the end, Dahlia tells Cybil Bennett that if Alessa had completed her quest in placing the seals, all would have been for naught.



At the moment Cheryl and Alessa unite, she gains the ability to escape from the cult's spell; at the same time, the technique that brought about the descent of the cult's god succeeds, and the nefarious deity resumes its maturation process. This time, Alessa is engaged in a race between the fiendish god's maturation and the Seal's completion. If the Seal were to be completed, Harry, Cybil, Dahlia, and the others would all be annihilated along with Alessa; this is why Dahlia tricks Harry.

Silent Hill 2
A very similar symbol appears on the left wall of the second cell from the east in the upper south roll of cells of Toluca Prison where James Sunderland obtains the wax doll, although it resembles a faint pentagram more than the Seal of Metatron.



During the final battle against Pyramid Head, two printed symbols of the Seal of Metatron can be seen in a rug. Pyramid Head is known as a servant of Valtiel, who has a "tattoo" of the mark on his shoulder, and it is also speculated that Valtiel himself is Metatron; with this in mind, these symbols on the rug may be a reminder of Pyramid Head's attachment to Valtiel.

Silent Hill 3


Convinced by Vincent Smith, a priest of the Order, that the Seal of Metatron will prevent the birth of the Order's god, Heather Mason hunts down Leonard Wolf, a former member of the Order. Considering himself to be the appointed guardian of the symbol, Leonard proceeds to attack Heather to defend the Seal. With his defeat, Heather is able to obtain the item.

In the end, however, Claudia Wolf claims it is ineffective. She says it's actually "just a piece of junk" and that it is foolish to believe the Seal can kill God, and that both Vincent and Leonard misunderstood its abilities.

Heather actually recognizes the Seal and looking at it doesn't cause headache:
 * "This picture... this one doesn't make my head hurt when I look at it. But I know this one. It must be...".

The attendant of God, Valtiel, has the Seal of Metatron imprinted on each shoulder. Both Metatron and Valtiel are "agents of God".

Heather is given an occult book by Vincent that contains an excerpt on Otherworld laws, which reads:


 * "This magic square, with strong protective and dispelling properties, is called the 'Virun VII Crest' or the 'Seal of Metatron'. It will bring results regardless of whether the target is good or evil; its strength, therefore, places a very high burden on the caster. As it is also difficult to control, it is not usually used. This is why it bears the name 'Metatron', after the angel Metraton (or Metatron), also known as the 'Agent of God'".

Because of this, it can be theorized that the Seal is not a source of power itself, but rather, amplifies existing power. Because Vincent and Leonard don't seem to have powers, the Seal would be useless. However, if Claudia or Alessa used it, it would presumably have effects. It is unknown what would have occurred if Heather tried to use it.

Heather can locate a cassette tape in the Order's chapel, involving a conversation between Vincent and a female cult member. The female cultist says that 17 years ago, "A group of pagans, blinded by earthly desires, spit in the very face of God. They tried to use the Seal of Metatron to prevent God's awakening." This seems to be a revisionist history and distortion of the events of what truly happened, as it was not "a group of pagans" who attempted to use the Seal of Metatron, but rather, solely Alessa herself. This is ironic as the Order worships Alessa as a saint. The Seal's purpose is also apparently inaccurate, as the Seal seems to be unable to stop God in Silent Hill 3.

Silent Hill: Downpour
The Seal of Metatron, known as the Circle Emblem here, is an obtainable artifact in the "Digging Up the Past" sidequest.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories


The Seal of Metatron, known as the Talisman of Metatron in this installment, is an obtainable artifact. It is Valtiel's reward for completing zone 20. It is described as "a circular slab of stone said to imbue its possessor with spiritual strength".

Silent Hill: Revelation


Years before the film, Rose Da Silva used the Seal of Metatron to free her adopted daughter Sharon from the realm of Silent Hill. In doing this, one half of the Seal remained in Silent Hill, guarded by Leonard Wolf, while the other half was given to Christopher Da Silva.

During the film, Heather finds half of the Seal of Metatron in a box her father has kept in his room, but she doesn't know what it is initially.

When Heather confronts Leonard, he cryptically tells her that it reveals the "true nature" of things. When she gives him her half of the Seal, Leonard transforms into a monster, and Heather defeats him by removing the Seal from his body.



Later on, Heather meets Claudia, who claims the Seal can summon her god, but whether or not this is true is and remains unknown. Heather gives Claudia the Seal, and she transforms into the Missionary via the power of Alessa Gillespie/Dark Alessa merged with Heather. Even prior to her transformation, Claudia also has a Seal of Metatron on the abdomen of her dress.

Creator's comment
"To the town's religious organization, the Seal of Metatron is an ordinary talisman with no particular significance. As Alessa was unable to spread this crest throughout the entire town in the first game, its power was never demonstrated. In spite of this, both Vincent and Leonard misunderstood its abilities.
 * —Hiroyuki Owaku"

Trivia

 * The Seal of Metatron was designed by Masahiro Ito.
 * Ito regretted including the Seal of Metatron in the Lakeview Hotel, stating that "I've forgotten that I had put the seal on the carpet. And it was mistake."
 * When asked about the symbols resembling the Seal of Metatron and Halo of the Sun in Toluca Prison, Ito simply replied "I'll leave it to your imagination."
 * The Seal of Metatron resembles the logotype of the magical organization Fraternitas Saturni. The Seal includes a symbol which is probably a variation of the astrological symbol for the planet Saturn.
 * In artwork, Incubus bears a metal sculpture of the Seal upon its back, though it is not included in the actual game.
 * In Silent Hill, Dahlia erroneously refers to it as the talisman of "Metratron", while the captions read "Metraton". This latter spelling was later affirmed in Silent Hill 3's book of Otherworld laws. This could be either a script error or an avoidance of religious controversy in the West; though the inclusion of Judeo-Christian concepts such as the Star of David ("the Amulet of Solomon") may be seen as pointing to the former.
 * In the film, a symbol similar to the Seal of Metatron can be seen in the Otherworld version of the school when Dark Alessa appears at her desk in Midwich.
 * In Revelation, the Seal's underside is shown to have a sun-like design on it, a probable reference to the god of the Order being a sun deity. The middle of the Seal also resembles a simplistic Halo of the Sun.