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The release of 1986’s IT by Stephen King didn’t just give birth to one of the scariest clowns in pop culture, but it also gave birth to the idea of the Macroverse, described as the home of ancient, otherworldly beings like Maturin and IT. Over time, King expanded the concept of the Macroverse in his Dark Tower series, and his world thrived on mysteries that blurred the lines between cosmic horror and childhood nightmares. One of those mysteries is the Ritual of Chüd, a cryptic and ancient battle of wills that served as the Losers Club’s ultimate weapon against IT.
Now, with HBO’s Welcome to Derry promising to explore the origins of IT and the hidden depths of the mythology King has created, the fanbase is brimming with expectations, one of which regards the mysterious ritual. Will the upcoming series finally unravel the secrets behind the Ritual of Chüd and bring clarity to King’s mind-bending lore? Well, this remains to be seen sometime in 2025, when the series is scheduled for release. In the meantime, we can discuss the Ritual of Chüd as it appeared in the movies and novels.
Since the series builds upon the adaptations directed by Andy Muschietti, we’ll reference those movies instead of Tommy Lee Wallace’s 1990 miniseries that, for many, was the first introduction to IT. It’s also worth pointing out that the Ritual of Chüd depicted in the recent IT adaptations is somewhat different compared to that described in the novels, and because of that, we’ll start from the source material.
In the novels, Bill Denbrough was the first to learn of this ritual when he stumbled upon the information about it in a book called Night’s Truth at the Derry Public Library. He also learned that IT was part of an ancient and malevolent race of shapeshifters called Glamours, who were known by many cultures under many different names, and that the Ritual of Chüd was the only way to defeat the old monster Himalayans recognized as Taelus.
The ritual itself comes from the old Himalayan belief and involves a holy man staring into the monster’s eye, with both of them biting into each other’s overlapped tongues. The two take turns telling riddles until one of them laughs despite the pain. If the Taelus laughs first, it gets sent away for a hundred years, but if the holy man laughs first, the Taelus (known to readers of this story as IT) gets to eat the man’s soul. It’s also important to note that the Ritual of Chüd actually involves a metaphysical confrontation with IT rather than a purely physical encounter.
During their childhood battle with IT, the Losers experience the shapeshifter in various terrifying forms that prey on their personal fears. However, Bill Denbrough’s connection to IT during the Ritual of Chüd stands out in the novels because he’s the only one who engages IT on a deeper, more metaphysical level after enacting the ritual. Being thrust towards the Macroverse and the dreaded Deadlights, which represent the essence of IT’s power and its otherworldly nature, Bill also comes across Maturin the Turtle.
Maturin is somewhat of a benevolent Lovecraftian god-creature who accidentally created our universe by throwing up. While he doesn’t actually teach Bill the ritual itself, Maturin offers guidance and insight into a broader struggle against IT, showing him how the Losers’ actions tie into a much larger universal struggle between good and evil. Bill then starts battling IT telepathically, and the Losers end up defeating the monster but ignore Maturin’s advice to finish IT off, and IT supposedly escapes.
Twenty-seven years later, when IT returned to terrorize the people of Derry, the now-adult Losers came back to stop IT. Bill was once again the first to face IT, but without his childlike imagination, he is weaker in the battle. Still, the losers are eventually able to use the Ritual of Chüd to overpower IT, and Bill ends up crushing IT’s still-beating heart between his hands, finally putting an end to Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
However, in Andy Muschetti’s It Chapter Two, the Ritual of Chüd also appears, but in a very different form and not by name. In the movie, Mike visits the local Native American tribes as an adult and discovers the ritual in a vision induced by the tribe’s sacred root herb called Maturin. The ritual involves exposing IT’s true form as the Deadlights and trapping them inside the Native American tribe’s ceremonial Sealing Jar, which is strong enough to trap evil IT. The ritual proves to be ineffective in the movie.
But, the Losers still succeed in killing Pennywise by making him believe that he’s small and weak, allowing them to expose his heart and crush it together with their hands, finally killing the ancient evil once and for all. The movie significantly simplifies many elements of King’s original ritual, but for those who haven’t read the book, the message remains the same: without belief, there’s no such thing as fear, and without fear as a weapon against its victims, IT is powerless.
It’s worth noting that the introduction of the fictional Shokopiwah tribe and their ceremonial Sealing Jar has been met with some criticism. King’s work, and by extension their adaptations, have often been scrutinized for blending cultural references in ways that feel reductive and appropriative at best. While the Ritual of Chüd plays an important role in IT, its portrayal in It Chapter Two risks oversimplifying Indigenous cultures and traditions for narrative convenience—which is most definitely the case in this movie.
Welcome to Derry now has the chance to further explore the Ritual of Chüd, its significance, and its ties to Maturin the turtle-god, as well as how it’s used to defeat Pennywise. Done right, this expansion of King’s mythos could further elevate the horror of Welcome to Derry to new, mind-bending levels. But whether or not the series actually explores the Ritual remains to be seen once Welcome to Derry finally drops next year.
The post The Ritual of Chüd: Will ‘Welcome to Derry’ Dive Deeper into this Mysterious Mythology? appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
The release of 1986’s IT by Stephen King didn’t just give birth to one of the scariest clowns in pop culture, but it also gave birth to the idea of the Macroverse, described as the home of ancient, otherworldly beings like Maturin and IT. Over time, King expanded the concept of the Macroverse in his Dark Tower series, and his world thrived on mysteries that blurred the lines between cosmic horror and childhood nightmares. One of those mysteries is the Ritual of Chüd, a cryptic and ancient battle of wills that served as the Losers Club’s ultimate weapon against IT.
Now, with HBO’s Welcome to Derry promising to explore the origins of IT and the hidden depths of the mythology King has created, the fanbase is brimming with expectations, one of which regards the mysterious ritual. Will the upcoming series finally unravel the secrets behind the Ritual of Chüd and bring clarity to King’s mind-bending lore? Well, this remains to be seen sometime in 2025, when the series is scheduled for release. In the meantime, we can discuss the Ritual of Chüd as it appeared in the movies and novels.
Since the series builds upon the adaptations directed by Andy Muschietti, we’ll reference those movies instead of Tommy Lee Wallace’s 1990 miniseries that, for many, was the first introduction to IT. It’s also worth pointing out that the Ritual of Chüd depicted in the recent IT adaptations is somewhat different compared to that described in the novels, and because of that, we’ll start from the source material.
In the novels, Bill Denbrough was the first to learn of this ritual when he stumbled upon the information about it in a book called Night’s Truth at the Derry Public Library. He also learned that IT was part of an ancient and malevolent race of shapeshifters called Glamours, who were known by many cultures under many different names, and that the Ritual of Chüd was the only way to defeat the old monster Himalayans recognized as Taelus.
The ritual itself comes from the old Himalayan belief and involves a holy man staring into the monster’s eye, with both of them biting into each other’s overlapped tongues. The two take turns telling riddles until one of them laughs despite the pain. If the Taelus laughs first, it gets sent away for a hundred years, but if the holy man laughs first, the Taelus (known to readers of this story as IT) gets to eat the man’s soul. It’s also important to note that the Ritual of Chüd actually involves a metaphysical confrontation with IT rather than a purely physical encounter.
During their childhood battle with IT, the Losers experience the shapeshifter in various terrifying forms that prey on their personal fears. However, Bill Denbrough’s connection to IT during the Ritual of Chüd stands out in the novels because he’s the only one who engages IT on a deeper, more metaphysical level after enacting the ritual. Being thrust towards the Macroverse and the dreaded Deadlights, which represent the essence of IT’s power and its otherworldly nature, Bill also comes across Maturin the Turtle.
Maturin is somewhat of a benevolent Lovecraftian god-creature who accidentally created our universe by throwing up. While he doesn’t actually teach Bill the ritual itself, Maturin offers guidance and insight into a broader struggle against IT, showing him how the Losers’ actions tie into a much larger universal struggle between good and evil. Bill then starts battling IT telepathically, and the Losers end up defeating the monster but ignore Maturin’s advice to finish IT off, and IT supposedly escapes.
Twenty-seven years later, when IT returned to terrorize the people of Derry, the now-adult Losers came back to stop IT. Bill was once again the first to face IT, but without his childlike imagination, he is weaker in the battle. Still, the losers are eventually able to use the Ritual of Chüd to overpower IT, and Bill ends up crushing IT’s still-beating heart between his hands, finally putting an end to Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
However, in Andy Muschetti’s It Chapter Two, the Ritual of Chüd also appears, but in a very different form and not by name. In the movie, Mike visits the local Native American tribes as an adult and discovers the ritual in a vision induced by the tribe’s sacred root herb called Maturin. The ritual involves exposing IT’s true form as the Deadlights and trapping them inside the Native American tribe’s ceremonial Sealing Jar, which is strong enough to trap evil IT. The ritual proves to be ineffective in the movie.
But, the Losers still succeed in killing Pennywise by making him believe that he’s small and weak, allowing them to expose his heart and crush it together with their hands, finally killing the ancient evil once and for all. The movie significantly simplifies many elements of King’s original ritual, but for those who haven’t read the book, the message remains the same: without belief, there’s no such thing as fear, and without fear as a weapon against its victims, IT is powerless.
It’s worth noting that the introduction of the fictional Shokopiwah tribe and their ceremonial Sealing Jar has been met with some criticism. King’s work, and by extension their adaptations, have often been scrutinized for blending cultural references in ways that feel reductive and appropriative at best. While the Ritual of Chüd plays an important role in IT, its portrayal in It Chapter Two risks oversimplifying Indigenous cultures and traditions for narrative convenience—which is most definitely the case in this movie.
Welcome to Derry now has the chance to further explore the Ritual of Chüd, its significance, and its ties to Maturin the turtle-god, as well as how it’s used to defeat Pennywise. Done right, this expansion of King’s mythos could further elevate the horror of Welcome to Derry to new, mind-bending levels. But whether or not the series actually explores the Ritual remains to be seen once Welcome to Derry finally drops next year.
The post The Ritual of Chüd: Will ‘Welcome to Derry’ Dive Deeper into this Mysterious Mythology? appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
Photo Credit: Raymond Alva 
Leon Thomas is redefining his narrative, and his journey has never been more electrifying. With the release of his sophomore album, MUTT, on September 27, he showcases a fearless dive into the complexities of love and human connection. The album, featuring collaborations with Masego, Baby Rose, and Ty Dolla $ign, among others, is a testament to his artistry—a blend of raw emotion, intricate production, and lyrical depth. Fresh off a Grammy win for his work on SZA’s “Snooze,” Leon’s momentum is unstoppable.
In an interview with ESSENCE, Leon reflected on his growth as an artist since his debut album, Electric Dusk. “This album is me stepping into my confidence,” he said. “It was a tough journey getting into music out of Nickelodeon during my twenties, but now, in my thirties, I’m showing people that I know what I’m doing—and I’m having a good time doing it.”
Photo Credit: Raymond Alva Collaboration played a pivotal role in MUTT. “The majority of the features were done with the artist in the room,” Leon shared. Tracks like “Lucid Dreams” with Masego and “Feelings on Silent” with Wale emerged organically, born from creative chemistry rather than corporate matchmaking. “Every collaboration is a new class,” he added, emphasizing his commitment to learning from his peers.
Thomas recently wrapped up a successful run on Blxst’s North American tour, and he’s already setting his sights on the future. “Every album unlocks a new part of myself,” he said. With aspirations to channel live, jam-session energy reminiscent of Motown into his next project, he is poised to keep pushing boundaries—and audiences can’t wait to see where he goes next.
ESSENCE: You’ve traversed theater, television, film, and music. What is it that inspires Leon Thomas’s creativity? What does that creative spark and motivation come from?
Leon Thomas: I think a big part of it is family—family is a big thing. I come from a creative circle. I come from a tribe of artists. For me, music and art and entertainment is a way of life and a constant exploration. I feel like the keyword to all of this is next. So I’m always focused on my next mission and my next challenge.
You released your sophomore album a few months ago—it’s amazing. I wanted to ask you, how did your personal experience affect the creation of this project, and what message do you hope listeners take from it?
Well, I hope listeners really just take this as more of a cautionary tale. I feel like when it comes to dating in this generation, there’s just so many options. We have social media playing a big factor and role and everything. My grandfather was married to my grandmother at 20 years old, and they stayed married well into their eighties. She recently just passed away, but he dealt with a different time period, and I’m just documenting the challenges that we go through right now in this dating scene. I think a lot of it isn’t just my own experiences, it’s also me documenting the experiences I’ve seen with all of my friends as a collective, and just giving a voice to the challenges we face as men in this current generation.
How do you think—because you’ve recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of Electric Dusk—how do you think you’ve grown personally as well as creatively since the release of that album, if at all?
I feel like during the creation of Electric Dusk, the industry was validating my creative sound. There were certain artists who were messing with some of my records and putting them out and putting them on their albums. But since I’ve dropped Electric Dusk, I’ve had a chance to work with Ye, Drake, SZA. Huge, amazing artists, icons even, in my generation that have really kind of stamped the fact that my perspective and creativity is really something special. I feel like this album is me stepping into my confidence. It was a tough journey getting into music out of Nickelodeon over the course of the decade of my twenties. So I feel like the thirties is where I’m really just showing people that I know what I’m doing and I’m having a good time doing it.
So you spoke about some of your collaborations, but I want to speak specifically about the collaborations on this particular album. You have Wale, Masego, Ty Dolla $ign—it’s a diverse bunch of artists. How do you choose the people that you want to collaborate with on your projects?
What I really love about a lot of these records is that the majority of the features were done with the artist in the room. The majority of them. Masego was an amazing artist that I met and we became friends very quickly, but it took a while of us just seeing each other at parties before we actually decided, you know what? Let’s buckle down, right? Let’s schedule some time and see if we can knock out a record. I had two sessions that day, so we only had four hours to write “Lucid Dreams.” But seeing just how destiny put a lot of creative ideas in our head at the moment, it just turned into a beautiful record.
It was tailor-made, and it wasn’t our A&Rs trying to put us together or our labels trying to find a really good fit to get more exposure. It was two artists coming together and telling a really cool story, and that’s the journey of literally all of the features, from Wale, who I’ve become really good friends with. I go to his crib and we kick it and watch the game and then maybe try to get creative for something we’re doing or a project we’re doing later on. Spending a lot of time with Wale turned into “Feelings on Silent.” I’m learning so much from everybody around me. I’m a consistent student of the game and every collaboration is just a new class.
I’ve interviewed a lot of other artists just throughout the years, and say that things really change after you get that Grammy Award. In what ways has your perspective as an artist changed since you got a Grammy, and how do you feel about your placement in the industry since then?
It’s been a real pleasure getting to know the Grammy board, getting to know the Grammys as an organization outside of just the award show itself. Outside of just the award show itself, getting to know the whole process that they have has been amazing. I think the biggest thing that’s really changed is just that I don’t have a degree in music. I come from a family of artists and creatives, so I learned by experience. This gives everything that I’m doing creatively a new sense of validation, and I’m really super thankful for the opportunity to be able to have this wonderful award in my living room right now. I’m literally looking at it right now and it’s a blessing and every morning to see my hard work really come into fruition.
Expounding on that, how do you balance your roles as a producer and an artist?
That’s been a process and journey for me. “How do I schedule out my years so I have seasons of production and artist seasons where I’m really focused on myself and give myself the opportunity to really focus on all the aspects that can give me balance?” I feel like when I’m in my production mode, it’s okay to just be in my PJs making beats throughout the day, trying to just really find new sounds, create new ideas. But when I’m on artist mode, I really do my best to keep my days jam-packed with full schedules. So when we hit tour season, I’m not shell-shocked by the crazy, crazy schedules that end up popping up. So I need a three-month period to warm up into both fields. It’s not like a hard switch. I have to schedule it out now.
So when you’re in production mode, you like more solace and seclusion. When you’re in artist mode, you want to be in the mix a little more?
I’m in the mix a little bit more. I’m a little more outside, more networking. I’m bouncing around in different studios. But in my production bag, I’m pretty much at the crib making tracks. When I’m on call to go to a different country or state that an artist is working in, I might fly to Jamaica, or with Ye it was Italy. I spend time with that artist and get to know them and try to help the best way that I can to help tell their story.
Congratulations on wrapping up the tour—how was that experience, and what was the preparation process like?
This is a big switch up for me. I usually have a band, but with this run I’m going to be just with a DJ. We’ve been messing around with my set list to just make it more compatible for that format and just getting back into working the stage more again and having some fun. I’m playing bigger crowds than I usually play for a lot of my headline stuff. So just big movements. I’ve been running every morning, you know what I’m saying? Trying to get my two miles in so I win on that stage. You heard. I’m still a Husky nigga.
So, what’s next for Leon Thomas?
I feel like every album I unlock a new part of myself and then the next album is an opportunity to explore that new level I just unlocked. Seeing the live records I was able to do on this project, I’m really curious to see how people react to me having a room full of musicians on a song like I used to, and it being 100% a jam session that we formatted and turned into a song. That process, adjacent to neo-soul, adjacent to Motown Records, that live energy is what I really want to focus on for my next album, and I want to do a full projectrel="tag">Leon Thomas
The post Leon Thomas On ‘MUTT,’ Creativity And Charting His Next Chapter appeared first on Essence.
Courtesy of Flawless by Gabrielle Union
Holiday cheer often sparks the urge to get dolled up for our year-end celebrations. Entertainment and beauty icon Gabrielle Union and celebrity hair stylist Larry Sims want to make this desire is as accessible to achieve as possible.
The celebrity-stylist duo, and c o-founders of Flawless by Gabrielle Union hair care line, came together with JCPenney for a nationwide partnership that’s sure to help us usher in the holidays in >JCPenney salons throughout the Los Angeles and San Diego, California areas will offer the “SimStyled” experience, giving patrons the opportunity to experience accessible, red-carpet worthy hair for the holidays. This partnership provides clients the choice of eight curated >Sims using the Flawless line.
Commemorating the launch at the Glendale Galleria location, JCPenney’s team, along with Sims and Union, hosted an opening reception showcasing thesrc="https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DP021177-1-scaled.jpg" alt="Flawless By Gabrielle Union Is Offering Us Red Carpet Treatment" width="400" height="266" />Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JC Penny on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)
Transforming the JCPenney salon into a communal atmosphere was easy enough. Located at the rear of the first floor, the salon boasted a gorgeous space decorated in white, black, and gold hues. A spacious layout with a plethora of well-lit styling and washing stations made for a welcoming environment for event attendees to socialize and observe thesrc="https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DP021584-scaled.jpg" alt="Flawless By Gabrielle Union Is Offering Us Red Carpet Treatment" width="400" height="266" />Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JCPenney on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)
Notable attendees included Ashley Everett, Robin Thede, Brandee Evans, celebrity hair stylists and barbers Sasha MaRi and Donato Smith, and Miss Gloria, the mother of one of Sims’ models and lifelong friends. Ranging from all walks of life, each individual present shared a love for quality hair care and intentional community.
Sharing a few words to kick off the event, Union and Sims underscored their gratitude for all in attendance as well as for each other, demonstrating what a decades-long friendship and working relationship looks like. Union stated three values that guided her decisions as well as the shaping of this salon experience: family, money, and time. “I do what makes me happy, what allows me to maintain and expand my peace, joy, and what keeps me looking good.”
As for Sims? “When it comes to creating, it comes from the core of my soul. I don’t do it for the money,” he tells ESSENCE. “I do it for the way that it makes me feel and for the way that I know that it makes others feel,” he—who grew up in Chicago, being surrounded by so many expressions and stewards of Black beauty—adds.
Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JC Penny on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney) As for what makes Flawless by Gabrielle Union work so well and stand out amongst a crowd of others? Partnership. The full line of products, sold at JCPenney, is a joint creation by both Sims and Union. The actress expresses how integral it was to ensure she and Sims were on equal footing in all areas of the business, respecting Sims’ expertise in the area rather than allowing her name alone to take the lead. In return, Sims discusses how committed Union is to every step of the process from formulation to user experience.
“We are sold in places that are actually in the community, and in locations that are not going to demonize or criminalize our consumer,” Union begins. “They actually work, and they’re not going to break the bank. We’re also humble. We listen, we read the comments. We can’t get defensive, we just get better.”
And no matter what the two do, they deeply understand the impact beauty can have on confidence and presence, and point to the sacred relationship between beauty professionals and their clients. For this reason, Sims affirms that clients will walk away from the SimStyled experience feeling beautiful and “respected for your time and your hair, and beautiful in thedecoding="async" src="https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DP021504-scaled.jpg" alt="Flawless By Gabrielle Union Is Offering Us Red Carpet Treatment" width="400" height="266" />Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JC Penny on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)TOPICS: Flawless by Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Union Larry Sims
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