A Destiny 2 lore fan has uncovered a surprisingly direct set of references to a particular real-world philosopher from the 17th century, and it seems that his works may be the key to the truth behind the franchise's entire cosmology. It's no secret that the majority of Bungie's games feature a set of deep, allegorical stories that are inexplicably relevant to the games' surface-level narratives, but Destiny is the first time these allegories have truly come to a head.
While some may feel that the Lightfall DLC was lacking in storytelling at its core, lore-minded players have had many theories about Destiny 2's mysterious Veil artifact. Subsequent missions and lore drops have provided more context, but Bungie hasn't been overly keen on outright dropping major reveals without players working for them.
It's particularly important, then, that Reddit user HEISENB3RGx has connected the dots between Destiny 2 and Jakob Böhme, the aforementioned 17th-century German Gnostic and shoemaker. The works of Böhme had been brought up before, alongside the Unveiling lore book, which directly referenced a "shoemaker philosopher" as the person who had figured out the truth of the universe. Now that Bungie's artists have shown off The Veil from the side, however, it's become plainly obvious that the artifact is, in essence, the realization of Böhme's philosophy within the context of Destiny.
After players spotted a holographic projection of The Veil in Destiny 2's Avalon Exotic mission, it became clear that its design is very deliberate and meaningful for the game's ongoing narrative. Now, HEISENB3RGx has discovered that almost all of Destiny's key motifs, such as the Asphodelia flowers from the Black Garden, or the sword of Law (i.e. the Hive's Sword Logic), are present and accounted for in Böhme's understanding of the universe.
This is clearly visible in Freher's translated diagram of Böhme's cosmology, as featured above. Particularly noteworthy is that HEISENB3RGx explained that the philosopher's original diagrams make a point of keeping the heart at the center of the image white or pale, which very likely ties into The Witness's goals in Destiny 2, as the creature has mentioned the mysterious Pale Heart a few times already.
Overall, large portions of Destiny's lore-hunting community are now convinced that Böhme's cosmology and philosophy are key to understanding what Bungie is trying to say. Since the official Destiny 2 concept art of the Veil outright states that the artifact is supposed to be a "window into the mind and memory of the universe," it does seem that the game's background lore is bound to take an interesting turn in the leadup to The Final Shape. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that Böhme's diagram might very well have been an inspiration for the Veil.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.