The Black Materia

[Wolf Kanno]

I've always felt that one of the biggest mysteries in FFVII was the origin of the Black Materia. Materia and Magic is the knowledge of the Ancients using the power of the planet. So how in gods name did an anti-planet spell wind up on aplanet that for most of the game's history that we know of, was run by the peaceful planet loving Cetra? It's like a hippie convent having an atomic bomb in their backyard, how did it get there and who the hell made it, and why? It's always been one of the few elements of VII's plot that kind of nags me. I have a theory myself but I'm curious to know what others think first.

[Flying Arrow]

If I remember correctly, Magic in FFVII is more 'Nature' or 'Chemistry' than actual magic. Maybe it has something to do with Jenova and being temporarily worshiped by the Ancients. I mean it just kind of drops parts of itself so who knows what happens when those alien bits end up in the Planet's life system cycle. Maybe that's why it's housed in their temple which they built to be a really ingenious deathtrap.

I always just thought of it as using a kind of extraterrestrial nature than a terrestrial one (Fire, Bolt, etc.).

[VeloZer0]

Just because Sephiroth used it to summon meteor to attack the Planet doesn't mean that was it's only use. Maybe the Cetra has some other purpose, like using it to control Meteor and hitch a ride to the next planet on their journey.

Or like Flying Arrow said it could be extra-terrestrial in nature. What if the Black and White materia are brought with them from world to world in order to safe gaurd them?

[Carl the Llama]

Perhaps its a remnant of when Jenova first came to the planet, she could have influenced the lifestream to such a degree that her presence caused the Black Materia to come into creation, and that could also why the real Ancients created Holy to battle such dark magic.

This is what I see as what happened.

[VeloZer0]

Here's another question, are the White and Black materia related or just two independent pieces of materia which are coincidentally diametrically opposed to each other?

[Sephiroth]

The Black Materia was a gift from the Planet itself. The Cetra normally didn't need any Materia to summon magic but it was already a Materia when they got it. And yet they knew it was to powerful to use it and so they just sealed it away. Materia is just an explanation for how to use the power of the planet. Then body and mind react to that materia and you summon the spell. Other than people like the Cetra or Sephiroth - of course later Sephiroth was able to summon magic without Materia and the Black Materia itself was there for a plot, not to mention, that it was a sealed magic and although he absorbed the knowledge about Meteor in the lifestream he obviously couldn't find a Cetra who knew how to summon Meteor, because it was a sealed magic, but this is all just to have a plot - who can use magic without materia because of their knowledge about how to use the planet's power and their enormously strong will.

Seeing the pictures on the wall of the temple of the Cetra I often thought about if the Cetra maybe used the Black Materia and - accidentaly, of course they didn't know it - summoned JENOVA with it, so the Meteor on the wall would be JENOVA. And after that they have sealed it away because of the dangerous possibilities this materia brings with it.

This part of the story would have been cool to be told this way. But unfortunately it was not.

The Cetra were definitely bound on Gaia. They were not able to travel through space. Not on Meteor either. The Cetra were just human beings with supernatural abilities, but still the ancestors of the human race.

About the White Materia - well, Final Fantasy is always a good VS evil story, so it was normal to bring in Holy. Aerith and Sephiroth really represent the absolute good and evil parts. You can also say "The good and evil part of the planet/lifestream itself", so having the "white", innocent and pure Materia which is also called "Holy" which stands for protection and having the "black", light-absorbing and tainted Materia which is called "Meteor" and stands for nothing but pure destruction - so death (Meteor/Sephiroth), which is bad for life (Holy/Aerith and all the others) because they don't even have a chance to live and not to mention the fact that it is even more showed how ridiculous their battle against Sephiroth is when he just blocks Holy, is all part of telling a wonderful story with a very easy thought - the thought about a battle between good/life and evil/death.

You may not forget that really both magics were sealed. The knowledge how to summon Meteor was sealed inside the Black Materia which existed as the temple of the Ancients. And the knowledge of how to use the White Materia which would summon Holy in the end was sealed in the City of the Ancients.

Of course there is no explanation why the White Materia does also exist. But the planet obviously created it thinking someday a being - Sephiroth - could use Meteor for his own purpose. And yes, the question "Why did Gaia create the Black Materia?" cannot be answered because there is no actual answer. It wouldn't even need the Black Materia to die by its own purpose now that the story of Omega WEAPON and soul harvester Chaos exists in the world of Final Fantasy VII.

[Bolivar]

Well first we would have to define what materia is, which Sephiroth above me did a nice job of doing. To me, it's the condensation of knowledge from the life stream into a tangible form. Assuming the ancients knew magic, their knowledge of various spells are able to go back to the life stream after they pass and eventually come back in a physical form. Maybe attributes of people who were really strong or courageous come back in the form of "Cover" and "HP Plus."

So who knew Meteor? I do like the theory that it's tied to Jenova, that maybe someone accidentally called it from space, or it's the results of Jenova being in the planet/life stream for so long.

But Jenova, to me, had done this whole planetary thing multiple times before, it's what it does, I don't think it's specifically tied to Gaea. I think the Ancients just had really great mages, and one of them was able to attain a level where he/she could call something that could even destroy the planet. Knowing that kind of power, they sealed it as the Temple of the Ancients.

[Sephiroth]

But Jenova, to me, had done this whole planetary thing multiple times before, it's what it does, I don't think it's specifically tied to Gaea. I think the Ancients just had really great mages, and one of them was able to attain a level where he/she could call something that could even destroy the planet. Knowing that kind of power, they sealed it as the Temple of the Ancients.

Yes, JENOVA has done that "I absorb planets" thing many times before. But the Black Materia definitely existed before JENOVA came to Gaia. When JENOVA was sealed away there were not many Cetra left because they were all absorbed by her - of course they died by its viral cells but in the end JENOVA absorbs the life energy - and life energy needs time to become materia. The planet definitely gave it to the Cetra before JENOVA was there. But there is no doubt that there were Cetra who were incredibly powerful. The ultimate proof is that they were able to seal JENOVA away.

[Wolf Kanno]

I guess my issue here, is how does a planet loving race create a "planet killer" spell? It just seems like their should be more to this than it was just made and sealed. Especially when its explained in the game that Black Materia needs more power than a regular person can give and requires large amounts of mako energy to cast. I just can't see how this spell would be practical for them. Was it perhaps created by the first humans who branched away from the Cetra lifestyle to build normal settlements, yet still retained some of the Cetra's power before it would be lost to humanity by time? Was it a rogue Cetra or a group of them that turned from the teachings and created some fanatical way of becoming one with the planet by wiping all life on it away and just return to the Lifestream? Was it created to counter some evil force?

I personally liked the Jenova theory, that it originated with her, but looking at the mural in the Temple of Ancients, it does look like this was used by the Cetra before Jenova, hell its possible that Jenova arrived on the Planet while riding the original Meteor spell. So it's possible that its the Cetra's own fault Jenova came to Gaia.

[silentenigma]

I think the Ancients just had really great mages, and one of them was able to attain a level where he/she could call something that could even destroy the planet. Knowing that kind of power, they sealed it as the Temple of the Ancients.

I like this.

[Rostum]

I personally liked the Jenova theory, that it originated with her, but looking at the mural in the Temple of Ancients, it does look like this was used by the Cetra before Jenova, hell its possible that Jenova arrived on the Planet while riding the original Meteor spell. So it's possible that its the Cetra's own fault Jenova came to Gaia.

Maybe SE need to milk it more and create another prequel during the Cetra's reign on Gaia.

[Big D]

The Planet, and/or its people, know that meteors sometimes do fall from the sky with catastrophic consequences. The Black Materia may simply be the consolidation of that knowledge. By themselves, meteorite impacts aren't inherently good or evil; they're simply another force of nature. The Cetra were all about being in touch with natural forces and elements, which would include both those that help humans, and those that harm.

[Skyblade]

Materia is crystallized Lifestream, carrying with it the lost knowledge of the Ancients. Using it allows someone to tap into that knowledge, teaching them how to manipulate and unleash their abilities.

Thus, in the days of the Ancients, they didn't need Materia. It was already a part of them. What if the reason they were so nature-loving good guys was because of the Black Materia? They didn't create a planet killer, they purged part of themselves. They removed the negativity, that part of them that would harm the planet, and they crystallized it away, where it couldn't influence them anymore, so that they could go on and become the nature loving pacifists we all know.

[Sephiroth]

I guess my issue here, is how does a planet loving race create a "planet killer" spell?

It was not created by the Cetra. It was a gift from Gaia itself. No Cetra would have been able to summon Meteor, otherwise Sephiroth wouldn't have had any need of the Materia itself and just absorbed it out of the lifestream like he did with the knowledge about the Materia itself.

Of course it was all for a story. Not everything in Final Fantasy VII is based on 100% perfect thoughts.

Thus, in the days of the Ancients, they didn't need Materia.

The Cetra were able to summon the planet's power without materia but it doesn't mean they haven't used the mental instruction manual of other Cetra. After all they didn't have the same knowledge. However there is no use to talk about that since it is not mentioned.

[Wolf Kanno]

I guess my issue here, is how does a planet loving race create a "planet killer" spell?

It was not created by the Cetra. It was a gift from Gaia itself. No Cetra would have been able to summon Meteor, otherwise Sephiroth wouldn't have had any need of the Materia itself and just absorbed it out of the lifestream like he did with the knowledge about the Materia itself.

Of course it was all for a story. Not everything in Final Fantasy VII is based on 100% perfect thoughts.

Except the mural at the Temple of the Ancients shows it was summoned once.

830px-Temple_of_the_ancients_mural_room.png

So the Cetra could summon it, the only stipulation is that the Black Materia requires great amounts of energy from the planet to summon, like the Lifestream. Which was how Sephy summoned it. I also feel that Meteor being a "gift from Gaia" makes even less sense than the Cetra creating it. Why would the planet create something that would only harm it?