Midsommar Theory: Christian & Maja Created The New Oracle

Ari Aster’s folk horror movie, Midsommar, primarily focuses on the ascension of the May Queen during the mid-summer festival, but is ripe for dissection and fan theories, including one that suggests Christian and Maja created a new oracle. As the relationship between Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) falls apart, a Harga cult member named Maja (Isabelle Grill) awaits her turn to form a bond with him. Subsequently, the two copulate by the film’s end. The fan theory suggests that this sexual encounter produced the village’s new oracle because they are somehow related.

Midsommar is one of the most popular folk horror films to date, and follows in the footsteps of others such as The Wicker Man. It ties together folklore and historical practices of various cultures scattered across Sweden in order to capture the horrors of the Harga Cult. While the film is framed around the Dani’s rise to the status of May Queen during the mid-summer festival, there are various sub-plots throughout its entirety. One of which is Christian’s mistreatment of friends and loved ones that ultimately results in Dani’s choice to have him sacrificed. In that regard, Aster’s Midsommar is a break-up movie mixed with strong elements of horror.

Christian’s characterization makes him an irredeemable individual, especially when Dani catches him with Maja. As soon as they arrived, the Harga cult member started plotting the relationship she desired with Christian by putting her menstrual blood in his drinks and placing a pubic hair in his food. Once one of the cult leaders declares he is suitable to have sex with Maja, he does so without question. The fan theory posits that the reason he received the green light to do so is because the two of them were destined to create the next oracle.

Are Christian & Maja Somehow Related?

The fan theory lists numerous reasons that could connect Christian and Maja as the creators of the new oracle. They propose that the two are actually distant relatives or share some form of blood relation that would allow for incest to take place, which is needed to create an oracle in the Harga cult. Earlier in the film, Christian actually questions how they avoid incest. It is a peculiar question to ask if there’s no true reasoning behind it, so there is a possibility that he is related to Maja in this regard. Except, the response to Christian’s question alludes to them being able to avoid this practice because Pelle and other members bring in outsiders.

Furthermore, the theory discusses the fact that red hair and blue eyes are genetic mutations, while going as far as to say they are a result of incest. Research has shown that people with blue eyes share a common ancestor, but that would have been many generations ago, and diluted through years of genetic progression. The theory also suggests that red hair is a result of incest, but there’s no scientific evidence that upholds such a statement. Scientifically speaking, they cannot be related solely based on their physical appearance.

Where The New Oracle Is Conceived

Harga oracles must be a product of incest, as one elder states in Midsommar. Yet, the argument that Maja and Christian are related has been debunked. The fan theory also suggests that their creation of the new oracle is based on the physical location where the ritual takes place. During the ritual, Maja and Christian are in the current oracle’s home. After which, Maja exclaims that she can feel that she’s pregnant. The conception of a new oracle under the roof of the current one makes sense if it is a Harga tradition, but this isn’t discussed further.

It’s possible that any Harga member with the desire to reproduce could have sex in such a sacred space due to the fact that the production of new life is celebratory as well as an important event for the cult and their customs. However, there are various elements about the Harga and the oracle that are never explained in detail in Midsommar. This may be due to the fact that it could have taken the movie in an entirely different route or deterred from its primary plot that revolves around seeing Dani become the May Queen.

Why Christian & Maja Did Not Create The New Oracle

The fan theory suggests a lot of possibilities that could make Maja and Christian the parents of the new oracle, but there is just not enough evidence in Midsommar to support it. First, it’s virtually impossible that Christian would not know of a relative living in a Swedish cult, especially if it is known to family that he is traveling to Harga. Christian is there to study the Harga, and does not mention that he has Swedish ancestry, which seems like something he’d mention. The only thing connecting him to Sweden is his desire to sleep with the women there, as Mark stated while discussing their travel plans.

Second, red hair and blue eyes may be genetic mutations, but they are not the result of incest. While people with blue eyes share a common ancestor, this does not mean that every person with this eye color is born of incest. Finally, no one in the Harga cult states that the oracle must be conceived in the home that the current one resides in. The entirety of the theory is solely speculation with barely a shred of evidentiary support to back it up.

It could be possible if Ari Aster had included more backstory on the ways that oracles are created, but it is more likely that Christian impregnated Maja in order to avoid incest, as was explained by the leader of the Harga. None of the suggestions mentioned in this specific fan theory hold enough weight to make it a reality. Conclusively, Maja and Christian are not the parents of the Harga cult’s next oracle in Midsommar.

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