About

Angelicism01 is an email newsletter hosted on Substack and written by an anonymous author(s) sharing "theoretical gossip of the 21st century." The newsletter, blog and associated social media accounts have become a central part of the 2021-2022 vibe shift scene purportedly centered around Dimes Square in New York City. Angelicism01 provides political, theoretical and spiritual commentary on modern culture with a complex, pseudo-academic and heavily ironic tone.

Origin

Angelicism01's first piece on Substack (a platform for subscription newsletters) was published on November 10th, 2020.^[1] Titled "A Portrait of Donald Trump," it draws on the work of Simone Weil to suggest (perhaps ironically) that the former President of the United States is "beautiful" and a "genius." Borrowing from a mostly leftist assortment of writers and from internet slang, angelicism01 writes in a difficult and hard-to-read style.

Describing Angelicism01's choice of name, the account states:

We are moving towards a universal language and logic, and so as to locate them (at all) on this side of mere emptiness, a name had to be given. Angelicism happened to be that name, as perfect as many others for now. It brings with it a consideration of the maximal point of transition not being at the far end of interplay but at the point where the nonhuman aspects of language--their angelicism--pass back through and round at closest proximity to the human. We are, so to speak, as artificially intelligent right now as we ever can be. We are as angelically stretched as the angels always were. We are already beyond the zeitgeist thrill of celestial joy. All that remains is what computer jargon will have called the initializing and its ellipse.^[2]

The blog posts of Angelicism01 generally revolve around a core set of interests including angels, alt-left politics, apocalypse, religious experience, pop culture, sex and critical theory. The blog has been criticized as reactionary, politically incorrect and exhibiting what commentators like Mike Crumplar have termed "shrill male anger."^[10]

Online Presence

Twitter Account

Angelicism01's Twitter account, @_is_is_are, joined the platform in January 2019 and has since accumulated over 2,700 followers as of June 2022.^[3] The Twitter account has inspired a number of "angelicism clones" that either repost content from the original account or create content circling around angelicism01's primary themes and preoccupations. The original account frequently retweets these "clones."

Guest Posts and Podcasts

In addition to writing guest columns for a variety of other Substacks, angelicism01 authored a piece for the journal American Greatness commenting on 2020 politics, with a byline describing themselves as a "European post-Marxist critic."^[4] The entity behind angelicism01 is also responsible for the Substack egirl01, according to the byline of that article.^[5] Angelicism01 has also been heavily featured and discussed on alt-left podcasts like Wet Brain and Red Scare.^[6]

History

The Vibe Shift

The term vibe shift was popularized in a February 16th, 2022, article by Allison P. Davis in The Cut that profiled the scene angelicism01 belongs to, describes a dramatic cultural change that is making current trends feel dated as a wave of new trends are ushered in.^[7] In "Somebody Please Columbine The Entire The Cut Editorial Staff," a February 17th, 2022, post by angelicism01 that received 45 likes and nine comments, the account called for the execution of The Cut's editorial staff, claimed credit for the popularization of the "vibe shift" and defined the phenomenon in these words:

This chance. This infinity. This rising up of thoughts in the face of God. This savage shifting into grace. This Worm-like slinky of ontological and changeful change. A psychic change. A greater health in the face of annihilation. Hanging out in Cape Town with the hoes. Seeing Charlotte Fang in Buzzfeed. It’s why someone writing for The Cut who is a staff writer for the miasma of degenerescent Bidenism called The Atlantic will always misread what’s happening when it comes to ‘vibe’.^[8]

Angelicism01 has also posted or retweeted many memes about the vibe shift, including a tweet on May 31st, 2022, of a woman in a picturesque setting, which earned eight retweets and 68 likes in one week (seen below).^[9]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References