Pondering the orb meme, explained

A simple, but very powerful, object is an orb. The crystal spheres — which are typically used to predict the future — can beget awe, mystique, and even sometimes fear, depending on the kinds of omens they bring. The orb has been a staple of fairy tales for ages, but now the magic object is the focus of a new trend.

All of the trend’s inspiration comes from an illustration by Angus McBride who was an English fantasy and historical artist. The image shows the artist’s imagining of Saruman, the evil wizard from The Lord of the Rings. In the illustration, we see the cloaked wizard’s dark and brooding eyes gazing deeply into a glowing blue orb.

There are many jokes about the orb. However, many riff on the how a wizard would “ponder” the orb, since it’s an object of wisdom and can be such a strong tool of the occult. You might think that it would bring you some sort of revelation if one ponders. But now, the pondering only brings you funny jokes that play off popular television characters and other memes. Here’s an example of the original image, as shared by Polygon’s own Cass Marshall:

You can find a lot of edits and variations to this photo that draw on characters from other stories and shows. This is Christian Bale playing Patrick Bateman. American PsychoThe orb is indicated by a pointing finger

Next is another example that takes inspiration from a Marge photo. The Simpsons, which originally depicted her holding a potato and saying, “I just think they’re neat.” Now “neat” has been changed to “ponderous” as she holds an orb.

George Constanza is here SeinfeldThe price of an Orb causes upset.

This one references the famous painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. The girl is swapped out in this image. iconic pearl earringWith an orb and a wizard earring

Some people take jokes out of previous meme formats, and mix the orb with them. Here someone takes the “Sickos Haha Yes” meme, which usually shows a neighbor peeking in at something, through the window. This neighbor looks through the window to see an orb.

Next we have a chart that explains who does and doesn’t ponder the orb in The Lord of the Rings. Saruman, true to the joke, both knows and ponders the orb.

Some memes simply play with the idea of the orb in order to create silly jokes. To create this meme, the person plays both the wizard and the orb roles.

Here someone made a corn orb, or as the Tweet describes it, “corb.” That’s it. That’s the joke.

This one is cute — it’s a caricature of the orb and Saruman up late texting each other. It’s based off of a meme where a couple texts each other.

This one is just based on the good ol’ “hot singles in your area” joke inspired by web ads and pop-ups. Instead, the image says, “I don’t want love. What I want is SEX. See My Orb.”

You now have the knowledge to decide if the orb is right for you, even if you’ve never pondered it.