Judgment — XX

Following the The Sun XIX, we advance from ego, sin and death to Son, sum and life. 

The following trump XX is commonly called Judgment, as in Judgment Day or the Final Judgment. 

It is time to shine, encounter our higher selves, graduate. 

Winterwonderland Tarot, by Joshua Franklin and Aaron Franklin 2022

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we would be called, and would become, the sons of God. Because of this, the world does not know us, for it did not know him. Most beloved, we are now the sons of God. But what we shall be then has not yet appeared. We know that when he does appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  1 John 3:1-2 CPDV

When we are awakened, we are awakened to the revelation that we are more than we thought we were . . . or, perhaps, to put it a better way, we are less different from Jesus than we thought we were. The veils covering our eyes are removed. All is revealed. It is the apocalypse.  

Revelation is from Latin revelare "to unveil, uncover, lay bare," which in Greek is Apokalypsis from apakalyptine "uncover, disclose, reveal."An unveiling is a revealing, and a disclosing is a dis-clothing(making naked), or uncovering, perhaps a shedding of the old or even a removal of the "veil," that is, the lids or skin covering our eyes, so a raising(of the lids), causing one to be awake. Naked Eyes. Therefore Revelation is an Awakening. It is an eye opening moment. The lights are on. 👀

Spolia Tarot - Jessa Crispin

". . . One does not simply shed, one has to feel the restriction of the old life, the dissatisfaction of it, and one must work to rid oneself of its confines. One crawls through this card, but it beckons you to a new, freer way of being."

However, like a skin that is too tight so it must be shed in order to allow for growth, judgement is an uncomfortable point of crisis. Crisis from Greek krisis κρίσις "turning point in a disease, that change which indicates recovery or death," literally "judgment, selection" from krinein  κρίνειν "sift, separate, decide, judge," from PIE root *krei- "to sieve." So judgment is a sieving/separating moment of decision. A point of no return.

And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment[krisieōs(krisis)] Jn. 5:29 Douay-Rheims

So, krinein can be the cause of some cryin,' just like at our first unveiling . . . 

Like a baby taking its first breath out of the safe confines of the womb, naked and cold, being born into this present reality; our inherited world of sin and death. 

Expulsion from the Garden of Eden - fresco, Masaccio, c.1425

Thanks to Adam and Eve who experienced a certain awakening/apocalypse/revelation which resulted in their realization that they were erom "naked,"although they had always been arom "naked"(like babies) from the start,

And the man[ha adam] and his wife[issah "woman, female, wife"] were both naked[arom] and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25 ESV

 they did not know that they were naked until they ate the fruit. 

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked[erom]; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Gen. 3:7 NIV

And he [Adam] said, "I heard your voice, and I was afraid because I was naked [erom]; and I hid [chaba] myself." Genesis 3:10 

They were awakened to the fact that they were lacking . . .  They were lacking a covering, not over their eyes, but over their bodies, and they were ashamed upon knowing this, so not only did they make a covering for their naked hides, they also took cover and chaba "hid" themselves.

Adam and Eve Take Cover/Chaba detail, 1215-1235, Basilica di San Marco, Venice

Prior to this, their eyes had been chaba by their metaphorical eye-lids. They were "clothed" in darkness (of their closed eyes). Their nakedness had been kalyptó (Gk.) "veiled," kryptó "hidden," or kept from their eyes/sight (like children who run around naked and don't care). However, when their eyes were opened/unveiled (apo-kalyptein), and therefore were ur עור "bare, exposed" Adam and Eve were  ur עור "awakened, roused, raised", or or אור "enlightened," they were "lighted" as in the first act of creation,

And God said, "Let there be light[or] and there was light[or]. Gen. 1:3

and they became lucid, lucent, bright💡 that is intelligent 🧠 (discriminating/able to judge, from inter + legere "to choose, pick out, read), sharp 😎(from *sker- "cut," something with an edge, like the piercingly bright star🌟 Sopdet(Egypt.) meaning spd ▻"sharp"/aka Sirius), like the smooth arom ערם "shrewd, crafty, prudent (∴ "bright"💡)" nachash "snake/'hisser'" 🐍 who 'whispered' a nachash "enchantment 🪄", in Eve's ear; the nachash 🪄 nachash 🐍 , or we might say the "smooth talking spelling snake" in the garden (a lucifer "light(truth) bringer"). So this snake was both bright💡🧠 and bright 🌟.

   Eve Tempted by the Serpent, William Blake, 1799-1800

Now the serpent[nachash] was more crafty[arum] than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Gen. 3:1 NIV

So, we might say "the serpent was brighter than any of the wild animals . . . "

After Adam ate the fruit(product/produce) of the tree, he (איש ish) and his אשה issah saw/knew, that is, it or אור 🔆 "dawned, lighted" on them, that they were snakey naked, slippery smooth, arum ערום (shrewd) arom ערם (bare, ∴ smooth or fine/subtle/shrewd), that is, arom ערום (naked). They were ur עור "bare, exposed" in the light or lighted(or)

And being exposed in this sense can have negative connotation, as in the Greek elegchó  "expose, convict, reprove." 

And when he comes, he will convict[elegchó "expose"] the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment[krisieōs]. Jn. 16:8 ESV

In other words, "he will make naked / bare the world . . . " 

Because to expose is to exponere "set forth, lay open, exhibit, reveal, publish," lay bare, or argue/agurere "make clear, make known, prove, declare, demonstrate" from PIE *arg- ✨"to shine; white," which is to bring to the light, or shine the light on 🔆. 

And to be bare/naked(ur/arom), is to be bearing or עור "skin, hide" that can be "bright" or or אור "light." Out from our or "skin" shines our aura. So when Adam and Eve saw that their skin was bare they realized that they were or exposed, arg! They were too bright.

Bare exposed skin, photos by Julie O.

And they saw this with their naked eyes. That is, with their raised(open) eyes, their,  ur "exposed, naked, bare" eyes, but also, then, eyes that are active or alert, or ur "bared, brandished,  ur "raised up, roused" like the ancient Egyptian uraeus /iraret [in Egyptian], the representation of the shining🌟 (snake) goddess, Wadjet[the "green"/verdant one], who is the irt "eye" that is 👁️ "action/doing," of Ra [as discussed in The Sun XIX] in ancient Egypt. The green(wadj) light 🟢 of Ra. The eye of health🌿 and life🌱 emanating from source/Ra🌞.

Uraeus, is taken from Gk. Ούραϊος Ouraîos "on its ourá 'tail', a tail being "something long and thin" which is an agitator (from *ag-, 👁️ "action/doing") when it wags or flails, and in the case of the snake, being 'on its tail' is a sign of its roused/awakened👀 state or readiness of action 🟢, undulating like a flickering flame 🔥, or dazzling/shimmering ✨ like what is up↑, ouranos 'the sky, heaven, air,' which is also bright or light.

 

Human-headed Uraeus with Wings, from the neck of the mummy of Tutankhamen 

Green One/Wadjet

Raised Brazen/Golden Serpent

Flashing her Bare Body 🫣

Wings indicate Swift Action/Movement 

Therefore, the uraeus, this representation of Wadjet/Uatchet is lit🔥. 

Wadjet is also represented as the Eye of Ra.

And Ra is a light/fire/burning. Ra = ☉"sun".

Uraei are bright and shining, ur "fire, light," being fashioned out of gleaming metals like gold, bronze, brass and copper (ore). 

Four Uraei with Sun Disks

 reverse side of the throne of Tutankhamun (1346-1337 BC). Valley of the kings, Thebes, New Kingdom (18th Dynasty)

Like Moses' representation of a "seraph" set on a pole, which healed(made "green") the people in the wilderness after they had grumbled against God. 

And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a שרף [seraph] and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees[raah] it, shall live." Num. 21:8 

So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at[nabat] the bronze serpent and live. Num. 21:9

They have a fiery nature as the protectors of Ra, so we could say are 🔥or "light, set on fire, shine, lit" and cause 🔥seraph / srf שרף, as a verb, meaning "to burn, set on fire," similar to the ancient Egyptian 🔥srf  "warm, heat up; temperature; fever; mood"

srf - s (cloth folded) + r (mouth) + f (viper) + brazier[det.]

The word is thus visually associated with both fire and serpent(viper)

which  in Latin is 🔥urere "to burn." The uraei are fiery serpents described by such names as Wepset Wps(t)"('she' who causes) Burning," perhaps, we could say, like whips {a whips-et}ouch! or wps/wepes "incinerating" weapon of Ra. She's the bomb!🤯 And Neseret Nsrt "Flame/Fire/Burn," the (N)Searing one, both of whom appear quite incensed as rearing cobras.

nsr "fire, flame, burn"; ḫt "fire"

Wepset and Nesret

Wpst [wp "cow horns"+ p + s + t + "brazier" det.] and Nsrt [n "water ripple"+ ns "animal tongue"+ s + r + t "bread bun" + "brazier" det.]

[lasso hieroglyphs, top left] wꜣ wꜣ  "condemn, judge, damn" ∴ krisis

Below is a passage from the Book of Overthrowing ꜥApep, aka Αποφις Apophis, the (serpent) Enemy of Ra, a 4th century BC Egyptian religious text, which mentions Wepset "Burning" and Nesret "Flame" and describes the avenging power of these 'seraphs' using at least a dozen different words relating to fire, heat and burning. Some of the given transliterations from the hieroglyphic script are imposed[by me] onto the given English translation for comparison purposes and to clarify what word is being translated. For example, when the words "fire" or "burn/ing" are used in the translation, there might actually be, several similar in meaning ancient Egyptian words being translated throughout the text using only one English word, or, at others times, two different English words are given when only one Egyptian word is used.

The fire[sḏt] comes forth against you, you foe of Re, rebels of(against) Horus, and against your soul(s), your body and your shades (25, 5) the fire[sḏt] comes forth, it cooks you, its glow[ẖnfy] bakes[ẖnfy.s] you, its burning[wbdt] burns[wbd.s -roasts] you, Wepset [Wpst "Burning-et"] the great divides [wps"burns, sunders"/splits the Adam] you, she devours you, she parches[ntb]  you, she destroys your souls (25, 6) her fiery blast[hh] makes chastisement in your shades[šwt - part of the soul]. O, you who ought to too be annihilated, be annihilated; you are crushed, crushed! You shall be burned[wsḥ][down], you shall be cut down, you shall be slaughtered, you shall be condemned to Neseret [Nsrt "Flame-et"] the great the mistress of heat[rkḥ], and its glow shall consume (25, 7) your souls, its blast[hh] shall make chastisement in your bodies[ẖꜣ t/khat - part of the soul], it shall press on you with its great flame[nbít], it shall cut[ds.s] you with its knife[ds.s - cutter], it shall rage[dndn.s] against you with its wrath [dndn.s] (25, 8) consume (you) with its flame[nbít], shrivel (burn up)[nsr] you with its fire[nsrt], blast[hꜣ.s] you with its blaze[hꜣ.s], scorch[rkḥ], you with its heat[rkḥ], burn[ꜣm.s/am]; you with its burning[ꜣm.s/am]; it shall break you, in this its name of fire[sḏt], it shall divide[wp.s] you, in this, its name of Wepset [Wpst "Burning-et"] the great; you shall fall to its flame[nbít], for sharp[spd] is the Nesret [nsrt "flame"] the great[ꜥꜣ *of size]  which is in its blast, and its glow shall devour your souls[Ba(w)] 24  4 pBremner-Rhind, 25, 4-9; Faulkner, The Bremner-Rhind Papyrus: III: D. TheBook of Overthrowing 'Apep, in., JEA 23, 2, p. 170, from The Role of Wepset in the Ancient Egyptian Religion  pp. 450-451   

Full Hieroglyphic text - Brenner-Rhind Papyrus, pp 52-53, copy from 300s BC

Here the seraph "fiery/burning" serpent goddess is described as being sharp and cutting as well as fire and burning.

So it is clearly not inherently good or bad to be a serpent. Serpents can be formidable friends or foes of Ra (and ∴ of us). Likewise, it isn't absolutely good or bad to be naked. Serpents are "naked," that is, smooth and exposed, but are symbols of healing, such as with the uraeus/Wadjet/Wepset/Nesret, the Rod of Asclepius, the Caduceus, the ancient Egyptian khsf "spindle (with viper)" hieroglyph, 

1.) Rod/Staff of Asclepius

2.) Caduceus/Azoth "spiritual enlightenment, purification of the soul" 

3.) ḫsf /khsf "drive away, ward off, repel; avoid anger, prevent" Spindle(w/viper) GardinersU35

and the bronze serpent of Moses, called Nechushtan, 

which was the nechosheth "bronze, brazen, brass, copper" nachash 🐍"serpent" made to symbolize a seraph, i.e., a "fiery"🐍 (∴ a uraeus which is a "brazen serpent"[Wadjet Lady Nesret "Flame"]), and was a nachash 🪄"enchantment, spell" that saved the people from death, that is, restored them to health(greeness).

Wadjet is often depicted as winged cobra. These wings serving a dual purpose as a protective embrace and being capable of creating the breath of life often connected to the image of the Ankh that she is often depicted with. . . [23] Wadjet, Wikipedia

This serpent of bronze(uraeus) therefore was effectively a mirror (ꜥnḫ / ankh☥) for the people, both literally(mirrors / ꜥnḫ were made of bronze) and figuratively, which showed/reflected/mirrored, that is, made them to see their own light or worth and gave them ☥  the breath of life/health. For, if God gives you a savior, it must mean you worthy of life. And if your savior is a mirror then what does that mean about yourself? 🤔 

"Daughter," said Jesus," your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction." Mk.5:34 BSB

Whether or not nakedness is interpreted as a good or bad depends upon what is exposed and whether or not it shines favorably in the light. Having open eyes is a sign of being awakened (ur) and is therefore the cause of knowing/intelligence💡/ light (or) and a sign of arousal (ur) which is baring (ur ), exposing (ur), and therefore causing one to be naked(arom, from ur). 

photo by Julie O.

Flashing flesh is powerful, it can enkindle a flaming desire or instill fear, shock or disgust. But one thing is for sure, to be naked, or bare is to stand out or be *bher- (2) "bright; brown" or burnished brown, a color that might remind us of  burning "shining, glittering, sparkling, glowing like fire," from Old Norse brenna "to burn, light," like molten ore and amber, which in Greek is ēlektron and is ēlektra "shining, bright."⚡️

Bare skin is especially *bher- when it is anointed, in Greek, χρíω [krió/khriein]👐 "to rub with oil, anoint." When a χείρ [kheir] "hand"🤚 χράομαι [khraiomai] touches or "lights upon"👉👸 the brow of another making the person's or "skin" or " brightened," gleaming and mirrored ☥ , like the Χριστός [Khristos] "Anointed," Christ, who is the "light of the world." Christ is the spotless mirror ☥ reflecting the light(or) and life(ankh) of God. To be anointed/Christed is to be lighted.

Anointing of Bethany, Chapel of the House of Christian Encounter, Capiago, Italy, 2006, By the Atelier d'Arte

Jesus is Christed with perfumed oil

Chi-ro = Christos "Christ" = Anointed = way/truth/life = ankh = mirror 

So, perhaps we should be proud of the skin we are in(our humanity) because it allows us to shine like Christ who came into the world just as naked as us. Our skin/light does not make us "less than." To the contrary, it is a legitimate image and likeness (reflection) of God. When we see ourselves as reflecting the light of Christ we are ur-wakened and or-luminated, instead of remaining "err"-luminated and "ill"-luminated like Adam and Eve after the fall due to shame.

Being bare exposes the truth whatever it is. However, the truth, at times, can hurt. The truth can  elegchó "expose, convict" therefore it can nashak "bite" like the seraph🔥 serpents that bit [nesheku] the people in the wilderness exposing their unfaithfulness.

And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "What have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food."

Then the LORD sent fiery[seraphim] serpents[nachashim] among the people, and they bit[nesheku] the people, so that many people of Israel died.  Num. 21:5-6 ESV

The whispering/hissing "lucifers," that is, "light bringers," angelos "messengers" of hard truth, taught them what happens to those who grumble against God. Perhaps not only as seraphim🔥nachashim🐍, but also as seraphim 💭🤯😱😫 "anxious thoughts, disquieting thoughts"(as King David used the word in the psalms), or we could say seraph שרף🔥 "consuming, burning" seraph שרעף / seraphim "thought/thoughts" 💭🤯😱😫,  thought that is roiling, raised and agitated like the s-r-f 🌊🌊🌊, or a rearing serp-ent 🐍, thought that bites/oppresses(nashak) like a seraph🔥🐍, or pierces like a saif 🗡️ "sword," and can  cause "sworded" ⚔️  thoughts, that is saiph/saiphim "divided" seiphim "disquieting thoughts."

Sword, in English, is ultimately said to be from *swertha-, literally meaning "the cutting weapon," from PIE *swer- "to cut, pierce." which is what serpents do when they bite/inject venom🧛. So we could say that disquieting thought/s can be described as swords or burning/biting serpents.

Universal Waite Tarot - Nine of Swords

"Death, failure, disappointment, despair. . . fear, shame"

fear, anxiety, terror, negativity, deep unhappiness, stress, burden, overwhelm, at breaking point, inability to cope or face life, mental anguish, guilt, regret, remorse. . .   The Tarot Guide

Swords are said to be naked when not "clothed" in their sheaths, when they are bared or brandished(ur). And there is duality to the saif  "sword," just as there is duality to the seraph. Not only is a sword double edged/dual, but a sword can either kill or protect. The sword can harm you or keep you saif.

And if seraph means "fiery"(ur) then a seraph sword would be something like a "flaming sword," which is a brandishing brand, like that which is said to guard the way to the Tree of Life, 

So he drove out the man[ha adam"man"], and stationed cherubim[kerubim] on the east side of the Garden[gan "enclosure, sanctuary"] of Eden[eden "delight"], along with a whirling sword[chereb] of flame[lahat] to guard[shamar "keep"] the way to the tree of life[chay]. Gen. 3:24 BSB

So kerubim(kerub) כרוב and a chereb חרב "keep"safe the way to the tree of life. And this chereb "sword🗡️" (etymologically from charab  חרב "parch, dry, lay waste, destroy"), we could say is a kind of "enchanted destroyer," or "sword of enchantment[lahat] 🔥🪄,"  and if a  saif 🗡️"sword" can be a saiph 💭⚔️ "thought, divided mind" that destroys, like seraphim 💭🔥🗡️🐍" thoughts" that agitate like saraph🔥 "burning, fire," then the "sword of flame" guarding the way to the tree of life could itself simply be "disturbing thoughts" or a "disturbing thought." 🤔 

This idea does track with such concepts as Spiritual Crisis / Spiritual Emergency and Kundalini awakening, which when experienced can definitely be the cause of seraphim. Kundalini, a word taken from Sanskrit, has the meaning of "(🐍 she who is) coiled ." It is described as a form of divine feminine energy(∴ similar to Wadjet🐍) said to be located at the base of the spine, "This energy in the subtle body, when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, is believed to lead to spiritual liberation wikipedia." So, we could say that Kundalini "keeps the way" to the Tree of Life or the central nervous system. However, Kundalini awakening is not a process to be taken lightly, nor is it not fraught with danger. 

Experience of Kundalini awakening can happen when one is either prepared or unprepared. According to Hindu tradition, in order to be able to integrate this spiritual energy, a period of careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system is usually required beforehand. wikipedia/kundalini

When a person who is unprepared has a Kundalini awakening the experience can be quite frightening, emotionally tumultuous and down right dangerous! Even so far as to contributing to psychotic breaks, resulting in behavior which might lead to the loss of a job, dropping out of school, harm to relationships, arrest/imprisonment, insanity, or death. One of the factors that can contribute to a spontaneous Kundalini awakening is high levels of stress. Now think of the Israelites wandering in the desert, they were definitely stressed! They were tired, exposed to the elements and fasting(which is another contributing factor) with only mana to eat and insuficient water. It would not be a wonder for people in that situation to start going a bit batty.

Halloween Tarot, Three of Bats[Swords], artwork Kipling West, by Karin Lee

"Emotional agony. Greif, pain, strife, disappointment. A disturbing outside influence. Betrayal."

Then they started to be plagued and nashuk "bitten" by seraph "fiery" serpents. Even having just a couple people bitten by poisonous snakes in these conditions could be enough to cause some mass hysteria. 

The Trial of George Jacobs August 5, 1692, T.H. Matteson (1813-1884) — Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

To bite is to bita "cut, pierce, penetrate"or jab 🗡️💉which we could say is done to you when you are nashuk "bitten," a term which in Biblical Hebrew is also used to mean "lend upon usery," that is nashak "oppress with interest on a loan," which is a kind of gouging. When the Israelites were bitten(nashuk) they were being made to pay with oppressively high intrest(nashak) for their grumbling. All they did was complain but they were given death! 

We could say Adam and Eve were gouged too. They just ate one piece of fruit from the tree and then they and all their descendants were banished from paradise forever! And this sin was committed when they were innocent like children. They were tricked by the bright serpent into eating the fruit. Eve was first tricked by the serpent who used her trust in a God who is all good(so why would he make something bad?) to set into motion consequences which she had no conceivable understanding of, and then Adam, secondarily, was tricked by the serpent because he saw that Eve had eaten the fruit, and Eve was fine! The whole thing just really bites!

However, these stories as we have been given them, are infused with prejudicial language. Experiencing "evil"/adversity is not necessarily meant as punishment. Was God really trying to punish the Israelites in the wilderness by sending the seraphim, or were they just experiencing a painful lesson of growth? The bitting serpents could be viewed as messengers/angels of enlightenment. Being injected with venom can act as either medicine or a poison, or sometimes both. It depends on the type and dosage whether it harms or heals. And sometimes a certain amount of harm is part of a healing process (think chemotherapy), or sometimes physical violence is meant to be medicine (think of surgery). For Adam and Eve, the removal from the garden could also be viewed, not as a punishment, but rather, as simply the unavoidable consequence of waking up. Just as going through puberty isn't meant to be a punishment for a child, even though it is uncomfortable and  a certain kind of death. Not a death ⚰️ death☠️, but a death (of the child self) which is necessary in order to become an adult(self). Transformation entails that one form dissolve🐛 so that another can appear🦋. So, should we say that Adam and Eve were being punished for eating the fruit, or was the fruit just a bitter(and "biting" nashak) medicine? A very tough pill to swallow.

One way the word "eat" wnm is used in ancient Egyptian is to mean "to take medicine." When Jesus says, "Take, eat: this is my body," in Mt. 26:26, he is using the word in a similar way, implying that his body/substance is medicine. Or to put it another way, he is saying our prescription is to "℞(from Latin Recipere meaning "Take"), eat". 

So we could say that when Adam and Eve ate the "fruit"🍏 from the ets "tree" it was was a kind of "eats"/potion/medicine ☠️ that instigated transformation, but like the Little Mermaid who took a drink/potion 🧪(causing her to grow legs) it was a painful process. 

 "I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what mankind calls legs and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you. . . but every step you take will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives, and that the blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I will help you."  The Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Anderson (1836)

Which is actually similar to what happens to Eve. When confronted by the serpent, Eve tells the serpent that God said that she and Adam may not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden or even touch it, lest they muth "die" [Gen. 3:3]. But the serpent assures Eve that, no, they will not muth muth, that is, die die, die dead [Gen.3:4]. Which was true in a sense, however, when God said "Don't do it! It will kill you dead![muth muth]" What he must have meant was that the consequences of doing so would be really hard and unpleasant, and they wouldn't come out of it the same. He was saying, "YOU as you are/were will surely die [muth muthun]! But, yeah, you won't be dead dead right away. . . like the snake said." Becoming like God is simply not an easy path!

And this could help explain why, after eating the fruit, God barred ⚔️ Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life. 

Then the LORD God[YHWH Elohim] said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever— Genesis 3:22 ESV

Maybe it would be more dangerous? This "eating" perhaps would have interfered with or counteracted the first medicine/poison/potion. In this way the banishment from Eden could be thought of as a grace. Once Adam and Eve had their initial awakening(eye opening), they were given the opportunity to learn the lessons which the "poisonous" produce of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had produced in them, and grow into maturity/adulthood, before prematurely taking the next step. Living with the reality of dying and death is a great catalyst for growth. Dying and death is the ultimate crisis. Would they have ever learned the lessons they needed if they had been able to live forever? Or would they instead be more like vampires, not really living, but just undead? Or even worse, like vampires who are turned into vampires as children? Forever young . . . but more specifically, unable to grow. Stunted.

Halloween Tarot, artwork Kipling West, by Karin Lee

In them is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. Mt. 13:14 NIV

We don't seek to just be alive, but to live! When certain knowledge is given in a way that is not appropriate(such as to children) or to those who are not ready or prepared for it, it can either go over their heads and not be heard, or, oppositely, it can be heard too loudly and wreak havoc in the form of trauma and other phycological distress which is soul killing.

Our earthly life is a grace which gives a grace period of a lifetime that teaches/learns us the knowledge of towb/tov טוב"good, beautiful, pleasant," and ra' רע "adversity, bad, affliction, distress" before going to Judgment and moving on to either the resurrection of life(with God/Unity) or separation(krisis). In the same way that the knowledge of "adversity" is equated with "evil," the venomous bite of the serpents in the wilderness is usually seen as a poison inflicted to punish, rather than as an opportunity(albeit a painful opportunity) for the people to rectify their ways. Growth can be very uncomfortable and frightening, however, depending upon how we frame transformation, we can call it "a difficult experience" or we can call it "evil." For example, if a person wants to train for an endurance race, they expect for it to be hard and involve some pain, but they don't call it evil. On the other hand, if a person is forced to run all day they might call it evil. Or one person might get stung by a bee and call it evil, while another person may get stung by a bee and call it medicine. So, it is a judgment put upon the experience of the adverse to call it "evil."

This same sort of judgment is put upon the "evil" spirit that caused the seraphim that King Saul experienced in the Book of Samuel.

Now the Spirit[ruach "spirit, wind, breath"] of the LORD[YHWH] had departed from Saul, and an evil[ra'] spirit[ruach] from the LORD[YHWH] tormented[baath "terrify, frighten, overwhelm, terrorize"] him. 1Sam.16:NIV

The same word used to describe the knowledge of the tree in Eden, ra', is used here to describe the spirit of YHWH that tormented, terrified and overwhelmed Saul. So, we wouldn't say this "evil" is evil in the sense of Satanic, but rather just distressing, which could mean it was dis-dressing, baring, or exposing Saul's guilty conscience. 

David then, famously, was able to soothe Saul with his harp playing and song, that is, he was able to cause a change in Saul's emotional state (like Orpheus). 

Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play[nagan] the lyre. He will play[nagan] when the evil[ra'] spirit[ruach]  from God comes on you, and you will feel better[towb].  1Sam.16:16 NIV

This means that David's playing, nagan "thrum, to play on a stringed instrument," which makes the strings vibrate like little snakes 〜, and the sound of which is enchanting(nachash)  🎶 (👈looks like little uraei) like a snake(nachash) / nãga🐍, and brought the relief of dawn/light(or), or nogah "morning" to Saul and nagah "give light to, illumine, enlighten" him was snakey medicine. 

kinnor / lyre / harp(arpa)

Just as Orpheus enchanted even Hades himself with his music. That is Orpheus changed Hades from his previous status/state by the power of his playing(nagan). So we might say he, Orpheus, 'orphaned' Hades or bereaved, deprived, robbed him of his previous state, and  moved Hades, as he moved all, so that even the animals, trees and rocks moved about him in time to his music. We could say that Orpheus caused things to behave as if they were not in control, like robots(from root *orbh-" the same as orphan [someone 'robbed' of parents] are not in control, or were manipulated  like puppets), and like how people are robbed of their nakedness by robes, whereas disrobing is a kind of freedom. So, whether or not the state one is being robbed of or manipulated into is viewed as being negative or positive, then the robbing or manipulation is viewed as either good or evil.

Thus, we see, at other times neginah "music" as being the cause of evil/distress, rather than comfort, as when it is used as a neginah "taunt" which is a kind of negging. And unpleasant sounding music can give you a nagging headache⚡️.

Bravely bold Sir Robin rode from Camelot

He was not afraid to die, oh, brave Sir Robin

He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways

Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin

He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp

Or to have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken

To have his kneecaps split and his body burned away

And his limbs all caked and mangled, brave Sir Robin

His head smashed in and his heart cut out

And his liver removed and his bowels unplugged

And his nostrils raped and his bottom burnt off

And his penis split and his— Brave Sir Robin, Monty Python 

So, when Saul was afflicted/taunted by the dissonant neginah tormenting his mind, he too, like the people in the wilderness was comforted (but we could say was 'manipulated') by a nachash "snake/enchantment," however, Saul heard this "nachash" by the nagan "playing 〜🪉" of the neginah "music 🎶, whereas the people in the wilderness looked upon the nãga 🐍 ☥ , in order to be healed. 

So there is the visual serpent of healing, the auditory serpent of healing. . . what about an olfactory👃 serpent? What is like art and music that facilitates a connection with the divine?Aroma 🌸 is from Latin aroma "sweet odor," from Greek aroma αρωμα "seasoning, a sweet spice or herb(erbe)." Aroma "seasoning" is something that causes "muchiness" which makes munching desirable. We might say the aroma "spice, flavor, savor, spiciness" exposes or reveals flavor, and awakens the senses. They are roused. And the aroma🌸 "sweet smell" of food is in fact what allows us to enjoy the flavor of food. The smells manipulate us into finding flavor. This is why we hold our nose when we don't want to taste something. Scents of tantalizing food waft or wave 〜 through the air like snakes beckoning us to eat. 🧞‍♂️

Scents can be healing(aromatherapy), alluring, and hypnotizing like music. 

🎶 "There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance. There's a hole in the wall where the men can see it all." 🎶 

Pepé Le Pew - Looney Tunes

Aroma, spiciness, odor, like erotic love/eros is something that brings light(or) into our lives, or can set us on fire. Spices brighten the food and awaken(ur-waken) the flavor. Things that have odor, from *hed- "to smell," can be heady, and cause us to have ideas, or idein "to  see," from *weid- "to see," and therefore can be eye brightening and arousing/rousing. Smells can enchant(nacash) and can magically bring up memories carried on the wind. Yet, they can also be biting or acrid 🗡️. So, we could say that aromas can be good or evil. Smells can be pleasant or insultingly and assaultingly the cause of distress(ra').

Therefore, since anything pertaining to the senses brings information and causes us to know(either the experience of good or evil), we can say the senses are illuminating or luciferious. And how these light-bringers operate is certainly snakey. Snakey good or snakey bad. Not all illumination "light" is "light" truth some light is in fact darkness. That is, some"seeing" is actually bad or error, or we might say is not "green"/ healthy / life giving.

But if your eye["sight"] is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Mt. 6:23 BLB

There is a trickster element to snakes. Things that are snakey / serpent-like are serpine(herpine "to creep") and are slippery and illusive. They are creepy. Though snakey things, like truth/fire serpents,  bring the "light," they are sword-ed or dual like medicine(sometimes they harm and sometimes they heal). And things that we see or know(i.e., swords/thoughts/opinions) do not necessarily make us wise (*weid "to see"). So, evil sight/light is more like phantom light, or a phantasma "mere image" of light, a phainesthai "appearance" of phos "light," or fantasy. However, if what is seen is only seen because it is light, then how do we determine between what is real and what is fantasy or a trick of the light? If an angel of darkness can appear as an angel of light then how do we know the difference? 

Satan as the Fallen Angel by Sir Thomas Laurence, 1797. Source Southby's

What is true (from *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast) is durable/ trueable. What is truly light is light, it behaves as light. It is not skin-deep. When stripped down, laid bare and exposed, it is shown to be what it is. Like a magician, when he shows how he preforms his tricks/illusions, then they are no longer mistaken for real magic. Because everything exposed by the light is light.

But everything exposed[elegchomena ] by the light [photos] is phaneroutai ["visible, made manifest, appears," it is lighted]—and everything phaneroumenon [being "visible, manifested, appearing," lighted] becomes light [phos]  This is why it is said: "Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on[epiphausei dawn(or) on," give light upon you. Eph. 5:13-14

As the moon 🌑 is lighted by the sun and so is made "manifest, visible, to appear," 🌒🌓🌔 and thus becomes light 🌕. When exposed to the light, it becomes itself a light. And so, when we open our eyes/expose them to the light of Christ, he who is the light, we ourselves reflect, and thus are, the light of Christ. But if we falsely claim to be [the source of] the light [itself], in doing so we turn away from the source of light and thus we become the only "light" that we, as creatures/created beings apart from source are . . . which is darkness. And so what we shine out/👁️ do, i.e., our works, are a representation of our light. If we shine out evil, then our so called "light" is in fact darkness. That light is not durable. In that case our light is only a glamour that fades or facade that crumbles away; fantasy (like make up[made up/makebelieve] or a costume/mask). 

Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories (1922)

And we know what we shine out is evil when it is not from love. For God who is the source of all light, is LOVE. And what love looks like is not a mystery or hard to understand.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always, hopes, always preserves.  1Cor.13:4-7

If it doesn't look like these things it is a "mere image" of love. If someone claims to be the light/sun, but you feel cold in their presence, then they aren't the light/sun. The emperor has no clothes.

Gustave Doré, illustration Paradise Lost, book IX, 179-187

The definition of Satan is he who satan "opposes." He IS Adversary. If Satan were to admit that his light comes from God, he would not be Satan. If he were to submit, he would instead be Christ reflecting the light of God.

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. Jn. 6:38 

This is why Satan cannot change because to be Satan IS to be in opposition to God. It is an immortal archetype. When you turn away from (oppose) the light you become dark🌑, and when you turn toward the light you are lighted🌕. And those are the only two choices. 

So, being exposed can be good because what is exposed becomes light/truth, however, the part that is darkness necessarily needs to transform(from darkness to light) and in the transformation, that part must die dead, and dying doesn't feel good. It's humiliating(humbling)!

We just want to feel good! Is that so wrong!?

We ourselves are creeping(serpine) creatures oscillating between the good and the bad. 

painting by Ailis O'Reilly 2017, ailis_art, photo credit Julie O.

We are up and then we are down, but never resting within the sure bounds of paradise . . . that is, unless we choose to dwell there, in the middle, in the midst of the garden. As adults we are given free rein to experience all that is, which takes us to the highest highs and the lowest lows: undulating between good and evil. Though we are but mere creatures/created beings we are awakened into eternity and the eternal. . . and we find it to be, after all, too much! However, like the prodigal son we can choose to return home, to the place where we were cared for, fed, clothed, safe and loved. That is to the "resurrection of life." But it is a place that we must understand and choose (to be a Christ) or we will never truly be there, just as the brother of the prodigal son was technically at home but not really with his father (rather in opposition/satan to). That is, his light was in fact darkness and his sight evil/bad. Thus, how great was his darkness! He wasn't going to leave and be prodigal like his brother, therefore he wouldn't learn the lessons and find his way home like his brother. What isn't lost can't be found. What ain't broke, can't be fixed!

So, when our judgment day arrives, it is best to already be fully naked or standing in the light otherwise we will have a major crisis on our hands; we can double down and turn away like Lucifer, the false/not truable light(antichrist) and endure the pain of eternal separation/loss, OR, instead suffer a staggering and painful transformation/death rebirth, which will be terrifying and painful in proportion to how great of an abyss we have dug between ourselves(egos) and and ourselves as images(mirrors) of God, that is, as Christs.

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?" Rev. 6:12-17 NIV

The more like Christ('anointed'/lighted) we are today, the less we'll have to change to conform to that image, and therefore the less painful the transition will be. We can either look toward the light and thus be changed (to the image of Christ/the light) or scurry away covered in eternal darkness like worms; victorious and sovereign kings of pain (maybe we would rather be robbed of this fate?).

Satan('opposer') Smitten by Michael('who is like God'), from Book VI of 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton (1608-74) engraved by Antoine Alphee Piaud, c. 1868

To be fully God and fully human is a strange trick of balance.

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hinderance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever losses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [kosmos] and forfeits his soul [psyche]? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Mt. 16:23-27 ESV

There is a real sense in which we have always dwelt in darkness and have never been fully awake. Our present state of being is fallen(our common experience is to be living in a world of sin and death). Although we believe we are awake, it might be that we just don't know the difference, having never experienced being awake. Just as the people in Plato's Allegory of the Cave do not know that they are in a cave. However, when all are finally awakened(the veil is removed) and the light of day shines upon us, those things that were the mere appearance of light(Lucifer😈) will be exposed for what they really are, illusory/illusion👿. Just as people who have only lived in the night might mistake the moon for the sun because it is the brightest source of light they know. Yet in the true light of the dawn, when they experience the warmth of the sun and experience its great brightness, that completely overtakes the light of the moon, making the moon's light obsolete, they will see their error. Then, everyone who worships the false light(as THE light) will be humbled (their 'great' light will appear to dim), and the true light will shine brightly upon all showing them nakedly as they are, for better or for worse.

Tarot de Marseilles

"Represents the spirit of cosmic conscience"