Humbug!

Most likely one of the first things that comes to mind with the mention of the word 'humbug' nowadays is the character of Scrooge in Charles Dickens Classic tale, A Christmas Carol first published December 19, 1843. 

     A (fixed) game at blindman's buff, illustration by Sol Eytinge, Jr.(1833-1905), A Christmas Carol

"A Merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.

"Bah!" said Scrooge. "Humbug!"He Had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all aglow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.

 "Christmas a humbug, uncle? said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure!" 

"I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You are poor enough."

"Come, then," returned the nephew gaily. "What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You're rich enough."Scrodge having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said, "Bah!" again: and followed it up with "Humbug!" - Stave I ~paragraph 13

The word humbug carries a few different meanings. It seems that the primary classical meaning attested from the mid 18th century is "trick, jest, hoax, deception". 

 A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, usually as a hoax or in jest.-Wikipedia

It is used both as a noun and a verb. According to Dictionary.com:
noun
1.  something intended to delude or deceive.
2.  the quality of falseness or deception.
3.  a person who is not what he or she claims to be; impostor.
4.  something devoid of sense or meaning; nonsense: a humbug of technical jargon.
5.  British .  a hard mint candy  

verb (used with object), humbugged, humbugging 
6.  to impose upon by humbug or false pretense; delude; deceive
verb (used without object), humbugged, humbugging 
7. to practice humbug.

interjection
8.  nonsense!

Scrooge often uses the word as an interjection in the story. Christmas? Humbug! Merriment? Humbug! Seeing and hearing strange phantoms, creaking, and moaning in his house when he is alone in the dark? Humbug! However, it is also possible that the interjection is sometimes intended to carry the meaning that Scrooge views Christmas as a trick or scam.

"And yet," said Scrooge, you don't think me ill -used, when I pay a day's wages for no work."

The clerk observed that it was only once a year.

"A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December! said Scrooge… - Stave I

In Middle English bugge/bogge is "something frightening, frightening specter, scarecrow,"(late 14th century) now obsolete except in words like bogeyman, from German bogge, boggelman "goblin," bugbear, and bugaboo.

connected by Chappman["Dictionary of American Slang"] with Bugibu, a demon in the Old French poem "Aliscans" from 1141, which is perhaps of Celtic origin(compare Cornish bucca-boo, from bucca "bogle, goblin). -Online Etymology Dictionary

Scottish bogill is "goblin, bugbear" and old Welsh bwg is"ghost, goblin," and bwgwl  "threat", with an earlier meaning of "fear." It is true that most people would think the appearance of such boogymen as nonsense or humbug. Ghosts and goblins are not real, right?

    A Bugge- Scarecrow, by OdessaSawyer, deviantart

There is the speculation with these 'bugge' words that they may have come from a root word meaning goat, as in the word buck. Before c.1300 buck had the meaning of "male goat" rather than "male dear", from Proto-Germanic *bukkon(Old Saxon buck, Middle Dutch boc, Dutch bok, Old High German boc, German Bock, Old Norse bokkr) which is said to be perhaps from PIE root *bhugo(Avestan buza "buck, goat", Armenian buc "lamb").

It seems likely that these goblin/boogyman words have this 'goat' connection because of the fear of, and demonization of pagan figures such as the goat god Pan, and other mythological/religious figures who were portrayed with various animal features, and who were possessing of earthy natures.

    Arthur Rackham, illustration of Pan from Wind and the Willows- chapter 7; The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, photo British Library

In Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck, aka Robin Goodfellow, is a mischievous sprite. We might say he is a master of humbug; a trickster. Pouk/pouke, from Old English pucce/pucel "goblin" was a common medieval name for the devil, who was sometimes pictured as goblin-like, hairy, grotesque, frightening, or goatish, like the Greek god Pan. Often P's and B's are interchanged in languages. Depending on who is speaking the word and what written system(if any) is used, puck and buck are very similar in sound, and, I would think, most likely related.

    Illustration from the title page of Robin Goodfellow; His Mad Pranks and Merry Jests (1629)

The word poke might be related to 'buck' as well, I would think. The meaning "to push, prod, thrust" is from c.1300, also puken "to poke, nudge", of uncertain etymology, they say, perhaps related to Middle Dutch poken "to poke"(Dutch beuken), or Middle Low German poken "to stick with a knife especially with something pointed. However, it seems very plausible to me that because goats(bucks) have a pushy nature and they often buck and nudge, that poke has to do with goat behavior. Goats are quite unruly and mischievous compared with sheep. 

  Tree Climbing Goats, horse nation.com

Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the slang words used for the sexual act came from 'buck' as well. One being 'poke', the other rhymes with 'buck'. Especially since Pan and the satyrs were seen as being very lustful.

In biblical Hebrew sair is "buck, male goat", also "demon, satyr", and "hairy, shaggy" or "hairy goat "

So they shall no more slay their sacrifices for satyrs[sa'iyr "devils, goat demons, hairy ones"] after whom they play the harlot. Leviticus 17:7 

And in Hebrew the word sa'ar(from sear "hair, hairs, hairy") means "afraid, horribly afraid, fear, tempestuous". Maybe this is from the notion of hair standing on end and bristling when one is afraid. Or perhaps from the appearance of the object of fear as being hairy in some way[maybe even bristly, or with 'wings', or 'horns' as *ker is related to sar "chief, prince, ruler official" in Hebrew as discussed in a different post Be Fruitful and Multiply]. Or a hairy, i.e., difficult; hazardous situation. This is a similar to bwg(goblin) and bwggwl(fear), and words in English that are named from the god Pan and the supposed feeling a person would have at his approach, i.e., panic, and the result, pandemonium.

Jacob who was chalaq "smooth"(in Hebrew)Genesis 27:11, and therefore, arom "naked" of hair, made a deal to take the marked, nacod "speckled" and striped goats for himself and leave the white(might we say "bald", as in bald eagle) goats for Laban his father-in-law Genesis 30-31. The nacod(speckled) and striped ones were perhaps the ones stripped of dignity, and therefore 'naked', as were Adam and Eve in the garden after the fall. Naked is exposed, maybe 'exposed' as being 'not perfect'; not white and pure. When Jacob and Laban finally make peace, Jacob leaves and goes to his brother, Esau, the sair "hairy" son of Issac, whom Jacob had also dealt slyly with, like the snake in the garden of Eden who was more arum "crafty, shrewd, sensible" than all the other creatures. Esau lived in the land of Seir(from the same as sear). That is fitting. 

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom Genesis 32:3

Seir was in the country of Edom which was another name for Esau. Esau sold his birthright for the adom adom "red potage, red stuff(literally red red)" and was therefore called Edom Genesis 25:30. This is because Edom is from adom meaning "red, ruddy". Also adom is how Esau is described when he is born Genesis 25:25.

Esau was the rudy hairy(goatish) lustful(for food) one. Esau was the one who looked like a goat, and was unrefined, but Jacob was really the humbug, i.e., the deceptive one, of the two. Labon also dealt deceptively with Jacob, tricking him into marrying Leah and changing his wages ten times, but Jacob tricked him back with goat breeding, and ended up sneaking off. His wife, Rachel, also decieved her father, Laban, when she stole his teraphim "household gods" and deceptively hid them, so she would not be caught with them Genesis 31:19.

    Rachel and Jocob, by James Tissot(1836-1902)

In Latin pilare is "to strip of hair", and pilus "a hair". This is interesting in that pillars are smooth, and pillar-like structures make up containments for animals like goats.

We write with pillars, i.e., styles. A sty is a pen for pigs. In Old English sti, stig is "hall, pen", stiga in Old High German "a pen for small animals", Sweedish stia "pen for swine, sheep, goats, etc." And stalu is "wooden part" in Old English. 

In Latin penna, pinna is "a feather, plume;" in plural "wing;" also "fin, scoop of a water wheel;" and "a pinacle; battlement;" from PIE root *pet "to rush; to fly".

So both pillars and pens have similarities with hairs and quills. Hair is from Old English hær, from Proto-Germanic *khaeran, perhaps from PIE *ghers "to stand out, to bisttle, rise to a point"(cognate: Lithuanian serys "bristle"), but, of course, here again this is similar to the root for horn, PIE *ker- (1) "horn, head, uppermost part of the body". Pinnacles and pens made of stakes are pointed things like the bristly hair of animals and horns. And in Latin horror is "dread, veneration, religious awe", from horrere "to bristle with fear, shutter", from PIE root *ghers- "to bristle".

Waiting in a pen for slaughter would be very horrifying, provided that one was aware of the situation. A sty may be a pen that is an enclosure to provide safety and/or a pen for rounding up for the slaughter. Baa! Humbug! 

   Sheep waiting for the slaughter. Are the pens keeping them safe or keeping them in?

Parchment and drumheads, such as the bodheran in Ireland, and the bedug in Indonesia, are made from non tanned goat skins. 

    A goat, i.e., buckskin on a buck(frame). Central European(Northern) type of finished parchment made of goatskin- wikipedia

The word book comes from Old English boc "book, writing, written document", traditionally from Proto-Germanic, *bok(o)- , from *bokiz "beech"(German Buch "book" Buche "beech" from same source), however books were commonly made from goatskin parchment before paper books were the norm. 

The word beech is from Proto-Germanic *bokjon-, from PIE root *bhago- "beech tree", cognate with Greek phegos "type of oak(acorn food  source)" and Latin fagus "beech", connected with the Greek root phagein "to eat", and sometimes "gluttony", Greek phagos "eater of", Latin phagus, "eating", literally "to have a share of food", from PIE root *bhag- "to share out, apportion, distribute; to get a share; allot

*bokiz- = beech ---> *bok(o)- ---> boc = book ---> English book
                                                  Buche = book

*bhago = beech tree --->*bokjon- = beech ---> boece ---> bece = OE beech
                                        phegos  = oak(type of) ~ phagein = to eat 
                                        fagus    = beech

*bhag- = to share out, apportion ---> phagos = eater of   
                                                             phagus = eat    

   Fagus grandifolia, American Beech- Order Fagales, Family Fagaceae, Genus Fagus, illinoiswildflowers.info

According to the etymological dictionary beech mast was an ancient food source for agricultural animals across a wide stretch of Europe, and thus there is the connection with the Greek -phagos "to eat". Beechnuts also have a high fat content and can be pressed for edible oil. However it seems that there could be another plausible connection to buck, as well. The word buckwheat from 1540's, comes from Middle Dutch boecweite "beech wheat", due to the resemblance of its grains to beech seeds. So there is a connection between the words for goat(buck, bucca Old English), beech(boec), apportion(bhag), and eating(phagos).

In the Genesis story, the goats were apportioned, alloted, or assigned by their appearance, and they made Jocob wealthy. They were his wages. And Jacob would have eaten well because of his goats. Even the goats themselves are a fatty food source, i.e., shamen in Hebrew "fat, rich, robust". A wage is a Wadja "pledge" in Frankish(related to Ancient Egyptian wadjet "papyrus", i.e., paper?). The pledge or allotment(bhag) of Jacob were the goats(bucks)$$$. And parchment made from goatskin is similar in color and appearance to beech bark and beech paper(upon which a pledge might be formally written). So the beech, i.e., fagus, was used as food source for animals and physically resembles parchment. 

Parchment is written upon with styles or quills.

    A pen or fortress of styles

Borough is from Old English burg, burh "a dwelling or dwellings within a fortified enclosure", from Proto-Germanic *burgs "hill fort, fortress". But what are forts made from? Sometimes timber, at lest part of the fortification, as well as the use of natural features, stone, wood and water features such as moats. And the word fort itself comes from Latin fortis "strong, mighty, firm, steadfast", from Old Latin forctus, possibly from PIE root *bhergh- (2) "high, elevated"(Sanskrit brmhati "strengthens, elevates", Old High German berg "hill". Having a fortified town or burg would certainly bug someone who wanted to invade.

It is appropriate also, then, that we eat(phagos) burgers. Maybe the word hamburger doesn't just have to do with the city of Hamberg. Perhaps there is a connection or connotation of hamburgers being a tasty, yummy fatty food[drool], or being made from meat of animals that are kept in burgs or fortified enclosures, which might also be made from beech wood steaks.  

   In-N-Out Double Double Animal Style. Fortify yourself against hunger and eat a hamburger.

Burgers are not the most delicate or refined of foods. But they sure taste good! And they get the job done just as well, by certain standards. Hamburgers are not generally considered to be fine dining.

If Esau was a food he would most likely be a hamburger, and Jacob . . . well he is an experience, you'll have to come in for that. Jacob is the  smooth arum, snakey one, and Esau is the lusty hairy sair, goatish one. Two sides of the same coin those twins.

In Hebrew "chosen portion" is cheleq, and Jacob(Yaaqob) was born chelaq "smooth, flattering". He was the crafty(na kal), heel(aqob), supplanter(aqob) of his brother. Esau was first born and should have taken the corresponding bhag(share), however he was a buck, or hairy one. Even Issac, the father of Esau and Jacob loved the hairy one, the first born, the obvious one more . . . but God always has his own plans.

Sometimes the high(bhergh) born are conceited or they can become soft. The burgomaster, being master of the town, will probably be someone who has plenty, and who eats well. Sometimes having power and being well off can lead to gluttony, and sexual immorality.

    King Herod, presumably a phagein, Jesus Christ Superstar, 1973


Therefore, because those who are gluttonous(phagein) often seek out new pleasures in the form of exotic, different, and/or excessive food, drink and sex, we get the notion of "faggots" as individuals who engage in homosexual sexual relations. However there is a difference between excessive perverse sexual indulgence(as in Sodom and Gomorrah), and the homosexual sexual orientation(which simply indicates a sexual attraction to a person of the same gender). Also the goat god, Pan, was portrayed as being very lusty. And Dionysus, another chthonic god, was often portrayed indulging in food and wine. Dionysus was often quite lit, i.e., drunk. What fags!

Humbugs are traditional British hard boiled candy often with stripped pattern. The earliest record of humbugs is from the 1820's.

   UK Taverners Mint Humbug, Pacific Candy Wholesale

  Traditional Black Striped Mint Humbugs

   Humbug Damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus

Why do these candies take the name 'humbug', given what has been said? Curious. Perhaps they are the 'trick' in Trick or Treat? The custom of dressing up and begging for treats at Hallomas can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Given the fact that humbugs were not, at first, traditionally a Christmas candy, and are often made with black stripes, this seems plausible. Also, it is the case that sugar candy became very popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, as well. The humbug itself may be considered to be a bit of a prank too, in that they give a surprise to the senses when the mint flavoring is tasted. Or there is the fact that candies were often used as digestives, and therefore, maybe somewhat deceptively, administered a person medicine under the guise of being candy?

Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down in a most delightful way. - Mary Poppins, 1964

Humbug! 

They certainly aren't hairy…hum…demonic? Some people say sweet things are tempting, and tempting comes from the devil, right? Maybe they are just a small piece…so you just have one…and then just another little mint… and another? Or maybe the trick is that its not a whole candy stick, like a candy cane, but just a little piece? What a jip, humbug!

There was a tragic Mr. Gower-like incidence with humbugs in Branford, England in 1858 which would most likely have affected the name at the time in some manner, especially since the maker of the humbugs was known as 'Humbug Billy'. He accidentally had a batch of his candy made with arsenic(instead of 'daft' which was a variable plaster powered substance often used as a cheap sugar filler at the time[which itself is humbug!]) in it and and around 200 people got sick and 20 died. Ooops! That is a daft mistake to be sure!

Mr. Gower nearly avoids poisoning his client because of the thoughtful intervention of George Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life, 1946

It doesn't seem likely, however, that candy makers would name their candy after the fact that they were making their own candy in a deceptive manner, but who knows? That would certainly be demonic to put it right out there like that, knowing that people would take it to mean something less insidious, such as, just a playful name, maybe like hobgoblin, bugaboo candy, or something like that, made to be consumed on All Hallows Eve.

In Greek khthonios means "of the earth", from khthon / chthon "the earth", from PIE root *dhghem- "earth", cognate with Greek khamai "on the ground", and Latin humus "earth, soil", humilis "low"; Sanskirt ksam- "earth". So if Pan was a rustic chthonic god, then he was also a 'hum'-god, or 'hum'-goat, and therefore a humbuck. This would be similar to the Egyptian, Set, and Norse, Loki, in that they are often portrayed with what we consider to be demonic features. Also, Set and Loki were, in fact, trickster gods, and therefore humbugs of sorts.

Witches Sabbath or The Great He-Goat(Spanish: Aquelarre or El gran carbon), Francisco Goya, 1821-1823, Museo Del Prado, Madrid

One of the suggestions for the origin of the 'hum' in humbug is stated in Wikipedia as being from Charles Godfrey Leland(1824-1903). 

Leland mentions the idea that the word could be derived from the Norse word hum, meaning 'night' or 'shadow', and the word bugges(used in the Bible), a variant of bogey, meaning 'apparitions'. The Norse word hum mentioned, or hume, actually means 'dark air' in Old Norwegian. From the other languages based on Old Norse, there is hum in Icelandic which means 'twilight', homi in Faeroese which means 'unclear', and humi in Old Swedish which means 'dark suspicion', documented back to 1541. From this word is also derived the Swedish verb hymla, still in use, which means 'to conceal, hide, not commit to the truth'. -wikipedia 

This seems to be in keeping with the origin of the word being something like humus, since earthy things are seen as being soiled and dark compared to heavenly things, and also, things are concealed and hidden within the earth in chasms and caves. The location of the underworld and hell is somewhere down there.

...As to the question which was posed to me and the actual purpose of this post: 

    Series Published 1969-2004, Historical fiction set during the Napoleonic Wars, 1803-1815

The question was, "In the Aubry-Maturin series Captain Aubry was particularly miffed when a midshipman announced 'Humbug' was the name of the ship. Why did the captain take such offense?"

Considering everything that has been brought to light regarding the word 'humbug'...I don't think any of it is actually relevant to the question, in the end, other than the fact that it seems to indicate that 'humbug' does not appear to be an obscenity. The answer might be simply in this, it's meaning as, "something devoid of sense or meaning; nonsense". I was not able to acquire and read the entire passage in question myself, however, if my theory is correct, it could be that the captain thought the midshipman was being cheeky or insubordinate in shouting down, "Humbug", or at best, that the midshipman was not able to determine the name of the ship, and informally shouted down, "Humbug", when the captain asked for the name of the ship. When, in fact, the true name of the ship was indeed Humbug. Just an odd unusual name. So it wouldn't be that the word 'humbug' was itself thought of as being obscene. But it would be obscene to yell, "Humbug", at the captain when you are supposed to be telling him the name of the vessel.

What do you think? Is this all a humbug?

Kala the Wild

In this modern age of smart phones we might think of the word "call" as being a really ordinary word. I make lots of ordinary phone calls. I call people I don't even want to talk to, in order to make appointments for things that I wish I didn't have to, like getting braces for my kids. I call about these things, yet these things do not call to me. Like a wolf howling to the sky at the full moon those things do not summon me. We are animals filled with longing. We long for the beauty, goodness and pleasantness with seems to elude us in this life. The wild softly summons us with its melody to teach us about beauty; a true beauty that is not found in the world, but rather in the fulfillment of the desires of our hearts. The call of the wild in our hearts is tinged a mournful tune until we reach paradise. 

In Old Norse kalla is "to cry loudly," and kaleó καλέω in Ancient / Koine Greek is "call, invite, summon."

Calls can be made with flutes or pipes. Reed pipes are often portrayed in Ancient Greek art. "Reed, reed-pen, measuring rod" in Greek is kalamos κάλαμος (kalama Sanskrit, calamus Latin).

A bird's song is also said to be its call. They are often beautiful songs like the call of the Calandra Lark. Calandra / Kalandra is derived from the Ancient Greek name for the lark, i.e., kalandros. It is a bird found around the Mediterranean and eastwards though the area that was once known as Mesopotamia and north into Scythia, which is Southern Russia. Its habitat is open plains, steppes and pastures. Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds, i.e., the lower part of their windpipe.

Syrinx Σύρινξ was a beautiful wood (in Cornish, celli "wood") nymph who was pursued by the god Pan, though reluctantly. A Pan Pipe, is a type of reed pipe which is called a syrinx. In mythology Pan made the syrinx / Pan pipe from the reeds which Syrinx, his object of desire, was turned into. 

    Pan Pipes/Syrinx

She was turned into reeds to escape Pan. Then when Pan heard the soft sound of the wind whistling / singing over the reeds he made a flute out of them to have her with him. Perhaps the music of the pipes reminded Pan of his yearning for Syrinx and her beauty, kalós "beautiful, good, noble" in Ancient Greek, origin of the name Kala. But perhaps he also thought her callous for refusing his advances.

    Pan and Syrnx, Jean Francois de Troy 1722-1724, J. Paul Getty Museum

Because of Pan's pursuit and desire for her, Syrinx was transformed into a reed (kalamos) quite a calamity for her.

You know Syrinx disregarded fiery Kythereia[Aphrodite], and what a price she paid for her too-great pride and love of virginity; how she turned into a plant with reedy growth substituted for her own, when she had fled from Pan's love, and how she still sings Pan's desire! -Nonnus, Dionysiaca 42. 363 ff

The "place of reeds" in ancient Egyptian mythology was considered to be heaven, the best place, paradise. It was called Aaru and was described as a field of reeds in the east, where the sun rises. Aaru jꜣrw has the meaning of "rushes, reeds" in ancient Egyptian.

For the Greeks the best place, heaven, was called the Elysian Fields, a place of plenty and blessedness. Perhaps it was like Cana, insofar as it was a happy place, like Cana, the location of the wedding festival and Jesus' first miracle in the bible. Cana is from Greek Kana Κανά and is said to mean "place of reeds" likely taken from Hebrew qaneh "reed, stalk, cane, rod, branches." 

This(i.e., reeds being associated with the good), is reminiscent of the ancient Egyptian nefer, nfr hieroglyph. The nefer hieroglyph was used to represent the ancient Egyptian concept of beauty / the beautiful / goodness. The symbol is generally believed to represent a stylized sheep's heart(due to its markings) + trachea / windpipe ("reed"). So we could say it is a symbol with something like a kalamos (reed)," and has a similar meaning to kalós (beautiful / good). But what does this symbol have to do with beauty? 

    nfr - nefer

There is not a clear explanation of the origin of this symbol. However, it had many extended meanings and the specific shape was used for amulets, jewelry and other objects, as well as the hieroglyph. The symbol did not just mean beauty and goodness as a word, it also conferred meaning through its form. So what was it representing through its form?

It seems possible that it could have represented something like *the word of the god expressed from the calling of his heart*.

A word is spoken from the larynx located in the trachea. In Egyptian mythology it was said that the primordial god Ptah conceived of creation in his heart and spoke it into being through his mouth. And it is not just any word that comes from the mouth of God, it is the Perfect word . . . and that Word is the Beautiful and the Good, i.e., nefer. 
It is said that word's come from the wellspring of the heart.

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good(nefer), and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance* of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

The mouth speaks what overflows (*perisseumatos περίσσευματος "abundance, overflow") or comes out of the heart. The heart was viewed as seat of the personality in ancient Egypt. So in this way the heart and trachea can be said to be connected. However, why then a sheep's heart and not a human heart for the symbol?

Khnum/Khnemu ḫnmw (from ḫnm meaning "to join, unite; build"), the god of the waters, and thus also the silt which formed the fertile soil and clay of the Nile Delta region, was the "Divine Potter" who created man out of clay on his potters wheel and placed them in their mothers wombs. He was depicted with the head of ram (ba is "ram" in Egyptian, and ba was also "soul," being one of the five aspects the soul). So the nefer symbol had a ba heart, i.e., a ram's heart, which would also call to mind the ba "soul". 

    The Ba of the dead person hovers over his mummy clutching a shen-ring

In later periods Amun / Amon / Amen-Ra(the "concealed/hidden" one) took prominence as the chief creator god. Amun was also sometimes depicted as a ram, or with a ram's head. So the chief god was depicted as a ram (sheep) therefore it would not be too far out to say that the sheep's heart in the nefer symbol represented the heart of God. Then the whole symbol would represent that which proceeds from the sacred heart, i.e., beauty / goodness.

In Hebrew towb/tobe/tov/tova means "good, better, best, beautiful, pleasant, agreeable, sweet". The Lord(Yah) is Towb where we get the name Tobiah / Tobias(towb + yah). So, towb is used to describe God, and it is also used to describe the knowledge of the tree in the Garden of Eden. The tree in the midst of the garden was called "the Tree of the knowledge of towb and ra'".

Calista / Kalistos, means "fairest, most beautiful" in Greek, she was a nymph who took a vow to remain a virgin, however Zeus disguised himself as Artemis (Diana) to lure her into his embrace. She then became the mother of Arcas and ended up being turned into a bear. 

    Diana and Calysto 1559 Titian, national Gallery of Scotland 

Now Calista resides in the heavens as the Great Bear(momma bear), Ursa Major.

Calla lily means "beautiful flower," also called Arum Lily, "naked flower," Trumpet Lily, and Pig Lily. The Calla Lily, although considered to be neither a true calla nor a true lily, is said to be "naked" achlamydeous (literally "without a cloak") in botany because it is lacking petals and sepals. 

    Calla Lilly, Zantedeshia aethiopica

Calla Lilies are often used at both weddings and funerals. They are generally considered to be symbols of purity and rebirth. Yet they remain somewhat bawdy in their "nakedness". . . or at least alluring. 

Nefertem was the ancient Egyptian god who represented the lotus flower which arose from the primordial waters. He was known as "He who is beautiful" and Water-lily of the Sun," he was the morning aspect of Ra blooming / reborn as the Nymphea cerulea, Blue Water lily / Egyptian Lotus, every sunrise. 

    Nymphea cerulea- Blue Water Lily/Egyptian Lotus

He was associated with the beautiful scents of the lily and other flowers, and with the first morning sunlight. The Blue Water Lilly arises each day out of the murky, muddy depths, beautiful and alluring. 

Calidus  means "warm, hot" in Latin, and calor is "heat", from

PIE root *kele-(1) "warm." Warm is good and beautiful (kala) when you have been out in the cold and finally come in and take a nice soak in the hot tub or cozy up by the fire. Warm is like home.

    The Runaway Bunny, pictures by Clement Hurd- "I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you." - photo by Julie O. /chtonickore

In her more gentle aspects, Kali is a mother goddess. However, she is a mother who is able to fiercely protect her children. Kali means "the dark / black one," she who is "beyond time." She is associated with Shakti "Power, Empowerment" (from shak "to be able", ie., can, from Old English cunnan "be able, know, have power, Old Frisian kanna) and is the goddess of time and change. She is the counterpart of Shiva, the destroyer, who is called Kala meaning "time, black/dark, death. Her name, Kali, comes from kala.  

    The Goddess Kali standing on Lord Shiva

Kali is kind of beautiful (kala) despite being so wild and foreboding. And from the look on Shiva's face I'd say he was enjoying his predicament. Perhaps he finds something about Kali's fiery nature alluring. She is a woman who can get things done. Maybe he's met his match, Caliente!

I am dark but beautiful, O Daughters of Jerusalem- dark as the tents of Kedar, dark as the curtains of Solomon's tents. Song of Solomon 1:5

Lovers yearn for each other. The beloved calls to the beloved. They are consumed by their love for each other. This can lead to the end or destruction of one, or the other. Kaleh in biblical Hebrew is translated as "yearn," from kalah "finished, annihilate, accomplished, been consumed, complete, destruction, devoured, at an end." An encounter with Kali can definitely bring a man to kalah (destruction). Time to meet your maker. But that's not always a bad thing, right? To discover or become the Shiva or Christ within, a certain destruction is necessary.

Amen, Amen I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto eternal life. John 12:24-25

Kali is beautiful, yet fierce, like a shrill battle cry that invokes dread or the terrible drone of the bagpipe.
In fact the Old Irish meaning of Caellach (one possible origin of the name Kelly) is "war, strife, lively, aggressive," and Old Norse kalla is "to cry loudly".

Kali seduces you to your destruction.

    Siren with Reed Pipe/Aulos and Cane(?)- Thomas Bulfintch, The Age of Fable, 1897

Sirens were dangerous yet beautiful. To listen to their call meant death. They lured men in with their enchanting mournful song, then the unwary travelers were dashed against the rocks, shipwrecked, or simply driven into a deadly torpor. The voyagers were so high on beauty, they would forget how to do anything, neither steer their boats, nor even eat, to their ultimate demise.

    Seiren, Agent of Death

Siren (Seiren Gk.) is possibly from Greek seira "chord, rope," meaning something like "entanglers, binders." They lure or rope you in with their eloquent song, and  then you wither up and die. Searian is Old English "dry up, to wither". 

Kalupto/Kalypto has the meaning "to cover, veil, hide, conceal, envelope; deceive" in Ancient Greek. Calypso Καλυψώ "she who conceals." 

    Odysseus  and Calypso, Arnold Bocklin, 1883, Swiss Symbolist Painter

Odysseus was seduced and drawn in by Calypso, but after a while came the apocalypse from Greek apokalyptein "uncover, disclose, reveal." After the dis-clothes-ing or unrobing and consummation of his desire he realized that he needed to leave that place and get back home to Penelope. He did not feel called to be Calypso's immortal husband.

Sometimes an unveiling can feel like the end of the world.

Jesus called ("kaleo") his disciples and they left their former lives to follow him. However, he was actually leading them to their death. Was this a good or bad thing? You be the judge of that, but make no mistake, they were never going to be the same. You could say that Jesus was a destroyer (Shiva) and deceiver (Calypso). He lured in his apostles when the mission was concealed (kalypto). He preformed all sorts of wonderful miracles, was eloquent, and was and all round awesome guy . . . then bam-o! He's being crucified, and the apostles are scared out of their wits. Afterwards most of them ended up being tortured and killed. But that revelation (apokolypsis) came after the initial calling / seduction, and then it was already too late. They were hooked.  

Pieter Pierterz the Elder c 1569, Dutch Renaissance painter, Death of St. Peter and St. Paul

However, the purpose of it all was salvation, to partake in Christ and to become God. We are called to share in Christ's nature and become gods.

The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods. -St. Thomas Aquinas, Opuscula 57:1-4. From Catechism of the Catholic Church 460

In ancient Egypt the shen hieroglyph was a stylized rope with a loop in it, meaning "protection." In the ancient world the shen-ring was a symbol representing eternal protection. The shen is a place enclosed, like "paradise" from ancient Greek paradeisos "park, garden, paradise," from an Iranian source similar to Avestan pairidaeza "enclosure, park"[OE].

Here is an image of Inanna or some say,  or Lilith (Hebrew "night demon," possibly related to the Babylonian concept of the Mesopotamian Lilitu, a class of female demons) holding two shen rings.

    Queen of the Night/Burney Relief, Mesopotamian terracotta, c.1800-1750 BC, British Museum, London, shown with shen rings

The Hebrew letter ש shin/sin can represent fire (esh / aysh) and Shekinah שכינה‎(from the verb shaken meaning settle down, abide, dwell.") Shekinah is a grammatically feminine name used to denote the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God. 

Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Exodus 24:17

      Letter Shin (reminiscent of a Cala Lily, and also a candelabra, trident, or wings?)

The shin is said to stand for Shaddai "Almighty," one of the names of God that YHWH gave of himself to Abraham, "I am God All Mighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me and be blameless (Genesis 17:1)," from the root shadad "destroyer." It is indicated in the posture of the hands in the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim).

    Priestly Blessing- Mosaic at Synagogue of Enschede(detail), Netherlands

Why would God come down and dwell with men?

"For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage." Deut 32:9

One's dwelling place is his home and his portion. God's home, his heaven, place of rest (shabbat) is with his people. And the home of his people is with God. Heaven is the home of their desire / heart.

"The Lord is my portion," says my soul …  Lam 3:24

Remember heaven is Aaru, the Field of Reeds (aaru). And Cana has the meaning "place of reeds." Late Latin canna is "reed," it also has the meaning "small vessel / gondola." Maybe this is canna in the sense of a safe enclosure, like the haven of the reed barque of Ra, or a home in the eternal abyss / waters.

Papyrus Reed Solar Barque (Barque of Ra), on pt "sky/heaven" glyph, at gateway to Nuit / Nut (goddess who is the starry night sky)

There is something about eternity that is really quite frightening. It's just SO big! We might actually choose to keep / confine ourselves to one portion of it. However, we don't want that portion to be a prison (like Calypso's island). In Hebrew kala also has the meaning of "shut up, restrain, withhold." And from this kala comes the word kele "prison, confinement, imprisonment." When parents try to protect their children they may put their own "shen" protective ring around them, but it can seem a bit like a prison. Maybe more like a lasso rope than the shen. Cloister is perhaps a little more of a benevolent word than prison, being from Latin claustrum "enclosure, place shut in," but still, what we desire is heaven, a paradise, so it would have to be the perfect enclosure; the cloister that is in NO anyway confining, but more like perfection; an un-cloister, or un-prision (more like Disneyland). 

 NASA MODIS compound photo, 2002. Spaceship Earth is our Cloister in the Abyss of Space, but feels like an Un-Cloister. Earth is Not a Prison Planet

Maybe like a perfect / ideal marriage or union, i.e., a binding that does not bind or limit. Instead it is comfort, the heart's desire, beauty (kala, nefer, towb), and protection, i.e., a home, om, eternal dwelling place, where we are "limited," but only to goodness. 

"Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:3-4

Yes, f*ck the chaos. I would like to retire to a beautiful paradise, or heaven Earth when I'm done with all this.

Amen!