The Tower — XVI

Winter Wonderland Tarot - by Joshua Franklin and Aaron Franklin

The Tower represents a force of nature. The heavier the building material used to build a tower and the higher it is built, the more potential energy is stored. The kinetic energy of the decent, avalantze "descent" in Romansch(Swiss) [from which we get the word avalanche by way of French], will be greater the more grave the material involved and its gravity. Towers are justifiably built for protection. They are focal points of walls or castles, towering over the other structures. They can provide defense against invasion and offer a long view of possible encroaching threats. However, they can only be built so high and so strong. Towers themselves are not immune to destruction. Towers are always at risk of being struck down or toppling over. When this occurs, that which was intended for protection, itself becomes its own very instrument of calamity. 

When a tower collapses, anything on or in the tower must also come down. There is no escape from the falling (hence being "towed" to the earth from the sky by the force of gravity). The tower is a force of nature like the water that flows is said to tow a thing by its flowing, 

Cochem, Germany, Dec. 7, 2022, photo by Julie O.

like an undertow forces objects out to sea, or the drag of a waterfall can lead a person over its edge. Tow is said to be from PIE *deuk- "to lead".  In this way a tower is a tow-er. Or it is a lead-er, often with a ladder, or stairs, or elevator. You can be lead or driven all the way up or all the way down.

Whether it is bringing you up or down the tower is making a difference because of its relationship to the earth. The Tower is impactful. When you are up in a tower you are elevated. You may be up very high, even in the clouds like Jack in the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk; up with the mighty ones, the giants, perhaps even the Elohim/El (God).

In Hebrew migdal or migdalah is "tower," from gadal "grow up, become great, increase"

The Hebrew verb "gadal" primarily conveys the idea of growth or increase in size, importance or significance. It is used in various contexts to describe physical growth, such as a child growing up, as well as metaphorical growth, such as the increase in power or influence of a person or nation. It can also mean to magnify or glorify, often in the context of exalting God or His works. Strongs Lexicon, Bible Hub

For this reason the tower can represent what happens when we attempt to grow up(ward) ⬆️, to rise above ourselves. Like the construction of the infamous Tower of Babel, which tower, we could say, was attempting to be a tow-er from earth to the heavens/sky/god, 

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the earth." Genesis 11:14, ESV

in the city of Babel[which name became a shem "name" of shame], called Βαβυλών by the Ancient Greeks (from Akkadian Bab-ilani/Bab-ilim "gate of the gods/god") 

𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠

[babilim- Babylon]

and Latinized as Babylōn. But its all very confusing and confused due to the different transliterations and translations. There, in this city, the language of one people is said to have become "confused" (balal /בלל) deliberately by YHWH in order to frustrate their plans. However, this sort of thing naturally happens due to the interactions of different people with diverse languages and writing systems as in this great metropolis of its time, Babylon.

During the 3rd millennium BC, an intimate cultural symbiosis occurred between Sumerian and Akkadian-speakers, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian and vice versa is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to static, morphological, and phonological convergence. wikipedia/Baylonia

City of Babylon 

In the Hebrew Book of Genesis the city is called בבל/Babel and is said to be named from the the word בלל/balal "confusion." However, the Biblical Hebrew, Babel, is similar to the Akkadian name Bab-ilim, which is said to mean "gate of god," and the meaning in the Sumerian rendering is also literally "gate of god," Kadingir, from ka "gate/door" digir.ra "of god". The same sort of connection can even be made in Hebrew with the words בבה babah  and אל el.  El is a word used to refer to God in the Book of Genesis and babah according to Strong's Hebrew Lexicon is:

feminine active participle of an unused root meaning to hollow out; something hollowed (as a gate), i.e. pupil of the eye:—apple [of the eye] -Strong's

A Babah/Apple of the Eye/Window to the Soul

So, for example, a place "hollowed out" in a wall surrounding a city is a "gate," it is an opening, and the hollowed out place in the eye, then, would be, the "gate" in the eye, therefore the "gate" is the pupil. . . sometimes called the "apple of the eye," the history of which idiom itself is ripe with babel. But if eyes are the "windows to the soul"(and windows['wind eyes"] are themselves places "hollowed out"), then indeed this "gate/window" is very special. Apart from this, according to Brown-Driver-Briggs this word, babah, relates to the Aramaic בבא "gate". So that would be Baba-el "gate of god," therefore even in Hebrew, the meaning of "gate of god" is not totally lost. In some sense this city, Babel, was a place to meet or encounter God, i.e. El "the mighty one, the Almighty".

There is a difference between 1.) hearing something in a strange language, knowing its a language that you don't comprehend, yet having the understanding that the speaker is making proper sense, not just "babbling",  . . .  and 2.) hearing something and thinking that you understand it because you are "apparently" both speaking the same language, yet the meaning of the words, that is, the image[eidōlon] you form, from said words, is off or in vain[idle] from what the speaker intended, . . . however neither are necessarily aware of this. . . The second case is where the real confusion(balal) lies. Is babble incomprehensible meaningless speech like gobbledygook? Or is babel speech that somehow becomes confused due to wrong understanding and differing assumptions? Things can get lost in translation, or misunderstood, or misheard like in a game of "Telephone"? Who's on first? Who is on first. That's what I said. . . 

THE TOWER [OR: WAR]

Thoth Tarot Deck, Aleister Crowley, 

"The dominating feature of this card is the Eye of Horus. This is also the Eye of Shiva, on the opening of which, according to the legend of this cult, the Universe is destroyed" -The Book of Thoth, pg. 108

And if misunderstanding causes division, and division causes war, then this kind of confusion is a big problem. It's actually the root of all evil. War is: 

said in Watkins to be from PIE *wers- (1) "to confuse, mix up," suggesting the original sense was "bring into confusion." -EO

Well, isn't that interesting? Crowley thought the name "War" suited this Atu(Trump) XVI. And the Eye is prominent in the artwork. And we could say the eye, given that it is the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Shiva is a Baba-El, or Gate(pupil of the eye) of God, or Babel/Babylon, the place where God "confused[balal] the language of all the earth." Gen. 11:9  So to balal "confuse" a people can be the cause of bella "wars"/bellum "war" in Latin. And when you mix up people's language you also mix up their worship and this can be a cause of idolatry.

For the worshiping of idols not to be named[άνωνύμων "unnamed" anonymon]  is the beginning, the cause, and the end, of all evil. Wisdom 14:27 KJV

Is idolatry the worship of a false God/gods or is idolatry the worship of "God", but falsely? Isn't this a great Confusion/Babel? No one says they are worshipping a god who is an idol. People say they are worshiping the true God/gods, so if they are in fact idolaters, their idol is not named as such, or is an unnamed idol. So how can anyone know if their God is truly God and not an unnamed idol? A true God should be known by Their works, and not only by Their works, but also by Their effect on Their worshipers. If the "God" is idle("vain, worthless, useless"), then it is an idol. Are the worshipers acting in evil ways? Then they are in effect idolators regardless of whom they call "LORD, LORD." For, "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit."Mt 7:18 DRB The form[eidos] they(evil persons) are portraying of God(all persons being an image of God) is a false "incorrect, mistaken" image; an idol. It is abominable, it is worthless. 

For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles["nations"] because of you. Romans 2:24

Whoever is not careful in their worship, that is, where they place their worth(worth-ship), is building upon unstable ground and cruisin' for a bruisin'.

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:47-49

And isn't it in fact a good thing for a house to be destroyed if it needs to be destroyed in order to allow for a better, more stable house to be built in its place? God is not shy about knocking his houses down. 

In the Tarot de Marseilles, The Tower is, La Maison Dieu, "The House of God." It is a lofty place. Not to be trifled with.

Tarot de Marsailles

Change in a complete and sudden manner, abandonment of past relationships, unexpected events, termination, adversity, downfall, disruption, loss of stability, loss of money, loss of love and affection, terrible change, annoyance.

Like Phaeton, the higher you dare to fly the further you have to fall, but then again, only those who dare mightily can ever succeed mightily. Phaeton himself was remembered for just that reason;

Here Phaeton lies who in the sun-god's chariot fared. And though he greatly failed, more greatly he dared.

The preceding card to The Tower was The Devil XV, representing the "barely anything" bond/chain that binds us when we strive after the good/beautiful/pleasurable, but stray too far from the middle, from our firm foundation, i.e. Temperance. It is a terrible trap to always want more and more, to seek higher and higher towards the unfathomable infinite goal which is equality with God or perfection. It is not that the goal is so wrong. We are in fact gods. Like Phaeton, we are children of God, made "in [His/Their] image according to [His/Their] likeness"[Let *Us*] The problem is that a creature[any created being(who is inherently laking or imperfect due to this very fact, i.e. they are created [they move/change/grow]) who is striving to become God by ever expanding higher is engaging in a loosing battle, because God has no beginning nor ending, so it is not possible to expand sufficiently to encompass the unfathomable. A person would forever be seeking, yet always lacking. In reality, our perfection, our heaven, i.e. ouranos ούρανός is not "out there," rather it is within. The house/dwelling/temple of God is within. God is in [έν /en] us. To realize the futility of striving to become God by expansion; being the top, the best, the brightest is the true beginning of wisdom. 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give to you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Mt. 4:8-11, ESV

However this truth doesn't always naturally dawn on us until we reach the point of futility and collapse.  

And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them. Genesis 11:6 ESV

In other words, the citizens of Babel would have kept endlessly striving outward and upward, straying from wisdom in their attempt to be great. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a person is to have someone knock them off their block. If going up is leading you down, what is there left to do? The only way to move forward from this trap of the devil is a fall from grace, a reversal, something gone topsy-turvy, a shake down, a break down; which is a disruption of the mighty structure, the tower, or temple(dwelling place/house of God).

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. John 2:19-21 NRSV

 and declared, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple[naos "dwelling"] of God and rebuild it in three days.'" Matthew 26:61 BSB

Reliquary Monstrance with a Tooth of St. John the Baptist, metalwork German 1433 CE, on display at The Getty Museum, December 2024, photo by Julie O.

Jesus hanging on a stauros on top of a tower.

In this way the Tower can manifest as a point of futility, distraction or stagnation like Rapunzel stuck in the tower. She was kept "safe" from the world below. She was up high, close to heaven, but was not allowed to grow up on her own. Growing up can be harsh, but we all need these experiences in order to mature into [true]adulthood. And, in any case, being locked away, did not ultimately save Rupunzel from being discovered by a man, the prince, and getting herself "into trouble." Nature always finds a way.

The story begins with Rapunzel's expectant mother wanting to rapere "to seize" the "rapunzel"(a type of herb) in her neighbor, the sorcerer's garden. The woman(out of her zeal[zel] for the rapa) has her husband rape the rapunculus(rapunzel) from the garden of the witch, and the witch in turn seizes their daughter(Rapunzel) from them after her birth and locks her in the tower at the age of puberty(her time to grow up)."

The sorcerer/adoptive mother who keeps Rapunzel in the tower is named Gothel, which is similar sounding to gadal. Gothel did not want Rapunzel to gadal "grow up"  or "become great" in this way. Instead she attempts to keep Rapanzel separate and "safe" from the world. Perhaps we could say not "mixed" with or "confused" by the world. However, because Rapunzel is imprisoned in the tower she is not grown up on her own, and is left in a vulnerable state. As it turns out Rapunzel's downfall, not unlike the innocent Eve in the Garden of Eden(who also was not "being allowed" to grow up), comes from a "snake" of sorts. In this story it is Rapunzel's long hair that is snakelike and allows for the witch, and ultimately the prince, to have access to her reality. The prince sneakily(snakily) climbs up her hair and brings her knowledge of the world. The two "know" each other and Rapunzel becomes pregnant. When the witch discovers this, Rapunzel is banished to the woods, and the prince ends up falling from the tower, and being blinded by thorns, after he is deceived(snakily) by Rapunzel's long hair which the witch had cut from Rapunzel's head in order to trick him. They both are forced, by this calamity, to grow up (gadal) in a way that wasn't possible when Rapunzel was safely hidden away in the tower in the garden. And ironically Gothel is the cause of this by placing Rapunzel in the tower to begin with, even though she never meant for Rapunzel to gadal "grow up" in this way.

Shaddowscapes Tarot - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Catastrophe, sudden change, crisis, releasing all emotion, suffering a blow to the ego, revelation, and seeing through illusions. A necessary disruption to the status quo— violent and explosive upheavals the only way to break through the long-established patterns. Fantasies shattered by the harsh and brutal hand of reality. Making a clean and utter severing from the past. It is time to re-examine belief structures and opinions. 

The leaving/falling from the purgos  πύργος "tower, fortified structure" in Greek (from a root meaning "to tower, to rise"), ended up being a purge by means of the purgatory the two experienced before they were once again reunited. Purgatory is from Medieval Latin purgatorium "means of cleansing," from Latin purgare "clense, purify," from (purus "clean, clear, unmixed" + agere "to set in motion, drive"). So a tower could be said to be, metaphorically, a structure which drives(tows) purification or pyr/pur(πύρ/πύρός "fire") -ification through its destruction.  

We're building it up

To break it back down

We're building it up

To burn it down

We can't wait to burn it to the ground - BURN IT DOWN, Linkin Park

A tower is a building which is drawn out(upward) and which drives (agere from PIE *ag- "to drive, draw out to forth, move"), or moves people up(i.e., it raises), or down(i.e., it razes), but  figuratively it is a force of nature that has the ability to make people to be "moved" inwardly. 

The Halloween Tarot - by Karin Lee, Art by Kipling West 

The Tower (Haunted House): Disaster or catastrophe that ends in enlightenment and liberation. A dramatic overthrow of some major aspect of your life. A shattering of false premises.

However, regardless of any unintended folly, the person who is building or utilizing a tower is aiming for what is perceived to be a good. People in a tower, i.e. those who are towered, might be those who are seeking, inclining, i.e. toward "aiming, intending to reach" upward, those who are to-ward "turned toward" the sky/heaven. Whereas someone who is NOT in the tower, who is un-towered, does not see the enemy approaching because they are not elevated or seeking in this way. The effect of which may be untoward "adverse, unpropitious."

So, which is worse? To never be elevated and so never risk a fall, and in fact never to fall (because it is not possible without first being elevated), or to just do it, go for it, shoot for the moon, fall and then see what is redeemed in the process?

O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer! -Exultet—Easter Proclomation

We are mortal! If we fall we die! We crash! We burn! . . . yet we are sons of God! We are "built" in God's image and after his likeness, . . . therefore after the fall. . . God really had to. . . was required to, even, pull some magic out of his hat and make something extraordinary occur that wouldn't have occurred unless it needed to[some divine alchemy]. . . How is a CREATURE who is so daringly made to be in GOD'S image(made an idol / pesel / eidolon) redeemed? He must first be brought low, humbled, and proven in purity and obedience to the one true God, so as to not forever traverse a path of futility(like the Devil). This is a kind of tempering "mix or work up into proper condition[*i.e. mixing for the good, not simply to confuse or destroy], adjust or restore to proper proportions." Only then can he be properly exalted "raised up" by the Creator.

In your relationship with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing[empty, void]

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. 

 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but 

now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky . . . Philippians 2:6-15

Perhaps this is the point, we were never meant to reach equality with God by being entowered. Towers have limits. Striving is vanity. We must allow ourselves to be limitless through the indwelling presence of God. We were made to reach for the stars. . . However, the destruction of the tower raised up by human hands and not by God is an important step along this path.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

    Bighorn ram fight, sculpture, Marton Jancso, Hungarian, 2013, morfae.com

Horns are symbols of strength and majesty. Is this simply because horns are hard, sharp or peaked, and can be used for things like fighting and digging? Horns grow on the heads of powerful beasts of burden. These animals provide services and materials that are important for peoples livelihood. They pull plows, provide meat, milk, wool, leather, etc. Not only do horns call to mind the physical strength of these animals, but also they may symbolize all that they provide for us, which is then a cause of our own strength. Horn is from, Proto-Germanic*hurnaz, from PIE *ker- (1) and "horn, head, uppermost part of the body"(Gaulish karnon "horn",  Latin cornu "horn", Persian sar "head", Avestan sarah- "head", Greek koryphe "head", Latin cervus "deer", Welsh carw "deer"), then by extension PIE*ker-n- "horn, tip, peak". In Greek horn is keras/keratos, this is where we get the word triceratops, from trikeratos "three-horned"+ ops "face". Thus, there are many words connected to the root *ker- that have very different sounds in English. They may start with a k, hard c, soft c, s, or h.

Cornucopia is from Latin cornu copiae "horn of plenty/abundance." In mythology Almathea, the foster-mother of Zeus, was either a goat nurse, or nurse with a goat, who nursed Zeus as an infant. One of the horns of the goat was accidentally broken off. It then had supernatural power to provide unending nourishment. Teats/tits, like this horn, provide abundant nourishment for kids/babies. They are "horns" or "heads"(têtes in French) of plenty. Or perhaps trees "tits" of life(tittu is "tree" in Assyrian), or trees of tiit("that which is life" in Sumerian). 

   Abundance, Peter Paul Reubens, c. 1630

Copious is from com "with" + ops/opis "power, wealth, resources" from pie root op- "to work, produce in abundance." The horn of plenty is the giver of good things.

Coral reefs are areas of copious life and abundance for the sea. Coral is from, Latin corallium, from Greek korallium. It says in the Online Etymological Dictionary[OE] that the word is possibly from Herbew goral "small pebble," Arabic garal "small stone." However, it is easy to associate coral with horns too, as *ker-(horn, head)-al. And in fact coral comes from living organisms as do horns. Different types of corals have horn shapes and branching jagged peaked structures. Coral reefs also form a sort of corral(from Spanish corral, from corro "ring") or barrier off shore. 

    Coral Cornucopia, Vintage Hawaiian Shell Art, ebay

In Greek korone "anything curved, kind of crown", Latin corona "crown, garland". So probably probably corro as ring goes back to being "head" shaped, i.e. curved.

Horns can be thought of as a type of crown on the crown of a head. 

In biblical Hebrew qeren/karan is "horn", but it can also have the meaning of "peak or summit of a hill; rays, strength, might, tusks". It seems to come from the sam notion as the PIE root *ker-. Horns are definitely associated with strength, might, and majesty in the bible.

    Moses, Ignazio Jacometti, Colonna dell'Immaculata, dedicated December 8, 1857

When Moses came down the mountain from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand as he came down the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin[ore/or] of his face[panim "face, countenance"] shone [qaran, literally "had little rays/'horns'] because he had been talking with God. Exodus 34:29

So Moses had skin that shone after talking to God, or maybe we could say the appearance of his aura(ore) was peaked/rayed. The Israelites were kind of terrified of Moses with his shining face, so Moses wore a veil when he was in their presence. The people were merely afraid to look upon the face of Moses, however, the rays/horns of YHWHs countenance were so much more awesome that no one could even look upon his face, lest they DIE!

"But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live." And YHWH said,  "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand upon the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen." Exodus 33:20-23

Sometimes the mere presence of a certain person in your proximity can give you tingles. You don't even have to be looking at them. It can be starling, alarming, like loud blast behind your back.

    Hyde and Hare, Looney Tunes, 1955- Mr. Hyde with hideous countenance 

Horns cause a similar sensation when they are blown.

Imagine the scene of Moses and God in stereo. What kind of sound would an unveiling of the LORD make trumpets of the apocalypse? Possibly like the sound of a horn, cornet qaren-et/karen-et, hornet, trumpeter, right? Horns are piercing and sharp, or deep and powerful, reverberating. They can make your skin crawl. They can instill fear, or be used for festivity, but they cannot be ignored.

    Blowing the Shofar one of the traditions on Yom Teruah(Day of the 'Shofar' Blast), the beginning of the ten day period, "Days of Awe", leading up to Yom Kippur "Day of Atonement"- teruah "shout or blast of war, alarm, or joy" 

Shofar/Shophar is "horn, trumpet, rams horn(for blowing)" in Hebrew, it is from shaphar "goodly; fair, beautiful," shephar "good, fair, seemly," shepher "beauty, goodliness."  Shaphrur/shaphrir is "royal canopy" and shepharpar "very early morning, dawn." This is a glorious beauty like a dazzling sapphire.

and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire(sappir "sapphire") stone, like the very heaven for clearness. Exodus 24:10

And it is the beauty befitting the dwelling place, "tabernacle", of God. It is a majestic, or regal beauty of a thing grown to maturity perhaps, like grown horns are on mature animals, like the dawn is the day come full circle to maturity, and the enlightened person shines("horns") like the rays of dawn.

    Saffron, a beautiful flower with prized horn-like stamens.

Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet stuff; with cherubim skillfully worked shall you make them. Exodus 26:1

Shephattayim is "sheepfold" in biblical Hebrew, so maybe this is "goodly/beautiful"+ "fold", place of protection, where the good shepherd leads his sheep. The sheep are the "good ones" of the flocks, i.e., the (tsone)"sheep" that follow their roi "shepherd." The sons(tsone) of God follow the good shepherd who is their [royal]king of righteousness. Having a safe home to rest your bones is a thing of beauty.

Horns are cone shaped. Horns amplify sound because of their conical shape. In Latin amplificare is "to enlarge," from amplus "large, spacious; abundant; magnificent, splendid" + facere "to make, do".  amplificus "splendid" (which is "grand" and also "shinning, bright, glittering") This augmentation(waxing, Old English weaxan, from PIE *weg-, extended form of *aug- "to increase"), is a cause of abundance. What is small becomes great just by passing through a certain shape.

Unicorn horns are usually depicted as conical or cone shaped.

    Healer Fairy with Unicorn 'Sapphire Night', Playmobile 2013 

Crescent is from Anglo-Frensh cressant "crescent of the moon," from Latin crescere(nominative crescens)  which has the meaning "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell, increase in numbers," from PIE *ker- (2) "to grow"(cognat with Latin Ceres, related to creare "to bring forth, create, produce," Greek kuros "boy," kore "girl, maiden"), which was used to refer to the waxing moon and thus evolved to mean the shape of the moon. Its original meaning is preserved in the words crescendo, de crescendo. The symbols for these concepts in music are cone or horn shaped.

crescendo "growing louder" or "lord-er", waxing, decrescendo "grow softer", waning

Perhaps crescent is really ceres-ent, like the Roman goddess Ceres[whoes daughter was Kore/Core, aka, Persephone] the goddess of agriculture, grain, fertility, and motherhood. These are things that cause growth.

Corn is from Old English corn "grain", from Proto-Germanic *kurnam- "small seed"(Old Saxon korn "grain", Middle Dutch koren, German Korn, Old Norse korn, Gothic kaurn), from PIE *gre-no- "grain"(Latin granum "seed"). Seeds, of course, grow and increase, but many of them look like little teeth or horns as well and when they start to grow, they sprout little "horns".

 

The seed is the fruit of the plant at the peak of ripeness. A single grain multiplies and amplifies into many grains. Maybe we could say when it grows, it "horns".

  The Wheatfield with Crows, Vincent Van Gogh, July 1890, possibly his last painting. 

The corn is as high as an elephants eye. And it looks like it's reaching clear up to the sky. -Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Oklahoma

The figurative sense of horn in Latin, cornu, is also "chief argument, salient point; wing, flank; strength, courage, power". So the crux of the matter is the horn. And the horn is the "head" *ker- (1) "horn, head". The chief/horn/peak/tip top of the body is the head. In Egyptian tp is "head", also "chief". The tip of ripe grains are called heads. Seeds are in the heads of grain. Ideas are in our heads and we call them seeds.

    Pomegranate, photo by Julie O. /chthonickore, (pome-grains have little crowns on their horns[, or horns on their crowns)

Persephone, called Kore, daughter of Demeter/Ceres in the story of her abduction by Hades, is forced to return to the underworld for a certain number of months each year because she eats some pomegranate(Mideaval Latin pommum granatum) seeds. 

Were these seeds, i.e., grains "ideas" of Hades, Awides, Aides "unseen, hidden one" that she planted in her cranium(crain-o, *gre-no-) and grew in her brain(cerebrum). 

Grain grows and bears fruit like ideas grow in the mind and bear fruit. Often the ideas of the cranium are brought into being through the hands(which have horns/rays/pointers, i.e., digits), by writing, playing and instrument to make music, using tools, etc.


    Horned Hand Tree, by Ailis O'Reilly (c. 2012),  photo by chthonickore

We also are fruitful by way of our mouths, by talking, singing, and all our talents. We are meant to use what we are given to grow our talents and be fruitful in this life.

For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matthew 25:29

It doesn't really sound fair does it? However, it's not about fairness but, rather, cause and effect. You have to possess the seed in order to grow the plant. When the plant grows there is abundant seed, but if you do not have a seed there will never be any plant. So the question of fairness, instead, would be, "where do we get the seed?" The granary, correct?

Much of the way we look, and our natural abilities are determined by our DNA. DNA is the chief of growth and formation in the body, the head hancho.

    DNA Tube, Digital Art Wallpaper - like a horn of plenty 

What is the head, is usually at the top, or peaked. Teeth are little pointed peaks in the mouth. In Hebrew shen is "crag, ivory, sharp, teeth, tooth". Teeth help us to chew our food and are serrated. Serrate is from Latin serratus "sawlike, notched like a saw", from serra "saw", of unknown origin, it says. But saws have sharp peaks like horns/cones that are called "teeth". And there is the famous Matterhorn in the Alps, horn meaning "peak" in German. And the Sierras Navadas, from serra "a saw". In Avestan(the language of the Zoroastrian scriptures) sarah means "head". So maybe it is "head" as in, peak, horn, top, chief. Mountains are jagged, sharp, majestic, beautiful, challenging, they provide abundant fresh(living) water when the snow melts and they are the homes of Gods, like Mt. Olympus.

    El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, High Sierra Mountains, California

This is a picture of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Captain is from Latin caput/capitis "head". Sarah is "lady; princess" in Hebrew, from the same as sar "chief, prince, ruler, official", and there is sarrum "king" in Akadian(so maybe like Sir, or Czar). That would be the "head". Mountains are serra, sarah, sar, and also cera/keratos "horned". 

The one who is "horned" is shinning, magnificent, like Moses when he came down the mountain(horn), or like one who has ben anointed with oil from the horn, i.e., malak(anoint) "to become king(melek) or queen(malka,malkah)", and become like the angels(malak) who are God's "princes" sar.

When Joshua stood by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, a man[is] stood before him with his drawn sword in his hand; and Josuhua said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No; but as commander[sar] of the army of the LORD(YHWH) I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the dust, and worshiped, and said to him, "What does my lord(adonai) bid his servant?" Joshua 5:13-14

This is/ish "male" man who was sar "commander" of the army/host of YHWH was an angel(malak), perhaps? There was something about the appearance of this sar(sergeant) that commanded respect. He was a contender, sarah "contend, exert oneself, preserve" in Hebrew. The patriarch, Jacob was also a contender. 

Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven(sarah) with God(Elohim) and with men(is, masculine side) and have prevailed." Genesis 32:28

Maybe these sar/sarah are commanders and contenders because they are "sharp" smart/enlightened, and this sharpness also makes them shine(qeren) like shen(ivory).

In ancient Egypt the consort of Sah(associated with Osiris/Ausir) "father[chief] of the gods" was Sopdet/Sepdet, meaning "(she who is) sharp" or "skilled". Sopdet was the ancient Egyptian goddess representing the star Sirius(the Latin name of the star), called the "dog"(Kyon) or "dog star" by the Greeks, and Sothis, the Greek rendering of the Egyptian Sopdet. Sothis was associated with Isis(Greek rendering of the Egyptian), possibly pronounced as Ast/Aset/Iset/Auset in Egyptian, from st "seat, throne, place".  Aster "star" in ancient Greek mostly referred to Sothis, and the plural astron "the stars; star". So Sothis, a.k.a. Ast(Isis) the dog star, was The Star of stars, Sirius, maybe sarah-aus, sara/sar "head,chief, horn"+ *aus- "shine". The hieroglyph for Sopdet contains the pointed(like a cone) "thorn" spd hieroglyph.

    Sopdet, Spdt in Hieroglyphics -spd(readiness, sharp, acute), t(bread loaf), spdt(star determinative). A star is "horned","shining".

The heliacal rising of Sopdet as an event(July-August) marked the "opening of the year" for the ancient Egyptians(not necessarily according to calendar date due to the Sothic cycle) and signaled the time of the annual flooding of the Nile. Sopdet was associated with prosperity(abundance) because of the silt left by the flooding waters. Sopdet was said to be the mother of Sopdu/Septu(Horus). Perhaps this is the origin of the meaning of Old English sped "success", as in god spede, Middle English God spede. And the bountiful month of the year September, the day of "seven", the "sabbath" day of rest. Perhaps the days of fat? In Latin sebum is "tallow, suet, grease". By September everything was flooded. After the appearance of Sopdet, came the sopping wet, seeping, soup of silt which was the cause of the fertility of the Nile delta. This is why the appearance of Sopdet and the New Year was also the time of Hapi, the god of the inundation of the Nile. The appearance of Sopdet then brought soft "gentle, easeful, comfortable, calm, undisturbed; luxurious" time of year. Like the summer (*som- "fitting, agreeable") at the peak of power. But summer was less agreeable in the minds of the Greeks who associated the appearance of the dog star, Sirius, with searing heat, fever, and pestilence(think "sepsis, septic" from Greek septikos). Clearly there are good, agreeable, pleasant summers and there are miserable hot dog day summers. 

    Summer sun. In Greek opora is "late summer, ripe fruits, autumn fruits", PIE *op- "work, produce in abundance". September may symbolize the completion of the magnum opus, i.e., the sabbath, the day the LORD has made.

The flooding of the Nile could be tricky business. If the waters were not high enough the land would not get fertilized, and if they were too high the villages could get flooded. Either of those scenarios could make a miserable hot summer. But when the flooding was just right, ahh happy, sitting on soft cushions in the shade, summer/late summer(ahh time, autmn), and a promise of good crops and abundance for the coming year. Sopdet was clearly a double edged sword, a thorn in the side, or necessary fault. When things went well it was Hapi, but if they went poorly it was that bitch, Canis/Kyon(a.k.a. Sirius/Sopdet/Sothis).

Sopdet was the head sba "star"(in Egypian) of New Year. Maybe we could say she was the Queen of stars, or Queen of Seba/Sheba("seven" in Hebrew). With a serious connection to Ceres, the grain goddess, and constellation Virgo.

Sophos is "wise" in Greek, and also "skilled in handicraft, cunning in one's craft; shrewd; learned; cleaver". One who is wise is bright and sharp like a sage, from sagitta "arrow", therefore like Sopdet/Sothis/Sirius. Perhaps a connection then to Sophia(Wisdom), Athena Greek goddess of wisdom and the Egyptian Sekhmet(powerful) "Lady of Flame", lady in red, warrior goddess and goddess of healing.

For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she privates and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. Wisdom of Solomon 7:25

Or perhaps Soap-ia?  Soap is from Old English sape "soap, salve"(originally a red hair dye), from Proto-Germanic *saipon "dripping thing, resin" (Dutch zeep, Old high German seiffa "soap", German seife Old high German seifar "foam", Old English sipian "to drip", root *seib- "to pour out, drip, trickle", Latin sapo "pomade for coloring hair".

Satet/Satis/Satit/ from sat "shoot, eject, pour out, throw, stimulate, launch", was the goddess of the flooding of the Nile. She had connection with war, hunting and fertility as well as the Eye of Ra. In later periods her husband was Khnum, the divine potter. She was often portrayed with antelope or gazelle horns with the white crown of upper Egypt. Also called "she who runs like an arrow". After the appearance of the star Sopdet, the satisfaction of her appearance is Satis, the flooding of the iteru(river) H'pi, we call the Nile(maybe having to do will "nail,needle", sharp/swift like an arrow).

 
     Elephantine triad, Anunket, Satis, Khnum- present day Aswan, southern border of Egypt, on the first cataract of the Nile, near the tropic of Cancer.

Assyrian satu is "drink", Hebrew satah "drink" satit "have drunk". Satit, to have the fill of the "tit"? It is also the root of sad, from Old English saed "sated, full, having had one's fill, weary of", from PIE *seto- (Latin satis "enough, sufficient"), from root *sa- "to satisfy". When something is let loose or launched it is powerful, but there is a transference of energy. This is why satiation can make one sad. Middle English saden is "become satiated; satiate", from Old English sadian "to satiate, fill; be sated, get wearied"(Lithuanian sotus "sated"). Like getting hit with an arrow, or when you eat a lot and then need to use the energy or you get fat. When a fruit is ripe it is seeded "full of seeds", but then is it sad because it will get eaten? Being filled or fruitful(a full fruit) is not necessarily comfortable. Ask any woman who is(seeded) and nine months pregnant. She is ready for her water to break. Bring on the flood! Break the dam! God undam the dam/dame, dammit! Full to the point of bursting, miserable!

Sati is the Hindu goddess and consort of Shiva. Sati was a "lady of flame", in that, in her human incarnation as Gowri She was consumed in flame(self-immolation) in order to be reborn. She was reborn as Parvati, from parvata "mountain", so maybe she peaked. Sati is a form of Shakti(power), and was Shivaradni "Queen of Shiva". Their child was Ganesha, the light "ivory" elephant "head" child with "tusks"(qeren), or perhaps keras(with horns), the shining keras-t(Christ) child, Ganesha called Lord of Success(sped), Sopdu-Horus.

   Parvati, Shiva, and Ganesha/Ganesh

The Babylonian God Marduk was called Bel "the Lord, Master", patron deity of Babili(Babel/Babylon). In this way he was similar to the Egyptian god of creation, Ptah(the rock) and the Divine Potter(Pater) Khnum. The wife of Marduk was Belit "Lady" Sarpanit translated as "shining one"(perhaps "head/chief" of face/countenance" or beautiful/glorious/bright countenance"?) She probably looked pretty sharp. She was associated with the fertility, and pregnancy. Perhaps bel "lord" meant something like "horn", which means both a loud inflated sound, and a kind of expanding shape or growth. PIE*bhel (4) is "to sound, roar", and *bhel (2) "to blow, swell". Some would say that Marduk was an inflated Bel who assumed many of the attributes of other Lords.

The cuts of conic sections, which are horns expanding to infinity make circular(like coronas) and curved shapes (like horns). Hyperbola is Latin, from Greek hyperbole "extravagance, exaggeration", literally hyper "beyond"+ bole "throw, casting, bolt, beam, ray". 

    Conic Sections

So this Bel should be the cause of abundance(in the bowls) of his people, or be a bull(with horns) of strength and be a horn of plenty. He was also the cause of the pregnant belly of his Belit. 

And the mighty Bel, as*bhel (4) is "to sound, roar", would be akin to crack (v.), from Old English cracian "make a sharp noise", (Middle Dutch craken, Dutch Kraken, German krachen). Like a god who thunders and blows.


Bel, Marduk and his dragon, Musshushu "reddish snake" or "fierce snake"(also[from an early mistransliteration], sirrusu, sirrush -interesting in that "sirrush" was the companion of Bel, as Sirius, the dog, was companion of Sah) Babylonian cylendar seal. c. 18th century BCE

Marduk was associated with the planet Jupiter and called "Shepherd of the Gods", "Shepherd of the Stars". Shepherds often carry staves or crooks. Ancient Egyptian heqa-scepter was a curved staff like a shepherd's crook. It had the meaning of "to rule, chief, ruler". Hoquet is "shepherd's staff, crook", in Old French, the diminutive of hoc "hook". Hook is from Old English hoc "hook, angle". So the hook is the symbol of one who has power. But power for what? The shepherd is someone who leads and provides for the sheep, the power is not for simply Lording over the sheep or harming them in any way. 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul…your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Paslm 23:1,4-5

A crook is a "hook shaped instrument or weapon"(Old Norse krokr). A crotch is a "pitchfork", from Old North French croche "shepherds crook", from Old French, croc "hook", from the same origin as crook, namely Old Norse krokr "hook, corner". Forks are similar to crooks in that they have a hook or bent shape, but curved more like bull horns than a ram's horn. A crochet hook is a crook. But the activity is not called crooking. We might say the crochet hook is a little crotch for pitching the yarn back and forth. People who crochet are shameless hookers.

   Crochet Newborn Baby Boy Pants[crocheted with crook, crotch pants], by CreativeDragon etsy.com 

The crotch area of a person is a fruitful place of horning, inflation, seeding life, growing/knitting together life, and crowning baby heads. Crotches are powerful instruments which should only be used for good, never evil.    

But in reality, those who have the power don't always use it for good. Those with crooks can sometimes be crooks.

Kraken is from krake "an unhealthy animal", something twisted as in "crook" and "crank".

    Crotchety Kraken with crook shaped limbs cranking on a cruiser

Crocodile is said to be ultimately from Greek krokodilos, some say, kroke "stone, pebble"+ drilos "worm". There is the sense in which crocodiles are "worms", i.e., Old English wurm, wyrm "serpents, snake, dragon, reptile". But this really has to do with their toothy(serras), rocky/bumpy(peaked) appearance, I think. What we call earthworms do "drill" or bore holes into the earth, but they don't look sharp in any way(at least not superficially). The sand worms in the Frank Herbert Dune universe are more monstrous and serrated like the kraken. In any case, in order to drill and bore, sharp teeth or horns are usually present. However, it's not clear to me how kroke means "pebble" or how drilos means "worm" in Greek. I don't doubt it, I just couldn't find the evidence for it. To me it seems plausible that kroko would have the same origin as the Germanic kr- words meaning "bent, hooked". Old Norse krokr is "hook, corner". So the crocodile is an animal that hangs out in the crooks and corners. Doing what? Waiting to kill or croak unsuspecting creatures, even croakers(frogs) perhaps. And as far as I can tell there is the Greek doloo which is "hold out a worm" as in "lure", but it is not the word for worm. Doloo is from dolos "bait; fugitively "deceaver, guile, treachery"(hmm, like dollar?) So maybe a croaker+dollo, is a death doler, or dealer of death by deception, a crooked deceiver one who causes dolus "grief"(Late Latin, from dolere suffer, grieve"). Now that sounds like a crocodile! Pebble worm? Not so much!

    Crocodile - cone shaped, sharp peaked teeth, knobby serrated ridges along the body

When crocodiles catch their prey they clamp on, twist and crank away in a death roll. The crocodile is also a crook with his crocodile tears. So is the devil, the horned prince of darkness, who was the most beautiful(shaphar) angel(with rays/horns of light?), Lucifer. The crooks(sheeperding / staves) of crooks lead to death.

This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence, the end of those who are pleased with their portion. Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend… Psalms 49:13-14

In ancient Egypt the crocodile god Sobek/Sebek and Suchos/Sukhos(Greek) was quite horny as a god of fertility, and god of the Nile. But he was not necessarily seen as being evil or crooked. He was a symbol of the pharaoh's sovereign power(like the crook) and symbolized raw strength, he was called "the Rager". Sobek was a god you wanted to be on your side. He was a contender.

    Sobek with royal swty "two feathers" crown embellished with horns, sun disk and two uraei, holding ankh and was scepter[not shown], Temple of Kom Ombo, Upper Egypt, 18th dynasty 1479-1425 BC Sobeck was said to have created the Nile from his sweat(not his tears) and he wore a sweet swty crown, nice!

Heqet/Heket was the ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth(especially the last stages), fertility, creation of life, and grain germination. She was said to be the wife of Khnum. The hieroglyph for her name included a frog(determinative), hqt, which is like the the hq, heqa "ruler" shepherd crook scepter with a feminine t ending, Heqet[the name of the Frog Goddess and the crook scepter of rulership were similar words]. The frog hieroglyph also represented the qrr/krr sound(phonogram). This really makes me wonder if the word croak, which is said to be imitative, comes from the Egyptian qrr. Perhaps it was imitative, like qrrqrr, or krrkrr, therefore croaker, and crocc maybe? They say kroke has the meaning of "pebble", but perhaps a pebble is just a little stone that looks like a frog, a qrr, a "croaker" rock.

    Frog Amulet, Egyptian, Late Period, 664-380 BC, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Frogs were plenteous along the Nile in the flood season. They represented fruitfulness and abundance. When a baby is born it passes through the crotch/crook as it crowns(qrr-ns?), like the frogs which emerge from the muddy flood waters. This would be similar to the appearance of seed/grain germinating and "horning"(qeren-ing, qrr-ning), "corning", from the watered earth of the flood plain. It is also interesting that doctors use an instrument that looks like a crochet hook to break the bag of water to induce labor. Heqet was a goddess who was prayed to in order to hasten birth.  

    Khnum on his throne[poti seat], fashioning the divine child Ihy-Harsomptus on his potter's wheel, with Hequet assisting, from the House of Birth of the Temple of Hathor and Iunet(Dendera)

And the hieroglyph for her husband, Khnum, was a large jar/crock("pot, vessel", from Old English crocc, crocca, or a carafe[which is also sometimes similar in shape to a horn], and the Old English word for "potter" was crocwyrhta "crock-write"). Khhnum was the powerful Lord or PIE*poti- "powerful, lord". He was Poti of the Nile and the waters who was a father/foundational/rock Pater potter. The inundation of the Nile could probably be connected with childbirth, in that, when the water breaks birth is imminent, just as when the floods come the new life flourishes. Perhaps this Poti god called forth the croakers with the cracking("opening") of his crock as the waters were released. Maybe that would make him a croak pot. It may also be the reason why we call potty seats "thrones", I suppose. Did I mention, he was depicted with a really big crock?

Where is the "crook/hook" in the sky? It is the tail of Scorpio near Galactic center, the so called Gate(mouth/door) of God or Golden Gate in Astrology. Galactic center is located at the junction of the plane of the Milky Way, the Nile in the sky, and the ecliptic between the constellations of Scorpio(crooked) and Sagittarius(arrow / sharp). 

    Scorpio is a crook that hooks toward the Gate of God, Babel.

An anchor is a type of hook. In Latin ancora is "anchor", Greek ankyra "anchor, hook". It looks like an *ang-/*ank- "bend"(as in ankle) ankh with horns or hooks. A crooked/hooked/horned tau(T "strength")+ rho("head"), or resh("head") in Hebrew, and ra("mouth, opening, door") Egyptian. 

Ankh-like Anchor

The other crossing of the Milky Way and ecliptic is between Taurus and Gemini, the Gate of Man. The Horns of Taurus can be seen as a fork(crotch) in the sky.

    The horns of the bull, Taurus, fork toward the Gate of Man/Silver Gate, galactic anitcenter

What seed(souls of men) might issue from these horns of light and that shining crook?
Grain issues from the cornucopia, babies issue from the crotch, the flood waters issue from the crock, and the anointing oils were kept in a ram's horn. Abundance comes from horns.

In Hebrew shemen/samen is "fat, oil; choice, fertile, ointment; fatness, fertility, plenteous". Semen is called seed. When seed enters the opening, such as the earth grave, Rostau, or ideas are really taken in, i.e., eaten, consumed, or a union is consummated, then new life is created and sprouts forth.

Shama means "truly hear, sound, proclaim, listen, obey, comprehend, understand, witness" in Hebrew. This is like a shaman who is an intermediary or messenger between the spirit world and the human world. Shamans are often shown wearing horns.

    Cernunnos/Carnonos/Carnautus "Horned" God/Man, Gundestrup Cauldron, Early Roman Iron Age, c. 200 BC- 300 AD, silver with gold gilding, National Museum of Denmark

Moses was a shama, he listened to God. He went up on the mountain with the LORD for forty days and forty night without eating or drinking Exodus 34:28 When he came back to down he qaran(shone with rays) which frightened the people. What was the cause of this qaran-ing?

Jesus also spent forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. He didn't come back with any change in appearance apparently, but perhaps had been a  shemama "desolation, waste", and become shamem "desolate, devastated, astounded, causes horror, ruined" because he knew what he had to do. He didn't come back with "horns", but he was to be the horn or giver of life and sustenance.

 and has raised up for us a horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant... Luke 1:69

Is being chosen by God a good thing? Is the anointing a caress from God, or the kiss of keres ("death spirits") and cares? Is it a shame or an honor(crowning)? Is it shameful to be chosen and anointed or seeded by God? Does it cause ruin(in-shamen-ation), or does it make one fruitful(seeded)? Does it make one a Christ(anointed), or a desolation? They are really one and the same, its just a matter of perspective.

If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, the fore the world hates you. John 15:18-19

Mary was ruined after her seeding/impregnation by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was going to put her away quietly. The whole thing had to sting a bit. Getting it on is serious business. The appearance of Sopdet/Serious(the sharp one) is a time of potency. The sharpness is not good or bad, it is neither and both. With the right attitude it can hurt so good. It is what makes life worth living. Love it!

Life and growth involves the experience of both pleasure and pain. The tree of knowledge is the same as the tree of life, it is just a matter of perspective. Without movement there is no pain and there is no life. I suppose the trick is to just embrace the wood(TWSS) like a fool on a fools journey, and see what happens. It is meant to be a thing of beauty.

    Triumphant Tree of Plenty, or The Giving Tree as it should be, by Ailis O'Reilly (c. 2012)  photo by chthonickore

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2 ESV

We are meant to be fruitful and "horn", amplify, invest our talents, to be like the cornucopia, the horn of plenty, living waters and grow to grow full stature, to be beautiful and a fitting tabernacle of God. It is the day that the Lord has made. But don't expect the experience to be only pleasant. It is fine to not be great, who wants pain, but then don't deceive yourself that you have reach maturity and are an adult. You are not magnificent, you are just tooting your own horn.