Tyet Knot

    Tyet, Amulet, Ancient Egyptian Faience, Amarna

There is some mystery surrounding the origin and meaning of the ancient Egyptian tyet symbol, according to egyptologists. The meaning of the hieroglyph is rendered as "welfare" and "life". Sometimes it is called "the Knot / Buckle / Girdle of Isis," and it indeed looks like a looped and knotted piece of cloth. The arms of the tyet, rather than extending outward like the similar ankh (also with meaning “life”), hang down the sides in a rather relaxed fashion, as a ribbon tied in a long looping bow might do. Definitely very feminine and yin looking in nature. 

The Tyet looks like a draping garment which is reminiscent of the feminine form. Tyets ("life") are feminine in nature. Just as the woman in the garden of Eden was called Eve / Chavvah / Havva ("life").

Red Carnelian Tit / Tyet (Isis knot) amulet, ca. 1550-1275 BCE, The Met

Since the tyet was associated with the goddess and in the later kingdoms with Isis, we have a clue as to in what sense "life" is meant. The feminine association with "life" is the earth goddess, Eve, abundance and bringing forth of life from the fertile earth / ground / adamah*, Gaia, blood, and and life from the womb. 

*"ground / dust / earth / soil," from Hb., adom "to be red"; same as adam; dam "blood"; the creature God made in his own image and likeness was made from the red/blood, i.e., fertile soil.

The Empress, Shaddowscapes tarot, pregnancy, fertility, motherhood, sensuality, nurturing, femininity, nature harmony, art

The symbol is also sometimes connected to or called "the blood of Isis." Some say that the tyet may have been a representation of some sort of menstrual cloth because of its association with red carnelian (dSr "red" in ancient Egyptian similar to dSrw "blood"), menstruation, and usage as protective amulet for pregnancy, but I don't personally think this fits with its origins. If the tyet is associated with fertility and life, and menstruation/pregnancy are also associated with fertility and life, then it is reasonable that the two would be associated. This does not mean that the tyet was originally supposed to be a representation of a menstrual cloth, or even a yoni or womb. I'm more inclined to think that the reference to blood has to do with blood's association with "life" and bringing forth of, and sustaining of life (wellfare). 

Isis was a goddess who was responsible for the resurrection of her husband Osiris (god of fertility, agriculture, the dead, resurrection, life*). Isis along with her sister, Nephtys gathered together the missing and scattered pieces of Osiris' dismembered body. Osiris was then resurrected long enough for Isis to become pregnant with Osiris' son, Horus. Osiris is often associated with and even depicted as the Djed pillar. The djed and tyet are often seen together in artwork. 

[*so similar associations as the earth goddesses, such as Demeter / Ceres, the mother earth goddess, goddess of agriculture, grain, crops, fertility, and her daughter Persephone / Proserpina "Queen of the Underworld/Dead.]

 

Detail of the upper margin of the sarcophagus of the last native Egyptian pharaoh  Nectanebo II (30th dynasty reign, c. 360-343 BCE)

The Djed / Tet pillar was used as a hieroglyph for the spoken word, as well as a symbol and concept in and of itself, it had the meaning "stability, continuity, regeneration". It is commonly said to represent the backbone of Osiris. It is an enigmatic symbol in origin, like the Tyet. When discussing the meaning of the tyet and djed, it is important to note, that they are two of the more ancient of Egyptian symbols which remained popular throughout the duration of the ancient Egyptian culture. The origins of the tyet are much older than many of the representations, descriptions and usage that we have from the later time periods.

The Tjet [Tyet] is thought to date from the Predynastic period and was a popular decorative symbol by the third dynasty (Old Kingdom), often appearing alongside the Ankh and the Djed . . . By the New Kingdom it was associated with Isis perhaps due to to its frequent association with the Djed . . . Thus the Djed may have represented the masculine power, while the Tjet represented the feminine power. . . Ancient Egypt Online/Tjet(Tyet), ancientegyptonline.co.uk

Ancient Egypt was rich in symbolism. Not only was the language written with an hieroglyphic system that is pictorial, but the religious iconography and every day use of amulets contained copious amounts of archetypal information available to the unread masses as well as to the scholars. Here the saying was never more true, "A picture says a thousand words." Considering that hieroglyphic written language wasn't in usage until c. 3200 BC and the origin of the Tyet and Djed were sometime during the Predynastic period, the words tyet and djed were spoken words before they were written phonetically.

One idea regarding the origin of the word tjt [one common transliteration of Egyptian hieroglyphic word, or also t_t], known as tyet, could be that it might have originated as a form of the word dd, i.e., djed, but with the feminine ending -t. This is just some freeform speculation, but not without some logical basis.

The word for this so called "Knot of Isis" is rendered in English sometimes as tyet, tjet, tiet, tet, tit, tet, that, thet. I have seen it pronounced with a long I, as tie-et, or with a long E, as teet. Since we must transliterate and transcribe the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic language, which was written without vowels, linguists only speculate as to how the words were pronounced. So we have many different spellings and pronunciations in English of the possible pronunciations of the ancient Egyptian words. Often in transcriptions from Egyptian hieroglyphs to English, either a t or a d are used to spell the same word, such as tuat or duat, meaning “underworld” depending on who is doing the translation and what system they are using. 

The name of the god Thoth, for example, is also sometimes written as Djehuti, Tehuti, Techu, Tetu, and has equally wildly varied pronunciations. And djed, the so called Pillar of Osiris, is sometimes written as tet. 

(Thoth and Horus supporting djed pillar) Mummy Case of Nespanetjerenpere [detail], 22nd- early 25th Dynasty, c. 945-712 BCE, Brooklyn Museum, NYC

This confusion arises because, not only do we not know how the words sounded when spoken by a person during this ancient period, when people try to pronounce even the same words, or try to translate words there is much variation in accent and vowel usage. . . you say tomato, I say tomato . . . And there are sounds made in certain languages that other languages do not have and are hard for non natives speakers to pronounce. . . So, for example, tell an English speaking person to write a word as they hear it spoken you will get different spellings. Is the Hebrew word written as, Eve (from the Greek) in English translations of the bible, Havvah / Hawwah, or Chavvah / Chawwah? And good luck if the person who is doing the translation speaks yet another language and hears the word third, forth or fifth hand. When trying to understand the story of history we are forever playing a vast game of "telephone" but with many more factors involved even, so, given the fact that the tyet is a very ancient symbol which may have been spoken before it was ever written, it is not surprising if something akin to djed-et, or tet-et, morphed into tyet or tit.

There are examples like this especially in the early dynasties, of male Egyptian deities having female counterparts with the same name feminized, such as Amun [jmn] / Amunet [jmnt], both meaning "the Hidden One". Nu / Naunet, meaning "primordial waters". Kekui / Kekuit, "primordial darkness". Allso the ancient Egyptian word for “wife, woman” is hmt, from hm “incarnation”, with the -t ending. This is interesting because hm is like the English pronoun for a male, "him", so woman, then, is him-et. This is also similar to the words male and female, man and woman, and as in the book of Genesis, from the Hebrew, is [ish] / issa [ishshah] "man/woman".

Then ha'adam (the man) said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called issah (woman), because she was taken out of ish (man)." Genesis 2:23

The Djed had the meaning of stability, and with stability we have security, and security is welfare and life, that is, Tyet. 

Detail of the outermost golden shrine of Tutankhamun, 18th dynasty, Valley of the Kings. Egyptian Museum, Cairo

The Djed and Tyet were both often represented with similar pillar like trunks, and associated with the masculine (god / Osiris) and feminine (goddess / Isis) principles.

What if tyet was actually tet-et, but was then contracted by usage? This does happen sometimes, such as with the word "messenger" in English.

[messenger] With unetymological -n- inserted by c. 1300 for no apparent reason except that people liked to say it that way. . . [OE]

The Djed first appeared in the Predynastic period (c. 6000-3150 BC). It was thought to be made originally with stalks or sheaves of reeds. When grain or stalks are ready to be harvested, they are cut and tied, so my question is, "Did the tyet tie it? Did the tyet make the pillar tight?" Namely, were the stalks which made the djed / tet fastened by something which was then called tyet or tet-et? In this case the tyet securing the stalks under the heads is literally a neck tie/necktie [which is fitting considering that tyet amulets were usually placed on the neck of the deceased, therefore were neck tyets. Perhaps placed at the neck because the neck is where the spine/backbone connects with the head?]. In this way the Djed and Tyet would have been the cause of the stability of the pillar together.


    Sheaves of Reeds like Pillars

A knot/tie secures, and is for security. Single stalks alone are not stable like a pillar without being tied in bunches. In this way the union of the masculine and feminine, and the equal importance of each is apparent.

It is true that the two are not depicted as part of the same single structure in the images shown above (however, sometimes the Djed is depicted combined with the Ankh as below), but this doesn't necessarily mean that they were never used in rituals in this way, i.e., as some sort of combined djed/tyet pillar.

Isis and Nepthys with djed, ankh, sun disk, raised arms, from Book of the Dead of Ani, British Museum, London, facsimile 1890; original c. 1300 BCE

There is a long tradition of pillars being used in fertility rituals, often decorated / tied with ribbons / cloth, such as May Poles. We can not have fecudity without both the masculine and feminine present, and at some point joined.

Raising of the Maypole, similar to the raising of the Djed. Djed Adorned with Tyet?

In the Predynastic Period[*before it was even associated with Osiris] it [the djed] may have originally been a representation of a fertility pole upon which sheaves of grain were suspended at festivals. This pole may have been a feature of early fertility rituals which eventually came to be associated with the god who made the land fertile [*firstly Ptah, later assumed by Atum, Sokar and Osiris]. . . the Djed Pillar festival was held annually at which an actual djed pillar was built and raised by the local priesthood on the first day of the harvest season. Raising the pillar may have originally symbolized the grains raising from the earth, but in time came to represent the god Osiris returning from the dead. -Ancient History Encyclopedia https://www.ancient.eu/Djed/

The Djed, meaning “stability," is only stable (and not scattered like Osiris' body) because Isis “knit/tied" Osiris back together after he was killed. She was the cause of “life”, and of his “welfare". 

The tyet symbol was used as a funerary amulet to protect the deceased in the journey to the afterlife.

You possess your blood, Isis, you possess your power. Isis, you possess your magic, Isis. The amulet is protection for this Great One, which will drive off anyone who would perform a criminal act against him. - Spell 156, Book of the Dead

In this way it is fitting that the symbol[tyet] would be represented as separate from the backbone of the god, for they were in fact separated by death, and Osiris did not fare well until he was reunited by his wife and his welfare restored. So too, when one is in death the "life" represented by the tyet would offer support, and enable stability. 

This goddess figurine is from Predynastic Egypt (6000-3100 BC). Figurines such as this were often used as mortuary objects. Paleolithic goddess images are often depicted as mother goddess figurines, shown and pregnant, with full figures, or sometimes like this, with raised arms as in the example below.


Female Figurine, Predynastic Egypt (6000-3150 BCE), by Brooklyn Museum 

Here the goddess is tall and pillarlike. 

This pottery [below] is from the same time period. It depicts masculine and feminine looking figures atop (next to?) a reed boat (?) with pillar/ladder type structures. There are many examples of pottery from the period with these same motifs repeated. The raised pillar/ladder looking objects are a common feature. It isn't clear what they are depicting but perhaps it is possible they are depicting some sort of bound reed structure, so in that way similar to the djed. From the looks of the images on the pottery it seems possible that the symbolism may not have been completely separate from the notion of the djed pillar and the tyet. 

Naqada II pottery, late predynastic period (3100-2950 BCE)

It doesn't appear that the goddess with raised arms statuettes were popularly produced after this period of time. However, during the period of the Ancient Egyptian Kingdoms, over the next few millennia, various goddesses, including Isis are portrayed with outstretched arms, donning feathered wings.

Seated Isis (her throne crown identifies her) with outstretched winged arms

One of the most intriguing mysteries of prehistoric Egypt is the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic life, represented by the transformation from hunting and gathering to sedentary farming. We know very little about how and why this exchange occurred. Predynastic Period in Ancient Egypt, ancient.eu

Could there have been a shift over time, as the civilizations moved from the Paleolithic hunter gatherer societies to agricultural societies, in how this divine feminine counterpart was portrayed? As the civilizations of the Mediterranean shifted towards more patriarchal societies, as seen at the time of the ancient Greek civilization and the Roman Empire, the interpretations, representations, and roles of the goddesses would have been adapted or shifted to fit these ideologies over time, and this, not even necessarily consciously.

Here, in this depiction of the raising of the djed, Isis is seen assisting the pharaoh. She is depicted next to the pillar, like the tyet, rather than on top of it or as part of it. At the center is the djed pictured with the Double Plumed crown and sundisk of Amun-Re.


Ancient bass relief showing Pharaoh Seti I[1323-1279 BCE, 19th dynasty] raising the Djed column with Isis. West wall Osiris hall. Temple of Abydos, el Balyana, Egypt

The phallic / yonic attributes of the djed and tyet are also commonly pointed out along with the other symbolism, but this could be a secondary correspondence by nature of the objects. The djed and tyet as symbols are rich in meaning and importance even without any phallic consideration, as they represent the body of the god who dies and is then resurrected, and his wife. The djed is Osiris' backbone, not his boner. The two are by nature representative of the masculine/yang and the feminine / yin respectively (and by masculine and feminine is not meant gendered men and women. Each individual is an expression of both masculine and feminine principle even if engendered in a specific body polarity of male or female); the djed being: erect, hard/stable, straight, possessing copious seed (as stalks), and the tyet: relaxed and receptive looking with what could be considered yonic and womblike shapes. The loop itself is feminine in the sense that it is a hole which can be penetrated. 

However, if we are going to relate the symbols to their phallic meaning, it is powerful symbolism as well. The feminine is penetrated but not injured by the penetration (sexual act), and the feminine bleeds without a wound (menstruation / childbirth), this can be seen as a type of magic which the feminine possesses, whereas, when the masculine is penetrated and bleeds it is injured and dies. 

Christ Crucified (c. 1632) by Diego Valazquez. Museo del Prado, Madrid

When the feminine submits to the masculine it is seeded and able to produce new life. But in order for the masculine to be fruitful, it is necessary that it submits to a kind of death, or actual death.

Truly, truly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth (feminine) and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 

It was only when the masculine, as the son of God, Jesus gave himself / submitted to the cross and died, that he then was raised to new life, and gave life to the world, in the form of being the cause for the resurrection of the many, enabled by their being transformed into and one with God, as the Egyptians trusted in resurrection remembering and identifying with the death and resurrection of Osiris. 

Thus, this submission of the masculine can be seen as a kind of blessing. It is a hard passageway, yet the result is new life / fruitfulness / movement. It is a pathway out of the frozeness of death and hell. Together the masculine and the feminine, in proper balance and union, create a ladder/pillar to heaven. 

It just so happens, however that it is more difficult for the masculine to submit than for the feminine, because the polarity of high is . . . low.

For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain. Job 24:24

This is why it is said of wisdom,

. . . Compared with the light [masculine] she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom [feminine], evil does not prevail. Wisdom 7:29-30

This "superiority" seems to be in the sense that when there is movement of the yin / night it moves to light, which is generally pleasant and seen as the good, but when there is movement of the day / yang, it is overcome by the darkness of the cycle which is viewed as adversity or evil. But Jesus, as all men/women/humankind do, submitted to a mater (latin "mother') to be born in to matter (earth). And there is no doubt this is difficult. Yet the benefit we receive from this submission, i.e., being nailed to the wheel of the zodiac in birth, so to speak, is great. 

Even though it is easy for the feminine to be mistreated by abuse of power of the masculine, a woman rightfully possesses the sexual agency to either allow the masculine to penetrate the passage to the womb (place of the fertile blood) or not. She is the gatekeeper of this feminine power, and authority over this allowing of the masculine aspect to merge with the feminine. Thus the feminine is the gatekeeper of the masculine's power to create (without a fertile place to put the seed, no new life). With out this fertile earth, a place for the seed to fall, the masculine cannot have offspring physically/metaphorically/spiritually or otherwise. 

So what can we say when the masculine principle is stuck or not fruitful? Obviously it needs to work with the fertile territory of the feminine principle. This is especially true of logic (masculine) and intuition (feminine). When there is no answer, logic is stuck/not fruitful, then intuitive exploring is necessary to provide new and fertile ground to plant the seeds (ideas) of logic in and see what grows from them. Things become stagnant and stale, i.e., dead when the breath of life is withheld. This is an alchemical principle as well, the sacred marriage of the masculine and feminine elements. It is for this reason that the differences and dignity of these polarities need to be honored. Without them working together the world and everything in it physically and mentally dies, or is good as dead.

Hieronymous Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights[detail], 1490-1510, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Album Cover, Dead Can Dance, photo by Julie O.

The sexual manifestations of male and female are only physical representations of these complex concepts or realities. The All / God is the unity of the yin and yang. God is both masculine and feminine and thus creation reflects this. Nor is any one thing ever purely only masculine or feminine. As the symbolism of the yin and yang shows. They are swirling, and in each other. The yin is in the yang and the yang is in the yin in an unceasing dance. 

Yin/Yang, by Wesley Stupar (my brother), @WesleytheArch

Through physical manifestations of the yin and yang such as a person's sex, we are taught / given example about the notion of the masculine and the feminine; we are taught about God by seeing clear examples of this duality. There are countless examples of yang and yin, but no one thing is purely either male / yang or female / yin. 

God created man (the adam) male and female, as is seen on the level of the work of procreation. For it takes a man and a female biology acting together to make a baby, yet that is just one level of the masculine and feminine principles in action. On other levels individuals are/act in varying degrees of, and manifestations of masculine and feminine. This is what it means to be created both male and female in the image of God. If a man was wholly masculine and a woman wholly feminine, not only is this impossible, they would not contain a complete image of God. 

But . . . getting back to the tyet as a piece of cloth. In that way (and if it was tied on the pillar) it could be called a garment. Garment is "any article of clothing"(reduced from garnement, early 14c.), from the French garnement, from garnir "fit out, provide, adorn", from a Germanic source, from PIE root *wer- (4) “ to cover." And cover means “to protect or defend from harm”, from same PIE root *wer- (4). So to cover is to provide welfare and secure life. The goddess used her power to cover the deceased with her protection, as symbolized by the tyet placed on the neck. 

A length of cloth or chord can be also used as a girdle / belt to secure the clothing upon a body.

Rope Cincture with Tassels

Tiet is translated as “life”, “welfare", so it is interesting that this sounds like diet. A good diet provides for ones welfare. Diet is ultimately from Latin dieta “prescribed way of life," from Greek diaita, originally "way of life, regimine, dwelling". . . Just as the garb/garment of a priest is part of his dieta [prescribed way of life], parts of which resemble a tiet.

Also djed / tet, when pronounced can sound like “jet”. Jet(v.) is "to sprout or spurt forth, shoot out", ultimately from PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel." The djed having to do with agricultural symbolism and growth could be said to be something sprouting forth, and when raised, the djed juts ("jut" from same root as "jet") upward. 

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launch, Sept. 8, 2016

This jet propulsion rocket spacecraft, OSIRIS-REx is in the shape of a pillar as it takes off, so it is not unlike like Osiris as the djed, aye? Rockets raise us to the heavens. And GUESS WHAT? The OSIRIS-REx's return capsule is set to return to Earth September 24, 2023 [update!], How exciting! Its retrieval (welfare) is dependent upon its parachute to bring it to a soft landing. Parachutes are made out of strong cloth and connected / tied with chords. So, is it Isis, as this cloth tie parachute, who is responsible for OSIRIS-REx's safe return?

Isis Wings Dance Garment, might double as a parachute

As is above, so is below . . .

P.S. Interestingly enough, too, the name for red ochre in ancient Egypt was "ded", dd, so not unlike djed, also dd. If a tyet was ever painted red, it would be dd (ochre) in color, and ochre (dd) is red. The tyet might even be painted with ochre, so it would be literally dd. Ochre red, blood=red. Fertility / life are associated with the red / blood earth, so, perhaps life=Tyet=red=ded=dd=Djed=Tet. 
Ochre is "ded", and without red / blood you're dead.

The Mighty Oak

   The Mighty Oak Tree, Fractal of the Day, by Jim Muth, 1999

Oak is a hard wood. The oak tree stands for strength and power. In Hebrew allon / allah is "an oak," or sometimes elah / elon is "oak tree[or other strong tree]; terebinth," which is similar to the term used for God and gods,  Eloah / Elah(Aramaic), from El (linguistically related to Allah), and Elohim (grammatically pl.). Elohim is the God of creation in Genesis. It means something like "the powers, the mighty." The oak is the mighty tree, and El is the mighty God.

Durable is from Latin durare "to last, harden," from PIE *deru "to be firm, solid, steadfast." So we could say, what is durable is like a tree. The word tree is in fact from this same root, from Old English treo, ultimately from PIE *deru, having a special meaning of "tree[oak], wood." The oak is the epitome of tree because tree simply means a thing of durability, stability and strength.

   Adoration of Osiris, Kha Funerary Papyrus, 18th Dynasty, c. 1567-320 BC, Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy

Osiris was the ancient Egyptian god of resurrection and rebirth(notice his green skin indicating growth and life, like a tree). The name Osiris comes from wsjr, the transliteration of the Egyptian name of the god. The name is rendered with various different spellings, such as Usir, Usire, Ausar, Ausar, Ausir, Ausare, Asari, Aser and Wesir. Osiris was associated with the djed pillar which had the meaning "stability, continuity, regeneration." The djed was known as the symbolic representation of the backbone or spine of Osiris, as well as originally being associated with vegetation. 

The djed may originally have been a fertility cult related pillar made from reeds or sheaves or a totem from which sheaves of grain were suspended or grain was piled around. Eric Neumann remarks that the djed pillar is a tree fetish . . . –wikipedia.Djed.Origin and Development

The spine, as a pillar, is like the stalk or tree(*deru, support) of the body, or trunk, that supports the limbs and head. We might call the backbone our "oak"- bone in this respect. 

    Djed Pillar, Late Period, c. 688-332 BC, Egyptian, Faience, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Easter(in German Ostern) is a celebration at the time proceeding the first full moon after the spring equinox. Easter is the celebration of resurrection and new life. Ost is "east" in German. East is from PIE *aus-to-, *austra "east," literally meaning -to "toward" + -aus "sunrise(shining light of dawn)," from PIE *aus- (1) "to shine" especially the light of dawn. The dawn is a time associated with resurrection(as in the daily "rebirth" of the sun). 

If we compare this root(*aus-) with the name Osiris, aka Ausir, we could say he is the "bright, shining" (*aus-) + "eye" (ir in Egyptian). However, since Osiris was associated with the moon, perhaps this "bright eye" could be the shinning eye of the moon during its cycle, rather than the sunrise. Or specifically, perhaps, the rising of the Full Moon. Osiris was mythologically associated with the moon along with Thoth. The Eyes of Horus were associated with the sun and moon. Sometimes the left Eye of Horus, the lunar eye, was called the Eye of Thoth. In one myth Osiris is brought back to life after Horus gives him his eye to eat, which had been torn out by Set and then rescued by Thoth. The resurrected Osiris becomes the Lord of the underworld. Osiris/Ausir, like the moon, is one who shines in darkness.

The moon is a kind of shinning bone colored disc. In Latin os (ossa pl.) is "bone", from PIE *ost- "bone", in Greek ost is "bone." So Osiris could be the "bone eye," os "bone" + iris (bright circle) in appearance. Or the god of bone, i.e. Osseous, from Latin osseus "bony, of bone". 

    Full Moon/Shining(Aus) Eye/Bone Eye/Ash Eye

However, PIE root *os-  has the meaning ash (n.2) as in "ash tree," so we could say the moon is like the wood of the ash tree, which itself, in fact, looks similar to bone. Both the wood of the ash and bone are hard living organic materials. So it seems that the idea of bone is simply that it is a hard strong material similar in function to wood.

     Twisted Ash Staves - resemble bones

Ash(n.2) is from Old English æsc "ash tree," also with the extended meaning of "spear made of wood from ash"(from same root as Old Norse askr "ash tree," Old Saxon ask "ash tree"), from PIE root *os- "ash tree." There is a similarity with os as "ash," and os "bone"/ *ost- "bone." In Albanian asht is "bone." The ash is a tree with hard dense wood that is strong, but also elastic (or maybe we could say el-ash-tic). It ranges in color from shades of cream to light brown. The generic name for the ash in Latin is Fraxinus which also had the extended meaning of "spear," like aesc. Staves and spears need to be strong with a certain amount of elasticity like bones(to prevent fracture).

These words, ash and ask "ash tree," are similar to the Hebrew word for "tree, trees, wood," i.e, ets /etz/êṣ (pronounced ates) etseh(pl), as in the tree ('êṣ) of Life and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

And in Hebrew etsem is "bone, substance, self," also "wood, limb, strength," otsem "might, bones, frame," from atsam "be vast, mighty, numerous; brake the bones, be great." So tree and bone in Hebrew, like *os(ash tree) and *ost(bone), has the meaning of being a strong supportive organic substance. 

This at last is bone [eṣem] of my bone [meaṣamay] and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called išša / isha because she was taken out of iš / ish. Genesis 2:23 

Bones are also atsom meaning "numerous and mighty." Is that maybe atsom like awesome, as in, mighty and terrible? Bones are the pillars of the body. And bones can be sort of terrible and frightening when they are revealed under the flesh. Imagine a host "army" of dry bones given life like in Ezekiel. Terrible!

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the spirit came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. The Valley of Dry Bones, Ezekiel 37:10

    The Human Skeleton - An Awesome Figure

Atsam also has the meaning of "shut(the eyes)" (also atsah "shut, wink), a use of atsam "be vast, mighty, numerous[BDB],"  "break the bones, close, be great, be increased, be more, shut, become[Strong's]"

How is winking / shutting associated with greatness? Strange. Maybe it could be like the "winking" of the eye of the sun during an eclipse, which is a really awesome type of event. This kind of closing / shutting is a revelation that shows strength(the moon shuts the eye of the sun!) and majesty(the corona "crown" becomes visible) of the interplay between the sun and moon. Also, the time of the waning, "winking" of the moon brings about a new moon. The new moon is a time of potency, it is like the darkness right before the dawn. Like a pendulum at the bottom of a swing, it is a time when nothing remains to be lost, and then everything is gained. 

Yom Terruah, the Day of the Shofar Blast(which is technically a horn and not bone, but is bone-like) begins at the new moon in autumn, it is the end of the agricultural year, the time of reaping, and Rosh Hashanah "head(or maybe peak) [of] the year." It is the start of the High Holy Days, the Days of Awe(Interestingly, a or aw is the Aramaic word for "wood" corresponding to ets), which ends on Yom Kippur, "The Day of Atonement".

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." Revelation 11:15

    New Moon, by Crystal Pomeroy, Global Light Minds

Atseh has the meaning of "backbone, spine." The backbone binds the body together and makes it strong like a tree(ash) in the body. Like trees and stalks, backbones grow with the body as well. They are not stone. The shutting of the eyes(atsam) in death allows for the rising of the soul to become(atsah "be more") something great like Osiris, by overcoming death. 

If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. - Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars V, A New Hope, 1977

The osseous looking moon is resurrected each month in its cycle and thus is a symbol of a yin type of stability, like the djed pillar / backbone(atseh) of Osiris. It is a stability that exists within movement, yet is stable and sure, like the tides, and like the day itself. It is the stability that is not fixed, but organic and life giving.

Man / Adam, finally, becomes more fully like God Genesis 3:22 partaking of the knowledge of the tree. The eats(i.e., the produce/fruit from the ets[tree] that was consumed) first brings pain, but then it brings the remedy. And the remedy is transformative. Man is completed and made better because of the whole experience, like Osiris who was enclosed in the trunk of a tree The Story of Osiris and Isis. We might say Osiris was placed in "stalks," but this wood of his imprisonment, the djed pillar / stalk, then became the very symbol of stability and strength. Like the backbone of a body.

    The backbone(atseh) is the tree(etsem) and strength of the body. The endoskeleton[tree of the body].

I am the "spine"(ampelos "vine" in Greek, maybe something like providing ample"abundant"+ os "stregth") and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5  

"Christ calls himself a vine, because, as the vine imparts sap and productiveness, so Christ infuses into his followers his own divine strength and life." Thayers Greek Lexicon; Strongs 288 άμπελος

When you learn the lesson of the tree, i.e. the *deru "oak," you are learning a hard, durable lesson, that will make you strong; stronger than death even. But it can be a little terrifying(deru-fying). 

In the Norse Eddas, Yggdrisil, the World Tree, was an enormous ash whose branches extend far into the heavens. The spear of Odin(who was called Hoárr "one-eyed") was made from a branch of an ash tree.

    Yggdrasil, by Oluf Olufsen Bagge, 1847

Yggdrasil is said to be possibly from, Ygg(r), another name of Odin(possibly meaning "terrible one," terrible as in awesome)  + drasill "horse", Odin's Horse meaning "gallows", i.e., "the horse of the hanged." 

In Old Norse "gallows" is galgi from Proto-Germanic *galgon- "pole" (root of Middle High German galge "gallows, cross," Gothic galga "cross"), from PIE *ghalgh- "branch, rod." So this world tree is the gallows of the awesome God, Woden, the Hangi "hanged one,"  Hangatyr "god of the hanged," the seeker who bound himself upon a branch(*ghalgh-) of the tree, pierced himself with a spear(ash), and hung for nine days and nights(the number of completeness and finality) before the runes revealed themselves and their secrets to him(He was willing to hang there for however long it took, come what may). With the knowledge of the runes he became one of the mightiest beings in the whole cosmos.

      Hanged Man (on Gallows), 12th card of Major Arcana

Yggdrasil, the great ash, was Odin's gallows, or we could say Woden's wooden horse. This world tree can be compared with the the Milky Way, our "milky" circle,  galaxias kyklos (Gk), which forms a cross(galga) with the ecliptic. The Milky Way is representative of the cross of our incarnation in the flesh. The soul is fixed in a body at birth and enters into a world of pain with the stigma of original sin. We are all hanged men dying slow deaths, fixed or nailed to the xulon(Gk.) "thing made out of wood; staff, cross, pole, gallows" of the zodiac, at the time of birth. 

-for it is written, "Cursed(doomed to destruction) be every one who hangs on a tree(xulon). Galatians 3:13

    Galactic Cross, Conjunction of the Galactic Equator and the Ecliptic

The question is, "Are we using our time well?" Are we learning the secrets of the runes, or are we wasting away in pain, worry, anxiety, and fear until we are dead with self-loathing, guilt, and shame of the realization that we are pathetic worms hanging from a tree?

And why is a gallows called a "HORSE" of the hanged? 

Why is a sawhorse called a sawhorse?

It probably has something to do with the four legs; two on one side, two on the other, so that the equus("horse" in Latin) is equally balanced and is a vehicle of stability. Horses are very djed.

Sawhorse from The Marvelous Land of Oz, illustration john R. Niel, 1904. In The Careless Kangaroo of Oz he is given the proper name, Lignum(which is really just Latin for "wood").

Gulgoleth is "skull, head, census[head count]" biblical in Hebrew, from galal "roll, roll away, commit, remove" like the sky is the covering / shell / husk(skull) over the Earth, and is a great turning galgal ("wheel, whirl" in Hebrew), also from galal. So we could say our galaxy, i.e., the *g(a)lag- circle, is the galgal(wheel) that is our Golgotha, i.e. place of crucifixion.

At dawn the eye of the sun opens and everything is light. At sunset the great eye shuts and it is night. Shut, šwt is "feather" in ancient Egyptian. The shut of Ma'at  whose name means  "truth" pertains to mighty judgment. It was against this feather(shut) of Ma'at that the hearts of the deceased were weighed against in the Duat("afterworld"). When the sun sets it metaphorically travels through the underworld. Night is representative of the time of death and judgment.  

    Maat with Shut, Feather of Maat

The fan or the "shade"(as in, an object that causes obstruction of the light, like a lampshade or parasol) made out of feather/s(shut) makes shade(shut "shaddow"). A shade makes shade and a shut makes shut. Shade can protect (i.e., shut out harsh rays), and bring comfort and relief, but it also is a shadow(tsel in Hebrew, from tsalal "dark"), and a shadow is a tselem("image") of what is in the light, so the image that is shade(tsel) is dark, and maybe a tsala("lame") image and can be the cause of tsela("stumbling, limping, fall"). Remember Eve was fashioned from the tsala("rib, side;" "hillside" [so perhaps similar in the concept to the feminine and masculine channels "sides" in the body Ida and Pingala Nadis]) of Adam as he slept and was the cause of his stumbling(tsela), and a sideways glance from God as well(but they weren't trying to rib him, it was a very serious matter). Furthermore, shade reveals the fact that protection was needed from the sun and heat to begin with, and that the object which makes a shadow is itself not the sun. 

Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?"

"It is," he said. "And I'm so angry I wish I were dead." Jonah 4:6-9

Shade reveals weakness and this brings about judgment(like at night, when the sun, Ra, enters the Amduat and journeys through the hours of darkness to the hall of Ma'at [for judgment]) it is the time of seeing the truth(from PIE *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," like tree, so maybe we could say treeth). We might say this time in the dark causes one *derk- "to see"(Ancient Greek dérkomai δέρκομαι "to see, see clearly"). People can be ashamed of their shadow selves and think that because they have a shadow they are bad.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool [ruach "breath, wind, spirit"] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8

    God Judging Adam, William Blake, 1795, Tate Collection

Perhaps God was walking in the "truth" of the day, that is, the feather of Ma'at was a flutter? Breezes cool the skin, but they also fan flames. Knowing the truth can be either comforting or disturbing. Sometimes the truth hurts. The sun can scorch flesh, but truth can fan an inner fire that burns. The truth that the knowledge of good and evil provides definitely hurts, it brings itstsabon "pain, toil"Genesis 3:17, from atsab[like aw! stab] "hurt, pain, grieve," but this toil ends up being the cause of the crown(Estabon "crown," from Greek Stephanos) and glory of man, i.e., the happy fault, even if it is a crown of thorns. This itstsabon can be = It's a bon, i.e. "good" or a boon, a bonus. Or itstsabon can be a strong "bone" lessen of the tree, back breaking labor. It is a [purifying] puro/pyro πυρόω "fire"– fying labor.

    Christ Carying his Ets, El Greco, 1580

Etseb means "idol; labor, toil, sorrow, hurt, pain; hard earned goods." Etseb is also "vessel, jar, earthen vessel," otseb(varriation of atsab) is "idol"(as a fashioned image); mental bodily pain, sorrow, wicked," from atsab "to shape, fashion; carve," as well as atsab "displease; hurt, pain, grieve; troubled; image, idol," and atseb or atstsab is "workers, toilers." So the "carvers" make idols(images) and displease God, and therefore they toil and have sorrow in their minds, and the vessels of their bodies experience pain. But isn't the toil itself the making of idols? Toil begets toil? It seems that the ones who toil are the ones who fashion idols, they are not idle like Abel who pleased God, but they(like Cain) work hard and grieve God, interesting! Like Mary was idle at the feet of Jesus, but Martha was the one who was causing grief(atsab "idol"). Martha tried to take a stab at Mary, but Jesus would have none of it. Martha was just being an image(perhaps a shadow) of goodness. However, it was not what was really good. Her "idol," i.e. work/ toil, was taking precedence over spending time with Jesus, and it made her feel righteous, but that's not the way to happiness. 

one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:42

Mary was doing the better thing. She was taking enjoyment in sitting at the feet of Jesus. She chose the good portion, which is a better portion than toil. Better, which means good-er, is from Proto-Germanic *batizo- said to be [perhaps] from PIE root *bhad- "good." What?! Bad is good and good is bad. What is going on? Husbands sometimes say their wives are their the better half. Is the wife the better half, or is she the "badder" half? To be "bad" can be meant in a good way like when we say, "She's bad!," "a badasss!" The man was made *bhad-der and better by the union with his other half, his tsela "other side" i.e. his iṣṣa "wife," maybe his shadow, or tsalal tselem "darkening/shading image". 

It says in Genesis that the Lord God took from the adam, one  missal'otaw("of his ribs"), and closed up the flesh underneath Genesis 2:21. This is kind of funny because mistletoe which grows in oak trees was a most sacred plant of the druids and was ceremoniously harvested and used to insure fertility, among other uses. In Brittany it is called herb de la croix "herb of the cross", and in the 14th century it was called lignum crucis "wood of the cross" from a legend about it providing the wood of the Cross and then being denigrated to a parasite. After the LORD God took missal'otaw(of his [Adam's] ribs) he fashioned it into a woman so the man would not be bad which is "alone, isolated, separation" in biblical Hebrew, from badad "shoot, straggler, alone".

Is that why a person is hit with a shoot or switch when they are bad? Getting spanked and whipped does cause a feeling of being alone (bad)   :(

    Ash Smaker Spanking Paddle with Holes, $60 by SourdoughBreads, free shipping, Gift-wrap available, Amozon.com, doh!

Etsah has the meaning of "council, advice, design, plan, scheme" in biblical Hebrew (from yaats "counselor, advisors, give advice," so maybe that is yah + ats[perhaps a hard substance like tree(ets) or bone(etsem), like az / oz "strong, mighty, power"], i.e., "strength of Yah[the LORD]"). So did God have a tree(ets) in the center of the garden, an ets of strength(oz) and council(etsah), or might we say a "plan / scheme" in the center of the garden? The scheme of the knowledge of the good and evil? In other words, a tree of good(*bhad-) and atsab(toil, sorrow), given to man, the atsab(image), or earthen vessel fashioned by God.

So is it good or *bhad to leave your father and mother? Perhaps it is bad if you are alone, but if you have your helpmeet then it can be a good thing. The tree was the strength which comes from the knowledge of BOTH good and evil. It is a tree with a shining(*aus) hard wood lesson (like -*os "ash(n.2),"or *ost / -os "bone"). Like the light of dawn that only comes as a result of the emergence from darkness. It burns and bites, but in the end you are better. Ouch! 

From life's school of war: what does not destroy me makes me stronger. -Twilight of the Idols, Maxims and Arrows 8th, Friedrich Nietzsche

So the hard thing / pains(etsem) we endure, this plan(etsah) of God, is the backbone(atseh) of our existence, i.e., the esher / asher "happy" fault. But also the cause of our disgrace or shame, it is also the cause of our need to be covered / clothed. Shame is from PIE *skem-, from *kem- "to cover."  In Hebrew asham is "guilt, shame, guilt offering, sin, wrong." It's a shame that asham bars us from the garden, but in the end we become truly happy. 

    Adam and Eve Diven out of Paradise, from The Story of the Bible by Charles Foster. Illustrations by F.B. Schell, 1884

Dreary is from Old English dreorig meaning "sad, sorrowful," originally "cruel, bloody, blood-stained," from dreor "gore, blood," like being made out of the "bloody"(dam "blood") earth(adamah), or red(adom) earth, into an earthen vessel(etseb), i.e. a thing hardened(as in a fired clay vessel) or a thing that is hard(a wooden vessel). The itstabon(toil) that was a result of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge was dreary drudgery. It caused atsehbeth "pain" for Adam and Eve. They had to endure the drudgery of the toil they brought upon themselves, but it finally was nothing more than the truth, or what was true, i.e., daath "knowledge"(the daath that brought death). It was a full knowledge. The opposite pole of the beautiful and pleasant is pain and ugliness. In order to really know the one, you have to also know the other.

Drudgery is from Old English dreogan "work, suffer, endure." Old English dragan "to drag, draw, protract." A dragon is a wise, sagacious, "sharp" creature. But is the life of the dragon a drag or drudgery? Maybe it is better to be innocent and not know, than to have to be the one who knows; who draws the bow, and lets loose the sharp arrow of truth that can be such an agent of pain. It's not a good way to get people to like you. Isn't it better to be blissfully ignorant? Think of young children, they don't know that Santa Claus isn't real, so they have a lot of fun, but then it can be a drag when they learn the truth. However, then when they have the knowledge, they can scheme(etsah) with their parents for other unsuspecting innocent children, and make the magic happen. This can be looked at in two ways. You can love it or hate it. The truth(tree-th) can ruin the fun, or you can get over it, and not let it ruin the fun. You can let yourself exist in the messy organic space of being a responsible, wise adult, but also allowing the childlike spirit of innocence to remain; wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove. We are not simple monotone creatures who are made to be in the image of the likeness of God.

And does God labor? He did rest on the seventh day of creation. So he must have been working, but his work was not drudgery. There is the saying, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

    Tom Sawyer (Whitewashing the Fence ), Norman Rockwell, 1936

Work and activity is an opposite polarity of leisure and rest. The oscillation between the two creates the vibration and movement necessary for harmony. Lack of variation leads to hell. Too much work is hell, and too much leisure is hell. Too much hot is hell, and to much cold is hell. Too much good is bad, and not enough *bhad- is bad. So a certain kind of labor is necessary and good. A labor of love feeds the soul just as well as rest and leisure, but each in its proper place and time.

"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." John 4:34

We can know that if our work is "work" and not pleasant, then we are not doing the work of the LORD. It would seem to be, rather, the labor that is idolatry(etseb). This is why Cain did not please the Lord. He thought suffering hard work toil was righteousness.

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28

And what do we need to do in order to receive this light yoke?  We only need to ask. 

Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea," it will be done. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Matthew 21:21-22

When you ask or "ax" something of someone(ax was an acceptable literary variant until c. 1600) you are cutting the strength of the person you are asking. To ax is to cut the tree / ash *os or os, i.e., the marrow. How do we ask something of someone?... Would you? "Hey tree, would you lend me a limb?" 

Being asked can be kind of wood-y. Being asked can require a piece of you in the form of time, energy or money, like, "Hey mom, would you mind watching the triplets for a few days while I go on vacation?" Or there are annoying "Would you rather..." questions like this one I just took off the internet(they are like an ax to the brain), "Would you rather wake up naked and sore, without any memory of the night before next to the Burger King telling you, 'You had it your way', or wake up next to Ronald McDonald telling you that, 'You were loving it.'?" Lol. Cut it out! Wood is from Old English wudu, earlier widu "tree, trees, forest, grove; the substance(or self) of the tree." Would you like a piece of me?

When you care about someone, you don't mind giving of yourself, in fact, its your pleasure. Will is another way we ask questions. Will(v.1) is from Old English willan, wyllan "to wish, desire; be willing; be used to; be about(past tense wold)."

When someone asks nicely it is endearing. 

One possible origin of the name, Oscar, is said to be Gaelic os "deer" + cara "friend / lover." Is that, deer friend, the same as a dear friend? Os as "deer" in Gaelic comes from the idea of the breath of life being in animals[os is also the preposition "above, over; superior" in Gaelic and is a root in words such as "breeze(osag) and sigh(osnadh)]. This is similar to deer which is said to be perhaps from PIE *dheusom "creature that breathes," from *dheu (1) "cloud, breath". Oscar is also said to come from Old English Osgar "god's spear," os "god" + gar "spear." Os as deity is similar to the Old Norse áss "god"(æsir pl.) which is thought to come from a Proto-West Germanic root(*ansu-) meaning "life force"(this is reminiscent of Elijah encountering the presence of the LORD as the "still small voice" / "gentle whisper"1 Kings 19:12). This concept, then, of God's presence, i.e., the presence of Os,  being os, "breath/ life force" would connect it in concept to the word os (ora pl.)  as "mouth" in Latin, the mouth being the place where the breath, and words of command and creation(strong osseous words) come from. 

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

Dear is from Old English deore "precious, valuable, costly, loved, beloved" (Middle Dutch dure, Dutch duur). Because those things which are hard (German hart) to attain are precious to us and dear to our hearts. So things that are dear are os "deer," like the animal(hart) that you hunt for food and provides you with nourishment for your labor, and the gift of life itself. Hard is from Old English heard "solid, firm, not soft," also "severe, rigorous, cruel," from root *kar- / *ker- "hard." Like being in the solid form of flesh, rather than spirit. Those in spirit do not have a care in the world. But those in the flesh toil and have many cares. Care(n.) is from Old English caru, cearu (from same root as Gothic kara "sorrow, trouble, care"). The things we care about cause us the most trouble. The things close to our hearts(kardia Gk.) are are often hard to acquire, from Latin ad- "to" + quaerere "to seek, obtain," (quaerere  also "to ask, seek, look for, strive, endeavor"). 

What we attain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'Tis dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods… – The Crisis, Thomas Pain, Dec. 23, 1776

A query, from Latin quaere "ask, inquire"(form of quaerere), is a question. It can be hard to find the quarry(n.1) "prey"(hard-sought). Sometime you have to dig deep(quarry[n.2]). It takes a seeker some one with sagacity(both words from *sag- "track down, seek out"), to finally hit the mark. And maybe a wielder of the spear made from hard wood / ash (fraxinus /æsc "wood; spear"), or someone skilled with bow and arrow(saggita); someone with mental strength, durability(like the oak), flexibility(like the bow made from ash / *os), and sharpness(like an arrow). In other words, strong(oz) like the gods(ōs).

In biblical Hebrew koach is "ability, might, strength, power," which is similar in meaning to Hebrew oz "strength, might, power." Koach(pronounced ko'-akh) sounds similar to cork. Cork is from,  Latin querqus "oak", from PIE root *kwerkwu-, a form of *perkwu- "oak". The covering(cork) adds to the strength(koach) of the tree, like corium "skin, derma", from Latin corium "skin, hide, leather," which is etemologically related to cortex "outer shell husk," from Latin cortex "bark of a tree,"[both from a different root than cork: *ker-]  Fir "pine tree," from Proto-Germanic *furkon is also said to be from PIE *perkwu- "oak." And fur is the covering or corium on animals, from Old French forrer, fourrer "cover with fur, line(clothing)," from furre "sheath, scabbard"(via notion of "covering"), from PIE *pa- "protect, feed." So the covering on trees, or animals can be said to be one of their strengths. The corium "skin, hide, leather" or cortex "bark" provides a protective layer like armor. It provides an outer core of strength that protects the inner core(or "heart" which is cor in Latin)   of strength, i.e., the wood, bone, or substance. 

  Cork Oak Cross Section, Quecus suber

The Querquetulanae were nymphs of the oak grove in Roman mythology. Like  the Dryads in Greek mythology were nymphs of the drys δρυς "oak" and the Meliae were dryades(wood nymphs) of the ash. 

    Dryads, Paul Delvaux, 1966

The feminine / yin / moon / bone / tree strength is a mighty strength as well as the male / yang / sun / rock strength. They are equal and opposite. And a unified harmony between the two is absolutely necessary for happiness. If one side of the body is dishonored in any way, the whole body is dishonored. And if one half is honored over the other, there is not balance. If each man(adam) could get this right in themselves on the inside, i.e. the marriage of the polarity of masculine and feminine in themselves, then they would all be strong, sturdy, mighty, shinning, excellent individuals, i.e. Christs in the world, and there wouldn't be any problems anymore. End of story. What is inside is reflected outside. Done.

This was hard work… but I enjoyed doing it ;)