Come in for a Spell

We create our reality with our stories, both individually and collectively. What we give our attention to influences what we feel and how we feel, what we do, and what we say. We tell ourselves good stories, or bad stories. In fact our reality is largely influenced by our history, our collective stories, i.e., our his-stories and her-stories that we have written in history books, and / or told by word of mouth, even what we tell ourselves, i.e., my-stories. However these stories can change, and do change. 

The history of the world, photo by Julie O. /chthonickore

The stories we tell ourselves can be either limiting or inspirational. Is it simply a mystery what makes up one's reality? When we tell stories we are doing something very powerful. We are spelling out, informing (telling) our present, that place where we are . . .  and where we are influences our future. Whatever the future holds, we are writing that story right now, but people often don't respect what powerful creators we are. 

Spell has a complex history and has evolved different common usages over time. Generally when we think of "spell" we mean, spell (v.1), early 14c."read by letter, write or say the letters of," the meaning of which seems to have come by way of (according to the online etymology dictionary) a French word, espeller, rather than the Old English spellian "to tell, speak, discourse, talk", espeller, meaning "mean, signify, explain, interpret," also, "spell out letters, pronounce, recite", both said to come from the same  Germanic root, *spellam "to tell", from PIE *spel-(2) "to say aloud, recite." 


A spell (n.1) is a "story, saying, tale, history, narrative, fable; discourse, command," from Old English spell, as in gospel (good + spell), the good news. Good stories are inspirational and have the power to change the world in seemingly magical ways. We have magic at our fingertips and enchantments spilling from our lips every time we write, or speak. 

A good spell written by my sister at the beginning of a blank book, now full of other spells.

Yet how many people believe this? Many have the idea that history is solid objective reality. History is something that simply happens to us. What we think, what we do, what we concentrate upon, or let into our lives, isn't really important. It is out of our hands. 

Is this a bad boy? What's the story? 

And in a way this is true if you hand over your power to "his" story, and don't think for yourself. But, history is largely made up of people's stories, and these "tellings" (spells) are creative. They have the power to create positively, or negatively which impacts both personal reality and the reality of the world. 

Even if you just think of it on this simple level . . . have you ever walked into a room of angry or sad people and felt it? How did it make you feel? Inspired? Did it give you energy, or did it bring you down? I think we all know this, we would rather walk into a room with people who were happy, or hopeful. What we experience influences our actions, how much energy we have, and a whole host of other things. 

Why are people more likely to finish their race when people are rooting for them? Why is it harder when people are telling you that they expect you to fail and you're a looser? What is in our environment, and therefore too, what we choose to bring into our environments influences us, changes our histories, changes our worlds. So, you are in fact a powerful creator when you are conscious of this, when you are a conscious creator. We are the movers and shakers.

A phoenix, related to the benu bird of ancient Egypt who cried out (spoke the spell, the word) and creation came into existence

Spell didn't come into usage as a term for magic spells, a "set of words with supposed magical or occult powers, incantation, charm" until the 1570's, but undoubtedly the notion was still there before this time. When a person preforms / casts a spell they are trying to affect reality. They want to change the story in a take charge kind of way. Whatever you say about these magicians, they know that they are responsible in very significant ways for what "reality" they experience. 

In biblical Hebrew kashaph means, "to practice sorcery, sorcerer, sorceress", from a primitive root meaning properly "to whisper a spell". 

Pharaoh then summoned wise men [chakam] and sorcerers [kashaph], and the Egyptian magicians[chartom] also did the same things by their secret arts [lahat]. Exodus 7:11

The Children's Bible, Western Publishing Company, Inc. pp 108-109, photo by Julie O.

What else is this word kashaph (sorcerer) / whisperer reminiscent off? It is like the snake in the Garden of Eden, the nachash, the word nachash coming from the sound a snake makes. A snake is a "hisser (kshhhh, chash)." Nachash also has the meaning of "practice divination, enchanter." In this case the snake was an enchanter / bewitcher / speller. The snake cunningly whispered to Eve hiss story and changed the history of mankind, i.e., the human / man (ha adam), the people whom God had created.

For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil  Genesis 3:5

Lahat, above [Exodus 7:11], is translated as "magic arts", or "enchantments," and has the literal meaning of "a flame, flaming" It is interestingly the same word used to describe the "flaming whirling sword", the haphak [to turn] cherub [sword] which was used to guard the way to the tree of life along with the kerub [cherubim], after Adam and Eve were cast out.

After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24

Shaddowscapes Tarot Deck, Two of Swords: stalemate, an impasse, difficult decisions, avoidance, weighing options

So, these cherubim, i.e., "swords [cherub] of God (?)," "messengers [angels] who are like swords [cherub], or who smite down [charab] for God (?)," they guard the way to the tree of life with a flaming [lahat], i.e., "enchanted" turning sword. And the kapash [spell whispers, sorcerers] of Egypt, also did their magic by certain "flaming [lahat]," enchantments, when they copied the tricks Aaron was preforming by the power of YHWH, who was finally the greater / better speller. 

They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.  Exodus 7:12

And notice this, chartom is translated as "magician," but actually means "engraver, writer". How interesting, the engravers, i.e., carvers of the hieroglyphs were thought of as magicians. They must have been pretty good spellers too.

Hieroglyphics is the name given to the writings of the ancient Egyptians by the Greeks, from hieros "sacred, filled with the divine, holy" + glyphe "carving".  The Egyptians themselves called their writing mdju netjer "words of the gods."

The ancient Egyptians believed that writing was invented by the god Thoth, and called their hieroglyphic script "mdju netjer" ("words of the gods"). The word hieroglyph comes from the Greek hieros (sacred) plus glypho (inscriptions) and was first used by Clement of Alexandria. https://www.omniglot.com/writing/egyptian.htm

Weighing of the Heart Ceremony [detail], Thoth "Lord of Divine Words", i.e., writing, recording the outcome

Its most important function was to provide a means by which certain concepts or events could be brought into existence. The Egyptians believed that if something were committed to writing it could be repeatedly "made to happen" by means of magic. Egyptologist Rosalie David https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ancient.eu/amp/1-15434/ 

So, for the Egyptians their writings were literally spells. And the hieroglyphic system lended itself well to this kind of spelling. It was a more holistic type of written communication than written English, or maybe we could say, it incorporated more right-brained (nonverbal, feelings, intuition, visualization) features along with the left-brained (verbal, logical, linear) than English does. For one thing, English uses the Roman alphabet which is more evolved and, therefore, removed from the pictorial meanings behind the letters, or the pictograms they evolved from. The letters we use in English can seem to be arbitrary in shape. We learn the names and sounds of the letters and construct words, and the words can then create pictures in our minds, but the symbols themselves are not usually associated with objects or animals. They are simply letters that represent different sounds of the spoken language [however there is a great amount of history written / encoded etymologically in English which is very magical, and with our black mirrors (smartphones), it's never been easier to access this magic].

Mdju netjer (hieroglyphic writing) was both pictorial (a picture says a thousand words) and phonetic. Phonograms, logograms, and ideograms made up the basis for hieroglyphic script. 

Sometimes the symbols / pictures were used to represent one, two or even three letter combinations (phonograms). In English, th, ch, sh are examples of phonograms. Other times certain symbols were used to represent a whole word or phrase (logogram), such as how we use the Arabic number symbols (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9). We say "nine" when we see the symbol "9". We can read this logographic sentence, 👁🧡 U, or the same phrase in one symbol, 🤟. 
Sometimes the symbols were meant to represent a concept (ideograms) and were used as determinatives which were not spoken, but rather gave certain extra context, or meaning to the sentence, not unlike how we use certain emojis 😀. 
Determinatives were also used to distinguish homophones (words having the same pronunciation but different meanings), such as fly [the insect 🦟] and fly [the verb 🛩], and they could also serve as word dividers (in English we often just use a blank / white space). 

Hieroglyphic script could also be written either left to right →, right to left 
←, or vertically in columns ↓, and there was a certain amount of artistic license for how the characters were arranged. 

So think about this, even when the symbols were being used to represent phonetic sounds and put together to represent spoken words (left-brained), their visual connection to certain concepts (right-brained) could not be lost. An eye looks like an eye, even if it is being used as a letter. Am👁r👁te? 

 Steele of Mennahkt, c. 1321 B.C. - Wikimedia

While the evolved scripts we have today maybe allow for greater amounts of logical precision and ease of writing, they accomplish this by sacrificing a certain depth of meaning and a more expansive intuitive type of transference of information and ideas. 

The ability to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs was lost for much of modern history, from the late 4th century A.D., until the (fortunate) discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 A.D., which eventually enabled for its possible reconstruction (. . . or at least that's the popular story, maybe other people figured it out sooner or kept the knowledge alive in secret 🤷‍♀️). Those who pondered the carvings during those years did not understand its phonetic complexity. 

It is arguable whether the ancient Greeks or Romans understood hieroglyphics. The Greeks almost certainly did not, since from their viewpoint, hieroglyphics were not phonetic signs but symbols of a more abstruse and allegorical nature. The humanist revival of the European Middle Age, although it produced a set of Italian-designed hieroglyphics, gave no further insight into the original Egyptian. https://www.britannica.com/topic/hieroglyph

Which is kind of a strange development considering many of the most renowned Greek philosophers, studied at Egyptian mystery schools. However, it is also not strange given that certain ideas taken from the Egyptians were probably not appreciated, or were considered to be threatening by the powers that were. It is an interesting question as to how much of a factor this was. Certain people suggest that persecution was present.

It is clear then that Socrates offended the Athenian government simply because he pursued the study of astronomy and probably that of geology; and that the other philosophers were persecuted for the same reason. But the study of science was a required condition to membership in the Egyptian Mystery Systems, and its purpose was the liberation of the Soul from the ten bodily fetters, and if the Greek philosophers studied the sciences, then they were fulfilling a required condition to membership in the Egyptian Mystery System. Stolen Legacy, by George G. M. James[1954], ch.3 http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/stle/stle07.htm

The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David(1787)

It is also the case that the reign of the pharaohs came to an end in 30 BC which would have contributed to the loss of the Egyptian priesthood and customs.  

The final straw, however, came when Cleopatra lost to Rome in the battle of Actium in 30BC. She was Egypt's last pharaoh and Egypt became a mere province of Rome.   

The use of hieroglyphics struggled on for several centuries, but it dwindled away to be replaced by the  Roman alphabet. Eventually, it fell into complete disuse and became a total mystery to humans. https://www.egyptabout.com/2017/01/when-did-hieroglyphics-stop.html

 And,

After the Emperor Theodsius I ordered the closure of all pagan temples throughout the Roman empire in the late 4th century AD, knowledge of the hieroglyphic script was lost https://www.omniglot.com/writing/egyptian.htm

So, it was not necessarily a complete accident, even if it was just through lack of respect for the wisdom of ancient Egypt (and unfortunate happenings such as the burning of the Library of Alexandria in Egypt in 48 BC), that the understanding of hieroglyphic writing was lost . . . for a time.

Luckily artifacts from the past are recovered through archeological study and other fortunate discoveries from time to time, and attempts to rewrite history are not always entirely successful. 

This same sort of thing occured with the Mayan codices in Mesoamerica. Only a few codices were saved from destruction, and then turned up in Europe, such as the Dresden Codex. 

The Mayans had a pictorial script as well. 

Mayan Codex written on Mesoamerican bark paper.

Their books were intentionally destroyed by the conquering Spanish, the biggest offender, Diego de Landa Caldéron, Catholic bishop of the Archdioceses of Yucatán. This was done in order to erase their history, and body of “heretical” knowledge and practices, in an attempt to control and change the story, and affect the future. 

Mural by Juan O’Gorman, Biblioteca Central de la UNAM, Mexico City 

We found a large number of books in these characters and, as they contained nothing in which were not to be seen as superstition and lies of the devil, we burned them all, which they (the Maya) regretted to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_de_Landa - Clendinnen

Oh how odd, who would have thought? 🤨 🙄

People attempt to change history by limiting or changing what we see. The word history comes from Old French estoire "story; chronicle, history," from Latin historia "narrative of past events, account, tale, story," from Greek historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry, an account of one's inquiries, history, record, narrative," from historein "inquire," from histōr “wise man, judge,” from PIE *wid-tor-, from root *weid- “to see.” [OE] 

So the word "history" can be traced back to the concept of the things seen and related by those wise and discerning. The seers (wid-tor-ians) of the things, tell the tales, or spell the spells. The most honest of these weid-tors (seers) being weeders of false history, but not weeders of information. It is against the spirit of inquiry (historia) to destroy people's histories. The most deceptive of the histōrs (wise men) are hissers (snakes) who use their spells in attempts to rewrite, or confuse history, and enslave the masses.

Snake in the Grass, Dr. Seuss Political Cartoon, March 24,1942

If writing is from the gods then it is no surprise that these things would resurface despite the best efforts of men to wipe them out.
Things once forbidden pop up time and again miraculously, like also, the Nag Hammadi library, a collection of of early Christian and Gnostic texts dating from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD, that were discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945. However, many of texts, found were significantly damaged and have missing words and sections.  

The ancient Egyptians themselves were not innocent of rewriting, or leaving out information in their histories as well. After the death of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten, monuments were dismantled, or hidden, and statues destroyed, and his name was even excluded from the king lists. 

These lists were often condensed, with some rulers (such as the contentious and disruptive Akhenaten, and even entire dynasties omitted from the record; they are not truly history, rather they are a form of ancestor worship, a celebration of the consistency of kingship of which the current ruler was a part. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/ancient-egypt-ap/a/ancient-egypt-an-introduction

The ancient Egyptians were so serious about their carvings and the power of the written word that they placed names inside of protective shen rings. The shen ring was a stylized loop of a rope. Shen meaning "encircle", and it represented eternal protection.

Shen

Cartouche, from French cartouche "a full charge for a pistol" (originally wrapped in paper thus resembling the shape of the cartouche), is the name given to these oblong shen rings that enclose names. 

Why should the name be treated this way? Perhaps because writing is a form of magic, or a magical formula, and it’s not wise to just write a name, spell it, put it out there unprotected. Names have power. A name defines a person. When a name is wrapped in the shen it is a name defined, loaded and locked for protection. 

Cartouche of Ramses II at Tanis, 3655 BC

There is a tradition of the names of gods /the divine, and /or demons not being named, or their names not being spoken, and also of knowers of names having certain powers over others [The Name of Ra]. Words are spells. Sometimes the spell is broken by not spelling it out even though it is known who is being referred to. Such as in the Old Testament The Name of God is written with the letters Yōd Hē Vov Hē, YHVH, or YHWH, But we don’t have the pronunciation, it was lost from history by the 3rd century BC. It is often assumed to be Yahweh, but is usually translated as The LORD, i.e., Adonai. And sometimes, simply, HaShem "The Name"(Interesting how in ancient Egypt names were written in shen rings, and as a hieroglyph were used for the word "name", and in Hebrew shem means name).

There is the idea that there are certain dangers, problems or powers associated with the writing and speaking of names. So, in both the spelling (writing out), and spelling (telling) of names. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the fact that what proceeds out of a person’s mouth, or how they read a word imposes their subjective understanding upon that person or concept. So it could be disrespectful for a uneducated or unenlightened individual to dare to define a divine being. They would be imposing their own history / herstory. Or, who would want to accidentally summon a demon by speaking its name? How dare a mere mortal speak The Name? Who knows if they are a good speller? 

Rabbinical Judaism teaches that the name [Yōd Hē Vov Hē] is forbidden to all except the High Priest, who should only speak it in the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism#YHWH

If anyone is a good speller it is the God of the universe, the most powerful magician of all. Magician is ultimately from Old Persian magush, which is possibly from PIE *mahg- "to be able; have power,"

The effectiveness of spell is based upon the powers of the magician. There is the magic of an illusionist, black magic, white magic, supernatural magic, alchemical magic, etc. However the proof is in the results. Without ability that produces real results, the "magician" is only a charlatan, i.e., a babbler, a quack. Just like a god that doesn’t produce any actual results is an idol due to this idleness, i.e., idol-ness.

The God of the universe was not idle. A most powerful spell was spoken and the whole of creation came into being, the One thing. Word. Logos. Om. Tao. Ma'at. Asha . . .

Painting by Catherine O. / photo Julie O. / chthonickore

The rest is history.

Movers and Shakers

We are the music-makers, 

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;

World-loosers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world forever, it seems.

-Ode, Arthur O'Shaunghnessy 1844-1881

When things move or are moved they are not at rest. They are disturbed. Move is ultimately from Latin movere "move, set in motion; remove;  disturb". The one who is doing the moving can be viewed positively, as in, the prime mover, creator of light and everything good, but often movers are given negative connotation because of the discomfort that often accompanies change and growth. Movement brings about darkness and discomfort. The experience of adversity seems evil rather than pleasant. However, it is the experience of adversity, which when experienced, often ends up bringing about a greater good than if it had not been experienced at all. It is like the dawn of a new day which only comes after the night.

 The night moves us. Difficulty can move us in the right direction.

I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law. . . . Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I keep your word. . . It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. Psalms 119:55, 67, 71

    Lilith, By LeOstrich

Lilith/Lillit is a Hebew name for the first wife of Adam in Jewish folklore, from the Hebrew layil/lel/laylah meaning "night", and possibly also connected to Akkadian lilitu meaning "of the night". The night, however, can seem to be a bringer of ill. Ill is from Old Norse illr "ill, bad"(of unknown origin) before the sense of "sick, unhealthy, unwell" which was first recorded in the mid 15c. Before that, from c.1200 it meant "morally evil", also "malevolent, hurtful, unfortunate, difficult." This is actually not too much unlike how the night and darkness is often described in the bible. Perhaps, then, it is not far fetched to suppose that the word illr might have come from a word meaning night, darkness or Lilith, even. 

  Lilith, John Collier, 1892, The Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport, England

Witch is from Old English wicce "female magician, sorceress", feminine form of wicca "sorcerer, wizard, man who practices witchcraft or magic", from wiccian "to practice witchcraft"(Low German wikken, wicken "to use witchcraft," wikker, wicker "soothsayer")

Witches practice wicked witchcraft. And what is wicked? To cause movement? Witches are traditionally the ones shown stirring the cauldron. 

    Witch at Couldron, Gustaf Tenggren, 1937

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. - Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1, William Shakespeare

Is it the stirring of the pot that is the cause of the toil and trouble?

Sorcerer is from sorcer, from Old French sorcier, from Medieval Latin sortarius "a teller of fortunes by lot; sorcerer", literally "one who influences fate or fortune", from Latin sors(genitive sortis) "lot, fate, fortune, destiny", also the origin of sort, from sortem(nominative sors) with the additional meanings "share, portion; rank, category; sex, class, oracular response, prophesy." A sorcerer is one who sorts things out, looks at the signs, categorizes, and passes on the information of what is seen in the stars, the stones, glass, and lots. They don't let it alone. They stir the pot. 

    Sorcereing Sorting Hat at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft & Wizardy, Harry Potter

Wicca is Old English masculine noun meaning "male witch, wizard, sorcerer, soothsayer, astrologer, magician", from which we get the word witch, Old English feminine form of wicca being wicce. Its origin possibly being ultimately from PIE *weg- (2) "to be strong, be lively"(cognate with Latin vigil "watchful, awake" and vigere "to be lively, thrive", this would give it the same root as wake which is a merger of Old English wacan "to become awake, arise, be born, originate" and Old English wacian "to be or remain awake", both from Proto-Germanic *waken. So the wizards and witches would be the ones who are vigilant and awake, they are woke, perhaps to the signs and omens, or maybe also, ones who wake or call up the spirits.

    The Magic Circle, John Williams Waterhouse, 1886, London

In Hebrew nachash has the meaning "a serpent", a word naming the creature from its hiss. The snake is a hisser or whisperer(Old English hwisprian), as in this passage

Now the serpent(nachash, i.e., hisser) was more subtle(arum "crafty, shrewd, sensible") than any other wild creature that YHWH Elohim had made.  Genesis 3:1

Nachash also has the meaning "practice divination, divined, observe signs, enchanter, learn by experience, diligently observe", and also "omen, omens", from the same primitive root, to hiss, ie, whisper a spell.

So this particular word for snake in Hebrew is used for and associated with those who we would call sorcerers or witches. The two groups are both whisperers, and they are both associated with shrewd, cunning, or sly behavior as well. Furthermore, the work of the nachash brought about the eating of the fruit in the garden of Eden, and was the cause of movement, i.e. the fall, and the bringing of the night.

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

Weird is from a Proto-Germanic root and words like the Old Norse urdr "fate", from PIE *wert-"to turn, to wind", from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend." Like those spinners of fate, the weird sisters, the three fates or, Norns, guardians of the Well of Urdr/Urd(Wyrd / Weird), Urdarbrunner, the Well of Fate. Urd is derived from the past tense of verda "to be"("that which became"). The three norns are Urdr, Verdandi present tense("that which is happening"), and Skuld is from skulla ("need/ought to be/shall be").

   A Golden Thread(detail), John Melhuish Strudwick, 1885

Wag is from Proto-Germanic *wag-, probably from PIE root *wegh "to move about". Related to weigh, which is from Old English wegan, past tense waeg "find the weight of, measure; have weight; lift, carry, support, sustain, bear; move". Wiggle is ultimately from the same root *wegh.

Someone who is awake or watching, i.e., lively(*weg-); a watcher, is someone who is either in motion, or ready to move(*wegh); someone with the weight/gravitas to set things in motion and accomplish, i.e., a mover. . . or a guardian.

Medusa from Greek Medousa, literally "guardian," has serpent(nachash) hair that wiggles. In certain traditions it is said that the poisonous snakes(vipers) of the desert sprung up from drops of her blood, and she was a guard at the West gate of Death.

    Medusa, Lynnette Shelley, 2012

Wadjet(also known as Uto/Buto, Greek) the "green/papyrus colored one"(from wadj "green"), who was the Egyptian goddess represented by the Uraeus(Gk.), iraret, jr't transliterated from Egyptian hieroglyphs, was the rearing cobra, "the raised up one / one who rears up". Ir is "eye" in Egyptian, so maybe we could say the goddess who was called the Eye of Ra, was a watcher, i.e., an eye, the opened or raised eye of Ra, or the witch/nachash/serpent of Ra.

   Nekhebet, Wadjet, Uraeus Pendant - National Geographic

Green is the color of growth and movement. The green skinned god of death and re-birth, Osiris, was also an agricultural god, as in a plant which dies, is harvested and broken on a threshing floor, and then the seed is planted, watered, and resurrected to new life, or transformed into spirits, as is associated with Bacchus / Dionysus, god of the harvest and wine making, and the Green Man and stories such as John Barleycorn of whom they sing, 

There was three kings into the east, Three kings both great and high, And they hae sworn a solemn oath John Barleycorn must die. -Robert Burns version, 1782

In Hebrew ir/irin is not "eye" as in Egyptian, but "watcher", from ur/uwr/oor "awake, rouse oneself, stir", called "holy ones" in the book of Daniel 4:13, 17. Still the connection is there however, eyes are watchers and when the watchers are open(raised) the person stirs.

Watch (v.) from Old English waeccan "keep watch, be awake", from Proto Germanic *wakjan from PIE *weg- (2) "be strong, lively", essentially the same  as Old English wacian "be or remain awake". So we might say a watcher is a raised/open eye associated with serpents(nachash) which are wriggling writhers, witches(wicce/wicca) stirrers of the pot, and Wadjet(eye of Ra).

One of the Hebrew words for "donkey" is chamor, from chamar "daub, befoul, be red, trouble". The troubled(chamar) person, is the person who is stirred, or agitated to the point of bubbling/boiling. This troubling is the kind of adversity that can make one turn away from harm as in the story of Balaam and his donkey. Donkeys(chamor) tend to anger, or make one red(chamar) in the face because of their stubbornness. 

Chamar is also "ferment, boil or foam up, leaven". The trouble causes brewing, bubbling, and agitation, or stirring of the pot. Like Balaam's donkey(athon "female donkey", probably from ethan "permanent, firm, enduring") who caused trouble for him and saved his life. Balaam, what an ass!

   Balaam and the Angel, Gustav Jaeger, 1836

But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary(satan). Now he[Balaam] was riding on the donkey(athon), and his two servants with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get back on the road. . . 

Then the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey(athon), which you have always ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No" he said. Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes[raised his eyes, like those who see and caused him to be awakened] and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword(chereb from "desolate, dry, waste") drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times?I have come here to oppose(satan) you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey(athon) saw me and turned away these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have let her live. Numbers 22:22-23, 31-33

Another Hebew word for donkey, ayir, like ir/irin, is related to ur "awake, rouse oneself, lifted, raise, stir"(supposedly from the notion of lifting/raising and carrying burdens). Donkeys are movers. They are even movers fit to be the vehicle or carrier(from PIE*wegh- "to go, transport in a vehicle", Old English wegan "to carry") of salvation. 

    Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, Pietro Lorenzetti, 1320

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey(chamor), on a colt(ayir) the foal(ben "son") of a donkey(athon). Zechariah 9:9

So Jesus enters humbly, riding on a donkey, but donkeys are movers, and movement often brings trouble, and Jesus was indeed trouble!

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace(eirene) to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34

Why not peace? First change brings about trouble and is uncomfortable. AFTER transformation comes peace. 

Fermentation(chamar[see above]) is the fifth(chamash, from chamesh "five") operation in the Alchemy of Transformation. It is the death(putrification) and rebirth(spiritualization) phase. For example, spirits are not made but through, first, the decomposition of certain organic material in the substance, i.e., the wine, barley, etc. With the change, and the bubbling fermentation, some things are lost, but something else new, and magical is created due to this loss.

    The Devil's Wine - Bubbles from Rose Champagne, by Gaetan Lee, wikipedia:champagne

There appear to be both holy watchers, and rebellious or fallen watchers traditionally  The holy/good ones we call angels, i.e., messengers, and the fallen angels we call demons, from Latin daemon "spirit", from Greek daimon "deity, divine power; lesser god; guiding spirit, tutelary deity". 

Egregoroi/Grigori "Watchers" in Greek(Ir/Iren in Aramaic), are guardians, from Greek gregoros "to be awake, watchful, alert, vigilant", from eger/egeiro "to waken, rise up, stir", from PIE root *ger "to be awake"(Sanskrit cognate jagarti "he is awake"). 

   Les Anges Dechus(The Fallen Angels), Francois B. Cibot, 1833

Perhaps this is related to the English word jog, from the 1540's meaning "to shake up and down", of uncertain origin they say. The German jager/yeager is "hunter, huntsman", from jagen "to hunt", From Old High German Old jagon, related to Old Norse jaga "to drive, to move to and fro". Hunters are definitely awake, alert and vigilant.

Guardians / Watchers of the sky are the four stars which bring the seasons, and the seasons mean movement and change, Alderbran(vernal equinox), Regulus(summer solstice), Antares(autumnal equinox), Fomalhaut(winter solstice). Antares is the alpha star in Scorpio, "watcher of the west"[like Medusa?]. The movement to autumn is the cause of the Fall, and the change from light to darkness. 

Fomalhaut is the bright watcher(ir) that appears at the winter solstice, in the darkness of the night. . . and it actually looks like an eye/ir(jrt[eye] in Ancient Egyptian). Erie, huh?

   Fomalhaut debris ring, NASA/Hubble Telescope

Therefore keep watch(gregorite) because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-- whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. Mark 13:35

Don't be afraid of movement, the night, or darkness. Salvation comes riding in upon trouble. Don't deny him out fear like Peter. He will see you through. . . 

"This will feel a little weird." -Morpheus, The Matrix, 1999