The Emperor — IV

Spolia Tarot - artwork by Jen May,design by Tara Romeo

"While the Empress creates through fecundity, the Emperor creates through control. He needs order and structure. He has his empire, and he makes sure that it runs as expected." - Jessa Crispin

Emperor, is from Old French empereor, from Latin imperatorum(nominative imperator) "commander, emperor," from imperare meaning "to command". 

The Emperor represents such concepts as stability, structure, authority, control, discipline, father-figure, focus, and logic. It is the forth trump (IV) of the Major Arcana. Fours are about stability. They build, like the tetriminos in the game of Tetris. 

The Seven Tetriminos - Tetris

In Greek tetras has the meaning "group of four, number four." The Greek word is said to be from PIE root *kwetwer- "four".

When a person is given quarter, they are given a place to stay [perhaps even a solid structure with four corners]. When a person is drawn and quartered they are cut apart. The solid structure is rent asunder. 

Vitruvian Man - Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1490

In Latin quadrus is "a square"(square also from PIE *kwetwer-). A square is a four cornered figure. Solid. But perhaps with a tendency towards rigidity. A person can be a "square" when they are perceived as maintaining a rigid structure to their life at the expense of having fun. 

The one who commands can have a serious air. But being entrusted with the wellbeing of others is a weighty responsibility when taken seriously. There is a "the first will be last,  and the last will be first" moral obligation to being in charge, like the commander of a ship who must insure everyone's safety before their own.

Commander is from Old French commandare"to order, enjoin, entrust," from Vulgar Latin *commandare, from Latin commendare "to recommend, entrust to."  When something is entrusted to another, it is said to be in their hands. A good commander[com + mandare (lit. "give to the hand")]  has things well in hand(Latin manus). 

Tarot de Marsille

Stability, Dominance, Power, Responsibility, Rationalism, Support, Government, Leadership, Order

The Emperor is shown with a scepter in his hand as a symbol of his sovereign power and authority. This symbolic nature of the staff can be found from the earliest periods of civilization, in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The gods and rulers are often depicted holding some kind of scepter or staff. This tradition can be found in Ancient Greece and into Roman times as well.

(1.)Stone Stele of Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, from Nimrud, Northermn Iraq c. 883-859 BCE, The British Museum (2.)The god Osiris holding crook and flail scepters, detail of a frieze on a wall in tomb of Nefertari c. 1295-1255 BCE (3.) The god Hades holdingbird headed staff, Apulian Red Figure, Amphora, attributed to the Patera Painter c. 340-330 BCE, British Museum (4.)Statue of Jupiter in the Hermitage, 1st century CE, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg 

Damuzid / Damuzi / Tammuz (equated with Greek Adōnis, from Phoenician don "lord," probably originally "ruler," from base a-d-n "to judge, rule"OE) was a Sumerian fertility/agricultural god,

Tammuz, alabaster relief from Ashur, c. 1500 BCE, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Britannica

known as "Dumuzi sipad, 'Dumuzi the Shepherd' [NWE]," who was consort to the goddess Innana / Ishtar. 

In addition to being the god of shepherds, Damuzid was also an agricultural deity associated with the growth of plants. Ancient Eastern peoples associated Damuzid with the springtime, when the land was fertile and abundant, but, during the summer months, when the land was dry and barren, it was thought that Dumuzid had "died". During the month of Damuzid, which fell in the middle of summer, people all across Sumer would mourn over his death. Damuzid-worship, wikipedia

An emperor, the ruler/lord(adon), is like a shepherd who protects his flocks. The job comes not only with great authority, but with immense and weighty responsibility as well. 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock. John 10:10-11, BSB

The sun is a kind of shepherd of the earth and has been personified and worshiped throughout human history. The sun is lord of the day and year. The path of the sun is marked and celebrated throughout the course of the year with the quarter and cross quarter days. 

Earth's seasons caused by tilt of axis with respect to its orbit around the sun. kudzuacres.com

Winter solstice, December 21st in the northern hemisphere, is one quarter marker of the year and marks the darkest day of the year, that is the shortest daylight hours and longest night, but, by this very fact, it also heralds the returning of the light(lengthening of the days) at the same time. December 25th marks the day the sun is "reborn" after its (sol's) + stice "stand still". The opposite occurs at the summer solstice, when the god representing the sun is cut down at the hight of his strength, like Tammuz who was found dressed in rich clothing and sitting on the throne, instead of mourning his wife Inanna, so he was chosen to take her place in the underworld. 

They followed her to the great apple tree in the plain of Kulaba. There was Damuzid clothed in a magnificent garment and seated magnificently on a throne. The demons seized him there by his thighs. The seven of them poured the milk from his churns. The seven of them shook their heads like ....... They would not let the shepherd play the pipe and flute before her (?).  Innana's Decent to the nether world

Then begins the six month journey, and fall, into the underworld until winter solstice, the returning of the light, and the cycle of life(growth), death(harvest), rebirth(planting) continues. The Sun and Earth are in a delicate balance to create this ongoing fertile and abundant process of life together. It is a marriage;  the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor(sun) creates and maintains a place/space which allows and enables life to flourish upon the body of the mother(earth). 

Without the stable solid structure that the emperor provides through his command, the empire ceases to exist. However, within the confines of his empire is a safe enclosure; quarter, if he is a good shepherd, and it can be a paradise. . . . otherwise one is lost in (all that) space.

Slocan, BC, Dec. 2021- photo by TJR

Happy Solstice!

Because I'm Happy!

    Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Jaconde, La Gioconda), 1503-as late as 1516

Why is she smiling like that? Mysterious, like, "I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine in a bag. . . ," almost… jocund. But then again, that's her name after marrying Francesco del Giocando, i.e., Lisa (Gherardini) del Giocando. That's sort of funny, kind of like a joke, from Latin iocus. And jocund from Late Latin iocundus, variant of iucundus "pleasant, delightful, helpful." We know that humor is pleasant and helpful. In fact it is good for health. But something tells me its more than that. Something is funny, but you're not in on it. Do you want to be in on it? Come here, I'll whisper in your ear . . .

Here is the ancient Egyptian god of the annual inundation of the Nile. He is a blue god. But he wasn't "blue" sad, he was Hapi.

Hapi / Hap / Hep was the bringer of good things, his annual appearance was indeed fortunate. This annual flooding was said to be the Arrival of Hapi, because the flooding deposited silt, and was the cause of fertility of the Nile delta region. His blue skin was representative of water. Water is necessary for life, not only for drinking, but also for the survival of game and fish, and growing of crops. Hapi was known as, Lord of the fishes and birds of the marshes.

The ancient Egyptian calendar during the Middle Kingdom was based on the heliacal rising of Sirius (Sopdet in ancient Egyptian) which heralded the Arrival of Hapi and the agricultural new year. At this time, July, Sirius is a morning star. At our new year, the beginning of January, is when Sirius rises as an evening star. From May to its rising in July, a period of 70 days, Sirius is not visible (because it is out during the day/conjunct the sun).

Happy first had the meaning of "lucky, favored by fortune, prosperous," in the sense of "turning out well" from hap "chance, a person's luck, fortune, fate." So maybe in this way someone might not appear to be very happy or lucky, like Andy, in the Shawshank Redemption when he is crawling through the sewage pipe, puking his guts out, after being in prison for 19 years. He certainly wasn't happy when he was in prison being raped and abused, but he was planing something from the very start. . . which sometimes made him glad. And also the little victories, like being out in the sun and getting to see his fellow inmates drink a beer.

    Andy Dufresne(Tim Robbins), Shawshank Redemption, 1994

Happy comes from a sense of being blessed (beatitude) or lucky, which is said to be "probably from early Middle Dutch luc, shortening of gheluc "happiness, good fortune" a word of unknown origin[OE]." Luc is similar in sound and has certain correspondence in concept, to PIE root *leuk- "light, brightness" (such as a happy person may be bright eyed, and a fortunate person has the light shining upon them), so perhaps there is a connection with the word light which is from Proto-Germanic *leukhtam (from PIE root *leuk-). The light shining upon a person can be said to be good luck, or God's light, perhaps God luc (good fortune), or *gheu(e) "to call, invoke" luc "happiness," 

"You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God's favor] will shine upon your ways. Job 22:28 [ABT]

But is being blessed and lucky always make you happy? Does it always feel light? or like the light? 

People often feel blessed when things are going their way. They may feel "happy"as in, content, from Latin contentus "contained, satisfied." Or they may be "happy" in the sense of joy, felicity, merriment and mirth, when celebrating good things and blessings. It can be downright jolly "festive, merry," from Old French jolif "festive, merry, amorous, pretty," (of uncertain origin). Yule / Jol / Jul, is the turning of the "wheel" hjól in Old Norse, from the dark part of the year to the returning light. It is the completion (or contentus, satisfaction) of the year. Yule is from Old English geol (cognate with Anglo-Saxon giuli and Old Norse jól ).  We would probably say that Yuletide is the jolliest time of the year. Jolly are the celebrations and traditions relating to Odin called Jólnir "the Yule One," Santa Claus, Dionysus and the winter solstice. However, when you are making merry you are not making happy, lets face it. You often pay the price in the morning. Even if you don't go so far as to get pissed. . . or drink and piss at the same time, like baby Bacchus here who is drinking out of a literal fiasco, maybe you ate too much rich food, or danced a lot and have sore feet, etc. When you are feeling happy in this world you are set for a fall. 

    Guido Reni, Dinking Bacchus(Dionysus), c 1623

Christmas, the birth of Emanuel, is merry, but Jesus still had to suffer and die, so maybe it is a little bit myrrh-y in this manner. Easter is happy because the suffering is past. Its morning! The day of resurrection. But, Christ, what suffering he had to get to the glory of Easter! Christmas was "when half spent was the night." So it was blessed/happy in that way, the event was occurring which would bring about the morning (and it was a morning in its own way), but it was in its very early infant stage. The light part of the day does not bring the morning. It is only when it is night that --> then the morning comes.

This is Mary Magdalene. She doesn't look very happy does she? There in the dark resting her head on a skull, Golgotha. But we might say she is indeed happy/blessed.

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted (parakaleo). Matthew 5:4 

Happy are those who are morn-ing?

   Giacomo Galli, The Penitent Mary Magdalene, 1620-1640 Baroque

Might the one who is mourning be waiting with faith for, or placing their hope in the dawn? So in that way a mourner is morn-ing, or waiting for the morn. Why should this make one happy? This merry/myrrhy/happy is the light in the dark, but it doesn't necessarily feel merry or happy. It's more like a secret, secret knowledge… sunshine in a bag, redemption is at hand. When one is happy already, it is already day, then you have your reward. 

There is no longer movement to darkness once you have your portion and your piece (peace), i.e., heaven. So choose wisely, make sure your portion is sufficient and is your heaven before settling for it. If you haven't chosen your portion yet, then expect to be moving through night to reach it. That's why those who mourn are blessed. As surely as the sun rises each day, when you are in darkness the dawn will come and bring the light of the new day.

This Archaic Period Kore has half her face smashed off why is she happy? She is touching her heart, that is where the truth lies. In this world there is suffering. We are abused and broken. We grow old and die. But that is not the end of our story.

    Lady of Auxerre, Archaic Kore, c 630 BC, Louvre

Why are we here? What were we made for? Are we really nothing and dust, fit and deserving of decay? If so, what of the flame inside of us which gives us life that was made in the darkness when it was hidden and sprang forth like the dawn? "Yehi owr", 

And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darknes. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:3-5

Just to be created (means you are a creature) by the very nature of that fact means to be less than God, to be less is a lack of perfection and we might say, sin. And of those created, creatures, i.e., those in matter are most "dirty," being made from the adamah "ground, earth". However, this matter far from being just dirt is part of our being and is elevated by spirit. God did not make us to be in sin and darkness, however, it was part of the process. Until the dawn you are not fully created (in the prayer to the Holy Spirit it states,"and they shall be created"). This process is day, night, morning: one cycle / day (yom in Hebrew). It is the miracle of life. Adam (clay of the earth, humus) + Eve / Havvah (mother of the living, anima) = human animal. Created in the day, fell into darkness, and were redeemed in the morning. That is the wonder of creation. And the wonder of God incarnate.

 A Human Child Created in Darkness, Yet to See the Light of his First Day, photo "Ronan" from Julie O. /chthonickore (2012)

Miracle is from Latin mirari "to wonder at, marvel, be astonished," figuratively "to regard, esteem," from mirus "wonderful, astonishing, amazing".
The miracle which is this wild ride of life is a revelation, a looking in the mirror of truth. And although what is seen when it is bent back / reflected is astounding, a marvel, and sometimes shocking, we admire it. This appearance can also be the cause of joy, or bring a smile to our faces. Mirus itself comes from *smeiros, from PIE *smei- "to smile, laugh". Why? What is good about a fall? And what is humorous about seeing a distorted or imperfect reflection? 

Well, actually a lot. Think of bloopers, funhouse mirrors, or strange smartphone / computer photo filters

Funny Pictutre, Julie O./chthonickore

Laughter is born from the night. The twisted image is funny, not evil. It would only be evil to get stuck like that, to take the picture and have to look like that forever. That would be bad. However playing around is fun. Seeing someone slip and fall can be really funny also, if they don't get hurt or twist an ankle. When someone falls and is forced to climb back to the top they gain a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. When an impossible task is achieved the labor is forgotten and replaced with joy. The amount of joy and laughter is proportional to the knowledge of the experience of pain and sorrow. The night causes us to appreciate the day.

"Therefore I tell you, her sins which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:47

    Spiral staircase (Lul), Vatican Museum, Rome, design Guiseppe Momo, 1932

This looping staircase could be representative of being in time, the spiral of time; minutes to hours, hours to days, days to months, months to years, years to eons. A spiral can go on and on in endless loops. Does the staircase bring you down or does it take you up? Actually, both equally, right? What if you didn't know which direction was up? With gravity that's not a problem. Being here on earth incarnated in flesh our mortal bodies give us sufficient weight. We feel the pull downwards toward the grave and eternal darkness. We long to be lighter and more free.

In Aramaic lela, biblical Hebrew layil / lel / leyelah ל׳ל is "night," from the same root as lul לול "winding stairs." These are things that "turn, twist," "fold back," or lulay / lulaah "loop." Night has this connotation of turning (from the light or day) and looping, twisting which can be negative. Things that twist are twisted, and can also be ensnaring, or encircling, and coiled like Leviathan, from livyah "wreath, garland." Laviathan is the mighty and unstoppable serpent of the abyss.

Apep / Apophis the wreathing, twisted, garland serpent- Egyptian Middle Kingdom, World Encircler, Enemy of Ra, Earth-shaker, Evil Lizard, Serpent of Rebirth, The Great Rebel, Eater-up of Souls

Behold, the hope of man is disappointed; he is laid low even at the sight of him [Leviathan]. No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he that can stand before me [the Creator]? Who has given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. Job 41:9-11 

When God was creating the day, it was day, then things took a turn, looped, the day went to night, but then turned back to morning. That whole process was one complete day. And this did not happen just once but 7 times, the number of perfection and completeness. The night is part of the day, because of this bending back / looping. And it was good.

So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind, And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21

If the night was bad then how could it be part of the day? Or why would it be?

How would anything have endured if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? Wisdom of Solomon 11:25

In the context of the day, i.e., the loop, the night is not evil, it allows for the experience of life. Ánka in Lithuanian is "loop, ring." And the ancient Egyptian ankh is a tau (Τ τ) with a loop on top, and it means "life, living" (and also "mirror" an image bent back / reflected).

However, in another sense the turning / looping (ankh), "life" is also the cause of death. That is, being fixed on the cross (stauros in Greek) of matter, or being born into matter through a mater, "mother" (in Latin), is what then causes the experience of change and death and the experience of night and darkness as evil.  Like all descendants of the primordial woman Eve, the mother of the living, who's name was given as Chavvah, meaning "life." A similar symbol to the loop on a cross, is a circle on a cross. It is the symbol used to represent "woman" and the planet Venus, the planet named after the goddess of love and desire. This gives new meaning to the idea of embracing one's cross.

Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  Luke 9:23 [NIV]

    Female / Woman / Ankh / Venus

This loop or cycle is life, but it is also true that life is the leading cause of death. There is always the danger of creation falling into night and staying there, when spirit incarnates in matter. If the loop is not completed, when day turns to night then there is eternal darkness, but if day turns to night, then back to morning there is one complete cycle or day (yom in Hebrew). 

When the light came into being it was then that darkness became darkness or evil in opposition to the light. This might make sense of why this sound / word "ankh", which is the name of a symbol in the shape of a thing curved or bent back, and has the meaning life in ancient Egypt, came to mean death in other cultures. The curving / bending back is not only the pattern of life, but also the reason for the experience of death. In Welsh angau (from angheu --> *ankow --> *ankus) and Breton (Celtic) ankou is "death," and is personified as the figure Ankou, a cloaked skeletal figure with scythe. Proto Indo-European root *ang / *ank is said to have the meaning "to bend," and things bent can be, well . . .  bent or crooked,  ankylos ("bent, crooked") in Greek, or evil. 

Is night evil? When the light was created it was called good, however, the birth of the light automatically set up its source for vilification. The light is the cause of the darkness being viewed as evil. However, the day or the light, embraced the darkness, and, in Wisdom, redeemed it with this cycle or turning / looping, day by day. The mother, the infinite sea of potential, rather than being condemned for not being the light, is redeemed by the light. Just as the Christ, was born from a woman and is the savior of all creation. In the beginning the light emerged from the dark waters of infinite potential. 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3

And then the light was separated from the darkness, but the darkness was not called evil. God's Wisdom is revealed by this reflecting or turning from the dark to light. 

For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things … For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail. Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-30

When the light loops it turns to night, so it is a fall, but when the dark loops it turns to day. The fall of the night brings the glory of morning. And because of this happy little trick, the night is not evil.

The fall was not an eternal fall or night, rather it was a loop into matter. The spiritual falls into to the flesh, and is raised again to the spiritual. The mother provides the flesh of man (adam) as matter-earth (adamah), and the mother grows the child in her womb, but the mother is the mother of the living (Chavvah / Eve), those with the spirit / breath of life (ankh). It was this living spirit that in innocence ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, knowing that only good comes from God, so all was good, and the fruit was good, so they ate it. And a good did come from it, a greater good than would have been, . . . however, first it brought the night, then the new day.

    Michelangelo, Downfall of Adam and Eve and their Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512

The words for night, naked and dead actually are more closely related in English than they appear to be. Night is from Old English niht "dark part of the day; night; darkness," from Proto-Germanic *nahts- "night, darkness"(source also of Dutch nacht, German Nacht, Old Norse natt), from PIE *nekwt- "night"(shared by Greek nyx / nux νύξ and Latin nox, noctis "night.") 

So, night is from *nekwt- which is like the word "naked." Naked is from Old English nacod "nude, bare, empty," also "not fully clothed," from a root shared by Old High German nackot, German nackt, which is a lot like nacht "night." Night is "dark" *neg-, in the sense of the part of the day which is a turning away from the light, and figuratively this turning from the light can mean "going toward wickedness or evil." Nakedness is generally given a negative connotation and thought to be naughty which sounds like noctis. And the naughty night and darkness is said to be evil like death.

Nekus / nekys νέκυς in Ancient Greek is "dead body, corpse, what lacks life." The dead body is nekus, or might we say naked? Nekros (from nekys) is "dead, lifeless, dead body"(as in necropolis, necromancy), from PIE *nek- "death, natural death". *Nek- is that which has gone to *neg- "darkness, night" and… become naked / neked (deathed)? 

Doves are innocent and "naked" like babies, but serpents are wise "naked" as in, smooth and shrewd (Matthew 10:16). In Latin nex, genitive necis is "violent death, murder," nocere is "to harm, hurt." The serpent (s-nek) in the garden was called crafty / naked (arom) and was said to be a murderer (necis) who intended to harm (nocere). 

The snake in the garden was arum, very crafty and smooth. Adam and Eve were arom, naked smooth. They were naked and not ashamed in paradise, like children spiritually. They were innocent (from not + nocere). They had not yet experienced the fall or decent into the spiral (lul) of time which they would have to climb in oder to reach the day again. Looping can lull us to sleep like a lullaby in the endless circles of time.

"Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light." Ephesians 5:14

ḫ', "sunrise", "rejoice" Hieroglyph

We have hope in the perfect day, i.e, eternal recreation (recreation because the completing work of creation is finished and what is left is to enjoy it). 

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

Adam and Eve were naked children, they had not experienced the night or death. It was day, and was good like paradise, but day does not consist only of day. Day always goes to night. If going to the night is evil or fearful one is still a child and not an adult. If Adam and Eve were already spiritual adults they would not have feared darkness. They needed a new day in which they would be perfected and become spiritual adults. But how do you leave one day to reach the new day without first going into night? Becoming an adult involves experiencing the pain involved with gaining the knowledge of adversity, and experiencing the "death" of the child-you. Sad . . . but joyful too.

O felix culpa quae talem et tantum meruit habere redemptorem. 

Oh happy / lucky / blessed fault / fall that merited such and so great a redeemer. - Exultet of the Easter Vigil

It is interesting, funny even, that the bringer of the life of the new day is also the bringer of death / change, and that death is actually a victory. Like how Jesus stuck it to the devil by dying. The devil thought he had him. How can suffering and death and being nailed to a cross be good?

"Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree." Galatians 3:13

    Christ on the Cross with Mary Magdalene[Good Friday], Luca Signorelli, c. 1490 

But then, Christ razed hell, rose from the dead, and opened the gates of heaven to everyone. True freedom made possible because of the fall. Lol. You are so dumb, Satan, you are really dumb!

The bringer of new life is also the bringer of death. . . that is, death to the old life. Like a child who becomes an adult, we might say there is a violent end (necis) to the child, it is transformed into the mature body and completely changed. Who gets asked if they want to go through puberty and become an adult? Is it a good thing for the child to die and the adult to be born? It is debatable. Yet it is happening in any case. It happens by force of nature. It is the world we live in, the world of sin and death.

    Metamorphosis of the Monarch Butterfly(partial), Anthony Mercieca/Photo Reserchers, Inc.

If one is not yet a Christ, he / she is not truly an adult. If you are in sin and death, then you are in the night, not yet the morning. Physically Adam and Eve may have been adults in the garden of Eden, but they were children spiritually. Physically we may be adults now, but we are not innocent children spiritually. We may be children, but children with sin, not innocent. 

For although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12-14

And neither are we spiritually adults until we know good from evil and are able to practice love rather than jealousy and strife.

But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving like ordinary men? For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely men? 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

We have fallen very far. We have fallen so far that we don't trust our hearts. We have been lulled to sleep and don't know which way is up or down, we confuse black with white, day with night, we say we are clothed when we are naked, we say we are salty when we are tasteless, and the light of the world when we are darkness. How can one climb out of a pit of that magnitude? It is so deep we need a ladder or staicase out of it. How is a staircase of such magnitude made so as not to be too steep, difficult, or treacherous? How can it be done?

It is curved in a spiral. It's a lul (winding staircase) in the creation of the day. It loops. A crazy loopy solution to a problem. It's kind of miraculous, and can be funny. 

    The Well of Initiation, Inverted Tower, Quinta da Regaleria, Portugal, c. 1904-1910

What will happen to us? Doesn't everyone want to know this? Here is a secret... you already know the story. The answer is one Word; Day, night, day - one day… and it was good.

Kala the Wild

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

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

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

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

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

    Pan Pipes/Syrinx

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    nfr - nefer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Diana and Calysto 1559 Titian, national Gallery of Scotland 

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

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

    Calla Lilly, Zantedeshia aethiopica

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

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

    Nymphea cerulea- Blue Water Lily/Egyptian Lotus

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

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

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

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

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

    The Goddess Kali standing on Lord Shiva

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

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

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

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

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

Kali seduces you to your destruction.

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

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

    Seiren, Agent of Death

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why would God come down and dwell with men?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen!