Justice — VIII

Tarot de Marseilles 

Justice, harmony, equity, virtue, honor, virginity, just reward, good intentions, well-meaning actions, advice, self-satisfaction 

The first juicy thing about Justice is that she is not always rendered as card VIII. Sometimes she is placed as card XI, switching places with Strength, which is a more modern placement. 

Traditionally, the decks like the Marsailles Tarot decks have placed the Justice card as the 8th card, and the Strength card as the 11th card in the Major Arcana. The images remained pretty much the same as they are today - just the numbering was different. 

Justice still sat on a throne with a sword in one hand and a pair of scales in the other, while Strength still tamed a child beast and had the semblance of an Ouroboros on top of the head.

Many conjecture that this placement was made in order to confuse people about the true placement. Naturally, with the symbolism present in the cards, Justice would correspond astrologically with Libra, and Strength with Leo. With the traditional placement, the natural order of the astrological signs in the Major Arcana was upset. However, from the numerological point of view, this placement made a lot of sense. 8 is the number of balance and therefore Justice sits just right in this situation. And therefore, it is said that this placement was done more in keeping with numerological system than the astrological system. Strength and Tarot Crds in Tarot

Without making judgment as to which placement is most just, or making argument as to which trump ought to be eight, Justice will be investigated as card VIII in keeping with the traditional arrangement.

The notion that eight is a "number of balance" is somewhat obscured in the Roman numeral numbering system. Written as VIII (5 + 3), it is not at first obvious that 8 is also 4 + 4 which is balanced. However, in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs the number eight was written with four lines above and four lines below, and so this connection is readily apparent.  Transliterated to English it is pronounced  ḫmnw [ḫamanaw]"eight"(m.), ḫmnt [ḫamanat] "eight"(f.)

eight - 8

The Ogdoad [from the ancient Greek rendering όγδοάς "the Eightfold," ḫmnyw in Egyptian] were eight primordial gods/deities worshiped at Hermopolis.

The Ogdoad of Hermopolis, from the temple of Hathor

They stand in a configuration that is representative of the number eight itself. It is a balanced look with four sets of male( frog headed) / female (snake headed) pairs. 

Being primordial they are foundational. In this respect they correspond to Ma'at the ancient Egyptian goddess / concept representing truth, justice, balance, and order with which the world was created, and was in opposition to chaos/injustice (Isfet).

Not only was Ma'at foundational in this sense as a concept, she was also literally the foundation, [she] representing the plinth (we might say "mat") which thrones were set upon. 

Osiris seated on (two goddesses), a st "seat, place," that is, a throne (st / Aset/Isis[Gk.]) placed on a plinth(maa / Ma'at)

As a determinative the plinth hieroglyph (which formed the sound maa) had the meaning "platform; podium, Maat." 

       plinth hiroglyph = phonogram maa, Maat = Maa + t (common feminine gender indication)

Maat was depicted as a woman wearing a crown with a single ostrich feather protruding from it. She is occasionally depicted as a winged goddess. Her totem was a stone platform representing the stable foundation on which order was built and the primeval mound which first emerged from the waters of Nun (chaos [*primeval waters]). Maat, Ancient Egypt online

Ma'at is the foundation (mat) of everything just like the Ogdoad, the eight.

The hearts of the deceased were weighed against the feather of Maat / truth, upon the scales in the Hall of Judgment. 

Weighing of the heart ceremony[detail], Scales of Ma'at, Papyrus from tomb of scribe Hunefer, Thebes, 19th Dynasty, c.1285 BC, British Museum

So the scales have to do with the weighing of the heart which took place following death to determine whether a person would get to continue onto the afterlife, or, be otherwise consumed by Ammit, called the second death.

The eighth astrological house corresponds to the sign of Scorpio [a fixed water sign] whose {modern day} ruler is Pluto [aka, Hades, god of the underworld, god of death and rebirth, transformation, akin to Osiris of the ancient Egyptians who oversaw the weighing of the heart, called the "Judgment of Osiris"].

The 12 Houses - We'Moon

The eighth house is described by some (generally) as the house of death [a change of state, exchange of energy (such as in literal death, the body changes state, i.e., turns back to "dust")], sex [exchange of energy], money [lended and owed; a different type of energy exchange] and taxes.

This house is about rebirth, regeneration and the transformation of energy. Joint financial matters also come under the eighth house. (To the ancients, money is a form of concentrated energy.) The financial dealings in this house do not include earned income (that would be covered by the second house), but do cover money you lend and also owe others. Prizes, gifts, inheritances, tax payments and refunds, bonuses, commissions, royalties, child support, alimony, mortgages, credit, loans, and venture capitol are the kinds of transactions ruled by the eight house. Astrology Zone, by Susan Miller

So, perhaps we could say, the house of depths and the deep in keeping with its water element. 

Death is the great equalizer.

All share a common destiny - the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them Ecclesiastes 9:2, NIV

The person who is wicked "weighs" the same as the righteous in this respect. And the rich "weigh" the same as the poor in this respect as well, "For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."Gen. 3:19 

Only later, after death, at the weighing of the heart ceremony, where justice is meted out by Ma'at, do the wicked come to a separate end than the the good/just (those whose hearts balance against the feather of Ma'at).

The Halloween Tarot (art Kippling West), by Karen Lee: Justice, fairness, equality. Achieve balance through elimination of excess baggage, ill-conceived ideas, and misdirected efforts. 

The scales have to do with equalizing. Why is it that the scales stand for justice? The two scales [i.e., the pans of the balance] connected by the beam indicate without bias the relationship between two things or quantities of things and achieve balance when the two sides weigh the same, regardless of their form, or apparent shape and size. The scales do not lie in this respect. So if we want to know how to determine equal or particular quantities of a thing we can use the scales as a tool for meting this out justly.

Justice is from

mid-12c., "the exercise of authority in vindication of a right by assigning reward or punishment;" also "quality of being fair and just; moral soundness and conformity to truth," from Old French justice "justice, legal rights, jurisdiction" (11c.), from Latin iustitia "righteousness, equity," from iustus "upright, just" (see just (adj.)).

Just (adj.) is from Latin ius "a right," especially, "a legal right, law". 

There are manmade laws, which can change, and there are laws which cannot change such as the laws of nature. One such law is known as Paschal's law / Principle. According to Paschal's law, any force applied to a confined fluid is transmitted uniformly in all directions throughout the fluid regardless of the shape of the container. This law allows for machines such as the hydraulic press. 

Liquid seeks its own level, i.e., balance

Because force is transmitted uniformly throughout a fluid, liquids generally right themselves, that is, liquids seek their own level (from Latin libella dim. of libra "balance, scale, unit of weight"). Juice is liquid. So juice is just. 

And juice is ultimately from the same Latin word, ius [as is "justice"], however it is said to be from ius meaning "broth, sauce, juice, soup." Juice is from ius. Justice is from ius. 

Juice = ius = Justice

So it seems oddly fitting that a Magic 8 Ball is filled with a liquid (juice) to tell what's up.

Magic 8 Ball, "Signs Point to Yes," photo by Julie O.

Eight is said to be from Old English eatha, æhta, from Proto-Germanic *akhto (also the source of German acht) "eight."

However, the German interjection achtung, meaning "attention! watch out!" has this word "eight" in it. Achtung is said to be from:

German acht (n.)  meaning "attention, care, heed, consideration," achten (v.) "pay attention to, regard, esteem, respect,"from Old High German ahton "pay attention to," a general Germanic word akin to Old English eathian "to estimate, esteem, consider, praise," but with no living native descendants in English.

So Achtung, a German word, with the German word for eight (8) in it (acht), comes from a word, i.e., ahton, meaning "pay attention to," which itself is a word "akin" to the Old English word eathian, which itself also has a variation the Old English word for eight (8), i.e., eatha, in it. 

achtung : acht :: ethian : eatha

This attention can also mean something like danger, calling to mind the "power of a lord or master, jurisdiction," and the dominant, like the judges, Dan (dayyan), of the Pentateuch, which is a noun from the verb din "to judge." To Din / Dan "judge" is to put one in a position of imminent jeopardy; Danger.

And Achtung! which means something like Attention! itself sounds similar to the English interjection Action! (which is the cue given to start acting).

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more; it is a tale

Told by and idiot, full of sound and fury . . . 

Macbeth; Act V, scene V

One use of the word action is "a charge or other process in a law court" (such as a class action). As a noun action comes from:

mid-14thc., accioun, "cause or grounds for a lawsuit," from Anglo-French accioun, action (12c.) "action; lawsuit, case," from Latin actionem (nominative of actio) "a putting in motion; preforming, a doing; public acts, official conduct; lawsuit, legal action, noun of action from past participle stem agere "to do" (from PIE root *ag- "to dive, draw out or forth, move").

So linguistically there does seem to be some connection between these words denoting attention / action and the number eight, and therefore some connection between the German acht as "attention, care, heed, consideration" and acht as "eight."

We also have the notion of attention or taking heed connected to eight in the form of the eight ball in billiards, because, if the eight ball is played at the wrong time it can cause the player to lose the game of Eight Ball. 

Magic 8 Ball, photo by Julie O.

One version of pool is the game of Eight Ball, in which the numbered balls must be pocketed in numerical order except for the eight ball. . . If the cue ball accidentally hits the eighth ball or the black ball, that is a foul shot. . . If the eight ball is pocketed, the game is lost. Grammarist-Behind the Eight Ball

Perhaps we could say the the eight ball being black is representative of death, and being pocketed is representative of dying and traveling to the hall of Osiris for the meting out of justice. We wouldn't want "the game" of life to end prematurely before the good work is accomplished.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

And now the prize awaits me–– the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8

However, when the 8 Ball is played at the right time, that is, when all the other balls have already been pocketed, it is beneficial to sink it. 

The 8 Ball represents the idea of chance because it can refer to both good and bad luck. It is also associated with having a sense of balance. Like the yin and yang, the 8 ball reminds people to take the good with the bad. Grammarist-Behind the Eight Ball

When we use the word "attention" in English it may be in the form of a caution, warning or danger sign. There are laws about what one aught to do, but when danger is involved the call to attention or caution is for one's own good. There are consequences to actions following from the various laws of nature. For example when a rock becomes loose on a mountainside it rolls down (sometimes onto the road), or when a metal container is holding a hot liquid the container will be hot even if it doesn't look hot. If the laws of nature are not heeded one can easily become injured or even . . . killed . . . dead . . . the end. These laws just are and can never be changed. In this way they judge and are just. 

Thoth Tarot Deck, Alister Crowley: ADJUSTMENT or traditionally Justice. 

We learn a lot about the world by measuring / (Ma'at-ing) / weighing / balancing) outcomes against these laws. We might say this is a type of adjustment or calibration. For example, we can measure temperature against the point at which water freezes (32° F / 0°C), and we measure the velocity of a falling object against the force of gravity over a period of time (v=g*t). These constants form one arm of the balance so to speak. It's all relative. If you have anything, you can measure something else against it, and that measuring, i.e., Ma'at-ing makes a platform / foundation for meaning and functioning in an otherwise chaotic cacophony of infinity and infinite potential. Or we might say, the mating (pairing of two things) is creative. 

8 is shemoneh / shemonah in Hebrew from shaman "fat, lusty, plenteous." We might say that the earth is "fat, lusty, plenteous".  . .  that is, round, fecund, abundant, Gaia "earth" is the quintessential shaman. Shaman meaning, "a priest or priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, controlling events." Isn't that exactly why we are incarnated upon her body? To be cured, to be enlightened, to be formed / created anew? She is the great "pool" table / plinth / foundation; 71% covered by water. She is the Earth ball (Eatha "eight" [Old English] ball), our magic carpet (mat) / primordial foundation (Ma'at) carrying us, flying us, rolling us, through space.

The 8 (Eight) Ball  – The Acht (Old High German Ahto "eight") Ball  – The Oct (from PIE *Okto(u) "eight") Ball

There is this aw sound in the origin of eight, like the "aw" in aught (n.) which element is said to be from Proto-Germanic *aiwi- "ever," extended form of PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity." 

So this aw can have the meaning of eternity, Ewigkeit , which is infinity, which, in fact is represented by a sideways 8! 

Achtung!!

Be Fruitful and Multiply

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

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

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

   Abundance, Peter Paul Reubens, c. 1630

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

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

    Coral Cornucopia, Vintage Hawaiian Shell Art, ebay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Horns cause a similar sensation when they are blown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unicorn horns are usually depicted as conical or cone shaped.

    Healer Fairy with Unicorn 'Sapphire Night', Playmobile 2013 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

   Parvati, Shiva, and Ganesha/Ganesh

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

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

    Conic Sections

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Crotchety Kraken with crook shaped limbs cranking on a cruiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ankh-like Anchor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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