--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, enlil@... wrote:
> Loreto:
> You'll perhaps notice that the "female principle" (the Goddess) as
> represented by Inanna, Hera, Ishtar, Uni, Turan, Venus and the
like seems
> to be more ethereal or non-physical. In the bible, we might more
aptly
> connect Mother Mary to the latter theme. I'm tempted also to
connect the
> always enigmatic and curiously sexless "Holy Ghost" in the phrase
> 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost' to this as well. In all, the female
> principle seems to pertain to the creative power itself (note
pregnancy
> is a female domain) or natural order rather than the bounties that
derive
> from it.
>
>
> Loreto:
> > Further I think she more represent the number six (and perhaps
> > nine) rather than seven.
>
> Not necessarily so in re of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades. In
the
> bible at least, the well-known 666 is connected with Satan, a kind
of
> derivative of Baal (back to the male principle again). What do you
> have in mind in regards to 'nine'?
Actually with regards to the father, the son and the holy ghost I
can see them as the numbers eight, nine and ten in IE-Semitic. See
Spanish 'ocho', 'nueve', 'diez' from PIE *okto: *newn *dekm .
Perhaps the ultimate idea is The old, the new, and the eternal. Or
as we say it in prayers, (as it was)in the beginning, now and ever
shall be (world without end).
Arabic tamania, tisa, ashra could be similarly derived if you
consider Austronesian influence.
In Austronesia, its almost the same, walo, siyam, sampu. Walo
correspondent to Varuna, the Indic Poseidon. Siyam, which has the
gloss of Storm/typhoon in austronesian seem to have been the
Semitic 'old'. Sampu, Sepuluh, puluh, austronesian ten all have the
glosses 'head', 'island'.
In many quasi-Christian Catholic cults in the Philippines the
term "ingkong" which also means 'grandfather' is made equivalent to
the "Holy Spirit". Although (of course) Christianity is a foreign
input (in those areas) it does not discount the fact that holy
trinities exists in animist societies. Maybe through this we can see
that the Trinity could actually be the everlasting family and mark
of ancestor worship ad infinitum.
With the Holy Angels as the collection of our deceased forefathers.
Why Venus was nine? It is because of his/her relevance to the
principle "new", "the son", "the one". Such was Jesus Christ, Pan,
Balder, Yahweh (with respect to El), Marduk (with respect to
Ea/Enlil) etc. etc.
Although some shifts (in IE) would put Venus into number seven
generally she is as was said generally female hence the number six.
The other dualities which exist between them (six and seven) is with
regards to the idea of moving vs. non-moving, spirit vs. body,
name/word/idea vs. (dead) matter/thing, fire vs. stone, earth vs.
heaven.
And with mythological characters we find them in Psyche and Cupid,
Nimue and Myrrdin (Merlin), Venus and Vulcan, Juno and Jupiter,
Aphrodite and Hephaestus, Freya and Odin etc. The names themselves
have seemingly common linguistic themes in IE. It seems T-h-m/B-n
versus *-p/b-t/d-.
Perhaps we find it (the duality) also in the yin-yang of the
Chinese, Yoni-Linga of the pre-Vedics as well as the Buddhists. The
IE days Friday and Saturday could just be reflex of those dualities.
But maybe not the al-jumma and as-saba of the Arabs. Jumma may have
correspondence with the Arabic 'horma', "woman". Or of the Hebraic
epitome of Chaos "Tehom" or of Sumerian "Tiamat". If so then 'saba'
(the seventh day) could actually none other than the primeval
freshwater abyss 'Apsu'.
I don't know but I always see the Austronesian number six "anim" as
a continuum of the idea of 'moving', 'spirit'. Just like the
Latin 'animus'. (It could be that they are cognates not just near
forms if you consider long-range borrowings). While the number
seven "pito" have the p-t equivalent of non-moving, or (dead)
body, 'house', attested in various
Austronesians "patay", "puti", "maut", "mati", ARabic "mot". In
essence seven could be Ptah, the dead Egyptian-god-king.
Loreto