The Behenian Fixed Stars

kwaw

Quote:
“Arabs call this star al-Ghûl, or 'the malignant spirit', 'the devil', 'the ghost', 'the frightful phantom', 'the ogre', 'the cannibal'. Al-ghûl is the Ogre who leads out the travellers of the right way and devours them beginning from the feet. The word derives from ghâla, "to enrapture", "to put someone to death" and this verb means, in his third form (mughâwala), "to take various forms". In Enoch's version of the hermetic de XV stellis , Algol's figure is a human head with a long beard, a virile head, not feminine, with a blood-stained neck.”
End quote from:

http://www.cieloeterra.it/eng/eng.articoli.algol/eng.algol.html

In relation to ‘put someone to death’ note Daana Mindon connects the constellation Perseus with the Death card (Diana I belief considers the imagery of the so called Charles VI deck to most accurately reflect astronomical iconography).

According to the site here:

http://users.winshop.com.au/annew/Algol.html

quote:
“Algol is the "Head of Gorgon Medusa". Algol changes its brightness, because it is an eclipsing binary - every 68 hours and 49 minutes the demon "blinks" for roughly 8 hours as the dimmer star of the pair passes between the brighter star and the earth. Ancient Arabs thought it was spooky, and called the star Algol, or Al-Ghul (1), which means "The Ghoul" or "Demon Star", and Ri'B al Ohill, the "Demon's Head". It is said to have been thus called from its rapid and wonderful variations. Algol is the most famous of the eclipsing variables and the only one known of in ancient times. This behavior was attributed to a pulsing eye of the Gorgon Medusa.
"the Gorgon's head, a ghastly sight, deformed and dreadful, and a sight of woe" - Iliad.
"The Blinking Demon", "the Spectre's Head" are common names. Al Ghul literally signifies a "Mischief-maker".
The Hebrews knew Algol as Rosh ha Sitan, "Satan's Head", or "the Devil's Head"; also as Lilith, Adam's legendary first wife, believed to have been in existence before the creation of Eve. She is believed to be the nocturnal vampire from the lower world.
The Chinese gave it the gruesome title Tseih She, the "Piled-up Corpses". Astrologers say that it was the most unfortunate, violent, and dangerous star in the heavens. (Allen).” End quote.

Kwaw
 

Rosanne

kwaw said:
Quote:
In Enoch's version of the hermetic de XV stellis , Algol's figure is a human head with a long beard, a virile head, not feminine, with a blood-stained neck.”
That is a description of the common Hellebore herb, long white stamens, with petals that are white and go to blood red spots, then red/ purple at the throat of the flower. It is also the most dangerous herb on the list as far as I can tell. ~Rosanne
 

kwaw

kwaw said:
Hebrew and Arabic have some common ground and it is possible some of the word play I have made with the Hebrew there may be something similar in the Arabic but I don't know if that is the case.

For example Hebrew and Arabic words for head RASh and Ras as in the Arabic names of the stars:

Rasalased - Ra's al-Asad - Head of the lion
Rasalgethi - Ra's al-Jathi - Head of the kneeling one
Rasalhague - Ra's al-Hawwa' - Head of the snake-man
Rastaban - Ra's ath-Thu'ban - Head of the snake

Hebrew chief, commander, prince ShR and Arabic / Persian Shah – King (Just as in Arabic/Persian Shah Mat the king is dead in Hebrew is Shach Mat )

Foot in Hebrew RGL, Arabic Rigel

Goat Hebrew GDY, Arabic Gedi

Kwaw
 

kwaw

Rosanne said:
That is a description of the common Hellebore herb, long white stamens, with petals that are white and go to blood red spots, then red/ purple at the throat of the flower. It is also the most dangerous herb on the list as far as I can tell. ~Rosanne

Thanks Rosanne, well 'spotted'.

Kwaw
 

Rosanne

Hehe sometimes the simple way is the plan- via the Herbs in this case.
Black Hellebore-
The following is from Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy:
'Borage and hellebore fill two scenes,
Sovereign plants to purge the veins
Of melancholy, and cheer the heart
Of those black fumes which make it smart.'
It used be known as Melampode

Black hellebore; so called from Melampus, a famous soothsayer and physician, who cured with it the daughters of Prætus of their melancholy. (Virgil: Georgics, iii. 550.) 1
“My seely sheep, like well below,
They need not melampode;
For they been hale enough I trow.
And liken their abode.”
Spenser: Eclogue vii.
It is interesting that Seasonal depression (SAD) is mostly cured by getting some sunshine.
~Rosanne
 

Rosanne

Well thinking this way of herbs- Polaris at the top in distance, that I gave the to La Monde XX1- the Plant is Succory. Succory is what we call now Chicory- and I think this variety would be Lamb's Chicory- Arnoseris minima. It looks like a dandelion in a way- very deep rooted. It used to be known as Nipplewort- It spreads out low to the ground. The flowers open and close every 5 hours and follow the Sun like a Sunflower (I guess the cycle of open and closing is the feeding cycle of a babe - hence Nipplewort) and makes the dome of the sky like a breast with Polaris at it's nipple. It's mineral is Magnet :D. When fully expanded, the blooms are rather large and of a delicate tint of blue: the colour is said to specially appeal to the humble bee. They are in blossom from July to September. The plant is used to alleviate constipation. It is said to grow in all parts of the World, and is used as fake Coffee, a truly la Monde drink. I can see the Moon + Venus here in the planetary belt. ~Rosanne
 

Satori

One other thing about Chicory, which probably has no bearing on any of this, is that when the flower is picked to put into a vase the petals of the flower lose their color and then sort of decompose. They turn white, then brown and get mushy and sticky.

Compelling thread.

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/plant/chicory.htm
 

Rosanne

Interesting Satori! Here in this Le Monde we stay a while and die and decompose too! More fuel for Polaris to be card XX1 !

kwaw said:
It is said: "When the crow finds a corpse, it first pecks out the eyes."
The root of the Hebrew word for Crow (OVRB), as used as the name for this star, is OVR that means to make blind, to cause perversion of judgment. "Place no stumbling block before the blind", it is said; meaning cause no man to sin. Blindness is associated with Samael, that great devil called the blind angel sometimes portrayed as conjoined into one androgynous being with his 'demon' wife Lilith.
OVR also means skin, hide; and ChNF as well as 'wing' means to be covered, hidden; as in when Man fell into sin, he was covered in a hide of skin (OVR) in place of light (AVR).
If Ala Corvi the Crow is Le Diable as Kwaw suggests- Onyx the black stone is his Gemstone- that fits well. So does Burdock The plant associated with the star.
The name of the genus, Arctium, is derived from the Greek arktos, a bear, in allusion to the roughness of the burs, lappa, the specific name, being derived from a word meaning 'to seize.'
Another source derives the word lappa from the Celtic llap, a hand, on account of its prehensile properties.
The plant gets its name of 'Dock' from its large leaves; the 'Bur' is supposed to be a contraction of the French bourre, from the Latin burra, a lock of wool, such is often found entangled with it when sheep have passed by the growing plants.
An old English name for the Burdock was 'Herrif,' 'Aireve,' or 'Airup,' from the Anglo-Saxon hoeg, a hedge, and reafe, a robber - or from the Anglo-Saxon verb reafian, to seize. Culpepper gives as popular names in his time: Personata, Happy Major and Clot-Bur.
and Culpepper gives the following uses for the Burdock:
'The Burdock leaves are cooling and moderately drying, wherby good for old ulcers and sores....(and today for skin complaints) The leaves applied to the places troubled with the shrinking in the sinews or arteries give much ease: a juice of the leaves or rather the roots themselves given to drink with old wine, doth wonderfully help the biting of any serpents- the root beaten with a little salt and laid on the place suddenly easeth the pain thereof, and helpeth those that are bit by a mad dog:...
Quite fitting for Le Diable the scaly Beast. ~Rosanne
 

Satori

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Burdock.html

Thistle type plants are favorites of many birds. Especially finches. Around here the yellow finches nest with materials from the thistle plants, and burdock is a favorite. I wonder if the companion birds or other creatures that would visit these plants has any kind of considertation here? The yellow finch is a striking addition to the garden, bringing in song and color to the landscape. Also the redwinged blackbird is a lover of certain seedheads and visits my very wild herb beds quite often. The song of this bird is striking and can be quite an experience to listen to as they call to each other.

These plants under discussion interest me because they are medicinal but really, today, they are some of the nastiest, most difficult to discourage weeds! Chicory is in every deserted lot I know of.

Thistles make a lovely cleansing tea tho. Delicious and nutritious. Great plant to use for a tarot tea. Wow, new product line flashing across my eyes. We might actually be able to market these plants as TarotWeeds and their medicinal uses! But what of the honey these flowers would provide? I know clover honey is marketed for it's flavor, and we have bee hives near the blueberries at our sister farm.
 

kwaw

Algol XIX

I think there are strong associations that one could make between Algol and several cards, for example Death or Devil; but continuing those noted already between Algol and XIX another possible connection is that the Heliacal setting of Algol occurs when Sun is in Gemini, so forming a possible connection with the two figures of the glaring Sun card.

In reference to the glare of the Sun, playing on both its intense shine and the glaring stare of its face; the indo-european root for words such as glare, glower as meaning to shine, beat down or angrily stare is Ghel - not sure whether it is in any way etymologically connected to Gol of Ras Algol, head of the ghoul, but even if it isn't, the period of tarots creation was full of fanciful etymologies that would not now be considered accurate and may have been taken as connected.

Kwaw