6. The 'neither-nor' Sign may be imagined as expressed on an ordinary chess-board - it is neither black nor white but both; there are 32 square fields in one colour and 32 in the opposite colour. Although we cannot see the surface of the game board between 'Goat' and Lion (see at Museida and Talitha, at The Little Bald Woman, at Virgo, at Virgo III and at Close Embrace) we can guess it has both black and white squares:
The fields of the board suggest equinox, a time when it is indeterminate whether it is winter (Goat) or summer (Lion) which is ruling. There is a battle on the game board of time. The September equinox comes a quarter after the June solstice:
At the heliacal rising of the star ο Virginis (Ga5-8) we can perceive the emergence of a bird egg. The 'tail of the Horse' (Ma Wei, δ Centauri) is precisely where the Raven has his beak (Alchita, α Centauri). Posssibly the arrival of manu tara on Easter Island was conceived to coincide with the arrival of Raven north of the equator. Presumably we have to look elsewhere for Lady Godiva. Instead of riding on a horse (ma) she rode on the back of a goat. More significant, she wore a net, a sign of the Sea, and a horse needs firm ground. It might be argued that also goats need firm footholds. Yes, but mountain goats are not inhabiting the agricultural plains of man. The mountain (mauga, see at The Week) is a sign of hiding, of darkness (and of old age). "Jewish sources in the Talmud (Yoma 6:4,67b) give the etymology of azazel ['scapegoat'] as a compound of 'az', strong or rough, and 'el', mighty, that the goat was sent from the most rugged or strongest of mountains. From the Targums onwards the term azazel was also seen by some rabbinical commentators as the name of a Hebrew demon, angelic force, or pagan deity." (Wikipedia)
(Painting by William Holman Hunt in 1854.) If at autumn equinox 'Land' threatens to sink into the 'Sea' - as when ebb turns into high tide - then the mountain tops will never vanish. The goats will survive. A flexible net is the opposite of the firm chess-board arrangement of squares - it signifies 'neither-nor' instead of 'both-and'. In spring hunger rules while in autumn the stomach is full. The chessboard in time is at autumn equinox and the net at spring equinox. |
