LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER

THE VISIONS, MYTHOLOGY, AND BIBLICAL RESEARCH

compiled by Dee Finney

3-5-02 - VISIONS 

- I saw a blurry photo of a brown buffalo/bison and the caption said, "The World of the Past. 4416" . Below it was lengthy text, part written in dialogue and some in information on a book page.

  In vision two, I saw a blurry photo of a wolf, the same color as the buffalo/bison and the caption said, "The World To Come.  2216."  Below it was very little writing and no dialogue.

 

NOTE: I already did extensive research on the buffalo/bison because I've had dreams of this animal before.  It seems this is a personal message to me, but would be important for everyone to know about I think.

DREAMS OF THE BULL, BISON, BUFFALO
THE CREATION, DEATH /DESTRUCTION PROCESS

Joe did extensive research on the wolf symbolism:

WOLF SYMBOLISM

In the past, I had a dream which told me to look up numbers in the Bible Concordance to see what they signify, so that's the first thing I did.

4416

m@lach (Aramaic) {mel-akh'} from 4415;  - salt , maintenance  1) salt

4415

m@lach (Aramaic) {mel-akh'} corresponding to 4414;  - have 1; 1 1) (P'al) to eat salt

4414

malach {maw-lakh'} a primitive root;  - 1196,1197; v AV - salted , at all , season , tempered together , vanish away  1) to tear away, dissipate 1a) (Niphal) to be dispersed, be dissipated 2) to salt, season 2a) (Qal) to salt, season 2b) (Pual) to be salted 2c) (Hophal) to be rubbed or washed with salt

Leviticus 2:13 `And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. (NKJV;)

Ezra 4:14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king (RSV)

This is salt given as a payment to employees. The word salary comes from this, and likewise even such a word as soldier which really meant "a one paid with salt". The saying "worth one's salt" means the same: A one worth one's wages. But please note, these are manners of the world, which connects salt with payment. These things are not within the biblical symbolism of salt. Even the example in the book of Ezra has to do with a worldly ruler.

There is a physical need of salt. If a person does not get any salt at all, that is bad for one's health and in the end deadly. Too much salt is also bad. But the point is that we need salt, to survive. We were created in that way. Perhaps that was on purpose, for symbolical reasons planned already at that time, who knows.

One bringing salt and bread as a gift is proposing lasting friendship.

It seems that it is in that context we must see the words "have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another" in Mark 9. Friendship.

Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. (NKJV)

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (NKJV)

In other words, when the salt of the earth (of this world) becomes mixed with the world around, it becomes contaminated, loses its proper flavour and is then only worth throwing on the roads, to be trampled on by men.

What Jesus said seems to mean that his disciples had been given valuable wisdom and knowledge, but if it became mixed with the elements of this world (If Jesus' teachings became mixed with the teachings of men), then such salt was useless and had to be rejected and be thrown out as refuse.

ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLISM

In alchemy there are three symbolic substances: mercury, sulphur, and salt. To these was added a fourth mysterious life principle call Azoth. Concerning the firs three, Herr von Welling has written: "There are three basic chemical substances which are called by the philosophers salt, sulphur, and mercury, but which are not to be confounded in any way with the crude salt, sulphur, and mercury taken from the earth or secured from the apothecary. Salt, sulphur, and mercury each has a triune nature, for each of these substances contains, in reality, also the other two substances, according to the secret arcanum of the wise. The body of salt, sulphur, and mercury, but in the body of salt one of the three (salt) predominates. Mercury is likewise composed of salt, sulphur, and mercury with the latter element predominating. Sulphur, similarly, is actually salt, sulphur, and mercury with sulphur predominating. tHese nine divisions - 3 times 3, plus Azoth (the myserious universal life force), equals 10, the sacred decad of Pythagoras. Concerning the nature of Azoth, there is much controversy. Some view it as the invisible, eternal fire; others as electricity; still others as magnetism. Transcendentalists refer to it as the astral light.

From: http://www.greatdreams.com/alchemy.htm

The Barbury Castle triangular
crop formation - 1991

Trinity Association

The Barbury Castle formation
is thought by some to be related
to the Trinity. Known symbols
of the Trinity are similar.
The glyphs at the corners have
parallels in alchemical signs,
corresponding to:

North - sun, sulfur
Southwest - moon, salt
Southeast - Mercury, quicksilver

Detailed explanation of this crop
formation. by Joe Mason

The Alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541) was among the first to suggest that the four element theory was inadequate and he proposed a three element theory of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt. These elements were not common mercury, sulphur or salt but abstractions - thus the Mercury was the vaporous quality released when you burnt something, Sulphur was the combustibility, and Salt was the ash remaining once it had been burnt.

WHEN THE CITIES of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, only Lot, his wife and two daughters survived. As these four people were escaping from the holocaust, Lot's wife turned around to look at the flaming cities "And she became a pillar of salt" (Gen. 19:26).

What grave sin did she commit to deserve so swift and severe a punishment? The sages explain that Lot's wife, like the people of Sodom, was heartless. She despised the poor and refused to welcome the stranger. "On the night that the angels visited Lot (in the shape of men), what did she do? She went about to all her neighbors and asked them, 'Give me salt, as we have guests,' her intention being that the townspeople should become aware of their presence (and drive them from town). Therefore, she became a pillar of salt" (Gen. Rab. 51:5).

Another version has it that when Lot brought a poor man to the house for a meal, she would willfully make the food so salty that it was no longer edible. She thus discouraged anyone from coming to her home for help. Her sin was hard-heartedness and greed. She lived an isolated and selfish life and her punishment: was midah k'neged midah --"measure for measure." "And she became a pillar of salt."

POSEIDON  (puh-SYE-dun or poh-SYE-dun; Roman name - Neptune) was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain.

Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods divided creation between them. Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades had dominion of the Underworld and Poseidon was given all water, both fresh and salt.

In the Shinto religion, entering a shrine is entering a sacred and somewhat dangerous space as you are coming into the presence of power, therefore, the person who enters must be ritually, spiritually purified. The elements that provide purification are: water, salt, fire, sand and sake (alcohol).

In the ancient creation myths, 

Assyria:
The Annunaki [sky gods: Anu (sky), Enlil (earth), Shamash (sun), and Ea (water)], created the earth and the heavens. When they were finished, they looked carefully at their creation and concluded that something was missing. They decided that mankind was needed to till the fields and celebrate religious festivals. So it was that the first humans [Ulligarra (abundance) and Zalgarra (plenty)] were created. Aruru, the "lady of the gods", was given sway over their destinies.

Babylonian
From the mixing of Apsu (sweet water) and Tiamat (salt water) there arose the gods, Mummu (the waves), and Lakhmu and Lakhamu (gigantic twin serpents). The serpents produced Anshar (heaven) and Kishar (earth). From these two came Anu, Enlil, and Ea, as well as all the other gods of the sky, earth, and underworld. Apsu and Tiamat became angered because of the noise made by such a large group of gods, and began talking about killing off their progeny so they could get some rest. When Ea, the all-knowing, learned of this he used his magic to capture Apsu and Mummu. Tiamat was furious and raised a large army of gods and freaks to battle Ea and his cohorts. Anu and Ea became frightened and Ea created Marduk to battle Tiamat. Marduk promised to do so if he were granted supremacy over all the other gods. All the gods agreed and Marduk, armed with bow and arrows, lightning, the winds, a hurricane, and a special net sallied forth to battle Tiamat. When they clashed, Marduk caught Tiamat in his special net, and as she opened her mouth to swallow him, loosed the hurricane into her mouth. As she swelled from the hurricane within her, Marduk slew her with an arrow into her belly. Then he cast the net again capturing her army within it. These he chained and cast into the underworld. From her corpse the world is created. He was then proclaimed God of the Gods.


2216

Z@rubbabel {zer-oob-baw-bel'} from 2215 and 894; - Zerubbabel ; Zerubbabel = "sown in Babylon" 1) the grandson of King Jehoiachin and leader of the first group of returning exiles from Babylon

Joe and I have both written about Zerubbabel in the past, on several web pages:

THE GREATEST PROPHECY

REVELATION 11:11

REVELATION 11:11 - HUMANITY ON THE POLLEN PATH - PART III

MY FATHER COMES TO VISIT

LUCID VISIT TO THE GREAT HALL AND DREAMS OF FIRE

THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY: A SYMBOLIC EVENT - September 11, 2001

THE ABORTED BABIES - BAD NEWS AND A DREAM

 

Here is what is important for me, and for all as well:

Revelation 3:1-5:

(1) ". . . I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. (2) Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God."

(4) "Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy." (5) He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."

In Zechariah 3, Joshua has filthy garments after being accused by Satan. By the angel's command, he is helped to get clean garments. He is called a "brand plucked from the fire," which seems to indicate a purification process. The verse is quite significant to me, because Joshua and Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4, are directly related to the two olive trees that stand up after 3 1/2 days in Revelation 11:11. They are also called two lampstands and two prophets. They are the two anointed, of the bloodlines, the High Priest (Joshua) and King (Zerubbabel). 3 1/2 indicates the midpoint of the seven chakras, the point between the third and fourth (Heart).

Other dreams and coincidences indicated that the mark on the forehead is related to the Tetragrammaton, the four letters of the Divine Name, and symbolized by the Tau Cross, the equal-armed cross. This is the "Signet Ring" of the Lord. Revelation 14:1 speaks of the Father's name:

Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forth-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.  

This is related to Haggai 2:20-23:

The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his fellow. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of She-al'ti-el, say the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts."

Revelation 11 connects back to Zechariah 3 and 4 and to Joshua, the High Priest and Zerubbabel, the Governor (of the Royal Bloodline of Kings). They are the "two anointed" who stand to either side of the golden lamp with seven lamps (the Menorah). They were the anointed ones when the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon around 600 BC.

Zerubbabel (seed of Babylon) rebuilt the Temple. He is made the Signet Ring of the Lord on the day when heaven and earth shake (see the last verses of Haggai).

Rev: 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

 

More about Zerubbabel from a friend and reader of the site:
Subj: Zerubbabel 
Date: 3/5/2002 
From: ciprian_11@hotmail.com
To: Dee777@aol.com
 
 
Hi Dee hope all is well with you , I have before your request done away with the name Zerubbabel ,since I rememberd that I came by a section on one of your sites which told of the Zerubian myth ? Since this was a while ago I could  find the old message i wrote and in addition today I realized yet even some tiny things :)
 
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts . . . The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you."
 
3.) the word 'Zerubbabel' means "seed which gives LIFE to Babylon"
 
 
Thw name Zerubbabel seems to be made of  Zerub + Babel
 
 

Z

E

R

U

B

B

A

B

E

L

7

5

200

400

2

2

1

2

5

30

 
The name is given in two meanings , since there is no U in the Hebrew alphabet the name can be given in Greek value with R as 100 ,then you would get 554 this is one from a well familliar one :)  555 , further you can leave the value of R in Heb as 200 and U as it is , then you get 654 this is 12 from 666
 
The word in Hebrew values : Message = 40+5+300+300+1+3+5 = 654
 
I believe this might be the message of the Spirit .
 
Also the word : Liquid = 30+10+100+400+10+4 = 554
 
And the tip on the iceberg 666/12 =55.5
 
And as closure i know of two things with the value of 55 ,The words ,DEVIL : 4+5+6+10+30 and DNA : 4+50+1
all things might know of their inner spirit .
 
Zerub = 614 ? ( Earth = 5+1+200+400+8 = 614 )
 
Genesis 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel ; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth ; and from hence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of the earth .
 
Zeph 3: 9 For then I will turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent . 
 
Then I answered again, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof ?
 
The word in Greek values : Olive= 70+30+10+6+5 = 121
 
 The word in Hebrew values : Trees = 400+200+5+5+300 = 910
(Six = 910 ?)
 
121 + 910 = 1031 ?
Nervous = 1031
Salts = 1031
 
"live in " = 51 +60  = 111 ?
Love = 30+70+6+5= 111
 
God bless you for the things you bring into light with love myfriend.
Pater

 

The previous message from Ciprian Pater just about blew me away, not just because of what he wrote about Zerubbable, but that he mentioned the number 555 which is a new Master number I was told about earlier.  

What blew me away with what Ciprian  sent, was the mention of the 555, because I dreamed of that this morning right after I had the vision about Zerubbabel. 

In that dream, I was renting an apartment to two young women who each had a young child. They wanted to live in the same apartment. Then a got a phone call from a woman who had side-by-side houses that the women could live in and they were cheap enough for young women to afford
.
While she told me about them, I had a vision of the interior of the homes which were decorated in white oak, and were completely furnished with sumptuous furniture and built in bookcases. When I saw the woodwork and furniture, I  thought I would like to live there myself. Then I asked for the address of the homes, she said they were at 555 N. 30th St. and 555 N. 40th St. 

I knew those neighborhoods well, and because those are inner city streets, I would be reluctant to live in them myself. 
End of dream

I was struck by the fact that the houses were supposed to be side-by-side, and yet had the same address 10 blocks apart. That was a little unusal.

Dream by Dee:  A New Master Number: 555

7-3-01 DREAM - I was in a school on the 5th floor. School was to start in a few moments. I saw some teachers come in and I saw some students come in. The bell was about to ring and we started to wonder where everyone else was. Even the young black elevator operator noticed something was wrong. Only 5 rooms at the end of the 5th floor were it up. We had 5 teachers with 5 students each. The elevator operator told us that there was no one else in the building. Where were all the rest of the teachers and the rest of the students? When we all came to the realization that something was wrong, we all started putting our winter coats on to leave

There was a man waiting then to take me home and as I recall, I was dressing for winter in all brown clothes of sweater, coat and boots and I will make a guess here that I was putting on 5 items of winter clothing as well.
End of Dream

THE SYMBOLISM AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER FIVE

... the apex of physical and spiritual perfection -- a god on ... Orient, in their highest levels use the words "unknown ... Washington DC is exactly 555 feet high? www.greatdreams.com/five/five.htm

NOTE:  I did a web search for 555 and found this: http://www.lightworker.com/beacons/100400_555.shtml


From: http://www.greatdreams.com/mouse.htm

The mouse is small and vulnerable to show the condition we often find ourselves in, as we traverse the maze. A major objective of the life experience seems to involve the overcoming of fears. We face them and hopefully defeat them all the time. The Native American Mouse fits with ideas like the individual who marches to the sound of a different drummer, or the Black Sheep, who chooses not to follow the piping of the sheep fold. The Frog, the Bison, and the Wolf seem to represent higher guidances. To obtain this, one must take chances, overcome fears, and have trust in the higher guidance. It is not provided automatically, you must send it your own "eye.".

Joseph Campbell's concept of "following your bliss", fits the idea. Your bliss is that impetus within you that most sparks your interest. It is Divine, and leads you in the intended directions, regardless of what anyone else says. One's conditioning in youth, fears, desires, and obligations, tend to block or alter the straight path through the maze. Each "wrong" path followed to a dead end is but a diversion, yet teaches us also.

When you follow your bliss, teachers will appear, and doors will open for you. You are on the more direct path to reach the goal that is designed very uniquely, just for you alone.  Other 'mice' often caring loved ones, will attempt to knock you off course, because they can never understand the Divine Mouse Plan of another. They tend to send you down narrow passages with dead ends. This is just another turning point that your mouse-self must discern.

From: http://www.tripod.lycos.com/popunder/nsync_popunder.html

Wolf Totem

There are three sub-species to consider, within the Wolf Totem. They are . . . Arctic Wolf, Gray Wolf and Red Wolf and Black Wolf.  Each of the three sub-species share the common role of ~Teacher~ as well as several other keywords, however, they also possess their own medicine as well, unique to each. Each has beautiful, unique lessons  to teach us.

The Wolf is the Soul that leaves the comfort and familiarity of the Pack, to travel out into the world of the unknown.

In her Quest for Knowledge, she begins her journey by setting off South, and it is here that she is schooled in the classroom of trial and error as she dances her way through the flames of experience.

This is the Direction of the ~Personality Center,~ learning to trust herself and her own keen intuition which has been forged through confronting both external obstacles, and her own fears.  Thus, a sense of self-reliance is cultivated as she puts to test the lessons she has learned.

Then, from deep within, comes the stirring recognition that there must be  more, and she is once again off on her journey, headed this time toward the West.  Here, she embarks on the Journey ~Within~ as this is the Direction of the ~Great Mystery,~ or the ~Spirit Center.~

In the West she finds that the labor of her actions have borne fruit as she strives to integrate the ~Personality Center~ with the ~Spirit Center.~  She contemplates here, in silent revery, on all that has gone before.   This is the time of  moonlight, and as she gazes at the image of herself in the shimmering water of her soul`s reflection, her whole being is awash in the glow of joy that comes from the recognition that life is magical and that, having absorbed her lessons, she has received a Spiritual Rebirth.  She then arises from the ashes of the old, as a new and enlightened being.

Then, she turns her face toward the North and when she arrives there discovers a sense of new found courage gained through resolve and determination.

She reawakens to the physical state of her being in the process of integrating ~Physical~ with ~Personality~ and ~Spirit.~  The recognition is made that one is also a physical creature, though the Spirit is the force that sustains the physical life.  It is here that a time of thanksgiving and celebration is had for all that the ~Great Spirit~ has given, and for the experiences which have gone before.

Yet the East now beckons her as she listens to the haunting cries of her Pack and turns her noble head toward Home.

When she returns to the Pack, the Knowledge gained from her journey, ignites her Being, as a lantern from within.  The Pack draws near to her listening for the Wisdom she will impart, as her destiny is to share what she has learned with the rest of the Pack so that the leap across the planes can be made by All.  This is the ~Path of the Teacher.~
 

Individual, Group Consciousness

Wolf Totem understands that the unity of the Pack is crucial to his survival, yet the Pack likewise recognizes the vital contribution that each Wolf makes.

Wolves live in highly complex social structures called "Packs" with a dominant Male and Female pair, or the Alpha Male and Female, leading the Pack.  Every other member not only has a "ranking" within the pack, from Beta through Omega, they also have a unique role.  It is this very structure which may have been behind Rudyard Kipling`s eloquent quote:

"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf,
and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."

***The two legged with the Wolf as his/her Totem has an inner need to be of service for the "greater good."  Although the individual with Wolf Totem enjoys the company of others, there exists as well, the need for time alone.  This "lone wolf" time will be spent in quiet contemplation and reflection upon the experiences of life before translating these ~thoughts to form~ and rejoining the "Pack" once more***


THE FENRIS WOLF

In the book Myths, there is a photograph of a Viking carving found on the Isle of Man. It depicts the god, Odin, being devoured by the Fenris Wolf on the Day of Ragnorook, the Doomsday of the Gods at the end of time. The Fenris Wolf is the wolf that devours the sun at the end of the world, "Ragnarok" in the old Scandinavian mythology. 

Fernis was a giant wolf in Norse mythology, a child of Angrboda by Loki. His name is sometimes given as Fenrir. Sonrri gives the alternative name Vanargandr (the guardian monster of the River Van) Norse mythology says that Fenris became so dangerous that the gods decided that he had to be permanently restrained. They tried two magically reinforced chains, but nothing could keep the great wolf from breaking them. Finally the Dwarves forget the chain, Gleipnir, which was made of such things as roots of a mountain, the mew of a cat, and a fishes breath. Fenris was too wily to submit tamely to being bound with this chain; he insisted that the god Tyr put his right hand in his mouth. When Fenris found he could not break the chain, he bit off the god's hand. Fenris was taken to the island of Lyngvi in the middle of the lake Amsvartnir(the complete black one) The feter-chain around Fenris was fastened to a chain called Gelgja, which was in turn fastened chained to a great rock called Gjoll. Although Fenris is chained to prevent the destruction he would cause, Norse myth says he will break free at the end of the world. The end-of-the-world is called 'Ragnarok',the 'Day of the Wolf'.

NOTE:  On 3-8-02 I two more visions of the wolf.  The first vision was of 7 individual golden discs or coins coming down, each with an individual wolf on each  one.

The second vision was of the 7th golden disc with a wolf on it, but it wasn't complete yet.


  
(Libra, September 22nd - October 21st)

The Constellations and the Stars

The constellation of Lupus, the wolf. Down the ages, the wolfs head has been the symbol of the initiate. But it is a dying wolf, and the wolf-nature that has devoured the soul nature until now is symbolized as dying out, for as man achieves balance the activity and power of the wolf dies out.

As with all of Libra, interpretations and understanding of the constellations are difficult, but provocative of thought. If the data seems meagre and vague it is perhaps again representative of Libran interlude, which one of the Masters of the Wisdom has called "the master of no-man's land." So we can but ponder, remembering how the wolf appears as the animal that suckled Romulus and Remus; and was the fierce animal which Saint Francis of Assisi tamed by his love for it, and sense of oneness with it.

Right Ascension:  15.21 hours   Declination:  -15.59 degrees
Area in Square Degrees: 
538
Crosses Meridian:  9 PM, June 20

Libra, the Scales, can be found between Scorpius and Virgo. It is the age old symbol of justice, harmony and balance. It is one of the 13 constellations of the Zodiac. This constellation received its name thousands of years ago when it was noticed that the Sun passes through it during the autumnal equinox, when day and night are of equal length. Libra represented justice as a symbol for equality in several middle Eastern cultures. Libra has held different meanings for different cultures. To the ancient Greeks, it represented the claws of the scorpion. To the Romans, it was the golden chariot of Pluto, god of the Underworld. Today it is seen as a universal symbol of balance, harmony, and justice. Libra contains no Messier objects and no deep sky objects of interest.

Right Ascension:  15.4 hours   Declination:  -42.96 degrees
Area in Square Degrees: 
334
Crosses Meridian:  9 PM, June 20

Lupus, the Wolf, is located between Centaurus and Hydra. It is best seen in the northern hemisphere in June. The shape of this constellation is not very obvious. It was seen as an unidentified animal to the Greeks and Romans, and has only recently been referred to as a wolf. Be careful not to confuse Lupus with another constellation Lepus, the rabbit. Lupus contains no Messier objects and, with the exception of a couple of faint clusters, contains no notable items of interest.

The Wolf is usually pictured as hanging from a pole carried by the Centaur, which is the next constellation to the west. The writers of classical times considered this area of the sky to be part of the Centaur. They considered this area of the sky to represent an unspecified beast being carried by the Centaur. According to Ridpath it was only in Renaissance times that the constellation become identified with a wolf.

From: http://www.springwolf.com/wolves/nature/lupus.htm

 Lupus In The Sky

 In astronomy, an ancient constellation of the southern sky, located between the constellations Centaurus and Scorpius. Lupus has no extremely bright stars but is densely populated with stars of second and third magnitude. It is a constellation rich in double stars and multiple stars. A few open clusters and other deep-sky objects can be seen with binoculars within its boundaries; many more are visible with a more powerful telescope. The name Lupus is Latin for "wolf," but the wolf appellation apparently did not become common until the Renaissance. The ancient Greeks and Romans figured the grouping as a wild animal of no specific type. Representations among the Mediterranean civilizations that recognized this grouping included a lioness, a leopard, a male horse, and a howling dog. Lupus is often linked to the Centaur rearing above it, though the symbolism may be forced. As examples, the Centaur is sometimes described as reaching out to grasp Lupus and carry it to the Altar (Ara), a nearby constellation, or as impaling Lupus on a pole. For a long time, however, the stars were not clearly separated from those in Centaurus. Eratosthenes, a Greek astronomer of the 3rd century BC, described these stars as a wine skin from which the Centaur was about to drink. It fell to Hipparchus of Bithnya, a Greek astronomer of the 2nd century BC, to separate the stars from Centaurus and give the constellation a name, Therion (Wild Animal). The great astronomer Ptolemy of Alexandria cataloged the constellation as Therion in the 2nd century AD, but alternative names continued to appear on sky maps for centuries.

Lupus forms part of the disklike zone of young, bright stars called Gould's Belt that slices through the Milky Way galaxy at an angle of about 18 degrees. Sprinkled around the edge of Gould's Belt are star nurseries, all of about the same age. The Dutch astronomer Adriaan Blaauw has proposed that all of these star nurseries originated at the same time, about 30 million years ago, when compression of dust and gas squeezed a large molecular cloud and caused a burst of star formation. The very active Orion star nursery was one result; the association of young, hot stars called the Upper Centaurus-Lupus Stellar Association was another. Although stars in constellations generally move in unrelated (to each other) fashion, most of the stars in this association are moving together at the same speed, 16 miles (25 kilometers) per second, in the direction of Beta Columbae.

The Upper Centaurus--Lupus Association lies in the part of Gould's Belt that extends above the plane of the Milky Way, so that a portion of the Milky Way runs through Lupus. This location brings within the boundaries of the constellation some attractive star fields and their associated nebulae (both bright and dark), galaxies, and clusters. The seventh-magnitude globular cluster NGC 5986 can be seen with binoculars toward the northern end of the constellation. This cluster is not extremely tight, and some individual stars can be resolved with an amateur-sized telescope. A few degrees north of NGC 5986 is a dark band in the sky known as the dark nebula B 228. A dark nebula, or absorption nebula, is a cloud of gas and dust that blocks light coming from behind. As a result of absorption of their emitted light, the few stars visible in the vicinity of B 228 appear unusually red. A few open clusters, including the sixth-magnitude NGC 5822, lie near the southern border of the constellation. On the western border, about 5 degrees northwest of Alpha Lupi, is the Wolf-Rayet ring-type planetary nebula IC 4406, visible with a small telescope. The central stars of the Wolf-Rayet nebulae are thought to be the hottest stars in the universe.

The figured part of the constellation, the stars that make up the wolf shape, contains several bright single, double, and multiple stars--none of which have a name. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta Lupi form a rough oblong representing the body and front legs of the animal. Alpha Lupi, which might be thought of as the eye, is a magnitude 2.3 blue giant about 620 light-years distant from Earth. About 6 degrees northeast, marking the end of the ruff, is Beta Lupi, a magnitude 2.7 blue-white giant about 680 light-years distant. Gamma Lupi, where the tail and hind legs emerge from the animal's rump, is a magnitude 2.8 blue-white binary star whose close companion cannot be separated with a small telescope. Northeast, along the more northerly of the hind legs, is a wide multiple system, the Phi series, consisting of a magnitude 3.5 yellow-orange giant star with two faint companions. The other hind leg is marked by the double star Eta Lupi, whose components are a magnitude 3.4 blue-white primary and a fainter, whitish yellow companion. Back in the oblong representing the animal's body are the multiple star systems Pi and Mu Lupi, and the double star Kappa Lupi, whose magnitude 3.9 and 5.7 blue-white components can be separated with a small telescope. In the Southern Hemisphere Lupus is best viewed between March and September. It reaches its highest point in the sky at 10:00 PM on June 1, when, for an observer in the mid-southern latitudes, it appears about two thirds of the way up the sky. Lupus lies northeast of the very bright star Alpha Centauri and follows Centaurus across the sky. About half of Lupus is visible from the mid-northern latitudes in late spring and early summer. For a northern observer, Lupus lies southwest of the red supergiant Antares and precedes Scorpius across the sky.

Lupus (the Wolf) Some Facts:
Genitive: Lupi
Abbreviation: Lup
Declination: -29.8 degrees to -55.3 degrees
Right ascension: 14 h 13 m, to 16 h 05 m
Area covered: 334 square degrees
Number of stars brighter than sixth magnitude: 70

Compton's Encyclopedia Online v2.0 © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc.

THE GREEK MYTH

Myth

Traditionally this part of the sky has received many appellations. Chiron's wineskin, a panther, a generalized, fierce beast, and a wolf. The wolf title stuck with the translation of Ptolemy's Almagest into Latin.

The story of the wolf is not for those weak of stomach or faint of heart. Lycaon was a legendary king of Arcadia, a remote land in the central Peloponnesus. He had fifty sons, and together they grew famous for their impiety and cruelty. He also had a daughter named Callisto.

Lycaon and his sons sacrificed a child to Zeus' altar, and fed the child's bowels to Zeus, who was disguised as a laborer. There are two versions of what happened next. First, Zeus blasted him and all but one of Lycaon's sons (Nyctimus). The resulting storm developed into Deucalion's flood.

Another version has Lycaon transformed into a wolf for sacrificing a child on the altar of Zeus. The story perhaps explains a bizarre ceremony held in honor of Zeus at Mt. Lycaeus. In this ceremony a man was sacrificed and eaten. Any person who tastes the entrails is immediately transformed into a wolf, and remains that way for nine years, after which he might become a man again, if he has not tasted human flesh while a wolf. So goes the story of Lupus the wolf.

 

FROM: http://www.midhnottsol.org/lore/poems/000_07.html

The rod of iron is reproduced also in Old Norse mythology. When Thor was on his way to the giant Geirrdřth, he stopped at the house of Víthar's mother, the giantess Gríth. She lent him her rod, Gríđarvölr. That this rod was of steel is evident from what is said of it in ţórsdrápa. Víthar is the avenger of the gods. In Vpá., 55, after Víthar slays the wolf, we read: 'There was his father avenged.' In Vafthr., 53: 'The wolf shall swallow the father of mankind; Víthar shall avenge this.' In Grímn. 17: 'With thicket and high grass is Víthar's land, Vithi, grown; and there the son says from the horse's back that he has courage to avenge his father.' I suggest that this conception of Víthar as an avenger is based on Isaiah lxiii. 4: 'For the day of vengeance is in mine heart.' In the preceding verse we read: 'I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me.'

Light is thrown on this passage (translated above) by Hávamál, 119:
                        hrísi vex
                        ok háu grasi
                        vegr er vćtki trřđr.
'With thicket and high grass is grown the way, which no one treads.'
 Víthar, the avenger, dwells, then, in the lonely waste inhabited by no man, or god, except himself. The name of his land , Viđi, is derived from viđr, forest.Víthar is called 'the silent,' doubtless because he inhabits the solitary wilderness where he converses with no one.
        We have here a masterly picture, entirely Scandinavian in spirit, of Odin's son meditating vengeance in the solitary waste. We can but admire it the more when we recognise from what vague hints it developed.
        One of these hints may be found in Isaiah lxiii. 3: 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the heathen (lit., of the people, de gentibus) there was none with me.'This passage has been brought into connection with the words in Rev. xii. 6, of the woman who has given birth to a man child who is to rule the heathen (omnes gentes) with a rod of iron: 'she fled into the solitary wilderness.'


        In Vpá., 55, where we read of Víthar's coming to fight against the wolf, Víthar is called 'the great son of the father of victory, i.e. Odin' (inn mikli mögr Sigföđur). In Grímn., 17, where his vengeance is predicted, he is designated as 'the son.' In Snorri's Edda also, he is called Odin's son. We may trace this epithet back to its starting-point in Rev. xii. 5, where 'he who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron' is called filius masculus, and where we read of him: 'raptus est filius eius (i.e. mulieris) ad Deum et ad thronum eius.' And this 'son' was taken (for example, by Bede) to refer to Christ, the Son of God. In like manner, Víthar corresponds, as I have already shown, to 'the Son of God' in the Serbian story.
        In Grímn. 17, the avenger Víthar speaks from horseback. According to Rev. xix. II, he who is to rule all peoples with a rod of iron, 'sat upon a white horse.' The Scandinavian myth represents the silent god as speaking when his time approaches. The remarkable expression in Grímn., 17: 'He himself says (lćzk) that he shall avenge his father,' may be due to the fact that the avenger, in Isaiah lxiii. 4, speaks in the first person, and says: 'For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.' When transferred to Víthar, this may have called forth the idea that there shall come a time when he need no longer dwell as a skógarmađr, an exile in the lonely wilderness.
        We read of the avenger in Rev. xix. 15: 'and he treadeth (calcat) the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.' In Isaiah lxiii. 3-4: 'I have trodden (calcavi) the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread (calcavi) them in mine anger, and trample (conculcavi) them in my fury......For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.' Even as the avenger here treads down the people with his foot, so in the Middle Ages was applied to the same Son of God the saying that He crushed with His foot the head of the serpent.  These words brought it about that the figure on the Gosforth Cross, which represents the Son of God, places his foot in the mouth of the wolfsnake, and that the avenger Víthar treads in Fenrir's mouth.
        The shoe that Víthar has on the foot with which he treads in the monster's mouth, is especially mentioned in Snorri's Edda (I, 192). To throw light on this characteristic, E. H. Meyer  has with good reason called attention to a passage in Bede (Opp., III, 617) where the historian says (in a symbolical sense) that Christ appeared seeming to have a shoe on his foot. Here also the mystical allegory has become, in the Scandinavian myth, part of a graphic material picture.

        In Vafthr., 50-51, Odin asks: 'Which of the Asir shall rule over the possessions of the gods when Surt's flame shall be extinguished?' And the giant answers: Víthar and Váli shall occupy the dwelling of the gods when Surt's flame shall be quenched.' So far as Víthar is concerned, this conception rests on Rev. ii. 26-27, where the Lord says: 'And he that overcometh, and keepeth (custodiet) my works (opera) unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.'
        Víthar's mother is the giantess Gríđr. This name signifies 'passionate violence,'and corresponds in its etymological meaning to the expression furor irae in the words of the Apocalypse: ipse calcat torcular vini furoris irae dei omnipotentis (Rev. xix. 15). Compare Isaiah lxiii. 3: calcavi eos in furore meo et conculavi eos in ira mea. The myth-making imagination of the heathen Norsemen has occasionally isolated the attributes of a god and made out of them mythical persons who are represented as his relatives. Thus Thor's might (megin) and anger (móđr) are imagined as his sons Magni and Móđi. In the same way, Víthar's gríđ, i.e. his furor irae, the rage with which he is filled at the moment of vengeance, is represented as his mother Griđr. The fact that a mother of the avenger is spoken of in the Apocalypse, probably helped to bring this about. The rod of iron was doubtless called originally gríđarvölr, as being the rod which the avenger used in his rage; but later it was understood as the rod of his mother Gríth. She doubtless kept it for her son's use at the end of the world.
        In the Revelation, the mother of the avenger is driven out into the wilderness. Víthar's mother dwelt outside of the world inhabited by gods and men: Thor met her on his journey to the giant Geirrřth.
        I have already hinted, in the preceding remarks on Víthar's fight with Fenrir, that Fenrir, as E. H. Meyer has pointed out, has also adopted peculiarities which belonged to the beast (bestia) in Revelation. The imagination of the Scandinavians pictured the wolf Fenrir as the most prominent and the worst of the gods' enemies in ragnarřkkr, and represented the father of the gods as setting out against him. Compare Rev. xix. 19: 'And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.' In the strophe of Völuspá, which deals with Víthar's fight with the wolf, the latter is called valdýr, 'animal of slaughter.' This is a reproduction of bestia, of whom we read: 'And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them' (Rev. xiii. 7). In the same strophe, the wolf is called mögr Heđvrungs, 'the sons of Hvethrung.' Hveđrungr is probably a mythical representative of the raging sea. Compare AS hweođerung, 'murmuratio,' se brym hweođerode, 'the billows roared.' The expression mögr Hveđrungs applied to Fenrir, may, then, be explained by the expression de mari bestiam ascendentem (Rev. xiii. I).
        The name Fenrir, or Fenrisúlfr, has been explained as if it were a genuine Scandinavian derivative of ON fen in the poetical meaning of that word, viz. 'sea,' and designated the monster as a water-demon. But this explanation cannot be correct; for there does not exist in Old Norse any productive derivative ending -rir, gen. -ris. Moreover, Fenrir cannot be properly called a water-demon.

I have endeavoured to show that the statements regarding the wolf Fenrir arose under the influence of Christian conceptions of the devil as lupus infernus, combined with stories about Behemoth and about the 'beast' in the Apocalypse. In accordance with this theory, I believe that the name Fenrir, Fenrisúlfr, arose from the foreign infernus lupus, as changed in Old Norse by popular etymology. The weakly accented first syllable of infernus has fallen off in the Norse name, as in the Old Saxon word fern, 'hell,' from Lat. infernum, in the Hęliand. Fenrir is formed by means of the derivative ending -ir, gen. -is, which is very much used in mythical names, among others in the giant names. Fenrir is an alteration of *Fernir. The reason for this alteration is that the Old Norsemen brought Fenrir, by popular etymology, into connection with fen, in the meaning 'fen, swamp, mire.' The transference of thought was natural; for hell and the lower world were connected to some extent in the popular imagination with deep or boundless morasses. Moreover, the statements regarding Behemoth, in Job xl. 16, that 'he lieth.....in the covert of the reed, and fens,' may have contributed to this popular etymology.
        In Vafthr., 46, 47, Fenrir (i.e. wolf of hell) is used to designate the wolf that swallows the sun. Still other features were transferred from Behemoth and lupus infernus to the wolf that swallows the sun. In Vpá., 40, 41, the Sibyl says:
                        Austr sat en aldna
                        í iarnviđi
                        ok fćddi ţar
                        Fenris kindir;
                        verđr af ţeim öllum
                        einna nökkurr
                        tungls tjúgari
                        í trollz hami.
                        Fyllisk fjörvi
                        feigra manna, etc.

'In the east sat the old one, in Ironwood, and gave birth there to Fenrir's brood; of them all a certain one shall become the robber of the gleaming heavenly body in the form of a monster. He fills himself with the bodies of doomed men.'
        This account of how the wolf that swallows the sun gorges himself with dead men's bodies (fjörvi) is connected with the account of the Serbian tale of how the sinful go into the power of Dabog, and how he has devoured them from time immemorial, just as a German poem represents the devil as devouring souls.
        E. H. Meyer calls attention to the statement, who is nourished in the east until the day of doom, there shall slay and devour sons and mothers, children and fathers.
        While the wolf Fenrir has to some extent its prototype in Behemoth, the Mithgarthsorm has its prototype in Leviathan. In Job xl. Leviathan is associated with Behemoth as a mighty creature similar in nature. In Scandinavian mythical stories, the Mithgarthsorm and the wolf Fenrir appear side by side; they are even represented as brothers. The Icelanders thought of the Mithgarthsorm as lying in the sea, surrounding all lands, and biting its own tail. This conception is taken direct from the Christian conception of Leviathan. Bede  says: Leviathan animal terram complectitur tenetque caudam in ore suo. In the Christian Middle Ages, the similarity between the Mithgarthsorm and Leviathan was so striking to the Icelanders that they identified the two. Thus in an old book of homilies,  we find Miđgarđsormr written over leviaţan as a gloss.

SONGS AND LEGENDS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES

SONGS AND LEGENDS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES - E-BOOK

 

 

 

DEES DREAMS AND VISIONS ARCHIVE PAGE

DREAMS OF THE GREAT EARTHCHANGES - MAIN INDEX