Dominos?

Can any one please offer some insight into what the dominos on the Empress' shirt refer to?

Anything at all... please

I've tried googling and found an amusing story about Crowley boring a bunch of people at a club named "Dominos" with his ideas, some stuff about divining with dominos, and some talk of "the domino effect" but no sign of hidden meanings (or more likely obvious ones that I don't know)

In a moment of desperation I even looked up what the word may mean in other languages.

Lon Milo DuQuette writes (pg. 105 Understanding...):

"Her green skirt is topped with a blouse of passionate red,
ornamented with bees and what appear to be dominoes
surrounded by spiral rings. Around her waist is the
golden belt of the zodiac."

*

Looking at the image, it seemed to me that these
were part of a suggestively Mandala-like pattern.

(click to view sample Mandala)

Thanks Fulgour

It seems I've read DuQuette and decided "they must be dominoes" when in fact they could well be something else.

I seem to remember one author relating the spiral patterns to a bees dance, but on closer looking at the card the spiral patterns surround the "dominoes" and never the bees.

mmm, this has been a rewarding (if puzzling) week of thoth study for me.

Crowley himself is very vague about the dominos. He writes, "...the nub of this symbolism must be sought in the poems of Catullus and Martial. On her robes are also bees; also dominos, surrounded by continuous spiral lines; the signification is everywhere similar."

So I guess it's to the poems of Catullus and Martial. I thought I was done with Latin

I hope this helps...

Henry

I found some sites with catullus and marshall translations if you are intrested.

http://www.marshall.edu/classical-studies/translations.htm#1.19

http://members.lycos.co.uk/geoff_harrisson/cat.htm


good luck!

Thanks HenryLee and SubtleMind

ROFLMAO!!!

I think the Marshall translations must be very liberal! I'm fairly sure the originals had no references to "The Backstreet Boys" or Lorena Bobbitt!

Does anyone get any ideas from the poems?

hahahah... i didnt even go through and read them.... i dont know what he was thinking in those translations but now that i see that im wondering just how accurate any of them are, some seem like they could be correct but the backstreet boys..... jesus

I think that they're retranslations from some Classics classes. I'll delve into the few books that I have and see what I can dig up. I'm still confused to a degree because I don't remember any dominos in the poems...

In the Latin translations of Catullus I found two mentions of "domino":

In Carmen 45, he writes, "At Acme leviter caput reflectens
et dulcis pueri ebrios ocellos
illo purpureo ore suaviata,
'sic' inquit 'mea vita Septimille,
huic uni domino usque serviamus,
ut multo mihi maior acriorque
ignis mollibus ardet in medullis.'"

Basically,
"And Acme, gently bending back her head
and having kissed the eyes intoxicated
with love, of the sweet boy with those rosy lips,
said: 'In this way, my dear Septimius,
my life, let us serve forever this one master,
as a flame much greater and keener
burns in my tender limbs.'"

Then in Carmen 63 there's, "'patria o mei creatrix, patria o mea genetrix,
ego quam miser relinquens, dominos ut erifugae
famuli solent, ad Idae tetuli nemora pedem,
ut aput niuem et ferarum gelida stabula forem,
et earum omnia adirem furibunda latibula,
ubinam aut quibus locis te positam, patria, reor?'"

Or
"'Fatherland, my mother; fatherland, my creator! I left you
behind unhappily, as fugitive slaves often run from their
masters, and came to the forests of Ida to be by the snow
and the beasts' frozen lairs, and zealously visit their
darkened dens. Where in the world— in what regions— did I
think you were, my fatherland?'"

Latin Domino=master


Right now I'm starting to think that Crowley was going for the royalty/domination ideals. Napoleon's seal featured a bee and domino is the root for domination, dominion etc....I'm also reminded of a painting of I believe Queen Elizabeth, with eyes all over her dress signifying that she could see all...


I'm still lost, Crowley was a genius...
Henry

HenryLee said:

Right now I'm starting to think that Crowley was going for the royalty/domination ideals. Napoleon's seal featured a bee and domino is the root for domination, dominion etc....I'm also reminded of a painting of I believe Queen Elizabeth, with eyes all over her dress signifying that she could see all...Henry

Click to expand...

Nice clue Henry! I found this page with a picture of Napoleon's seal:
http://www.napoleon.org/en/essential_napoleon/symbols/index.asp

It offers text explaining the various components. On bees the author offer:

The Bee
Symbol of immortality and resurrection, the bee was chosen so as to link the new dynasty to the very origins of France. Golden bees (in fact, cicadas) were discovered in 1653 in Tournai in the tomb of Childeric I, founder in 457 of the Merovingian dynasty and father of Clovis. They were considered as the oldest emblem of the sovereigns of France.

Click to expand...