Mitosis and the Devil?

Parzival

Mitosis and the Devil

Astrid O said:
.
"Tangled cloudy grey stuff over a pink background."
I think this quote says it all!!!

This is apparently the surface of Mars. Does it relate at all to the testicular mitosis? Formation of life patterns in small spheres (testicles) and in a large sphere, relatively (Mars)? This may not be fertile speculation. Thoughts? ...

prudence

Sorry, Frank, I was just being naughty when I posted that...you know, the whole subject of sex...this card just has that effect...

Parzival

Astrid O said:
Sorry, Frank, I was just being naughty when I posted that...you know, the whole subject of sex...this card just has that effect...

Yes, the Image can be stimulating and elevating. Still, I wonder if the Mars' surface has anything to do with the Mitosis motif --- life inside and on the surface?

prudence

I guess it's just hard (no pun intended) for me to take this image too seriously with it's main image being that big phallic symbol, and that goofy (and am I to assume horny?) 3-eyed goat. I like that this image doesn't feel "evil" to me, like so many other devil cards, I don't dread it when it pops up (again, no pun intened) in my readings.
Has anyone ever slept with this one under the pillow? The dreams I experienced with this card under mine (tho, it wasn't the only card I had under my pillow) were very...vivid.

rainwolf

The Dreamer said:
When a fertilized egg cell divides and comes out as a baby, it is called meiosis, not mitosis.
With mitosis, depending on what cell it starts with, it can come out as skin, or any part of the body (or as part of a plant, or anything else which has cells). Or, as cancer, if the division continues unchecked.

Ummm...meiosis is when cells split their chromosomes so that they only have 23 chromosomes, so it occurs in the gametes. Mitosis is cell reproduction and occurs everywhere else.

The Dreamer

You're right, Rainwolf. I was unclear.

I didn't mean to imply that the division which continues after the initial divisions of a fertilized egg cell is called meiosis, nor did I mean to imply that division of gamete cells is not called meiosis.

The way you stated it was pretty close, but it's a little more complicated than that.

The point I was making is that the cell division which is called mitosis occurs in cells which are not gametes; and mitosis, not meiosis, is what is apparently depicted in the picture on the Thoth card. The way the chromosomes line up when mitosis occurs is different than the way they line up when meiosis occurs.

(Mitosis- division of non gamete cells, in such a way that the number of chromosomes is not halved.
Meiosis- division of gamete cells [including plant spore cells] in such a way that the number of chromosomes is halved.
The first two divisions of a fertilized egg cell also are labelled as meiosis- technically, Meiosis II.)
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/meiosis.htm

rainwolf

Sorry-i didnt want to get all technical on you! Youre right...the card does look like they are big...you know what....

prudence

So, with this info, about gametes etc, why is this image of mitosis occuring in the testes? Shouldn't the image be meiosis? And why this particular stage of mitosis? Is that significant? To me this image looks like it supposed to be between Metaphase and Anaphase, stages 2 and 3 of mitosis. Is this just splitting hairs, or is it relevant?

The Dreamer

The same thing I was wondering.
I don't know if the stage is supposed to be relevant.
As for why the mitosis depiction would be in the part of the picture which is the testes analogue- well, human figures shouldn't be in there either.

Maybe it just was a way to incorporate the motif of nonsexual as well as sexual reproduction, and the spheres were the best place to put it.

I also don't see why the background should be interpreted as the surface of Mars. Mars is closer to red or orange than pink or peach.
No life has been found inside or on the surface there, though perhaps it could be found later.

I haven't read the Book Of Thoth so I can't comment upon the original intentions for the card.

Parzival

The Dreamer said:
I also don't see why the background should be interpreted as the surface of Mars. Mars is closer to red or orange than pink or peach.
No life has been found inside or on the surface there, though perhaps it could be found later.

I don't want to limit interpretation about the background painting on this card, but I do recall that in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, some astronomers illustrated first-hand (or eye) observations of Mars' surface, and it looked strikingly like what I see on this card. An Italian astronomer and illustrator, Antoniadi, was known for such work. But only my association, nothing definitive. I don't want to "water down" the approach.

Mitosis and the Devil?

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prudence

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rainwolf

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