Hierophant's feet thingies...?

Grigori

On the four corners of the Hierophants feet are four circles with crosses in them. They kind of look like the ends of phillip's head screws to me :laugh:

What are they really?
 

firemaiden

You see - now you are seeing things in way similar to my warped vision - phillips head feet, and he's holding a telephone pole.

No sorry, forgive my being facetious. I really don't know.

It makes me think of the Stigmata.
 

Nevada

They're actually keyholes, to fit those two keys into. Only the Hierophant himself knows which combination of two keyholes to insert the keys into, in order to open the top of his footstool's storage compartment--where he hides the real crosses. The telephone pole is only for public use. The real crosses are much too valuable, not to mention too heavy, to wave around like that.

He doesn't really need to be so secretive, but he believes if he appears mysterious he'll be better able to compete with that pesky Papess--er, Priestess. He doesn't want anyone to guess she's the one with the real secrets.

Little does he know, her secret is that she reads steamy romance novels. She doesn't want anyone to know, so she puts fancy covers on them and calls them the Book of Secrets. Woooooooh!

Or it could be that sometimes Nevada is too silly to be allowed to live and forgets she's not in chat or games. Sorry.

Nevada
 

HudsonGray

Ok, now that that's answered here's another one. What's with those hatpins stuck into the top of his crown?
 

Jeanette

I'm guessing antenna for receiving signals....
 

Rosanne

This is so funny and although I have enjoyed all the suppositions, I will tell you what I learnes as a wee catholic Heretic.
The wee receivers on top of the Triegno (triple crown) stand for Lawgiver, teacher and Judge and are like little hatpins jewelled and stand pointing outwards.
The telephone pole used to be like a Crozier or Shephards crook but is now a crucifix. There is a special name for it but I forgot!
The Keys to the Kingdom of heaven are a gold and a silver one tied with a red cord.
The long white tie down the front is made of wool and should have six black or red crosses on it (perhaps the other three are hanging down the back) and is called a Pallium.
On the carpet beneath the throne is the Coat of Arms of the Holy Sea and should have interlacing rings on it in the four corners not the phillips screw heads you see. They are called Gules and are directional N/S/E/W. The Throne is called a Sedia Gestatoria (sp?) and was carried in and placed in the middle of the Coat of Arms. The shoes of the Fisherman (the pope) are white for chastity. The crosses on them are the stigmata as on the gloves.
If you would like some urban myth- it was thought that the headpeace jewelery was thought to symbolise 666. The Mitre that the pope wears now in preference to the triple crown is said to have come from the aura that is a flame like shape around a holymans head- as seen around people like the DaliLama. All pomp and ceremony in my eyes and very borrowed from Pagan ancestry. ~Rosanne
 

firemaiden

Thank you Rosanne, that was very helpful. See, now I was totally ignorant but I guessed the stigmata anyway, I do I get a point?

I was thinking if they weren't the stigmata, they might have been places where they had gotten holes in them, and then his mother darned them.
 

Rosanne

With a voice like yours Firemaiden- you could stand under the ceremonial umbrella they used to use- lots of myth about it, but it was just a sun umbrella with a Castrati singing- called an Alto Tenor? now. Unfortunately because you're a female you would have to kneel behind the grill at the side altar- not serving chips mind you. Popes have traditionally loved their Mums to bits- so darning socks would have been a prayerful occupation. I am amazed I can retain all this gobbly gook and spit it out in an instant. It really worries me...oh another piece of useless information- those poor bishops at the front would have once had to wave big white ostrich fans over his Holiness to keep him cool. What does it all remind you of? Adoration of the Pharaoh? Bet I could still recite the Litany of Saints if push came to shove- sounds incredibly like the old Egyptian King list and just as boring- stay ignorant and smell the roses and learn Tarot I say ! :D ~Rosanne
 

Moongold

Rosanne said:
On the carpet beneath the throne is the Coat of Arms of the Holy Sea............
I think they should throw Il Papa into the Holy Sea as well. The salt water is good for stigmata.

similia said:
.....They kind of look like the ends of phillip's head screws to me :laugh:
Actually similia, you nay not have been far wrong except I don't think they used those in Roman times.

Moongold
 

gregory

Moongold said:
I think they should throw Il Papa into the Holy Sea as well. The salt water is good for stigmata.
Sadly, as a vicar's daughter (no, really !), I feel obliged to point out that we are talking about the Holy SEE here - which could throw extra light on the antennae of course..... Distant vision. German for TV is Fernseher - far seer....! :cool3: