Tuesday, July 22, 2008

What Else is in a Name?

"Alpengleuhen"

These little hydrangea varieties from WaysideGardens.com are called Alpengluhen, translated by the seed catalguer as "amber glow" but I knew there was more.
There's soo much more in the name....

[from wikipedia] Alpenglow (from German: Alpenglühen) is an optical phenomenon. When the Sun sets, a hoizontal red glowing band can sometimes be observed to the east.

This reminds me of the Irrlichts on the Brocken, Germany's most famous magical mountain (Harz Mountains) and setting for Walpurgisnacht. "Follow the Irrlichts! Follow the Irrlichts" is a famous line from Goethe's Faust.


Irrlichts are will-of-the-wisps. According to amidst.com, "Will-o'-the-wisps are lambent flames seen flickering over marshes and fens, recorded for centuries in many different cultures under many different synonyms, often explained as ignited marsh gas...."
[irrlichts]
Ask yourself what names mean. They carry our evolution within them.
That's what the Emperor does in the Tarot Deck to gain dominion.

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