Sheepdog's Titbit - The number 9
Sheepdog's Favourite Quote - by Julius Caesar
Sheepdog's Excerpt - Forever Shales pages 38-42
Sheepdog's Adventure - Verde Canyon Railway
Sheepdog's Round-up - The Sator Square
What is The Sheepdog? It's a newsletter/blog that is in its early beginnings. You will find me promoting my historical novel Forever Shales, but I will be writing articles of interest as well. Every month I'll write a new issue, and the printed version, which is limited to 100 printed copies and may differ slightly from this blog, is given out at various locations around Windsor, Nova Scotia. D.Berkeley
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Sheepdog's Tit-bit
The number 9: When you add the following: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9 you get 45. Add 4+5 together and you get 9. You cannot destroy the number 9, no matter how many times you multiply or add it to its own multiple. You can’t do this with any other number. 2 x 9 = 18, and add them: 1+8=9. Three times nine equals 27. Add 2+7=9. Nine time four equals 36. Add 3+6 and you get 9. Nine time five equals 45. Add 4+5 and they equal 9. And 9x9=81, and add 8+1 and you get 9. 11x9=99 and add the two nines together and you get 18, then add 1+8 and you get 9! In 24 hours, your heart beats an average of 103,680 times. Add the numbers and you get 18. Add 1+8 and you get 9. A 360 degree circle adds up to 9. There are 86,400 seconds in a day, and guess what? Add 8+6+4 and you get 18, and 1+8=9. There’s more but I decided to stop here, but you can see how amazing the number 9 is.
Sheepdog's Excerpt from Forever Shales
Introduction to partway through chapter 3: Shales, a Border collie, attends a Victorian garden party.
A little further off to the side was another group of gentlemen. Their talk was about horses and gambling. A strong smell of liquor pervaded the air about them. This strange smell was not new to me, but I wondered if it was responsible for making them act so silly. They had laid on a bet: would Thomas and Algernon return, sober or not, and as well, would they return at all, before dawn? They guffawed loudly; their laughter was in half-sober tones. Shivers went down my spine, as I was momentarily taken by surprise by their lewd behaviour – it was ungentlemanly. They reminded me of Toothless George, when on Sunday nights he eagerly attacked his small bottle of rum, which he received as part of his wages. Sunday nights were a good night to keep quiet in the kennel and not rouse George’s wrath, which was wont to strike out at any moving animal, and with little cause.
The gentleman who liked to take photographs noticed me, and spoke kindly to me. It is only now, years later as I tell you this, that I realise he had had a camera with him, and that he took my picture – without Jessie, as she was nowhere to be found. I recognised him right away as being a visitor to our farm. He was my master’s brother, Herbert. He was another one who lived in that far-off place called London. Herbert Bowyer seemed pleased to see me, and spent a lot of time getting me to sit or stand without moving. He was a very handsome man, with dark, short-clipped hair and longish sideburns, and like his oldest brother Rowland, looked fit and tanned from the summer’s sun.
I liked him; he was genuine.
I began to feel more comfortable amongst these people. Rowland didn’t seem to mind if I moved about on my own, so I continued to trot about the estate and mingle at leisure. I soon found the doorway to the kitchen. It was situated at the rear of the residence; that, which was built of black beams and plaster, and it being Tudor-like, unlike the front and the newer south wing, both of which were brick. There, in the kitchen, I found the cook. Bless her! She was nice and friendly, and she fed me some meat and vegetables with gravy. It had been freshly cooked and flavoured with herbs, and it was much better than anything George ever fed to Toby and me.
On a full stomach, I then trotted off to the large parterre garden and found some ladies at the far end, seated around a lace-covered table. It hadn’t yet got dark, so they were enjoying the last of the warm evening sunshine, filtered through the trees’ leaves lest they should burn their pale skin, though the sunlight was diminishing quickly and the shadows had begun to lengthen. Behind them, another very large pasture, Church Field, created a gentle backdrop. The ladies welcomed me with much affection, and served me tea and cakes. I had never had tea before, and I readily lapped it up out of a delicate china teacup. The tea was tasty and it slaked my thirst, and from that day onwards I had a taste for it.
“Shame, isn’t it?” said an elderly lady with greying hair.
“What is that, Emily?” asked another elderly lady, seated at the same table.
“The dogs. I’m talking about dogs. The men always want them to be kept outside or in the stables, but we women would like to have one in the house as a faithful companion. Isn’t that correct, Anne?” said Emily.
“Dear Emily, I agree with you wholeheartedly, but men always take charge. What do we really do? What influences do we have in our own homes, other than telling the cook what to prepare for our meals?” replied another lady, named Julia. She was much younger than the greying Emily.
“Oh... Please let us talk about something else,” said Jane impatiently.
I knew who Jane was, because she visited Mildred at our farm all the time. Their husbands were brothers.
Emily fanned her face with rapid movements of her wrist, looked at Jane, and responded wisely, “If you haven’t discovered this by now, then you soon shall. Your William may be my nephew, but he is still a man. I’m sure we can all agree around this table, that all men don’t like women to get the better of them, even when it comes to having a dog or a cat as a pet. I have noticed you don’t yet have a dog as a house pet, nor a cat. I remember you saying, just last year, that you were going to get a cat and keep it as a pet. Every time you have mentioned it William has changed the subject, and now you don’t even bother about it. You haven’t mentioned it in months.”
I ran up to Emily in excitement and sniffed her fan – it was just a fan and not a bird of prey. My immediate interest in it waned. She reached out to stroke me with her free hand. “Well, hello there.You must be Rowland’s dog, Shales,” she said affectionately. She offered her fan for me to sniff. “It’s just a fan; it isn’t a bird,” she said humorously. Her hand lingered; she continued to caress my ears.
“William says they make him sneeze,” answered Jane petulantly.
“You need to be more cunning,” replied Emily, as she once again fanned her face with vigour. “And they don’t make him sneeze! He’s my nephew. I ought to know.”
The ladies’ various conversations carried on and on. They were mostly about subjects I had no knowledge of. It had been a champion day, so interesting and entertaining. I had become exhausted from all the activity and I wondered when it would be time to return home to the kennels. I was also very full. Full to the beam, and I didn’t think I could eat another morsel of food without bursting at the seams. The sweetness of the cakes had settled a bit heavily on my stomach – I desired, yet again, another nap.
Eventually, it became dark, and everyone went inside the large house, and a short while later the servants came outside and cleared away the remains of the food and clutter. There were discarded plates and wine glasses everywhere, placed upon tables, chairs, or on the grass by the partygoers – wherever the opportunity had arisen. I had woken up feeling better, my stomach having settled, so once again I sought out the aromas of the party food. I searched for the discarded plates and glasses in a mad dash to get to them before the servants could whisk them away. They were mostly clean though, as I had already gone round and made sure no food was left on them. Their smooth surfaces gleamed from my washing up – clean enough to put back in the cupboard. There had been no sign of rain, but even so, the servants had removed all the tables, chairs, and umbrellas to the safety of a building near to the stables. I followed them about as they tidied up, merely out of interest.
Afterwards I sat down upon the soft grass beneath an ancient tree, just across from the main entrance to the house, and waited patiently for my master and mistress to emerge. Still, I felt so full that I could barely move. I’d had what I considered to be a very busy and exhausting day. My brain was nearly filled to bursting point with the knowledge of new experiences, and my stomach felt overstretched from my culinary indulgences. The sounds of music and laughter poured out into the night, and through the large windows I could see people dancing within the bright, candle-lit interior of the house.
Shortly later, our carriage appeared, driven by Jenkins. Its lamps cast a golden glow upon the pink gravel as it was driven out from the stable yard and around to the front of the house, alerting me to the fact that we would be leaving before very long. I continued to wait in anticipation, not wanting to be left behind.
After some time they emerged into the warm night air, and my master whistled for me. Mildred spoke excitedly as she walked from the house to the waiting carriage. Her voice carried upon the night air and the smooth gravel crunched noisily beneath their feet. I ran up to them in greeting, and they were pleased to see me. It was a lovely summer’s night, and both warm and light; lit from the moon and stars in a silvery glow that happens only in the countryside.
Thomas and Algernon had not returned by the time we left. I heard my master telling Mildred that more bets had been wagered as to the time of day or night they would return. As our carriage made its way back to our farm upon the lonely, narrow highway, she spoke to her husband in a quiet but serious tone, “They are not boys any longer; even Algernon has grown out of boyhood, and I think his father should send him off to some place such as the army. It will do the boy some good.” My master nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything of importance, she continued, "As for Thomas, well, he is not yet of age, but he is so charming and handsome, that it is as if he has already had all the experiences of life.”
I listened to their words, not fully understanding their meanings, nor knowing anything about whom they were talking. I simply wanted to soak up every word I had listened to, like a sponge, and file it away for future use.
Rowland knew his younger cousins well. “They’re both full of life, the two of them. Even if I were a bit younger, I don’t think I could keep up with them. I certainly can’t ride like they do. They’re both either very brave, or very stupid.”
Mildred laughed, and as I glanced across at her I could see her eyes glistened with wet tears of mirth. “My dear, the lads are true gentlemen, and whether they be brave or stupid, I think they are very attractive, and I assure you they shall break many a young woman’s heart before long, if that hasn’t already happened.”
Afterwards I sat down upon the soft grass beneath an ancient tree, just across from the main entrance to the house, and waited patiently for my master and mistress to emerge. Still, I felt so full that I could barely move. I’d had what I considered to be a very busy and exhausting day. My brain was nearly filled to bursting point with the knowledge of new experiences, and my stomach felt overstretched from my culinary indulgences. The sounds of music and laughter poured out into the night, and through the large windows I could see people dancing within the bright, candle-lit interior of the house.
Shortly later, our carriage appeared, driven by Jenkins. Its lamps cast a golden glow upon the pink gravel as it was driven out from the stable yard and around to the front of the house, alerting me to the fact that we would be leaving before very long. I continued to wait in anticipation, not wanting to be left behind.
After some time they emerged into the warm night air, and my master whistled for me. Mildred spoke excitedly as she walked from the house to the waiting carriage. Her voice carried upon the night air and the smooth gravel crunched noisily beneath their feet. I ran up to them in greeting, and they were pleased to see me. It was a lovely summer’s night, and both warm and light; lit from the moon and stars in a silvery glow that happens only in the countryside.
Thomas and Algernon had not returned by the time we left. I heard my master telling Mildred that more bets had been wagered as to the time of day or night they would return. As our carriage made its way back to our farm upon the lonely, narrow highway, she spoke to her husband in a quiet but serious tone, “They are not boys any longer; even Algernon has grown out of boyhood, and I think his father should send him off to some place such as the army. It will do the boy some good.” My master nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything of importance, she continued, "As for Thomas, well, he is not yet of age, but he is so charming and handsome, that it is as if he has already had all the experiences of life.”
I listened to their words, not fully understanding their meanings, nor knowing anything about whom they were talking. I simply wanted to soak up every word I had listened to, like a sponge, and file it away for future use.
Rowland knew his younger cousins well. “They’re both full of life, the two of them. Even if I were a bit younger, I don’t think I could keep up with them. I certainly can’t ride like they do. They’re both either very brave, or very stupid.”
Mildred laughed, and as I glanced across at her I could see her eyes glistened with wet tears of mirth. “My dear, the lads are true gentlemen, and whether they be brave or stupid, I think they are very attractive, and I assure you they shall break many a young woman’s heart before long, if that hasn’t already happened.”
* * * * *
I had to tell a lie. No two ways about it. I did not have the heart to tell Toby all that he had missed. When he asked me about my day out, I told him it had been very long and weary, and that I was ignored and went hungry, and I even had to beg for a few paltry morsels of food. I did say, though, that with more outings like that, one would eventually get used to it, and the boredom could be looked upon as a form of relaxation. I had not wanted to hurt his feelings by telling him all of what he had missed. As I spoke to him, I secretly hoped that there would be more days such as this. Sadly, he believed me, and I felt rather guilty for having enjoyed what was up to then the best day of my life."
Buy Forever Shales at:
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sheepdog's Adventure
Verde Canyon Railway
Verde Canyon Railway is an historic railway a short driving distance from beautiful Sedona, in Arizona, USA. Pulled by two of the twelve remaining FP7 locomotives in North America, this train ride takes you from the old mining town of Clarkdale to the Perkinsville ghost ranch and back (Perkinsville was featured in the movie How The West Was Won). There are no roads in this valley, so the only way to see it is by taking this train. The route follows the Verde River and winds through scenic canyons, a 680-foot tunnel, and passes by ancient Indian ruins. You can travel in an open roofless coach where you can walk around, lean on the railings and feel the breeze and the hot Arizona sun bear down upon your head, as you snap photo after photo (recommended), or you can remain inside and view the outdoors through the coach’s wide glass panes. You can also pay extra and travel in the First-Class coach, and be served glasses of champagne.
The train travels at a lazy pace, so one has time to admire the desert and canyon scenes so unfamiliar to Nova Scotians. The train does not stop to let you walk around Perkinsville, but it does stop to switch engines for the return journey. Entire journey is four hours and is well worth the money. Web site: www.verdecanyonrr.com
Verde Canyon Railway is an historic railway a short driving distance from beautiful Sedona, in Arizona, USA. Pulled by two of the twelve remaining FP7 locomotives in North America, this train ride takes you from the old mining town of Clarkdale to the Perkinsville ghost ranch and back (Perkinsville was featured in the movie How The West Was Won). There are no roads in this valley, so the only way to see it is by taking this train. The route follows the Verde River and winds through scenic canyons, a 680-foot tunnel, and passes by ancient Indian ruins. You can travel in an open roofless coach where you can walk around, lean on the railings and feel the breeze and the hot Arizona sun bear down upon your head, as you snap photo after photo (recommended), or you can remain inside and view the outdoors through the coach’s wide glass panes. You can also pay extra and travel in the First-Class coach, and be served glasses of champagne.
The train travels at a lazy pace, so one has time to admire the desert and canyon scenes so unfamiliar to Nova Scotians. The train does not stop to let you walk around Perkinsville, but it does stop to switch engines for the return journey. Entire journey is four hours and is well worth the money. Web site: www.verdecanyonrr.com
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| Sedona - surrounded by beautiful red rocks. There are no shortages of places to stay. |
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| The open-air coach let's one move around. |
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| The train carries many tourists without over crowding. |
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| Perkinsville was filmed in How The West Was Won. |
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| The Verde Valley is only accessible by train. |
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Sator Square
What is it? A Sator square and a Rotas square are actually Latin
Palindromes, which are Latin word puzzles in the shape of a square. The
words are the same whether they are read top to bottom, or left to right,
or right to left, or bottom to top. There are five words, and each word
has five letters making a total of twenty-five letters. The difference
between a Sator square and a Rotas square is simply that the first word
in a Sator square is SATOR and a Rotas square is ROTAS. A few of these
ancient squares have survived history. They've been found carved into stone or clay, and appear to be linked to Christianity, although many people rebuke this claim. Here is what I found on these mysterious squares when I did a bit of internet research. *I also had some personal revelations of the squares' hidden depths:
The words mirror each other:
SATOR = ROTAS
AREPO = OPERA
TENET = TENET
OPERA = AREPO
ROTAS = SATOR
Read them up and down
SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS
Ancient History: The earliest examples of these squares can be found in Pompeii. After being buried in the ashes of Vesuvius in 79A.D., two of these squares survived. One of the squares, a Rotus Square, can be found on the wall of a Pompeii bakery once owned by P. Paquius Proculus, who may have been a retired Roman soldier, although at his death in 79A.D. he was a bakery owner and a prominent citizen of Pompeii. There are later examples of Sator Squares located in France and in England, as well as in Syria and Portugal. One found in Manchester, England, dates to the 2nd century, and another, found in Cirencester, England is a Rotas square. All seem to be located in areas that were once occupied by Roman soldiers.
Unlocking the five words – Latin into English (I double checked these translations; the interpretations are mostly from the internet)
1. (verb) Sator – sower; planter; founder; progenitor (usually Divine); creator
2. (verb) Arepo – (from Arrepo) move; creep stealthily towards; feel one’s way
3. (verb) Tenet – he holds; he keeps; comprehends; *possesses; preserves
4. (noun) Opera – works; *the word an effort; cares; aid; effort/trouble
5. (noun) Rotas – wheel; rotation; *a circle?
*indicates my interpretation or understanding
Below are three interpretations I found on different websites. The first two have used Arepo as if it were a man’s name, although it doesn’t seem to be a name ever used. I prefer to think that it is the word arrepo with one of the r's dropped - to make the word fit.
1. The sower, Arepo, leads with is hand (work) the plough (wheels.
2. The Sower, Arepo, holds the wheels with effort.
3. God (the Father) says, “I move stealthily in an effort to preserve my creations.” This translation is from Neil Steede. Steede also sees a possible connection to Mayan iconology: the four letter T’s of the intersecting Pater Noster form what is called a quincunx, “which in Myan iconography is used to depict the Law of Centre, which states that the universe was created for the perfection of man.” – Neil Steede
I am going to stick to a sole Christian message.
* * * * *
Unlocking The Sator Square’s Christian Message:
My interpretation of the five words – Latin into English: Whenever I read the five words of the Sator square, they make me think of The Parable of the Sower, which is found in the New Testament.
1. Sator = The Sower (God) says, “I sow seed (the word) into man.”
2. Arepo = It grows stealthily inside him. (like a vine)
3. Tenet = He (the man) keeps it (the word), possesses it, and comprehends it.
4. Opera = The word of God (His work)
5. Rotas = As a wheel is a continuous circle, so seed sown into good soil is ever fruitful.
In a nutshell it says: God says, *"I sow the word into man; it grows stealthily. The man keeps the word, he possesses it, and it grows without effort. Such as a healthy, mature plant will produce seed and will reproduce many times fold, so the word when sown into a man who keeps it, will grow and be fruitful."
*God is the original sower because the word is God, but a believer sows the word (seed) into him/herself every time they read scripture and meditate on it.
Like seed is sown in to good, fertile soil, the word is sown into man, but man is also like seed in that he himself might not be "good, fertile soil". Jesus explained it to his disciples below.
The Parable of the Sower: in Mark 4:14-20 Jesus explains, “14.The farmer sows the word. 15.Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16.Others, like seed sown on rocky places hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17.But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18.Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19.but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke out the word, making it unfruitful. 20.Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.”
The Sator Square Read Backwards: Because the Sator Square has at times been written in reverse (Rotas Square), let’s try it in reverse and see if it still makes any sense to the reader:
Unlocking the five words – Latin into English (I double checked these translations; the interpretations are mostly from the internet)
1. (verb) Sator – sower; planter; founder; progenitor (usually Divine); creator
2. (verb) Arepo – (from Arrepo) move; creep stealthily towards; feel one’s way
3. (verb) Tenet – he holds; he keeps; comprehends; *possesses; preserves
4. (noun) Opera – works; *the word an effort; cares; aid; effort/trouble
5. (noun) Rotas – wheel; rotation; *a circle?
*indicates my interpretation or understanding
Below are three interpretations I found on different websites. The first two have used Arepo as if it were a man’s name, although it doesn’t seem to be a name ever used. I prefer to think that it is the word arrepo with one of the r's dropped - to make the word fit.
1. The sower, Arepo, leads with is hand (work) the plough (wheels.
2. The Sower, Arepo, holds the wheels with effort.
3. God (the Father) says, “I move stealthily in an effort to preserve my creations.” This translation is from Neil Steede. Steede also sees a possible connection to Mayan iconology: the four letter T’s of the intersecting Pater Noster form what is called a quincunx, “which in Myan iconography is used to depict the Law of Centre, which states that the universe was created for the perfection of man.” – Neil Steede
I am going to stick to a sole Christian message.
* * * * *
Unlocking The Sator Square’s Christian Message:
My interpretation of the five words – Latin into English: Whenever I read the five words of the Sator square, they make me think of The Parable of the Sower, which is found in the New Testament.
1. Sator = The Sower (God) says, “I sow seed (the word) into man.”
2. Arepo = It grows stealthily inside him. (like a vine)
3. Tenet = He (the man) keeps it (the word), possesses it, and comprehends it.
4. Opera = The word of God (His work)
5. Rotas = As a wheel is a continuous circle, so seed sown into good soil is ever fruitful.
In a nutshell it says: God says, *"I sow the word into man; it grows stealthily. The man keeps the word, he possesses it, and it grows without effort. Such as a healthy, mature plant will produce seed and will reproduce many times fold, so the word when sown into a man who keeps it, will grow and be fruitful."
*God is the original sower because the word is God, but a believer sows the word (seed) into him/herself every time they read scripture and meditate on it.
Like seed is sown in to good, fertile soil, the word is sown into man, but man is also like seed in that he himself might not be "good, fertile soil". Jesus explained it to his disciples below.
The Parable of the Sower: in Mark 4:14-20 Jesus explains, “14.The farmer sows the word. 15.Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16.Others, like seed sown on rocky places hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17.But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18.Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19.but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke out the word, making it unfruitful. 20.Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.”
The Sator Square Read Backwards: Because the Sator Square has at times been written in reverse (Rotas Square), let’s try it in reverse and see if it still makes any sense to the reader:
- Rotas + Sator = As a wheel is a continuous circle, so seed sown into good soil is ever fruitful. The Sower (God) says, “I sow the word into man.
- Tenet = He keeps it (the word), possesses it, and comprehends it.
- Opera + Arepo = The word grows stealthily in him. (like a vine)
* * * * *
* * * * *
Connecting the A and O to Jesus – New Covenant:
In Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, Jesus speaks to the apostle John:
Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:17 “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”
Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Unlocking the Our Father: If you take all the twenty-five letters of the square (using the N twice), they spell out Pater Noster, which is Latin for the first words of the Lord’s Prayer – Our Father. The letters form a cross, or a plus sign. There are four letters left over: two A’s and two O’s. Instead of Latin, could it be that they are Greek? In the Greek Alphabet the letter A is Alpha, which translates as “the first”, or “the beginning”, and the letter O is Omega, which translates as “the last”, or “the end”. In other words, the left over A’s and O’s might mean: the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. If so, then we can connect the words Pater Noster to Christianity, because as you have just read in Revelation, Jesus identified himself as being just that.
Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
* * * * *
Unlocking the Our Father: If you take all the twenty-five letters of the square (using the N twice), they spell out Pater Noster, which is Latin for the first words of the Lord’s Prayer – Our Father. The letters form a cross, or a plus sign. There are four letters left over: two A’s and two O’s. Instead of Latin, could it be that they are Greek? In the Greek Alphabet the letter A is Alpha, which translates as “the first”, or “the beginning”, and the letter O is Omega, which translates as “the last”, or “the end”. In other words, the left over A’s and O’s might mean: the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. If so, then we can connect the words Pater Noster to Christianity, because as you have just read in Revelation, Jesus identified himself as being just that.
Take all the 25 letters and they spell:
P
A
T
A E O (Omega)
R
T
A E O (Omega)
R
PATERNOSTER
O
O S A (Alpha)
T
E
R
The English translation of the Latin words pater noster is Our Father. Notice the words form a cross, and there are 25 letters - all letters in the Sator square are used.
There is a second cross within Pater Noster. There are the four T's, and the letter T is in itself representative of the cross. See below:
P
A
T
E
R
PATERNOSTER
O
S
T
E
R
A Third Cross: Look at the Sator square again. The two words TENET intersect.
SATOR This is a third cross, and the meaning of tenet in English
AREPO is: he/she/it holds, possesses, keeps etc.
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS
Put the words together from two of the crosses and you get "Our Father holds, keeps, possesses".
Jesus at the Centre and on the Cross: I did check the Hebrew myself. Whether you look at the tablet of the Sator square or the interesting Pater Nosters, you will find that there is only one letter N and it is always dead centre. It sits there like a hub or an anchor.
The fish symbol is associated with Jesus, and Christians are well aware of this. The "en" sound of the letter N is representative of the Hebrew word Nun when pronounced, which means fish. How perfect the Latin of Paster Noster is, in that Jesus is in the centre AND that he is on the cross. The fish symbol became widely used (in secrecy) where Christianity spread in the first century. It sounds convenient, but relating the N to the Hebrew word for fish adds more points in its favour that the Sator square is a secret puzzle/book for Christians. If so, the fact that the N (fish) is central is very important – it puts Jesus, and the New covenant of Grace he brought, at the dead centre of the puzzle, which makes the puzzle Christian and new covenant. Why? Because Jesus brought us the New Covenant, meaning the first covenant, the laws (Ten Commandments) given to Moses, are no longer valid. Grace is in and Law is out.
The fish symbol is associated with Jesus, and Christians are well aware of this. The "en" sound of the letter N is representative of the Hebrew word Nun when pronounced, which means fish. How perfect the Latin of Paster Noster is, in that Jesus is in the centre AND that he is on the cross. The fish symbol became widely used (in secrecy) where Christianity spread in the first century. It sounds convenient, but relating the N to the Hebrew word for fish adds more points in its favour that the Sator square is a secret puzzle/book for Christians. If so, the fact that the N (fish) is central is very important – it puts Jesus, and the New covenant of Grace he brought, at the dead centre of the puzzle, which makes the puzzle Christian and new covenant. Why? Because Jesus brought us the New Covenant, meaning the first covenant, the laws (Ten Commandments) given to Moses, are no longer valid. Grace is in and Law is out.
The Old Covenant, the Laws, are represented:
SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS
Torot is a Hebrew word and is a plural for Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible and is known as the Books of Law, or the Laws. God gave these laws, or instructions, to Moses to write down for the people of Israel. Seeing the Old Covenant represented in the Sator square, but not by being central but by being on the outside corners, shows (to me) how it has been replaced.
Another hidden word is ORO: Look at the word TOROT and you see ORO, which is a Latin word that means speaks, orates, says. I am going to apply it twice to the hidden meanings of the Sator square, so bear with me. So, take the word TOROT and see the letters oro in it. Then go back and look at the intersecting words TENET, which means holds, keeps, possesses, and don't forget "Our Father". String them into a sentence and one can get "Our Father proclaims (says) he holds or he keeps the Laws" or Our Father proclaims, "I hold," or "I keep the laws." Is the message here that God is keeping the Laws, taking them back? If you understand why the Messiah (Jesus) came, then this makes sense because Jesus has something better to offer us, and that is eternal life - the kingdom of heaven. Next I will show you how to find eternity represented in the Sator square.
The Circle = Eternity (Everlasting Life): We have to go back to the Sator square tablet and read just the outside words. Imagine them as a circle and not a square. There are only two of them: SATOR and ROTAS.
SATOR
A O
T T
O A
ROTAS
They continually join into each other: they have no beginning and no end (sound familiar?) You can read them forwards or backwards. Both are the first and the last (familiar?).
SATOROTASATOROTASATOROTAS
They go on together forever, eternally. They very easily represent Eternity, or Eternal Life: ROTAS means "a wheel", but I see a wheel as a circle. SATOR means "sower", or as I prefer, God (who is the original sower of all). So, "The sower (God) and the circle are one = Eternity.
Now bring back the intersecting words TENET.
SATOR
A E O
TENET
O E A
O E A
ROTAS
We have God the Father (PATER NOSTER), and we have Jesus (N = fish) who is central, and we have a circle that never ends = Eternity or Eternal Life (Everlasting Life/Kingdom of Heaven), and we have the cross created by the words TENET (holds, keeps, possesses) and we have the Latin word ORO (speaks, says, proclaims), and there is a reference to the Law (TOROT). What message do I see in all this?
"God, Our Father, keeps the law (Old Covenant), and Jesus, our Saviour, brings us (is the way) to eternal life (the New Convenant)." As well, there is a reminder of the parable of the Sower, which is about how a good believer will follow the path of righteousness (the seed grows and bears fruit), but a poor believer, for various reasons mentioned by Jesus, will stray from that path and will wither and die.
If one has any doubts about God and Jesus being represented - remember the O and the A? In Greek they mean Alpha and Omega = the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and remember what Jesus said in Revelation? - that he is all these things.
I know that the non-believer will be scoffing at all this. It's what can be expected. Fair enough. However, take away all the Christian ideas and what do you have left? What is the purpose of this palindrome? Then, how would the anagram Pater Noster relate to anyone who spoke and read Latin, except to refer to the family's father and that 'he' keeps his family together? It then would just boil down to a coincidence that the only letters remaining after finding Pater Noster are the letter O and the letter A, and that they could be interpreted as the Greek alpha and omega, and that the meanings of the five Latin words have something to do with a sower and his wheel. Is it all just a coincidence?
Somebody went to a lot of trouble to find those five particular words that can be read up and down and backwards and forwards, and they even dropped a letter out of AREPO to make it fit (arrepo). Why go to all that trouble for something that has very little meaning?
* * * * *
Can the Sator Square be a book? Imagine yourself back in the first century when, after Jesus' death at the cross, Christianity was preached about in secret; Stephen had been stoned to death. The Bible didn't exist then as it does today. The New Testament had not been written and put together as a book like we have today, so converts to Christianity, especially new converts, would have had nothing as a reminder of what Jesus' message was. I think someone put a lot of thought into the Sator Square, in that there are a few truths from the one God that one can find and be ever reminded about.
The twenty-five letters, or five words, are both the front cover and the back cover. Try to imagine it in your head - it can be done as a form of meditation. After the cover, the first page perhaps contains the basic meaning of the five words and the reminder of the parable of The Sower; the next page may contain Pater Noster (Our Father), with Jesus central (N), and the message that Jesus and God are the Alpha and Omega; the next page perhaps contains the intersecting Tenet, with Jesus (N) on the cross, central again. Then there is the message which is that the Law is no more and there is now a New Covenant between God and his people, and that the way to Everlasting Life is through Jesus; then you close the book and meditate on the back cover, and work backwards to the front.
Closing Thoughts:
If I had been living in those first years/decades after Jesus' death, and I had been a prisoner living in a foul jail cell for years, and if I had heard about Jesus, from say a convert, or even the Apostle Paul himself, who spent years imprisoned, but during that time converted some of his guards, a Sator Square scratched into the cell's stone wall would have been a lifeline to me. These are my personal thoughts. If you disagree, that's fine; you might want to seek other meanings that the square might represent.
* * * * *
Can the Sator Square be a book? Imagine yourself back in the first century when, after Jesus' death at the cross, Christianity was preached about in secret; Stephen had been stoned to death. The Bible didn't exist then as it does today. The New Testament had not been written and put together as a book like we have today, so converts to Christianity, especially new converts, would have had nothing as a reminder of what Jesus' message was. I think someone put a lot of thought into the Sator Square, in that there are a few truths from the one God that one can find and be ever reminded about.
The twenty-five letters, or five words, are both the front cover and the back cover. Try to imagine it in your head - it can be done as a form of meditation. After the cover, the first page perhaps contains the basic meaning of the five words and the reminder of the parable of The Sower; the next page may contain Pater Noster (Our Father), with Jesus central (N), and the message that Jesus and God are the Alpha and Omega; the next page perhaps contains the intersecting Tenet, with Jesus (N) on the cross, central again. Then there is the message which is that the Law is no more and there is now a New Covenant between God and his people, and that the way to Everlasting Life is through Jesus; then you close the book and meditate on the back cover, and work backwards to the front.
Closing Thoughts:
If I had been living in those first years/decades after Jesus' death, and I had been a prisoner living in a foul jail cell for years, and if I had heard about Jesus, from say a convert, or even the Apostle Paul himself, who spent years imprisoned, but during that time converted some of his guards, a Sator Square scratched into the cell's stone wall would have been a lifeline to me. These are my personal thoughts. If you disagree, that's fine; you might want to seek other meanings that the square might represent.
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