Explain your Name and Signature

Symbols and allegories.
User avatar
Jiva
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:13 am

Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Jiva »

This is a pretty lazy thread from my perspective, since I'm largely copying stuff I wrote for my SOA application and various PMs, but I think it could be interesting. As I'm not a member of the Serpent aspect I don't know if there is some restriction in discussing names and their meanings, but if there is I guess this doesn't extend to signatures. I'm also not sure if this is the right sub-forum, but I posted it here as I guess peoples' names and signatures are going to be symbolic for something.

I chose Jiva as my name for a number of reasons, although mainly for the first of these bullet-points:
  • The jiva or jivatma is the living aspect of a human (or traditionally anything alive) that survives physical death. A jivanmukta is someone who has achieved enlightenment and liberation from the cycle of deaths and rebirths while still alive. In certain advaita (non-dualist) Hindu philosophies there is no difference between the atma (individual) and brahman (whole), the boundary is simply an artificial delusion that never existed. In a philosophical sense I can broadly accept the latter concept; it is also repeated with differing terminology (and of course slight differences) in various other mythologies and philosophies. However, I still consider myself an atheist, so fully accepting the aspect of the concept regarding rebirth would basically mean becoming religious in the truest definition of the word. I've read all sorts of metaphysical arguments for and against, but I don't know if I'll ever resolve the issue for myself. From an atheistic, Nietzschean perspective, perhaps it doesn't really matter: the issue can just be the carrot and stick of my life.
  • The first time I learnt about the concept of jiva I instinctively associated it with a favourite Nietzsche quote: “What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal: what is lovable in man is that he is an over-going and a down-going”.
  • "Jiv-", meaning “to breathe” in Sanskrit, and relations to Vayu in the Upanishads and prana (and comparatives in other mythologies). Breath meditation has been and remains my most effective practical tool.
  • The Jivanmukti-Viveka by Swami S'ri Vidyaranyasaraswati is a favourite and much visited text.
My current signature is:
  • "Oh Krishna, restless and overpowering, this mind is overwhelmingly strong; I think we might as easily gain control over the wind as over this" (Chapter 6, Section 30 of the Bhagavad GIta).
I don't know if this is a particularly valid commentary, but as soon as I read this sentence I considered it a pun of sorts. Vayu is the Vedic god of wind along with his counterpart Vata and is often used as a synonym for prana, or the vital breath. Therefore, gaining control of the mind and wind could be seen in this example and roughly the same thing.
'Oh Krishna, restless and overpowering, this mind is overwhelmingly strong; I think we might as easily gain control over the wind as over this.'
User avatar
Heith
Posts: 699
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 12:54 pm

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Heith »

I don't think there is any restriction on discussing your own name, but I'm not certain. I guess you are free to share as much or as little of your work as you feel comfortable with.

And no, it's not a lazy thread at all. It's a rather interesting and good one, I think :) I have previously asked about your name and we had a small discussion about this, which I found to be enlightening and interesting. Certainly I learned new things.

As to your current signature, I've always liked this one- I've been meaning to google about it as I wondered what it meant. This was great, saved me the trouble!
User avatar
Nefastos
Posts: 3029
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 10:05 am
Location: Helsinki

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Nefastos »

Yes, a good topic, & easy for everyone to participate.

My signature is from Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele libretto. Faust the magician notices Mefistofeles walking in circles, leaving behind fiery footprints. It's to do with Fohatic spiral of cosmic creation & destruction, & some other things. Mefistofeles is an avatar of Lucifer so to say, and of special interest to me.

My own name has something to do with the Faust legend too. Also, its literal meaning comes from Latin word that has kind of a double meaning, either being something impious & wicked, or then inauspicious, "unsuitable for sessions of public assemblies or courts". Fasti were for Romans the propitious days of calendar, while nefasti were times unsuitable for usual religious feasts. An occultist can see that the latter precisely are of esoteric (and not of exoteric) importance; the twilight times of real spiritual change that is not for the masses. It was a name that leaked from my subconsicous before I knew the word's literal or historical meaning. (Come to think of it, it was about those times when I was at the first times invoking Mefistofeles with the aid of the Black Bible.)

A good name has many different meanings, which unfold only slowly. I also found it appropriate that mine is an anagram of the name of the first martyr of Christ, Stefanos (St. Stephen), who suffered for the new religion. To that Christian martyr his martyrdom was in death, while I feel that my Anti-Christian martyrdom has been in living - in a world I see as fundamentally alien & ununderstanding.
Faust: "Lo contempla. / Ei muove in tortuosa spire / e s'avvicina lento alla nostra volta. / Oh! se non erro, / orme di foco imprime al suol!"
User avatar
Sebomai
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:25 am

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Sebomai »

Noesis is from a Greek word as used by Edmund Husserl to refer to the act of cogitating absolutely anything, from bare perception to the deepest religious musings and every mental activity in between. The objects of the cogitating are Noema. All mental objects are Noema. I chose the name to reflect my dedication to the world's entire philosophical endeavor throughout human history as well as to remind myself that all acts of Noesis, all activities of the mind, have validity and importance in the blessed quest for Truth. I believe this Truth can be found in our minds, from the most mundane noetic processes to the most profound raptures of intellect. Emotion counts as noetic as well, since without a mind to reflect on the matters of the heart, we are left with nothing but emotional shadows. In the noetic process, we reflect upon and experience and make use of our emotions. Unbreakable linkage.

As for my signature, fra. obnoxion wrote it in a discussion on the nature of love and I asked if I could use it for my sig because it blew my mind. :)
User avatar
Heith
Posts: 699
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 12:54 pm

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Heith »

Noesis wrote: As for my signature, fra. obnoxion wrote it in a discussion on the nature of love and I asked if I could use it for my sig because it blew my mind. :)
Oh, I hadn't noticed. :)

As for my current signature, this is a quote from Hermann Hesse's book Narcissus and Goldmund- my personal favorite of his books. This book, as well as Hesse's poetry, has worked as a great consolation for me on a distressing time, and it has become a book I frequently wish to return to. As I had to change my perception of everything and abandon my old self in order to begin my work, I went through a phase that was nearing the downward path. In Narcissus and Goldmund, I was able to identify characteristics of myself. That helped to understand that most probably as Hesse describes things I feel and think with extreme accuracy (sometimes almost exactly, word by word), he must have been able to understand how I feel, perceive, experience- and in doing so, he perhaps was a little like I am, or out there somewhere is someone who is. For the somewhat alienated soul that I was becoming, this was extremely important- finding some kind of kinship in the characters of both Goldmund and Narcissus, and the difficulty of balancing between the two.

I chose the quote because I wanted to read the book again but was unable to do so at the time. In truth, I'd be happy to quote the whole damn book as my signature, it's so bloody good. :)
User avatar
Jiva
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:13 am

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Jiva »

Noesis wrote:Noesis is from a Greek word as used by Edmund Husserl to refer to the act of cogitating absolutely anything, from bare perception to the deepest religious musings and every mental activity in between. The objects of the cogitating are Noema. All mental objects are Noema. I chose the name to reflect my dedication to the world's entire philosophical endeavor throughout human history as well as to remind myself that all acts of Noesis, all activities of the mind, have validity and importance in the blessed quest for Truth. I believe this Truth can be found in our minds, from the most mundane noetic processes to the most profound raptures of intellect. Emotion counts as noetic as well, since without a mind to reflect on the matters of the heart, we are left with nothing but emotional shadows. In the noetic process, we reflect upon and experience and make use of our emotions. Unbreakable linkage.
Yeah, I remember you posting about this. It'll probably be ages before I get round to it, but where would you recommend starting with Husserl? I can add books to my wishlist at the very least :).

Also, if I can ask, what did/does Alocer mean?
'Oh Krishna, restless and overpowering, this mind is overwhelmingly strong; I think we might as easily gain control over the wind as over this.'
User avatar
Nefastos
Posts: 3029
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 10:05 am
Location: Helsinki

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Nefastos »

Jiva wrote:Also, if I can ask, what did/does Alocer mean?


He's one of the seventy-two demons of Lemegeton. I too would like to know the reason to choose that name exactly.

Incidentally, Alocer was the first of the goetic demons or Lemegeton I ever summoned. I even used that same version of the name, more often seen as Alloces or Allocer.
Faust: "Lo contempla. / Ei muove in tortuosa spire / e s'avvicina lento alla nostra volta. / Oh! se non erro, / orme di foco imprime al suol!"
User avatar
Sebomai
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:25 am

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Sebomai »

Nefastos wrote:
Jiva wrote:Also, if I can ask, what did/does Alocer mean?


He's one of the seventy-two demons of Lemegeton. I too would like to know the reason to choose that name exactly.

Incidentally, Alocer was the first of the goetic demons or Lemegeton I ever summoned. I even used that same version of the name, more often seen as Alloces or Allocer.
Alocer/Alloces was a demonic spirit who became something of my guide in all matters occult when I was still very, very young. Almost just a child. I researched demonology, and did some summoning/meditative works and claimed, in the way of a very young person, Alocer as my patron demonic spirit and spirit guide. On and off, he is an entity I have worked with a great deal and feel that work has shaped who I am and, after many missteps, guided me onto the path I am currently on and have made my home. Incidentally, I have only one tattoo and it is the name Alloces, and my musical project's logo is largely just a slight manipulation of the seal of Alocer. :)
User avatar
Seeker666
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 12:24 am

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Seeker666 »

This is my first post on the forum, I have read many of the topics and threads here and I am very glad to be around such brilliant people.
as for my name, it is simple. I am a seeker on the path, no matter how far I progress I will always be a student, a seeker. "A teacher is also himself a student". the last part is also simple, 666 being the iconic Number of The Beast, but has many meanings ranging from The Number of Man, to the cornerstone of King Solomon's Temple. in any case, I also associate "666" with the 3 keys as to me they look sort of like keys upside down.

the signature I have chosen is this: "Eritis sicut Deus, Scientes Bonum et Malum"- Mephistopheles

while it is a quote from Faust, it has it's roots in Genesis.
in English that is "And you shall be as God, knowing good and evil." which are the words that the Holy Serpent spoke to the Second Woman, Eve.
"Eritis sicut Deus, Scientes Bonum et Malum"- Mephistopheles
User avatar
Heith
Posts: 699
Joined: Fri May 31, 2013 12:54 pm

Re: Explain your Name and Signature

Post by Heith »

Welcome to our forum! Always good to have new folk around. I look forward to reading more posts from you.
Locked