Say each name with an Italian accent.
They sound the same! In a language where "capacola" is pronounced "gah-bah-GHOUL" there are many ways to say the same thing without realizing it and even more ways to spell it. Remember too that, Italy, as we know it, was not one unified country until relatively recently. In antiquity it was divided into several regions which had their own distinct language and traditions. There are areas where one local dialect is so foreign to another that the countrymen cannot understand each other.
Diana, it has been claimed, is just an imported version of Artemis. Janus, it is said, was a Deity native to pre-Roman Italy and worshiped above others before the Romans took over. Both Dianus and Jana are allegedly their opposite aspect, not their consort but more like an Intelligence.
Do you have an opinion? Insight? Personal Gnosis?
I'm not ready to post my research and conclusions. I am once again reading The Aeneid. I've just started. There are free (legal) copies on line if you'd like to join me!
Fascinating blog!
ReplyDeleteClearly they are related. Look at the image of Janus in the header of The Great Rite website. This is the earlier version of Janus (pre-patriarchal) with both a masculine and a feminine face. This makes clear allusion to the mysteries of The Great Rite. It has a nearly identical meaning to the "Rebis" in Egyptian Sexual Alchemy.
Thank you for commenting!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about Janus. I noticed the picture of Janus right away when I saw the banner on your web site. I was a taught a triplicity of the duplicity: Two male faces, one male one female, two amorphous/hermaphroditic figures. The oldest, I was told, was the amorphous one, showing The Goddess in the process of dividing herself. The second was distinctly Goddess and God two parts of the same whole. The two male faces was said to show the two aspects of male fertility (as opposed to the three aspects of female fertility).
I have read a bit about Rebis/Hermaphrodite, though not very much. I came across the Mysterium Coniunctionis in the early 1990s thanks to Jung, but that is as far as I've gotten in relation to alchemy. I found it interesting that Rebis is a divine child born of the Goddess and God and it makes sense with what I learned of what happens magically and energetically when sacred partners join together.
Cheers!
In Latvia, it is believed that Jani/Jana are the male and female aspects of Dievs (the one God, creator)...there is little info on this now, but my Omi, from pre-war Latvia, believed this. The rest of the pantheon, she said were just relatable to human needs, characteristics, fears, or to nature. I am named Yana and was born on New Year's Eve. Jani/Janua are also celebrated at the summer solstice. I believe this is very old and may have sparked later beliefs that they are married and are brother and sister too...hmmm, sound familiar to Egyptian ideas? This is ancient. Really ancient and there is very little information. The ancient Vedic call a spiritual journey a yana. If just lost or hidden, there is more to this. This stems from an original belief in a creator god that was both man and woman in aspect...of course..the creator.
ReplyDeleteIn Latvia, it is believed that Jani/Jana are the male and female aspects of Dievs (the one God, creator)...there is little info on this now, but my Omi, from pre-war Latvia, believed this. The rest of the pantheon, she said were just relatable to human needs, characteristics, fears, or to nature. I am named Yana and was born on New Year's Eve. Jani/Janua are also celebrated at the summer solstice. I believe this is very old and may have sparked later beliefs that they are married and are brother and sister too...hmmm, sound familiar to Egyptian ideas? This is ancient. Really ancient and there is very little information. The ancient Vedic call a spiritual journey a yana. If just lost or hidden, there is more to this. This stems from an original belief in a creator god that was both man and woman in aspect...of course..the creator.
ReplyDelete