Greetings,
Let’s talk about money.
I want money. You want money. Everyone wants money. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t. In fact it seems that most of our daily, waking hours are dedicated either to ‘making’ this strange money, or in a state of wanting more of it.
But what is Money anyway? Where does it come from?
As you know by now, here we discuss the Unconscious and its great mysteries. It is my job and intention to dig deeply into the vast dark ocean and see what I can find.
And can you believe it? Money originates in mythology. Yes, I was actually just as surprised when I discovered this.
How to start
Where the hell would you start if you wanted to find the origin of a concept as huge as ‘money’? It’s buried so deeply into our fabric of reality and society that it’s hard to put your finger on it. It’s not philosophical or artistic. And yet, strangely enough: it’s both.
A good way to start is by asking yourself the basics: where does the word come from? This is known as ‘etymology’ - the meaning and history of the word itself. Surprisingly, the word ‘money’ comes from Latin (moneta). This word has another origin: the goddess Juno Moneta.
That’s right folks. The word money comes from the Roman Juno who is, famously, an ‘evolution’ or transformation of the Greek Hera, goddess of the household, Queen of Olympus and wife of Zeus.
You worship Juno
In ancient Rome there was a mint for creating coins right inside the temple of Juno Moneta. Since this is where they produced Roman coins, the word ‘moneta’ became associated with coins.
But there’s more!
The word moneta itself also has a translation. It means ‘to warn’ or ‘to advise’. This aspect of Juno therefore, was seen as a goddess who warned the Romans of impending dangers. Another way of looking at it is that the relationship between the Romans and Juno had the purpose of securing the future.
And what else do you use money for, anyway?
This is extremely powerful stuff and one of the many reasons why I love mythology, and why I do what I do. If you choose to look deeper into this you’ll discover that Juno is the mother of other famous gods like Vulcan/Hephaestus and Mars/Ares, respectively the gods overseeing metallurgy, craftsmanship and war. Isn’t that quite something?
These are the invisible connections underlying reality. From a mystical perspective, it is said that what occurs on the physical plane are manifestations of invisible patterns. Therefore money ‘gives birth’ to crafts and conflict.
But these concepts are extremely layered. Money is not necessarily ‘wealth’ or ‘protection’. In fact there are various other gods overseeing those specific domains. But in your day-to-day life it sure feels like it. It’s as if securing ‘money’ would guarantee survival into the future.
Do note also that ‘coin’ is a different concept with a different, older history. Obviously people used money before the Romans, but here I showed you the meaning of the current-day terminology. If you’re interested in the history of the first ever coin itself, I wrote a little about it Here.
Hera in your Mind
In my efforts to dissect these patterns I’ve started working on a series on Greek Mythology and its symbols as they relate to the mind. And I’ve chosen to do this by analysing all letters of the ancient Greek Alphabet.
This ongoing project is known as ‘The Grammaticon’.
Keeping it on the topic of Hera, the second letter of the alphabet is known as ‘BETA’ (B). Its origins relate to the concept of ‘household’ and it just so happens that the deity overseeing this domain is Hera. You can find the article detailing my exploration below:
I have to say I’m incredibly excited to continue this project, as it’s also an artistic exploration of the shapes of the letters. For example if you look at ‘B’ you’ll see a straight line merged with two curved loops. Why? Why is it shaped like this? And why does it… matter?
In the previous episode I tried to explain why this is important (you may find it in the Archive or somewhere in your inbox). I hope I’ve done a good job of giving you answers to these questions in my article, and I invite you to check out the rest of the letters available so far.
Artist Spotlight
Not exactly an artist per se this time around, but I wanted to bring to your attention this amazing Youtube channel called ‘Alienworlds’ which does ambient soundscapes inspired by various movies. These videos are usually over one hour long and are very meditative and relaxing, but with an added layer of depth. There’s something here for everyone, from Lord of the Rings, to Superman, Friends, Tom&Jerry and even some videogame ambient.
Naturally, I usually go for the darker ones and I’ve been finding them really useful to meditate on, contemplate or do some serious inner work, including that which creates this newsletter (:
More to come.
Blessings,
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