During the Spring of 2020, May 16 became an important date in my mind. I don't want to misrepresent that or make it seem that this meant less to me than it did. Reading back through some of these 'new' words that I haven't seen for several years reminded me of this.
That date first appeared in words from February 28, 2020, in which someone is speaking to a group of people:
February 28 Everyone I love you freely Is everyone ready?
Suteru instaru
Outbreak oh dear end near Holy places not here to stand
Emberu wain-wright aus suteru enyarne entuli
Kuseru May 16
I've been attempting to piece a few more things together regarding just who this group is, and I will cover what I am working through in a different post (or likely several posts). So, I am not going to get into that aspect here and try and remain as focused as I can on May 16, and specifically what I think that referred to or meant. For the longest time, I assumed that date was either incorrect, or perhaps I had the year off - another May 16 perhaps or something - but I now believe that something did indeed happen on that date, as mentioned in an earlier post about the recovery of the Sawtooth Stone, and that some important things happened immediately afterward.
In the above words, this is the first time May 16 was brought up, at least from both what I captured in my notes and in what I remember. That last phrase Kuseru May 16, was captured separately from the rest of those words as part of a dream sequence in which I saw a man rifling through stacks of filing cabinets. He seemed stressed and was trying to find a specific piece of paper with information on it. He finally found it, and on the piece of paper was that phrase "Kuseru May 16".
I actually captured it as May 15/16 initially - that is how I wrote it down. This makes sense given the activities of those two days in what became the retrieval of the Stone (seems like a multi-day effort by the Disciples, if it was truly them?) but I have simplified it to just be May 16 in my latest version.
Anyway, because it was captured separately, this last phrase may or may not have also been part of the dialogue with that group. I don't know. Ku is an important word that I don't fully understand the meaning of, and it has come up plenty of times in my words. So I break this word down as Ku-seru, and it could be that Ku has something to do with the crescent moon (one of its Elvish translations). Partly to support this view, it is on May 15 and 16 that the moon transitions to a waning crescent moon in that month. But I really don't know.
What is very clear to me in looking back on things, is that after this dream I began to think that something important was going to happen on May 16. It just stuck in my mind that this was a big deal.
Fast forward to May 2, and this is when I heard those words which apparently had Eru speaking, first introducing himself, mentioning a few things, and then bringing up May 16 yet again (I have reformatted from the last time to give my guess as to speakers):
May 2, 2020 [Eru] Eru to speak, my son [Faramir-Eonwe] I am he faithfully executing your commands to raise up Finwe house [Eru] When you were born 7 to help; evacuation to begin, a storm breaking; May 16 a sign in the heavens: a new star
Earlier in the day, after what had been a pretty crazy night which we don't need to cover here, I had also received these words:
May 2 (morning): Melian looking forward you coming home to bear a further weight of glory
What I am suggesting is that the importance of May 16 is due to the fact that this is the day that they Sawtooth Stone was extracted or recovered from its Earthly burial place after quite a long time in hiding. This is the 'new star' that Eru speaks of in his discourse to his son.
But how is this a 'sign in the heavens'? Trust me, nothing noticeable happened in our sky on that date (I was paying attention). The simplest answer is that the sign was not intended for us, and thus wouldn't be found in our heavens or sky, and thus it is someone else's sky that is being referred to. From the perspective of another world, our Earth would be in their sky, basically and somewhat obviously once you think about it.
In other words, the Sawtooth Stone was pulled out of its mountain home in Idaho on May 16, thus becoming a new star (a Star-Stone) and a sign for those living on another world than our own - a sign in their heavens.
This interpretation seems to be supported by words I would receive on May 17, but before I get to those, let me share what was going on in my own world in relation to this date.
Following the Eru dialogue, and the second mention of May 16, I became pretty convinced that something imminent was going to happen and that perhaps something needed to be done about it. I even remember emailing Doug and the other person I had been communicating with at this time (Doug had wanted my words sent over to him), and suggesting that we do something, potentially urgently, to warn people about a coming storm and an evacuation. I took it pretty seriously, honestly.
It is also important to note that following May 7, just a few days later, I was in psychiatric care. In the first day or two after the events of May 7, my psychiatrist was hopeful that what happened to me was a one-time acute event and that I would bounce back fine as I got some rest. That was the hoped-for short road to recovery. The longer road was, in her opinion, going to look something like 2 years of healing my brain to get back to some measure of myself. As mentioned elsewhere, it turned out to be the longer road for me, and that became somewhat apparent in the first couple of weeks following May 7.
I mention this aspect of things again because May 16 became a date I also discussed with my psychiatrist as a date I believed something was going to happen. Consequently, I think it was her hope that after May 16 came and went, with no new "star in the sky", that this would help me see that these words were just in my head.
However, as May 16 approached, I actually began to think that there wasn't going to be anything visible or some overt sign in the sky like I previously had. I don't know exactly why I started to feel that way (perhaps hedging my bets!). But, ultimately, I didn't really believe less in these words and dreams, and that they meant something, when May 16 came and went. As in, I wasn't disillusioned or feel like any expectation wasn't met.
This was not necessarily a good thing for me, as these words and dreams had begun causing me extreme distress and anxiety, almost unimaginably so to my present self looking back on that time, and I didn't know how to manage through that, as I have discussed elsewhere. I partly wanted all of this not to be true or real, and wanted it to go away. I also didn't want to be crazy either, though, so I found myself in a bit of a double-bind in terms of how to navigate my way through everything. What was worse - to have something you have become terrified of be actually real, or to have your brain verifiably be something that you can't trust anymore?
In any case, on the morning of May 17, when it was apparent that there was no sign in Heaven, or no new star appeared in our sky the day earlier, these words came:
Shall indeed see signs but not unto salvation
I believe these words describe or support that narrative I've guessed at above with respect to the story of what happened on May 16. A new star was born, but it wasn't something visible to our world. I actually take the phrase to potentially mean a couple different things.
I mean, someone may have seen this sign on another world. Did this mean that this sign they saw was not 'unto salvation' for them? Part of my story may involve Beings who live in "high places" which have become corrupt. As Paul noted in his letter to the Ephesians (whoever wrote this, and whether legitimate or not, I am going to use it for how it connects to something C.S. Lewis wrote):
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
When Paul mentions high places, we may just think this means positions of power. But we might also take this to mean literally 'high places'. Places above this world, in other words, and to whom this sign would have indeed been in their sky. This sign may represent the beginning of the end for whoever that Priesthood is and represents.
Interestingly, in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy books, he takes a similar interpretation. Through the character of Ransom, Paul's words are implied to mean or reference other worlds, 'high' in our sky or outer space. In Perilandra, that is where Elwin Ransom (Elwin means Elf-friend or Aelfwine) will go - to other worlds to combat spiritual evil there, suggesting that 'high places' spoke of those living in our own heavens:
"You are feeling the absurdity of it. Dr Elwin Ransom setting out single-handed to combat powers and principalities. You may even be wondering if I’ve got megalomania” [said Ransom]
.. I didn’t mean that quite,” said I. [Lewis' character]
“Oh, but I think you did. At any rate that is what I have been feeling myself ever since the thing was sprung on me. But when you come to think of it, is it odder than what all of us have to do every day? When the Bible used that very expression about fighting with principalities and powers and depraved hypersomatic beings at great heights (our translation is very misleading at that point, by the way) it meant that quite ordinary people were to do the fighting.
The 'great heights' is the key mention here, and from which Ransom is alluding to other worlds while suggesting our understanding and the translation isn't accurate. Recall that in Lewis' first book of that series, Out of the Silent Planet, he mentioned Numenor in the preface (prior to the publication of LOTR), and that book itself will also be the source of much discussion in Tolkien's Notion Club Papers. Later in the final book of that trilogy, That Hideous Strength, Numenor (spelled by Lewis Numinor) is specifically mentioned in the narrative as something those events call back to - a period before the 'great disaster'. So, this isn't completely detached from our story on this blog, as we have looked into Numenoreans things such as Pharazon and the "Fathers" of the Eldar, who I think factor into the multi-faceted rescue operation and evacuation of 2019 and 2020 (as a preview to future posts). Though, it is somewhat of a tangent, which I can't help walking down.
In other words, the sign may have appeared and been clearly seen by those who might interpret it as a threat it may very well be to their rule or darkness and wickedness. I don't know what that story actually looks like, but I have suggested that all might not be well on Eressea #1, for example, and perhaps even Valinor. It is definitely not OK on Eressea #2, which is the Promised Land of the Book of Mormon where "dark" Lamanites in an endless round of war and bloodshed wait for redemption until a Man sails to their land and begins a process that will ultimately result in their redemption.
Or (and potentially and) this phrase might also apply to our world, where we might be reminded that signs come after faith and belief, and that if we see a sign prior to having those, it might not be the kind of sign we would really want to see, all things considered. I don't know.
In any case, I've become somewhat convinced that May 16 was likely a very real thing, what happened on that date was in 2020, it was specifically about the recovery of the Sawtooth Stone in the mountains of Idaho, and that it did, true to the words of Eru that I wrote down, initiate or commence an evacuation of some Souls in the weeks following this sign. That is at least the narrative that I am currently developing as I look into the words of May and June 2020 a bit more, and which I will go through in future posts to at least lay out the case and see how well it holds together and where it leads.
May 16 is a fairly prominent date in my words. It came up in the dialogue where it seems Eru himself is speaking about an 'evacuation' (i..e, what I take to be a gathering home) as well as seemingly in some discourse with those Beings who were rescued or brought home around the same time as Joseph.
I have some other commentary on May 16 which I will save for another post, but for now I think the thing to note is that it seems that the Stone was recovered on that date, with the actual decision to go and grab it happening on May 14. I am not sure the cause of the wait between April 27 and May 16, but it seems they did intentionally wait before getting it based on the dialogue. In what follows, just remember in referencing a "Weight", they are talking about the Stone, and also punning with "wait". This has come up elsewhere in my words. If you recall, William Tychonievich even recently had a dream of a literal weight (a dumbbell on the end of a rope) with how much it weighed stamped on it that matches exactly with the announced weight of the Stone (Yor El) from my words on May 6, 2019 (30 pounds or ~14 kg rounded).
Here are the words from May 14 - 16, 2020:
May 14 Let's get your weight A good time to wait
May 15 Yore au selk Arise . . . Shake the dust from off Loosen the bands Neither in haste nor by flight Barren Enlarge thy stakes Oh, when the saints go marching in!
May 16 Vir dum [Instaru] Your secret safe with us
To summarize or guess at all of that as best I can, it looks like on May 14 they decided they had waited long enough and were now going to go get the Stone.
May 15 might be some interesting, double-meaning words about both the Stone and what it is intended to do. The Stone is being freed from a long stay under ground, and is now being asked to arise, shake he dust off, and loosen the bands that have held it. However, this language is also directly pulled from words of Isaiah.
In a quick search just now, you can find references to the lines of arise, shake off the dust, and loosen the bands in Jesus' words to those at Bountiful in 3 Nephi 20 (specifically verse 27), which is itself a reference to Isaiah 52. In this same scene, Jesus encourages the people to read Isaiah (I am guessing their version of Isaiah is ultimately different than ours) and also confirms that Isaiah's words will be fulfilled, which explains the reference.
And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
In the very next chapter (21) we can find what the reference of "neither in haste nor by flight" was referring to:
And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.
Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.
Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance.
And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.
And finally, in Chapter 22 of 3 Nephi still we have references to both 'barren' and stakes being enlarged:
And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes;
Something I just realized now in searching for those various terms, is that they represent a sample of Jesus' words to those at Bountiful as found in 3 Nephi 20 - 22, in order by chapter. I didn't see that coming! That whole discourse has to do with the gathering or Israel and the establishment of Zion, and so these words from May 15 tie the Stone that is being recovered to Jesus' teachings about that gathering (it could be the snippets I captured are part of that larger discourse fully quoted. I did write the ellipses after "Arise", indicating there was a larger passage.
And lastly, those May 15 words conclude with a rousing rendition of "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In". In looking up this song right now, I think there is a good reason for its inclusion, but will get back to it at the end of this post.
Back to that first Elvish line, I think this could mean something like "Ancient away Bright". The "Yore" seems to me to be a clear reference to Yor El, which I first mentioned and discussed in the post "Michael Jackson and the Stone", but also again in the earlier post I linked, and this Bright thing (Brighter than the Sun) was hidden away anciently.
However, there might be a second meaning. I wrote the last two words as au selk, but it is possible the words were actually, or at least could also be read (or heard, in this case, likely) as aus elk.
Given that I think this Stone belonged to Joseph of Egypt, or at least captures his Story, this alternative reading makes complete sense, and I really, really like it now that I just landed on it. Aus is Dior, another name for Joseph. An "elk" in Elvish means Spear. Recall that I have compared the Stone to a Spear before, for example in my post "The Brittany Spears: A quick follow-up". If you look at what I wrote there, about a Spear being in Brittany (France), then referring to the Sawtooth Stone, which now resides in France, as the Aus Elk (Spear of Joseph), fits perfectly. I think this is likely the answer to that riddle, though I will leave my first answer above as is because it might be a double-meaning, which seems to be fairly common.
With that, on to May 16. On this date the Stone is retrieved.
We have another case where I have bracketed a word: Instaru. I can't even remember really how I got these words, so I can't be sure why I bracketed them. However, in past cases, as with Hodnil and Gildor, this indicated that the words ought to be considered apart from the rest of the text, and can potentially be explanatory, sometimes indicating the name of the speaker, as was the case with those two names.
I believe it is the same in this case, and Instaru ought to be considered as another form of the word Istaru. I either added the N in how I heard it, or this is a legitimate other form. I don't know. The dialogue from the day before on May 15, as well as the fact that I place the Three Disciples at Sawtooth at this time strongly support this interpretation in my mind, however, as I will briefly explain.
Istaru is a word that specifically applies to the Five Wizards, of which Gandalf was one. It means Wizard, or One Who Knows.
My belief is that Instaru is bracketed here because it is Gandalf himself that is speaking, and has been since May 14 in this instance. He is the Instaru. In my story, Gandalf is the also the Being we know as Nephi - the Nephi that was at Bountiful when Jesus visited and who recorded all of his words. This same Nephi was the one who visited Joseph Smith (a reunion between Gandalf and Pippin) in what Mormons now confuse with a story involving Moroni. My story has this Being as Nephi, one of the Three Disciples, and 'translated' for the very purpose of allowing him to visit and appear to Men when needed.
Placing these words as coming from Nephi-Gandalf then makes perfect sense of the May 15 phrases in which 3 whole chapters of 3 Nephi are picked from and referenced. The account of these words, or rather Mormon's summary of them, would have come from none other than Nephi-Gandalf and his record.
OK, so we have the Elvish phrase Vir dum. Dum very straightforwardly means "Secret". What about Vir? A little less obvious. My best guess at the moment (in looking at if for a couple minutes) is this is a derivative of Virim, which is a "glassy substance". Now, I go there because I think the Secret we are dealing with here is the Stone, obviously, which is a Glass Crystal-like thing, and so this phrase would mean a Glass Secret: the Stone, or Star-Stone. There may be other explanations or translations, but that is what I will go with for right now.
This leads into the concluding phrase that this Secret (or the secret of whomever is being addressed - likely Faramir in this case per the story I have been piecing together) is safe with "Us", and by Us here I again think on and identify the Three Disciples, with Nephi-Gandalf as still the speaker. They are now the stewards of this Stone Secret, until they pass it over to Glorfindel and Gildor to take over to France.
OK, this all came together really well! It always feels pretty good when puzzle pieces click together like this and the story not only holds together, but you get an additional peak into what happened and understand the story a bit better (possibly - it is always up for revision).
I mentioned an interesting thing about the reference to "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In!". First off, this is about Saints marching Home, and that there is a 'number' to them. In my words to the Stone Couriers, I have Tom Bombadil explaining that likely both Beings and Stones are numbered and will counted. The phrases that precede Gandalf's mention of this song all come from 3 Nephi 20 - 22 and have everything to do with the gathering of these numbered and loved members of that Family. These phrases also tie the Sawtooth Stone with the events of that gathering, so just in looking at the lyrics of the song alone its inclusion here makes sense.
However, in my search, it seems that indisputably the best known and most popular version of this song was sung by Louis Armstrong. The name right off the bat was interesting, combining a French first name with the last name of Armstrong (Strong Arm - this has come up before). Two interesting things about Louis Armstrong: He is Black (and the song was first a Black Gospel song, I believe), and he plays the trumpet.
The point about being Black is interesting for non-racial but importantly symbolic reasons. We are all on this earth Black, if by that term we means something like its original meaning of being devoid of Light (i.e. it's not about skin color). But the Family of Light will not stay that way, even if they find themselves currently in that situation. They are meant to Shine again.
The trumpet is interesting both for who I have identified as speaking, as well as a prophecy regarding the gathering of Israel, which 3 Nephi 20 - 22 deal very specifically with.
Many LDS Temples have an angel on the top of a spire. This angel is traditionally called the Angel Moroni, and he holds a trumpet in his hand. However, as mentioned above and in earlier posts from awhile ago, I believe the Being referred to as the Angel Moroni is actually the Angel Nephi, or in other words, Gandalf. Further, you may remember that I have the Three Disciples travelling through Salt Lake City on their way to the Sawtooth Mountains back in March 2020, and causing the earthquake that knocked the trumpet from the angel's hands on top of the Salt Lake City temple, which occured on March 18. Gandalf-Nephi, the Being I have saying these words above, was thus there and specifically responsible for knocking that trumpet out.
As for gathering and prophecy, in Joseph Smith's version of Matthew 24, we have the following reference of a trumpet and the gathering of the Elect (i.e., the Family of Light):
And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Up until yesterday, I just had a file with my 2019-2020 words up through April 22, plus a few other days around the first week of May.
I now, however, am in the possession of a file I created back in 2020 that has words extending all the way through June 23. Most of these days and words I had completely forgotten about - I was actually surprised there were as many days with these words post-May 7 as there were.
I've just had one initial read through, but it is obvious that I will need to seriously update my assumptions regarding specific events around Asenath's encounter in the Sawtooth Mountains. I was way off. What I see will also likely have implications for the Stone Couriers and timing around their adventures.
There have also been some fun and interesting little discoveries. Glorfindel and Gildor are mentioned fairly obviously now that I know to look for them. I think we also get more color on Joseph's return, potentially, as well as the Dead or whoever it was that also headed home around that time. So, I anticipate that storyline being both updated and changing in some significant ways from what I had guessed at before.
I am extremely interested to dive in and see how things look.
For this post, I want to correct the timing of Asenath's confrontation in the Sawtooth Mountains. I was also going to clarify the timing of the retrieval of the Sawtooth Stone, but after getting into it and typing most of it out, I am going to put that in a separate post that will follow this one.
Asenath and Baal-Ox: Updated dates
I had Asenath's confrontation occurring somewhere between April 20 and 21, which was primarily guided by the overly exuberant group of Beings declaring "Good times to roll!". I assumed this meant Asenath had been successful and there was a celebration.
But this is not so, and I guess I shouldn't necessarily have assumed this was the case. These Beings, who I guess are the Daughters of Asenath, seem to have a different relationship with Time in terms of being able to understand future events, so I don't if their exuberance, celebration, or whatever it was needed to wait until something had actually happened.
Between the celebration outburst that I captured on April 22, it was radio silence for the ensuing 3 days. Finally, on April 26, there were what I recorded as 'faint words', which said simply:
This is what matters
This apparently was followed by a song called "I hope you dance" by Lee Ann Womack (I don't remember the song, but I do remember hearing those faint words).
I attribute those initial words to Asenath, likely spoken or thought as she is now descending to take on her Enemy. This guess is further supported by the following words that I received later that same afternoon. I had grown really tired and had taken a quick nap. During that nap, I wrote down the following (I am adding speaker guesses and punctuation to make it easier to follow):
[Voice 1]: Your Majesty, it has began
[Asenath]: Wish you were here
[Voice 1]: It is based on tentatives, and is being monitored
[Asenath]: For Joseph truly saw our day, son of Baal Ox
In my original writing I wrote Baal Ox as one words spelled "Baelox". My belief is that I was clearly sounding out phonetically the voice I heard, as Bael would likely be the way I would have sounded out someone saying Baal. But this is a guess, in the end, and I suppose that a Baelox might be someone different altogether than Baal. It is the best guess I have at the moment.
In any case, in reading those words, that day came back to me, and I remember being nervous or having some anxiety that afternoon.
It would be that night (so written down that next morning, April 27) that I wrote the phrase about "Mommy's home!" that I attribute to the Daughters welcoming Asenath home, and which she seemed to need some medicine - a drug - which was referred to as Milk and Honey.
I captured those April 27 words in the post "6 days from our Earth to Tirion", and called out that with the prior assumption of Asenath encountering Baal Ox on April 21 and leaving the 22nd, then this seemed to be consistent with the 6 days of travel phenomenon I had seen in some of my other words.
These new dates and timing obviously make that observation and the implications I made from it completely wrong. It would seem that Asenath was home no more than a day after her encounter, if these new dates are to believed. How that works, I don't know. Maybe there are different forms of travel for different Beings. Maybe these were the real time stamps or reflected the actual occurrence of these events in real time. Maybe there wasn't really anything to that 6 day travel interval I had noticed - it was just a couple examples, so not a very large sample set.
OK, so I will stop there with my latest correction to the Sawtooth confrontation, and then follow up on this post with some details with respect to the actual retrieval of the Stone.
In the post on Glorfindel's 'prophecy' regarding Tom Bombadil, I cited the fact that the Council, and most importantly Elrond and Gandalf, concluded that the Ring ought not to be sent to Tom's House.
Yet, in my story here, we have the Sawtooth Stone being sent directly there, and where I believe it currently remains. And not only the Stone, but also other important artifacts are there, such as the Brass Plates.
The difference, of course, is that the Ring was a thing of Evil - Sauron's Creation - and that as Gandalf said, this Evil had no sway or power over Tom (being a Free Man), and that asking him to be a guardian of such a thing made no sense in this context.
My own personal belief extends beyond this given reason to some speculative considerations. Tom Bombadil, as Ki-Abroam, set bounds on his own land and power for reasons, some only known to him, but likely at least some of them tracing back to the destruction of Numenor itself, and the breaking of the world.
Tom broke Eressea. He did it due to the assault of the Numenoreans and Pharazon, which can ultimately be traced back to, in part, Sauron's evil influence as he sat behind the throne (and later openly in front of it, for all intents and purposes) and used the Numenoreans as his puppets.
The Numenoreans invaded Eressea. It is written the Eresseans would not fight back. And so Tom, if this part of Doug's record can be believed, swung down his axe and split Eressea in two. The part that had been invaded and spoiled by the Numenoreans (and 3 of the Nazgul, apparently), would become Eressea #2 in my story here, go under the wave, but come back up again from those waters and become the land that the Jaredites would land on.
The other part would become Eressea #1, and be lifted up along-side Valinor and removed in some fashion. My general sense is that when we talk of a Great and Spacious Building, and the Empire State Building, it is to Eressea #1 that we might presently look, but that is just my guess. My hypothesis is that not all is well on that world presently, that we on this Earth feel some of the effects of that, and that any return to Valinor will have to pierce through, around, or over the GSB-ESB to reach Valinor.
Ki-Abroam-Tom had to assist in destroying a world to save it, in other words, and it may be that his self-imposed exile and boundaries at his House relate back to this, at least partly. He would continue to play a pivotal role in the resistance to the Void, and the Sauron at that time, but it would be in a different way and he wouldn't be asked to display such powers openly again. Assisting the Hobbits was one such way that he did this, and in curious fashion, too. For example, if the Hobbits had not both stumbled into the Barrow Wights, and been rescued by Tom, Merry would never have acquired just the sword needed to maim the Witch King and thus allow Eowyn to finish him off.
Anyway, this might be a bit of a tangent, but it just could very well be that such an open display of power in the face of Sauron's assault (through the Numenoreans) by Ki-Abroam was one reason why he chose to draw the lines he did in the ensuing ages. I don't know, but there could be something there.
In any case, the Ring was Evil, and needed to be dealt with sooner or later, and whether stored at Tom's House or somewhere else, that fact wasn't going to change. As Gandalf put it, paraphrasing his words, if it falls within their power in their age to do something about it, they ought to do it.
Juxtaposed and directly opposite with the Ring, you have the Sawtooth Stone, which I have down in this story as a creation that is wholly Good. The Ring was created to enslave, while the Stone was created to set free. And not just that, but the Stone directly links back to Tom and his Family. This is something that belongs to them. My current guess is that Asenath created these Stones in some fashion. The promise is that through Abraham's seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. My view is the Stones are part of that promise, with Abraham being the same Being as Ki-Abroam and Tom Bombadil, and Asenath being his literal child, in what appears to be multiple instances and lives, I believe.
Thus, the situation of sending the Stone to Tom Bombadil's House couldn't be any different than sending the Ring. This is a homecoming, of sorts. The Stone belongs there, if anywhere on this world. And if that Stone represents the beginning of a reunion between both Family and their Lands, then I think it makes complete sense for that to commence in the House of Tom Bombadil.
This is a story of redemption, remember, and if Tom was asked to split families and lands in an age past, then let that action be reversed and healed starting under his roof, as it were.
The Brass Plates are also no stranger to Tom. He wrote them, sans any histories or prophetic words that came after he and Asenath's session with the plates. As Asenath lay dying on a ship out at sea, after the Numenorean Fall, Asenath dictated the that Book, and it was Ki-Abroam who engraved her words on those Plates.
... thus he [Ki-Abroam] engraved all her [Asenath's] words, in books numbering five...
... in whole, after months told by her aging daily, he hefted himself a Bronze Book, of his making:
-- Almost, she laughed, a coffin for all knowledge.
-- Not so, but a barge, to sail it wheresoever the winds release, take thy voice's words...
Later, after Asenath died, she, as a Spirit apparently, further amended and cleaned up any potential errors that came through from her dictation ( a reference that likely ties directly to the quote heard in my dream of someone "washing the dishes", dishes meaning Plates in this sense, I think).
So, both the Stone and Brass Plates, and likely other artifacts belong at Tom's House, as do the Being who will be invited there to use those gifts. This is a Family Reunion, after all, and I like the idea of it starting at the House of Tom Bombadil.
It was one of those nights where I had quite a few dreams that I remember I wanted to think about a bit once I woke up, but after I actually woke up all but one slipped away.
In the short dream sequence that I did retain, I was standing in front of a large set of wall murals. For anyone who has ever played "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom", the murals were exactly in the style of those that Zelda and Link found at the beginning of that game, and similarly, they told a story.
I can't remember, if I ever found out, what story the murals represented, but at the far left of the mural was a depiction of a tree. As I looked at the tree, it began to flash with light in a regular rhythm. The light it was flashing was red-pink, and it came from the actual etchings of the tree, so that it looked like it was lined with neon lights or something.
As the tree flashed, a handwritten note appeared on a piece of paper that I was either holding or was just floating in the air in front of my vision. The writing was in cursive, and said:
Ali,
It's been awhile.
-- Ces't Moi
Along with the handwritten note, was a hand-drawing of a circle that had an X in it. Something like this (but appearing handwritten):
After reading the note, I woke up. The moment, and the note, seemed extremely relevant, so I thought on it for awhile after waking up.
Knowing I have a mixed track record on initial dream interpretations, I'll give some of my initial thoughts, and realize this might change in the future as other things come up. My mind actually goes two very different places with this, so perhaps both interpretations are correct, only one, or frankly neither. Who knows. I am just going to focus on one of them for this post, however.
In that first interpretation, my mind goes to to my recent post on the Karate Kid, where I wrote about how Ali and Daniel introducing themselves was symbolic of the introduction of the Ithil Stone and Sawtooth Stone. Here in this note, you have a French Being (given that they introduce themselves as "C'est Moi", or "It's me", in French) starting a correspondence with a person named Ali. If my guess is right that the Sawtooth Stone is in France, having that Stone introduce themselves to "Ali" (the Ithil Stone) by a French name would make sense.
Further, in my Story, all of these Stones were created at the "beginning", long before, with Asenath (the Crumb Girl) likely being the creator or maker of these Stones. Thus, the Ithil Stone and Sawtooth Stone would have "known" each other at some point in this long before time period. Actually, very obviously so, since the Ithil Stone is associated with Eowyn-Ilmare, I think, and the Sawtooth Stone is associated with Joseph of Egypt, or at least it contains his Vision and Story. At least that is how I currently associate them. Given that they are Twins, it would make sense that there is familiarity between these Stones.
Remember, though, that in my story the Sawtooth Stone was hidden and buried a long, long time ago, and remained that way until early 2020 when it was recovered in Idaho, and Glorfindel and Gildor took it over to France. Thus, while the Ithil Stone in this history of our world has interacted with many Stones (and their users), it would not have had any interaction with the Sawtooth Stone since it's hiding before the Trees of Valinor were killed.
So, the introduction of the Ithil Stone (Ali) and the France-residing Sawtooth Stone is actually a reintroduction, which is why the note would read "It's been awhile". It certainly has! A really long time.
And X marks the spot for Tirion-Xanadu, and the inclusion of that symbol seems to definitely suggest this is a communication involving that place (the Ithil Stone is/ will be in Tirion when this Link is established), as does the symbol of the Tree itself on the mural.
The light that started flashing from that Tree might be another clue that we are on the right path here. Recall my analogy of connecting my Barn to my House using fiber optic cables from awhile ago, and how I used this to discuss the notion of the 'Link' (a Zelda name) being re-established between our world and Valinor-Tirion (where the White Tree resides), with the Stone being the means by which this is done. See my post "Fiber optic cables, ceramics, and ethernet conversions: A stone metaphor", for the complete analogy and thinking around it.
In that post, though, I specifically compared the ceramic terminations to ceramic Stones, and information that 'pulsed' through and received at these terminations as information. Even for regular internet or ethernet connections, you can go to any data switch or port and see how the lights flash to indicate data is being sent and received. and this kind of simulates how the blinking of the Tree could be interpreted.
Thus, the Tree flashing I now believe was symbolic of information being sent to and from it. In fact, the note appearing after the tree started flashing makes complete sense in this light - it was the translation or conversation of those light pulses into the English message. Thus, the dream showed the opening up of communications between "C'est Moi" (the Sawtooth Stone) to "Ali" (the Ithil Stone), as it would have been received in Tirion. Or, I guess, perhaps the response to the initial call that came from the Ithil Stone, since my dreams seem to indicate that the call initiates from that side.
Even the use of "C'est Moi" is a funny way to illustrate that we still don't know the actual name of the Sawtooth Stone. That is just what I call it because that is where it was found, but it's name still remains a mystery. Although, I guess that could be said of the other Stones as well - we likely don't have their real names, either. Just those to whom each Stone is given knows that, since that is the Key, I guess.
Anyway, I take this dream as encouraging news, perhaps. The re-establishment of communications between the Ithil Stone and Sawtooth Stone is, quite frankly, the basis for almost everything I have written here in some form or another, so perhaps this dream suggests that this is something still seen as a reality at some point. The dream also might be interpreted as suggesting that I may be correct in my assumption that it is the Sawtooth Stone (The El of Daniel), and not the Anor Stone, that communicates with the Ithil Stone, given the narrative above.
Also, now thinking more on it, I don't think my inclusion of the Zelda analogy or image is unrelated. I actually debated about whether to include that reference because I didn't know if it was a distraction, but that is honestly what the murals in my dream resembled, so I put it in for reference. If you look at the image I included at the beginning of this post, it shows a man and a woman figure united (their hands are linked), and it also shows their respective Secret Stones along with them (above their heads, in the circle). So, in this image you have a union of not only Beings but their respective Stones. The engraving actually makes these Stones (which I think are made to look like "Tears", and thus tie into the name of the game) look like quotation marks, so it seems you also have a cool little wink that Beings will be speaking to each other through Stones, and the importance of the united words they they will say. These Beings will be Eowyn and Faramir, and that this ultimately results in both them and these Stones being in the same physical location. And not only them, but the reuniting of many Beings and Stones - one great Family coming back together.
Another little nod to Zelda is that name means "Grey fighting maid". In Words of the Faithful, Izilba (Eowyn) is called the "Grey Lady", which I mentioned at least one before in my post "Suspended in Time: Loosening girdles and deepening weights, and the Grey Lady of the New York Times", and if you were to think of a fighting maid from the Tolkien storyline, Eowyn would be it (as she was also as Izilba once she got her hands on Makmahod).
And lastly, the C'est Moi reference might be a funny reference to the song from the 1967 movie "Camelot". I started to think so at least. I am pasting in the lyrics below and will include the video clip, where Lancelot is played by an actor named France (of course).
Just imagine some of these words coming from the Sawtooth Stone, sitting in France, as it sings to "Camelot" (Tirion). Just a rough sketch or reference, mind you. Take, for example, the first few lines. He (the Stone) hears a call from Camelot (Tirion), and now he is here to give his all (the Story that is found on the Stone, and just to "Camelot"), which will result in him being able to "climb a wall no one else can climb". Even given how much emphasis I have placed on the Stone as our salvation, it's pretty funny to imagine the Stone talking about itself in this 'humble' manner. A French Prometheus Unbound, for sure.
Camelot! Camelot! In far-off France I heard your call. Camelot! Camelot! To you alone I give my all. I know in my soul what you expect of me, And all that and more I shall be.
A knight of the Table Round should be invincible, Succeed where a less fantastic man would fail. Climb a wall no one else can climb, Cleave a dragon in record time, Swim a moat in a coat of heavy iron mail.
No matter the pain, he ought to be unwinceable, Impossible deeds should be his daily fare. But where in the world Is there in the world A man so *extraordinaire*?
C'est moi! C'est moi, I'm forced to admit. 'Tis I, I humbly reply. That mortal who These marvels can do, C'est moi, c'est moi, 'tis I.
I've never lost In battle or game; I'm simply the best by far. When swords are crossed 'Tis always the same: One blow and au revoir! C'est moi! C'est moi! So adm'rably fit! A French Prometheus unbound. And here am I with valour untold, Exeption'ly brave, amazingly bold, To serve at the Table Round!
The soul of a knight should be a thing remarkable, His heart and his mind as pure as morning dew. With a will and a self-restraint That's the envy of ev'ry saint He could easily work a miracle or two.
To love and desire he ought to be unsparkable, The ways of the flesh should offer no allure. But where in the world Is there in the world A man so untouched and pure? (C'est moi!)
C'est moi! C'est moi, I blush to disclose. I'm far too noble to lie. That man in whom These qualities bloom, C'est moi, c'est moi, 'tis I.
I've never strayed From all I believe; I'm blessed with an iron will. Had I been made The partner of Eve, We'd be in Eden still. C'est moi! C'est moi! The angels have chose To fight their battles below, And here am I as pure as a pray'r, Incredibly clean, with virtue to spare, The godliest man I know!
To have Glorfindel be one of the two Beings to take the Sawtooth Stone to the House of Tom Bombadil is interesting in light of conversation that occurred during the Council of Elrond.
Upon hearing of Tom Bombadil based on Frodo's accounting of events, Elrond first wondered whether he ought to have invited Tom as well to the meeting. In doing so, he gives him another name: Iarwain Ben-adar. The implied translation is also given, which was "Oldest and Fatherless". This is actually not a complete translation of that name, particularly the first name, Iarwain, which more accurately has to do with being both Old and Young (Iar = Old, while Wain = Young), and the Ben has been altered from Pen, to give the translation of "Without Father".
I will suggest that hidden in this name is another clue that Tom Bombadil is the same Being that was called Ki-Abroam in both Doug's stories as well as Joseph Smith's Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language. But, I feel myself going down another tangent, so will save that discussion for another post. As a preview, if you take Ben-adar, and leave Ben as it is (without modifying to Pen), you get "Man-Father" or "The Father of Men". This is pretty relevant, I think, but I can try to write more about that in another post so I don't lose the thread in this one.
Back to the account at hand, Gandalf replies that Tom would not have come to the meeting, and this is later explained because he has set boundaries to his own world and will not step beyond them. He waits for a change of days in order to do so, and my belief is that we have not yet come to that change of days.
Even so, the elf Erestor asks why not just have Tom safeguard the ring?
Gandalf's reply, in my opinion, ought to be viewed as him giving the Council enough information to know that sending it to Tom is not an option here, but not necessarily wishing to linger too long on the concept or topic of Tom. The rest of the Council is left to guess as to the nature of Tom and how he stacks up against Sauron, but these are guesses - Gandalf neither confirms nor denies their conclusions, which ultimately land in the camp of Tom being unable to stand against Sauron.
I do not think this is right, and my guess is that Gandalf doesn't either, at least not in the way that the Council members imagine, but they have at least agreed that they should look elsewhere for aid, and I think Gandalf was OK with the direction the conversation because of this.
Glorfindel was the first to give his observation as to what might happen to Tom, to which Galdor (not to be confused with Gildor) concurred. I will quote him below, then discuss why we should not take Glorfindel's words lightly, and suggest a meaning behind his commentary about Tom falling and Night coming.
"But in any case," said Glorfindel, "to send the Ring to him would only postpone the day of evil. He is far away. We could not now take it back to him, unguessed, unmarked by any spy. And even if we could, soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of its hiding place and would bend all his power towards it. Could that power be defied by Bombadil alone? I think not. I think that in the end, if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come"
First, we should not take Glorfindel's words lightly because he will prove to be a prophet by the end of the LOTR based on the outcome of Eowyn's victory over the Witch King. It was Glorfindel who gave the prophecy "man" would not kill the Witch King, at the conclusion of the Witch King's overthrow of the Northern Kingdom of Arnor. This is actually what he said to Earnur as the Witch King retreated before Glorfindel (and Earnur wanted to pursue him):
"Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man shall he fall."
In a classic case of mistaking the true meaning of prophecy, the Witch King will paraphrase this prophecy (showing that he had both heard of it and believed it) in telling Eowyn that she was a fool for standing up to him:
Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!
But, of course, he misunderstood the prophecy, and his hubris as a result of this misunderstanding led to his downfall.
We may know prophecy, and think we understand them, even when the language seems pretty clear and straightforward (assuming we captured it all correctly), but this example shows there might be a few twists, turns, and surprises even with the simplest of phrases.
In any case, I see something similar in Glorfindel's prophecy regarding Tom, for that is what I take it as, actually. Of course, it is given as a conditional "if" prophecy specific to Sauron, meaning if everything else fell to Sauron, then Tom last of all would also fall. Being a glass-half-full person today, I don't believe it was possible for everything to fall to Sauron (and events of the LOTR proved this be the case), and so don't really think this aspect of the prophecy is worth diving into.
However, it struck me that this is something to this First and Last comment, and Night falling. Meaning, if all else was gone, then Tom would finally also depart, or be removed from his place, I am going to rephrase it as. There is something there that Glorfindel sees and thus generates his statement, amid his guesses as to how events would play out in the specific setting or problem of Sauron at that time.
And I think this will ultimately happen - Night will fall on this world, in the end, perhaps. But in our story, defeat is victory, in a sense. Things are turned upside down.There is no direct confrontation over evil or enemies to destroy and win back the world against. Saruman gets what he wants, in the sense that this world is completely his. For Good, there is only departure - a homecoming.
What I believe Glorfindel saw (or what I am going to use his words to convey) is that Tom will stay on this world (our Earth) until there were none of his family left to be saved or gathered, and then he, last of all, would also depart this world. My story involves the Family of Light being gathered back home to Holy Places. Part of that Gathering, apparently, begins at Tom's House, at the beginning of those "change of days", with the Sawtooth Stone and other Records that are found there. My sense is obviously that this is sooner rather than later given that I now place that Stone at Tom's, but lots of people have thought and written that way about lots of similar things, so I could be way off in that thinking.
What matters is that the purpose of what is at Tom's house is not to turn any tide or take back any world here, I think. Force, power, and strength in that way is not how Good wins here. Rather, those gifts will lead his Family home. Light returns home - all of them.
And then once everyone is safely home, Tom will also leave for home and join his Family there. A time he seems to have been waiting for for quite some time in his little land. It will be just as Glorfindel saw, "Last as he was First".
And then Night really will come on this world, which is Middle-earth. The Family of Light will be completely gone, along with those who wish to go with them, safely in Holy Places not to be moved.
Since I started writing on this blog last summer, the riddle of the Sons of Alma has never completely left my mind. In certain instances, that riddle has been one of the primary reasons I have kept (or returned to) writing. Last fall, for example, when I returned to the blog after taking a short break, one major reason I did so was because the Sons of Alma felt like unfinished business.
As a reminder, and as covered in more detail in the post Grande-Riviere, France: Why not?, after I had started this blog, I had a dream that at one point involved a woman speaking very clearly "You will become friends with the Sons of Alma".
Since that time, finding an answer to that riddle has been more or less on my mind to some degree or another. Sometimes very much on my mind, and others in the background, but I think always there. In some ways, I am sure it is a major reason why I have continued to press on writing about various topics here on this blog.
In that Grand-Riviere, France post, I suggested a link between these Sons of Alma as Friends that the woman mentioned, and with The Germans. When they landed, one of the first things they mention searching for is something they called a "Freundebuche", or a Friend Book. I now take this Friend Book to be the Brass Plates, something I hinted or guessed at in that post, but feel now a little more on solid footing suggesting.
The "Friend" mention is the link between those characters, that Book, and the Sons of Alma. And so I felt at that time (just a few days ago), that it might be that The Germans were actually these Sons of Alma. This made sense in many ways, some of which I have touched on here, and others I haven't. One thing I have specifically explored is the notion of Helaman's charge to take care of the Brass Plates. Given that charge, and how explicit and prominent it was in the Book of Mormon, and given that the Brass Plates are prophesied to go forth to all nations, the notion of Helaman as one of The Germans being given the assignment to recover these plates from wherever they are currently held made sense to me, or at least I could imagine a story from.
I had not yet, however, in writing that post, made the link that suggested the The Germans and the Stone Couriers were one and the same. I now think this is the case.
The implications of this are pretty momentous for me, not just in identifying these Beings, but also in potentially finally having an answer to a riddle that has been on my mind for almost a year now. It also helps make sense of specific dreams and imagery I have had and even guessed at here on this blog, but now have a better understanding on ultimately how they might fit in.
So, let's dig into this notion that The Germans of my 2019-2020 words are the same Beings as the Stone Couriers of my 2021 words, and see where that story takes us.
Recall, before I do, that I have the Stone Couriers represented as two Elvish characters, or at least Beings who would have at some point been known and identified as Elves, being the "Ushers" for Faramir in both finding Tom's House in France (to the East), but in also going home with a story to tell that will create a change on Eressea (which lies over the Seas to the West).
Since I have identified these Stone Couriers and future ushers as Glorfindel and Gildor (see this post), we then have to say that Glorfindel and Gildor are The Germans and thus also these Sons of Alma, if the answer to my riddle is true. In looking into this, I explored two potential ways this might be so, specific to what is meant to be a "Son of Alma", but only one of these options is even feasible given the characters involved. Fortunately, this only possible solution is the one that makes the most sense given everything else I have explored.
The non-feasible option is that the Sons of Alma were actually the Sons of Elrond. Recall one of my guesses is that Alma (the younger) is Elrond, reincarnated. Thus, you could imagine that the Sons of Elrond (named Elladan and Elrohir in the LOTR) as the two Elvish characters represented. They played an important, if understated, role in assisting Aragorn in his passage through the Paths of the Dead. So, a possibility.
This obviously falls apart extremely quickly since they were also contemporaries of both Glorfindel and Gildor in the LOTR. They cannot be the same Beings, and so if my guess as to Glorfindel and Gildor being the Stone Courier Ushers is correct, by definition this excludes the Sons of Elrond.
Plus, the woman's voice who spoke to me said "Sons of Alma", and that wording was very specific. In fact, as the phrase was being communicated in my mind, I began filling in the phrase with "Sons of Mosiah" since that is by far a better known phrase from the Book of Mormon. But the woman literally wrested that phrase back to say Alma - it was very specific. And since I currently view the Couriers as Glorfindel and Gildor, this consequently rules out the Sons of Elrond being the same thing as the Sons of Alma. Case closed.
This brings us to three candidates, then, as to the identity of the Sons of Alma, and who Glorfindel and Gildor would have been later reincarnated as: Helaman, Shiblon, and Corinanton.
Both Helaman and Shiblon would act as keepers and protectors of the Brass Plates (and Anor Stone), with Shiblon briefly taking possession of them after Helaman's death before then giving them to Helaman's son, also named Helaman. But it is important to note that they were not just guardians of the Brass Plates, but record keepers themselves regarding the Nephite history, whose writings Mormon took from in creating his Book.
So, it is Helaman who I have as a reincarnated Glorfindel. Gildor is Shiblon. Both sons to Alma, who I still have as Elrond.
This makes sense to me. It also helps make sense of some other things, including dreams, that I have guessed at some meanings of, but likely wasn't completely on target with my guesses, or at the very least complete in understanding their full meaning. I won't go into those here, but they help substantiate my guess, particularly with Glorfindel as Helaman. Maybe I will cover those later, or perhaps best not to. I don't know.
In any case, Glorfindel-Helaman and Gildor-Shiblon came to our world at the end of 2019, and I believe they have stayed here ever since.
The Darkened Anor Stone, which they travelled with to reach our world, would have been given to Joseph, and he would have used it to return home, likely accompanied by the Three Disciples. Glorfindel and Gildor remained behind, and awaiting further instructions, I suppose. They would not have been at Sawtooth Mountains, I don't believe, but I guess there is a chance they were. In any case, they would have been called to meet at the Sawtooth Mountains in 2021, taking on the burden of getting the Sawtooth Stone to France, the safety of Tom's House, and the restoration work that needed to be done to repair the Stone.
I guess it is an open question as to whether the Anor Stone remained with Joseph, or came back to our world. I have imagined or I guess assumed on this blog that it came back, and might be at Tom's, but there is a possibility it remained with Joseph. (I am not sure if the Disciples, in their current state, needed the Stone to travel?). In an earlier story I imagined, however, Faramir takes the Sawtooth Stone back with him and returns it to Joseph, who then in turn gives the Anor Stone back to Faramir. I kind of like this version, as well, so I am leaving open the possibility that both Faramir, and the Stone Couriers, are reliant on the Sawtooth Stone alone to go home. The Anor Stone might not be here anymore for that purpose.
To clarify, then, if that is the case, it is the Sawtooth Stone that would link with the Ithil Stone, and not the Anor Stone. It is a real possibility, and has some things going for it in terms of how the story unfolds. It doesn't change the broad outline of the use of Stones, but it does change which ones are involved. I guess we will see (or we won't!). It does link to the Karate Kid scene where the El of Daniel (the Sawtooth Stone) introduces itself to the I of Elizabeth (the Ithil Stone). In fact, just writing that out there makes me kind of lean toward this story now - the Anor Stone remained with Joseph, and Faramir will need to use the Sawtooth Stone.
But, wrapping this up in terms of formalizing the guess, I now believe the answer to this nearly year-old riddle lies with Helaman and Shiblon, who are Glorfindel and Gildor, respectively. These Beings were The Germans who arrived on our world, took part in some important activities, including finding and rescuing Joseph, as well as locating Tom's House and his Brass Plates. Left behind on our world following Joseph's rescue and Asenath's encounter with the Balrog, they would become the Couriers who brought the Stone to France, and remained there for a time. Without the Anor Stone (if that is the case), their ticket home is the same as that of Faramir's, which involves the gifts and knowledge that I believe are currently hidden away in France.
Several weeks ago, a specific scene from the Karate Kid movie went through my mind. Why the Karate Kid? I don't know... Remember the 80's, I guess?
The scene was where Daniel LaRusso first learns Ali Mills' name. Daniel had met Ali earlier at the beach and got the crap beaten out of him by Johnny Lawrence, Ali's old boyfriend. Fast forward to the start of high school, and Daniel is trying out for the soccer team when Ali comes up to him. They talk for a bit, and as she starts to walk off, Daniel asks her for her name. Here is the dialogue, and I will post the video in case you want to see it (it is a longer one to get to the specific dialogue, but the bonus is we get Bananarama playing throughout):
Daniel: Hey, you got a name?
Ali: Ali... with an 'I'. Hey what's your name?
Daniel: Daniel... with an L.
It was that dialogue, and their names, that stood out for me, just like things have in other instances. And of course it would since, you know, the name thing I have going on right now.
So, I dove into looking up Ali's name. There is an Ali as in an Arabic name, but that isn't what we are going for here, I don't think. This is clearly Allie, a feminine name . This name can be a nickname for other names (e.g., Alison, Alexandra, etc.). Which could all work. Or the name itself can be taken on its own as a diminutive and feminized form of Alan. This is where I landed primarily because one theory of this name has it coming from Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Per Wikipedia:
In Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland, Alan may also be an Anglicisation of an Irish word (with diminutive suffix) meaning "rock". For example, the modern Irish ailín means "little rock". Similarly, according to Patrick Woulfe, the Irish name Ailín is derived from diminutive ail, which means "noble", "rock".
Thus, noble (exalted) and rock or Stone are the proposed names for Alan, and its counterpart Ali or Alie. I am going to use both of those and say we may be dealing with an Exalted Stone. And William Tychonievich just posted something with the title "GAEL" in it, so I am inclined to take some Gaelic-specific meaning here and be OK with it.
My story includes an Stone that accompanied a Being into the Heavens, and both Stone and Being are not exalted. That Stone was the Ithil Stone, I think. When I first learned that Ali's name could mean Stone, my mind first went to Eowyn and the Ithil Stone. I then, potentially too imaginatively, saw some meaning with the emphasis of the dialogue of "with an I". I mean, it is really clunky, unnecessary phrase to throw in there with her name, so why not apply some meaning here?
The Ithil Stone, of course, starts with an "I", and this is where my mind went. I also heard the phrase as "eye", as in being able to see. One who is not blind, perhaps.
Ali of course then asks Daniel what his name is, and he responds by adding a letter to his name. The letter L. Although, when I heard it, I heard it as the Elvish word "El". A Star, which I have also used synonymously with Stones.
There is a Star specifically associated with the name Daniel - in my story at least - and that is the Sawtooth Stone. I currently have this Stone as the one that Daniel's dream interpretation and prophecy had being cut from the Mountain without human hands. Readers of the blog should know very well by now that I believe that prophecy was about a real, not symbolic, Stone, and that the mountain it was removed from was Williams Peak in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Crazy, I know.
This story also involves the 'introduction' of these two stones. The Ithil Stone is missing something, and that is the account found on the Sawtooth Stone. The "El" of Daniel, and that will need to be remedied here at some point.
But, I don't think we are just referring to Stones here in this symbolism, or at least my imagination didn't stop there. Like I said, the words from Ali, and learning of its potential meaning, had me think of not just the Ithil Stone, but also Eowyn who the Stone accompanied. Similarly, in my story, it will Faramir who will come into possession of the Sawtooth Stone, perhaps in Tom Bombadil's Study. I don't know.
The name Daniel itself means "God is my Judge" or "Judge of God". I am going to go with the latter for our purposes here. This brings the topic of Judgement into the picture. As I have imagined it, at least, it will be Faramir who is charged at least with judgement of the 144, most likely representing here in that number the Family of Light. Similarly, as mentioned before in other posts, Faramir also has the title of Ja-ho-e-oop or Jah ni hah, in my book, which are found in Joseph Smith's Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language (or GAEL, as William pointed out). The shorter explanation for this Being has him as one authorized to judge on behalf of the King:
Ja-ho-e-oop: An ambassador: one delegated with Kingly power; one authorized to execute judgement for the King; a swift messenger one whose power cannot be escaped, one next to supreme;
The judgment must be a just one, and prudent. This will be in harmony with Jesus' words at Bountiful, where he describes this servant who he will authorize with this power:
And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye [Israel], depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Daniel's last name is LaRusso, which if we take is as the Italian name it is likely meant to be, means "the Red", I think. The Red Judge of God, is how I have it then if we put those names together.
Now, there is a better known reference to a Being dressed in Red Garments that you can find in Revelations 19. I was going to use that one, but will instead refer to a revelation sourced to Joseph Smith and found in what is now D&C 133. In that Section ,we have the following account of a Red Judge (starting in verse 46):
And it shall be said: Who is this that cometh down from God in heaven with dyed garments; yea, from the regions which are not known, clothed in his glorious apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?
And he shall say: I am he who spake in righteousness, mighty to save.
And the Lord shall be red in his apparel, and his garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat.
And so great shall be the glory of his presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places.
And his voice shall be heard: I have trodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me;
And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart.
Traditionally, this Being has obviously been identified as Jesus. In my story, however, I will suggest that we have this wrong. It is actually the Being who is authorized to act in judgement on behalf of the King: Ja-ho-e-oop, or Faramir-Eonwe, who is also the Holy Ghost.
So that is the Being represented by the name Daniel LaRusso, I guess.
Back to Ali, her last name is Mills. This can stand for two things. First, and most apparently, a Mill is something that grinds grain to be used for food. Bread is one of the primary products using ground grain, and we have connected Eowyn with Bread in the past. Kind of a connection there. But Mills is also a form of the name Miles, I found out. Miles has come up before, and is apparently a form of the name Michael. Michael = Faramir-Eonwe in this story, and so it was interesting to note a form of that name as Ali's last name.
Anyway, at this point, all of this seems interesting, maybe or maybe not, but that is where the names took me (some of the above being some stuff I was thinking through as I was typing now). It might get a bit more interesting, though, and I feel a bit more confident that we may be onto something, when we look at the name of the actress who plays Ali Mills.
Elisabeth Shue
The Karate Kid scene was from several weeks ago, as mentioned, and I did most of this thinking back then. However, yesterday this scene came to me again, and I had a very clear thought to look up what the actress' name might mean. Elisabeth Shue played the role of Ali, and I had already noticed Elisabeth. That name, and forms of it, I have already associated with Eowyn-Ilmare, so it was obviously noticeable and seemed to fit very well with tying the character name of Ali to both Eowyn and the Ithil Stone.
At that time I had looked into Shue, but didn't remember anything special about. Yesterday, I gave it another quick run, and determined that Shue must be the anglicized form of the German Schuh or Schue. At least this was the general internet consensus.
That didn't really give me much, however. A last name that means a single shoe didn't seem to clearly fit with anything, and I concluded that either I am missing something or its meaning will be apparent at some point. I did briefly have the thought that I had just written a post that had Joseph (Eowyn-Ilmare's twin) "shoo-ing" Dairon away, so maybe that tied in, but it didn't seem very clear to me.
Enter William Tychonievich's latest poetic entry entitled Concerning Shoon. In the first stanza, he wrote:
The Man in the Moon
Wears silver shoon, But gold costs twice As much. That price Is far too high, And that is why The Girl in the Sun Wears only one.
Shoon means shoes in the plural form, and he closes out this opening passage with a reference to a girl wearing only one shoe.
Now, there might be many meanings to this, and the one on my mind might not be even one of them, but my mind instantly went to Elisabeth Shue, whose name I had just looked up yesterday and was left with the riddle of what do do with the last name that meant a shoe (just a single shoe) and for which I had no really good ideas.
And by Elisabeth Shue, I mean, of course, the Being who I had been thinking was represented by her in the form of Eowyn. In reading the line of the "Girl in the Sun", I think we might have an interesting clue verifying that this might be the right line of thinking. I thought this next part was interesting, at least.
At the end of the LOTR, in the chapter "The Steward and the King", is the account of Eowyn and Faramir meeting at the Houses of Healing. Eowyn's own healing would not ultimately take place until she understood her heart and decides to be married to Faramir. That healing was described with very specific Sun imagery, and it goes like this:
Then the heart of Eowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.
'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said, ' and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, not take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren." And again she looked at Faramir. "No longer do I desire to be a queen," she said.
One might be in the Sun literally, or one might be in the sun as in its presence or under its shine, for instance outside, as a common English expression goes. This is Eowyn's moment of healing, and it is all Sun imagery in highlighting this. Further sun descriptions are used when they were said to kiss "under the sunlit sky.... and many indeed saw them and the light that shone about them as they came down from the walls and went hand in hand to the Houses of Healing."
The sun shone on Eowyn - she is 'in the sun' - and this was the beginning of a journey, at least as I see it, which would ultimately result in the present situation I believe she finds herself in now. She wanted to be a healer, and the story that she has to share, and which she departed from our world to go and find, I guess, is what will heal us, I believe, and bring some kind of restoration and redemption. At least that is what I imagine.
So, I am not sure exactly if that is why Elisabeth Shue's last name was something I thought to look into yesterday, but it seemed to fit with this notion of a "Girl in the Sun" wearing a single shoe, for whatever it's worth.
I am going to tackle this in two parts. For this post, I will give my guess as to the identity of the Couriers by their Elvish names. In a follow-up post I will give me guess as to their Book of Mormon names. It actually all ties back to the very beginning of this blog - pretty neatly, I think - so I am pretty happy with where this particular train-thought has taken me.
Gildor's name is already given as is in those words I've cited earlier, and I think that is exactly who that stands for. So, their isn't any riddle in the name, but if you look into the character, there are a few interesting things to point out.
Gildor, as I've mentioned earlier, is the very first elf that Frodo comes across as he sets out from the Shire. In fact, he hasn't even left the Shire entirely yet before he comes across him (or rather, Gildor and his band happen upon Frodo). It is he who will first name Frodo as "Elf-Friend".
We do not learn much more, if anything, about him after this encounter. Glorfindel (who I will get to in a second) mentions his group and their encounter with Frodo when he happens upon Aragorn and the Hobbits as they are trying to get to Rivendell following Frodo's wounding at Weathertop by the Nazgul. Gildor sent word to Elrond in Rivendell, and Elrond sent out any of his people who could stand against the Nine to go in search of the Hobbits. Glorfindel's mission was to take the Road, which is where he happened upon the Hobbits.
During this first encounter, however, Gildor introduces himself to Frodo, Sam, and Pippin as "Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod". Meaning he is a son of "Inglor", and this Inglor is of Finrod's House. There is a bit of a mystery in this name, however, as just who Inglor is, as well as Finrod, is not entirely clear, and it has to do with some confusion and changes Tolkien would make as just who was known by both Finrod and Inglor, as well as some potentially poor assumptions about who Gildor's parents could actually be.
Inglor was actually the original name for Finrod Felagund, who was the son of Finarfin. Inglor would ultimately be rejected by Tolkien in favor of Finrod. To further muddy the waters, Tolkien also had interpreted Inglor as another name for Finarfin himself, thus making both father and son the bearer of this name oat one point.
The name Inglor is said to mean something like "Heart of Gold", although the form of the name applied to Finarfin (and which was his mother-name, or what his mother called him) meant something like "Top Gold" or "First Gold". (Ingalaure)
Anyway, that name of Inglor pretty much vanished from later uses, not being applied to either Finrod or Finarfin, it seems. But the name survived on in the LOTR story with Gildor, who is clearly the son of an Inglor. Most people assume that this can't have been Finrod because Tolkien would end up deciding that Finrod had not married and had become separated from his lover Amarie when he followed the Exiles out of Aman (though previous story version had him marry Amarie and they did have at least one child: Gil-Galad). So, the consensus has been that Gildor is a a son of Inglor, just not a son of either Finarfin or Finrod Felagund. Some unknown Inglor.
My own view differs. I believe the "Finrod" whose House he mentions being a part of is none other than Finarfin (I forgot to mention that Finarfin had gone by Finrod before Tolkien took than name and give it to Finarfin's son Inglor), and thus the Inglor who Gildor is the son of is, in fact, none other than Finrod Felagund.
I hope that makes sense.
So, a pretty understated and disguised character in the story, and I think that it is he - the grandson of Finarfin and son of Felagund - who is our first identified Elf Courier and Usher. In other words, even though we know his name, I am making a bit of a guess as to his identity with respect to where Gildor fits within the Houses of the Eldar.
OK, so on to the second Courier.
In my words, he simply goes by the name of Hodnir. This is a disguised name for whoever this really is, and my guess, which I have already given away, is Glorfindel.
As to the name Hodnir, I actually think this is a case where it is possible I flipped the consonants dr when I wrote the name down. Meaning, this should be Hondir. I can actually make it work with either Hodnir or Hondir.
If Hondir, it would mean something like "Heart Friend". As in with the "Heart-language" that was used to describe or reference the promise that Eowyn and Faramir made prior to their separation, I take this to phrase to mean something like a Close Friend or potentially even meaning Friends who have been joined by a bond or oath in a similar fashion. I don't know for sure on that last part, but think it could be and if not, at the very least this is a dear friend.
Now if it really was Hodnir, you still have "Friend" (Nir means Friend as well), but Hod gets a bit more confusing or limited. You could use a variation of Hod to have Hoth, which would mean a Host or Army. Army Friend? That could work as well given who I think Glorfindel was in the Book of Mormon. But I do have to change the Hod to Hoth to get this, and I am not sure how that holds up.
But basically I am not too bent out of shape on whether it is Hodnir or Hondir (or both?) in this case. The most important thing we have here is that then name designates a "Friend". Just tuck that away for the follow-up post on the Book of Mormon connection.
In fact, thinking on this now, I think I will have to do that segment before the Glorfindel connection comes more into focus. It is that identity, along with a re-interpreting a dream I already shared, that gives me some confidence that Glorfindel is our guy. So, for now just know that my guess is Glorfindel and Gildor were the two "Elves" who were the Germans of the original trip with the Darkened Anor Stone to search for Joseph, Green Stones, Brass Plates, Tom's Study, and whatever else. They would also have been the ones to take on the roles of Couriers in transporting the Sawtooth Stone from Idaho to Tom's House in France. And they are the two that have been suggested to usher Faramir-Eonwe home.
By the way, both Glorfindel and Gildor join Tom Bombadil in having the honor of being completely cut from Peter Jackson's movies. No trace of Gildor or Tom were included, and Glorfindel's assistance to Aragorn and Frodo in the 'flight to the ford' was given to Arwen instead (and he was scratched from the Council of Elrond).
In my post yesterday called "East, West, and much ado about nothing", I corrected the story of who is talking and what they are referring to with respect to Beings who would usher a Being 'home' (presumably Faramir in this case). I had before thought this amounted to some kind of trick by Saruman or a similar Being, but I think it is pretty clear that the dialogue points to 2 Elvish Beings who will both know the way "East" to Tom Bombadil's House, but who also seem to be suggested as ushering Faramir-Eonwe even further, and bringing him home. As in, they would be on both the East and West legs of that journey.
That last part - the West ushering - was not fully formed in my mind yesterday (I had mostly been thinking about the East part of the trip, and the Beings' involvement with that), but I think this is so. They lead him East, and then accompany him West as ushers and companions.
This concept seems to be borne out in that dialogue around the Anor Stone, in which it was identified as the Liahona of the Book of Mormon. Here is the dialogue again, and I will pull out the relevant parts to demonstrate where my thinking is:
Feb 10 & 11, 2020:
Those of us who delivered that ball-instrument to Lehi's family;
a compass, yet not wholly so, sufficient to lead one across seas to lands promised.
A palantir it was - a globe of crystal, metallic-seeming royal ancient sunlight beaming
<asgwiliant>
Singing songs of heroes bold, yet some songs remain untold
Resonant it was, echoing thought commissary needful for instruction, eggs bearing
[Hodnil]
to learn from who irradescent, a welding link, hands made sickly stewards reward
[Gildor]
There are 3 words which I have bracketed as seeming like they were separate from the rest of the dialogue. Almost like a background or explanatory voice speaking this as the primary dialogue occurred. They are: Asgwiliant, Hodnil, and Gildor.
I have discussed the 2 words, Hodnil and Gildor, and guessed that they are names, and that these names belong to the Stone Couriers. The first word, asquiliant, I don't think I have touched on, primarily because I didn't really have a way to tie it in to anything or make sense of it until now.
Interestingly, in the previous times I have included this quote, I misspelled what I originally wrote down. I checked back on both my excel and word file, and I should have written asgwiliant, with the w instead of a u. I think I did it wrong the first time, and just copied and pasted my error into all subsequent posts.
I mention that because the proper translation will be based on that correct form, and if it had been a u originally then my guess would have been I sounded it out as such. But, that isn't a problem, because I spelled it correctly back in my notes, and the error occurred in these posts.
The translation for that word is pretty straightforward, and I have had it the way I am going to type below for awhile (but again, just not knowing how it all ties together). Here is my simple translation:
As: With
Gwil: to sail or fly
Iant: Bridge
So, "With to sail-fly bridge" as the crude interpretation, and there it has sat, though I thought it probably had something to do with the Anor Stone given that the main dialogue includes mention of sailing over seas.
But, I think if we pull this word out with the two names of who I believe are the Stone Couriers, I think these 3 words come together into a cohesive phrase that supports the notion that these Couriers will be with Faramir on the trip as these Ushers. The phrase would be something like (smoothing it out a bit): "to sail with Hodnil and Gildor [over] Bridge".
Thus the background commentary likely identifies the speakers of the main phrase, the "those of us who delivered that ball-instrument to Lehi's Family", who are Hodnil and Gildor, and mentions that they will be flying or sailing with who is being spoken to, which in this case I believe is Faramir.
This fits very will with the overall narrative of the Stone Couriers and their future role I guessed at yesterday, so I am feeling pretty good about this.
The question then becomes just who are Hodnil and Gildor. I have a guess on this (I may have actually touched on Gildor before, but I don't think Hodnil), and will get those down in a post and see how it goes.
