It was only a few minutes after wrapping up my post yesterday on Top Gun, that Hermes' Caduceus came as an image to my mind as I was thinking through the riddle of Ezekiel's Sticks, and whether the Ithil and Rose Stones could represent them (and by extension, the writings mentioned in Joseph's Prophecy from 2 Nephi 3).
To recap, I initially keyed off Ed Harris' comment in which he confirmed that Faramir-Maverick did in fact have Balls, because he would have to, right, in order to be travelling Makten (to cut a straight line back to the destination). In the same breath, he calls him "Stick Jockey", and I explored the question that could really be broken down into whether i) the Balls that he had could be representative of Sticks, and ii) these Sticks were the same ones from Ezekiel 37 and Joseph's prophecy from 2 Nephi 3 (if those are, in fact, connected).
It was in thinking of the question more or less in this way that I thought of the Caduceus. It was a very clear image or symbol, so it caught my attention, and since wheels in my head started turning based on that symbol, I will start from there in this post and we'll see where it goes.
We've already, if only briefly, compared Faramir-Eonwe with Hermes-Mercury due to both of their designations as "Swift Messengers". I've brought up the name Jah ni hah several times, as well as the definition or description that Joseph Smith used for him, which includes that exact description as a swift messenger. Similarly, Hermes is represented as having wings on both his sandals as well as his helmet, designating both flight and speed, as the swift messenger of the Gods. I referenced this in my post relating the dream of special football cleats with "ACE" running down the outside of the heel where Hermes wings would typically originate.
In addition to his nifty wings, Hermes is depicted as carrying the Caduceus, his special staff. Here he is flying around with it:
He looks very fast.
Here is a closer look at that staff he carries:
As I thought through the picture, and the two snakes in particular, I remembered a post that William Tychonievich had written awhile back about snakes and staffs called "They shall take up serpents". I actually didn't look it up then (but I did just now to link it, and there are some interesting things he wrote there), but just remembered this concept he wrote about in picking up a snake and having it turn into a rod (or a stick). Specifically, as I checked the post right now, he mentions how Moses was commanded by God to take up a serpent by its tale, and it would become a staff in his hand. Here is the scripture he referenced from Exodus:
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail" -- and he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand -- "that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee"
So, this concept of a snake turning into a Rod when someone held it or picked it up ran through my mind, based on my memory of William's post, as I thought through the Caduceus. I thought, "Well, right now we have two snakes intertwined - if these snakes were to be held, wouldn't they become two Rods (or two sticks) in the hand of whoever held them, just as the snake became a rod or stick for Moses?" And if that was the case, if the snakes became rods in this position, wouldn't you have a situation where two sticks will have essentially become one as they solidify in their new stick form? I think the answer is yes.
I mean, look at that first picture above of Hermes holding the Caduceus. Isn't he depicted there as holding two snakes by the tail, and haven't they essentially become one staff or rod in his hand?
It was this thinking that brought me back to the "Stick Jockey" statement, and suggested to my mind that based on the symbol alone, that yes, the two sticks mentioned in Ezekiel - one attributed to Judah and the other to Joseph - are in fact the same thing as the the writings in Joseph's vision, and therefore the "Balls" that Maverick possessed in reaching Makten. Furthermore, rather than these sticks having really anything to do with the Bible and Book of Mormon growing together and putting down all contention and false doctrine, it is rather the story of the Ithil and Rose Stones, and the stories on them, combining into one that does the trick, at least in this reading.
Having established the symbol of the Caduceus as representative of this in the hands of Hermes, let me see if I can take a crack at this in more of a story form
I have guessed at in my posts that Faramir is this character that will have the Rose Stone in his possession at some point, and this will be over in France at the House of Tom Bombadil. With that Stone, he will link up with the Ithil Stone, in the hands of Eowyn, and stories will be shared across the ether and whatever else stands between our world and this other one, and two stories will become one, both on our world, as well as in that other world.
With that united story in hand, Faramir will rise up, the swift messenger proceeding to this other world, and in so doing he will cut or create a straight path or line for others to follow. The "Brittany Spears", as one in his hand, are the means by which this path will be created, and it is this that the Caduceus represents. Others will follow along this path, and my view is that the Rod of Iron, viewed by Lehi and Nephi, is none other than this path that the combined Rose and Ithil Stones have created - the Word of God that comes from them, written with an Iron Rod or Pen.
I have suggested before that the "Book" that comes out of the union of the Ithil and Rose Stones is what is referred to in the Book of Mormon as the Book of the Lamb. The implication, therefore, in this story is that what is being described in 2 Nephi 3, in Joseph's vision with the uniting of the writings of Judah and Joseph, is this same book.
The question then becomes, does that make sense - are the two sets of writings becoming one in Joseph's vision the same thing as the Book of the Lamb. A few clues suggest it might.
First, it is also in 2 Nephi 3 that we learn of the Seer who will be "like" Joseph. We have tagged that Being as Faramir, not only because both of them are considered fathers of the Family of Light (being part of these two sets of Twins), but Faramir will actually be carrying Joseph's Stone - the Rose Stone. Remember my dream a couple days ago where an individual, who I assume is one of Joseph's daughters, references the Rose Stone as belonging to their "Papa". In possessing that Stone, if even only as a steward of it for a short time, Faramir will be like Joseph in that he will be seeing what Joseph saw (up to a point - some things will remain sealed even then, it seems). This, again, is the story, in broad strokes, of the harmonica swap between Alvin and Tommy in the Chipmunk Christmas special.
Second, in the few words I captured of Asenath's confrontation with the "Son of Baal-ox" it is words specifically from this same chapter, 2 Nephi 3, that I wrote down. Here is what I had:
For Joseph truly saw our day, Son of Baal-ox!
That phrase is what Lehi speaks to his son (also named Joseph) as he recounts Joseph's prophecy of both the Seer and the two sets of writings for Judah and Joseph. It is the only place that phrase is found in the Book of Mormon. Asenath said this in an effort to specifically gain access to the Rose Stone (which necessitating defeating this Demon), and thus I believe directly ties that Stone to Joseph's prophecy from 2 Nephi 3. I just think that the reference is too direct to think otherwise at ths point.
Therefore, it seems highly likely that the Ithil Stone contains the writing which the "Fruit of the Loins" of Judah wrote, and the Rose Stone is the same for Joseph, and that these are the Sticks mentioned in Ezekiel. They become one in the hand of Hermes-Faramir, who goes on a Sky Walk like that of Menelmacar-Orion, cutting and establishing a straight path to the West. The 'Sword' in his hand is what comes from these Sticks (the Word of God).
One last interesting reference regarding the Caduceus and why the symbolism seems so strong to me. When Jesus visiting Bountiful, he specifically says "Son of Righteousness [will] arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall." This Winged Being is, again, likely comprises Hermes-Faramir and the Stone he carries (Hermes is shown with both wings on his body, as well as on his staff). It is this notion of 'healing', though, that the Caduceus became a symbol of by happy accident in the United States.
Back in the late 1800s/ early 1900s, from what I can tell, the US government meant to adopt the Rod of Asclepius, shown as only one snake around a rod, and no wing, for Medicine but instead mistakingly selected the Caduceus, which up to that time was not necessarily strongly associated with Healing or Medicine. But, it stuck, and became the Medical symbol of the US Government and Military.
The flag of the Surgeon General of the United States, for example, the highest ranking position responsible for Public Health, bears the Caduceus along with an Anchor:
Recall that "anchor" has come up, specifically with the reference to Eowyn as the Anchor-woman, a play on words and meanings I explored in that post, and that ties directly her Ithil Stone. Ron Burgundy, the Anchorman, later came up (along with Mustard) in relation to the Red Rose Stone. And here we have that anchor symbol forming the shape of an X with the Caduceus, which I propose also represents those Stones.
X marks the spot, right?
All of this talk about sticks and sky-walkers, and prior posts about bacon and pigs, has me thinking of a Bad Lip Reading song.
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