[DISCUSSION] A new theory about the symbols

[Languorous Lass]

Thank you, tiltingwindward. Sorry to be so quick to take offense.

Tigerlilylynn, my apologies. I don't want to insult you -- I've heard great things about your puzzle-solving abilities.

[iamcool]

yeh tiger is teh hawtness

[tiltingwindward]

No problem, Lass. Feel free to share any of your other theories with us here; as you can see, we can use all the working minds we can get.

[tristan]

ok this may be long but i wanted to recap and add a little of my own too [just so new peeps can hop right in]. i know i'm going to be taking things from what others have already said - mainly tiger, impulse, and tilting from this thread - but i'm sure others as well

Amalgation: Tachyon puts together Theta and Mu to make the "Watchers" symbol

Semantics: This is where I believe Tachyon gives us notes on how to read the third file [Ligatures].
The first part of Semantics shows the message behind Amalgations. Explaining how the Watchers Symbol establishes that the Order rules and watches over all that exists in between the sun and the water. Tachyon does this by bringing the two Greek Leters [Theta and Mu] as close back to their Egyptian hieroglyph as possible then using that meaning

The second part [the one which confuses me] says "Theta is the 8th letter, Mu is the 12th. So that's one more 12, but the 8 = ?." I think this may only mean that Tachyon gave us the meaning for Mu and Theta in her paragraph above but that a different Theta meaning is needed when it is in the other image. Throughout the forum there are several different ways to interpret this and no real way to be sure until more info is provided

The third part states "Theta was also used as an abbreviation for "Thanatos," and considered a warning of death." IMO this is Tachyon telling us the other meaning to use for Theta

Ligatures: four symbols all greek which this thread believes represents some part of the Order or Opaphid

Top Left:
Tau & Omicron
19 15 -> these refer to the letter's place in the Greek Alphabet
Tau = believed to come from a simple mark; a cross or asterisk-like marking, perhaps indicating a signature. it was also a symbol for life and/or resurrection
Omicron = hieroglyph of an eye

possible meanings
that this is the part of the Order which identifies the chosen one [such as Bree and Tach's sister]
or
this is where we can receive rebirth through an all seeing eye

Bottom Left: [the one Tachyon did for us]
Theta & Mu
8 12
Theta: egyptian symbol for the sun
Mu: hieroglyph of water

possible meanings
that the Order rules and watches over all that exists in between the sun and the water

Bottom Right:
Pi & Theta
16 8
Pi: hieroglyph for a mouth
Theta: considered a warning of death

possible meanings
the part of the Order which carries out the order to kill [like an assasin] or perhaps just a messenger bearing the message of imminent death or the part which judges and deems a sentence

Top Right:
Lambda & Sigma
11 18
Lambda: pictogram of an ox goad or cattle prod (possibly a shepherd's staff)
Sigma: a symbol for Uraeus or a Cobra [possibly indicating summation or derivation]

possible meanings - many
Gatherers or the ones who collect/raise/nurture the choosen ones
or
A group in charge of punishing those who deviate from the Order
or
Symbolize a Caduceus or Rod of Asclepius - having medical implications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus


hopefully this helps and sorry again if i took something from someone else theres just a lot of theories bouncing around


edit: for a correction - thanks tilting

[Balmung]

#1. Pi + Theta

For Theta I guess we should keep in mind what Tachyon told us :

The Theta is similar to an Egyptian symbol that represents the Sun......
Theta was also used as an abbreviation for "Thanatos," and considered a warning of death.

Theta=death doesn't apply to the watchers...they just watch. So that should apply to this symbol. Death+Pi! What's Pi?

Is it just me, or is it INCREDIBLY obvious that this is OpAphid! the enforcement branch!!

[tiltingwindward]

Balmung, that would seem to be the case, unless you consider that all the branches may just be pieces of OpA, in which case we're sort of back to Square One.

Tristan, that summary post is great, thank you. Just one thing: the Tau/Omicron numbers are 19 and 15, not 19 and 11.

[Nieriel.Manwathiel]

bravissimo!!

[diastres]

Semi-random thoughts on one of them.

Considering that the Tau passes through the Omicron:
Watching through life? This gives me the thought of the watchers, though, so I don't know.

Considering that the cross of the Tau is over the Omicron:
Life under watch? The ceremony girls themselves.

Erm, nevermind. I'm being backwards. But I'll leave it anyway.

/me wanders off...

[yarvin]

Semi-random thoughts on one of them.

Considering that the Tau passes through the Omicron:
Watching through life? This gives me the thought of the watchers, though, so I don't know.

Considering that the cross of the Tau is over the Omicron:
Life under watch? The ceremony girls themselves.

Erm, nevermind. I'm being backwards. But I'll leave it anyway.

/me wanders off...

Or maybe, Love under Will, if you're willing to follow the Tau==masculine, Omicron==feminine idea and put your mind in the gutter.

Actually, I think in most societies (traditionally and today), males are expected to put forth the Will, while females are expected to support them with their Love.

EDIT: And of course, there's always Freud, for whom Tau->Phallus->Power, while Omicron->*meep*->Receptive/Embracing (and, actually, I have read that the word which I have replaced with *meep* literally translates from the Latin as "sheath for a sword").

[Balmung]

Actually, I think in most societies (traditionally and today), males are expected to put forth the Will, while females are expected to support them with their Love.

as it should be

[Balmung]

Balmung, that would seem to be the case, unless you consider that all the branches may just be pieces of OpA, in which case we're sort of back to Square One.

Tristan, that summary post is great, thank you. Just one thing: the Tau/Omicron numbers are 19 and 15, not 19 and 11.

but i'm pretty sure we have reason to beleive that the watchers are seperate from OpAphid, so it would seem to make sense that the four symbols would represent 4 sections of the Order, with the watchers being one and OpAphid being another.

[Lurker]

I'm not sure that the different branches can be broken up so easily (I don't think OpA has a Hinder Dept., a Protection Dept., etc.). It makes more sense that the APHID acronym is a guiding principle or mission statement which all the branches follow in their individual pursuits. Nevertheless, it makes sense that some branches focus more on some aspects of APHID than the others, as you have pointed out.

Yeah, I can see that. Watchers Analyze, people like Gemma Infiltrate or Hinder, War Pylol Destroys, etc.

Given Tachyon's note, I think that we should always consider Theta as a symbol with two meanings: the sun, or the breadth of the Order's/OpA's reach, and death, or its connection to death.

That's fair.

I wasn't using the interpretation of Pi as a plaintiff, because I agree entirely that we should look at the older meanings. I was using Pi as the symbol for the speaking mouth, which in many cultures is used anciently in connection with the speaking of a judgment.

Interesting. I didn't know that. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and thanks for pointing that out. I must admit that makes a high degree of sense.

(I'm sorry that I always seem to taking your posts apart piece by piece, Lurker. It just means that you always have good points I want to discuss individually. )

Thank you for saying so, tilting. Very nice of you. Likewise.

And it's no problem. Layered responses are often the best way to go for a number reasons (I usually do it as well).

Balmung, that would seem to be the case, unless you consider that all the branches may just be pieces of OpA, in which case we're sort of back to Square One.

Tristan, that summary post is great, thank you. Just one thing: the Tau/Omicron numbers are 19 and 15, not 19 and 11.

but i'm pretty sure we have reason to beleive that the watchers are seperate from OpAphid, so it would seem to make sense that the four symbols would represent 4 sections of the Order, with the watchers being one and OpAphid being another.

Actually, I think I can see tilting's argument, Balmung. And I have to admit that it makes sense to me. I'd prefer it didn't (because I'd like to know more about the Order as a whole), but it does.

OpAphid videos have used the Watcher symbol on more than one occasion, and OpAphid has alluded to having authority over the Watchers (when Tachyon killed her "babysitter," Op said she'd have to send another one; also, in jest, she told a forum member that if the next one wasn't more useful than the last, she might consider enlisting the forum member instead).

[Balmung]

yeahh

i can definately see that.

[islandlove]

oh i like this theory

[GawainsChallenge]

Pi+Theta
16 8
Pi: a symbol of judgment?
Theta: a symbol of death

To me, this looks like the symbolic equivalent of a judge putting the black cap on his head before pronouncing the sentence.

So perhaps Pi Theta is the symbol of those in charge of OpAphid - those who speak the judgment of death. Perhaps this is who Gemma was talking to when she said, "Are you sure the "D" in "APHID" isn't an option?"