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Meddling Kids
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Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
for they are subtle and quick
- J.R.R. Tolkein
The Lord of the Rings
metal (n.)
an undecomposable elementary substance having certain recognizable qualities
(opacity, conductivity, plasticity, high specific gravity, etc.),
mid-13c., from Old French metal "metal; material, substance, stuff"
(12c.), from Latin metallum "metal, mineral; mine, quarry,"
from Greek metallon "metal, ore"
(senses found only in post-classical texts, via the notion of "what is got by mining");
originally "mine, quarry-pit," probably a back-formation
from metalleuein "to mine, to quarry,"
a word of unknown origin.
Perhaps related somehow to metallan "to seek after,"
but Beekes finds this "hardly convincing."
- www.etymonline.com/word/metal
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Louis trotted after the nimble gnome chief as he weaved his way through a maze of ovens. They passed oven after oven, more ovens than Louis thought necessary to feed the small village. At this exact moment, another child ran up to the gnome elder. The gnome youth proudly presented the chief with an empty bowl. The chief took the bowl and inspected it, then handed the bowl back to the child, and patted him on the head. The child skipped away, apparently satisfied. The elder noticed the quizzical look on Louis’ face, and answered the unspoken question.
“Kleg.”
Louis turned the word-sound over and over in his mind, until its meaning dawned on him. Instantly, the reason for the abundance of ovens became clear… the large earthen domes weren’t all ovens for food. Some were kilns for firing pottery.
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potter (n.)
“maker of pots” (they also doubled as bell-founders),
late Old English pottere “potter,”
reinforced by Old French potier “potter,”
both from the root of pot (n.1).
- www.etymonline.com/?search=potter
An older Old English word for “potter”
was crocwyrhta “crock-wright.”
- www.etymonline.com/?search=potter
Mudblood is a highly derogatory term
for a muggle-born wizard or witch; that is,
individuals with no wizarding parents of grandparents.
There does not appear to be any difference
in the magical power of Muggle-borns
compared to those who are pure-blood or half-blood,
but those prejudiced against Muggle-borns
consider them to be of “lower breeding” or worth,
and undeserving of magic.
The term implies that the individual has “dirty blood”
and is considered extremely offensive.
There are apparently other, less commonly used terms
with a similar meaning,
such as “creature of dirt”.
- Harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Mudblood
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.
- Genesis 2:7
King James’ Bible
Adam was initially created as a golem (גולם)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem
the term for an uncultivated person
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem
Like Adam, all golems are created from mud
by those close to divinity.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem
Sumerian mythology claims that,
in the beginning, human-like gods ruled over Earth.
When they came to the Earth, there was much work to be done
and these gods toiled the soil, digging to make it habitable and mining its materials.
The texts mention that at some point the gods mutinied against their labour.
“When the gods like men / Bore the work and suffered the toll
The toil of the gods was great, / The work was heavy,
the distress was much.”
Anu, the god of gods, agreed their labour was too great.
His son Enki, or Ea, proposed to create man to bear the labour,
and so, with the help of his half sister Ninki, he did.
A god was put to death,
and his body was mixed with clay.
From that material the first human being was created,
in likeness to the gods.
“You have slaughtered a god together / With his personality
I have removed your heavy work / I have imposed your toil on man.
…
In the clay, god and man / Shall be bound,
To a unity brought together;/
So that to the end of days
The Flesh and the Soul
Which in a god have ripened –
That soul in a blood-kinship be bound.”
- www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/origins-human-beings-according-ancient-sumerian-texts-0065
a goal of certain Muslim alchemists,
notably Jabir ibn Hayyan.
In the alchemical context,
takwin refers to the creation
of synthetic life in the laboratory,
up to and including human life.
Whether Jabir meant this goal to be interpreted
literally is unknown.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takwin
In Rabbinic thought, therefore,
much of the Aggadah is understood
as containing a hidden, allegorical dimension,
in addition to its overt, literal sense. In general,
where a literal interpretation contradicts rationality,
the Rabbis seek an allegorical explanation:
“We are told to use
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggadah
a long, and sometimes devious process
that involved five basic steps.
1. Identifying and discovering its usefulness.
There is little in nature to suggest
the existence of metals or their usefulness.
Our Stone Age hunter managed to find a small copper ingot.
Unfortunately, metals rarely occur in such a pure state.
Instead, we find them mixed with other minerals in rocks called ore.
Ores usually do not present the appearance of anything resembling metal,
so the question arises as to how people discovered them.
As with so many discoveries, it was probably by accident.
One likely scenario is that
potters would put some minerals containing copper
on the pottery to give it a glaze when fired.
The kiln’s heat would separate the copper
from the rest of the glaze,
leaving little beads of copper lying around.
Further experiments would lead to the realization
that other rocks were also ores
- www.flowofhistory.com/units/pre/1/FC8
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Louis’ mind processed the new information. The gnomes used fire to cook and bake pottery, but did they use fire to work metal? A quick glance around didn’t reveal any obvious signs of metalworking… no bellows, molds, or obvious forges. When Louis thought back, he didn’t remember seeing any metal implements being used by any of the gnomes. If the tribe has no enemies, they might not have the need to develop metallurgy. After all, you can’t eat gold. Either these gnomes don’t use metal, or they hide their knowledge. Why would they hide their knowledge?
Another mud-coated child ran up to the chief. Carefully, with both hands, the child held up a clay bowl, this one filled with a ruddy paste. The gnome chieftain took the bowl in one hand, and used the other hand to pat the child on the head approvingly. The chief showed the deep red contents of the bowl to Louis.
“Akur.”
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ochre (n.)
type of clayey soil (much used in pigments)
- www.etymonline.com/search=ochre
90–120kyr BP: Possible association of rituals using ochre
and/or fire with internment of the dead.
- Paul Pettitt
The Paleolithic Origins of Human Burial
The use of ochre is particularly intensive:
it is not unusual to find a layer of the cave floor impregnated
with a purplish red to a depth of eight inches.
The size of these ochre deposits raises a problem not yet solved.
The colouring is so intense
that practically all the loose ground seems to consist of ochre.
One can imagine
that the Aurignacians regularly painted their bodies red,
dyed their bodies red, dyed their animal skins, coated their weapons,
and sprinkled the ground of their dwellings,
and that a paste of ochre was used for decorative purposes
in every phase of their domestic life.
We must assume no less,
if we are to account for the veritable mines of ochre
on which some of them lived…
- A. Leroi-Gourhan
The Art of Prehistoric Man in Western Europe
The major ingredient of all the ochres is iron
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre
According to some scholars,
Neolithic burials used red ochre pigments symbolically,
either to represent a return to the earth
or possibly as a form of ritual rebirth,
in which the color symbolizes blood
and the Great Goddess.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochre
ichor (n.)
“ethereal fluid that serves for blood in the veins of gods,” 1630s,
from French ichor (16c.) or Modern Latin ichor, from Greek ikhor,
of unknown origin, possibly from a non-Indo-European language.
The fluid that serves for blood in the veins of the gods. Related: Ichorous.
- www.etymonline.com/search=ichor
Ogun later shared the secret of iron
with the other gods and with humans
- www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ni-Pa/Ogun.html
although there is little in the writings of Jewish mysticism
that supports this belief.
It was believed that golems could be activated
by an ecstatic experience induced by the ritualistic use
of various letters of the Hebrew Alphabet
forming a “shem” (any of the names of God)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem
it is not lawful, however, for any
but the initiated to hear about
the Mysteries.
- http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Kabeiroi.html
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