What the heck?
July 23, 2012 10:40 AM Subscribe
What is this amulet / talisman / icon thing I found?
See picture here.
1/4" stainless steel, with what looks like laser etching. 10 sided.
It was chained to a fence with a padlock through the center hole. I had to remove it for my job, but if it is a memorial or significant to someone in that way, I'd like to return it. I left a small sign at the location with my contact info. It is just quite strange.
Possibly or possibly not relevant: near a labyrinth which is often used for spiritual ceremonies by Buddhists, Wiccans, and others.
See picture here.
1/4" stainless steel, with what looks like laser etching. 10 sided.
It was chained to a fence with a padlock through the center hole. I had to remove it for my job, but if it is a memorial or significant to someone in that way, I'd like to return it. I left a small sign at the location with my contact info. It is just quite strange.
Possibly or possibly not relevant: near a labyrinth which is often used for spiritual ceremonies by Buddhists, Wiccans, and others.
also...def from this year MMXII=2012 (why 2039 as well...???)
possibly random art piece?
posted by sexyrobot at 11:07 AM on July 23, 2012
possibly random art piece?
posted by sexyrobot at 11:07 AM on July 23, 2012
The shape is similar to the I Ching coins.
It's not Wiccan, for sure. I used to identify as Wiccan and know a lot about the symbols typically used, and none of that is anything I've seen in that context.
The multiple languages thing is very new agey, to me. As are the words "free one's self" and "become one's self". (They're are misspelled/ungrammatical, anyway -- should be oneself. Which might be a google-able clue?)
The presence of devanagri script and some kind of "Islamic" script (Arabic? Persian? Urdu?) implies to me that it could be something vaguely Sikh, or Sikh-inspired new agey-ness, but the Chinese script throws that off.
Googling "free one's self" brings up mostly references to Hadith #23, "How To Free One's Self". Hadiths are Islamic sayings/proverbs attributed to Muhammad, but they're not part of the Quran.
"Become one's self" doesn't seem to have any really conclusive google hits -- lots of boilerplate psycho-babble type self help stuff.
It's not Buddhist. And not the "Buddhist equivalent of a rosary", for sure. That would be japa mala.
posted by Sara C. at 11:08 AM on July 23, 2012
It's not Wiccan, for sure. I used to identify as Wiccan and know a lot about the symbols typically used, and none of that is anything I've seen in that context.
The multiple languages thing is very new agey, to me. As are the words "free one's self" and "become one's self". (They're are misspelled/ungrammatical, anyway -- should be oneself. Which might be a google-able clue?)
The presence of devanagri script and some kind of "Islamic" script (Arabic? Persian? Urdu?) implies to me that it could be something vaguely Sikh, or Sikh-inspired new agey-ness, but the Chinese script throws that off.
Googling "free one's self" brings up mostly references to Hadith #23, "How To Free One's Self". Hadiths are Islamic sayings/proverbs attributed to Muhammad, but they're not part of the Quran.
"Become one's self" doesn't seem to have any really conclusive google hits -- lots of boilerplate psycho-babble type self help stuff.
It's not Buddhist. And not the "Buddhist equivalent of a rosary", for sure. That would be japa mala.
posted by Sara C. at 11:08 AM on July 23, 2012
I have no idea but I'm very curious. I guessed that the "fractions" were dates (9/25 being September 1925, and so on) and started searching Wikipedia by year for common threads between the dates shown. That is, finding a common theme of "From The Sky" for October, 1928; April, 1936; and December, 1949. This turned up some interesting possibilities but nothing concrete enough to draw a definite conclusion at this point.
posted by xedrik at 11:09 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by xedrik at 11:09 AM on July 23, 2012
The roman numerals translate to 2012 / 2039. And from the text on the rest of the coin, it looks like it might be related to some sort of spiritual awakening cult, I doubt it is part of any legitimate religious organization (*snicker*)
Not sure if this is relevant, but searching for 2012 / 2039 got me here: http://www.greatdreams.com/2039.htm
/rant
Also, the text on the bottom right (Between 'No More' and 'Become One's Self') is in Hindi: 'Muft Atma' and translates to 'Free Soul'.
This is hilarious, because the maker probably went for 'Free Your Soul' in Hindi, but instead translated it VERY literally, to 'Free Soul', with free as in 'Buy one get one free', and not in the 'Free Your Soul' terms.
It should be 'Apne Atma Ko Nirbandh Karo'.
/rant over
So yes, you can discard this poorly researched, possibly cult-ish piece of garbage.
posted by mysticreferee at 11:09 AM on July 23, 2012 [7 favorites]
Not sure if this is relevant, but searching for 2012 / 2039 got me here: http://www.greatdreams.com/2039.htm
/rant
Also, the text on the bottom right (Between 'No More' and 'Become One's Self') is in Hindi: 'Muft Atma' and translates to 'Free Soul'.
This is hilarious, because the maker probably went for 'Free Your Soul' in Hindi, but instead translated it VERY literally, to 'Free Soul', with free as in 'Buy one get one free', and not in the 'Free Your Soul' terms.
It should be 'Apne Atma Ko Nirbandh Karo'.
/rant over
So yes, you can discard this poorly researched, possibly cult-ish piece of garbage.
posted by mysticreferee at 11:09 AM on July 23, 2012 [7 favorites]
The only google result I'm getting for "learn to be still" is an Eagles song from the mid '90s! Which, ha. I'm getting a mental picture of either a really weird cult or a really weird individual (a la Dr. Bronner, maybe?) who had this made to order. The use of Copperplate Gothic for the typeface is very "strip mall trophy shop".
posted by Sara C. at 11:18 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by Sara C. at 11:18 AM on July 23, 2012
I also found this, after searching "learn to be still -eagles" to get rid of the Eagles results. It's woo-woo nonsense, but actually less weird than your coin.
posted by Sara C. at 11:21 AM on July 23, 2012
posted by Sara C. at 11:21 AM on July 23, 2012
I don't know Chinese or Arabic, but if you type "free self" into Google Translate, the output is exactly what's written on the disc.
posted by theodolite at 12:22 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by theodolite at 12:22 PM on July 23, 2012
The Chinese characters are also an attempt at a translation of "Free One's Self": 自由 means "freedom" and 自 means "the self". In Japanese this combination is a poor attempt to express this. I don't speak Chinese, but I suspect the same is true there -- Googling returns these characters only as part of a larger phrase. The creators of this amulet probably just looked up the characters and mashed them together (or, on preview: yep, I'll bet money on Google Translate!)
I agree with others that this looks like a New Age thing... the shape combined with a bunch of different literally-translated "meaningful" scripts and the vague-pop-understanding-of-Buddhism sentiment screams Santa Fe to me.
So yes, you can discard this poorly researched, possibly cult-ish piece of garbage.
I would disagree with this. It costs you nothing to return something that probably had significance to its owner, whether it's well-researched or not. I've seen descansos with precisely this level of religious-secular-mishmash-wtf, but that doesn't mean it is my place to discard someone else's religious marker. I think you should put it back where you found it.
posted by vorfeed at 12:24 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]
I agree with others that this looks like a New Age thing... the shape combined with a bunch of different literally-translated "meaningful" scripts and the vague-pop-understanding-of-Buddhism sentiment screams Santa Fe to me.
So yes, you can discard this poorly researched, possibly cult-ish piece of garbage.
I would disagree with this. It costs you nothing to return something that probably had significance to its owner, whether it's well-researched or not. I've seen descansos with precisely this level of religious-secular-mishmash-wtf, but that doesn't mean it is my place to discard someone else's religious marker. I think you should put it back where you found it.
posted by vorfeed at 12:24 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]
Maybe it's a coin from some type of 12-step group? My google-fu is failing to find it, though...
posted by Eicats at 12:24 PM on July 23, 2012
posted by Eicats at 12:24 PM on July 23, 2012
It seems like the numbers must be dates, like MM/YY. However, plugging the dates under "From The Sky" October 1928, April 1936, and December 1949 produce no plausible connections I can see, and googling them together produces nothing interesting.
But, here in 2012 there's supposed to the mayan thing, and in 2039 there's the asteroid thing.
Also, this timecube-esqe fellow says that those who have ascended since 1999 will return in 2039. It seems possible that the numbers could fit with some similar time-harmonic theory.
And now I'm driving myself insane trying to numerology-ize those numbers so I'm quitting.
posted by cmoj at 1:34 PM on July 23, 2012
But, here in 2012 there's supposed to the mayan thing, and in 2039 there's the asteroid thing.
Also, this timecube-esqe fellow says that those who have ascended since 1999 will return in 2039. It seems possible that the numbers could fit with some similar time-harmonic theory.
And now I'm driving myself insane trying to numerology-ize those numbers so I'm quitting.
posted by cmoj at 1:34 PM on July 23, 2012
I Ching coins are round with a square hole in the middle (actually you can use any coins, but people usually use old Chinese coins or replicas of same). Bagua symbols, mirrors, etc., are octagonal.
Neither I nor the Google are familiar with any traditions that include decagonal symbols or talismans.
I think you did the right thing by leaving a note with your contact info. The disk obviously had some significance to the person who placed it there, so returning it to them shows respect.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:57 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
Neither I nor the Google are familiar with any traditions that include decagonal symbols or talismans.
I think you did the right thing by leaving a note with your contact info. The disk obviously had some significance to the person who placed it there, so returning it to them shows respect.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:57 PM on July 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
My guess is that it's something related to the Swedenborgians (Church of the New Jerusalem), which is the start of New Age beliefs. I think this because three of the sayings (free one's self, know one's self, and become one's self) are found in one book: The Power of Silence: A Study of the Values and Ideals of the Inner Life, by Horatio W. Dresser, published 1904.
- Book
- About Dresser
- About Swedenborg
I can find no information about Swedenborgians and the timeframe of 2012 - 2039, nor a general timeframe of 27 years (other than Swedenborg was writing his writings for 27 years). I also can't find anything connection to the numbers or fractions or mm/yy dates-- in fact, if you google them all together, you get timetables. Also no connection between Swedenborgians and decagons.
My opinion is, just because something is cheaply made or has a goofed translation doesn't mean it wasn't a heart-felt, meaningful thing to whoever strapped it onto the fence. Padlocked probably means it was important to someone.
posted by Houstonian at 5:11 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]
- Book
- About Dresser
- About Swedenborg
I can find no information about Swedenborgians and the timeframe of 2012 - 2039, nor a general timeframe of 27 years (other than Swedenborg was writing his writings for 27 years). I also can't find anything connection to the numbers or fractions or mm/yy dates-- in fact, if you google them all together, you get timetables. Also no connection between Swedenborgians and decagons.
My opinion is, just because something is cheaply made or has a goofed translation doesn't mean it wasn't a heart-felt, meaningful thing to whoever strapped it onto the fence. Padlocked probably means it was important to someone.
posted by Houstonian at 5:11 PM on July 23, 2012 [2 favorites]
Isn't Swedenborgianism ultimately Christian, though? It seems odd that this talisman would be Swedenborgian and not have any Christian imagery on it at all.
Then again, there are connections between Swedenborgianism, Jung, theosophy, and all the usual suspects for new age movements. Which still leads me to think that this is from a quirky local cult (or maybe even just one individual with very specific beliefs).
posted by Sara C. at 5:24 PM on July 23, 2012
Then again, there are connections between Swedenborgianism, Jung, theosophy, and all the usual suspects for new age movements. Which still leads me to think that this is from a quirky local cult (or maybe even just one individual with very specific beliefs).
posted by Sara C. at 5:24 PM on July 23, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks for all the ideas.
One notable thing I should have mentioned: it is approx. 8" in diameter, so I don't really think of it as a "coin". Just wanted to make the size known.
And putting it back isn't an option: its a public space where anything chained to the fences has to be removed.
posted by slagerst at 7:08 AM on July 24, 2012
One notable thing I should have mentioned: it is approx. 8" in diameter, so I don't really think of it as a "coin". Just wanted to make the size known.
And putting it back isn't an option: its a public space where anything chained to the fences has to be removed.
posted by slagerst at 7:08 AM on July 24, 2012
> if it is a memorial or significant to someone in that way
Well, of course it is significant to someone, even if it is perhaps a bit silly and naive -- it was locked to a gate. Someone probably had it created thinking it would serve as a global invitation to meditation. I doubt very much that it's a cult, and who cares if it's a "legitimate" religion or not.
posted by desuetude at 6:48 AM on July 25, 2012
Well, of course it is significant to someone, even if it is perhaps a bit silly and naive -- it was locked to a gate. Someone probably had it created thinking it would serve as a global invitation to meditation. I doubt very much that it's a cult, and who cares if it's a "legitimate" religion or not.
posted by desuetude at 6:48 AM on July 25, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
also...labyrinth?!? what?
posted by sexyrobot at 11:05 AM on July 23, 2012