Catoptromancy - Seer View Mirror

Painting by Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)

CATOPTROMANCY

Noun. Early 17th century.

[from Greek katoptron mirror + -MANCY from Greek manteia divination.]

Divination by means of a mirror or mirrors.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall

Who's the most gullible of the them all?

Mirrors are a bit creepy. Who hasn't hesitated to glance in a mirror at night for fear that something different might be looking back, or even that you're not in the reflection at all? Perhaps it's due to their inherent creepiness that mirrors have become so associated with the occult and superstition - breaking a mirror, of course, is said to bring seven years' bad luck, and mirrors are often covered with a black cloth at wakes for fear that the soul of the departed will become trapped. Oh, and don't let a child younger than a year look into a mirror because he'll develop a stutter (obviously). And there's also catoptromancy - the use of mirrors for divination. I'm lead to believe that, of all the divinatory arts, catoptromancy is one of the hardest to master. All I can say is, if you really are so easily lead (that's a good pun so I used it twice) that you believe in catoptromancy, there's no two-ways about it - it really is a sad reflection on you and your gullibility.

If you're a catoptromancer, how do you look at yourself in the you-know-what?

Do please take a moment for self-reflection and leave a comment in the box below.

Catiline - Conspirator ad Ineffectus

CATILINE

Noun. Late 16th century.

[Latin Catilina, cognomen of a Roman who conspired against the Roman republic in 63 BC.]

A conspirator, especially against government.

Also:

Catilinarian adj. & noun (a person) resembling Catiline; conspiring, a conspirator, esp. against government. E19

Historically, conspirators have it hard - usually, if someone is known as a conspirator, it's because they ultimately failed in what they were trying to do. If they hadn't, they would have been in a position to write the history themselves, and wouldn't have chosen the word conspirator, but rather freedom fighter, or friend of the people, or something similarly flattering to describe themselves.

Not that I feel a tremendous amount of sympathy for Catiline, whose intrigue and antics I rather enjoyed reading about in preparation for this post. He was from a wealthy family, had a distinguished career as a military commander, and was evidently rather suave and charismatic. He did, however, have his brother-in-law maimed, tortured and beheaded (in-laws, eh?), have his first wife murdered so that he could marry someone prettier and wealthier (allegedly), as well as being accused (and acquitted) of adultery with a Vestal Virgin. Oh, and he might have drunk the blood of a sacrificial child, although by the time that was claimed it seems that the world was getting a little tabloidesque.

He definitely did, however, attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic in what's known as the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy (the First Catilinarian Conspiracy was such a damp squib that historians doubt whether Catiline was involved in it at all, or whether or not it really happened). His plot involved murdering lots of senators and setting fire to stuff, but was uncovered by Cicero before it really kicked off (intercepted letters detailing the conspiracy - why do people write stuff like this down?). Two-thirds of Catiline's army abandoned him, and thus he was left to march around in circles until, at last, he wasn't able to avoid a fight any longer, and his small force was intercepted by three legions and wiped out. Thus, we now have a word in English that allows one to both call someone a scheming traitor and sound really pretentious about doing it. And, reading between the lines, you're suggesting that they're a particularly self-interested and ineffectual conspirator to boot. Ouch!

Have you ever conspired to overthrow the government?

Do you know any Catilines?

Do please leave any comments below.

Catholic - The Etymology of Catholicism

The Virgin in Prayer
Painting by  Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato

CATHOLIC

Adjective & noun. In branch AI, capitalised; in branch AII as an adjective, uncapitalised; in branch B, capitalised. Late Middle English.
[Old & modern French catholique or its source Christian Latin catholicus from Greek katholikos general, universal,
from katholou (kath' holou) in general, from kata in respect of, holos whole.]

AI Catholic adjective

A1 Of, belonging to, or designating the ancient Church before the great schism between East and West,

or any Church standing in historical continuity with it, as:

(a) the Western or Latin Church after the schism (distinguished from Eastern, Orthodox),

(b) the Latin Church that remained under the Roman obedience after the Reformation
(= Roman Catholic adj. phrase, opposed to Protestant etc.),

(c) the Anglican Church regarded as a continuation of both the Ancient and Latin Churches
(= Anglo-Catholic adj.). LME

A2 Of, belonging to, or designating the Christian Church as a whole. M16

A3 Recognizing or having sympathies with all Christians. M17

AII catholic adjective generally

4(a) Universal; of interest or use to everyone. M16

4(b) obsolete. Of a medicine, remedy, etc: universally applicable. E17-M18

4(c) obsolete. Common, prevalent. Only in 17.

5 Having sympathies with all; all-embracing; broad-minded, tolerant. L16

B Catholic noun

B1 A member of a Catholic Church; especially = Roman Catholic. LME

B2 obsolete = CATHOLICOS.

Pope Pius IX
Painting by George Peter Alexander Healy (1818-1894)

The Etymology of the Word 'Catholic' and its Use by the Catholic Church

Catholic is a curious word. When capitalised, it refers to the Catholic Church, and especially the Roman Catholic Church. When uncapitalised, however, it loses all religious connotation and means universal, broad-minded and all-embracing; except, of course, it doesn't lose its religious connotation, and were I to describe myself as catholic in conversation, it would almost definitely be understood that I'm saying I am Catholic. And it isn't just that the two meanings are confused - for many, they seem mutually incompatible, with the Catholic Church historically being anything but all-embracing, tolerant and broad-minded (William Tyndale, for example, was persecuted by the Catholic Church for translating the Bible into English so that it could be read by the common man).

Both forms of the word originate from the Greek katholikos, meaning 'universal, general'. Various churches use the term catholic, including Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, while separating themselves from the Catholic Church. The first known reference to a catholic church was in a letter by Saint Ignatius of Antioch to Christians in Smyrna in 110 A.D, and later Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 313-386 A.D) also used the term catholic to differentiate between the true church and other denominations that were splitting away. However, it was after the East-West Schism, when Chalcedonian Christianity split between Western (Latin) and Eastern (Greek) branches, that the Catholic Church became a denominator for what is now the biggest Christian denomination in the world, headed by the Pope and comprising of some one billion adherents.

A rosary found on board the Mary Rose
(photo courtesy of The Mary Rose Trust)

The Meaning & Etymology of Various Catholic Terms

Due to the sheer size and influence of the Catholic Church, many Catholic terms are often bandied about during media items relating to it. For those that aren't Catholic or weren't raised in a Catholic culture, many of these terms are obscure. Therefore, I've compiled a list of common Catholic terms and their etymology, so the next time we read about The Holy See or a synod or a diocese, hopefully we'll all have some idea about what's being talked about:

BISHOP

A senior member of the Christian clergy, usually in charge of a diocese and empowered to confer holy orders.

Bishop comes from Old English biscop, ultimately a variant of the Greek episkopos, meaning 'overseer'.

CARDINAL

A cardinal is a leading dignitary of the Catholic Church, cardinals are nominated by the Pope, and subsequently elect succeeding popes, now invariably from within their own number. Cardinal comes from the Latin cardinalis, from cardo, cardin-, meaning 'hinge', being used in Catholic terminology as the cardinals are seen as hinges, or pivots, in the church due to their important function.

CATHEDRAL

A cathedral is the principle church of a diocese.

The word was originally cathedral church in full, meaning 'the church that contains the bishop's chair,' coming from the Latin cathedra (Greek kathedra) for 'seat'.

CHARITY

Charity is a central Christian and Catholic tenet, the word coming from Old English and originally meaning 'Christian love of one's fellows'.

Its root is ultimately from Latin caritas, from carus 'dear'.

CHURCH

A church is a building used for public worship, and a Church is a particular Christian organisation with its own hierarchy, beliefs, etc.

Church arrived in English from Old English cir(i)ce, based on medieval Greek kurikon meaning 'Lord's house' (from kurios 'master' or 'lord').

CLERGY

The clergy is the body of people ordained for religious duties, such as priests, cardinals, etc.

It comes from Latin clericus 'clergyman', which itself is from Greek klerikos which is from 'lot' or 'heritage', based on Acts 1:26 in the Bible.

DEACON

A deacon is an ordained minister ranking below a priest.

Ultimately, the word comes from the Greek diakonos meaning 'servant'.

DIOCESE

A diocese is a district under the care of a bishop

It's from Greek dioikesis 'administration, diocese', from dioikein meaning 'keep house, administer'.

EUCHARIST

The Eucharist is the Christian service that commemorates the Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed.

The word comes from the Greek eukharistia 'thanksgiving', from eukharistos meaning 'grateful'.

GOSPEL

The gospel is the teachings of Jesus Christ.

It's from Old English godspel, from god 'good' and spel 'news' or 'story'. Therefore, gospel literally means 'good news'.

HELL

Controversially taught by the Catholic Church to be a place of eternal damnation, often described as a realm of evil, fire and suffering.

The word hell (often written Hell) is from Old English hel or hell, from an Indo-European root meaning 'to cover' or 'to hide'.

HOLY SEE

The Holy See (also The See of Rome) is the papacy of the papal court, and those associated with the Pope in governing the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican.

See comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning 'seat' (and associated with the English word sedentary), 

LITURGY

The liturgy is the form of public worship prescribed by the Church.

It's from Greek leiturgo, meaning 'minister', from leitos 'public' with ergos 'working'.

MASS

Mass is the celebration of the Eucharist.

It originates from ecclesiastical Latin missa, from miss- meaning 'dismissed'.

This is perhaps from the final words of the service: "Ite, missa est," meaning "Go, it is the dismissal."

POPE

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

It is from ecclesiastical Greek papas meaning 'bishop, patriarch', papas being a variant of Greek pappas meaning 'father'.

ROSARY

A form of devotion in which five or fifteen decades of Hail Marys are repeated, each decade preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be. Also, a string of beads for keeping count in a rosary.

Rosary is derived from Late Middle English 'rose garden', from Latin rosarium.

SAINT

A person believed by Catholics to have been holy and virtuous in life, and who has gone to heaven in death and is now exalted and possibly an object of veneration. The Catholic Church says it does not create saints, but only recognises them.

The word originates from Latin sanctus meaning 'holy'.

SYNOD

An assembly of the clergy in a diocese, sometimes including members of the laity.

The word originates from Greek sunodos meaning 'meeting'.

TRINITY

The Trinity is the teaching that God is comprised of three beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

It comes from Latin trinitas, meaning 'triad'.

SACRAMENT

Sacrament has various uses depending on the denomination.

In Catholicism, the Holy Sacrament (or Blessed Sacrament) is the consecrated elements of the Eucharist, particularly the bread and the wine.

It come from the Christian Latin sacramentum meaning 'solemn oath', which was a translation of the Greek musterion, meaning 'mystery'.

Note: Many of the above terms are not exclusively Catholic, but they've been included as words often used when discussing matters relating to the Catholic Church. If you feel there have been any omissions, do please feel free to comment below.

Countries in which Roman Catholics are the majority

Do feel free to leave any comments in the box below.

Cathexis - The Object of Your Desire

I've heard that some people really, really, really like shoes
(photo by Tor Kristensen)

CATHEXIS

Noun. Plural cathexes. Early 20th century.

[Greek kathexis holding, retention, a rendering of German (Libido)besetzung (Freud).]

PSYCHOANALYSIS. The concentration or accumulation of libidinal energy on a particular object.

Are you hungry right now? If you are, it's your id that's generating the psychological need to eat (in concert with your physical need for food), and in doing so it's probably making you think about food - perhaps a juicy cheeseburger or a deliciously crunchy apple. And you're probably imagining yourself eating them, and savouring the flavours, and enjoying that sense of satisfaction and fulfilment once you've eaten. This, according to the the Freudian model, is cathexis - the investing and concentration of libidinal energy on a particular object (using the word libido in its broader meaning of primitive biological urges and not just that of sexual drive).

Beyond Freud's model, the definition, meaning and usefulness of the word cathexis has been wrangled over and debated ad nauseam. In dictionaries, there are subtle differences in how it's defined too: Collins, for example, defines it as 'concentration of psychic energy on a single goal,' while Oxford Dictionaries puts it in a definite negative light, as 'the concentration of mental energy on one particular person, idea, or object (especially to an unhealthy degree)', which could be read as drifting into the realm of fixation, obsession, and fetish. Read in a more general sense, and cathexis could be applied to anything that you've invested emotional (libidinal) energy in: your husband, your wife, your pet, your business and even, dare I say, your blog.

What's your cathexis?

Do please invest some of your libidinal energy by commenting in the box below.