Aries 22: The gate to the garden of desire

T h e w o r d g a t e ha s t w o d i s t i n c t s e n s e s . T h e f i r s t a n d m os t c o mm o n i s a s t r u c t u r e t h a t ca n b e s w u n g , d r a w n , o r l o w e r e d t o b l o c k a n e n t r a n ce or p a s sa g e w a y . 1 geat. A It descends se n se f r om of the the Old word English second

concerns paths and ways themselves, e.g. a p a r t i c u la r w a y o f a c t i n g o r d o i n g ; m a n n e r a n d a p a t h o r w a y . 2 T h i s s e n se d e s c e n d s f r o m t h e I n d o - E u r o p e a n ( I E ) r o o t g h e - w h i c h m e a n s t o re l e a se , le t g o ; t o b e r e l e a s e d, g o . 3 A m o n g i t s p a r o n y m s a r e t h e w o r d s a n c ho r it e , c h o r e , g a u n t l e t , g o , he i r , h e r e d it y , a n d g a it ( a p a r t i c u l a r w a y o r m a n n e r o f m o v i n g o n f o o t ), a h o m o n y m o f g a t e . T h e w o r d g a r d e n d e s c e n d s f r o m t he I E r o o t gh e r - 1 w h i c h m e a n s t o g r a s p , e n c l os e . 4 A m o n g i t s p a r on y m s a r e c a r o l , c h o ir , c o ho r t , c o u r t , c o u r t e s y , cu r t s y , g a r t h , g i r d, ha n ga r , o r c h a r d , a n d y a r d . T h e b a s e o f t h e w or d d e si r e d e s ce n d s f r o m t h e I E r o o t sw ei d - 1 w h i c h m e a n s t o s h i n e . 5 A m o n g i t s p a r on y m s a r e t h e w o r d s s i de re a l , c o n s i de r , a n d s wi dde n ( a n a r e a c l e a r e d f o r t e m p o r a r y c u l t i v a t i on b y c u t t i n g a n d b u r n i n g t h e v e ge t a t i o n ) . M o re p r o xi ma l l y d e si r e d e s ce n ds f r o m t h e L a t i n d esi d e ra re w h i c h i s c o m p r i se d o f t h e p r e f i x de - , w h i c h m e a n s o u t o f , r e m o v e d f r o m , a n d t h e o p p o si t e o f p lu s t h e b a s e s i du s o r s i de r m e a n i n g s t a r. L i t e r a l l y, t he n t he w o r d m e a n s s t a r - l i k e o r f r om t h e s t a r s . T H E M E S : O n e i n t e g r a t i n g t h e m e c o n c e r n s R E L IG I O N a n d S P I R I T U A L P R A C T I C E , p a r t i c ul a r l y o f t h e a s ce t i c o r r e n o u n c i n g v a r i e t y. R e c a l l t ha t t h e p a r o n y m s o f ga t e i n c l u d e s a n c h o r i t e , a p e r s o n w ho h a s r e t i r e d i n t o

1 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/gate 2 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/gate_2 3 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 28 4 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots , p. 30 5 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 88 Starling Hunter 2011 1

s e c l u s i on f o r r e l i g i o u s r e a s o n s. 6 O n e o f t h e p a r o n y m s o f g a r d e n i s t he word garth which is a grassy quadrangle surrounded by cloisters. 7 The w o r d c l o i s t e r h a s s e v e r a l d e fi n i t i on s i n c l u d i n g a p la c e , e sp e ci a l l y a monastery or convent, devoted to religious s e c l us i o n , life in a m o n a s t e r y o r c o n v e n t a n d a s e c l u de d , q u i e t p l a ce . 8 T h e n t h e r e i s t he w o r d d e s i r e , a n e m o t i o n w h o s e s u b j u g a t i o n o r e r a d i c a t i o n h a s l on g b e e n a g o a l o f t h e m on a s t i c l i f e , e s p e c i a l l y i n B u d d h i s m w h e r e i t h o l d s a c e n t r a l p l a ce : The ultimate goal of a Buddhist Monk is the attainment of Nirvana, a state where all desire and suffering have been eliminated and in which the endless cycle of rebirths or samsara through which all living things must pass, ceases. Lord Buddha preached Four Noble Truths: all life is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, suffering ends when desire is eliminated and believers must follow the Noble Eight-Fold Path to achieve this end.9 S e c o n d l y, t he r e i s a t h e me c o n c e r n i n g V E G E T AT I O N . A m on g t he p a r o n y m s o f g a rd e n a r e t h e w o r d s g a r t h , o r c ha r d , a n d y a r d . A m o n g t h e paronyms of d esi r e is swidden, an area cleared for temporary c u l t i v a t i o n b y c u t t i n g a n d b u r n i n g t he v e g e t a t i o n . 10

6 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/anchorite 7 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/garth 8 http://education.yahoo.com/refere nce/dictionary/entry/cloister 9 http://www.allmyanmar.com/new%20allmyanmar.com/Buddhist%20Monk.htm 10 h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / s w i d d e n Starling Hunter 2011 2