Talk:Tanit

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Tanit is a guess as to what this "sign" is called. The actual inscription is the typical semitic triconsonantal TNT and could also be "tenet" which is the secret language of the African metal workers. (Read about the language of the Inadan in Niger, Artisans of the Sahara in National Geographic, August 1979.)

I would argue that this is not a female form at all. Instead it represents the archaic cosmology of the African metal workers. The circle is the sun, the emblem of the creator God, El or Ba'al. The horizontal bar is the East-West movement of the sun (from his wife Dawn to his other wife Dusk). The sun resting over the mountain top represents the semitic belief that God reveals himself on mountain tops. A version of TNT is found today in the "Agadez cross" worked in silver by the Inadan and their metal working cousins, the Egene, both groups in west central Africa. It is not a cross in the Christian sense, but rather the metal workers' ancient representation of a self-revealing God over the cosmos.

Genesis 4:19 tells us that Lamech, the father of Tubal-Cain, the metal worker, had two wives. One was named Ada (Tasker points out the relationship of this name to Dawn) and the other Tzillah (suggesting Dusk). Abraham also had two wives: Sarah in Hebron and Keturah in Beersheba. The wives maintained separate households on a North-South axis out of reverence for El whose wives were on an East-West axis.

The Bible is full of incidents of meetings with God on mountain tops: Abraham binding his son, Moses finding the burning bush, Moses receiving the Tablets, Jesus' transfiguration. It was on mountain tops that clans who had become estranged were reunited. A covenant was made at Mount Horeb (Deut. 29:1) between the Israelites and their cousins the Midianites. Another was made in Seir on Mount Paran between the Israelites and the Edomites (Deut. 33:2) and a third was made on Mount Nebo between the Israelites and the Moabites (Deut. 29:1;32:49). The Midianites, the Edomites, the Moabites and the Israelites are all descended from Terah (Genesis 11).

Well , granted that Tanit is not well-known , I think there is not doubt about her existane.Pasha 01:57, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sigil of Tanit

I think the symbol of Tanit on this page is not actually the most famous one , a more common form is an upward lunar cresent at the top of a triangle , can we perhaps add that one too?Pasha 01:54, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

I think that the image which is there is an adequate basic rendering of the older form of the symbol. AnonMoos 13:03, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Symbols make the world go around

You know, the first thing that came to my mind when I looked at the Tanit sigil again was what's on the back on the dollar bill. Wishing you all a happy Novus Ordo...