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first.. apologies for the length of this! I usually cut things in consideration of people with large friends lists... but this time.. I didn't.
In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be. (Hubert H. Humphrey)
That's not actually totally relevant.. I just love quotes* (scroll way down) and wanted to fire one off. I've been thinking further on naming myself. First, here's a little sort of flowcharty background thingamabop...
Observing the end-of-twilight sky with crescent moon and evening star(s) --> image of the Queen of the Evening Star, and thoughts of "Night Sky" (one of the few things with which I consistently identify) and "Evenstar" (mostly discarded because of the connection to Arwen, not wanting people to think I was just being LotR trendy) --> wanting to add "many colours" as in the Many-Coloured Land to "Night Sky" --> the aurora borealis --> the fact that I am not of the north (borealis) but of the west --> Aurora Occidentalis
So, there are some interesting connections involved with that sort of a name. Of course, there's all the things through which I passed to get there: the night sky, and many colours. The "western aurora" being connected to Valinor and the Two Trees is interesting, especially in light of the fact that I was shunning the other LotR connection, as mentioned before (I think that Valinor is sufficiently obscure, at least from the cinematic perspective, not to matter).
Things that I didn't like were the connection to dawn and spring, neither of which are my thing, although I'm not sure how many people would see "Aurora" and immediately jump to "Roman dawn goddess". Bonus, it's established as an actual name and thus wouldn't seem too weird to be used in non-magical forums. Minus, would I feel weird actually being called that? (and of course there's no way that anyone who had gotten to know me as Eshari would cease to refer to me by that name, I don't think.)
Interesting thought that came up in the positive WRT dawn is the connection to the morning star, thus Lucifer, and all the places that can go. Especially interesting considering I had started with sunset and the evening star!
I'm looking for a name that makes me go "Duh. Of course!" Now, when I first found my "soul name" I didn't have that reaction, but at that point I didn't question at all. I was too naive to question... but later when I thought about it, I did get "duh. of course!" I'm desperately searching for Duh Of Course.
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enotsola asks "But... will there be such a thing?"
I hope so. I figure there's a "best", or at least "most suitable" or "least incomplete", kind of outer name, just as there's a best inner name...wordsnotspoken made the suggestion a while back that I should mostly be concerned with whether I would be comfortable having people call me by it, and not worry so much about the rest.. which seemed wise to me. There's little way a name can capture everything. It can have to do with some of me, but the rest, people are just going to have to find out by interacting, if they want to know.
Maybe I'm afraid of being summed up by what my name is... thus, if i have a name that only refers to part of me, afraid of being dismissed as only that... so I want a name that encompasses a lot, so that no one can dismiss me as one-dimensional or something. Like, people with names like "Silver FireRaven" die quickly on tradcraft lists. And even if it was right, I'd so get laughed out of town on some of the lists i'm on with such a name. alt.gothic.fashion would smirk. rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc would be confused. And anyone who met me for the first time would go "oh, one of THOSE."
I want a name as free of such preconceptions as possible. I want to avoid that kind of prejudgement as much as I can... I figure I'm bad enough without a handicap.
*Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. (Oscar Wilde)
I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Silence cannot be misquoted.
Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
Confucius say: Don't spend time quoting people when there's a glazed doughnut coming at... ow! (Dave Humphrey)
In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be. (Hubert H. Humphrey)
That's not actually totally relevant.. I just love quotes* (scroll way down) and wanted to fire one off. I've been thinking further on naming myself. First, here's a little sort of flowcharty background thingamabop...
Observing the end-of-twilight sky with crescent moon and evening star(s) --> image of the Queen of the Evening Star, and thoughts of "Night Sky" (one of the few things with which I consistently identify) and "Evenstar" (mostly discarded because of the connection to Arwen, not wanting people to think I was just being LotR trendy) --> wanting to add "many colours" as in the Many-Coloured Land to "Night Sky" --> the aurora borealis --> the fact that I am not of the north (borealis) but of the west --> Aurora Occidentalis
So, there are some interesting connections involved with that sort of a name. Of course, there's all the things through which I passed to get there: the night sky, and many colours. The "western aurora" being connected to Valinor and the Two Trees is interesting, especially in light of the fact that I was shunning the other LotR connection, as mentioned before (I think that Valinor is sufficiently obscure, at least from the cinematic perspective, not to matter).
Things that I didn't like were the connection to dawn and spring, neither of which are my thing, although I'm not sure how many people would see "Aurora" and immediately jump to "Roman dawn goddess". Bonus, it's established as an actual name and thus wouldn't seem too weird to be used in non-magical forums. Minus, would I feel weird actually being called that? (and of course there's no way that anyone who had gotten to know me as Eshari would cease to refer to me by that name, I don't think.)
Interesting thought that came up in the positive WRT dawn is the connection to the morning star, thus Lucifer, and all the places that can go. Especially interesting considering I had started with sunset and the evening star!
I'm looking for a name that makes me go "Duh. Of course!" Now, when I first found my "soul name" I didn't have that reaction, but at that point I didn't question at all. I was too naive to question... but later when I thought about it, I did get "duh. of course!" I'm desperately searching for Duh Of Course.
enotsola asks "But... will there be such a thing?"I hope so. I figure there's a "best", or at least "most suitable" or "least incomplete", kind of outer name, just as there's a best inner name...
wordsnotspoken made the suggestion a while back that I should mostly be concerned with whether I would be comfortable having people call me by it, and not worry so much about the rest.. which seemed wise to me. There's little way a name can capture everything. It can have to do with some of me, but the rest, people are just going to have to find out by interacting, if they want to know. Maybe I'm afraid of being summed up by what my name is... thus, if i have a name that only refers to part of me, afraid of being dismissed as only that... so I want a name that encompasses a lot, so that no one can dismiss me as one-dimensional or something. Like, people with names like "Silver FireRaven" die quickly on tradcraft lists. And even if it was right, I'd so get laughed out of town on some of the lists i'm on with such a name. alt.gothic.fashion would smirk. rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc would be confused. And anyone who met me for the first time would go "oh, one of THOSE."
I want a name as free of such preconceptions as possible. I want to avoid that kind of prejudgement as much as I can... I figure I'm bad enough without a handicap.
*Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. (Oscar Wilde)
I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Silence cannot be misquoted.
Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
Confucius say: Don't spend time quoting people when there's a glazed doughnut coming at... ow! (Dave Humphrey)
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