Proposed

There exists a term in our language that means a word that doesn't exist in our language: a semantic gap. In fact, "semantic gap" is itself a semantic gap, because there is not a word for it. There is a similar concept at play in this symbology.

These are some proposed name-symbol pairs that I came up with in the course of this project. Many of them came from symbolic gaps in the minor planet namespace, or neat ideas for symbols I had, or just things that I think would make good asteroid names. Any minor planet observers out there, do take note and feel free to use these.

For proposals made by others, see the 101955 naming contest.

Abraxas

abraxas.png

A mystical word in Gnosticism, referring perhaps to a god or divine principle. The etymology is speculative; the word comes from perhaps Egypt, perhaps numerology. This figure connects to both Greco-Roman magic traditions, and early Judeo-Christian philosophy.

Despite it's many interpretations, its symbolic form is clear: a humanoid figure with two snake legs and a chicken head. A simplified representation of this is the symbol for this proposed name.

Aegis

aegis.png

The aegis is an interesting artifact from Greek myth. It is described in a myriad of ways, but is usually a large and ornate shield, usually carried by Athena, occasionally by Zeus. It is referred to several times in the Iliad and Odyssey. In some accounts, the aegis was made from the skin of a monstrous titan named Pallas or Aex slain by Athena, or occasionally the skin of the goat Amalthea, sometimes cured by the labor of Hephaestus. It is often shown bearing the severed head of the Medusa. The word has crossed over into the English language as referring to a metaphorical obligation to protect.

The symbol for this proposed name is a large Pallasian square, with a small medusa head on it.

Aesyle
aesyle.png
Agartha
agartha.png
Annwn
annwn.png
Antillia
antilla.png
Apsu
apsu.png

Ares

ares.png

The Greek god of war, counterpart to the Roman god Mars. But it seems that he was not a very popular god of war. He is often contrasted with Athena, he as the hotheaded, savage, violent aspect of war, and she as the logical, tactical strategist. In the Iliad, he was painted as being on the losing side and she on the side of the winners, and this pattern of loss and humiliation repeats through multiple myths. This is a major Olympian god who possible nobody worshipped. Sad and fitting that he doesn't even get a lump of rock named after him.

The symbol for this proposed name is as Mars, but with an asteroidal star in the circle.

Arcas
arcas.png

Asteroidy McAsteroidface

mcasteroidface.png

Listen. I don't think this is a good name for an minor planet. But I do think it's probably inevitable.

The symbol for this proposed name is a thalian half-circle smile, with two asteroidal stars for eyes.

Avalon
avalon.png

Basidium

basidium.png

This proposed name refers to a part of a fungus, where the spores attach to the cap. The name comes from the 1954 children's science fiction novel "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet," which refers to a hidden satellite of the Earth. I think if the Earth should ever get a new long-lived satellite, it should have this name.

The symbol for this proposed name is a lunar crescent, rotated so that the points are down, with two long vertical lines below it, like a mushroom cap and stem.

Caelus

caelus.png

The Roman god and personification of the sky. For consistency's sake, this is what Uranus should have been named, instead of the Latinised form of this god's Greek counterpart. Oh well.

The symbol for this proposed asteroid name is a medium circle and upward arrow, as in the symbol for Uranus, but with the solar dot replaced with an asteroidal star.

Camelot
camelot.png

Chrysaor

chrysaor.png

Son of Poseidon and Medusa the Gorgon, brother of the Pegasus, both of whom were born from her neck when Perseus beheaded her. He was the king of Iberia and husband of Callirrhoe.

The symbol of this minor planet is as the symbol for Medusa, but with the head vertically bisected, both to reference the circumstances of his birth, and to form a glyph of a sword, as his name translates to "he of the golden sword."

Cronus

cronus.png

A Titan from Greek myth, father of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus with Gaia. His Roman counterpart is Saturn.

The symbol for this proposed name is as the symbol for Saturn, with an asteroidal star in the crook of the sickle.

Cleverhans

cleverhans.png

The name of a horse that lived in the early 20th century, itself named after a character from the Brothers Grimm stories. The horse was supposedly trained by German mathematics teacher and strange character Wilhelm von Osten to perform numerical calculations in front of a crowd, and relay the answer by stomping his hoof. Psychologist Oskar Pfungst, however, proved that Clever Hans was reacting to unconscious body language on the part of its question asker — Hans answered correctly most of the time, but only when the question asker knew the answer and Hans could see them. This kind of inadvertent subtle cueing is called the "Clever Hans effect," and the case is a lesson in the importance of double-blind experiments.

The symbol for this proposed name is a depiction of a horse, as in the symbol for Equuleus, with its foreleg bent back at a 90-degree angle and an asteroidal star beneath the leg.

Coeus

coeus.png

A proposed name for a moon of Saturn.

Cthulhu
cthulhu.png
Eileithyia
eileithyia.png
Enkidu
enkidu.png
Enyo
enyo.png
Erebus
erebus.png

Eteocles

eteocles.png

Son of Oedipus and Jocasta from Greek myth and story, brother of Polynices, each of whom killed the other in battle.

The symbol for this proposed name is a Greek capital letter Epsilon, with the middle bar replaced by two arrows going opposite directions (the upper going right, the lower going left.)

Eurus
eurus.png

Fascinus

fascinus.png

Roman embodiment of the divine phallus. It was used as a token of good luck back in the day. I mainly include it here because I think having an astrological symbol that is a winged dick is a funny idea.

The symbol for this proposed name is a tall inverted U shape, with a short line intersecting at the top, and a curved pair of wings at the bottom. You know, like a winged phallus.

Febris

febris.png

Roman goddess of shrewdness, honesty, fever, and malaria.

Februus

februus.png

Roman deity of purification, and Etruscan deity of wealth and the underworld.

Frodo

frodo.png

Frodo Baggins the hobbit, a character from J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle Earth legendarium, relative of Bilbo Baggins. He was charged with carrying the One Ring to Mount Doom, which is the subject of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

This symbol represents the culmination of his quest. It is a volcano (truncated mountain with a small spring at the top) with a tiny circle inside.

Hades

hades.png

Greek god of the underworld. Brother and co-ruler of creation of Zeus and Poseidon.

The symbol for this proposed name is as Pluto, but with the tiny circle replaced with an asteroidal star.

Helios

helios.png

Greek personification of the sun. Contrast with Apollo, who is the god of the sun, Helios is the one who drives a chariot to literally move the thing through the sky.

The symbol for this proposed name is based on the constellation Auriga, the charioteer, with a small Sun symbol inscribed in the top.

Hermaphroditus

hermaphroditus.png

The name of the son of Hermes and Aphrodite in Greek myth, who merged with the nymph Salmacis to become a being of two sexes. They are a mythically dimensional figure, symbolizing sex and sexuality, the idealized nature of marriage between a man and a woman, and also through a modern lens representing intersex and transgender people.

The symbol is obvious: Hermes on the left, and Aphrodite on the right.

Huginn

huginn.png

See Muninn, this bird's partner in crime.

Inuus

inuus.png

Roman god of intercourse, often associated and co-identified with Pan.

Juventas

juventas.png

Roman goddess of youth and rejuvenation, and patron of young men.

Lemuria
lemuria.png

Lua

lua.png

Roman goddess, wife to Saturn, to whom soldiers sacrifice the weapons of their fallen enemies. Perhaps a goddess of blood, war, and victory.

The symbol for this proposed name is a sword pointing to the upper right, with a large teardrop of blood coming down from the point.

Maryshelley
maryshelley.png

Mantus

mantus.png

Etruscan underworld god.

Murcia

murcia.png

A little-known Roman goddess associated with Venus and the myrtle tree. Christians later recast her as a goddess of laziness and sloth.

No

no.png

A tongue-in-check answer to the asteroid 7707 Yes. The general concept of dissent.

The symbol for this propsoed name would be the international prohibition sign: a circle with a diagonal line from top-left to bottom-right.

Notus
notus.png

Oceanus

oceanus.png

In Greek myth, Oceanus is one of the Titans, husband of Tethys, and father to the many nymphs known as the Oceanids. He is the god and personification of the sea or river that was said to encircle the entire world, at the boundary between life and afterlife.

The symbol for this proposed name is a large circle, representing the boundary of the world, with a wave crossing at the bottom.

Oedipus

oedipus.png

From Greek myth and theatre, a tragic hero who, through the obtuse machinations of prophecy, came to accidentally kill his father and marry his mother. I can understand why this guy never got any astronomical objects named after him, because he is kind of a bummer to think about.

The symbol for this proposed name is a composition of the symbols for male (Mars) and female (Venus), with an arrow crossing the center going to the lower right. This represents how Oedipus' life and destiny crossed against the lives of his parents and the mores of his society and culture.

Ophion

ophion.png

From Greek myth, a serpent god that predated the Titans.

Pangaea
pangaea.png
Phaeo
phaeo.png
Quilt
quilt.png

Silenus

silenus.png

A satyr-esque figure from Greek myth, tutor of the god Dionysus. His philosophy is depressingly anti-natalist in most depictions.

The symbol for this proposed name is an inverted Eileithyia, representing his opposition to the general concept of birth, with Aries goat/satyr horns on top.

Smaug

smaug.png

Smaug is a dragon from J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle Earth legendarium, who greedily guards a vast amount of treasure in the mountains of Erebor. When Bilbo stole just a single cup from that tomb, Smaug noticed immediately, so this symbol represents Smaug's hoard by that single cup.

Tartarus
tartarus.png

Tereshkova

tereshkova.png

Valentina Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut, the first woman to travel in space.

Terminus

terminus.png

Roman animistic god, who represented boundary markers. These markers were often used to mark the edges of one's property, and were used as altars to invoke this deity in the name of peace and prosperity.

Theseus
theseus.png
Tiamat
tiamat.png

Tiresias

tiresias.png

A blind prophet from Greek myth, Tiresias had a strange habit of popping up in a lot of different stories, usually to foretell doom. In one myth, they were transformed from a man to a woman, and then back again seven years later.

The symbol is an eye with an empty circle in it, representing their blindness and gift of sight, and a pair of snakes pointing in the male and female directions.

Trigonometria

trigonometria.png

A branch of mathematics, related to geometry, which deals with the properties of the angles and proportions of triangles. Because of the Euclidean nature of our day-to-day life, trigonometry ends up being important to more than just triangle enthusiasts.

The symbol for this proposed name is a 3-4-5 triangle, with the side of proportional length 4 on the bottom, and a star by the middle of the hypotenuse. Understanding the integer proportions of this triangle leads to an understanding of the Pythagorean theorem, which is key to trigonometry.

Vinland
vinland.png
Zephyrus
zephyrus.png

Zagreus

zagreus.png

In the Orphic tradition, Dionysus lived multiple lives, and in his first life he was the son of Zeus and Persephone, or perhaps of Hades and Persephone under the name Zagreus. He was a god of immortality and reincarnation.

The symbol for this proposed name is a Bacchus wineglass, with a Plutonian circle above it, to represent both immortality and the connection to Hades.

Zheleznogorsk

zheleznogorsk.png

The city of Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Was once a secret town of the Soviet Union codenamed Krasnoyarsk-26, and went by colloquial names like Soctown, Iron City, the Nine, and Atom Town. This has historically been a site for nuclear research and plutonium production.

The symbol for this proposed name is derived from its really awesome flag of a bear ripping apart an atom. It is Ursa Major with a vertical line coming from the base of the right side, bisecting a tiny circle floating above.

Comments

Add a New Comment
or Sign in as Wikidot user
(will not be published)
- +
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License