8/3/2019 Aquarius 15: Two lovebirds sitting on a fence

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/aquarius-15-two-lovebirds-sitting-on-a-fence 1/2

S t a r l i n g H u n t e r © 2 0 1 1 1

Aquarius 15: Two lovebirds sitting on a fence

The word t wo descends from the Indo-European (IE) root   dwo- which

m eans “ t w o . ” 1 I ts pr imary paronyms are

duo, duet , entwine, twist , twelve,

twenty , twine, balance, twain , between,

binary , combine, dipole , diploma,

du pl ex , du pl i cat e , do u b t  , a nd dubious .

The word love i s derived from the IE

root   leubh-  which means “to care,

desire; love” and from which also

d e s c e nd s l ib ido  (sexual urge or desire) . 2 

Th e no u n bird d e s c e nd s f r o m t h e O l d E n g l i s h brid , which means

“young bird.” One Indo -European root carrying this meaning is awi-  

which means “bird” and from which a l s o d e s c e nd av i an , av i at i o n , cav i ar ,

eg g , o st r i ch , o v al  , a nd ovary . 3 Informally , the word bird , a s w e l l a s i t s

s y no ny m ch i ck  , i s a r e f e r e nc e t o a y o u ng w o m a n. 4 

The word si tt ing i s descends from the IE root   sed-1  which means “to

s i t . ”5

Among i ts paronyms are the words séan ce , sedi m en t , sess i o n , sew er   (a medieval servant who supervised the serving of meals) , assess , ass i ze ,

d i ss i den t , ass i du o us , r es i de , su b si dy , su per sede , cat h edr al , s i t , seat ,

saddl e , n i ck , n i ch e , co sset , sedat e , a nd see  ( t h e o f f i c i a l s e a t , c e nt e r o f  

authori ty , jur isdict ion, or of f ice of a bishop) .

The word fence descends from the IE root   gwhen-  “to str ike, ki l l . ” 6 I ts

p a r o ny m s i nc l u d e autobahn, bane, bezoar , bonze, defend, defense, fence,

fend, gonfalon, gun, of fend, and offense.  

1 W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p p . 2 1 - 2

2 W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p p . 4 9

3 W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p p . 6

4 h t t p : / / o n e l o o k . c o m / ? w = b i r d & l s = a

5 W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 7 3

6 W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p p . 3 5

8/3/2019 Aquarius 15: Two lovebirds sitting on a fence

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/aquarius-15-two-lovebirds-sitting-on-a-fence 2/2

S t a r l i n g H u n t e r © 2 0 1 1 2

THEMES:   RELIGION AND

SPIRITUALITY a r e t h e m e s h e r e . Fo r

example, among the paronyms of  

si tt ing a re cat h edr al  (the principal

church of a bishop's diocese; a

large, important church) , see  (the

off ic ial seat , center of authori ty ,

jur isdict ion, or of f ice of a bishop) ,

séan ce  ( a m e e t i ng o f p e o p l e t o

receive spir i tual ist ic messages) .

Pa r o ny m s o f  fence i nc l u d e bonze  ( a

B u d d h i s t m o nk) a nd  gonfalon  (a

ba nne r s u s p e nd e d f r o m a

c r o s s p i e c e , e s p e c i a l l y a s a s t a nd a r d i n

a n e c c l e s i a s t i c a l p r o c e s s i o n) .

Taken together the f irst three keywords and their paronyms suggest a

young, l ibidinous couple both in love (du et , du o , l o v e , l i b i do , b i r d  ) a nd

perhaps attempting conception ( egg, ovary ) .