I’ve been pondering about the Genus and some more thoughts have come to me.

The classification name that is given as the Genus for each animal appears to be the female one. Or, that is, as far as I can figure this out based on the rather clumsy way we now use words in the english language. For example, Cow (female), Ewe (female). By conjecture then Canis is feminine, as well as Felis and Equus.

Although maybe to use the word feminine would obscure our understanding. But I’m prepared to spend some time pondering that the Genus is a feminine creative spirit. Is this classification of Genus a modern way to understand or categorise the being that is known as a “Deva”?

Deva = Sanskrit – “a shining one”, the Mother Goddess in Hinduism.

Before moving on to something different, I’m going to take one last look at some etymologies. And just because I’m curious, I’ve looked into the Genus and Species of the Four Holy Beasts. These are also known as the four cardinal points of the zodiac, and are the symbols for the apostles who wrote the gospels.

Man - Aquarius – ‘Legs’ – St Matthew
Homo – “same” - but I’m not prepared to view this as a mundane word but perhaps as male and female make the ‘same’ being. This is my own thought and could be completely off base.
Sapien – “wise one, discerning”.

The Lion – Leo – ‘Heart’ – St Mark
Panthera – “all beast”, and to break it down further, Thera (a female name) means “the unmastered wild one”.
Leo – “king”

The Bull – Taurus – ‘Throat’ – St Luke
Bos – “Cow”
Primigenius – “first born, original, foremost and best”.

The Eagle – Scorpio – ‘Secrets’ – St John
Aquila – “true eagle” - interesting to note that Aquilla is the name of the eagle who preyed on the liver of Prometheus.
Chrysaetos – “golden eagle”. Chrys means golden, but as a name, Chrys (Chris) means “bearer of Christ”.

For more on the Lindisfarne Gospels go the British Library.