LT331: The Answer is Closer

Go back one post to get a recap of where we are on my latest discovery. It ends with my co-worker, MJ, and I discovering a word among the letters made from the LOST numbers. Just go check it out and then come back.


THE WORD

Ibis. It is really by fate alone that I even recognized this word. Had it not been for vacations in Florida it might have whisked past recognition? Hey, I’m a sports fan and still was unaware that the ibis is the mascot for “U”.

So we find this word and wiki it. I’ve still got Hurley bird on the brain. Here is what we find:

-- Most forage for food in the mud and nest in trees
If you’ve read TWO posts back, then you know trees have been getting extra play here at TIDBITS lately

-- The word comes from Ancient Egypt
Need I remind you that Egypt is front and center on LOST?

-- There is a species called the Sacred Ibis
Sacred…religious…I’m getting a feeling here! This bird has been found mummified in Egypt. One discovery was of over 1.5 million ibis mummy.

-- Known for its bravery in sea storms. Often the last animal to leave and the first to return with a storm.
LOST has had a couple of important storms at sea.

-- Believed to be one of the first birds released by Noah on the ark.
Now we have a Bible connection with this bird, too!

-- The ibis is associated with fertility.
Imagine my excitement at this point since LOST even has its own fertility doctor, Juliet. Well, the show HAD a Juliet.


THE HARD EVIDENCE

Any experienced fan of LOST or reader of LOST TIDBITS knows that you can draw a connection to about anything you want to the show. How MANY connections you can make is the critical test.

To be honest the ibis has about a half a dozen connections listed above and that didn’t make me write this post. What made me write this was the hard evidence.

The ibis is closely associated with the Egyptian god named Thoth. Woah!

Not impressed? Drop the first “T”. Hoth, as in the ice planet from the Star Wars movie. The same movie (Empire Strikes Back) that Hurley was rewriting in his journal since it was 1977 and hadn’t come out yet (with some improvements). This all happened in the episode entitled, “Some Like it Hoth”.

It is at this point that I start to see the connections take shape. Maybe the producers were telling us a clue and not just paying homage to Star Wars.


THE BIRD AND ITS GOD

Now we are off to review Thoth.


“What is that he is holding,” you ask? That is the ANKH symbol we found on Paul and Amy’s necklace. It is being held by our four-toed statue on the island as well. I discovered many Egyptian gods like this symbol. Hmm…

Some might be thinking at this point that the head is all wrong. But keep this in mind: Egyptians did not believe their god had human bodies and animal heads – it is just symbolism to the animal they are closely associated with. In addition, I’m not ready to suggest that our statue is Thoth…he’s below the statue.

There is some wiggle room that the statue is Taweret and the god living in the statue is Thoth. Or something like that. Keep reading…


SOME THOTH INFORMATION

Thoth is the heart and tongue of the god, Ra. He and his counterpart, Ma’at, stood on either side of Ra’s boat.

Notice the boats along the bottom of the tapestry.

Thoth’s roles included being an arbitrator between good and evil including some epic wars. If one god was injured, Thoth would heal that one in order to prevent one from overtaking the other. He kept the balance between good and evil.

Now this sounds like a job position that needs filled on our island. We have the good guys and the bad guys and a referee is needed. And how about that ability to heal?

Want more? Check this points out:

-- He is considered the god of hieroglyphs
We’ve seen a fair share of his work on the island. In fact this next picture looks like it could come from the show:

There are a lot of familiar looking items in this picture. It is actually from the Book of the Dead – another popular theme from LOST fans. It shows someone having their heart weighed against the feather of Ma’at. Ma’at, as mentioned above, was the counterpart to Thoth. And tuck away for a minute that god holding the judgment.

-- Thoth is considered the god of science and religion
I’m giddy at this point.

-- He is credited for the calculations of the moon, stars and heavenly bodies
We have seen our fair share of constellation references on LOST.

-- His power was unlimited in the Underworld
Side track: I think the underworld is the underground portion of the temple

-- The Greeks credit Thoth with the science of numbers, medicine, and botany
This god sounds like a match for the Numbers and some hatches!

Above I asked you to hold on to the image of that god weighing the heart. That god is Anubis. He has the head of a jackal. A jackal is a wild dog as well as the name of the character in Nikki’s television series, Expose. The characters warn of the coming of Mr. Jackal. Anubis and Thoth are closely associated as the first is the messenger and the later does the writing.

Thoth wrote some of the Book of the Dead.

If you are into the numbers it might be interesting to note that the 16th dynasty has a king named after Thoth. 16 is one of our Numbers. That dynasty lasted three years and that number showed up a lot in Season 5 of LOST. The Egyptian calendar has a month named after Thoth and that month correlates to September – the month our LOST journey began!

Reaching just a bit further and I discovered a book where Thoth takes human form. Keeping with his character his job is undertaker – wonder if he prepared John Locke for his casket? In that same book, Mr. Ibis has a friend named Mr. Jackal (Anubis).


CONCLUSION

The judging nature of Thoth and the balance he keeps between good and evil seems to describe Smokey. The Underworld, the glyphs, and the other pieces of evidence point to our black smoke monster as Thoth.

Smokey is the referee between Jacob and the Man in Black. And not just those two, but he keeps the sides even with their followers. Smokey can heal when necessary to keep the balance of power in check. And Smokey most definitely judges people.

The hieroglyphs seen in the tunnels under the temple show a god that resembles Thoth’s buddy, Anubis.

It gets more interesting in that of the three great wars Thoth presided over, the last one was between Set and Horus. This is where we will pick things up tomorrow!



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Thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC