But it is most definately an "8" lying on its side...googled, you'll find information like this:storyteller wrote:Interesting- the more I look at the symbol the more I notice how it's NOT like an infinity sign. It's not exactly level, is it? the smaller (?) circle seems to be lower than the slightly larger one. Also, the outer lines don't exactly connect- even if you take into account that it's really round. It's almost like a caligraphied "S" with everything touching.milowent wrote:it's just an 8 on the side, right? i am awaiting the enochian translation brigade ....
A fallen or lying down 8 is used to represent infinity in mathematics. This interpretation of 8 may be related to the representation of the caduceus (where two snakes form several figure eights) as stability or balance of opposing forces.
In algebraic geometry, the word lemniscate refers to any of several figure-eight or ∞ shaped curves, of which the best known is the Lemniscate of Bernoulli. It is also sometimes used to refer to the ∞ symbol used in mathematics as a symbol for infinity.
also something very important:
Also, I just found a very good website for reference..The infinity sign was devised in 1655 by mathemetician John Wallis, and named lemniscus (latin, ribbon) by mathemetician Bernoulli about forty years later.
The lemniscate is patterned after the device known as a mobius (named after a nineteenth century mathemetician Mobius) strip. A mobius strip is a strip of paper which is twisted and attached at the ends, forming an 'endless' two dimensional surface.
The religious aspect of the infinity symbol predates its mathematical origins. Similar symbols have been found in Tibetan rock carvings; and the ouroboros, or infinitysnake, is often depicted in this shape. In the tarot, it represents the balance of forces and is often associated with the magician card.
Related symbols:
Source: http://altreligion.about.com/library/gl ... finity.htm
the Free Encyclopedia of Thelema....
http://www.egnu.org/thelema/Infinite
