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Line 1: {{Other uses|Sub Rosa (disambiguation)}}▼ {{italic title}} {{Short description|Phrase meaning secrecy}}
▲{{Other uses|Sub Rosa (disambiguation)}}
{{Wiktionary|sub rosa|under the rose}} The [[Latin]] phrase '''''sub rosa''''' means "under the rose" and is used in English to denote secrecy or confidentiality, similar to the ''[[Chatham House Rule]]''. The rose as a symbol of secrecy has an ancient history.▼ ▲The [[Latin]] phrase '''''sub rosa''''' == History ==▼ The rose has held a deeply symbolic significance in many times and cultures as a symbol of maternal creativity and of the [[yoni]] or feminine generative power.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta22.htm]</ref> The literal rose and its essence or attar has also played a role in religious and spiritual rites which ofttimes would have been held in secret.<ref>[http://mirrorofisis.freeyellow.com/id125.html]</ref>▼ ▲== The rose has sometimes been said to have been the [[emblem]] of the god [[Horus]] in [[ancient Egypt]]. However the gods in Egypt were usually associated with the lotus. The idea of Horus being linked to the rose probably arises from Greek and Roman cultural cross-transmission of myths from Egypt. Firstly, the rose's connotation of secrecy dates back also to Greek mythology. [[Aphrodite]] gave a rose to her son [[Eros]], the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to [[Harpocrates]], the god of silence and a Greek name for a form of Horus, to ensure that his mother's indiscretions (or those of the gods in general, in other accounts) were not disclosed. Secondly, in Egypt, the rose was actually sacred to [[Isis]] but this appears to have been during the Roman period of Egyptian history—"Probably due to assimilation with the goddess Aphrodite (Venus), during the Roman period, the rose was used in her worship."{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} The demand for roses throughout the empire turned rose production into an important industry.▼ [[File:Egyptian - Horus the Child - Walters 541983 - Three Quarter Left.jpg|thumb|[[Horus]] as a nude boy with his finger to his mouth, and a sidelock of hair, the symbols of childhood. Here he also has a [[uraeus]] above his forehead, symbolizing his entitlement to kingship.]] ▲The rose has held a deeply symbolic significance in many times and cultures as a symbol of maternal creativity and of the [[yoni]] or feminine generative power.<ref> Later, the Greeks and Romans translated the god's Egyptian name [[Horus#Heru-pa-khered (Horus_the_Younger)|Heru-pa-khered]] as Harpocrates and regarded him as the god of silence. The association of Harpocrates with silence and secrecy originates from a misunderstanding of Egyptian depictions of the god. Heru-pa-khered was represented as a naked youth with a finger-to-mouth gesture—in Egyptian artwork this gesture imitates the [[Child (hieroglyph)|hieroglyph for child]] and is used to represent youth, but was misunderstood by later Greeks and Romans as a gesture for silence.▼ ▲The rose has sometimes been said to have been the [[emblem]] of the god [[Horus]] in [[ancient Egypt]] Paintings of roses on the ceilings of Roman banquet rooms were also a reminder that things said under the influence of wine (''sub vino'') should also remain ''sub rosa''.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2003/02/17.html dictionary.reference.com]</ref> ▼ ▲Later, the Greeks and Romans translated the god's Egyptian name [[Horus#Heru-pa-khered (Horus_the_Younger)|Heru-pa-khered]] as Harpocrates and regarded him as the god of silence. The association of Harpocrates with silence and secrecy originates from a misunderstanding of Egyptian depictions of the god. Heru-pa-khered was represented as a naked youth with a finger-to-mouth gesture—in Egyptian artwork this gesture imitates the [[Child (hieroglyph)|hieroglyph for child]] and is used to represent youth, but was misunderstood by In the Middle Ages a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber similarly pledged all present (those under the rose) to secrecy.<ref name="Scottish">[http://www.subrosascotland.eu Scottish Sub Rosa Initiative official website]</ref>▼ ▲Paintings of roses on the ceilings of Roman banquet rooms were also a reminder that things said under the influence of wine (''sub vino'') should also remain ''sub rosa''.<ref> In Christian symbolism, the phrase "sub rosa" has a special place in confessions. Pictures of five-petalled roses were often carved on [[confessional]]s, indicating that the conversations would remain secret. The phrase has also been understood to make reference to the mysterious virginal conception of Christ.▼ ▲In the Middle Ages a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber similarly pledged all present (those under the rose) to secrecy.<ref name="Scottish"> ▲In [[Christian symbolism]], inherited from older roots, the phrase "sub rosa" has a special place in confessions, where roses were carved on [[confessional]]s to signify that [[Seal of confession in the Catholic Church|the conversations would remain secret]].<ref name=merriam /> Pictures of five-petalled roses were often carved on [[confessional]]s, indicating that the conversations would remain secret.<ref name=merriam /> The phrase has also been understood to The rose is also an esoteric symbol of [[Rosicrucianism]] which was often considered to be a secret society or brotherhood. [[File:Tudor Rose.svg|thumb|The Tudor rose]] In the 16th century, the symbol of [[Henry The phrase entered the [[German language]] (''unter der Rose'') and, later, the [[English language]], both as a [[List of Latin phrases|Latin loan phrase]] (at least as early as 1654) and in its English translation.<ref name=merriam /> In current times, the term is used by the Scottish Government for a specific series of "off the record" meetings.<ref name="Scottish" == * [[Language of flowers]]
* [[Chatham House Rule]] ==References== | |||