Lascaux: The Axial Gallery: Flight

In the above image, you should notice the elongated tail of the red cow. It forms a line that divides the panel into two areas. Oxford Dictionaries defines the term redline as: ‘a boundary or limit which should not be crossed’¹. What is known as the second Chinese horse is heading away from the dividing line (away from danger). The third Chinese horse looks as if he may be trying to cross the boundary, and return to safety.

It may be that this point in the panel represents the outer event horizon. If you stray within the outer event horizon, it may still be possible to escape, but only if you have enough power.

Above the horse is the first warning. Reducing the symbol to its component parts, we have:

jiōng 冂, meaning outer limits or wilds;

a pointer, meaning after this point, or then, or merge, or meet;

shàngxià 丄丅(archaic forms), meaning surroundings, and;

gǔn丨, meaning downward movement or drop.

Isn’t that what we are told to expect if we ever encounter a black hole?

Other interesting symbols associated with the second Chinese horse are:

yì 丿, meaning movement combined with shān 彡, meaning rise. This character also closely resembles an archaic form of Chinese radical number 124, meaning feather. Perhaps it means to fly.

Then two yì 丿, meaning movement combined with four ha 丷, meaning breathe; literally move, breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe, move.

Thus the second Chinese horse would appear to be flying or fleeing very fast.

More warnings are given in the next section of the gallery.

Image Credits:

Second and Third Chinese Horses: Norbert Aujoulat © MCC-CNP, 2004: Lascaux, le geste, l’espace et le temps, Paris, Le Seuil: http://www.american-buddha.com/lascaux.5b.htm

Replica of the second Chinese horse in the Anthropos Pavilion, Brno, Czech Republic: Photo: Wiki, HTO, May 2009: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lascaux,_horse.JPG

Note:

1. http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/redline