The Phoenician Oracle
𐤀 Aleph- “Ox” Oracular meaning: Ally, reliability, trust, loyalty Paired with marjoram flowers, symbol of love, harmony and good fortune Associated deity: Ninshubur, the faithful attendant and messenger of the goddess Inanna and guardian of the god An (other syncretized deities: Papsukkal, Iris)
*** The Phoenician alphabet was the very first alphabet (set of glyphs representing individual sounds), drawn from Egyptian hieroglyphs and evolving into the Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Coptic and Runic alphabets. Each letter represents a sound as well as an object or element central to Phoenician life. Like its alphabet, Phoenician culture, art and religion spread from Mesopotamia throughout the Mediterranean, infused with Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Greek symbolism and traditions.