"Minerva's Owl"
Take a one dollar bill out of your wallet. Yes, yes, I know: “times are tough, blah blah blah.” Just do it. Look at the “1” in the upper right-hand corner. Look at the little “frame” around it. Now look REEEEALLY closely at the notch in the upper left hand corner of that frame. See that little bump? That’s not a printing glitch. That’s… MINERVA’S OWL. [cue eerie theremin solo]
Minerva was the Roman version of Athena; a goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic and the inventor of music. The owl was her sidekick, her familiar, her sacred creature: thus, the association with wisdom.
Thar he be!
And somebody in the government paid someone to engrave that bird onto the U.S. buck. And by gum, he’s still there. Draw your own conclusions. This is my version of that itty-bitty little owl, really close-up like.
I’m doing 30 original works this month. The theme for December is birds. All kinds of birds.
30 original pieces, and yes, they’re for sale. And they’re affordable: $99, which includes free first-class shipping. You can order on my Etsy store by clicking here. Check this blog every day (or the Etsy store) to see the new one. Each one will be 5″ by 7″ on sturdy illustration board.
Last month’s theme was food and drink, this month it’s birds. Any other themes you’d suggest?
Holy crap I dig this one. Awesome. And I feel like such a dolt for never noticing that little guy before. Maybe because I don’t carry anything less than a hundo in my billfold these days.
Awesome work, Teebs. Love it.
Herr Moneybags:
We should party.
Wow! What a post – a terrific painting and a factoid that feels like being in on the secret! Cool.
in class, we discussed it as being a Spider, and its the reason why theres a bunch of webs around the dollar bill. Not trying to convert your translation, just giving my opinion. or OUR opinion, moreover.
I had not heard that, but I can see the logic. Thanks!
You got one thing right – it’s an owl, but it wasn’t put there in honor of Minerva. Try Lilith, of ancient Hebrew legend, carried down in the form of Molech and other ‘gods’ who required child sacrifice for their favor. Like everything else on the dollar bill, the significance is of Masonic origin. Oh yeah – and demonic. Just so’s ya know…
The whole thing is such a loaded topic. I’m fascinated by all the theories. Thank you.
is the owl not symbolic for molec or molech? they worshiped the big owl in the time of babel, they worshiped baby’s to it.. now they worship it in the bohemian grove
Yes! Finally someone writes about Black Pack.