Sub Rosa

Literal Translation: “under the rose”

I struggle to keep secrets. This is no surprise to some, and not a stretch to imagine for most. It’s logical that someone as extroverted and loud-mouthed as myself would have trouble keeping things to himself. It’s also quite common that I may reveal a secret simply from a “cerebral thumb-pulling.” Over time I have thought of less-than-genius ways to remind myself of these secrets, which most often are manifest in the form of a surprise of some sort for my wife. The characteristic of these secrets that makes them even harder to conceal is that they are often times on the fore-front of my mind by default of their nature, i.e. they are good/exciting secrets. One such failed attempt to keep a surprise from my wife included drawing an unnoticeable marking in the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. I think, however, I may have discovered a tactic that may just work, and I base my faith on a long history of the practice itself.

Sub Rosa

Many of you may have heard this phrase before and some may hear it on a regular basis. It can be seen quite often in our society and history from rock albums, band names, theatres, magazines, books, tv, spirits, and skateboards. On a more serious note, this phrase has been and may still be used in companies such as International Security Consultant, Scottish government, Chatham House, and Canadian and American Special Forces.

It has come to mean, “in secret,” “privately,” “confidentially,” and “covertly.”

The origin comes from ancient Egypt as the rose was the emblem or crest of the god Horus, who you may know as the falcon-headed man in imagery. He was god of the sky and represented the sun rising each morning. After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, the Greeks translated Horus into Harpocrates, which means, “Horus, the child.” The new Greek god came to be the god of silence. This was born from a misunderstanding with a common Egyptian hieroglyph for youth, which incidentally is very similar to another common imagery of Horus as a boy, with a finger-to-the-mouth gesture.

The story then follows in Greek mythology, that Aphrodite gave a rose to her son Eros, who in turn gifted the rose to Harpocrates to ensure that Eros’ mother’s indiscretions would remain secret. Greek and soon Roman customs began using the rose symbolism as a reminder of secrecy. Specifically the Romans would paint roses on banquet room ceilings as this was a common place for secrets to reveal themselves sub vino.

Similarly in the Middle Ages they would hang a rose from the ceiling of the council’s chambers to remind themselves not to repeat what was said therein. Another popular use was in the Tudor rose from the 16^th century painted large on the ceiling of their private chambers as well. And now the symbol moves closer to our lives as we see it in Christianity in places of confession especially in the Catholic Church.

So the next time you visit my house, if you notice a beautiful fresco painted on the ceiling (most likely by the hands of my lovely artist-wife), remember that what is said in that room, should stay in that room, much as I imagine “what happens in Vegas, stays in vegas!” a.k.a. Quod accidit in Vegas, manetur! (I guess that’s a phrase for another day). As for me, I will be using it as a constant reminder that I should think twice before speaking, so that, in this context, I can keep from revealing my secrets.