Wormwood (Bible)

Wormwood (ἀψίνθιον apsinthion or ἄψινθος apsinthos in Greek), is a star or angel that appears in the Book of Revelation.

In the Bible

Apsinthos in the Greek text, translated as "wormwood" in English language versions of the Bible, is thought to be Artemisia herba-alba. Wormwood is mentioned seven times in the Jewish Bible, always with the implication of bitterness.

Although the word wormwood appears several times in the Old Testament, translated from the Hebrew term לענה (la'anah, which means "curse" in Arabic and Hebrew), its only clear reference as a named entity occurs in the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation: "The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter." (Rev 8:10–11)

Interpretations

Certain commentators have held that this "great star" represents one of several important figures in political or ecclesiastical history, while other Bible dictionaries and commentaries view the term as a reference to a celestial being. A Dictionary of The Holy Bible states, "the star called Wormwood seems to denote a mighty prince, or power of the air, the instrument, in its fall."

Star (Erasure song)

"Star" is a song by Erasure, released in 1990 as the fourth European (and third American) single from the group's fourth studio album Wild!.

A straightforward dance music track with disco elements, "Star" was written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, its lyrical content clearly referencing nuclear war; Erasure's own form of protest song. When released as a single, the track was remixed slightly for radio, bringing acoustic guitar elements and various background vocal parts forward in the mix.

The last single released from Wild!, "Star" became Erasure's twelfth consecutive Top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, peaking at number eleven, and in Germany it peaked at number twenty-three. In the United States, "Star" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, although it became a popular club hit, climbing to number four on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

Track listings

7" single (MUTE111) / Cassette Single (CMUTE111)

  • "Star"
  • "Dreamlike State"
  • 12" single (12MUTE111)

    Star polygon

    In geometry, a star polygon (not to be confused with a star-shaped polygon) is a concave polygon. Only the regular star polygons have been studied in any depth; star polygons in general appear not to have been formally defined.

    Branko Grünbaum identified two primary definitions used by Kepler, one being the regular star polygons with intersecting edges that don't generate new vertices, and a second are simple isotoxal concave polygons.

    The first usage is included in polygrams which includes polygons like the pentagram but also compound figures like the hexagram.

    Etymology

    Star polygon names combine a numeral prefix, such as penta-, with the Greek suffix -gram (in this case generating the word pentagram). The prefix is normally a Greek cardinal, but synonyms using other prefixes exist. For example, a nine-pointed polygon or enneagram is also known as a nonagram, using the ordinal nona from Latin. The -gram suffix derives from γραμμή (grammḗ) meaning a line.

    Regular star polygon

    A "regular star polygon" is a self-intersecting, equilateral equiangular polygon, created by connecting one vertex of a simple, regular, p-sided polygon to another, non-adjacent vertex and continuing the process until the original vertex is reached again. Alternatively for integers p and q, it can be considered as being constructed by connecting every qth point out of p points regularly spaced in a circular placement. For instance, in a regular pentagon, a five-pointed star can be obtained by drawing a line from the first to the third vertex, from the third vertex to the fifth vertex, from the fifth vertex to the second vertex, from the second vertex to the fourth vertex, and from the fourth vertex to the first vertex.

    Wormwood

    Wormwood may refer to:

    Plants

    Wormwood (plant), the common name for several plants, including:

  • Various plants of the genus Artemisia, particularly:
  • Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood or absinthe wormwood)
  • Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood or annual wormwood)
  • Artemisia herba-alba (white wormwood), the wormwood of the Bible
  • Artemisia pontica (Roman wormwood)
  • Artemisia vulgaris (common wormwood)
  • Other plants:
  • Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Roman wormwood)
  • Senna artemisioides (wormwood senna)
  • Comics

  • Miss Wormwood, a minor character in Calvin and Hobbes
  • Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, a comic book series by Ben Templesmith
  • Chronicles of Wormwood, a comic book miniseries by Garth Ennis from Avatar Press
  • Wormwood (Marduk album)

    Wormwood is the eleventh studio album by Swedish black metal band Marduk. It was recorded at Endarker Studio by Magnus Devo Andersson and released on September 21 in Europe and October 13 in U.S. by Regain Records. It is the first Marduk album to feature drummer Lars Broddesson. "Phosphorous Redeemer" was made available on the band's official MySpace page in the run-up to the album's release.

    Track listing

  • All music and lyrics written by Marduk, except lyrics to "Phosphorus Redeemer", written by Belfagor of Ofermod.
  • Personnel

  • Mortuus – vocals
  • Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson – guitar
  • Magnus "Devo" Andersson – bass
  • Lars Broddesson – drums
  • References

    Wormwood (magazine)

    Wormwood: Writings about fantasy, supernatural and decadent literature is a magazine of literature and literary criticism, edited by Mark Valentine, and published semi-annually since 2003 by Tartarus Press. The first issue appeared in August 2003.

    As the subtitle indicates, the magazine focuses on fantasy and decadence, and especially on European authors of the past two centuries. Most of the selections are criticism articles or book reviews, although some previously unpublished fiction has recently appeared. Issues 1-14 featured a column titled "The Decadent World-View" by Brian Stableford, analyzing texts which provided particular influence on the French Decadents, particularly Charles Baudelaire.

    See also

  • List of literary magazines
  • References

  • Suzi Feay, "Crowley's Tentacles", The Independent on Sunday, 11 January 2004.
  • Ian McMillan, "Discover the Darker Side of the Dales", Yorkshire Post, 1 May 2009.
  • External links

  • Wormwood page at Tartarus Press
  • Podcasts:

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    Should you swap your G&T for an Absentini? | Daily Mail Online

    The Daily Mail 14 Mar 2025
    ... trinity’ of green anise, fennel and wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) ... It’s dark and different; a flavoursome style, made by infusing brandy with star anise, wormwood and fennel, then distilling it.
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