Arcana Coelestia #273
273. That 'thorn and thistle' means curse and vastation is clear from the fact that 'harvest' and 'fruitful tree' mean the opposite, namely blessings and increases. It is clear from the Word that thorn, thistle, brier, bramble, and nettle have such meanings, as in Hosea,
Behold, they have gone away on account of the vastation; Egypt will gather them, Moph 1 will bury them, their precious things of silver. The nettle will inherit them, the bramble will be in their tents. Hosea 9:6.
Here 'Egypt' and 'Moph' 1 stand for people who rely on themselves and on their own factual knowledge to be wise in Divine matters. In the same prophet,
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.
Here 'the high places of Aven' stands for self-love, 'thorn and thistle on their altars' for profanation. In Isaiah,
They are smiting their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine; for over the ground of My people the spiky thorn will come up. Isaiah 32:12-13.
And in Ezekiel,
No more will there be for the house of Israel a pricking brier and a painful thorn from all those surrounding them. Ezekiel 28:24.
Fußnoten:
1. i.e. Memphis
House
A "house" is essentially a container -- for a person, a family, several families or even a large group with shared interests (think of the term "houses of worship.") In the Bible, a "house" is also a container, but for spiritual things rather than natural things. In various uses a "house" can represent part of the mind, the whole mind, a whole person or even a church. The other nuance to the word "house" is that it is generally used in regards to our affections and desires rather than our thoughts and principles. This makes sense; we tend to engage our thoughts and rationality when we are out in the world doing our work, but when we are inside our houses we are driven most by love for our families and the desire to be good to those we love. So "house" tends to represent the things we want and care about -- which are ultimately the things that define us.
