When I use or hear the word nadir I interpret it to convey hitting rock bottom, the lowest point where the only place to go from there is up. In some schools of thought rounding the nadir is akin to the passing of great trials or hardships successfully. And after you have rounded it, you begin the upward journey of climbing, ascending back up toward the mountain top.
The key to the nadir is that it is completely relative to a sphere, a location relative to a circle, or perhaps spiral, considered as the low point of below as compared to the zenith of the above. It is easily construed as part of the workings of movement in the celestial realm.
I like looking at words and noting how the definition and usage can change in the course of time. By noting how words change we see the underlay cause? or effect? of the world changes. For example-
Apparently when speaking of the nadir today, this current year of 2024, the definition leans toward the mundane material world. But in 1921 the usage was meant to convey the earth, maybe, but in the context of the heavens.
nadir- that part of the heavens directly under our fee, or directly opposite to the zenith. -1921 The photo below shows the 1921 dictionary clip from an authentic old hard copy book form dictionary.
photo above- 1921 definition
The next photo below shows us a 1953 dictionary definition. The context of usage is remaing primarily celestial. But a small notation brings in the life on earth and the relativity of human experience or polarization I might say. The subtle shift from a vertical space location opposite the above, as the below, to a polarized state of misfortune, hardship misery.
-Nadir- The point of the celestial sphere vertically beneath any place or observer, and diametrically opposite to the zenith. -1953 Again the dictionary clip is from an authentic old hard copy book form dictionary
2024 digital dictionary definition - nadir - the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization. [ with the now secondary usage, as a sub note of the word, relative to astronomy, ... but almost verbatum to 1953 definition. > Astronomy -the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer. The opposite of zenith.
photo above 2024 definition - digital source
A hundred years ago Rudolf Steiner spoke of the nadir in relation to the evolution of the earth, saying the Earth evolves, descending from divine-spiritual heights to a certain nadir. And after this a phase of ascent begins.
The evolution of the earth of course is relative to the people inhabiting the planet. So, as we the people descend to the material life in the below, and seldom see the celestial spheres of the above, we must be somewhere near the nadir. Just a thought.
Things change. People change. Words change. Worlds change. But what seems not to change is the circular cycle of the spin.
