Vix ea fatus erat, geminae cum forte columbae ipsa sub ora viri caelo venere volantes, et viridi sedere solo. Tum maximus heros maternas agnoscit aves.

He had just spoken, when by chance a pair of doves, right in front of him, they came flying down from the sky and settled on the green ground. Then the great hero recognized the birds of his mother.

Just before this, Aeneas acknowledges that the Sibyl has been right about everything; but what about the golden bough that would get him past the gates of hell? Then cum forte – by chance, like picking up that hollow shell – two doves appear, sent by his mother Venus, ipsa sub ora viri or “right under his nose” as maybe it should be rendered. I chose this for the image of the two doves, but also for ipsa sub ora viri. Finding lost things is how the universe communicates to me; ipsa sub ora viri. Stop worrying, the answer is right there.

Fourth Day: Tooting Your Own Horn

Sixth Day: Tree of Dreams