Rainbows
It’s a positive spin on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad (TKGB)
It has no “point” above and connects two “clouds” ( → the unknown principle of strange things).
It’s an illusory bridge to the unknown, that carries you into strangeness (exile) without a clear point.
Rainbow joins with confusion (Flaming Sword divides with reason).
The margin, periphery, multiplicity, the edge: the indefinite many colours which white light breaks down into, a ring around the sun
A bridge or transition between worlds / to the unknown: the “edge” of one world is the transition point into another (illusory)
A limit between worlds - God’s sign marks the border between the flooded world and the dry land - or the border between chaos and order
It’s a symbol of confusion so I dont think we should be surprised that we’re confused by it. I can help with a small part of it.
There exists Good and Bad in the world. Together.
They have to interact in some way.
(1) The Good can push the Bad away to the margins. This is easier to understand, it’s the monsters on the edge, the periphery.
(2) The Good can also integrate the Bad. But if you just directly bring the Bad into the centre, it’s going to destroy you. This is your strange Gods, strange places and strange women. You can see how bringing a statue of Thor into Mass, or announcing a region now belongs to your country or bringing a strange woman into your family might set the stage for some conflict.
The rainbow is the symbol of how God makes 2 work, the Good living with the Bad. (After the flood, God accepts some Bad in the world and the sign is a rainbow). This is the positive spin the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad which is all about how Good and Bad can live together.
The Bad can only be only be integrated with the Good indirectly by a (twisted, curvy, multicoloured) rainbow.
Thus when God wants to integrate Eygpt he sends a rainbow (Joseph in his coat), when He wants to integrate the promised land, Joshua sends rainbows (spies in disguises). When God wants Jacob to integrate with Rachel he sends a rainbow (Leah and 14 years).
Essentially, God always uses an indirect thing to join Good and Bad together properly.
Go Further
- Pageau, Matthieu (May 29, 2018). The Language of Creation: Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis: A Commentary. ch 79