Semisigns

• σῆμα [sēma] (Ancient Greek) sign : omen, portent : barrow, tumulus, tomb : constellation. All these meanings are relevant.

• signs of the zodiac The twelve astrological signs corresponding to the twelve constellations of the night sky through which the Sun passes on its apparent annual journey around the Earth. Here it is unclear whether our Traveller is beholding the constellations in the night sky or looking at the images on a signboard hanging outside HCE’s tavern. As this is Finnegans Wake, the one does not exclude the other.