Cyril Fagan - Heliacal Phenomena and the Origin of the Exaltations or Hypsomata
An excellent and very revealing text by Cyril Fagan (the father of Western Sidereal Astrology), explaining the origin of the "exaltation degrees" of the planets, in the Sidereal Zodiac. Please read this!
Content
Heliacal Phenomena and the Origin of the Exaltations or Hypsomata
[HELIACAL] Cyril Fagan. On Heliacal Phenomena ("First Light" Appearances and Disappearances of Planets) in ancient Babylon & Egypt, especially with regard to the First Crescent Moon, its primary importance, & how to calculate it. Never before published FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX Tables for dating Distant Eras (revised Egyptian Chronology); excerpts from 9/1958 "Solunars," A.A. On Heliacal Phenomena and the Origin of the Exaltations or Hypsomata; excerpts from 6/1969 "Solunars." On the Origin of the Horoscope Form from the Heliacal Rising of Sirius at Heliopolis in 2767 B.C., the inauguration of Sothic Era as the earliest known horoscope; excerpts from 12/1961 "Solunars" and letter of 5/1966.
Cyril Fagan, "Solunars," A.A. (9/1958) [HELIACAL PHENOMENA] Babylonian Accuracy If reference is made to the Egyptian Sothic Calendar for 2767 B.C, it will be found that the Greek name for the first month of the season Shemu was Kaphon (Copic=Pachons). This was because the festival of Pa Chons or Chronsu ("The New Moon") was celebrated during this month, which tallied with the Julian year commencing March 13th. Pa Chons was the god of the New Moon and in the monuments he was represented as either a falcon-headed man wearing the solar disc and lunar crescent on his head, or as a naked boy similarly crowned. This seems to prove convincingly that the Egyptians celebrated the Neomenia or 1st New Moon of the lunar year, which tallied with the Babylonian 1st Nisan, long before the institution of their calendar of 360 days, plus 5 epagomenal days, especially as their ideogram for a month was a representation of a crescent moon!
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Many hundreds of Babylonian cuneiform tablets of baked clay have been excavated, which gave the dates of the first appearance of the lunar crescent. Referring to these, Dr. J. K. Fotheringham of Oxford University says "...Elaborate computations of the date of this appearance have come down to us, and we are able to check Babylonian lunar dates for predicted phenomena with sufficient frequency to know the high accuracy with which the late Babylonians were able to predict this phenomena. The late Babylonian ephemerides must in the nature of the case have been regulated by predicted appearances..." And Karl Schock declares "...I can say of the Babylonians, who were persistent observers of the crescent during 3000 years, that not only their observations but their computations for ephemerides are admirable...." But while the Babylonians were able to predict with such marvelous accuracy the dates on which the crescent moon would first become visible in Babylon, the problem, even to this day, is one of the most intricate exercises of positional astronomy, notwithstanding our advanced mathematical technique. It is first essential to know the precise time of the syzygies and in the Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga (Oxford University Press, 1928) Schoch has published simple tables for the computation, accurate to within five minutes of time, from 3508 B.C. to 1992 A.D. Before his lamentable death in 1929, Schock issued privately even more accurate elements of the luminaries, and with these James Hynes of Dublin has compiled more precise tables, permitting the accurate calculation of the longitude and time of the conjunctions and oppositions of the Sun and Moon for any date between 4000 B.C. and 2000 A.D. Sighting Problems To ascertain the date on which the crescent will become visible to the sharp-sighted observer (weather permitting), it is necessary to know the Altitude of the Moon over the western horizon at the moment of sunset, for the 2nd day after the syzygy. This is dependent on the season of year, the age of the Moon, and the azimuth difference between the Sun and Moon. In the latitude of Babylon (N 32.30') if the azimuth difference is zero, the Moon will need to have an altitude of 10.7
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degrees before it can be spotted, but should the azimuth difference amount to 19 degrees it can be seen when it is only 6.3 degrees above the western horizon. But these values will differ for every degree of geographical latitude. If the altitude is less than tabular requirements, the Moon will not be seen until after sunset of the 3rd day after the syzygy. Given a set of heliacal table for the required latitude and a Sundate table, such as those compiled by Hynes, it is a very simple matter to ascertain the date of the heliacal rising or setting of a planet or fixed star, or the date of its acronychal rising or cosmic setting, provided the arcus visionis is known. Or vice versa, if the date is known to determine the value of the gamma. Since the time when Ptolemy penned his famous ALMAGEST or "Great Work" it has been customary to regard the visibility of a planet or fixed star as dependent on the angular distance of the Sun below the horizon at the time of the rising or setting of that planet or fixed star, and this angular distance is known among astronomers by the Greek letter gamma. The minimum value of gamma which will render a star visible is known as the arcus visionis ("arc of vision"). The value of the 'arcus visionis' is in the first instance determined empirically, that is, through direct observation by a team of trained observers, for it is not only dependent on the magnitude of the star or planet, the season, the azimuth difference of the Sun and star, but on such local conditions as the terrain--whether hilly or flat country, whether inland or on the coast, conditions of visibility and the like. It may happen that two places may be situated on the same parallel of geographical latitude but while the prevailing conditions in respect of visibility in one may be excellent, in the other they may be very poor indeed, and the values of the 'arcus visionis' for both will be affected accordingly. From the dates of heliacal risings, given on ancient monumental and cuneiform inscriptions, Schock found that the mean gamma for Sirius at heliacal rising at Babylon was 7.7 degrees and at Memphis in Egypt 8.8 degrees. At heliacal setting it was one degree less. This means that the Sun must be approximately 44 degrees separated from the conjunction
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of Sirius for the latter to be seen on the horizon at Babylon immediately before sunrise. But once the 'arcus visionis' of a star is known, magnitude and azimuth distance from the Sun is determined empirically for any given place, then the 'arcus visionis' of all other fixed stars and planets can be determined form the appropriate trigonometical formulae. Most of the great epochs and eras of antiquity were dated from the heliacal rising of one or other of the fixed stars. The Harakhte era began with the heliacal rising of Spica at Heliopolis on September 15, 3130 B.C. and the Sothic era with the heliacal rising of Sirius at Heliopolis on July 16, 2767 B.C. The rainy season was ushered in at the heliacal rising of the Hyades and the vine harvest at that of Tsha Nefre, the "beautiful boy" or Bacchus, identified with Vindemiatrix in Virgo 15 degrees 12'. The zodiacal exaltation degrees o the planets (except Venus were the degrees of the zodiac in which they heliacally rose or set during the lunar year 786-785 B.C. Thus, in that year Jupiter set heliacally on June 22, 786 B.C. in Cancer 15d. Mercury set heliacally in the east in Virgo 15d on September 13, 786 B.C., Saturn set heliacally in the west on September 23, 786 B.C. in Libra 21d and Mars rose heliacally in the east on January 30, 785 B.C. in Capricorn 28d. On New Year's Day of that year (1st Nisan) April 3, 786 B.C. at midnight (because the Babylonian ephemerides were always computed for this time) the Sun was in Aries 19d, the Moon in Taurus 3d and Venus in Pisces 27d, which are their traditional exaltation degrees. This alone demonstrates the immense importance that the ancient astrologers gave to heliacal phenomena. All these longitudes are, of course, in terms of the sidereal zodiac computed from Spica in Virgo 29d06'. Dating Distant Eras The omission of any reference to heliacal phenomena in any astrological textbook suggests that it is of modern vintage. it is true that Ptolemy does not specifically refer to such in his TETRABIBLOS, although he dilates at length upon the subject in his ALMAGEST. But Schock has demonstrated that Ptolemy's values for the 'arcus visionis' are impossible, even for Alexandria where visibility
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is said to be very poor. Unfortunately these values appear to have been translated to India and will be found in the Surya-Siddhanta, but they are equally inapplicable to that continent.... To determine the 'arcus visionis' for a fixed star for any other place it is necessary to have a team of sharp-eyed observers, capable of recognizing the star, watching the unobstructed eastern horizon and a locality where the darkness of the night sky is not destroyed by the glow of neon lights or the like. From about a week or so before the calculated time of heliacal rising at Babylon, the vigil should commence, and the date noted on which the star is seen for a fleeting moment in the early morning skies on the eastern horizon before sunrise. Knowing the star's right ascension and declination, the geographical latitude of the place and the longitude of the Sun, it is a simple matter to compute the value of the gamma. This should be repeated with other fixed stars of known magnitude, and from the data so obtained the value of the 'arcus visionis' for a given magnitude and azimuth distance, in respect of that locality, can be determined. As conditions of visibility vary from day to day, these determinations should be checked in the following year or two. Knowing the Egyptian date for the heliacal rising of Sothis (Sirius) the approximate Julian year can be determined almost at sight from the following table, which has never been published before in any magazine or textbook, academic or otherwise. FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX The approximate Julian years (1st of the tetraeteris) for the 1st of each Egyptian month when Sirius rose heliacally at Heliopolis. Season Month Coptic Name Cycles 1 Achet 1 Thoth 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2 Achet 2 Phaophi -4224 -2768 -1312 + 144 3 Achet 3 Athyr -4104 -2648 -1192 + 264
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4 Achet 4 Khoiak -3984 -2528 -1072 + 384 5 Pert 1 Tybi -3864 -2408 - 952 + 504 6 Pert 2 Mekhir -3748 -2288 - 832 + 620 7 Pert 3 Phamenoth -3628 -2168 - 712 + 740 8 Pert 4 Pharmouthi -3508 -2048 - 592 + 860 9 Shemu 1 Pachons -3388 -1932 - 476 + 980 10 Shemu 2 Payni -3268 -1812 - 354 +1096 11 Shemu 3 Epiphi -3148 -1692 - 236 +1216 12 Shemu 4 Mesore -3028 -1572 - 116 +1336 1st Epapomenal Day -2908 -1452 + 4 +1456 2nd Epagomenal Day -2788 -1332 + 124 +1576 3rd Epagomenal Day -2784 -1328 + 128 +1580 4th Epagomenal Day -2780 -1324 + 132 +1584 5th Epagomenal Day -2776 -1320 + 136 +1588 -2772 -1316 + 140 +1592 In the Ebers Papyrus it is recorded that in the 9th year of Amenophis (Amenhotep) I, the "Festival of New Year's Day" was celebrated in the 3rd month of Shemu, day 9, with the rising of Sirius. What was the approximate year of rising, and the first year of Amenophis I's reign? From general historical considerations it is known that Amenophis I (18th dynasty) flourished during the 2nd millennium B.C., so we enter the 2nd column of the above table and find that Sirius rose heliacally in the tetraeteris (four-year period) commencing -1572 (1573 B.C.) on the 1st of the 3rd Month of Shemu, (1st Epiphi). Then: Month Year Shemu 3rd 1st day = -1572 Shemu 3rd 8x4 (tetraeteris) = + 32 ----Shemu 3rd 9th day = -1540 Hence the rising of Sirius took place in one of the four years commencing -1540 (1541 B.C.), so Amenophis I began his reign in one of
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the four years beginning -1548 (1549 B.C.). To the Egyptologist and historian this handy table should prove invaluable in accurately fixing the chronology of Egypt. From it also can be obtained for any year during the dynastic period, the Egyptian date on which Sirius rose. In his chronology, Meyer gives Amenophis (or Amenhotep) I's first year as 1557 B.C. Meyer based his well-known chronology of Egypt on the recorded heliacal risings of Sirius. But at the time he compiled it, the value of Sirius' 'arcus visionis' and the elements of the Sun and Moon, in respect of ancient times, were inaccurate, so that his chronology suffered in consequence. The following is Sewell's amendment of Meyer's chronology which is now accepted as orthodox by Egyptologists: Dynasty Approx. year Old Egyptian Archaic Period I 3188 B.C. II " Old Kingdom III 2815 " (Pyramidic Period) IV 2690 " V 2560 " VI 2420 " 1st Intermediate Period VII 2394 " VIII IX 2240 " X Middle Kingdom XI 2132 " XII 1990 " 2nd Intermediate Period XIII 1777 " XIV 1740 " XV XVI XVII Late Egyptian New Kingdom XVIII 1573 " XIX XX 1220 "
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Late Kingdom
XXI
1090 "
Saite Period Late Period
XXII XXIII XXIV XXV 715 " XXVI 663 " XXVII 525 " XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI
The accuracy of this and other Egyptian chronologies can now be easily tested by the reader by means of "THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX' TABLE, for all recorded Egyptian dates of the heliacal risings of Sirius. ************
From DREIS' INDEX OF FAGAN'S "SOLUNARS," published 7/1953 to 3/1970 in American Astrology, the following dates are given for discussion of HELIACAL PHENOMENA. The pages listed are not the magazine pages, but the pages of the article itself. 8/1958, p3,4,5,6; 6/1961, p3; 2/1964, p4; 3/1964, p1 (rising); 9/1967, p4; 10/1968, p3; 6/1969, p1; *************
Cyril Fagan's "SOLUNARS...
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A STUDY OF THE SIDEREAL ZODIAC" [HELIACAL PHENOMENA & HYPSOMATA, THE EXALTATION ORIGINS] Has the reader ever seen the ever-so-thin crescent of the Moon lying close to the western horizon just after sunset? If so, he has witnessed what was the most important celestial phenomenon in all antiquity, namely the heliacal rising of the Moon in the west. The chronology of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and other great nations of remote antiquity were timed by such mensal recurring phenomena. What modern calendars, almanacs and ephemerides style the New Moon is not really such at all but is the syzygy or conjunction of the Sun and Moon in the ecliptic, which always is invisible and usually occurs on the penultimate day of the previous lunar month. Incidentally, this was reckoned to be the most unlucky day of the month because on that day eclipses of the Sun and Moon took place. As the first day of the month began at sunset when the New Moon was spotted, it was of the utmost importance that the phenomenon should not be missed, so scribes would keep watch from the hilltops, the roofs of temples and similar points of vantage, and would signal when the crescent was seen. When the weather was adverse the date was estimated. The lunar year began when the crescent was seen during the month of Pakhon (Egyptian) or Nissanu (Babylonian). To calculate the date of the true New Moon was at one time considered quite a difficult feat. Very precise and accurate tables of the syzygies are required, and up to the time of Karl Schoch (18731929) of the Heidelberg University the existing table were only accurate to the nearest hour. Tackling the problem Schoch produced syzygy tables that were accurate to less than five minutes of time even in remote antiquity. Then by auxiliary tables also produced by Schoch it was possible to determine the date of the true New Moon for any date in antiquity provided the 'Arcus Visionis' of the crescent was first
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determined empirically because this differs according to the visibility and other factors of the locality. Schoch's syzygy and auxiliary tables for the latitude and climate of Babylon first appeared in The Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga (Oxford University Press, 1928). Since then they have been very much refined by means of Schoch's own corrections by James Hynes of Dublin, Ireland. By means of Schoch's tables it was possible to restore precisely much of the chronology of the great nations of antiquity. How many astrologers of today can precisely determine the date of the true New Moon at their home towns? Have they ever tried. Have they every attempted to determine, say, when Jupiter will first be seen in the skies just before sunrise or when Venus will last be visible just after sunset at their places of residence? is there an astrologer living other than James Hynes, an authority on such subjects, who is prepared to deliver a well informed lecture on heliacal phenomena? Any astrologer who is not familiar with heliacal and acronychal phenomena is completely ignorant of astrology in remove antiquity which consisted of nothing else. The most important annual events were linked with heliacal phenomena. For instance, the Greeks saw in the heliacal rising of the Hyades the beginning of the rainy season; the acronychal rising of the Pleiades was synchronized with the Deluge and the true All Soul's Day; the heliacal rising of Vindemiatrix ushered in the grape harvest, while most important of all, the heliacal rising of Sirius synchronized with the commencement of the Inundation. RESOLUTION OF THE HYPSOMATA Every student of astrology is familiar with the exaltation degrees of the planets. They are given in almost every textbook and they represent the oldest traditions in astrology. For the benefit of newer readers they are herewith given once more and are as follows: Sun in Aries 19 degrees; Moon in Taurus 3 degrees; Mercury in Virgo 15 degrees; Venus in Pisces 27 degrees; Mars in Capricorn 28 degrees; Jupiter in Cancer 15 degrees; Saturn in Libra 21 degrees. The Greeks
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called an exaltation degree 'hypsoma,' plural 'hypsomata. ' In the British Museum, London, there is a fragment from a large cuneiform tablet written about the time of Nebuchadnezzar (747-434 B.C.). Here the legends of the twelve lunar months are rehearsed. The commentary on the month Tammuz gives the valuable information that Perseus and the Pleiades were the hypsoma of the Moon, Aries of the Sun, Capricorn of Mars and Cancer of Jupiter. (Babylonian Menologies: S. Langdon, London 1935). How did these exaltation degrees originate? What do they represent? As Mercury's elongation from the Sun cannot exceed 28 degrees (here it is 146 degrees) they cannot be longitudes of the planets in any horoscope, or the like. The mystery of the origin of the hypsomata has intrigued philosophers from the earliest times and classical writers have not refrained from penning their speculation as to their origin. Plutarch (Moralia I, 149a) refers to the Egyptians saying the planets grow better or worse according to their Hypsomata kai tapeinomata; while Pliny the Elder in his Historia Naturalis II, 13, seems to think the hypsomata were a 'suo centro apsides altissimae.' Down the long corridors of time, from the Greek period through the Italian Renaissance to modern times, the problem of the hypsomata has agitated many philosophical minds but evaded solution. Boll-BezoldGundel (Sternglaube und Sterndeutung) and Bouche-Leclercq (L'Astrologie Greque) agree that they are not apogees or perigees and as Dr. Herbert Chatley adds, "no one seems to know what they are." However, the problem was finally solved on May 14, 1949 when it was discovered by the present writer that the 'hypsomata were the heliacal longitudes of the planets for the lunar year commencing 1st Nissanu, April 4, Julian, 786 B.C.' On this date the tropical longitudes of the Sun, Moon, and Venus were Aries 5 degrees, Aries 15.6 degrees, and Pisces 12.9 degrees. On Sivan 21 (June 22) Jupiter set in the west heliacally in Cancer 1.5 degrees; on Elul 15 (September 13) Mercury set in the east heliacally in Libra 7.1 degrees; and on Shebat 6 (January 30, 785 B.C.) Mars rose heliacally in Capricorn 13.5 degrees. Here it will be
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noticed that the phenomenon alternates between the east and west horizons. The difference between the tropical longitudes and the traditional hypsomatic degrees gives the sidereal longitude of the vernal point (VP) for the epoch 786 B.C. thus: Tropical Hypsoma VP Sun 5.0 d. 19.0 d. 14.0 Moon 15.6 33.0 17.4 Mercury 150.8 165.0 14.2 Venus 342.9 357.0 14.1 Mars 283.5 298.0 14.5 Jupiter 91.5 105.0 13.5 Saturn 187.1 201.0 13.9 Mean value of VP for 786 B.C. 14.5 These amended values which differ slightly from those given in Zodiacs Old and New (Llewellyn Publications 1950) are the result of finer figuring and more critical translations of cuneiform records. But here is must be stressed that they are derived from Schoch's Heliacal Tables and his Arcus Visionis for Babylon on the tenatitive assumption that the hypsomata were observed there. But such may not have been the case. In the above named work, a plausible case was made out that the phenomena was observed at Halakh, Assyria which is disputed by Professor B. L. van der Waerden of the Mathematical Institute of Zurich. They may have been observed in Egypt, Phoenicia, or even in India. Being without positive historical records we simply do not know. But if the phenomenon was not recorded in Babylon but in some neighboring country then obviously the above values may differ by a day or a degree either way. WHAT WE DO POSITIVELY KNOW IS THAT THE HYPSOMATA RELATE TO THE YEAR 786 B.C. AND TO NO OTHER YEAR IN THE WHOLE HISTORICAL PERIOD (4,000 B.C. TO THE PRESENT DAY); THAT THE EXALTATIONS
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RELATED ONLY TO THE SIDEREAL ZODIAC; AND AT THE TIME OF THEIR OCCURRENCE THE SIDEREAL LONGITUDE OF THE VERNAL POINT (AYANAMSHA) WAS ABOUT 14 DEGREES. In a letter to this writer, dated June 30, 1952, van der Waerden advances cogent reasons for doubling that the longitude of the planets at the date of the hypsomata were calculated by the Babylonians at that time. He writes "The earliest known text in which entrances of the planets into zodiacal signs are mentioned is VAT 4924 from the 5th year of Darius II (420 B.C.) Degree are not mentioned; in fact they are never mentioned in almanacs. Degrees are given only in computed lunar and planetary tables from 100 to 300 of the Seleucid Era. The oldest text comparable with NS (Normal Stars) almanacs is Strm. Kambys 400 (523 B.C.). It does not yet contain normal stars, but it gives distances of planets to planets, and expressions like 'Saturn rose heliacally east of Spica." In Sp II 901 (387 B.C.) the normal stars appear for the first time. (Kugler: Sternkunde I, p. 71-81.) The almanac CBS II 901 (425 B.C.) contains dates of heliacal risings and settings. These five texts are all we have of the Persian time. All in all, it seems extremely improbable that the Assyrians observed the positions of the planets in 786 B.C. in signs and degrees. The only possibility would be that Seleucid astronomers computed these positions (retrospectively) and used them for their hypsoma theory. Besides, whey should the Babylonian astrologers be interested in the installation of Assyrian temples? The Babylonians were glad to get rid of the Assyrian yoke in 612 B.C...." But why should the Babylonians of the Seleucid period (312-64 B.C.) want to compute the heliacal position of the planets for 786 B.C.? If they did so, they must have been in possession of extraordinarily accurate tables, or have been unusually competent mathematicians comparable to the best we have today! The suggestion seems too farfetched and unconvincing. If, as van der Waerden contends, at the period 786 B.C. the Babylonians did not think in degrees nor signs,
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then it would appear that the hypsomata had their origin in Egypt. We know that the Egyptians did think in signs and at least in pentades as early as the 3rd millennium B.C. We also know that in Egypt in B.C. 786 the reign of Shashonk III, the last king of Dynasty XXII from Bubastis, and that of Pedibaste, the first king of Dynasty XXIII from Tanis overlapped, but for the rest history is silent. We simply lack records. The above reflections were stimulated by an excellent article in the March '69 issue of our contemporary Horoscope, by our good friend LCDR David Williams, entitled "The Constellations vs. the Zodiacal Signs." Therein he states that there has been little agreement among authorities as to when the first point of Aries actually coincided with the beginning of the constellation Aries and in evidence he lists the following tabulation: Authority Date Cheiro 388 B.C. D. Davidson 317 B.C. A. M. Harding 300 B.C. Gerald Massey 255 B.C. C. A. Jayne, Jr. 254 B.C. Thierens 125 B.C. Dane Rudhyar 97 B.C. Paul Councel 0 A.D. Cyril Fagan 220 A.D. Sepharial 321 A.D. Now let us note the following historical facts. In 1913, Weidner found a cuneiform astronomical text which proved to be a Lunar Computation Table after the system of the Babylonian astronomer Naburiannu (epoch B.C. 500) for the New and Full Moons of B.C. 49-48. In Naburiannu's system the sidereal longitude of the vernal point is given as Aries 10 degrees. The German Jesuits Epping and Kugler examined another Babylonian tablet of the year B.C. 103 bearing the title Lunar Computation Table according to the System of Kidinnu (epoch
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B.C. 373). In Kidinnu's system the sidereal longitude of the vernal point is given as Aries 8 degrees (Kugler: Babylonische Mondrechung). Van der Waerden defined the position of the origin of the Babylonian zodiac by comparing it to the equinox of the year 101 B.C. (-100). From several Babylonian lunar and planetary tables both Kugler and van der Waerden obtained the following mean differences (VP).
Tables Years Difference Lunar table Nr 93, system II -174 to -154 3.7 Lunar table Nr 272, system I -103 to -101 3.3 Jupiter tables, 1st kind -180 to - 90 4.2 Jupiter tables, 2nd kind -120 to -100 4.2 Jupiter tables, 3rd kind -120 to - 80 4.3 Babylonian Almanacs -210 to -160 3.5 Babylonian Almanacs -110 to - 60 5.3
"These values," states van der Waerden, "range from 3.3 to 5.3 which means that the vernal point of -100 lies near 4.3 of the Babylonian zodiac and Spica near 29 degrees Virgo with a possible deviation of 1 degree to either side. This result obtained several years ago is strikingly confirmed by a Babylonian star catalogue recently published by A. Sachs. Restricting ourselves to 5 entries that can be identified with certainly, we find in this list the following longitudes. I have added to the list two Jupiter longitudes drawn from the planetary table and probably observed in the year 108 and 158 Seleucid Era which commenced in 312 B.C."
Bab. Kugler Text Star Name Long. Long. Diff. BM 46083 Beta Virginis 151 147.6 3.4 Gamma " 166 161.2 4.8 Alpha Virginis 178 174.7 3.3
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Alpha Librae 200 195.9 4.1 AO 6476 Beta Librae 205 200.2 4.8 Sp li 889 Jupiter 151.75 148.05 3.7 Jupiter 230.17 226.20 4.0
The mean difference is 4.1, the standard error of the single observation being 0.6 Sonderabdruk aus Archiv fur Orientforschung, Band XVI, Sweiter Teil, 1954. For the year -100 the Egyptian Berlin papyrus (years -16 to +10) gives the differences of VP as 4.6 while the Egyptian Strobart Tablets (years +70 to +131) give the VP as 5.1. Should the reader take a sheet of graph paper and enter all these findings, including that of the hypsomata, and taking as his coordinates the year of the epoch and the longitude of the derived VP, he will discover that the resultant "curve" is a perfectly straight line! This clearly establishing the authenticity and historicity of the hypsomata, which implies that all the other dates tabulated by Commander Williams are false as they have no historicity of any consequence to confirm their validity. The graph reproduced here is taken from Zodiacs Old and New. [Below graph could only be approximated in ascii text format.]
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DIAGONAL LINE = SIDEREAL LONGITUDE OF THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOCTIAL POINT MEASURED FROM SPICA IN 29 VIRGO 00' Babylonian Planetary Texts (V.P. reduced to ecliptic of-100 by Van Der Waerden)
YEARS B.C. YEARS A.D. -800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 -0 +100 +200 | | | | | | | | | | | LIB 15__________________________________________________________ \ 14___\ __13.8 LIB _________________________________________ S * Hypsomata B.C. 786 I 13________\ _______________________________________________ D \ E 12____________\ ___________________________________________ R \ E 11________________\ _______________________________________ A Naburiannu L 10___________ 10 LIB * B.C. 500 ___________________________ \ L 9______________________ \ _________________________________ O Kidinnu N 8__________________ 8 LIB * B.C. 373 ____________________ G I 7_____________________________ \ __________________________ T \ U 6_________________________________ \ 5.3 LIB ____________ D \ * B.C. 116-60 E 5____________________________________ ___________________ 4 LIB 4_____________ 4.2 LIB B.C. 160-130 *\ *Berlin Demotic 3.5 LIB B.C. 210-160 * \ Papyrus P8279 3___________________________________________ B.C. 15 - A.D. 11 \ 2_________________________ 2 LIB A.D. 71-132 * ________ Strobart Egyptian \ 1__________________________ Tables (Demotic) ______ \ ____ \ LIB 0______________________________________________________ \ _ \ VIR 29__________________________________________________________ VIR 28__________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | -800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 -0 +100 +200 YEARS B.C. YEARS A.D. 17 | FAGAN -- HELIACAL
When I was engaged on the solution of the mystery of the hypsomata, following modern Hindu traditions I assumed that the fiducial star was Spica in Libra 0 degrees. But the solution quickly proved that the sidereal longitude of Spica was nearer to Virgo 29 degrees than to Libra 0 degrees; a most unlikely longitude for a fiducial star. Virgo 29 degrees also was confirmed by van de Waerden in his examination of Babylonian records. Constant readers of this magazine know that in 1957, by purely statistical methods, Garth Allen established that the sidereal longitude of Spica was Virgo 29 degrees 06' 05"; a still more unlikely longitude for a fiducial star. In more recent years it was discovered that when Garth Allen's determination was referred to the hypsomata epoch 876 B.C. it put the Bull's Eye (Aldebaran) precisely in the mathematical center of Taurus (15 degrees 00' 00') clearly demonstrating that the true zodiac commenced with Taurus 0 degrees and not with Aries 0 degrees. THIS HISTORICITY OF THE HYPSOMATA ZERO YEAR,NAMELY A.D. 220 IS AN ALL IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CONFIRMING THAT THE SOLUTION HERE GIVEN OF THE HYPSOMATA IS THE CORRECT ONE. This was the most momentous discovery--if it can be called such-ever made in the long history of astrology. Its implications are far reaching and revolutionary in the extreme. Although the details of this were made public some 20 years ago in Zodiacs Old and New, only recently are the inferences beginning to percolate the astrological consciousness of the more far seeing of astrologers. In all seriousness, no amount of rationalization will succeed in explaining it away. Of course, because of vested interests, or of heavy commitment, there are those who ostrich-like prefer to hide their heads in the sand and refuse to see. But ultimately the resolution of the hypsomata will prove to be the open sesame that will restore astrology to its original honorable place in the councils of the great nations. * * * * *
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CYRIL FAGAN'S "SOLUNARS" 12/61 American Astrology ORIGIN OF HOROSCOPE FORM [HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS; OLDEST KNOWN HOROSCOPE 2767 B.C.] Before beginning a delineation of an astrological chart we must fully comprehend the meaning of the horoscope form itself and its interpretation. The circular diagram is popular in the west today; but strange to say, it is a comparative innovation, notwithstanding the fact that the dome of the heavens is obviously circular. Up to the 19th century the square of rectangular shaped horoscope form was the vogue, as it is still the vogue in India. In his letters to the present writer, the Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, the Nobel prize winner for literature (1923), always used the square-shaped horoscope form. Why did the square-shaped form persist for so many centuries before it was gradually supplanted by the circular design, and how did it originate? The glib answer is, of course, that it was easier to draw. But is that the only reason? If the hieroglyphic inscriptions of ancient Egypt are examined it will be found that from the most remote periods they invariably inscribed in the form of square or rectangular patterns, and down the corridors of time, there appears to be little or no deviation from this rather rigid convention. The famous Egyptian star charts were all square or rectangular in shape to conform to the general pattern of hieroglyphic inscriptions. But these same celestial diagrams, as they were termed by Egyptologists, were a source of puzzlement to them and astronomers alike, because the orientation appeared to them to be all wrong. Referring to the Celestial Diagram found in the tomb of Senmut (cira 1500 B.C.) Professor Pogo writes: "...A characteristic feature of the Senmut ceiling is the astronomically objectionable orientation of the
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southern panel; it has to be inspected like the rest of the ceiling by a person facing north, so that Orion appears east of Sirius. If astronomical ceilings in sepulchral halls were originally an expansion of the inside and outside decorations of sarcophagus lids, the reversed orientation of the southern panel would be easy to account for. Another explanation for the wrong orientation of the southern panel is suggested by the possibility that it originated on a southern vertical wall facing a northern vertical wall appropriately decorated with representations of the "meridian cords" and the "mural dials" discussed below; by moving such hypothetical mural panels to the ceiling, their relative orientation could be preserved, as in the case of the Seti monument, or else the orientation of the southern panel could be sacrificed to "uniformity" as on the ceiling of Senmut and of the Ramesseum..." (The astronomical ceiling decoration in the Tomb of Senmut, --XVIIIth Dynasty: Isis 14, p.306). Professor Pogo did not know, nor do Egyptologists in general know, that these celestial diagrams, belonging to many different dynastic periods, were nothing else than copies of the horoscope for the inauguration of the Sothic Era at the heliacal rising of Sirius at Heliopolis on July 16 (O.S.), 2767 B.C. (see January 1954 issue). This was deemed to be a magical talisman insuring for the deceased longevity in the Elysium Fields. The orientation of these celestial diagrams was not wrong. It is identical with the orientation of our modern horoscope forms, whether square or circular; a fact which is a strong argument that it was the Egyptians, and not the Babylonians, who invented astrology, as so fondly argued by Assyriologists. The horoscope for the inauguration of the Sothic Era is identical in form with that of the square horoscope form. It antidates the first records of Babylonian astrology by over a thousand years; and it is the oldest extant horoscope in the world. South at Midheaven. When a modern horoscope form is seen for the first time, the
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beholder, like Professor Pogo, is apt to exclaim "The orientation is all wrong." This is because he is accustomed to see north at the top, the south at the bottom, the east at the right and the west at the left in all modern geographical maps. But to orientate our geographical maps in this way is only a convention. In truth, there is no top or bottom to the earth or for that matter for any of the celestial bodies. The Egyptians always considered the south as being the top or upper region, the north as the bottom or lower region, the east as being the left and the west and being the right. The Egyptian for east is 'i3bt,' while that for left-hand is 'i3bi;' the Egyptian for west is 'imnt' and for right-hand 'wnmy,' both words having the same root. The Egyptian for north was 'mht,' the root of which is 'mh' meaning "a whip." The same root occurs in the word 'mhnyt' - "the coiled one," meaning a snake or serpent, and it is rather curious to find in the argot of the southern states of the U.S.A., before the emancipation of the slaves, that the whip was often referred to as the "snake.' In Egyptian symbolism the ideogram of a snake or serpent indicated the "winds" and that of the "whip" is here identified with the icy winds that blow from the north, which metaphorically speaking, "whip the backs of the Egyptians" when they blow, as the viewer of a horoscope is always supposed to be facing due south, with his back to the north. So positioned the east will be at his left and the west at his right. The Egyptian for south was 'r-swt' - "the sedge plant," and the Egyptian for Upper (southern) Egypt was 'sm'w,' the phonetics of which incorporate the ideogram of a "sedge planet," while that for Lower (northern) Egypt, i.e., the Land of the Delta, was 'mhr,' the phonetics of which include the ideogram of the "whip." When looking at a circular horoscope form it must be remembered that the astrologer is trying to express diagrammatically in two dimensions a three dimensional view, this view being taken in "the plane of the vertical." The circle that surrounds the diagram represents the prime vertical, which is a great circle of the sphere that rises due east
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(extreme left-hand point of the circle), cuts through the Zenith, which is that point in the heavens that is immediately overhead (extreme top point of the circle), sets due west (extreme right-hand point), passes through the Nadir, which is that point immediately opposite to the Zenith (bottom part of circle) and then rises again due east. Cusps and Angles The horizontal line that stretches across the diagram from east to west is the great circle of the rational horizon viewed edge-on, thus appearing as only a line. The vertical line is the great circle of the meridian, also viewed edge on. It rises due north of the horizon, cuts through the prime vertical at the Zenith, again intersects the horizon, this time due south, and again intersects the prime vertical at the Nadir, to rise again at the north point of the horizon. These are the three great primary or fundamental circles of the mundane sphere. The twelve lines, looking like spokes of a wheel, represent the cusps (edges) of the twelve mundane houses. They are known as secondary circles or just secondaries. * * * *
From Cyril Fagan's letter in "Many Things" A.A. 5/66 [HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS & OLDEST HOROSCOPE 2767 B.C.] ...Senmut's astronomical ceiling is nothing else but a copy of a horoscope (as the legends, indeed, state) for THE HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS ON NEW YEAR'S DAY of the common Egyptian calendar: an event which can only recur for a tetraeteris (4 year period) about 1456 years! Additional copies of the same horoscope were found in the two temples of Rameses II at Abydos and at Madinat Habu; in the tombs of Rameses VI, VII, IX at Thebes (c. 1150 B.C.) in the sarcophagus of
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Prince Nectanebo, and in the coffin of Hor-nef-tef of the Saite period (663-420 B.C.) and in the two tombs at Alfih of the Ptolemaic period (305-30 B.C.) where they acted as talismans promising longevity in the Elysian Fields. These copies show a very rare quadruple conjunction of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus (as Mars was identified with the evil god Seth, for superstitious reasons in a few copies it was omitted), with Venus, under its Pyramidic name of the Benu-bird or Bird of the Inundation, risen in the east just above the Ascendant. Retrospective calculation discloses that such a conjunction actually took place on July 16 (O.S.) 2767 B.C. which happened to be New Year's Day of the common Egyptian calendar, and incidentally midsummer day. On this date Sirius rose heliacally at Heliopolis the Greenwich of Egypt! Note the accompanying chart which is a copy of the oldest extant horoscope in existence! Sidereal Campanus: OLDEST HOROSCOPE July 16 O.S., 2767 B.C. M.C. 10ARI37, llth 9TAU00, 12th 18GEM41, ASC 28CAN52, 2nd 26LEO59,3rd 19VIR00, MARS 19CAN01, JUP 21CAN35, SAT 24CAN53, VEN 25CAN42, SUN 10LEO34, MER 28LEO54, MOON 19AQU02 Apart from the above, the 63rd Tablet of the great Babylonian Enuma Anu Enlil series gives the heliacal rising and settings in Nin-se-an-na (Venus) in terms of the Babylonian months (not the zodiac, which was unknown to the Babylonians at this period, not yet being imported from Egypt) during 22 successive years in the reign of Ammisaduqa of the First Babylonian Dynasty. There can be no question that Nin-se-an-na is identical with Venus for the periodicity of its heliacal risings and settings are the same as those of Venus, and for no other planet. On the 1st Nisan, the first day of the Hypsomatic lunar year, commencing April 4, 786 B.C. the triad comprising the Sun, Moon and Venus were found precisely in their traditional degrees of their exaltation! Apart from such considerations it is known that Babylonian
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and Assyrian sanctuaries, dating from that of Enlil-Assur-Zikurrat in 2931 B.C. to Nabu's Temple in 606 B.C., whose foundation dates were recorded, were oriented on the 1st Nisan of the foundation year, to the Pedjeshes (an arc of a circle intersecting Benetnash and Spica), which has been confirmed by the researches of Gunter-Martiny, P.V. Neugebauer, Boker and others. * * * *
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[HELIACAL] Cyril Fagan. On Heliacal Phenomena ("First Light" Appearances and Disappearances of Planets) in ancient Babylon & Egypt, especially with regard to the First Crescent Moon, its primary importance, & how to calculate it. Never before published FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX Tables for dating Distant Eras (revised Egyptian Chronology); excerpts from 9/1958 "Solunars," A.A. On Heliacal Phenomena and the Origin of the Exaltations or Hypsomata; excerpts from 6/1969 "Solunars." On the Origin of the Horoscope Form from the Heliacal Rising of Sirius at Heliopolis in 2767 B.C., the inauguration of Sothic Era as the earliest known horoscope; excerpts from 12/1961 "Solunars" and letter of 5/1966.
Cyril Fagan, "Solunars," A.A. (9/1958) [HELIACAL PHENOMENA] Babylonian Accuracy If reference is made to the Egyptian Sothic Calendar for 2767 B.C, it will be found that the Greek name for the first month of the season Shemu was Kaphon (Copic=Pachons). This was because the festival of Pa Chons or Chronsu ("The New Moon") was celebrated during this month, which tallied with the Julian year commencing March 13th. Pa Chons was the god of the New Moon and in the monuments he was represented as either a falcon-headed man wearing the solar disc and lunar crescent on his head, or as a naked boy similarly crowned. This seems to prove convincingly that the Egyptians celebrated the Neomenia or 1st New Moon of the lunar year, which tallied with the Babylonian 1st Nisan, long before the institution of their calendar of 360 days, plus 5 epagomenal days, especially as their ideogram for a month was a representation of a crescent moon!
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Many hundreds of Babylonian cuneiform tablets of baked clay have been excavated, which gave the dates of the first appearance of the lunar crescent. Referring to these, Dr. J. K. Fotheringham of Oxford University says "...Elaborate computations of the date of this appearance have come down to us, and we are able to check Babylonian lunar dates for predicted phenomena with sufficient frequency to know the high accuracy with which the late Babylonians were able to predict this phenomena. The late Babylonian ephemerides must in the nature of the case have been regulated by predicted appearances..." And Karl Schock declares "...I can say of the Babylonians, who were persistent observers of the crescent during 3000 years, that not only their observations but their computations for ephemerides are admirable...." But while the Babylonians were able to predict with such marvelous accuracy the dates on which the crescent moon would first become visible in Babylon, the problem, even to this day, is one of the most intricate exercises of positional astronomy, notwithstanding our advanced mathematical technique. It is first essential to know the precise time of the syzygies and in the Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga (Oxford University Press, 1928) Schoch has published simple tables for the computation, accurate to within five minutes of time, from 3508 B.C. to 1992 A.D. Before his lamentable death in 1929, Schock issued privately even more accurate elements of the luminaries, and with these James Hynes of Dublin has compiled more precise tables, permitting the accurate calculation of the longitude and time of the conjunctions and oppositions of the Sun and Moon for any date between 4000 B.C. and 2000 A.D. Sighting Problems To ascertain the date on which the crescent will become visible to the sharp-sighted observer (weather permitting), it is necessary to know the Altitude of the Moon over the western horizon at the moment of sunset, for the 2nd day after the syzygy. This is dependent on the season of year, the age of the Moon, and the azimuth difference between the Sun and Moon. In the latitude of Babylon (N 32.30') if the azimuth difference is zero, the Moon will need to have an altitude of 10.7
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degrees before it can be spotted, but should the azimuth difference amount to 19 degrees it can be seen when it is only 6.3 degrees above the western horizon. But these values will differ for every degree of geographical latitude. If the altitude is less than tabular requirements, the Moon will not be seen until after sunset of the 3rd day after the syzygy. Given a set of heliacal table for the required latitude and a Sundate table, such as those compiled by Hynes, it is a very simple matter to ascertain the date of the heliacal rising or setting of a planet or fixed star, or the date of its acronychal rising or cosmic setting, provided the arcus visionis is known. Or vice versa, if the date is known to determine the value of the gamma. Since the time when Ptolemy penned his famous ALMAGEST or "Great Work" it has been customary to regard the visibility of a planet or fixed star as dependent on the angular distance of the Sun below the horizon at the time of the rising or setting of that planet or fixed star, and this angular distance is known among astronomers by the Greek letter gamma. The minimum value of gamma which will render a star visible is known as the arcus visionis ("arc of vision"). The value of the 'arcus visionis' is in the first instance determined empirically, that is, through direct observation by a team of trained observers, for it is not only dependent on the magnitude of the star or planet, the season, the azimuth difference of the Sun and star, but on such local conditions as the terrain--whether hilly or flat country, whether inland or on the coast, conditions of visibility and the like. It may happen that two places may be situated on the same parallel of geographical latitude but while the prevailing conditions in respect of visibility in one may be excellent, in the other they may be very poor indeed, and the values of the 'arcus visionis' for both will be affected accordingly. From the dates of heliacal risings, given on ancient monumental and cuneiform inscriptions, Schock found that the mean gamma for Sirius at heliacal rising at Babylon was 7.7 degrees and at Memphis in Egypt 8.8 degrees. At heliacal setting it was one degree less. This means that the Sun must be approximately 44 degrees separated from the conjunction
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of Sirius for the latter to be seen on the horizon at Babylon immediately before sunrise. But once the 'arcus visionis' of a star is known, magnitude and azimuth distance from the Sun is determined empirically for any given place, then the 'arcus visionis' of all other fixed stars and planets can be determined form the appropriate trigonometical formulae. Most of the great epochs and eras of antiquity were dated from the heliacal rising of one or other of the fixed stars. The Harakhte era began with the heliacal rising of Spica at Heliopolis on September 15, 3130 B.C. and the Sothic era with the heliacal rising of Sirius at Heliopolis on July 16, 2767 B.C. The rainy season was ushered in at the heliacal rising of the Hyades and the vine harvest at that of Tsha Nefre, the "beautiful boy" or Bacchus, identified with Vindemiatrix in Virgo 15 degrees 12'. The zodiacal exaltation degrees o the planets (except Venus were the degrees of the zodiac in which they heliacally rose or set during the lunar year 786-785 B.C. Thus, in that year Jupiter set heliacally on June 22, 786 B.C. in Cancer 15d. Mercury set heliacally in the east in Virgo 15d on September 13, 786 B.C., Saturn set heliacally in the west on September 23, 786 B.C. in Libra 21d and Mars rose heliacally in the east on January 30, 785 B.C. in Capricorn 28d. On New Year's Day of that year (1st Nisan) April 3, 786 B.C. at midnight (because the Babylonian ephemerides were always computed for this time) the Sun was in Aries 19d, the Moon in Taurus 3d and Venus in Pisces 27d, which are their traditional exaltation degrees. This alone demonstrates the immense importance that the ancient astrologers gave to heliacal phenomena. All these longitudes are, of course, in terms of the sidereal zodiac computed from Spica in Virgo 29d06'. Dating Distant Eras The omission of any reference to heliacal phenomena in any astrological textbook suggests that it is of modern vintage. it is true that Ptolemy does not specifically refer to such in his TETRABIBLOS, although he dilates at length upon the subject in his ALMAGEST. But Schock has demonstrated that Ptolemy's values for the 'arcus visionis' are impossible, even for Alexandria where visibility
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is said to be very poor. Unfortunately these values appear to have been translated to India and will be found in the Surya-Siddhanta, but they are equally inapplicable to that continent.... To determine the 'arcus visionis' for a fixed star for any other place it is necessary to have a team of sharp-eyed observers, capable of recognizing the star, watching the unobstructed eastern horizon and a locality where the darkness of the night sky is not destroyed by the glow of neon lights or the like. From about a week or so before the calculated time of heliacal rising at Babylon, the vigil should commence, and the date noted on which the star is seen for a fleeting moment in the early morning skies on the eastern horizon before sunrise. Knowing the star's right ascension and declination, the geographical latitude of the place and the longitude of the Sun, it is a simple matter to compute the value of the gamma. This should be repeated with other fixed stars of known magnitude, and from the data so obtained the value of the 'arcus visionis' for a given magnitude and azimuth distance, in respect of that locality, can be determined. As conditions of visibility vary from day to day, these determinations should be checked in the following year or two. Knowing the Egyptian date for the heliacal rising of Sothis (Sirius) the approximate Julian year can be determined almost at sight from the following table, which has never been published before in any magazine or textbook, academic or otherwise. FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX The approximate Julian years (1st of the tetraeteris) for the 1st of each Egyptian month when Sirius rose heliacally at Heliopolis. Season Month Coptic Name Cycles 1 Achet 1 Thoth 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2 Achet 2 Phaophi -4224 -2768 -1312 + 144 3 Achet 3 Athyr -4104 -2648 -1192 + 264
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4 Achet 4 Khoiak -3984 -2528 -1072 + 384 5 Pert 1 Tybi -3864 -2408 - 952 + 504 6 Pert 2 Mekhir -3748 -2288 - 832 + 620 7 Pert 3 Phamenoth -3628 -2168 - 712 + 740 8 Pert 4 Pharmouthi -3508 -2048 - 592 + 860 9 Shemu 1 Pachons -3388 -1932 - 476 + 980 10 Shemu 2 Payni -3268 -1812 - 354 +1096 11 Shemu 3 Epiphi -3148 -1692 - 236 +1216 12 Shemu 4 Mesore -3028 -1572 - 116 +1336 1st Epapomenal Day -2908 -1452 + 4 +1456 2nd Epagomenal Day -2788 -1332 + 124 +1576 3rd Epagomenal Day -2784 -1328 + 128 +1580 4th Epagomenal Day -2780 -1324 + 132 +1584 5th Epagomenal Day -2776 -1320 + 136 +1588 -2772 -1316 + 140 +1592 In the Ebers Papyrus it is recorded that in the 9th year of Amenophis (Amenhotep) I, the "Festival of New Year's Day" was celebrated in the 3rd month of Shemu, day 9, with the rising of Sirius. What was the approximate year of rising, and the first year of Amenophis I's reign? From general historical considerations it is known that Amenophis I (18th dynasty) flourished during the 2nd millennium B.C., so we enter the 2nd column of the above table and find that Sirius rose heliacally in the tetraeteris (four-year period) commencing -1572 (1573 B.C.) on the 1st of the 3rd Month of Shemu, (1st Epiphi). Then: Month Year Shemu 3rd 1st day = -1572 Shemu 3rd 8x4 (tetraeteris) = + 32 ----Shemu 3rd 9th day = -1540 Hence the rising of Sirius took place in one of the four years commencing -1540 (1541 B.C.), so Amenophis I began his reign in one of
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the four years beginning -1548 (1549 B.C.). To the Egyptologist and historian this handy table should prove invaluable in accurately fixing the chronology of Egypt. From it also can be obtained for any year during the dynastic period, the Egyptian date on which Sirius rose. In his chronology, Meyer gives Amenophis (or Amenhotep) I's first year as 1557 B.C. Meyer based his well-known chronology of Egypt on the recorded heliacal risings of Sirius. But at the time he compiled it, the value of Sirius' 'arcus visionis' and the elements of the Sun and Moon, in respect of ancient times, were inaccurate, so that his chronology suffered in consequence. The following is Sewell's amendment of Meyer's chronology which is now accepted as orthodox by Egyptologists: Dynasty Approx. year Old Egyptian Archaic Period I 3188 B.C. II " Old Kingdom III 2815 " (Pyramidic Period) IV 2690 " V 2560 " VI 2420 " 1st Intermediate Period VII 2394 " VIII IX 2240 " X Middle Kingdom XI 2132 " XII 1990 " 2nd Intermediate Period XIII 1777 " XIV 1740 " XV XVI XVII Late Egyptian New Kingdom XVIII 1573 " XIX XX 1220 "
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Late Kingdom
XXI
1090 "
Saite Period Late Period
XXII XXIII XXIV XXV 715 " XXVI 663 " XXVII 525 " XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI
The accuracy of this and other Egyptian chronologies can now be easily tested by the reader by means of "THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX' TABLE, for all recorded Egyptian dates of the heliacal risings of Sirius. ************
From DREIS' INDEX OF FAGAN'S "SOLUNARS," published 7/1953 to 3/1970 in American Astrology, the following dates are given for discussion of HELIACAL PHENOMENA. The pages listed are not the magazine pages, but the pages of the article itself. 8/1958, p3,4,5,6; 6/1961, p3; 2/1964, p4; 3/1964, p1 (rising); 9/1967, p4; 10/1968, p3; 6/1969, p1; *************
Cyril Fagan's "SOLUNARS...
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A STUDY OF THE SIDEREAL ZODIAC" [HELIACAL PHENOMENA & HYPSOMATA, THE EXALTATION ORIGINS] Has the reader ever seen the ever-so-thin crescent of the Moon lying close to the western horizon just after sunset? If so, he has witnessed what was the most important celestial phenomenon in all antiquity, namely the heliacal rising of the Moon in the west. The chronology of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and other great nations of remote antiquity were timed by such mensal recurring phenomena. What modern calendars, almanacs and ephemerides style the New Moon is not really such at all but is the syzygy or conjunction of the Sun and Moon in the ecliptic, which always is invisible and usually occurs on the penultimate day of the previous lunar month. Incidentally, this was reckoned to be the most unlucky day of the month because on that day eclipses of the Sun and Moon took place. As the first day of the month began at sunset when the New Moon was spotted, it was of the utmost importance that the phenomenon should not be missed, so scribes would keep watch from the hilltops, the roofs of temples and similar points of vantage, and would signal when the crescent was seen. When the weather was adverse the date was estimated. The lunar year began when the crescent was seen during the month of Pakhon (Egyptian) or Nissanu (Babylonian). To calculate the date of the true New Moon was at one time considered quite a difficult feat. Very precise and accurate tables of the syzygies are required, and up to the time of Karl Schoch (18731929) of the Heidelberg University the existing table were only accurate to the nearest hour. Tackling the problem Schoch produced syzygy tables that were accurate to less than five minutes of time even in remote antiquity. Then by auxiliary tables also produced by Schoch it was possible to determine the date of the true New Moon for any date in antiquity provided the 'Arcus Visionis' of the crescent was first
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determined empirically because this differs according to the visibility and other factors of the locality. Schoch's syzygy and auxiliary tables for the latitude and climate of Babylon first appeared in The Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga (Oxford University Press, 1928). Since then they have been very much refined by means of Schoch's own corrections by James Hynes of Dublin, Ireland. By means of Schoch's tables it was possible to restore precisely much of the chronology of the great nations of antiquity. How many astrologers of today can precisely determine the date of the true New Moon at their home towns? Have they ever tried. Have they every attempted to determine, say, when Jupiter will first be seen in the skies just before sunrise or when Venus will last be visible just after sunset at their places of residence? is there an astrologer living other than James Hynes, an authority on such subjects, who is prepared to deliver a well informed lecture on heliacal phenomena? Any astrologer who is not familiar with heliacal and acronychal phenomena is completely ignorant of astrology in remove antiquity which consisted of nothing else. The most important annual events were linked with heliacal phenomena. For instance, the Greeks saw in the heliacal rising of the Hyades the beginning of the rainy season; the acronychal rising of the Pleiades was synchronized with the Deluge and the true All Soul's Day; the heliacal rising of Vindemiatrix ushered in the grape harvest, while most important of all, the heliacal rising of Sirius synchronized with the commencement of the Inundation. RESOLUTION OF THE HYPSOMATA Every student of astrology is familiar with the exaltation degrees of the planets. They are given in almost every textbook and they represent the oldest traditions in astrology. For the benefit of newer readers they are herewith given once more and are as follows: Sun in Aries 19 degrees; Moon in Taurus 3 degrees; Mercury in Virgo 15 degrees; Venus in Pisces 27 degrees; Mars in Capricorn 28 degrees; Jupiter in Cancer 15 degrees; Saturn in Libra 21 degrees. The Greeks
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called an exaltation degree 'hypsoma,' plural 'hypsomata. ' In the British Museum, London, there is a fragment from a large cuneiform tablet written about the time of Nebuchadnezzar (747-434 B.C.). Here the legends of the twelve lunar months are rehearsed. The commentary on the month Tammuz gives the valuable information that Perseus and the Pleiades were the hypsoma of the Moon, Aries of the Sun, Capricorn of Mars and Cancer of Jupiter. (Babylonian Menologies: S. Langdon, London 1935). How did these exaltation degrees originate? What do they represent? As Mercury's elongation from the Sun cannot exceed 28 degrees (here it is 146 degrees) they cannot be longitudes of the planets in any horoscope, or the like. The mystery of the origin of the hypsomata has intrigued philosophers from the earliest times and classical writers have not refrained from penning their speculation as to their origin. Plutarch (Moralia I, 149a) refers to the Egyptians saying the planets grow better or worse according to their Hypsomata kai tapeinomata; while Pliny the Elder in his Historia Naturalis II, 13, seems to think the hypsomata were a 'suo centro apsides altissimae.' Down the long corridors of time, from the Greek period through the Italian Renaissance to modern times, the problem of the hypsomata has agitated many philosophical minds but evaded solution. Boll-BezoldGundel (Sternglaube und Sterndeutung) and Bouche-Leclercq (L'Astrologie Greque) agree that they are not apogees or perigees and as Dr. Herbert Chatley adds, "no one seems to know what they are." However, the problem was finally solved on May 14, 1949 when it was discovered by the present writer that the 'hypsomata were the heliacal longitudes of the planets for the lunar year commencing 1st Nissanu, April 4, Julian, 786 B.C.' On this date the tropical longitudes of the Sun, Moon, and Venus were Aries 5 degrees, Aries 15.6 degrees, and Pisces 12.9 degrees. On Sivan 21 (June 22) Jupiter set in the west heliacally in Cancer 1.5 degrees; on Elul 15 (September 13) Mercury set in the east heliacally in Libra 7.1 degrees; and on Shebat 6 (January 30, 785 B.C.) Mars rose heliacally in Capricorn 13.5 degrees. Here it will be
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noticed that the phenomenon alternates between the east and west horizons. The difference between the tropical longitudes and the traditional hypsomatic degrees gives the sidereal longitude of the vernal point (VP) for the epoch 786 B.C. thus: Tropical Hypsoma VP Sun 5.0 d. 19.0 d. 14.0 Moon 15.6 33.0 17.4 Mercury 150.8 165.0 14.2 Venus 342.9 357.0 14.1 Mars 283.5 298.0 14.5 Jupiter 91.5 105.0 13.5 Saturn 187.1 201.0 13.9 Mean value of VP for 786 B.C. 14.5 These amended values which differ slightly from those given in Zodiacs Old and New (Llewellyn Publications 1950) are the result of finer figuring and more critical translations of cuneiform records. But here is must be stressed that they are derived from Schoch's Heliacal Tables and his Arcus Visionis for Babylon on the tenatitive assumption that the hypsomata were observed there. But such may not have been the case. In the above named work, a plausible case was made out that the phenomena was observed at Halakh, Assyria which is disputed by Professor B. L. van der Waerden of the Mathematical Institute of Zurich. They may have been observed in Egypt, Phoenicia, or even in India. Being without positive historical records we simply do not know. But if the phenomenon was not recorded in Babylon but in some neighboring country then obviously the above values may differ by a day or a degree either way. WHAT WE DO POSITIVELY KNOW IS THAT THE HYPSOMATA RELATE TO THE YEAR 786 B.C. AND TO NO OTHER YEAR IN THE WHOLE HISTORICAL PERIOD (4,000 B.C. TO THE PRESENT DAY); THAT THE EXALTATIONS
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RELATED ONLY TO THE SIDEREAL ZODIAC; AND AT THE TIME OF THEIR OCCURRENCE THE SIDEREAL LONGITUDE OF THE VERNAL POINT (AYANAMSHA) WAS ABOUT 14 DEGREES. In a letter to this writer, dated June 30, 1952, van der Waerden advances cogent reasons for doubling that the longitude of the planets at the date of the hypsomata were calculated by the Babylonians at that time. He writes "The earliest known text in which entrances of the planets into zodiacal signs are mentioned is VAT 4924 from the 5th year of Darius II (420 B.C.) Degree are not mentioned; in fact they are never mentioned in almanacs. Degrees are given only in computed lunar and planetary tables from 100 to 300 of the Seleucid Era. The oldest text comparable with NS (Normal Stars) almanacs is Strm. Kambys 400 (523 B.C.). It does not yet contain normal stars, but it gives distances of planets to planets, and expressions like 'Saturn rose heliacally east of Spica." In Sp II 901 (387 B.C.) the normal stars appear for the first time. (Kugler: Sternkunde I, p. 71-81.) The almanac CBS II 901 (425 B.C.) contains dates of heliacal risings and settings. These five texts are all we have of the Persian time. All in all, it seems extremely improbable that the Assyrians observed the positions of the planets in 786 B.C. in signs and degrees. The only possibility would be that Seleucid astronomers computed these positions (retrospectively) and used them for their hypsoma theory. Besides, whey should the Babylonian astrologers be interested in the installation of Assyrian temples? The Babylonians were glad to get rid of the Assyrian yoke in 612 B.C...." But why should the Babylonians of the Seleucid period (312-64 B.C.) want to compute the heliacal position of the planets for 786 B.C.? If they did so, they must have been in possession of extraordinarily accurate tables, or have been unusually competent mathematicians comparable to the best we have today! The suggestion seems too farfetched and unconvincing. If, as van der Waerden contends, at the period 786 B.C. the Babylonians did not think in degrees nor signs,
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then it would appear that the hypsomata had their origin in Egypt. We know that the Egyptians did think in signs and at least in pentades as early as the 3rd millennium B.C. We also know that in Egypt in B.C. 786 the reign of Shashonk III, the last king of Dynasty XXII from Bubastis, and that of Pedibaste, the first king of Dynasty XXIII from Tanis overlapped, but for the rest history is silent. We simply lack records. The above reflections were stimulated by an excellent article in the March '69 issue of our contemporary Horoscope, by our good friend LCDR David Williams, entitled "The Constellations vs. the Zodiacal Signs." Therein he states that there has been little agreement among authorities as to when the first point of Aries actually coincided with the beginning of the constellation Aries and in evidence he lists the following tabulation: Authority Date Cheiro 388 B.C. D. Davidson 317 B.C. A. M. Harding 300 B.C. Gerald Massey 255 B.C. C. A. Jayne, Jr. 254 B.C. Thierens 125 B.C. Dane Rudhyar 97 B.C. Paul Councel 0 A.D. Cyril Fagan 220 A.D. Sepharial 321 A.D. Now let us note the following historical facts. In 1913, Weidner found a cuneiform astronomical text which proved to be a Lunar Computation Table after the system of the Babylonian astronomer Naburiannu (epoch B.C. 500) for the New and Full Moons of B.C. 49-48. In Naburiannu's system the sidereal longitude of the vernal point is given as Aries 10 degrees. The German Jesuits Epping and Kugler examined another Babylonian tablet of the year B.C. 103 bearing the title Lunar Computation Table according to the System of Kidinnu (epoch
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B.C. 373). In Kidinnu's system the sidereal longitude of the vernal point is given as Aries 8 degrees (Kugler: Babylonische Mondrechung). Van der Waerden defined the position of the origin of the Babylonian zodiac by comparing it to the equinox of the year 101 B.C. (-100). From several Babylonian lunar and planetary tables both Kugler and van der Waerden obtained the following mean differences (VP).
Tables Years Difference Lunar table Nr 93, system II -174 to -154 3.7 Lunar table Nr 272, system I -103 to -101 3.3 Jupiter tables, 1st kind -180 to - 90 4.2 Jupiter tables, 2nd kind -120 to -100 4.2 Jupiter tables, 3rd kind -120 to - 80 4.3 Babylonian Almanacs -210 to -160 3.5 Babylonian Almanacs -110 to - 60 5.3
"These values," states van der Waerden, "range from 3.3 to 5.3 which means that the vernal point of -100 lies near 4.3 of the Babylonian zodiac and Spica near 29 degrees Virgo with a possible deviation of 1 degree to either side. This result obtained several years ago is strikingly confirmed by a Babylonian star catalogue recently published by A. Sachs. Restricting ourselves to 5 entries that can be identified with certainly, we find in this list the following longitudes. I have added to the list two Jupiter longitudes drawn from the planetary table and probably observed in the year 108 and 158 Seleucid Era which commenced in 312 B.C."
Bab. Kugler Text Star Name Long. Long. Diff. BM 46083 Beta Virginis 151 147.6 3.4 Gamma " 166 161.2 4.8 Alpha Virginis 178 174.7 3.3
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Alpha Librae 200 195.9 4.1 AO 6476 Beta Librae 205 200.2 4.8 Sp li 889 Jupiter 151.75 148.05 3.7 Jupiter 230.17 226.20 4.0
The mean difference is 4.1, the standard error of the single observation being 0.6 Sonderabdruk aus Archiv fur Orientforschung, Band XVI, Sweiter Teil, 1954. For the year -100 the Egyptian Berlin papyrus (years -16 to +10) gives the differences of VP as 4.6 while the Egyptian Strobart Tablets (years +70 to +131) give the VP as 5.1. Should the reader take a sheet of graph paper and enter all these findings, including that of the hypsomata, and taking as his coordinates the year of the epoch and the longitude of the derived VP, he will discover that the resultant "curve" is a perfectly straight line! This clearly establishing the authenticity and historicity of the hypsomata, which implies that all the other dates tabulated by Commander Williams are false as they have no historicity of any consequence to confirm their validity. The graph reproduced here is taken from Zodiacs Old and New. [Below graph could only be approximated in ascii text format.]
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DIAGONAL LINE = SIDEREAL LONGITUDE OF THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOCTIAL POINT MEASURED FROM SPICA IN 29 VIRGO 00' Babylonian Planetary Texts (V.P. reduced to ecliptic of-100 by Van Der Waerden)
YEARS B.C. YEARS A.D. -800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 -0 +100 +200 | | | | | | | | | | | LIB 15__________________________________________________________ \ 14___\ __13.8 LIB _________________________________________ S * Hypsomata B.C. 786 I 13________\ _______________________________________________ D \ E 12____________\ ___________________________________________ R \ E 11________________\ _______________________________________ A Naburiannu L 10___________ 10 LIB * B.C. 500 ___________________________ \ L 9______________________ \ _________________________________ O Kidinnu N 8__________________ 8 LIB * B.C. 373 ____________________ G I 7_____________________________ \ __________________________ T \ U 6_________________________________ \ 5.3 LIB ____________ D \ * B.C. 116-60 E 5____________________________________ ___________________ 4 LIB 4_____________ 4.2 LIB B.C. 160-130 *\ *Berlin Demotic 3.5 LIB B.C. 210-160 * \ Papyrus P8279 3___________________________________________ B.C. 15 - A.D. 11 \ 2_________________________ 2 LIB A.D. 71-132 * ________ Strobart Egyptian \ 1__________________________ Tables (Demotic) ______ \ ____ \ LIB 0______________________________________________________ \ _ \ VIR 29__________________________________________________________ VIR 28__________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | -800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 -0 +100 +200 YEARS B.C. YEARS A.D. 17 | FAGAN -- HELIACAL
When I was engaged on the solution of the mystery of the hypsomata, following modern Hindu traditions I assumed that the fiducial star was Spica in Libra 0 degrees. But the solution quickly proved that the sidereal longitude of Spica was nearer to Virgo 29 degrees than to Libra 0 degrees; a most unlikely longitude for a fiducial star. Virgo 29 degrees also was confirmed by van de Waerden in his examination of Babylonian records. Constant readers of this magazine know that in 1957, by purely statistical methods, Garth Allen established that the sidereal longitude of Spica was Virgo 29 degrees 06' 05"; a still more unlikely longitude for a fiducial star. In more recent years it was discovered that when Garth Allen's determination was referred to the hypsomata epoch 876 B.C. it put the Bull's Eye (Aldebaran) precisely in the mathematical center of Taurus (15 degrees 00' 00') clearly demonstrating that the true zodiac commenced with Taurus 0 degrees and not with Aries 0 degrees. THIS HISTORICITY OF THE HYPSOMATA ZERO YEAR,NAMELY A.D. 220 IS AN ALL IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CONFIRMING THAT THE SOLUTION HERE GIVEN OF THE HYPSOMATA IS THE CORRECT ONE. This was the most momentous discovery--if it can be called such-ever made in the long history of astrology. Its implications are far reaching and revolutionary in the extreme. Although the details of this were made public some 20 years ago in Zodiacs Old and New, only recently are the inferences beginning to percolate the astrological consciousness of the more far seeing of astrologers. In all seriousness, no amount of rationalization will succeed in explaining it away. Of course, because of vested interests, or of heavy commitment, there are those who ostrich-like prefer to hide their heads in the sand and refuse to see. But ultimately the resolution of the hypsomata will prove to be the open sesame that will restore astrology to its original honorable place in the councils of the great nations. * * * * *
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CYRIL FAGAN'S "SOLUNARS" 12/61 American Astrology ORIGIN OF HOROSCOPE FORM [HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS; OLDEST KNOWN HOROSCOPE 2767 B.C.] Before beginning a delineation of an astrological chart we must fully comprehend the meaning of the horoscope form itself and its interpretation. The circular diagram is popular in the west today; but strange to say, it is a comparative innovation, notwithstanding the fact that the dome of the heavens is obviously circular. Up to the 19th century the square of rectangular shaped horoscope form was the vogue, as it is still the vogue in India. In his letters to the present writer, the Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, the Nobel prize winner for literature (1923), always used the square-shaped horoscope form. Why did the square-shaped form persist for so many centuries before it was gradually supplanted by the circular design, and how did it originate? The glib answer is, of course, that it was easier to draw. But is that the only reason? If the hieroglyphic inscriptions of ancient Egypt are examined it will be found that from the most remote periods they invariably inscribed in the form of square or rectangular patterns, and down the corridors of time, there appears to be little or no deviation from this rather rigid convention. The famous Egyptian star charts were all square or rectangular in shape to conform to the general pattern of hieroglyphic inscriptions. But these same celestial diagrams, as they were termed by Egyptologists, were a source of puzzlement to them and astronomers alike, because the orientation appeared to them to be all wrong. Referring to the Celestial Diagram found in the tomb of Senmut (cira 1500 B.C.) Professor Pogo writes: "...A characteristic feature of the Senmut ceiling is the astronomically objectionable orientation of the
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southern panel; it has to be inspected like the rest of the ceiling by a person facing north, so that Orion appears east of Sirius. If astronomical ceilings in sepulchral halls were originally an expansion of the inside and outside decorations of sarcophagus lids, the reversed orientation of the southern panel would be easy to account for. Another explanation for the wrong orientation of the southern panel is suggested by the possibility that it originated on a southern vertical wall facing a northern vertical wall appropriately decorated with representations of the "meridian cords" and the "mural dials" discussed below; by moving such hypothetical mural panels to the ceiling, their relative orientation could be preserved, as in the case of the Seti monument, or else the orientation of the southern panel could be sacrificed to "uniformity" as on the ceiling of Senmut and of the Ramesseum..." (The astronomical ceiling decoration in the Tomb of Senmut, --XVIIIth Dynasty: Isis 14, p.306). Professor Pogo did not know, nor do Egyptologists in general know, that these celestial diagrams, belonging to many different dynastic periods, were nothing else than copies of the horoscope for the inauguration of the Sothic Era at the heliacal rising of Sirius at Heliopolis on July 16 (O.S.), 2767 B.C. (see January 1954 issue). This was deemed to be a magical talisman insuring for the deceased longevity in the Elysium Fields. The orientation of these celestial diagrams was not wrong. It is identical with the orientation of our modern horoscope forms, whether square or circular; a fact which is a strong argument that it was the Egyptians, and not the Babylonians, who invented astrology, as so fondly argued by Assyriologists. The horoscope for the inauguration of the Sothic Era is identical in form with that of the square horoscope form. It antidates the first records of Babylonian astrology by over a thousand years; and it is the oldest extant horoscope in the world. South at Midheaven. When a modern horoscope form is seen for the first time, the
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beholder, like Professor Pogo, is apt to exclaim "The orientation is all wrong." This is because he is accustomed to see north at the top, the south at the bottom, the east at the right and the west at the left in all modern geographical maps. But to orientate our geographical maps in this way is only a convention. In truth, there is no top or bottom to the earth or for that matter for any of the celestial bodies. The Egyptians always considered the south as being the top or upper region, the north as the bottom or lower region, the east as being the left and the west and being the right. The Egyptian for east is 'i3bt,' while that for left-hand is 'i3bi;' the Egyptian for west is 'imnt' and for right-hand 'wnmy,' both words having the same root. The Egyptian for north was 'mht,' the root of which is 'mh' meaning "a whip." The same root occurs in the word 'mhnyt' - "the coiled one," meaning a snake or serpent, and it is rather curious to find in the argot of the southern states of the U.S.A., before the emancipation of the slaves, that the whip was often referred to as the "snake.' In Egyptian symbolism the ideogram of a snake or serpent indicated the "winds" and that of the "whip" is here identified with the icy winds that blow from the north, which metaphorically speaking, "whip the backs of the Egyptians" when they blow, as the viewer of a horoscope is always supposed to be facing due south, with his back to the north. So positioned the east will be at his left and the west at his right. The Egyptian for south was 'r-swt' - "the sedge plant," and the Egyptian for Upper (southern) Egypt was 'sm'w,' the phonetics of which incorporate the ideogram of a "sedge planet," while that for Lower (northern) Egypt, i.e., the Land of the Delta, was 'mhr,' the phonetics of which include the ideogram of the "whip." When looking at a circular horoscope form it must be remembered that the astrologer is trying to express diagrammatically in two dimensions a three dimensional view, this view being taken in "the plane of the vertical." The circle that surrounds the diagram represents the prime vertical, which is a great circle of the sphere that rises due east
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(extreme left-hand point of the circle), cuts through the Zenith, which is that point in the heavens that is immediately overhead (extreme top point of the circle), sets due west (extreme right-hand point), passes through the Nadir, which is that point immediately opposite to the Zenith (bottom part of circle) and then rises again due east. Cusps and Angles The horizontal line that stretches across the diagram from east to west is the great circle of the rational horizon viewed edge-on, thus appearing as only a line. The vertical line is the great circle of the meridian, also viewed edge on. It rises due north of the horizon, cuts through the prime vertical at the Zenith, again intersects the horizon, this time due south, and again intersects the prime vertical at the Nadir, to rise again at the north point of the horizon. These are the three great primary or fundamental circles of the mundane sphere. The twelve lines, looking like spokes of a wheel, represent the cusps (edges) of the twelve mundane houses. They are known as secondary circles or just secondaries. * * * *
From Cyril Fagan's letter in "Many Things" A.A. 5/66 [HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS & OLDEST HOROSCOPE 2767 B.C.] ...Senmut's astronomical ceiling is nothing else but a copy of a horoscope (as the legends, indeed, state) for THE HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS ON NEW YEAR'S DAY of the common Egyptian calendar: an event which can only recur for a tetraeteris (4 year period) about 1456 years! Additional copies of the same horoscope were found in the two temples of Rameses II at Abydos and at Madinat Habu; in the tombs of Rameses VI, VII, IX at Thebes (c. 1150 B.C.) in the sarcophagus of
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Prince Nectanebo, and in the coffin of Hor-nef-tef of the Saite period (663-420 B.C.) and in the two tombs at Alfih of the Ptolemaic period (305-30 B.C.) where they acted as talismans promising longevity in the Elysian Fields. These copies show a very rare quadruple conjunction of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus (as Mars was identified with the evil god Seth, for superstitious reasons in a few copies it was omitted), with Venus, under its Pyramidic name of the Benu-bird or Bird of the Inundation, risen in the east just above the Ascendant. Retrospective calculation discloses that such a conjunction actually took place on July 16 (O.S.) 2767 B.C. which happened to be New Year's Day of the common Egyptian calendar, and incidentally midsummer day. On this date Sirius rose heliacally at Heliopolis the Greenwich of Egypt! Note the accompanying chart which is a copy of the oldest extant horoscope in existence! Sidereal Campanus: OLDEST HOROSCOPE July 16 O.S., 2767 B.C. M.C. 10ARI37, llth 9TAU00, 12th 18GEM41, ASC 28CAN52, 2nd 26LEO59,3rd 19VIR00, MARS 19CAN01, JUP 21CAN35, SAT 24CAN53, VEN 25CAN42, SUN 10LEO34, MER 28LEO54, MOON 19AQU02 Apart from the above, the 63rd Tablet of the great Babylonian Enuma Anu Enlil series gives the heliacal rising and settings in Nin-se-an-na (Venus) in terms of the Babylonian months (not the zodiac, which was unknown to the Babylonians at this period, not yet being imported from Egypt) during 22 successive years in the reign of Ammisaduqa of the First Babylonian Dynasty. There can be no question that Nin-se-an-na is identical with Venus for the periodicity of its heliacal risings and settings are the same as those of Venus, and for no other planet. On the 1st Nisan, the first day of the Hypsomatic lunar year, commencing April 4, 786 B.C. the triad comprising the Sun, Moon and Venus were found precisely in their traditional degrees of their exaltation! Apart from such considerations it is known that Babylonian
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and Assyrian sanctuaries, dating from that of Enlil-Assur-Zikurrat in 2931 B.C. to Nabu's Temple in 606 B.C., whose foundation dates were recorded, were oriented on the 1st Nisan of the foundation year, to the Pedjeshes (an arc of a circle intersecting Benetnash and Spica), which has been confirmed by the researches of Gunter-Martiny, P.V. Neugebauer, Boker and others. * * * *
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