Ground of Heaven THE GROUND OF HEAVEN: THE CONSTELLATIONS The heavens declare the glory of god; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. -Psalms, 19: 1-2 JUMP TO: TAURUS PERSEUS AURIGA ORION GEMINI CANIS MAJOR CANCER HYDRA LEO ARGO NAVIS URSA MAJOR URSA MINOR VIRGO CRATER CORVUS BOOTES LIBRA CENTAURUS LUPUS CORONA BOREALIS SERPENS OPHIUCHUS HERCULES ARA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS LYRA CYGNUS CAPRICORN AQUILA SAGITTA DELPHINUS OCEAN OF HEAVEN AQUARIUS PEGASUS PISCIS AUSTRINUS PISCES ANDROMEDA CEPHEUS CETUS ARIES CASSIOPEIA ERIDANUS Course Info Home The sky itself, with its majestic star-set figures, is the root of every astrologer’s knowledge and craft; without an understanding of why and how these glorious star-emblazoned constellation shapes were created, established, and carried down to us through thousands of years, we risk remaining narrow and unsophisticated in our delineation of nativities. Now at last, at the end of the 20th century of the Common Era - more than 5,000 years after the scribes of Sumer first recorded the extraordinarily ancient wisdom that had been passed down to them by memory-chanters - our computers, data collections, and the recovery and translation of ancient texts have made it possible to rediscover, analyze, and test our great heritage of star-knowledge that was once known only to the most learned priests of the earliest civilizations. Perhaps the most extraordinary discovery is that there is nothing casual or coincidental in the constellational sky - every constellation, (including those of the "Sphaera Barbarica" - the figures above and below the ecliptic that are not part of the zodiac), indeed, each posture, position, length and breadth of every figure, has its reason and message. These energies are still operating, and may be taken and used in the day-to-day counseling of a modern astrologer! Gradually, over more than two thousand years, the Zodiac of Signs, that is, of our familiar tropical degrees, has shifted backward, largely bypassing the ancient sky figures that gave them their original names and identities, and now overlaying the star-figures that once preceded each of them. Our familiar division of 12 equal signs, each 30° in length, came into being in Babylonia some time in the early 5th century BCE, apparently designed to jibe with an already existing calendar of 12 months of 30 days each. The earliest known horoscope, without houses or aspects (except conjunctions), is dated April 29 410 BC, at Babylon; the positions of Sun, Moon, and planets were defined only by the constellations they were in. By the time of Hipparchus, however (2nd century BCE), the equinoxes and solstices were slipping noticeably out of sync with the beginnings of the constellations they were identified with. Hipparchus (fl. 146-127 BCE) realized the implications of this phenomenon, discerning the process known as the precession of the equinoxes, whereby the Vernal Equinox - the point at which the Sun on its apparent course defining the ecliptic, crosses the celestial equator each spring, moving backwards (or westward - to the right on a star map) through the stars at the rate of 1° every 72 years. The 5th-century BCE calendar of Athenian astronomer Euctemon was based upon the solstices and equinoxes, naming each month by its sky sign and offering Hipparchus a structure based upon the actual seasons rather than the ancient figures in the sky. This we now know as the tropical zodiac. By the time of Ptolemy (2nd century CE) the signs were "off" by 8° against the backround of their corresponding constellation patterns, and a choice had to be made: whether to stay with the sky figures, or to count in twelve 30° segments from the gradually precessing Vernal Equinox. For the most part, the Greeks stayed with the 4-cornered structure of the seasons, i.e. the sol-stices & equinoxes, and let the actual sky-figures gradually shift from away from their former seasonal places. But at the same time they kept the constella-tions' traditional names, assigning them to the new, gradually-moving tropical signs. This is the system we in the west have inherited: 12 equally sized signs, beginning with 0° Aries, where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator. Even though the venerable constellation star-figures have been bypassed, each one overlaid with the sign that originally followed it, these archaic "pictures in the sky" retain and maintain an influence and power, not only in the symbolic, "mythic" areas of our lives, but in a physical way as well. To a surprising degree, the outer frame, shape, and condition of our physical bodies, and the enveloping myths that we enact in each lifetime, are derived from these primordial figures; they represent the personal incarnational drama each of us enacts, every day, in each lifetime. Our tropical zodiac sign of Taurus, was originally the sky figure of the Bull; but now, each year, as the Sun moves through tropical Taurus (the sign, not the constellation) it is actually traveling through a skyscape of the stars of the Ram. And those of us who call ourselves "Aries" were actually born when the Sun traversed the Fishes. In just this way, each tropical sign now largely overlays the star figure (or morpheme) that originally lay behind it. Just as tropical Taureans have backed up onto the Ram, tropical Aries swim with the Fishes; tropical Pisceans have moved in on the figure of the Water-Pourer; tropical Aquarians now brave the stormy waves with the Sea-Goat, tropical Capricorns ride the back of the half-human, half-equine Archer, tropical Sagittarians attempt to tame the menacing Scorpion, tropical Scorpios nest in the Scales of Justice (which were, even very far back, both Scales & the great Scorpion's extended claws). Tropical Librans now find their balance in the midst of the magnificent Virgin-goddess, tropical Virgoans have taken over the body & tail of the lion, but still possess the upper part of the head of the Virgin; tropical Leos, while still hanging on to the head and forepaws of the original Lion (hear them roar!), have the earlier 2/3 of their sign in the cautious, self-protective Crab; tropical Cancers now envelop the Twin brothers, tropical Geminis have bravely taken over the thundering, sensual Bull of Heaven, and we are back to where the zodiac started: the Bull, leader of the great cycle of signs from about 4,500 BCE (or about 3,000 BCE, depending upon whether you start the figure of the Bull at its horns, or its famous Royal eye), until about 2,300 BCE. Brilliant, red royal star Aldebaran, the Bull's South Eye (now 9Gem43), marked the vernal equinox at the time that the first system of writing developed in Sumer (southern Iraq) at about 3,300 BCE. (Exactly opposite the Bull's Eye, at 9Sag41, is red Antares, the fierce, royal Heart of the Scorpion). These overlays, confusing at first, become enlightening when we search for the deeper layers of astrology's primeval sources. For while I persist in the belief that the tropical zodiac is the most useful for day to day interpretation of horoscopes, I believe that it is the ancient sky-pattern figures - the actual constellations - that reveal the "fated" or mytho-symbolic level of our lives. Fate is a harsh word, conjuring images of helplessness, passivity, "what's-the-use-of-trying" emotions; but the actuality is that the soul, in each lifetime, has chosen a body, sexual polarity, set of parents, locale, schooling, economic situation, and formative matrix that will best nurture the spirit and carry it forward in the direction it has chosen to explore. It has been my experience in counseling that the most meaningful and exciting reactions from my clients come when I describe the constellation patterns and individual fixed stars on their charts (usually at the end of the reading). There is often a profound, personal emotional response that resonates on a "life-myth" level of being. Often a client’s deepest conflicts are delineated by the difference between the archetypes of the tropical signs and the original constellations: the variance, for instance, between proud, courageous tropical Leo, and his underlying sensitive, cautious, vulnerable star-Crab; or the tropical sign of Cancer, home-loving, self-protective, careful; but now fully overlaying the original Gemini siblings, who were rollicking, daring, athletic adventurers! It is the task of each of us to find ways to reconcile these differences and make them work creatively in our lives. Many Cancers, for instance, become actors, writers, or filmmakers, permitting themselves the vicarious experience of danger and adventure while actually remaining quite snug and safe, while others translate Cancer’s love of home to love of homeland, and become super-patriotic, adventuresome test pilots, astronauts, or Olympic athletes! It was the realization that the original sky-figures carry powerful messages of the symbolic and mythic elements of our lives that led me to dig deep into astrology’s roots, to seek out the earliest sources of these ancient constellations and to rediscover and analyze their energies. TAURUS, THE BULL Tropical Span: 40 degrees 20 Taurus - 0 Cancer The sky-figure of Taurus, the Bull, is actually only the front half of the animal; where his back half would be is actually the hindquarters of the Ram, who usurped the bull's position as leader of the sky host about 2,000 BCE. The Bull's head is down (as if charging) and facing the observer, its horns to the East (in the zodiac, as in a horoscope, east is to the left), with its front legs pulled up in a charging position; this head forms a "V" shape tilted on its side, with the cluster called the Hyades (1° to 8° Gemini) forming the jaw and muzzle, the bright red star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) as its right, lower eye, and Ain (Epsilon Tauri) its upper, left eye. The famous nebulous cluster, the Pleiades, is in his shoulder. This is a very ancient constellation, which at first consisted of only the Bull's head (the V-shaped Hyades); the Pleiades may originally have been a separate, distinct cluster, not part of the Bull. Because the Vernal Equinox passed through these stars from about 4,500 to about 2,000 BCE, this was the Euphratean Te, (from Timmena), "foundation-stone," or Bull-of-the-Foundation" of the sky; the Sumero-Akkadian Gu.ud an.na, Babylonian-Assyrian Alap-same: "Bull-of-Heaven" aka "Strong Wild-Bull" and "Great-Horned Bull." Bulls, esp white bulls, were associated with the Moon, because of their color and the curved shape of their horns; thus the Moon's exaltation in Taurus. The stars of the Bull's Head form one of the most powerful areas of the entire sky; here the themes are power, fertility, aggression, and storms. A bull's bellow was associated with thunder, and the earliest depictions of Taurus included lines of jagged lightning, symbols of storm god Adad: the cluster of stars in the muzzle of the bull, known as the Hyades ("Rainy Ones") and the famous Pleiades cluster in his shoulder, have been associated with torrential rains since the earliest times: a solar eclipse at the Pleiades in May 1993 (exactly square Saturn at 38 Aquarii - in the Water-Pourer!) brought record-breaking floods to the Mississippi basin; and a December 1993 lunar eclipse 6° further on, in the "Rainy Hyades" deluged Europe. PERSEUS, THE HERO OR RESCUER Tropical Span: 31 degrees 14 Taurus - 15 Gemini Above the Bull & the Ram's tail, with wings on his feet, flies Perseus, the Hero or Rescuer; he is not in the early Euphratean lists, except for that which he carries: a severed, demonic head with the baleful, variable star Algol, which in the oldest texts was Sibi ("Double-eye"). Along with Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Triangulum, Perseus is very probably Phoenician rather than Euphratean in origin; whatever his roots, he came early into Greek consciousness, for Homer (ca 800 BCE), called Perseus "most famous of all men" (Iliad, xiv 320). His name may derive from Bar-Sav "Son of Hair" i.e. "The Hairy", thus relat-ing him to Gilgamesh/Herakles (both clad in lion-skin), as a hero-king archetype. According to the Greeks, Perseus was the founder of Mykenai. Bar-Sav/Perseus is armed with a sickle-shaped (like a crescent Moon) scimitar, a potent weapon against the powers of darkness, and it is this weapon that the hero uses in his fight with the Sea-Monster Cetus, a representation of the Babylonian Tiamat, primal monster of chaos. Raoul Wallenberg, the heroic Swedish diplomat who rescued thousands of Jews during the holocaust, had Saturn aligned with Nu Persei. The United States, which often casts itself (or is cast) in the role of rescuer, has Uranus at Perseus, and John F Kennedy, who rescued members of his PT boat crew during World War II, had Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Sun and Venus in the longitudes of the stars of Perseus.. AURIGA, THE CHARIOTEER Tropical Span 30 16 Gemini - 16 Cancer Above the Bull's horns, sharing the horn-tip star Zeta Tauri with the Bull, is Auriga, the Charioteer. In the early Euphratean star-list this was Mar-urbi "The-Chariot-by-itself", the Semitic Narkabtu-istênis, also called Gar "Chariot" and Sugi "Chariot-Yoke". Surviving fragments of very ancient cuneiform tablets hint that this figure was associated with fertility and abundant crops: "The constellation the Chariot, its stars, during whatever year they are conspicuous, the crops in that year (men) sell..." and "Cattle bring forth and flourish, fish..." It's lucida, Capella, alpha Aurigae, marked the Vernal Equinox about 3,853 BCE. In the Greek myths, this figure was Athena's adopted son Erichthonius, half-human, half serpent, who invented the chariot because he could not walk. President Franklin Roosevelt, disabled by polio and confined to a wheel-chair, had Auriga culminating; Gov George Wallace of Alabama, paralyzed in an assassination attempt, has Pluto (rising) at Psi6 Aurigae, and Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, crippled by a gunshot wound, has the Charioteer rising. ORION, THE HUNTER Tropical Span: 23 degrees 11 Gemini - 4 Cancer Below the horns of the Bull stands Orion, the great figure that competes with the Big Dipper asterism for the most readily-recognized set of stars in the entire sky. The derivation of his name is uncertain: it may derive from the Euphratean solar deity Uru-anna "Light of Heaven" representing the Akkadian god Duwu-zi (Tammuz), identical to the very ancient Sumerian deity Nin-girsu, "Lord of the Riverbank", the river being either the Milky Way or Eridanus, or both: Orion stands between the two. An ancient Babylonian cuneiform tablet calls Orion "The-Shepherd-Spirit-of-Heaven" (although this title is also conferred upon Bootes). In ancient China, Orion was "The Su-preme Commander." There are 3 or 4 myths relating to Orion, one of which states that his name derives from either ouros, mountain, or ourein, "to urinate", which would make him "he who makes water" connecting him to the tradition that both the rising & setting of the constellation bring rain. President Franklin D Roosevelt had Mars in the 10th house at Betelgeuze, Orion's brightest star; as President, he was Commander-in-Chief of US forces during World War II, and had inherited his family's estate in Deer Park, NY, on the banks of the Hudson River, thus personifying two ancient titles of Orion: "Supreme Commander" and "Lord of the Riverbank". GEMINI, THE TWINS Tropical Span: 27 degrees 0 Cancer - 27 Cancer The westernmost part of the Bull, (the 2 horn-tips), are in the Milky Way, which many cultures saw as a great celestial river; the next zodiacal constellation, Gemini, the Twins, starts at the river's opposite shore. The Twins are wading at the eastern edge of the sky river; closely entwined, they lie aslant the ecliptic. The 2 brightest stars, Castor & Pollux, (Alpha & Beta Geminorum), represent their heads. Ancient Babylonian monuments and kudurru, (carved boundary stones, which are the earliest records we have of con-stellation subjects) show a recurrent set of symbols, prominently placed: a crescent with 2 stars nearby. These are the twin stars, Castor & Pollux, that marked the Vernal Equinox approximately 6,000 BC; in the archaic lunar calendar, a new crescent Moon - "Neomenia" - marked the beginning of each month. Therefore the 2 stars together with a crescent Moon repeatedly carved on the boundary stones may have represented what the ancient astrologer/priests saw in the sky on the 1st of the month of Nissanu (Nisan), at every spring equinox, 8,000 years ago, at the beginning of the Age of Gemini. These great twins-in-the-sky were the Sumero-Akkadian Mastabba-gal-gal or Masu, Babylonian-Assyrian Tuame-rabuti. By 2,000 BC precession would have moved the twin stars to the 3rd month, Sivanu (May-June): in Akkad this month was called Mun-ga, "The Making-of-Bricks" and Kas, "the Twins". Traces of an archaic Euphratean cosmogonic myth told of two Hostile Brethren and the Building of the First City; it is possible that these stars, which marked the Vernal Equinox around the time of the earliest city-states, presided over the gradual transition from tribal, nomadic hunter-gathering to the establishment of permanent, walled cities and city-states, at the dawn of the Age of Gemini. (Another famous twin-myth, that of Romulus & Remus, is associated with the building of Rome). The Twins continue to oversee the founding of cities. The traditional date for the founding of Rome, 4 21 753 BCE, has the Moon’s NNode at Mekbuda, Zeta Gemi-norum. St Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the US, was officially founded 9 19 1565; at the celebratory 7 AM mass that morning, the Twins culminated. When Brigham Young, leading the Mormons through western wilder-ness seeking a vision he had seen in a dream, arrived at Great Salt Lake on 7 22 1847, he announced "this is the place!" Two days later, with Jupiter at Alhena, Gamma Geminorum, the cornerstone for the Mormon Temple was laid. CANIS MAJOR, THE GREATER DOG Tropical Span: 22 degrees 7 Cancer - 29 Cancer CANIS MINOR, THE LESSER DOG Tropical Span: 11 degrees 20 Cancer - 1 Leo Beneath the Twins are the Sumero-Akkadian Lik, Pallika, Babylonian-Assyrian Kalbu, Kallab-mê, Phoenician Keleb, Keleb-maîm, The Dogs (Canis Major & Canis Minor). There is a difference of opinion among Assyriologists concern-ing the Euphratean name of the brightest star, Sirius, in the mouth, or jaw, of the greater Dog. Some epithets were Ban "Star of the Bow" (there is a similarity in the syllables for "bow" and "dog" in Assyrian, so this name is not absolutely certain), "Star of Stars," and "The Propitious Star of Heaven." As the "Bow Star" it has a remarka-ble connection with the Chinese version of the figure: just SE of Sirius was the Chinese Hou-Chi, the Bow & Arrow, aimed at Sirius, the "Celestial Jackal." Some of the words for Sirius were "Scorcher", "Glittering" "The Burning One" and "Lamp." In the terrible winter of 1925, Nome, Alaska, h… truncated (56,768 more characters in archive)