Summary: Historical development of the concept of zodiac signs. Why is there a 8-9 day difference between the start of the season and the beginning of the month in today’s calendar? Which comes first – the constellations, zodiac signs, or the calendar? Where did zodiac signs come from?
Hi Kiril stoychev,
I don't see where it is relevant.
Most calendar systems are artificial. Although we used the Gregorian Calendar, we still celebrated New Years on the first day of Spring until about 3 centuries ago.
Ancient civilizations used a natural calendar with New Year falling on the day of the vernal equinox. Each month was 30 days. There were 12 months, so 360 days.
At the end of the 360 days was a giant festival over what I call the 5 "nether days" although very infrequently there were 4 or 6 nether days.
The fact that we now have an artificial calendar system superimposed on an artificial time-keeping system doesn't have any bearing on anything.
So, the 8-9 day difference means nothing.
The main point in my article is that the names and meanings given to the zodiacal constellations are derived from the 12 months of the ancient Sumerian calendar. In other words, the zodiac has a tropical (related to the turning points of the Sun) origin.
That is not what happened. Not even close.
Sumerian Signs & Constellations (English transliteration):
sim.mach = fishes (Pisces)
ku.mal = field dweller (Aries)
gu.an.na = heavenly bull (Taurus)
mash.tab.ba = twins (Gemini)
dub = pincers (Cancer)
ab.sin = her father was Sin [the Moon god] (Virgo)
zi.ba.an.na = heavenly fate (Libra)
gir.tab = that which claws (Scorpio)
pa.bil = defender (Sagittarius)
suchur,mash = goat-fish (Capricorn)
gu = lord of the waters (Aquarius)
Sumerian Months (English transliteration with Akkadian () and Hebrew [] for comparison):
bara.za.nar = throne of the sanctuary (Nisanu) [Nisan]
gu.si.su = the horned oxen marched forth (Ayaru) [Yiar]
sig.ga = the bricks are set in molds (Simanu) [Sivan]
shu.nu.mun = to pour grain (Dumuzu) [Tamuz]*
ne.ne.gar = time of ghosts (Abu) (Av)
kin.i.nan.na = work of Inanna (Ululu) [Elul]**
du.ku = sacred mound festival (Tashritu) [Tishri]
apin.du.a = plow is let go (Araxshamnu) [Marxeshvan]
gan.gan.e = when clouds come (Kislimu) [Kisev]
ku.su = to lie [down] and spread (Tabetu) [Tevet]
ziz.a = flood emmer [wheat] crop (Shabatu) [Shvat]
she.kin.ku = harvest festival Enlil (Adaru) [Adar]
*Dumuzu and Tamuz are Sumerian god Dumuzi
** Ululu/Elul = "daughter of El" El = Enlil and Enlil's daughter was Inanna
The Hebrews used a 6 month calendar of 2 months each until the Babylonian Captivity at which time they adopted the 6,000 year Nippurian Calendar (ending in 2240 CE) and the 12 month scheme.
You might want to rethink your claim that constellations and signs are derived from months.
There is no relationship between the signs and the months, unless you think Leo is about ghosts.
We also have the question whether the names of the constellations attributed to the meaning of the signs, or is there another mechanism that explains why each sign has its specific characterizations?
Another question that needs answers is whether the meaning (the characteristic) of a sign, for example Aries, is somehow related to the zodiacal constellations, to the sidereal or to the tropical zodiac.
Why do you insist on complicating everything?
Constellations
≠ Signs
Signs
≠ Constellations
Constellations have no meaning. Constellations are irrelevant. Constellations play no role in astrology.
The constellations were created as a mnemonic and symbolic device to aid in memory. The shapes are the things people knew or loved. Take the Twins (Gemini). That's Shamash and Sin, the Sun and Moon god who were beloved by the people and who were sons of Enlil. Sin's daughter (whose real name escapes me) was minor goddess of agriculture and beloved by the people. The he-goat (Capricorn) is probably Enki or his son Ningishiddza and the archer (Sagittarius) is probably Ninurta/El Shaddai. Everything else is what people saw every day and were familiar with.
What do you do in Iraq circa 9,500 BCE? You farm 24/7 all year round.
Maybe that's not how it is where you are, but that's how it is in Iraq.
How do you know when to do what?
Can't use Sun. Can't use Moon. But you can use the stars.
When you see this star rising (in December) that's when you start clearing and prepping your fields so when the next start rises (in January) you plant your onions.
When you see this star rising (in March) that's when you harvest your onions.
When you see this star rising (in October) that's when you start clearing and prepping your fields so that when the next star rises in (November) you plant beans and flax (which is used for clothing and rope and other things).
When you see this star rising (in February) that's when you harvest your beans and another star rising (in May) tells you to harvest the flax.
When you see this star rising (in August) that's when you clear, prep and plant chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
Much, much later when you see a star rising (in June) you harvest those chickpeas.
When you see a star rising (in April) you plant sesame and when you see another star rising (in September) you harvest your sesame.
The same for millet and different types of wheat, like emmer.
And for the record, that's all taken from a clay tablet found at Sippar. Those are some of the actual crops and when they planted/harvested them.
If you have herds, the rising stars tell you when to move to other pastures/grazing lands, when to put the boy animals with the girl animals to make baby animals and when to slaughter, because you don't slaughter pigs, cows, goats or sheep at the same time for very logical reasons.
After at time, it will be painfully obvious that the stars have moved and are no longer useful as guides.
What do to?
Create a calendar. To create an accurate calendar, you need a constant for a fixed Time Point Zero and what's the one constant that everyone is absolutely certain?
The Sun moving from the south point to rise on the equator on the spring equinox. That's your Time-Point Zero. That never changes. If it ever should change, then it's because Earth or Sun (or both) are destroyed or the solar system has been completely disrupted, in which case it won't matter since we'll all be dead.
Since Earth is a sphere and the numbers 360 and 12 were sacred numbers (because we all have 12 digits on our hands) it's a simple matter of:
360 degrees / 12 = 30 degrees/days
The sign of Aries, no, not the constellation, the sign of Aries was fixed at Time-Point Zero.
Why Aries?
Because they were in the Age of Aries? No. The calendar and signs were devised before the Age of Taurus.
Thema Mundi. Aries is the start point. Why?
Because the numbers 6, 12 and 360 are sacred numbers.
6 * 12 * 360 = 25,920
6 * 12 = 72
25,920 / 360 = 72
72 is the number of years it takes Earth to retard 1 degree. That's precession.
25,920 / 12 = 2,160 years which is an "astrological age."
The number 3,600 is a sacred number, too.
Ever read Genesis 6?
The King Joke Vision says "Man's days were 120 years."
The morons who wrote the King Joke Vision and think they know god (but don't) and think they're connected to god (but aren't) couldn't translate anything to save their lives.
The root "
shnh" (
shaneh) is an archaic Semitic root stemming from the Sumerian
sar (
shar in English transliteration) which is a great year, or age, of 3,600 years.
So, it actually reads, "Man's days were 120 ages" not years.
120 * 3,600 = 432,000 years.
Thus, "Man's days were 432,000 years."
That's hardly shocking and it's not like we haven't seen it before.
In Nordic myth on the Day of Ragnorook 800 warriors will exit from each of the 540 doors of Valhalla:
800 * 540 = 432,000
In Germanic myth, Woddan's walled palace has 800 gates and 540 warriors exit those gates.
800 * 540 = 432,000
There are four yugas: Satya Yuga (4,000 sacred years), Treta Yuga (3,000 sacred years), Dwapar Yuga 2,000 sacred years), and Kali Yuga where we are now is 1,000 sacred years.
An Indian sacred year is 432,000 years.
In the Sumerian pre-Deluge King List you can clearly see it:
Aloros 36,000 years
Alaparos 10,800 years
Amelon 46,800 years
Ammenon 43,200 years
Amegalaros 64,800 years
Daonos 36,000 years
Euedorachos 64,800 years
Amempsinos 36,000 years
Otiartes 28,800 years
Xisouthros 64,800 years
Add those up and you get 432,000 years. And then the Deluge happens.
The Sumerians and others believed Earth was 4,320,000,000 (4.32 Billion) years old. Science says 4.5 Billion, but who's counting?
Run precession back to 4.32 Billion years and you get Aries, which is why Aries is first on the Thema Mundi and why Aries is Time-Point Zero on the tropical zodiac.
I just don't see why people make things so difficult.
Yes, I understand that the Greeks really cloud the issue and confuse people because the Greek word for sign is the same word for constellation, but if you look at the context, you can usually tell when they mean "sign" and when they mean "constellation."
The meaning of the signs, not the constellations, the signs is derived from their relationship to Sun and the seasons based on the Thema Mundi using Aries as Time-Point Zero based on the belief that Earth is 4.32 Billion years old.