Part 40 (2/2)

In the projection of the celestial sphere by the astronomical priests, the zodiac and constellations, arranged in a circle, presented their halves in diametrical opposition; and the hemisphere of Winter was said to be adverse, opposed, contrary, to that of Summer. Over the angels of the latter ruled a king (OSIRIS or ORMUZD), enlightened, intelligent, creative, and beneficent. Over the fallen angels or evil genii of the former, the demons or Devs of the subterranean empire of darkness and sorrow, and its stars, ruled also a chief. In Egypt the Scorpion first ruled, the sign next the Balance, and long the chief of the Winter signs; and then the Polar Bear or a.s.s, called Typhon, that is, _deluge_, on account of the rains which inundated the earth while that constellation domineered. In Persia, at a later day, it was the serpent, which, personified as Ahriman, was the Evil Principle of the religion of Zoroaster.

The Sun does not arrive at the same moment in each year at the equinoctial point on the equator. The explanation of his antic.i.p.ating that point belongs to the science of astronomy; and to that we refer you for it. The consequence is, what is termed the precession of the equinoxes, by means of which the Sun is constantly changing his place in the zodiac, at each vernal equinox; so that now, the signs retaining the names which they had 300 years before Christ, they and the constellations do not correspond; the Sun being now in the constellation Pisces, when he is in the sign Aries.

The annual amount of precession is 50 seconds and a little over [50”

1.]. The period of a complete Revolution of the Equinoxes, 25,856 years.

The precession amounts to 30 or a sign, in 2155.6 years. So that, as the sun now enters Pisces at the Vernal Equinox, he entered Aries at that period, 300 years B.C., and Taurus 2455 B.C. And the division of the Ecliptic, now _called_ Taurus, lies in the Constellation Aries; while the _sign_ Gemini is in the _Constellation_ Taurus. Four thousand six hundred and ten years before Christ, the sun entered Gemini at the Vernal Equinox.

At the two periods, 2455 and 300 years before Christ, and now, the entrances of the sun at the Equinoxes and Solstices into the signs, were and are as follows:--

_B.C._ 2455.

Vern. Equinox, he entered Taurus from Aries.

Summer Solstice Leo from Cancer.

Autumnal Equinox Scorpio from Libra.

Winter Solstice Aquarius from Capricornus.

_B.C._ 300.

Vern. Eq. Aries from Pisces.

Summer Sols. Cancer from Gemini.

Autumn Eq. Libra from Virgo.

Winter Sols. Capricornus from Sagittarius.

1872.

Vern. Eq. Pisces from Aquarius.

Sum. Sols. Gemini from Taurus.

Aut. Eq. Virgo from Leo.

Winter Sols. Sagittarius from Scorpio.

From confounding _signs_ with _causes_ came the wors.h.i.+p of the sun and stars. ”If,” says Job, ”I beheld the sun when it s.h.i.+ned, or the moon progressive in brightness; and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand, this were an iniquity to be punished by the Judge; for I should have denied the G.o.d that is above.”

Perhaps we are not, on the whole, much wiser than those simple men of the old time. For what do we know of _effect_ and _cause_, except that one thing regularly or habitually _follows_ another?

So, because the heliacal rising of Sirius _preceded_ the rising of the Nile, it was deemed to _cause_ it; and other stars were in like manner held to _cause_ extreme heat, bitter cold, and watery storm.

A religious reverence for the zodiacal Bull [TAURUS] appears, from a very early period, to have been pretty general,--perhaps it was universal, throughout Asia; from that chain or region of Caucasus to which it gave name; and which is still known under the appellation of Mount Taurus, to the Southern extremities of the Indian Peninsula; extending itself also into Europe, and through the Eastern parts of Africa.

This evidently originated during those remote ages of the world, when the colure of the vernal equinox pa.s.sed across the stars in the head of the sign Taurus [among which was Aldebaran]; a period when, as the most ancient monuments of all the oriental nations attest, the light of arts and letters first shone forth.

The Arabian word AL-DE-BARaN, means the _foremost_, or _leading_, star: and it could only have been so named, when it did precede, or _lead_, all others. The year then opened with the sun in Taurus; and the mult.i.tude of ancient sculptures, both in a.s.syria and Egypt, wherein the bull appears with lunette or crescent horns, and the disk of the sun between them, are direct allusions to the important festival of the first new moon of the year: and there was everywhere an annual celebration of the festival of the first new moon, when the year opened with Sol and Luna in Taurus.

<script>