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Many of the anecdotes and stories in New Testament have to do with the astronomical phenomena called 'The Precession of the Equinoxes.' This is the movement of the constellations relative to the motion of the Earth. There are three basic celestial motions that concerned the ancients & that were symbolized by three circles, a motif seen on religious architecture:
This latter motion is the one that makes it appear as if the point of the Equinoxes are moving backwards in relation to the fixed astrological houses. Now this motion may not seem worthy of attention to most readers. However, we cannot emphasize it enough as the 'Precession' is the heart of all mythology, symbolism & religion. One cannot have astrology without it. It is the secret of all magical, Hermetic traditions & volumes can be & have been written on it, few which are in print today. Even the humble nursery rhymes descend from it. Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Goosy Goosy Gander, Old Mother Hubbard, etc., all contain cryptic sabean motifs.
The zodiac is of twelve houses. It takes 72
years for the zodiac to move 'backwards' just one degree of arc of 360
degrees. This
means that it takes 2,160 years for the sun to pass through one sign of
the zodiac of 30 degrees. And for all twelve signs it
takes 25,920 years for one complete revolution of the Zodiac where each
sign of the Zodiac has ruled the Vernal or Spring Equinox. This complete
revolution of the Zodiac of 25,920 years is called the Platonic Year or
the Grand Cycle. In order to uncover some of the mysteries that are
shrouded in our mythological and religious symbols, including the Great
Sphinx, we must look beyond our Earth year to a much longer cycle of our
planet. We call this greater cycle, or one wobble of
the Earth, the Platonic year in honor of the Greek philosopher Plato —
whose ideas concerning the realities of the physical and metaphysical
planes are still cherished by many of us who are seeking the wisdom of the
ages. I am going to introduce this cycle in the simplest way possible. The
combined gravitational effects of the sun, moon, and planets on the Earth’s
equatorial bulge cause the Earth’s axis to sway clockwise in a slow
circle, like the motion of a spinning top. It takes 25,920 years for the
Earth’s axis to complete one wobble, sway, or clockwise circle. We
call this 25,920-year cycle of our planet the Platonic year. It is also
referred to as the precession of the equinoxes or the great year in a
comprehensive dictionary. The great year is one of the longest cycles that
are well known to our astronomers. The sun’s plane, which is also
called the ecliptic, crosses the equator each year on March 21, the day of
the Vernal Equinox. At the exact location where the sun’s plane
crosses the equator, the sun would be directly above the equator at high
noon, and there would be no shadow cast by a perpendicular stick
protruding from level ground at the equator. In the cycle of the great
year, the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator a little west from
where it crossed the year before. This is known as the precession of the
equinoxes. The sun, on a vernal or fall equinox, takes about 25,920 years
to go all the way around the celestial equator or Zodiac and cross at the
same point again.
Important for our study is that we understand that the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, that were painstakingly researched by the Egyptian, Hindu, Persian, Chaldean, Hebrew, Greek and Chinese astronomers, create an imaginary belt in the heavens. The Zodiacal circle formed by these constellations is close to being aligned with our celestial equator. When the sun’s plane crosses the equator on the first day of spring, we could ask ourselves which of the twelve constellations is out behind our brilliant sun. The Platonic cycle causes a slow backwards movement of the sun’s apparent position in the Zodiac when viewed on successive Vernal Equinoxes. We refer to this slow-backwards movement as the precession of the equinoxes. The sun’s apparent position moves a little bit west in a constellation when observed on the same day each year; it takes an equinox sun approximately 2,160 years to transit one of the twelve constellations on its 25,920-year jaunt around the Zodiac. If we were to check the sun’s position in the Zodiac on successive Vernal Equinoxes, we would see that it will take approximately 2,160 years for the spring sun to travel through one constellation of the Zodiac on its way to the next constellation. If we were to live for 25,920 years, or one great year, we would witness twelve new ages.
Consider the twelve star constellations of the Zodiac the same way we think about the twelve months in the annual cycle of our planet. The Earth year consists of twelve months of about thirty days in each month. In the Platonic year, there are twelve ages of nearly 2,150 years in each age. The name of an age is taken from the name of the constellation that the Vernal-Equinox sun or the spring equinoctial point is traversing. When used correctly, the Zodiac is the master calendar or the face of a clock for the Platonic year.
The astronomical ruins around the Earth prove that the ancient priesthood and shamans knew a lot more than we usually give them credit for. They understood not only the Platonic year but some subtle variations in its slow-working celestial mechanism. As far back as Egypt the priesthood understood the Precision of the Equinox and that the Cosmos was moving in a pattern and they knew just how long it took to cycle. Our ancient ancestors not only understood the patterns of the Platonic year but they also incorporated the reckoning of that long cycle in the designs of their great monuments like the Egyptian temples and pyramids.
Then 4 of these Great Ages also constitutes a Cycle that is spoken of in the ancient records. But the astrologers knew that there are many changes in the evolution of the Earth when the sun passes into another house. And while the Spring Equinox was being measured to see which constellations were opening the year, the wobble of the earths rotation itself made the pole axis point to a different star in the northern sky. This is another important cycle that lasts 3,700 years.
There are seven major
'stations' of the Pole that were known. When we take an
imaginary line off the Earth’s North Pole axis and extend it into the
heavens, we find that the line points at a star that we call Polaris, our
“North
Pole” star. The cycle of the Platonic year causes the line off the
North Pole to scribe a circle in the heavens approximately 25,920 years
long. During this long period of time the northern axis of earth points in
different directions in the Heavens and over time points to different "pole
stars" during the Precession or wobble of the earth during these 25,
920 years. As the earth continues to wobble the imaginary line off the
North Pole axis of the Earth moves slowly in a circular motion and
continues to scribe its 25,920-year circle in the heavens. Around the year
A.D. 27,900, our North Pole
axis will once again point at Polaris, where it is at this time in
history. For less than 10000 years, there has been two pole stars
before polaris : -tau Hercule (Hercules) about less than 8000 years. -
alpha Dragon (Alpha Draconis) about less than 3000 years. Because Thuban,
the name of the Pole Star given by the Egyptians, was the pole star 5000
years ago the ancient Egyptians keenly observed it and a shaft in the Giza
Pyramid pointed directly to it during the Pyramid Age.
Answer for yourself: Why is this knowledge of the Ancients important for us to know today? Because this gave rise to euphemisms in religion & mythology such as:
The Pole of the earth is euphemistically called the Rock of Ages, in the Bible. The Denderah zodiac is the Egyptian Rock of Ages. It was fabricated after the conquests of Alexander the Great and the reestablishment of the sovereignty of Egypt. Henry Melville in "Veritas" very fittingly speaks of the "Pole Star" as the rock of ages. "'Trust ye in the Lord forever; for the Lord Jehovah is the rock of ages.' Isaiah 24:4. This Polar star is the rock, or Mount Olympus of the Latins, which was so high that no bird could fly to the top, nor were clouds ever seen on its summit. This Polar Star is the Mount Meru of the Buddhists, and the Mount Zion of the Hebrews. 'They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever.' Psalm 125:1. David says, 'Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.' Psalm 61:1. From our world nothing can appear higher than the Polar star which is the pivot or point of axis on which the earth performs its diurnal and annular motion. David exclaims, 'thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest!' Isaiah 66:1. Cephas, or Cepheus, means rock . Cepheus is seated in the highest heaven, and he has Mount Olympus, or the Pole Star, for his footstool." Celestial Astrology and Astronomy are spoken of as lost sciences, and we are told that until the position of the dark planets is known, astrology can not become an exact science, yet it can and will again be raised to its former sublimity.
The North Pole of the heavens was represented as the Mountain, the South Pole as the Pit. The Mountain and the Pit explain the meaning of Helion and Acheron, which, according to S. A. Mackey, were made use of in astronomical calculations by the ancients. Helion or the Sun, was the Sun in his highest, Acheron was usually translated as Hell, or the last condition or state of the Sun in its disappearance among the Southern constellations. Could we look down from the North Pole to the South Pole into the great abyss, the point of our vision might lead us very quickly to the discerning of a Christian Heaven and Hell, for many an absurd misinterpretation has been generated concerning these primordial parents, the Poles.
The Pole was connected to stability. Plinths, columns, lecterns & podiums, etc., represent this Pole, as does the staff that the 'wise' are seen carrying.
For a zodiac age to change meant that a new constellation was seen at dawn on the 21 March or the Spring Equinox after a cycle of 2,160 years. When the Pyramid was built the sign of Virgo was at this point. When the Mystery Schools opened on the Nile, the constellation of Leo was there. When the Priestarchies dominated, it was the Age of Taurus. During the Age of Aries, the male god was worshipped & there was war & conquest in the world. As each age changes, the 'knowers' see to it that an entirely new mythology is created around its associated symbols. All the imagery that surrounds the various heroes has to do with the sun passing through these 12 houses. And the modern historians know this, but dare not go into it, as this information is sequestered by many of the secret fraternities of the world. One can review all the myths of the world in relation to this astronomical movement. And all the historical ages can be analyzed in regards the signs of the zodiac. And even in our own age, we find innumerable zodiacal symbols incorporated into heraldry, paintings, architecture, city-plans & in the milieu of religion, government & media.
The sacred meaning of the number twelve relates to the Twelve Signs
of the Zodiac. Most of us will be familiar with the Twelve Signs of the
Zodiac. The apparent movement of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac across the
sky does not only take place on an annual basis however. The cycle also
occurs over a period of 25,920 years, often referred to as Plato’s
Great Year as we saw above. The
banners or symbols of the twelve Zodiacal Constellations, representing the
Twelve Ages in the Precession of the Equinoxes, appear to arch their way
across the sky as if in royal procession. The beginning
of a new Zodiacal Season is marked by the standards of the Lion, the Bull,
the Man and the Eagle … sometimes equated with the Four Cardinal
Directions. The Fifth Cardinal Direction is the central point of
revolution, the
pole of the ecliptic. The completion of one revolution of the Zodiac we
saw above is referred to as a Great Year or the Platonic Year.
Within this Great Year are
four Seasons, which are defined by the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter
Equinoxes. For this reason the Great Year is also referred to as the
Precession of the Equinoxes. Today we live in an Age of Science in which
Precession is regarded as just another phenomenon. No great deal is
attached to it. However in the remote ancient past only the intellectual
elite would have been allowed to be initiated into, and share, a secret of
such magnitude ... the Secret of Precession
The Earth makes one orbit of the Sun passing through the 12 signs of the zodiac in exactly the same time that it takes the Moon to orbit the Earth 12 times. The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter takes 12 years to complete one orbit of the Sun.
In Genesis 29, the twelve tribes of Israel are described as being founded by the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob. These were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. In Numbers and in Joshua, the list is Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Joseph is dropped and replaced by the names of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, while Levi is simply dropped.
The implication of this difference is that the names are less important than the structure of 12 tribes with Jacob as their progenitor. This is the stuff of tribal myths. Some scholars teach that we should not take any of these ancestors as necessarily being real people. Once again, they are the result of many hundreds of years of oral tradition through which they have held their structure completely, whereas the less important names are subject to change. Some modern scholars are of the opinion that the names are probably geographical rather than personal and refer to the 36 areas occupied by each tribe. Even this is arbitrary because, during the early development of the nation, most of the members were nomads, wandering with their herds from place to place.
Answer for yourself: What other evidence have we for a regular pattern of a body consisting of a leader plus 12 followers?
The other prominent biblical example is the 12 disciples of Jesus. Now it must be obvious to anyone reading the Gospel depiction of Jesus and the accounts of Jesus' teaching that, for a short period of popularity, he was constantly surrounded by crowds of people. I think the numbers at the Sermon on the Mount are probably exaggerated, but there must have been an impressive gathering. Now the point is that it would be quite difficult to distinguish between the crowd and the special disciples.
All spiritual teachers gather together a band of close followers, usually by accretion from the crowds who just come to listen or out of curiosity, but the number of these disciples varies from day to day and month to month. The same would have been true of Jesus' disciples, with some coming and going. That 12 are given a special place in the Gospel accounts owes more to the necessity for preserving the pattern than to the sticking power of the named individuals and this "pattern" is taken from the influence of the Zodiac.
Let us look at some examples:
Answer for yourself: Need we go on to see the influence of the Zodiac since the beginning of time?
Answer for yourself: Which came first, the sacred number or the lists? I suggest that the number is primary and arises from the Sumerian division of the circle into twelve 'houses' to which the distinctive names of the heavenly constellations were added later by the priests themselves. From Sumer we move to Egypt and rest of mankind's history that preserved the importance of the sacred number "12" and does so today. Thus was created a pattern into which gods and others could be neatly gathered.
So in reflection the evidence appears to strongly suggest that the idea the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ is a personification from the Stars that was later literalized and since today so few have a working knowledge of astrology and astronomy as did the Ancients then this knowledge lays collecting dust while we go about our lives believing in untruths.
