mysteries of egyptian zodiacs - HiddenMysteries Information Central

However, still it is possible to determine their position on the
zodiacal belt — they are simply located in the same place as
the Sun.
Since the stars are not visible when the Sun is in the sky,
there are some indirect ways to determine its precise location
among them. For example, just after sunset, when it’s
already dark enough, it is possible to recognize the zodiacal
constellation appearing at the location where the Sun was
last seen on the horizon. Then, by estimating at this moment
the Sun’s submersion under the horizon, its distance from the
Sun can be approximated. For this purpose, we need to know
the speed of the Sun in its apparent motion on the sky, which
is related to the eastward rotation of the Earth on its axis.
The Earth’s angular velocity doesn’t change in time (within
the limits of the required by us precision), hence the calculation
of the submersion of the Sun is rather simple, but still is
depended on some kind of a time measuring device.
There is another method to quite precisely determine the
position of the Sun among the constellations, but this method
could only be applied on specific days, namely at the time
of Full Moon, and under the assumptions that the lengths of
the zodiac constellations were already measured and compiled
into a catalogue. With a help of such a catalogue, an ancient
astronomer could determine the position of the Sun based on
the position of Moon. More precisely, at Full Moon the location
of the Sun on the ecliptic is exactly at the point on
the opposite from Moon side of the Earth. Therefore, by direct
observations the position of Moon could be established,
and next the location of the Sun, at the opposite point on
the ecliptic, could be determined based on the data in the
catalogue. Knowing the Sun positions at the Full Moon days
and using the fact that it moves on the ecliptic with constant
velocity making a complete revolution in one year, it is possible
to calculate the Sun’s position on the sky on any day.
Clearly this task could only be achieved with help of a device
for measuring time and ability to carry on calculations with
fractions, which were accomplished only in the middle ages 1 .
Let us point out, that regardless of the astronomical observations,
since the Sun and the stars could never be observed
together at the same time, the position of the Sun among the
star constellations could only be computed. We should also
notice that on the Egyptian zodiacs the position of the Sun
seems usually to be precisely specified, what indicated that
they could not be created based only on the observations of
the sky, without any astronomical computations.
6.2 Calculated Horoscopes on the
Egyptian Zodiacs
As we already explained, the ancient astronomers were able to
determine by direct observations the positions of all the planets
except the Sun. The position of the Sun was either calculated
or roughly estimated. Consequently, the horoscopes on
1 See [173], p. 94-102
6.2 Calculated Horoscopes on the Egyptian Zodiacs 133
the old zodiacs could be created as a result of direct observations.
On the other hand, there was nothing to prevent the
ancient astronomers from actually computing one or another
horoscope. For this purpose, they needed a kind of astronomical
theory, which would allowed them to roughly compute
positions of all the planets, not only just the Sun’s position.
High precision of such a theory was not really important, a
margin of an error from 5 o to 6 o would be completely sufficient
for the computation of the planetary positions. This
precision would be high enough to determine the locations of
the planets with respect to the zodiacal constellations. For
example, the geocentric theory of Ptolemy, which was presented
in the presumable “ancient” Almagest, was more than
sufficient for such purposes. Let mention that it is believed
that Almagest was written in Egypt, in Alexandria 2
Let us recall that the Almagest was an astronomical and
mathematical encyclopedia, which according to the conventional
chronology was compiled about AD 140 by Ptolemy
(Claudius Ptolemaeus of Alexandria) (see section ??). However,
it was proved in the monograph [106] that this dating of
the Almagest is wrong, and in fact it belongs to the epoch from
the 7th to 14th century, with editorial modifications made up
to the 17th century.
In this way, in any case, regardless if we trust or not
Scaliger’s chronology, we see that the Egyptian astronomers
disposed of an astronomical theory completely sufficient to
compute, and not only observe, the astronomical data for the
horoscopes, which we find on the zodiacs.
This leads us to the following important statement:
A horoscope shown on an Egyptian zodiac does not
necessarily refer to a date coinciding with the time of
the creation of that zodiac.
For example, if a zodiac is a part of a ceiling in an old
temple, then encoded in its horoscope date may be related to
the time of the construction of the temple, but more likely it
is a date of a significant event to which this temple was dedicated.
In this case, it is most probable, that such a horoscope
was computed at the time of the construction based on the
information about the commemorated event.
There is also another possibility. The “ancient” creators
of the zodiacs, who, as we will see, possibly lived in the 15th
or even 16th century A.D., could have access to old books
with astronomical records. These not existing anymore books
could contain descriptions of astronomical observations from
the 11th to 13th century, which were used by them to design
zodiacs in the “ancient” Egyptian temples. They could
also have an access to an earlier version of the Ptolemy’s Almagest
from the 11th to 14th century A.D. Today, we only
have its European edition from the 17th century, which pretends
to be the original version that survived till our present
time from the ancient times. For more information we refer
the interested reader to the monograph “Astronomical Anal-
2 See [22].