The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
From there I tracked back to things like Isaac Azimov, Moon over Babylon which contains a good description of Planetary Hours--a concept in astrology--but like modern astrologers, he does not seem to know what the planetary hours were actually good for. Realizing the import was a major breakthrough.
Clues turn up here and there. The Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer was one. I was sitting in a concert at a Pagan Festival when I heard it performed for the first time. I was astonished. That was when the Planetary Hours clicked into place.
In Richard Feynman's Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman he describes besting the archaeologists in a matter involving Mayan codices and astronomy--specifically picking out the 11959 day Mayan eclipse cycle. Actually, the cycle of eclipses is 11960 days, and the one day discrepancy is a further hint.
I spent a month surfing the net reading about the Mayan Calendar. There is less there than you think. Much drivel and absurdities. But again, some good clues.
But before all of this was cracking out an ordinary Astronomy text and making comparisons of planetary constants. Ratios of synodic periods are the key. Since, fortunately, the ancients had the same sky that we do, it is possible to know what they could observe. They just thought about it differently.
I will have to post a diary.
Thanks for your compliment, and interest. The Fates are kind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_timeline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Four_Yugas
http://www.vedanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=129
Good question.
I don't really know. The first stage would be to see what those numbers might correspond to in the sky. Generally, I have been looking at much shorter time-frames.
The longest cycle I have encountered so far is (one fifth of) 25 800 years (the cycle of precession of the equinoxes) and at this point I can not really justify this--because I do not have an explanation for the one fifth. And the longest cycle that I have come across that is sure is a 112-year eclipse cycle (actually 1385 months) in an account of the markings on a brass bowl recovered from Arabia and dating from Mohammedian times or possibly earlier (brass is hard to date). The 56-year cycle of the Dragon against the year can be confidently adduced to the ring of hollow stones at Stonehenge. This is not an eclipse cycle, but is instead relevant to the elevation of the Moon's path in the sky. The Fates are kind.
On the other hand, while I may know the meaning in the sky, I won't know the meaning on the ground! So I definitely miss part of what is going on.
One of my friends is studying mythological structures, and sometimes our results dovetail perfectly. But that is a study that is even murkier than what I am doing. At least to me. ;) The Fates are kind.
In particular, I would like to know how one can avoid the conceptual trap that Europe fell into in the 18th century which is to go from celestial mechanics to a clockwork universe metaphor.
How would it help if suddenly a large fraction of the population knew about these astronomical cycles? How can one justify organizing one's life around cycles other than those of the sun-earth-moon system? What difference does it make if one has a Venusian calendar? We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
So I owe you for your diligence, and shall start thinking about what goes into that diary.
Thank you for your encouragement. The Fates are kind.
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 24 3 comments
by Oui - Jan 20 52 comments
by Oui - Jan 23 17 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 14 53 comments
by gmoke - Jan 22 2 comments
by Oui - Jan 10 61 comments
by Oui - Jan 21 10 comments
by IdiotSavant - Jan 15 20 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 243 comments
by gmoke - Jan 24
by Oui - Jan 2317 comments
by gmoke - Jan 222 comments
by Oui - Jan 2110 comments
by Oui - Jan 2052 comments
by Oui - Jan 2011 comments
by Oui - Jan 172 comments
by Oui - Jan 1610 comments
by gmoke - Jan 16
by IdiotSavant - Jan 1520 comments
by Oui - Jan 1447 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 1453 comments
by Oui - Jan 1389 comments
by Oui - Jan 1177 comments
by Oui - Jan 1061 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 877 comments
by Oui - Jan 772 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 710 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jan 668 comments