ANNOUNCEMENTSMIDTERM/FINAL/RESEARCH PAPER DECISION DUE TODAY

TWO OBSERVING PROJECTS NOW OVERDUE

FISKE PUBLIC SHOWS FOR EXTRA CREDIT including NOVEMBER 6th AND 12th ON SECRETS OF POLYNESIAN NAVIGATION. Free to CU Students on Nov 12th.

HOMEWORK #7 DUE THIS COMING THURSDAY. Homework Club as usual.

THE DIFFICULTY OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME IS NOW OVER… MORNING PEOPLE REJOICE!

VOTE !!!!!

GREAT WORLD AGES DEFINED BY THE “PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES”

THE PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES IS THE SYSTEMATIC SHIFTING OF THE SPRING EQUINOX LOCATION THROUGH THE ZODIAC CONSTELLATIONS DUE TO A “WOBBLING” OF THE EARTH’S POLAR AXIS IN SPACE.

INSTEAD OF FALLING OVER THE SPINNING EARTH IS A STABLE “GYROSCOPE”. It’s great mass creates a huge inerTVia against being tipped over. Instead it precesses !

Precession of the Earth is VERY SLOW…one rotation every 26,000 years.

SPINNING TOP “PRECESSES” AS GRAVITY OF EARTH TRIES TO PULL IT DOWN

DIRECTION OF PULL OF GRAVITY

SPINNING EARTH “PRECESSES” AS GRAVITY OF SUN & PLANETS TRIES TO PULL IT DOWN

CORRESPONDENCE ABOVE BETWEEN STARS AND TIME OF YEAR WAS NOT ALWAYS THE WAY IT IS TODAY ! {THE WORLD HAS SHIFTED !!!}

ASTRONOMICAL “COLURES” = location of Solstices and Equinoxes amongst the stars

TODAY

2000 CE

200 CE

2000 BCE

SPRING EQUINOX “COLURE”

AGE OF TAURUS

MYTHIC TIME: THE GREAT WORLD AGESAGE APPROX. SUN IN ? “RULING POLE

DATES @ MAR 21st PLANET” STARGOLDEN 6000-4000 BCE GEMINI SATURN

(CHRONOS)

SILVER 4000-2000 BCE TAURUS JUPITER THUBAN (ZEUS)

COPPER 2000-0 BCE ARIES MARS (ARIES)

IRON 0-2000 CE PISCES VENUS POLARIS(APHRODITE)

NEW 2000-4000 CE AQUARIUS MERCURY (HERMES)

PERSEUS AS MITHRAS…. KILLING THE BULL.

METAPHOR FOR THE END OF THE AGE OF TAURUS DUE TO THE PRECESSION.

MITHRAS IS THE GOD SO POWERFUL THAT HE MOVES THE WORLD !!

MITHRAIC MYSTERIES WAS POPULAR IN ROMAN ARMY. CHALLENGED CHRISTIANITY FOR ADOPTION AS STATE RELIGION IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

DEPICTIONS OF CONSTELLATIONS OF PERSEUS AND TAURUS IN THEIR APPROXIMATE CORRECT ORIENTATION IN THE SKY

IN THE MITHRAIC RELIGION, THE RITUAL SLAYING OF THE BULL IS CALLED A

“TAUROCTONY”

PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES: Officially Discovered by

Hipparchos of Rhodes c. 200 BCE BUT almost certainly known to the

ancients for millennia.

HOW THE ANCIENTS WOULD HAVE KNOWN: EQUINOX SUN RISES DUE EAST

2000 BCE Pisces in sky at dawn

O BCEPisces rises with the Sun

TODAYPisces rises after the Sun

Pisces has been “drowned” !

THE PRECESSION OF THE EARTH’S AXIS IN SPACE MOVES THE LOCATION OF THE SUN RELATIVE TO THE STARS

THE MOVEMENT HAS BEEN BY ~ 1 ZODIAC CONSTELLATION SINCE PTOLEMY’S TIME

-------------------

VERNAL EQUINOX = SPRING EQUINOX = MARCH 20 OR 21ST

IN VIRTUALLY ALL ANCIENT WORLD VIEWS, THE SUN, MOON, PLANETS AND STARS RISE OUT OF AND SET INTO THE PRIMEVAL OCEAN EVERY DAY.

MYTHIC TIME: THE GREAT WORLD AGESAGE APPROX. SUN IN ? “RULING POLE

DATES @ MAR 21st PLANET” STARGOLDEN 6000-4000BCE GEMINI SATURN

(CHRONOS)

SILVER 4000-2000 BCE TAURUS JUPITER THUBAN (ZEUS)

COPPER 2000-0 BCE ARIES MARS (ARES)

IRON 0-2000 CE PISCES VENUS POLARIS(APHRODITE)

NEW 2000-4000 CE AQUARIUS MERCURY (HERMES)

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE PRECESSION see:

HAMLET’S MILL by Giorgio de Santallina and Eva van Dechend

And

THE ORIGINS OF THE MITHRAIC MYSTERIES: COSMOLOGY & SALVATION IN THE ANCIENT WORLD by David Ulansey

2000 CE

200 CE

4000 BCE

SPRING EQUINOX “COLURE”

Astrological signs are codified with respect to the seasons, not the stars !

THE ZODIAC

ANCIENT SYMBOLS OF

TRANSFORMATION

CORRESPONDENCE ABOVE BETWEEN STARS AND TIME OF YEAR WAS NOT ALWAYS THE WAY IT IS TODAY ! {THE WORLD HAS SHIFTED !!!}

ASTRONOMICAL “COLURES”

ASTROLOGICAL “COLURES”

WESTERN ASTROLOGY (BABYLONIAN/GREEK)

• Developed out of the millennia old system of star divinations

used by the Chaldeans, Babylonians & Egyptians

•Codified by Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria in his Tetrobiblos,c.

150 CE. The Tetrobiblos codified the relationship between the

zodiac “signs” and the seasons and made them the same as the

stellar constellations AT THAT TIME (e.g., First degree of Aries

happens on March 21st, the Vernal Equinox).

• Philosophical idea upon which ASTROLOGY is based is called

the “Principle of Hermes” = “As above, so Below”. ..and was

the ancient attempt at unifying the heavens and the Earth.

• WESTERN ASTROLOGY IS ONLY ONE OF MANY ANCIENT

RESPONSES TO THE PRINCIPLE OF HERMES

• All forms of ASTROLOGY; Babylonian/Greek, Vedic (Indian), Chinese Years and “Problems in Ti’en”, Maya Venus Astrology, Polynesian Rising Star at birth, etc etc.

• Lakota Celestial “Mirroring” of Earth and Sky

• CELESTIAL ALIGNMENTS bring heavens down to earth in Buildings, Monuments, Temples, City planning, etc. “HIEROPHANIES”

• Modern Science (“NEWTONIAN PRINCIPLE” = The assumption that the guiding physical principles (laws) of the Universe are the same everywhere)

Principle of Hermes = “As Above, so Below”. ..and was the ancient attempt at unifying the Heavens and the Earth. Various Expressions

MANY PEOPLE HAVE OPINIONS and

CONFUSIONS ABOUT ASTROLOGY

AND CONFUSE OTHER SIMILARLY SOUNDING FIELDS OF

STUDY:

ASTROLOGY ≠ ASTRONOMY

COSMOLOGY ≠ COSMETOLOGY

ALCHEMY ≠ CHEMISTRY

IS ASTROLOGY A VALID BELIEF SYSTEM?What is your view?

1. YES I read my horoscope daily and it is always “right on”

2. YES It’s appealing to me philosophically ---it uses scientific

measurement and so it must be true.

3. NO I read my horoscope for amusement because it never

makes any sense.

4. NO, it’s a silly, primitive belief and without validity. Due to

precession the zodiac stars aren’t even in the same place.

5. ??? I don’t care.(My mind is on Thanksgiving Break) !!

ASTROLOGY: DIFFERENT THAN MOST PEOPLE THINK

NOT JUST DIVIDING UP ALL HUMANS INTO 12 GROUPS BY THEIR “SUN SIGNS”. AN ASTROLOGICAL BIRTH CAHRT RECORDS THE LOCATION OF ALL THE PLANETS RELATIVE TO THE STARS AND THE HORIZONS

PRECESSION IS A “RED HERRING”. IT CHANGES THE LOCATIONS OF THE CONSTELLATIONS OF STARS RELATIVE TO THE SEASONS. ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS FIXED BY THE SEASONS; e.g. “ARIES” means the first month following the Spring equinox.

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS (UNLIKE astronomical zodiac constellations) ARE DEFINED TO BE EXACTLY 30 DEGREES ALONG THE ECLIPTIC. {The “Ophiuchus Argument”}

Zodiac signs

Houses

Planets

Personal “Horoscope”… observer or instrument of time

Is the way the sky looked when the person was born.

BUT NOT THE ONLY SYSTEM OF INTERPRETATION !!!!

A

CONJUNCTION

NO PERSONAL “HOROSCOPES UNTIL c. 300 BCE

IN GREECE.

ASTROLOGICAL “BIRTH CHART” IS ACOMBINATION OF THREE “WHEELS”

1. “HOUSE SYSTEM” FIXED TO EARTH SURFACE WITH RISING, SETTING POINTS + MID-HEAVEN AND NADIR

2. “ZODIAC SIGNS” ROTATE ONCE THROUGH HOUSE SYSTEM IN 24 HOURS (by ancient reckoning)

3. PLANETS ROTATE AROUND AT THEIR OWN SPEED ALLOWING INTERPRETATION ON A VARIETY OF TIMESCALES:

SUN MOVES THROUGH ZODIAC SIGNS ONCE PER YEARMOON ONCE PER MONTH INDIVIDUAL DAILY AND YEARLY PERSONAL CHANGES

INNER PLANETS (MERCURY, VENUS, MARS) MONTHS TO YEARS INDIVIDUAL /SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND CHANGES

OUTER CLASSICAL PLANETS (JUPITER & SATURN) TIME OF LIFE

NEWLY DISCOVERED PLANETS (URANUS, NEPTUNE, PLUTO etc) GENERATIONAL CHANGES

CONJUNCTIONS & TRINES USED TO DETERMINE “AUSPICIOUS” TIMES FOR BUILDING DEDICATIONS (e.g., MASONS); OPPOSITIONS AND SQUARES INAUSPICIOUS TIMES…

*** (IN CHINESE ASTROLOGY, CONJUNCTIONS ARE “WARRING PLANETS”)

2000 CE

200 CE

4000 BCE

SPRING EQUINOX “COLURE”

Astrological signs are codified with respect to the seasons, not the stars !

…How was it used? Birth Chart calculator?

THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM: c. 200 BCE

IS ASTROLOGY A SCIENCE ?What is your view?

1. YES IT USES ASTRONOMICAL MEASUREMENTS AND SO

MUST BE SCIENTIFIC

2. YES IT APPROACHES THE WORLD LOGICALLY AND SO

MUST BE SCIENTIFIC

3. NO JUST BECAUSE IT USES ASTRONOMY AS A BASIS

DOES NOT MAKE IT A SCIENCE

4. NO IT’S A SILLY, PRIMITIVE “SUPERSTITIOUS” BELIEF

WITHOUT VALIDITY

5. I don’t know and I don’t care.(I have global warming to worry

about).

IS ASTROLOGY A SCIENCE?

• WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF SCIENCE ?

IS ASTROLOGY A SCIENCE?(just the facts)

• SCIENCE HAS A SPECIFIC METHODOLGY AND DOMAIN OF APPLICATION

• BASED UPON LOGICAL/RATIONAL INFERENCE

• CHANGEABLE DUE TO INHERENT BELIEF IN “RELATIVE TRUTH”; TRUTHS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY FALSIFIABLE

• ASSUMES CAUSALITY.

• OBJECTIVITY WHICH REQUIRES THE SUBJECT/OBJECT SEPARATION

• BETTER AT QUANTITIES COMPARED TO QUALITIES

IS ASTROLOGY A SCIENCE?(just the facts)

• SCIENCE HAS A SPECIFIC METHODOLGY AND DOMAIN OF APPLICATION

• BASED UPON LOGICAL/RATIONAL INFERENCE

• CHANGEABLE DUE TO INHERENT BELIEF IN “RELATIVE TRUTH”; TRUTHS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY FALSIFIABLE

• ASSUMES CAUSALITY.

• OBJECTIVITY WHICH REQUIRES THE SUBJECT/OBJECT SEPARATION

• BETTER AT QUANTITIES COMPARED TO QUALITIES

• USES SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS

• BASED UPON INTUITIVE INSIGHTS OF PLANETARY OBSERVATIONS

• NOT CHANGEABLE BUT RATHER CODIFIED BY ANCIENT TRADITIONS & BOOKS; NOT SPECIFICALLY FALSIFIABLE

• DOES NOT ASSUME CAUSALITY OR SUBJECT/OBJECT DUALITY

• ULTIMATELY DEALS WITH QUALITIES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND SO IS NOT SPECIFICALLY MEASURABLE

IF ASTROLOGY (OR OTHER BELIEF SYSTEMS) ARE NOT “SCIENTIFIC”,

DOES THAT PRECLUDE THEM FROM SEEKING (AND FINDING)

TRUTHS?

IS SCIENCE THE ONLY METHOD FOR FINDING TRUTH?

ANCIENT (AND INDIGENOUS) PEOPLES DID (DO) NOT PRACTICE

SCIENCE AND YET HAVE SIGNIFICANT UNDERSTANDING OF THE

NATURAL WORLD AND THEMSELVES;

e.g., THE BARASANA OF THE AMAZON BASIN HAVE NO WORD IN

THEIR LANGUAGE FOR TIME. How can they apply causality to their

understandings?

TO BELIEVE THAT ALL TRUTH CAN BE DETERMINED BY SCIENCE OR

RATIONALITY IS TERMED: “SCIENTISM”; BASICALLY MAKING SCIENCE

and RATIONALITY INTO A BELIEF SYSTEM

ASTROLOGY BEST DESCRIBED AS A SYSTEM OF BELIEF LIKE RELIGIONS

IF ASTROLOGY (OR OTHER BELIEF SYSTEM) IS NOT

“SCIENTIFIC”, DOES THAT PRECLUDE IT FROM SEEKING (AND

FINDING) TRUTHS?

e.g., How do I know that my Mother loves me? OR How do we define

what is just, beautiful, happiness or love?

BELIEF SYSTEMS BETTER AT DEFINING “QUALITIES COMPARED

TO “QUANTITIES” and OFTEN RELY ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO

DETERMINE TRUTHS.

Differences between ancient and modern ways of knowing

• MODERN SCIENCE • Modern scientific world view based

on observation, experimentation and application of reason

• Largely quantitative in outlook; seeks measurables

• Compartmentalizes knowledge into specific subjects. Experts go “deep” rather than “broad”

• Separates, and in some sense, downplays knowledge based on faith (religion, intuition, qualitative understanding)

• Extremely powerful method for discovering, predicting and controlling the physical world. Facilitates and accelerates technology

• ANCIENT WAYS :

• Ancient and Indigenous worldview based on observation and application of reason and belief.

• Quantitative and qualitative• Integrates knowledge from any and

all subject areas. Experts (shamans, holy people, scribes, etc) have significant depth and breadth of knowledge

• Science and religion are one and the same way of knowing. Methods include strengths and weaknesses of both faith and reason

• Does not necessarily facilitate technology or even change.

IS THERE A PLACE FOR BOTH SCIENCE AND

BELIEF IN THE MODERN WORLD?