Astronomical Ceiling Diagrams

Astronomical ceiling from Senenmet's Tomb at Thebes (18th Dynasty)

Alice C. Linsley

Early Egyptian astronomers observed and recorded the movement of the stars to understand their seasonal effect on the Nile Valley. These astronomers were mainly temple priests who had been keeping records of astronomical cycles and events for many millennia. 

Plato wrote that Nilotic scribes had been keeping astronomical records for 10,000 years. He should know since he studied with a priest in Memphis for 13 years, and knew about Earth's Great Year. This is the time of between 25,000 and 28,000 years that it takes for Earth to complete the cycle of axial precession. This precession was known to Plato who defined the "perfect year" as the return of the celestial bodies (planets) and the diurnal rotation of the fixed stars to their original positions. The ancients understood much more about the natural world than we moderns recognize.

By 4245 BC, the priests of the Upper Nile had established a calendar based on the appearance of the star Sirius. Apparently, they had been tracking this star and connecting it to seasonal changes and agriculture for thousands of years. The priest Manetho reported in his history (c.241 BC) that Nilotic Africans had been “star-gazing” as early as 40,000 years ago.

The ancient Nilotic astronomers observed that 36 groups of stars (small constellations) rise in a consecuative order on the eastern horizon every 24 hours. Each decan rises for 10 days. This gave them the formula of 36 X 10 = 360 days, with the calendar broken into 12 months of 30 days each.

By the time of the New Kingdom, each decan was regarded as a divine power related to the High God whose emblem was the Sun. The solar orb (shown above) appears over their heads to identify them with the Creator. These figures have descriptive names in ancient Egyptian, many of them with the Horus designation: Hor/Her/Hery, refering to the realm of the High God.The word Horus means "Most High One." In the Pyramid Texts Horus recognizes his Father in the deceased righteous king. In the priest's prayer he says, "Horus is a soul and he recognizes his Father in you..." (Utterance 423)

The astronomical ceiling paintings at Abydos and Dendera are different, making it difficult to interpret the meanings. Perhaps these represent different cultic interpretations or different ways of representing the solar year. In 1973, Otto Neugebauer suggested that the complexity of Egyptian calendars "represents the peaceful coexistence of different methods of defining time moments and time intervals in different ways on different occasions." (Current Anthropology Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 389-449)

Senenmet was Queen Hatshepsut’s architect and chancellor. His tomb was built close to the Million Year Temple of his mistress.The four walls of Senenmet's tomb are decorated with utterances from the Ancient Pyramid Texts that mention the "imperishable stars." The imperishable stars reside with the Father in heaven. Utterance 667 of the Pyramid Texts makes this clear: "Oh Horus, this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the imperishable stars."

The astronomical ceiling contains the oldest known Egyptian celestial diagram. The diagram is divided into northern and southern sections. The northern section mentions the 12 months of the civil calendar and has representations of the northern constellations. The southern section includes lists of decans and the planets visible to ancient Egyptians with the naked eye. Mars is absent because it was the planet of Horus, the son of Ra. Horus was not regarded as a lesser assisting power/deity. The Egyptians called Mars Her Deshur, meaning "Horus of the Horizon." 

The north-south axis represents the hope of resurrection, as is evident from the Pyramid Texts. In his resurrection body the deified one is to "traverse the Mound of Horus of the Southerners" and "traverse the Mound of Horus of the Northerners" (PT Utterances 536 and 553). The risen ruler restores his settlements and cities, and opens doors to the Westerners, Easterners, Northerners, and Southerners (PT Utterance 587). He is to "betake himself to the Mansion of Horus which is in the firmament" (PT Utterance 539).

Some have supposed that the diagram is a monumental papyrus scheme prepared for the construction of a water clock or clepsydra. The clepsydra had been used for thousands of years by the Nilotic priest astronomers to measure the passage of time.

Related reading: Who Laid the Foundations of Science?; The Ra-Horus-Hathor Narrative; Horite Mounds; Early Resurrection Texts; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; Aboriginal Star Maps

The Sun and Moon as a Binary Set

Alice C. Linsley

The Sun and the Moon were considered a binary set among Abraham's Horite Hebrew ancestors. That means that the ancient Ha'biru thought of the Sun and the Moon as entities that naturally belong together, as male and female belong together. The sun represented the male principle observed in creation. It was believed to inseminate the earth and to overshadow those divinely appointed to rule. The Sun and the Moon ruled over separate dominions of day and night, but they were not perceived as being equal (dualism). The Sun was made to be the greater light (Gen. 1:16).

Study of the solar imagery in Genesis reveals that the Sun was a significant symbol for the ancient Hebrew ruler-priests. The Sun was the emblem of the Creator and the Creator's divine son. The "Seed" of Genesis 3:15 is the son of God who was expected to be born of a dedicated virgin who conceived by divine overshadowing. That is what is depicted in ancient images of Hathor, the mother of Horus. That is what was fulfilled in the Virgin Mary who conceived by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. This is portrayed in paintings of the Annunciation with the Spirit hovering over Mary in the form of a dove.

Bishop's crozier with solar serpent, a symbol of divine appointment

In Genesis, we find the Sun linked to the Moon only once: "God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars." (Gen. 1:16) There are other allusions to the Sun in Genesis and none of these link the Sun to the Moon. The superiority of the Sun is reflected in the fact that the Sun is referenced or alluded to at least 10 times in the first 37 chapters of Genesis.

In Deuteronomy the Sun is linked to the Moon and stars, reflecting the astronomical interests of the Neo-Babylonians. In Exodus, the Sun is depicted as a bronze disk or a coiled serpent on Moses' staff.The golden serpent on the uraeus crown of Pharaoh was a symbol of Pharaoh's divine appointment by solar overshadowing.

Some peoples of the ancient world thought of the Sun and the Moon as the eyes of the Creator who dwelt "on high" or in the heavens. The Sun was regarded as the Creator's right eye and the Moon was the left eye. They were not regarded has having equal strength. The right eye was said to be have better vision than the left eye.

The Sun was associated with masculine virtues. This is because it is the stronger and the greater light (Genesis 1:16). The sun's rays are like seeds that fall to earth and cause plants to grow. In other words, the sun was said to inseminate the earth. The meteoritic iron found on the earth's surface was worn by chiefs and rulers because it represented power from on high.

The Moon was associated with feminine virtues because it is the Sun's companion, as the wife is to her husband. It is the smaller and weaker light in the sky. Because the Moon affects water, tides, and body fluids in a repeating cycle there is a natural association of the Moon with the periodicity of the female's menstrual cycle. Many ancient peoples associated pregnancy with the Moon. The Moon influences the female's monthly cycle which is why menstruation is called le moment de la lune ("the time of the moon") in French. The Moon also stimulates female lactation.

The Sun is empirically observed as greater in size and strength to the Moon, and the Moon reflects the greatness of the Sun (refulgent light). Likewise, the "mighty men of old" under whom science and technology advanced in the ancient world built their kingdoms through their queens. These rulers appeared with skin darkened by the Sun as a sign of divine overshadowing by which they received their and authority. However, their queens appeared with their skin covered in white powder to represent the Moon.

The solar symbolism of the Bible is masculine, never feminine. The Sun cradled between the bull's horns is a symbol of divine appointment among the Horite Hebrew and is represented by the Canaanite Y in the names of many of the Hebrew clan chiefs.

The Y designates a divinely appointed ruler (deified "son" of God), which is why it appears in the Hebrew names of many Biblical rulers: Yaqtan (Joktan); Yishmael (Ishmael); Yishbak; Yitzak (Isaac); Yacob (Jacob); Yosef (Joseph); Yetro (Jethro); Yeshai (Jesse), Yonah (Jonah), and Yeshua (Joshua/Jesus).

In the ancient world, only one female wore that symbol as her headdress: Hathor, the mother of Horus, who was called the "son" of God. She is a foreshadowing of the Virgin Mary. When Mary inquired how she should become a mother, was told by the angel Gabriel that she would be overshadowed (Luke 1).

Among Abraham's ancestors the Sun was honored as the Creator's symbol or emblem. They conceived of God as the Great Chief who daily makes his circuit between the two wives/households dawn and dusk. This is why none of the rulers listed in Genesis placed their wives on an east-west axis, except for the Lamech who posed himself as God's equal. Bible scholar Theodore Gaster noted this belief. He explained that the names of Lamech's two wives, Ada and Tzillah, refer to dawn and dusk (The Schocken Bible, Vol. 1, p. 28).

Related reading: Freeing God from Gender and Tradition; Seven Planets, Seven Bowls; Lamech Segment Analysis; Binary Sets and the Binary Worldview; Iron Seeds from Heaven; The Serpent on Moses's Staff; Which is the "Dark" Lover in the Song of Songs?; A Tent for the Sun; Lévi-Strauss and Derrida on Binary Oppositions

The Ostrich in Biblical Symbolism

These 65,000-year decorated ostrich eggshells 

demonstrate common patterns among Paleolithic peoples in Africa.

Alice C. Linsley

The ostrich egg fragments shown above were found at rock shelters in South Africa. They date to between 52,000-100,000 years ago. Pierre-Jean Texier (University of Bordeaux) and his colleagues identified at least five decorative motifs.

Ostriches were prevalent in the ancient world and ostrich shells have been found at Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites throughout the world. Ostrich shells were used as flasks in South Africa 85,000 years ago (Texier et al. 2010, 2013).

Painted ostrich egg 7th century BC. Credit: De Agostini Picture Library

Decorated ostrich eggs have been found in tombs and graves, especially those of rulers and children. They appear to express the hope of resurrection or immortality. Likely, this was due to the observation that the ostrich begins laying its eggs after the Winter Solstice when the hours of daylight increase.

The early Hebrew lived and dispersed mainly in the Northern Hemisphere where the Winter Solstice occurs December 21-22. From the Winter Solstice, the hours of daylight increase. In 12-division zodiacs, this transition is associated with the ostrich because it hides its head for a time and begins laying its eggs after the Winter Solstice. The wild ostrich originated in Africa where it produces 90% of its eggs between January and March. 

In the Church, the egg is both a symbol of new life and the symbol of Christ's resurrection. This is why eggs are decorated and distributed at Pascha/Easter.

The association of new life or rebirth with the ostrich egg has been verified by archaeological finds. Painted or incised ostrich eggs have been found in El-Badari and ancient Kush (Nubia). In the Oriental Museum there are examples of ostrich eggs which have been decorated over their entire surfaces. 

The largest concentration of ostrich eggs to be discovered in one place in Predynastic Egypt were found at a tomb in Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship. 

In Kush ostrich eggs have been found in the burials of children. In Egypt, ostrich eggs were placed in the graves of the wealthy. At Naqada, a decorated ostrich egg replaced the owner's missing head. This egg is now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Where does the ostrich fit among the signs of the Lion (the Summer Solstice), the Bull (the Autumnal Equinox), the Man who was called "Father of Fathers" (the Winter Solstice), and the Eagle or Vulture (the Spring Equinox)? The ostrich comes after the Bull, and this is verified by the book of Job.

The ostrich is the focus of Job 39:13-18, part of the Divine Speech of YHWH. This is found in a lengthy discourse (Job 32-39) which illustrates God's transcendence by describing the Lion, the Nubian Wild Goat, the Wild Donkey, the Wild Ox (bull or rhinoceros), the Ostrich, and the Raven or Griffin Vulture. The ostrich comes between the Bull (Autumn Equinox) and the Vulture (Spring Equinox). Clearly, the ostrich represents the Winter Solstice and the hope of new life or life after death.

In ancient Egyptian art, the ostrich feather represented the hope for immortality. As early as 2600 B.C., the ostrich was associated with Ma’at, who is shown wearing an ostrich feather. Ma'at weighed the hearts of the dead in her scales to determine who would die the "second death" (Rev. 2:11) and who would take on immortality. Excavation of a grave at Kerma (Nubia) uncovered an ostrich feather placed between the horns of a primitive species of sheep. That may indicate that a judge or prophet is buried there. In ancient Egypt a feather signified one who measures, weighs, and judges.

Related reading: Funerary Rites and the Hope of Resurrection; Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network in Africa; Abraham's People Had Easter Eggs; Ostrich Egg Shells in Antiquity; Consider the Ostrich: Job 39 and God's Commentary on His Creation; Prehistoric Stone, Shell, and Egg Technologies in Africa