The Illusion of Time: From Ancient Astronomy to the Zodiac Calendar

If one wants to understand the construct of our existence s/he must understand the concept of time. Time, as most know it, is not real; it is constructed. To understand this concept, we will work from the smallest measure of time to the largest. 

The second is divided into 60 parts, which makes a minute. 60 of these minutes make an hour. 24 hours make a day, roughly 30 days make a month, 12 months make a year, ten years make a decade, ten decades make a century, and our species probably won't make it out of that time scale, so we will stop there. 

When you look at time as constructed over history, it is a mix and a mess of ancient civilizations that coalesced to make the time table the world knows today. The first civilizations, specifically the Babylonians, for example, divided the day into smaller parts and used different numeral systems such as duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60). 

The Egyptians were the first to use a T-shaped sundial that was placed on the ground and divided the day into 12 parts. The significance of 12 is typically attributed to the fact that 12 equals the number of lunar cycles or it is the number of finger joints on each hand (excluding the thumb), making it possible to count them with the thumb. 

Before the invention of artificial illumination, the ancients saw time as two separate, opposing realms: light and dark. This is why all ancient religions associate with two realms or two opposing deities: sunrise and sunset, good and evil, Horus and Seth, Zeus and Hades, God and Lucifer. Dividing the night into smaller divisions was harder during the night. The Egyptian astronomers observed a set of 36 stars that divided the circle of the sky into equal parts. This system was changed with the New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 B.C.), which simplified the system into 24 stars; 12 stars marking light, 12 marking dark. This was made easier with the clepsydra, an ancient water clock, which kept time at night. 

Once both realms were divided into 12 parts, the concept of a 24-hour day came into existence. Fixed hours, however, did not come into existence until the Hellenistic period, when Greek astronomers began using such a system for various calculations. Hipparchus divided the day into 24 equinoctial hours based on 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark observed at the solar equinox. This is all good in theory, but fixed hours did not become commonplace until the 14th century in Europe when mechanical clocks were introduced. 

Eratosthenes was a Greek astronomer who divided a circle into 60 parts using the sexagesimal system. He devised a basic, early geographic system of latitude for the Earth based on well-known places. Hipparchus, a century later, made the lines symmetrical with the earth's geometry that encompassed 360 degrees and ran north to south and pole to pole. He created and devised the same system for longitude lines. Claudius Ptolemy expanded on Hipparchus’s work by dividing the 360 degrees into smaller parts. Each degree was divided into 60 parts, each of which was again subdivided into 60 smaller parts. The first division, partes minutae primae, or first minute, became known simply as the “minute.” The second subdivision, partes minutae secundae, or “second minute,” became known as the second. 

Thanks to the ancients and the preservation of the divisions of time, modern society’s view of seconds, hours, and days is what it is today. However, advances in the science of timekeeping have changed how we measure units of time. Time was once derived by dividing astronomical events into smaller parts and relating them to solar activity and geographic divisions. This changed in the 1970’s when the second was redefined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 energy transitions of the cesium atom. We are now in the era of atomic timekeeping and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

This explains time within a day, but what about weeks, months, and years? Just like the division of time within a day, weeks, and months was divided and named by the ancients. The seven days of the week has some surrounding controversy, but the most widely accepted theory is that the days of the week are named after the seven known ancient “planets”: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. 

Sunday and Monday are the easiest to recognize because one does not have to look at past languages to see their origins. Sunday is the Sun’s day, as Monday is the Moon's day. Tuesday comes for the German tiwesdaeg which is the name for the God of War. In French, Italian, and Spanish, the word for Tuesday is still derivative of the Roman God Mardi, Martedi, and Martes. This is why Mars, the blood-red planet, is named after the God of War. Wednesday was named by the Romans for the Messenger God Mercury, which in Romanian the day is still known as miercuri. Thursday is attributed to the God of Thunder, Jupiter. When Germanic tribes supplanted their culture into Roman life and society, they also supplanted their Gods. They replaced Jupiter or Jove with Thor, the Norse god of Thunder. This gave rise to Thorsdaug, which in modern English means Thursday. Friday is another story of Germanic tribes influencing Roman culture. The Norse God Frigga was the wife of Odin and was the goddess of marriage and the hearth. The Romans had named this day for their goddess of beauty, Venus, called dies veneris. However, when Germanic tribes imposed their God Figga, the day was called frigedaeg, corrupted over the centuries to be Friday. Saturday retained its Roman origins mainly because no Norse Germanic god roughly corresponded to the Roman God of time and the Harvest, Saturn. The Roman dies Saturni was adopted to Saterdaeg and survived over the centuries to become Saturday. 

The 12 months of the year relate to lunar cycles (or months) and roughly correspond to the waxing and waning of the moon. The average lunar cycle is about 30.4 days or 1/12 of a year. However, where does the name of each month come from? Again, all the names of each month correspond to history, old and different languages, and ancient gods, all mainly Roman. The Roman year had 10 months that started with Martius (March). After there is Aprilis (April), Maius (May), Junius (June), Quintilis (July), Sexilis (August), September, October, November, and December. Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome Circa 700 BC, added the two months Januarius (January) and Februarius (February). He changed the beginning of the year from Martius to Januarius and changed the number of several months to be odd, a lucky number. He also added an additional month of Intercalaris (intercalendar), which is where the leap year originated. Julius Caesar in 46 BC changed the Roman calendar by editing the number of days in many months and removing Intercalaris. This is why our calendar is known as the Julian calendar, with 12 months spanning January to December. 

March was named after Mars, the Roman god of war, and was put at the beginning of the year as the time for the resumption of war. April comes from aperire, which in Latin means “to open,” correlated with flower buds opening and spring. April also correlated to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, who is identified with the Roman goddess Venus. Keeping with the importance of the harvest, May is named after Maia, the goddess of the growth of plants. June derives from Junius, Latin for the Roman goddess of women, Juno, childbirth, and protector of the Roman people. After June, the Romans made it easy on themselves by naming each month because Quintilis is Latin for fifth, Sexilis is Latin for six, September is Latin for seven, October is Latin for eight, etc. However, Quintilis was changed to July in 44 BC named after Julius Caesar. In 8 BC, Sexilis was changed to August, named after Augustus Caesar. 

The year is simple, 365.25 days, or roughly 12 lunar cycles, in how long it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun. So far, we have discovered and explored the origins of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. However, what about the timeline we are presently in? How is it that we are in the 21st century? Why is the “start of time” at year 0 C.E.? To understand why year 0 is where it is one must understand astronomy, solar deities, and the Zodiac Calendar.

The sun has been the most important and adorned object of all antiquity. Without the sun, the ancients knew that crops would not grow, the harvest would not proceed, and life would not survive. The ancients were also very aware of the stars; they used to predict and anticipate cosmic events such as eclipses and full moons. They were so involved with the stars that they clustered stars into celestial groups that we know today as constellations. 

The cross of the zodiac is one of the oldest conceptual images in all of human history. The Zodiac represents the sun as it figuratively crosses through the 12 major constellations over the course of a year. Those 12 constellations are Aries (the Ram), Taurus (the Bull), Gemini (the Twins), Cancer (the Crab), Leo (the Lion), Virgo (the Virgin), Libra (the Scale), Scorpio (the Scorpion), Sagittarius (the Centaur), Capricorn (the Sea-goat), Aquarius (the Pitcher), and Pisces (the Fish). The Zodiac also represents the twelve months of the year, the four seasons (each quarter), the solar solstices (the vertical line) and equinoxes (the horizontal lines). The term Zodiac derives from the figures of the Zodiac that were anthropomorphized or personified as figures or animals (instead of generic symbols). 

Civilizations of antiquity not only followed the anthropomorphized sun and stars, but they also personified them, creating elaborate myths involving relationships, actions, and movements. The sun was personified as an abstract and unseen creator or God. The sun or Sun God was the light of the world or savior of humankind and life. The 12 constellations represented places of travel for the sun. More accurately, they represented events of nature that happened during that period of time; for example, Aquarius brings the spring rains.

There have been innumerable Sun God myths throughout history, but the good thing is that they all have the same basic traits, events, actions, and characteristics. Once we identify these traits, we will look into why these traits are present and tie them back into the Sun, constellations, the Zodiac Calendar, astronomy, and therefore, time. We will start with the oldest solar deities, working toward the present.

Horus is the oldest known solar deity to be created, appearing in Egypt around 3000 BC. He is an anthropomorphized myth, and his story is about the allegorical movement of the sun in the sky. From ancient hieroglyphics in Egypt, much is known about this ancient savior. 

Horus had an enemy or nemesis known as Seth. Seth was the personification of the darkness, or dark realm, to the ancients. The story is that every morning Horus would win the battle against Seth, while every night Seth would defeat Horus and send him into the underworld. As we discussed earlier, dark versus light, good versus evil, is one of the most common and ubiquitous dualities ever known. Again, when looking at ancient cultures, you can see this in Greek mythology, for example, and it is still very present today. 

The following is a broad outline of Horus’s mythological anthropomorphized story. Horus was born on December 25th of the virgin Isis Mary. His birth consisted of a star in the east, which 3 kings followed to locate and adore the newborn Savior. At age 12, he was a prodigal teacher, at age 30, he was baptized by a figure named Anup, and then began his ministry. Horus had 12 disciple he traveled about performing miracles, including healing the sick and walking on water. Horus was known by many names, which include “The Truth,” “The Light,” “The Good Sheppard,” “The Lamb of God,” among many others. After being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, buried for 3 days, and resurrected. 

This is strikingly similar to Attis, who was present in Greece around 1200 BC. Attis was born of the virgin Nanan on December 25th. Attis was crucified, placed in a tomb, was dead for 3 days, and thus resurrected. This is also the general story of Krishna of India around 900 BC. Krishna was born of the virgin Davaki with a star in the east signaling his coming. He performed miracles with his disciples and upon his death was resurrected. Dionysus of Greece, around 500 BC, was born of a virgin on December 25. He was a traveling teacher who performed miracles such as turning water into wine.

He was referred to as the “King of Kings,” “God’s Only Begotten Son,” the “Alpha and Omega” among many others. Upon Dionysus' death, he was resurrected. Mithras of Persia, around 1200 BC, was born of a virgin on December 25th. He had 12 disciples, performed miracles, and upon his death was buried for 3 days and was then resurrected. He was called “The Truth,” “The Light,” and his sacred day was Sunday. Tens of hundreds of other deities ascribe to these basic characteristics throughout different periods from all over the world such as Chrishna of Hindostan, Budha Sakia of India, Salivahana of Bermuda, Zulis/Zhule, Osiris and Orus of Egypt, Crite of Chaldea, Odin of the Scandinavians, Indra of Tibet, Jao of Nepal, Bali of Afghanistan, Atys of Phrygia, Zoar of the Bonzes, Beddru of Japan, Holy One of Xaca, Fohi and Tien of China, Ixion and Quirinus of Rome, Prometheus of Caucasus, etc. 

Now comes the analytical part of the myth and relating it back to the sun, stars, and astronomy. For an example, we will examine the most recent of the solar messiahs, Jesus Christ, who was born on December 25 in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. His birth was announced by a star in the east, which 3 kings or magi followed to locate and adore the new savior. He was a child teacher at 12, and at the age of 30, he was baptized by John the Baptist and thus began his ministry. Jesus had 12 disciples that he traveled with performing miracles such as healing the sick, walking on water, raising the dead, and was also known as the “King of Kings,” the “Son of God,” the “Light of the World,” the “Alpha and Omega,” the “Lamb of God,” and many others. After being betrayed by his disciple Judas and sold for 30 pieces of silver, he was crucified, placed in a tomb, and after 3 days resurrected. 

To begin, the birth sequence is based on astronomy and the places in the sky. The star in the east is Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which on December 24th aligns with the three brightest stars in Orion's belt. Those 3 bright stars are called today what they were called in antiquity, the “Three Kings.” The “Three Kings” and the brightest star in the sky all point to the sunrise on December 25th (the winter solstice). This is why the “Three Kings” follow the star in the east in order to locate the sunrise, the birth of the sun.

The Virgin Mary represents the constellation Virgo. As previously stated, Virgo is also referred to as Virgo the Virgin. Also, Virgo in Latin means virgin. The ancient symbol for Virgo looks like an altered M. This is why Mary, along with other virgin mothers like Adonis’s mother Myrra and Buddha's mother Maya begin with the letter M. Virgo is also referred to as the “House of Bread.” Virgo is represented by a woman holding a sheaf of wheat. The “House of Bread,” and its symbol of wheat represents August and September, the time of harvest. Bethlehem literally translates to “House of Bread.” Bethlehem is a reference to a place in the sky. 

If you look at a map of earth you realize that most of the landmass is in the northern hemisphere, which is the perspective from which most ancient civilizations would reside and flourish. This is also the hemisphere of the Fertile Crescent. During the time for the summer to the winter solstice, the days become shorter and colder. From the perspective of the northern hemisphere, the sun appears to move south and gets smaller and scarcer. The shorter and shorter days, the disappearance of the crops, and the return of the dead of winter understandably represented death to the ancients. It was the death of the sun getting lower and lower in the sky. Now, an interesting thing happens on December 22nd when the sun reaches the lowest point in the sky. The ancients recognized the Sun’s death. On December 22nd, the sun stops moving south and down in the sky, at least perceivably for 3 days; December 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. During this time, the sun lies in the vicinity of the southern cross/crux constellation. After this, on December 25th, the sun moves one degree north and up in the sky, signaling the return of spring, longer days, plants, warmth, harvest, and life. So it was said the sun died on the cross was dead for 3 days, only to be resurrected or born again. 

However, the celebration of the sun's resurrection was not celebrated until the spring equinox or Easter. This is because at the spring equinox, the sun’s light officially wins over the darkness, where the daylight becomes longer in duration than the night. These anthropomorphized mythical religious stories all related because they are based on astrological symbols in the sky. 

There is also the issue of the 12 disciples that Jesus travels with. These 12 disciples are representations of the 12 constellations. 12 is a very popular number in the bible. There are 12 tribes of Israel, 12 brothers of Joseph, 12 Judges of Israel, 12 Great Patriarchs, 12 O.T. Prophets, 12 Kings of Israel, 12 Princes of Israel, and Jesus is caught teaching in the temple at age 12. You can also see the sign of the Zodiac in Christianity. The cross with a proportional circle in the middle is a pagan adaptation of the cross of the Zodiac. This is why early occult art always shows Jesus’ head in the middle of the cross, because Jesus is the sun. 

Throughout all the scriptures of the bible and other mythological and religious texts, there are numerous references to the ages. This is very important in understanding the connection of mythology to astronomy and time. Either in this age or the age to come; Matt 12:32. Sign of your coming and the end of the age; Matt 24:3. In this age and the age to come; Luke 18:30. Wise by the standard of this age; Corinthians 3. On whom the fulfillment of the ages has come; Corinthians 10. Not only in the present age but the age to come; Ephesians 1. And the powers of the coming age; Hebrews 6. King of the ages; Revelations 15. Of the former Age; Job 8:8. 

In order to understand ages, we need to understand the procession of the equinoxes. Ancient cultures recognized that approximately every 2150 years, the sunrise on the morning of the spring equinox would occur at a different sign of the Zodiac. This has to do with the Earth being tilted on its axis. It is referred to as a procession because the constellations go backwards instead of forwards, as they do with the seasons and months of the normal yearly cycle. To go through all the signs of the Zodiac takes approximately 26,000 years, which is referred to as the great year. Therefore, the ancients referred to each 2150-year period as an age. The age of Taurus the Bull was from 4300 BC to 2150 BC. The age of Aries, the Ram, was from 2150 BC to 1 CE. Finally, the age of Pisces, the Fish, is from 1 CE until 2150 CE; it is the age we are still in today. 

Symbolically, the bible moves through 3 ages. In the Old Testament, when Moses comes down the mountain with the Ten Commandments, he is greeted and rather unamused by his followers' worshiping a golden bull. He was so upset that he shattered the newly minted Ten Commandments and instructed his followers to kill each other in order to become pure again. Go in and out from gate to gate and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor; Exodus 32. Most scholars and other religious followers will attribute this venture to worshiping a false idol and breaking one of the commandments they have not received yet. However, when looked at symbolically, the golden bull is Taurus the Bull, and Moses represents the new age of Aries the Ram. This is why Jewish followers today still implement the Rams Horn into religious ceremonies. After old age, everyone must shed and purify themselves for the new age. This transition is also represented in other mythologies, such as Mithra, a deity of antiquity. Mythra kills a bull in the same symbology. 

Jesus is the symbol or figure who ushers in the age of Pisces. The age of Pisces is represented symbolically by two fish. Fish symbolism is frequent in the New Testament. Jesus feeds thousands of people when “we only have five loaves of bread and 2 fish,” Matt 14:17. Jesus befriends two brothers, fishermen, who were trying to cast their nets. Anyone who has been in America on the highway for 10 minutes will soon be swimming in a sea of Jesus fish as bumper stickers on the back of cars.  Few people know what it actually is; a pagan astrological symbolism for the sun's kingdom based on the age of Pisces deriving for the Zodiac calendar. Jesus’ birthday is the assumed start of this age. People still refer to BC as Before Christ and AD as After Dead. 

The reason our time starts at 0 CE is that the Julian calendar starts at 0 CE. The beginning of the Julian calendar is derived from the Zodiac calendar and the beginning of the age of Pisces. However, the Julian calendar is the only one we have explained and researched. One must understand that there are many calendars, some more accurate and mysterious than our own.

For example, during the French Revolution, when France disowned the Catholic Church, the calendar was changed to a 10-day week, with the names of each day deriving from different names than the previous 7-day week. The aim was to make a calendar so different that people couldn’t worship on the Sabbath even if they wanted to, because they wouldn’t know which date the Sabbath fell. The Islamic calendar is quite different from the one created by Rome and Christianity. If Emperor Constantine had conquered in the name of Islam instead of Christianity, that calendar would be the worldwide business timescale today. 

There are also the Anglo, Persian, and Chinese calendars. Another widely known, interesting, and mysterious calendar is the Mayan Long Count Calendar. Saying the Mayans were obsessed with time would be an understatement. Their whole culture, architecture, and religion revolved around the positions of the sun and stars and, therefore, time. Their calendar was incredibly precise, more accurate even than our own. Its interlocking timescales of lunar, solar, and planetary cycles could accurately predict a solar eclipse thousands of years into the future. Interestingly enough, the calendar ends on December 21st, 2012. 

The reason all calendars start where they do and time is divided into such intricate and precise segments is that calendars and time are constructed based on astrology, astronomy, math, geography, the sun, stars, constellations, the moon, and its development over the centuries. The point of studying calendars is to realize that time doesn’t exist. It is a human-made construct that works to give meaning to the period of our consciousness. 

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