Astrology / Pagan Astronomy From: Summer Jehana, I'd like to hear about how pagan astronomy is different from astrology. Are their still signs to be watched for? What did the skies mean to these people? From: An Cli'un Your question is very thought-provoking, especially in light that tonight's comet was last seen by humans 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. What did our ancestors think, when they saw this? What place did it occupy in their view of the world? From: Jehana There's a good chance that when our ancestors saw this comet over 4000 years ago that they were terrified. The stars had their places; the planets/(wandering stars) moved according to a set scheme that they could plot. Comets and eclipses were unpredictable, especially the former, since each individual comet might take more than several generations to make an orbit. Add on that fuzzy tail that no self-respecting star had, and many of the ancients were likely worried as all get-out. While we don't know that this was so for sure in cultures current 4000 years ago, there is a historical record of this fear and terror. In medieval Europe comets were considered signs of ill-omen. I've seen Mayan referents to the same belief. From: An Cli'un I'd agree, Jehana. How else do we have the word "disaster", literally, "against the stars" so firmly rooted in our society? And in every society we derive our heritage from? Do you know of any ancient culture that recognized comets for what they were? From: Jehana Right off-hand I can't think of any culture that recognized comets for what they were (until current times, anyway...) If I find out about any, I'll definitely post such info here!! From: Summer My thoughts are that Astronomy is such a highly analytical study and that the common people must have had their own ideas about the skies that can be found in stories. I just found these sites about the ideas people had about comets in history. http://www.halebopp.com/ch3a.htm http://www.star.le.ac.uk/edu/comets/comets.html From: Jehana Thanks, Summer! I've been to the Hale-Bopp site
before, but that Comet site is an excellent find!!! |
