A Guide to The Purposes And Focus Of This
Book
This is the fourth and final book of the series
of books titled The Astrological Foundation Of
The Christ Myth
. Books One, Two and Three have served to
lay the foundation for the extensive interpretations that are offered
in this volume.
Our search is for Truth - throughout the three
previously published volumes of this four-part series of books, we
have focused on proving that religion, as we know
it, is actually the symbolic rendering of natural phenomena. That is
to say that the mythical
stories embodied within religious
text, in truth, actually describe cosmic interactions
recorded over the millennia (by the Priesthood)
whereas the celestial
entities (planets, stars, sun, moon, cycles,
constellations) are labeled as personified deities and the courses and
cycles of these heavenly objects are likened to the intrigues, wars,
conflicts, marriages, etc. of human types, royal and common. We have
traced the origin of religious philosophy from its root as astronomy,
evolved into myth and finally into modern religion. We have shown that
ancient primordial man, in his never-ending struggle to survive
amidst the sometimes devastating forces of nature found it
incumbent to study and record the cycles of the seasons, the planets,
sun, moon and stars and their associations with the earthly
environment. This was necessary so as to take a cue from the cosmic
and other cycles as indicators of regular cyclical environmental
changes. And by observing and heeding the warnings and forecasts
indicated by various cosmic cycles, humanity was more or less able to
safely sidestep and/or adjust to the vicissitudes of the natural
environment.
Humanity’s survival is and has always depended on
our ability to cope with and profit from our environment. Mankind’s
earliest supplications to the deities were efforts toward gaining
supernatural assistance to withstand the sometimes-hostile forces of
nature and also solicitations for divine aid in harnessing the
seemingly fickle forces of Mother
Earth in the never-ending quest
for food, shelter, and clothing. The primary focus of the aboriginal
inhabitants of this planet was survival, period. The concept of god
was germane to the existence of these early-uncivilized tribes as a
spirit-force that supplemented their groping efforts to harness,
contend and withstand the natural elements (their environment). Our
path to god in this era (era of modern religion) is, in
fact, a continuation of the path pursued by our ancient primeval
ancestors of the ageless past.
Hence, in our effort to correctly and clearly
define this enigma called religion, we must go
back in history and in time
and thereby evaluate the earliest
forces that launched us upon the puzzling path that we now tread. The
truth of religious symbolism
lies in the correct history of its
evolution – from primordial times to the present. These fundamental
truths were established long ago in prehistoric eras when humanity did
not express their ideas in books or journals. They had not the ability
to write or read and their grunting languages consisted of only a few
hundred general and ambiguous words and/or gestures that related to
their limited knowledge of their limited surroundings. They
supplemented and augmented their languages by incorporating signs
(pictures) and symbols as means of expressing and/or preserving ideas
and information. They often drew or imitated the images of animals,
birds, insects and natural objects to express and preserve their
thoughts and ideas. For instance, a lion may symbolize strength, bulls
fertility, rabbits procreation. Migratory animals that appeared during
certain seasons may be used pictorially or in gestures to indicate the
coming or arrival of that season with which they were associated.
Likewise with cosmic configurations that accompanied certain seasons or
natural activities such as floods or rains and sowing and
harvesting etc. – these starry configurations may have been exhibited
pictorially (drawn on natural rock formations, cave walls etc.)
or in gesture or dance so as to indicate the coming seasons with which
particular constellations
were associated. The
declinations of the sun and phases of the moon were, of
course, prominent indicators of environmental
changes and seasons as well as measurers of time.
These old primitive customs and more are
the foundations from which our modern religious philosophies have
evolved - the major focus of this Chapter (Introduction) is pursuant
to proving that fact. In this book, we bring final clarity to many
theological or scriptural mysteries of the ages, such as the book of
Revelations and various other enigmatic portions of the bible. We have
interpreted the mystical signs and symbols of modern theology by
deductively tracing them to their origin. Within this book we shall
explore the evolution
of religion from a
more precise perspective than perhaps we have heretofore endeavored.
Our premise and focus is clear, that is by accurately defining and
interpreting the mysteries of the past with precise correlations
to the present we have successfully and accurately unveiled
the truth in a way and manner that no rational mind can doubt.
In order to properly evaluate and trace the
evolution of religion
and its impact on our modern
religious philosophy, we must go far back in time to the
earliest anthropological and
archeological indications of the ascendancy of man from roving
bands of scattered families, foraging and hunting for foodstuffs
wherever possible, to nascent establishments of settled tribal
communities.
The history of ancient mans
emergence from the nomadic state into
settled communities with organizational structure, agriculture,
animal husbandry, and the partitioning of permanent hereditary duties
to families and/or members of the community, the nascent formations of
Military, Royal, Ecclesiastical and Artisan Class structures with
centralized authority and rules of conduct is Key to
pinpointing the embryonic cultural and social traditions that over the
millennia would eventually evolve into the social force popularly
known today as revealed religion
, inclusive of its social creeds
and spiritual concepts. In fact all forms of religion practiced in this
(our) era can be traced to this same type source or origin. Our
religious philosophies are an evolutionary reflection of mans
historical interaction with nature
, shielded in myth and fable.
These myths and fables of the distant past have evolved into our
modern religious concepts. There is no truth to the concept of
Revealed Religion (Revelation From a god (supernatural spirit) to a
messenger (prophet)) – all religious beliefs are the result of
mankind’s social evolution
and the Key to interpreting the
myths and symbols embodied therein is found when we accurately
separate actual history from mythical history,
and then evaluate the actual history dispassionately – and this task
is not easily accomplished.
I must re-emphasize that the Key to
unlocking the veiled theological mysteries of the distant past and
thereby shedding great and illuminating light upon the
religious enigmas of the present, lay in uncovering and
analyzing the early social structures of the first settled
agricultural communities
emerging from pre-history. That is not to say that mankind did
not possess god concepts in his nomadic phases –
most certainly he did, if we accept that the belief in the
great-unknown (spirit) creator is instinctive. Natural history and Time have no
beginning, no origin that we can point to, no year one (or 0) so to
speak and herein lays the eternal unfulfilled quest of the
enlightened of mankind – to find this Father of our beginnings
with the hope that such knowledge will unveil our purpose and destiny.
The evolution of
religious thought from primitive times to the present is explainable
but entails a dispassionate study of history and some common unbiased
logic. The first step in this long process of religious evolution
started with the emergence of the Priesthood. They
evolved from a class of Star Gazers and
Naturalist whose appointed hereditary duty, within ancient society,
was the recording and forecasting of seasonal transitions. They
(the Stargazers) signaled the planting of seeds and the harvesting of
the crops. They studied and measured the cycles of time and the
seasons by observing and recording the comings and goings of the
celestial entities – and noting the terrestrial
associations (rainfall, flooding, drought, animal migration, etc.)
that accompanied the arrival and departure of these cosmic entities
(stars, planets, asterisms, etc.) to and from specified coordinates.
They were the first astronomers and meteorologists and masters of
mathematics, which was a required skill within their ranks.
These early societies were stratified – whatever
caste or class that an individual was born of determined his destiny
throughout life, that is to say the obligation of the child to his
society and rank or position within the society was inherited from the
parents. This worked fine for the stargazers, in that their pivotal
profession as keepers of the time
blossomed intellectually far, far
beyond the scope of the masses. Their abilities became prodigious over
time, to the amazement of the common classes. They not only predicted
the coming of the seasons in their order, but they forecasted the
rains, the floods, solar and lunar
eclipses, the phases of the moon and
declinations of the sun and the Impact of their transits upon the land
and its inhabitants. They charted the heavens, grouped
the stars and named them. These stargazers garnered this phenomenal
knowledge and ability at a time when the general public was
overwhelmingly illiterate – they became a lordly class unto
themselves. They cherished their supreme position and it was, of
course, preserved within the caste system that prevailed. But the
security afforded by Class distinction was not enough for these
elitists who through superior knowledge had de facto control of the
ancient emerging world which over time would evolve from
community farms into city-states and into empires. So they decided to
encode their knowledge into cryptic (symbolical) form – they invented
the language of esoteric
mythology,
symbolism and allegory –a symbolic language that could only be
correctly interpreted by those who had undergone mystical initiations
within their Secret Societies or Fraternities.
This ancient
mystical code that was
incorporated to preserve and enshroud the wisdom and
knowledge of the emerging sacerdotal class of
antiquity is the archetypical mythology that has
blinded common society spiritually down to this day. This mythology at
the exoteric level is literal nonsense but within its esoteric folds
resides the supreme wisdom of the ages.
When Primitive man began to settle in
agricultural communities, it became necessary that they regulate their
farming and animal husbandry within the constraints of the seasonal
changes. It therefore was necessary for the tribes to assign some
individuals (stargazers) to devote themselves to the study and
tracking of the coming seasons and of course to financially support
these appointees who worked for the common good. The offices or
positions of these appointees (stargazers) were hereditary and their
scientific knowledge increased exponentially and was kept strictly
secret, not shared with the other levels of society. Their cosmic
prognostications took on the aspect of secret wisdom; and of course
it was to their advantage to conceal their methods and knowledge so as
to secure their privileged position in society. So as society evolved
religiously (over thousands of years), these astronomers and
mathematicians (calculators of the seasons) became the primary ministers
of religious thought, thus the sacerdotal class was
begun.
In order to clearly understand the evolution of
religion from the science
of astronomy, we
must recognize that this process of religious evolution covered many
thousands of years. The actual birth of the
process is forever lost in antiquity, and the motivations of those who
engineered and in later times diverted (or modified) the focus
of the process (in terms the mythical-religious
illustration of a physical
reality) were varied. Originally,
the primitive stargazers (astronomers) of primordial times were
certainly dedicated to the common good of their tribes. But as the
centuries passed and their intellectual advances so greatly exceeded
those of the general population, they succumbed to the inevitable
temptations of avarice and lust for power. They applied their superior
knowledge in a way that enhanced and secured their privileged status.
First of all their positions as Timekeepers were hereditary, so this
served to keep their advanced knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and
meteorology confined within close ranks. But this did not satisfy them
– they also established secret codes and symbols so that their
knowledge was elevated to another language that was incomprehensible
to the uninitiated. They covered the possibilities of dissension
within their families also so as to prevent the unworthy or
untrustworthy access to this esoteric wisdom;
they established secret and closed societies for those that were
chosen as candidates to be trained in the mysteries of their esoteric
wisdom. The candidates had to pass certain arduous test, which served
to gauge their loyalty and dedication to the inner circle. They also
had to swear life and death oaths - that they would never reveal the
secrets of their closed society. Even when the candidates were
accepted, all the doors of the esoteric wisdom were not opened to
them. The ancient Priests established a tier system for the gradual advancement of
the potential hierophants – knowledge was unveiled to the candidates
in degrees and each advancement required tasks of qualification.
The ancient
Priesthood of
primordial times and early civilization possessed an environmental
knowledge that rivals our understanding of the environment here in
the 21st century. They possessed this knowledge (higher
mathematics, astronomy
, geography, meteorology) at a time (in
pre-history) when perhaps 99% of the population was illiterate. The
ignorant masses were superstitious and uneducated with little or no
understanding of the cycles
of nature and the
causes of the seasons. And this ignorance suited the tactics of the
Priesthood just fine. The esoteric wisdom was
maintained and controlled by the priesthood and shared somewhat with
the Royalty. As religion
evolved from astronomy i.e. the
symbolic illustration of the science of
astronomy, the Priesthood used their advanced scientific knowledge to
mesmerize and astonish the masses.
So as the Priesthood (this
sacerdotal society that over hundreds and thousands of years had
evolved from a class of Timekeepers, star gazers, weather
forecasters) began to proselytize the public and formulate the
religious tenets of the various societies, they touted themselves as
the vicars of the gods, as gods’ emissaries to the populations of
earth. The Priesthood had the Power (knowledge) in their minds to
actuate and perpetuate this chicanery- they would astound the people,
for example, by declaring that at a certain time and location
at their command, the moon
shall blot out the light of the sun,
or perhaps they would predict a Lunar Eclipse or the
onslaught of turbulent weather or drought. All this they could predict
by means of their scientific
knowledge, but in the minds of the
ignorant masses these Priest
, Soothsayers and Witchdoctors were
visualized as true emissaries of the gods. How else could they possess
such powers was the thought of the benighted.
Star
and Nature Worship
I would add that the special dates that were
established for harvesting or planting or whatever, may have at first
only been secular notations on the calendar, but over
time these special days became sacred days and eventually deities were
attached to these sacred days as well as religious ceremonies which
served to offer sacrifice
or obeisance to the deities so
designated. It also follows that the priesthood became
very adept at the science
of architecture and that religious
buildings and monuments were therefore designed to help aid in the
effort of tracking time. The orientation of the structures were laid so as to
measure the movements of the sun, moon and stars and thereby
give notice to the initiated of the entrances and exits of the
seasons.
Originally, the tasks assigned to the ancient Time Keepers
(Stargazers) of these fledgling agricultural
communities was to track the seasons and notify the public of the
appropriate time to sow their seeds and of the appropriate time to harvest the
crops. This information was vital to the survival of these newly
settled hamlets of antiquity, making their first attempts at
transition from the hand to mouth existence of nomadism. And as
these ancient Timekeepers recorded their observations by the customary
methods of oral traditions or markings on natural landmarks etc. they
had in fact entered the embryonic stages of the science of
astronomy, and concurrently (and unknowingly) laid the foundation
upon which the world’s religions would be fashioned in the millennia
that followed.
Of course the system of tracking the seasons by
using stars as signpost to announce their
(seasons) comings and goings worked fine, just as it does to this very
day. But anciently, as the system of using stars to mark the skies
and announce the entrances and exits of the seasons became customary
and second nature to the peoples, the original purposes (or understanding
of how and why the system was initiated) became lost or clouded in the
minds of the masses. As the years rolled by, the custom of searching
the heavens for particular asterisms to signal various agricultural and
related activities became ritualized. After a while, in the
public mind, it was not enough spiritually or psychologically to just
run into the fields and sow
or harvest when the
appropriate heavenly signpost appeared on the horizon. They
fashioned that a celebration was in order and festivities and the
like.
As more years rolled by, just celebrating the
arrival of the starry signpost
became spiritually insufficient
and psychologically non-fulfilling – so much depended upon the
arrival of the stars that announced not
only the agricultural
activities, but marked the seasons
for rain and sprouting fields and forest and spawning fish, animal
migration and so forth. The masses began to look to the starry
signpost not only as markers
of the seasons but rather as
Bringers of the seasons. They imagined that their rituals of
celebration that greeted the annual arrivals of various stars or
star groups (constellations
) did not carry enough glory
(significance) for these momentous occasions. Now praise and
supplication were in order – the starry signpost at this point took on
aspects of divine deities, in the minds of the superstitious masses,
deities worthy of praise and laudable beyond limits. The stars were no
longer viewed as only heavenly lights but also as temples of the gods
– these stars were imagined to house the spirits of the divinities and
were not only worthy of praise but praise was required. The stars were
the first celestial
entities to be ranked as deities,
according to the scholars that have researched these matters, then
came Lunar deities, followed by the Solar deities – they (the stars)
were imagined as residents of heaven and the
bringers of fair weather and bounty and rain and blessings to their
human subjects.
The above written expresses the early stages of
human development and also of human religious
development – and all is innately connected with the cosmos, the
heavenly vault of the skies. The link between all is the element of
Time, that is the tracking and measurement of Time, and Time
tracking is the basis on which all scripture is formulated. The
scriptures are, in fact, registries of astronomical
phenomena written in a mythological format, plain and simple.
It is logically evident that Star Worship
evolved from the ritualizing of the system of using stars and
asterisms (groups of stars) as markers so as to
track time. The stars were used to signal the comings and goings of
the seasons, and to locate the position of the sun on its annual
journey. These stars, asterisms, common constellations and
zodiacal constellations enabled early man to identify the cardinal points
and use other assorted stars and constellations as signpost for
measuring the span in between cardinal points and tracking the sun as
it traveled throughout the year. This was of obvious importance so
that early civilization could successfully plant and harvest crops as
well as for other reasons such as migration, animal husbandry, food
storage and export and so on and so on.
It is very easy to understand that by making
these signal days
of the stars into holidays and festivals their
remembrance was assured. And it follows that as society became more
and more religious that these signal days (that were a matter of life
and death in terms of their importance to agriculture) – that these
signal days would over time
evolve into religious or sacred
days dedicated to certain deities (stars) that were now not just
signals of the seasons but actually viewed as the bringers and
causers of the seasons. After humanity deified the stars, it of course
followed in natural progression that the deities became deserving of
worship and sacrifices. And in this we have the evolution of
religious rituals based on primitive astronomical
observations that were geared to tracking time in order to assure
propitious agricultural
and related enterprises.
The first stellar deities
were depicted as animals, some malevolent and some benevolent. They
chose animals names for the various constellations,
animals whose presence or activity was somehow associated with the
season of the stars heliacal
appearance on the eastern horizon, such as
the heliacal rising of the Dog-Star Sirius
, barking its announcement of the dog days of summer. A stars heliacal
descent on the western horizon was also a reference indicator and the
stars that transited the midnight meridian served as
another reference coordinate for tracking time. The
characteristics of the animals would in some way be associated with
the concurrent activity or season that the stars arrival on the
horizon was found to indicate. For example, the bull deity was
associated with fertility – hence a Spring constellation
indicating new birth. The lion was in some instances associated with ferocious
heat – hence it was a summer constellation. The Virgin with a
stalk of Wheat may have been associated with harvesting and so forth.
The deities were not limited to just one symbolic indication. As time
passed the deities became humanized in form but maintained animal
attributes as part of their guise, perhaps in the attire of the deity
or some ornament. And in many cases human and animal anatomies were
fused so as to create a mythically symbolic portrayal that was part
animal and part human in visual appearance. I’m thinking mainly of
ancient Egyptian symbolism
as I write this.
Of course some stars (deities) were
indicators of propitious events (seasons) while other stars (deities)
were witnessed with foreboding. The benevolent stars (deities) were
greeted with great offerings of flowers, foodstuffs, dancing and
various tangible demonstrations of gratitude and welcoming. But the
ominous stars (deities) were served with blood sacrifices,
fasting, self-mutilation and various rituals that were designed to
appease and placate the wrathful deities. Our religious rituals of
today have sprung from the sources that I have just described.
Hence, this is the true and accurate account of
the evolution of religion
– it started as astronomy that
evolved into cryptic Myth
, for reasons that I have explained
above – and out of this mix has emerged our present day religious
creeds. The fables that we call religious history are completely bogus
in terms of actual history.
The evolution of our modern Religious Concepts began with Astronomy,
and evolved through Mythology
and Astrology into modern
religion. Jesus Christ
, Moses
, Abraham
and all of the other
so-called prophets of the Quran
, Bible
and Torah
are cosmic
myths – they never existed
in actual history. They are the personifications of cosmic entities
and their tales, in truth, are no less than a registry
of astronomical
phenomena written in a
mythological format.
The best term that I have ever heard as a
description of religion
is Theology
Of time
– that’s exactly what
religion is and has always been. Religious myth was born out
of a system of Time-Keeping, its originators were primitive stargazers
whose history goes back more thousands of years than I would like to
count, in fact I could say millions of years, but I wont stress the
point since that time-frame covers cycles that we
haven’t covered to this point, in my previous books on this subject.
The largest cycle that we have discussed is the precession cycle
that spans 25,920 years, and this is where our focus should remain for
the moment, but the ancients actually measured time in excess of that
cycle.
Within this Book, we shall also bring greater
clarity to the important book of Genesis. Witness this quote from Book
Three: Chapter One
“Genesis One contains a Lot more
Symbolism. The First chapter and more of Genesis is actually Bursting
At The Seams with Stellar
Symbolism, but that is not our Focus,
at this Time
. Furthermore the Interpretations are much more involved and tedious,
so we will move on”
In Chapter two I have included much of the
Stellar and Circumpolar
symbolism that
was omitted from the previous volumes. The inclusion of the stellar symbolism
and its interpretations will give the reader a much broader
comprehension of biblical
allegory. I have found
astronomical correlations
going back over 8,000 years in the
Book Of Genesis. The interpretations are very vivid and jolting.
We have attacked and explained many of the most
enigmatic portions of the bible
within Book Four, and that
includes the Book Of Revelations – that
mystery of the Ages. We have included many interpretations relating to
Environmental (Agricultural) symbolism within
this Volume, as it is very pertinent to the New Testament and to
Revelations as well.
We have included an extensive explanation of the
cycles of Time in Chapter One. It is fundamentally important that the
reader delves intensely into that chapter, as it is Key to many
interpretations that follow. And furthermore I have written this book
with the assumption that the reader is familiar with the information
contained in my previous books on this subject, which serves as a sort
of stepping-stone to the more intricate matters that are reviewed
within this Volume.
Malik H. Jabbar
