AUTHORITIES FOR THE ANTIQUITY OF THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC, THEIR NAMES AND FORMS.

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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ZODIAC AND PLANISPHERE OF DENDERA 1.

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Tapestry of the Planisphere of Dendera A Painting from the original in the Museum of the Louvre at Paris, was exhibited in London in the year 1823, of which lithographed copies were sold at the exhibition room, Spring Gardens. From one of these given by the exhibitor to the late Wm. Hone the annexed lithograph has been made.      In the explanatory paper circulated with the lithograph in 1823 it is said, "The figures carved and painted on the four sides of this chamber could not be seen without the aid or torches, the smoke of which had covered the zodiac, and hid it for ages. The appearance of this valuable monument, as exposed at Paris on the floor of the Museum of the Louvre, is that of a very large antique bronze medallion. This zodiac is the only astronomical monument of ancient Egyptians yet discovered which has a circular form." "Its centre is occupied by a fox or chacal." "It is thought that two emblems exactly opposite to each other, in a line pa...
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THE ANCIENT COPTIC NAMES OF THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC, ACCORDING TO ULUGH BEIGH.

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Note: Coptic is the language of the Copts, which represents the final stage of ancient Egyptian. It now survives only as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church. S.A.F.L.      These names, thus given by Montucla, Hist. des Mathematiques, are considered to represent the ancient Egyptian. Their great antiquity may be seen from the Cubitus Nili, referring to the inundation of the Nile as under Leo, where the summer solstice, at which it takes place, only remained till about B.C. 2000: also from there being no allusion to the Scarabaeus, where it afterwards was introduced to mark the recession of the solstice to Cancer, which occurred about the time of the Christian era, Cancer being here called Statio Typhonis, station of Typhon, the enemy who smites and is smitten, to whom was consecrated the ass, mentioned in Gen. xlix. 14, and borne afterwards on the standard of the tribe of Issachar. Typhon was anciently figured by the Egyptians as having serpents for legs an...
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MAZZAROTH. CHAPTER I.

p. 13. THE power and majesty of the Creator have ever been admired in the starry heavens; and still, as in the days of the inspired poet, in that firmament which showeth the works of His hands are the traces of His infinite wisdom sought out of all those who have pleasure therein; but His glory has long ceased to be deciphered, where it was once clearly read, in those long misunderstood records of remote antiquity, the names and figures of the ancient constellations 1 , as attributed to them beyond the memory of man, beyond the range of history. The first vague yet sublime impression with which all behold the splendid luminaries of the midnight sky is weakened, if not destroyed, when taught to associate with them the debasing legends of heathen mythology, or the trifling allusions 2 to the seasons of the revolving year and the habits of the beasts that perish. How has the poetry of heaven been lowered into the most miserable, the dullest prose! How has that ignorance, which was bliss...
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