Post by flwright on Oct 11, 2006 10:32:31 GMT -5
I love it when Bree talks history and dances science. Where else can we learn about Egypt and archeology, the stars and astronomy?
Bree’s dance is probably just pure JR improvisation, but it could also be a frantic, fun, and revealing glimpse of today’s ceremony. The sky was and is a pretty chaotic canvas. There is a lot of complexity to the underlying patterns of astronomy. So what does her dance reveal?
We first see the pink boa tilt, almost exactly 23.45 degrees. The earth’s tilt is the reason we have seasons. Then comes the boa twirl, representing the swirls of stars and planets around the only stationary object in the sky (her head). In our times it is Polaris (which now resides in Ursa Minor’s tail), but because the earth wobbles over time, in Denderah time (around 30 BC) it was the star Kochab(in Ursa Minor’s shoulder) which came close . This stationary star was essential in the placement and orientation of Egyptian temples (north to the star).
Bree then hops up to the bed, yanks the boa to the plane of the ecliptic and pirouettes once, a nod to the sidereal day. While the earth spins in it’s axis 366 times a year, it also spins around the sun once in the "opposing" direction, so we “see” 365 days worth of spinning. You can see this more easily if you are observing from space. Returning to earth, Bree twirls with Thor. As others have pointed out, the temple of Denderah is the Temple of Hathor, goddess of fertility, childbirth and women. ‘Nuff said.
For a comic interlude, Bree then pays tribute to Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant movie, Pulp Fiction. The fingers drawn over the eyes mimic John Travolta and Uma Thurman’s dance at the 50's-themed restaurant from the same movie. On a side note the actual restaurant was laid out much like a Zodiac, with tables circling a central stage, where John and Uma twisted the night away. They drank milkshakes too. Coincidence? I think not. Bree draws two fingers across her eyes three times, a nod to the six spin difference between the Denderah year (360 spins) and the sidereal year (366 spins).
Finally Bree speaks twice into her lamp, greeting the sun once in the morning and as it sets in the night. <edit added> Some egyptologists claim that the lotus flower symbols at the temple are really lamps!<edit added>
The physical zodiacs of ancient societies are incredible pieces of art and science. The Zodiac of Denderah is no exception. The influences of the “traditional” Grecian zodiac are all there and Bree mentions them when she talks about Cancer and the Scarab Beetle, Gemini and the Lovers. The ancient artist has done a fantastic job of placing the summer constellations high towards the middle of the circle and the winter constellations low near the 36 Decans at the zodiac’s edge.
What was October 12, 30BC at the actual temple site like, astronomically speaking and how was it different than the same day in 2006 in Lala land? I am basing these observations on dates in the solar year, which is defined as as the time period it takes for the sun to return to the same position in earth's sky. This is not the same as the sidereal year, which is the time period required to return to the same position in the constellations. Not as huge differnce between them, but important if you are talking millenia.
First the similarities, at midnight Orion rises in the east, at dawn the Sun and Mars rise together in the east near Virgo, <edit added> while Casseopia sets in the northwest<added>. That’s pretty much it.
The differences are more numerous. In 30BC, the new crescent Moon was just starting to appear after sunset, in 2006 it’s a waning half Moon. Back then, Saturn and Jupiter were prominent in the night sky, Venus (aka the evening star) just above the setting sun. Now, Saturn appears in the early morning and is soon overcome by the rising sun, Venus (aka the morning star) is just above the rising Sun, and Mercury and Jupiter can be seen as the Sun sets.
And because of an effect called the precession of the equinoxes, in 30BC on 10/12 the rising sun was at Virgo’s feet. In 2006 on 10/12 it sits on her upper thigh at sunrise. <edit add>And in 2006, it sits at her feet on November 6 at sunrise.<edit add>
I know, pretty boring, but I think it’s interesting.
FLWright
Bree’s dance is probably just pure JR improvisation, but it could also be a frantic, fun, and revealing glimpse of today’s ceremony. The sky was and is a pretty chaotic canvas. There is a lot of complexity to the underlying patterns of astronomy. So what does her dance reveal?
We first see the pink boa tilt, almost exactly 23.45 degrees. The earth’s tilt is the reason we have seasons. Then comes the boa twirl, representing the swirls of stars and planets around the only stationary object in the sky (her head). In our times it is Polaris (which now resides in Ursa Minor’s tail), but because the earth wobbles over time, in Denderah time (around 30 BC) it was the star Kochab(in Ursa Minor’s shoulder) which came close . This stationary star was essential in the placement and orientation of Egyptian temples (north to the star).
Bree then hops up to the bed, yanks the boa to the plane of the ecliptic and pirouettes once, a nod to the sidereal day. While the earth spins in it’s axis 366 times a year, it also spins around the sun once in the "opposing" direction, so we “see” 365 days worth of spinning. You can see this more easily if you are observing from space. Returning to earth, Bree twirls with Thor. As others have pointed out, the temple of Denderah is the Temple of Hathor, goddess of fertility, childbirth and women. ‘Nuff said.
For a comic interlude, Bree then pays tribute to Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant movie, Pulp Fiction. The fingers drawn over the eyes mimic John Travolta and Uma Thurman’s dance at the 50's-themed restaurant from the same movie. On a side note the actual restaurant was laid out much like a Zodiac, with tables circling a central stage, where John and Uma twisted the night away. They drank milkshakes too. Coincidence? I think not. Bree draws two fingers across her eyes three times, a nod to the six spin difference between the Denderah year (360 spins) and the sidereal year (366 spins).
Finally Bree speaks twice into her lamp, greeting the sun once in the morning and as it sets in the night. <edit added> Some egyptologists claim that the lotus flower symbols at the temple are really lamps!<edit added>
The physical zodiacs of ancient societies are incredible pieces of art and science. The Zodiac of Denderah is no exception. The influences of the “traditional” Grecian zodiac are all there and Bree mentions them when she talks about Cancer and the Scarab Beetle, Gemini and the Lovers. The ancient artist has done a fantastic job of placing the summer constellations high towards the middle of the circle and the winter constellations low near the 36 Decans at the zodiac’s edge.
What was October 12, 30BC at the actual temple site like, astronomically speaking and how was it different than the same day in 2006 in Lala land? I am basing these observations on dates in the solar year, which is defined as as the time period it takes for the sun to return to the same position in earth's sky. This is not the same as the sidereal year, which is the time period required to return to the same position in the constellations. Not as huge differnce between them, but important if you are talking millenia.
First the similarities, at midnight Orion rises in the east, at dawn the Sun and Mars rise together in the east near Virgo, <edit added> while Casseopia sets in the northwest<added>. That’s pretty much it.
The differences are more numerous. In 30BC, the new crescent Moon was just starting to appear after sunset, in 2006 it’s a waning half Moon. Back then, Saturn and Jupiter were prominent in the night sky, Venus (aka the evening star) just above the setting sun. Now, Saturn appears in the early morning and is soon overcome by the rising sun, Venus (aka the morning star) is just above the rising Sun, and Mercury and Jupiter can be seen as the Sun sets.
And because of an effect called the precession of the equinoxes, in 30BC on 10/12 the rising sun was at Virgo’s feet. In 2006 on 10/12 it sits on her upper thigh at sunrise. <edit add>And in 2006, it sits at her feet on November 6 at sunrise.<edit add>
I know, pretty boring, but I think it’s interesting.
FLWright
