equinox sun rose with Taurus. It was the age of the ' Bull. ' In about every 2200 years the earth ' s wobbling motion shifts the equinox through one constellation towards west. So, about 3000 years ago it was the age of the ' Ram,' as the equinox sun rose inAries. Pharaoh Amenhotep III( 1386-1349 BC) commemorated this age of ' Ram ' by building the famous Ram headed sphinx avenue between Karnak and Luxor. The equinox sun now rises in Pisces and is inching slowly towards Aquarius. So, we are now living in the age of fishes. After about 600 years, it will be the age ofAquarius or, water.
Between about 11,000 BC and 8,500 BC the rising Leo in the sky sat perfectly parallel on the horizon it was the age of Lion; and it was the home of spring sun for a month. Night after night this must have been a celestial spectacle to watch. It ' s no wonder, why the human headed sphinx in the Giza plateau, the largest monolithic structure in the world, faces exactly east. The sphinx was built to commemorate the the rising of heavenly lion above the horizon;- the earthly Sphinx perpetually waits on the celestial lion for a night long celestial company.
But, 13,000 years ago, during the last ice age, humans were just hunter gatherers all over the earth; they did not even invent agriculture! Then, who built the sphinx, when and why? A whip of mystery still hangs in the air.
The Dendera zodiac portrays very much the same constellations we are familiar with today. So, in a way, we are still carrying the legacy of that long lost civilisation. It ' s no less a wonder, different civilisations on earth imagined almost the same set of figures in the sky to symbolise the zodiac. These detailed depictions of astronomy and deities on the temple ceilings reveal an Egyptian desire to understand the heavens. Because, the sky is the abode of the gods and events in the sky influenced all aspects of Egyptian lives.
THUBAN SHAFT
The Khufu ' s pyramid is a wonderful example of the heavenly connection. From the burial chamber deep inside, a narrow shaft passes through layer upon layer of stone to the surface of the pyramid- pointing straight to the pole star- Thuban, of its time;- a window for the ' ba ' of pharaoh ' s transit to join the immortals in the sky.
[ To be continued ]
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