1. I had looked up at the early evening sky for quite a while now, and it looked much the same with Orion and Sirius to my left and with Jupiter and Venus still on the ecliptic path and visible closer to the horizon at right. Gradually, though, Orion and Sirius had moved towards the horizon in the west, something which was not noticeable from day to day but which became obvious after a fortnight or so. I realized that Orion would come closer and closer to Sun. At present the distance to Sun was about a quarter of 360º and I concluded they would be together about a quarter in the future. How easy it is to know which constellation Sun is visiting at present. From the map of the zodiac 3 steps earlier must be in Pisces:
In my calendar spring equinox is less than a month ahead, which agrees with my observations. There is nothing comparing to first hand experience, but I think it would have been equally easy to go up in the early morning to see the other side of the sky and deduce where Sun currently was. One evening, however, there was a drastic change - above the horizon in the west where Sun had gone down not long ago the crescent of Moon had suddenly appeared. Its form was like that of a canoe riding above the horizon. The following nights Moon rose higher and higher, while its crescent grew in thickness. Ultimately I saw the Full Moon close to the horizon in the east. I had experienced the fortnight of Growing Moon. Similarly I ought to be able to watch how Waning Moon would begin beyond Full Moon and end just above the horizon in the east, once again riding like a canoe on the horizon and lit up from below by Sun. Waxing Moon is rising in the early evening in the west and Waning Moon should be descending in the early dawn in the east. Evidently Moon must be experienced as 2 'persons'. And evidently they are both going in the opposite direction to that of Sun. When he is old and feeble and goes down in the west it is time for a young Moon to show herself in the same place. When old Waning Moon is going down in the east it is time for the young Sun to rise. From such experiences it would then be natural to expect the same structure for the cycle of the year. Thus beyond autumn equinox (Sundown) a young Growing Moon should rise. There are 2 vero signs surrounding glyph number 266, and then comes a tao glyph with a slight indentation at center right:
I can put Nashira at autumn equinox:
Allen: "Nashira is from Al Sa'd al Nashirah, the Fortunate One, or the Bringer of Good Tidings, which the early Arabs applied to this when taken with δ." If we think of the position of the Arabs, north of the equator, it is easy to understand what good tidings were meant - it was the beginning of spring and the whole summer was in front. 330 + 90 - 360 = 60. Gb2-14 is a very special vero glyph, which presumably indicates the limit of Sun:
I think Gb2-15 is connected with Gb2-16, but not with the preceding Gb2-14. |
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