5. The 7 stars of Raven as they appear to be reflected in the glyphs:
"Al Chiba [α] is from the Desert title for the whole Arabic figure; but Ulug Beg and the Arabian astronomers designated it as Al Minhar al Ghurāb, the Raven's Beak. Reeves said it was the Chinese Yew Hea, the Right-hand Linch-pin. Although lettered first, it now is so much less brilliant than the four following stars that some consider it as having decreased since Bayer's day, and perhaps changed its color, for Al Sufi called it red. δ, a ruddy yellow 3d-magnitude star, seems unnamed except in China where it is Tso-Hea, the Left-hand Linch-pin; but under this title were included γ, δ, and η." Crater and Corvus belong together in the same composition, each leaning forward but in different directions - Corvus oriented with his 'nose' to the left because heads should come before tails and time runs to the right in Hevelius' drawing. The Crater has its head towards the head of Corvus like Lobster has its head towards the Lion:
They are looking at the bottom of the bend of Hydra, where there are 3 stars, not only ξ and β but also ο. My imagination sees a little egg at the very bottom (ο) and maybe then β should refer to Raven and ξ to Crater. This idea seems to be supported by a pair of tiny star-dots connecting 'Crater' (ξ) with 'her egg' (ο). There are also 3 more star-dots above ξ which point towards Crater:
Allen: "ζ, a 6th magnitude double, almost on the limit of invisibility, strangely seems to have borne a name in China, - Chang Sha, a Long Sand-bank. Al Bīrūnī said that with β, γ, and δ it marked the hind quarters of the monstrous early Lion." "Florus called it [the whole Raven constellation] Avis Satyra, the Bird of the Satyrs, and Pomptina, from the victory of Valerius when aided by a raven on the Pontine Marsh." Wikipedia: "Pliny the Elder's statement on the topic of the marshes: 'Another marvel not far from Circello is the Pomptine Marsh, a place that Mucianus, who was three times consul, has reported to be the site of 24 cities. Then comes the river Aufentum, above which is the town of Tarracina ...' is notable for what it does not say, which is the names and locations of the cities. Many more than 24 Roman settlements were built in the marsh, but it is not possible to find 24 of the size of Terracina or Antium without counting Latium Vetus or the coastal lands south of Terracina." Centaurus (a kind of Satyr) is a constellation lower down than Corvus and its brightest star Toliman arrives in the 15th hour. 24 not mentioned cities is a Sign and we can guess it refers to 24h, perhaps because time was measured from autumn equinox. At least we should imagine a 'linch-pin' at Corvus, a point which keeps it all in place in the great many-spoked wheel of time. |
