AAL’S LABYRINTH HISTORY An Alternative Viewpoint…..contd. 36.

SIXTENTH CENTURY BCE (1599-1500)

SIXTENTH CENTURY BCE (1599-1500)

c1595 BCE      Decline of the Empire of Babylon under the impact of Hittite and Kassite invaders. There followed a period of weakness and confusion, until about 8^thCentury BCE when Babylon will come under the control of the Assyrians again.

                       Following the fall of Sumer and Akkad, the ancient Akkadians sought refuge in the mountains of Syria and established themselves on the slopes of Mount Hermon in Lebanon. They were then known as the Druses and their mystical principles and concepts indicate contact with GWB, an unformed fraternity of enlightened beings who left disciples across the globe to form the nucleus of esoteric, mystical and philosophical societies. 

Avaloki of Tibet

 c1567             AHMOSE I[Aahmes or Amosis] (Kitchen 1550-1525) liberates Egypt from Hyksos foreign rule and establishes the 18^thDynasty and the beginning of the Egyptian ‘New Kingdom’ period. His parents are Pharaoh Sequenenre Ta’o II (Murry gives Seqenen-Re III) and Queen Ahhotpe. Ahmose marries Ahmose-Nefertari a black queen with power in her own right. Their son is to be Amenophis I. (49.80.108)

                       AHMOSE-NEFERTARI is the last queen to be a recipient of the Theban cult until it is revived c1080 BCE. She will also become regent on the death of her husband and play a key role in establishing the New Kingdom period of Egypt.  (175)

                       1567-1320 BCE is the second Theban Epoch of ancient Egypt when the capital of Egypt is located at Thebes, therefore the rulers are called the Theban princes. Victory of these Theban princes over the Hyksos rulers of Egypt extended their territory along the Nile as far as the fourth cataract. The land of the ‘S’ bend in the Nile ending at the fourth cataract was known to the Egyptians as Kush and later called Nubia.  Amun/Amon, god of Thebes is elevated during this period to the rank of principle deity of the realm and identified with the sun-god Re in the form of Amun-Re, king of the gods (and into which were absorbed the earlier gods Re, Min and Ptah). This period is the time of the reigns of the great Pharoahs Amenophis I, Hatshepsut, Thuthmosis III, Amenhotep III, Thuthmosis IV Akhenaton, Tutankhamen, Ramesses I. (114)

                       Papyri copies of the earlier Pyramid text called ‘The Coming Forth by Day’, at this time incorporate 3 separate traditions, that of the astral after-life, that of the sun-god Re and that of Osiris, god of the Dwat. Some of the earliest papyri are called, Nu, Userhat, Kha, Yuga. Gradually, as time moves on, illustration will dominate over text.

Amun-Ra at Karnak Egypt

1580               ZEUS & ATHENE are especially favored gods in the Greek temples. These temples are oriented towards the star Hamel in the constellation Aries at various places between 1580-360 BCE. (11) Athene as the goddess of intelligence has her birth from the head of her father Zeus.

Greek god Zeus

c1556             CECROPS establishes ASTU [Athens] as an Egyptian colony of Greece. Athens, with Mount Parnassus and Mount Olympus form a sacred triangle known as Arcadia, Greece. The chief god of this pleasant and ideal area of country life is Pan. [48]This mythical king was half human half serpent or fish, just like the Babylonia god of culture, Dagon. Athens becomes the major centre of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

c1567             ISIS & OSIRIS.The fullest account of the myth of Isis and Osiris extant in Egyptian sources is on a limestone stela dating from between 1567-1320 BCE. Later the story will be reproduced by the Greek Plutarch. 

                        HATHOR is depicted as the Egyptian goddess of love, in writings of 1567-1085 BCE. 

Hathor columns in Dendera Temple

AAL’S LABYRINTH HISTORY An Alternative Viewpoint…..contd. 35.

 SEVENTENTH CENTURY BCE (1699-1600)

c1650 BCE      TETISHERI Queen of Egypt and commoner wife of King Sekenenre Tao I She is mother of Sekenenre Tao II. This is the start of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt and marks the first time since the Archaic Period, 1500 years earlier, that the queen consorts of Egypt are openly celebrated in their own right. (108)

Queen Tetisheri

                       According to some authors the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt covers c1650-1085 BCE and Dynasties 17-20. The early dynasties of this period are recognised for their succession of strong warrior-kings and high-profile queens, the latter providing Egypt with an unbroken succession lasting for over a century from Queen Tetisheri to Queen Hatshepsut and beyond. (108)

c1650             AMMISADUQA, king of Babylon. From this time comes a copy the earliest known astrological records or omens, the ‘Enuma Anu Enlil’, the book of the gods of heaven and earth. To it is added a tablet recording observations of Venus and called the ‘Tablet of Amisaduqa/Ammisaduqa’.  It records the complex 8 year cycle of Venus, which is comprised of 5 synodic cycles,(46) which, drawn out as a diagram, appears like a simple rose, symbolic of all that is good about humanity.

Fergeson 1799. 5 inferior conjunctions

 of Venus and Sun, as seen from Earth.

                       The ‘Enuma Anu Enlil, is a copy of the ‘Namar-Bili’, or the ‘Ilumination of Bel’ from the time of Sargon the Great [2340 BCE]. Copies will again appear in the future library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, in the seventh century BCE.

                       The Accadai or ‘Highlanders’ founded their creed in the mountains of Elam where the Babylonian gods lived on the ‘Mountain of the East’. This is similar to the Greek Olympus Mountain and the Hindu Meru Mountain. This ‘Accadai’ should not be confused with the Greek pastoral region of ‘Arcadia’.

1628               A possible date of the volcanic destruction of Greek Island of Thera, another being 1400 BCE.

c1600BC         AGAMEMNON establishes Mycenae, capital of the Aegean, situated above the Argive plain, Eastern Peloponnesus. It is surrounded by walls built by the Cyclops. Entry into the city is through the famous Lion Gate, over which is a monumental relief of confronting lions. The city will be destroyed by fire c1200 BCE and invaded by Dorians c1100 BCE. (102) Agamemnon is Helen of Troy’s brother-in-law.

 Lion Gate

                       HELEN OF TROY: Greek mythology nominates her as the most beautiful woman in Greece, and the major cause of the Trojan War.  Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whom Zeus raped after taking the guise of a swan. Helen’s sister is Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon; her brothers are the Dioscuri, or the Divine Twins, Castor and Pollux. While still a girl, Helen is carried off by the Athenian hero Theseus, but the Dioscuri rescue her unharmed. Later, Helen married Menelaus, King of Sparta. Their marriage is threatened when Paris, a Trojan prince, becomes enamored of Helen.  Taking advantage of Menelaus’ absence from the palace, Paris abducts Helen and leaves for Troy. Immediately, a great expedition against Troy is organized under the leadership of Agamemnon (brother of Menelaus) and ten years of bitter fighting ensued.  After Troy’s defeat, Helen is restored to her husband. (102)

Leda and the Swan/Zeus

                       The TROJAN WAR necessitates the uniting of the previously separate city-states of Greece, and which will now fight together under the leadership of Mycenaean King Agamemnon (1600 BCE) (44)

                       The star Electra, mother of the Dardanus, is saddened when she witnesses the fall of Ilion in the war, and so leaves her station among the Pleiades to become the ‘Fox Star’ called Alcor of the constellation Ursa Major. Babylonian legend calls this star Era, the most powerful among the gods who takes its place at the beam of the wagon of Ursa Major. This star is associated with the planetary god Nergal or Mars and the Sumerian story of ‘Utnapishtim’, records that Nergal/Mars/Alcor is responsible for the first great world flood. Thus, the legend records that when Electra/Era frees herself from the yoke of Ursa Major or from the Pleiades group in the time of the fall of Ilion/Troy, there will come the end of a world-age.(71)

SATURN MEETS PLUTO IN CAPRICORN

With the New Moon in Sagittarius, the sign of great Zeus, and the need to get on the move, it is time to take stock of the world situation and our place in it; more so as Mars meets Neptune in Pisces. Can we rise to the call of the spirit of mother Earth and our greater environment of the solar system?

Everyone is talking of the great conjunction of Pluto and Saturn in the sign of Capricorn. These two planets will be joined by Jupiter at the end of 2019. This is a very unusual gathering of planets in the sign of the generous teacher and master or in the negative, of the selfish controller.

Pluto settled in Capricorn at the end of 2008. Saturn entered Capricorn at the end of 2017. Here is the commencement of the testing of how we use or have been using power in the past; from the simplest form of sharing knowledge willy-nilly over the internet, to the greater and more complex traditional concept of power as wielded by the rulers of countries and corporations. 

As we move through the next couple of years there is likely to be an increase in this ambition, desire for power and mastery – can it be done in a way that is beneficial to the whole of humanity, or will it be just for the few, who in control of the social and moral rules aim to forcibly direct everyone else? All depends on our general evolution, our willingness to take personal responsibility; it is dependent on the degree of understanding that has been developed through past experiences, and dare we say, how much true spiritual motivation has been achieved, over the past 6-7 years.

Kronos contemplating

Without altruistic thought, the strong and over bearing Capricorn influence that is now with us will most likely manifest in harsh and contradictory behaviour and attitudes that tolerate no opposition. As we try to bring the world and our lives back into some sort of balance, we are being presented with an opportunity to attain a greater degree of spirituality and humanitarian concern, or alternatively take the road that will plunged us further into the depths of materialism and selfishness, which attitude usually ends up in war, if past history is anything to go by.

How shall we proceed? Let us take a more serious, down-to-earth and conservative approach to life before life presents us with the ultimatum of ‘pull yourself into line or be destroyed’. Let us maintain dignity though, rather than take up a foolish attitude of cold austerity, or allow ourselves to wallow in gloom and melancholy at the difficulty of it all. However, a little melancholy and introspection may not go astray as it has the ability to assist our going inwards in order to contemplate the dilemma we have got ourselves into, and to ponder on where we have been and where we need to go. Sometimes we need as individuals to feel alone and isolated in order to face where we have gone wrong and then try to build self-sufficiency and a bridge between self-interest and willing service to others. How are you using your power over other people? Do you guard your thoughts and actions, or even realise how these affect other people’s lives?

Albrecht Durer ‘Melancholy'

Over the next couple of years, life could get a whole lot more of a serious business in dealing with necessity and daily struggle of routine to keep up a good standard of living. We must be very vigilant not to judge solely according to price or reputation or status, more so if this has been our guiding mantra of the past recent years. But whilst you are dealing with the boring repetitive side of life, don’t give up on humour, well placed humour acts as a good oil to keep the wheels of industry turning smoothly. We must move towards that point of not over valuing materialism and reputation, that point that some of our younger members of humanity have been shouting for recently. 

Work towards being more self-disciplined, conservative and practical, but not unscrupulous and callous on the one hand or rigid in attitude and belief on the other. Thrift without restriction is what we should be aiming for; high standards and practical common-sense of the good organizer needs to be nurtured. Let us capitalize on our strengths rather than over emphasise the weaknesses of others. Inner strength, persistence and a strong sense of responsibility are likely to be called for over the coming years. When you think about it, perhaps we have had it too easy for too long and in our untrammelled freedom from any conscience about what we go for, we have forgotten how to conserve, value, protect and respect. After all, Capricorn, the sign of the goat is also the sign of the master of self-discipline, of the initiate striving to reach the top of the mountain, both physically and metaphorically. Can we make a magnificent effort and conquer the mountain of our own misdoings or will we slip and fall into an even bigger hole? 

The year 2021, following the Great Conjunction of the chronocrators, Saturn and Jupiter, will reveal how well we have done and what the following thirty years will look like. 2021 is the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, a 20-year cycle of political construct and socio-economic attitudes.

‘The Thinker at the Gate of Hell’ by Rodin for Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’

AAL’S LABYRINTH HISTORY An Alternative Viewpoint…..contd. 34.

c1795 BCE           HAMMURABI (c1795-1750) the Great, is a Semitic Amorite king of Assyria who unites the individual city states of Mesopotamian under one code of Law. This Law is reminiscent of that of Moses because Hammurabi also received his Law from a god, the god being the sun god Shamash. The code is inscribed on a black basalt stele which is capped by a relief sculpture of the king receiving the inspiration for it from the flame-shouldered sun god. The event takes place on a mountain, (097)as it does in turn for the later Moses. Hammurabi is also written Hammurapi, which probably refers to the western Semitic healing god, Hammu. (231)

Hammurabi stele of Laws. Louvre

                                   The laws of Hammurabi and the future Moses (1362 BCE) may have a common origin in those of the Sumerian King Lipit-Ishtar (1865 BCE) or the even to be descended from the early King Urukagnia of Lagash [c2340].

                                   Hammurabi was the sixth of eleven kings in the Old Babylonian (Amorite) Dynasty. New data puts his reign from 1728 to 1686 and he enacted the law of the land in his second year. An Elamite raider, Shutruk-Nahhunte, carried off the stela to the old Elamite capital Susa, between 1207-1171 BCE. (192)

1765                       In about 1765 BCE, the Semites will conquer Sumeria and establish the New Babylonian Empire, covering the whole of Mesopotamia and centred on the ancient city of Babylon sited on the River Euphrates (modern Iraq). (13)In the time of this ruler the supreme triad will be composed of the gods of Heaven, Earth and Water; Sin, Shamash and Ishtar.  Sin the Moon, was regarded as the most powerful of the three. (15) 

Symbols of Venus Moon & Sun

Star of Ishtar, Crescent of Sin, disk of Shamash

                                   SIN was the original Moon-god of Mount Sinai, “Mountain of the Moon”. He was born of the Virgin Queen of Heaven, Nanna or Inanna and ruled the Land of Sinim (Isaiah 49:12) an older form of Zion. The Chaldean name for Sin was Kingu. As Sin, he was the god who received the Tablets of Law from the primal Mother Goddess of Creation, Tiamat. Sin will also be the god of Moses in the future; the Jehovah of the Hebrews was simply another transformation of the primitive lunar deity of Arabia. [13]

The dragon/serpent Tiamat

                         From around this time, military society starts to grow and women’s status gradually declines as a result. (9)

1738                This is the Greek Manentho’s date for the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt covering Dynasties XVII-XX.

c1700 BCE    A section of the wandering Indo European tribes known as the Hittites settle in Anatolia (Turkey) and establish a capital at Hattusha. (76)

                        This is thought to be the estimated time of the creation of the Ecliptic Zodiac comprised 

                        of  stellar groupings.

Babylonian Stele depicting astronomical symbols c1120 BCE 

[British Museum]

Mars Retrograde

Mars looking glum!!

The planet Mars has been experiencing a dust storm. Maybe that is why he has been appearing so red in the past few days; so fiery and angry. 

If you are having trouble getting anything done in the usual way or even experiencing a terrible go slow, it may be because Mars is in his retrograde phase - that phase in his orbit where he appears to us on Earth to be moving backwards! What happens when you try to walk backwards? Yep, you have to go much slower and even try to intuit what lies behind you or in your path because you cannot see it with your physical eyes! Try not to trip and fall as you retrace old ground.

There is always a purpose to everything and the purpose of this period of moving more slowly may be needed so that we can get a better perspective on the bigger picture of life and your actions.

Mars is retrograde in the sign Aquarius until mid August and then retrograde in the sign of Capricorn until the end of August before changing to his regular and direct motion so that he can move back through Capricorn and return to Aquarius in his forward motion.

Whilst Mars is going backwards in Aquarius try to become more detached about your humanitarian ideas and pursuits rather than staying myopic, awkward and difficult in the pursuit of what you think is right.

Whilst Mars is going backwards in Capricorn try to be more respectful of authority, the elderly and not too caught up in your own importance.

Then reverse the process through September and throw out all the old stuff and ways of thinking and look to the future and a better way of doing things. But be very careful not to 'throw the baby out with the bath water', hang on to what has proved too valuable to lose.

AAL’S LABYRINTH HISTORY An Alternative Viewpoint…..contd. 33.

Aryan of Persia. [Barbier]

1800 BCE        Height of Old Babylonian Empire. About this time, the Aryans of the Eran/Iranian plateau become three distinct groups. One group moves on the Indus Valley and one group migrates to the Zargros Mountains. Those that remain on the plateau are the tribes of Medes and Persians. The latter eventually come to dominate and follow the great prophet Zoroaster. [176]

                       ZOROASTER as the first in a line of succession, this Zoroaster establishes a religion named after him and based on ‘Fire Worship’. Zoroaster created the writings known as the Gathas, which will become the only surviving literature of the ancient Persians. Eventually the Gathas will be incorporated in the Zend Avesta or Persian Holy Scripture. The writings nominate good and bad as the two primal spirits or cosmic forces, who reveal themselves in vision as the Twins. The Zend Avesta that has come down to us is thought to be only a breviary of the original work of prayers and litanies of the Parsees [Persians] The work contains fragments of the original wisdom of Zeradosht, the original Zoroaster probably dating from 6000 BCE. The primitive Avesta was divided into 21 parts called ‘Nosk’ recording the details of nature, much like the Vedas of the Hindus. Part of the Avesta treats of the origin of Beings and the birth of the Universe. The origins of the Zend wisdom are thought to be Chaldean. The undeciphered inscriptions of Persepolis [Isthakr] are of the same tongue as the original sacred books of the Zend. Zend in turn is a dialect of Sanskrit. (300)

Double headed column capital from Persepolis. [Barbier]

The branch of the Aryans moving to settle in the Punjub (upper valley of the Indus River of India) met with the resident occupants who are dark-skinned people known as the Dravidians. The Dravidians have an advanced culture and are possibly related to the Chaldeans of Mesopotamia. Also present in the Punjub area are wilder tribes speaking Munda idioms and having affinity with the Negroids of Indo-China and Australia. These three groups of people, the Aryans, Dravidians and Munda, eventually will become intermixed, with the addition at some point of the Mongolian ethnic group. 

The original inhabitants of India were matriarchal (as for most earlier races). The Aryan/Iranian impose their male dominated caste system on the other inhabitants as Sun worship over comes Moon worship. History and mythology of the Aryans is known through the Vedic and Brahmanic philosophical literature of ancient India. (40)

Zurvan, god of time gives birth to Light and Dark. [Larousse]

c1800             This time is also the start of the Second Intermediate Period in the land of Egypt. Dynasties 13-17 between the ‘Middle Kingdom’ and the ‘New Kingdom’, is a period when decadence and disorganization reign as the invasion of the Hyksos, Semitic nomads, takes place. However, these nomads will adopt Egyptian customs and artistic-religious ideas.

                       The Middle Minoan Period of Crete civilization also gets underway as well as the early Mycenaean period on the Greek mainland. This is the Heroic age of Troy and the Mystery Religions of Greece where at Eleusis (west of Athens) the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Demeter and Kore/Persephone is established for the performance of the Eleusinian mysteries. The Temple of initiation, the Telesterion, could seat 3,000. From 6^thcentury BCE Eleusis will be dominated by Athens and the ‘Sacred Way’ connect Athens to Eleusis.

Gods and Heroes of Asia Minor

AAL’S LABYRINTH HISTORY An Alternative Viewpoint…..contd. 32.

Star Sirius

1878                SESOTRIS III [Senusret III] his reign is according to heliacal rising of Sothis. Gimmel estimates his reign to be 1878-1842 BCE.  Coffin texts written in hieratic script of this time, show the addition of new spells to the originals of the ‘Book of the Coming Forth by Day’.  These texts are the direct predecessors of the papyri texts of the future. The Osiris myth now takes over from that of the sun-god (Falcon Horus) in the ‘After-Life’ of Egyptian mythos.

                        IKHERNOFRET is an officer at the court of Sesostris III. He is responsible for organizing the yearly festival of the mystery ceremony of the ‘Osirian Cycle’. This is recorded on a stela, giving an outline only of the several steps or acts of this mystery play in which the god Osiris is led to the west before being resurrected. [293]

Egyptian god of the Dwat Osiris

c1865              LIPIT-ISHTARSumerian King of Isin, has a law code which resembles the Covenant Code of the Bible (Ex.chs.21-23) upon which the ‘Code of Hammurabi’, and that of Israel, will be based in the future. (173) 

c1840             AMENEMHET III (Amonemhat/Ammenemes) son of Senuset/Sesostris III, builds a pyramid at Hawara in the Faiyuim/Fayum area of Egypt. He also builds the ‘Labyrinth’, a large mortuary temple south of that pyramid. Amenemhet also built the ‘House of Sebek of Shedet’ and he places statues on pedestals in the lake, which were the sepulchers of King Moeris and his wife. (49)Amenemhet III also built a temple complex to the serpent goddess Renenutet (Termuthyis) at Medinet Madi (Narmouthis) in the Faiyium. This complex will continue to grow under the reign of Amenemhet IV. At the south side of the entrance to the Faiyuim, near el Lahun a Temple of Tuthmosis III will be built in the future. This area will again flourish in 18-19^thDynasties. 

                       JOSEPH One of the 12 sons of Biblical Jacob, is sold into ‘slavery’ in Egypt. He is later appointed overseer, at the age of 30 years, under the reigning Pharaoh Amenemhat III of Egypt, and therefore is postulated as the overseer of the Faiyium works. (60)

                       Gn. 41:39-43. ‘And Pharaoh said unto Joseph…Thou shalt be over my house and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou…and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.’ Subsequently Joseph’s father Jacob/Israel and 70 family members followed him into Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan. 

                        An alternative view to this timing is that Joseph went to Egypt in the time of Tuthmosis IV. (131) 

Egyptian Sun god of the West