The Star Calendars' Stellar Ordering

by John P. Pratt
27 Nov 2018, 1 Rabbit (SR), η Dra (US)

©2018 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved.

Index, Home

Contents

1. Three Ordering Criteria

1.1 Zodiac Grouping

1.2 Object Grouping

1.3 Connect the Dots

2. Possible Exceptions

2.1 Bright Stars

2.2 Lunar Mansions

2.3 First Days

2.4 Dragon Stars

2.5 Heavenly Stars

2.6 Argo Stars

3. Resultant Order

4. Conclusion

Notes

Three newly discovered criteria allow all stars in both Star Calendars to be put in order.

The Book of Enoch describes a Star Calendar with 364 days, each represented by a star, which in turn represents a servant of God. Earlier articles introduced such a calendar, laying the groundwork that the year is divided into twelve zodiac "months", each of which begins at noon on a Saturday.[1] A later paper even identified all of the stars by following seven criteria for star selection which had been discovered.[2] This article announces the discovery of three more criteria which have allowed all of the stars to have been placed in order. The intended double meaning of "stellar" in the title implies that not only are the stars being ordered, but also that the ordering is amazing!

The first section discusses the three new ordering criteria to be added to the previous seven. The next section discusses exceptions to these three rules and the third section presents the resultant ordering. It must be kept in mind that this is a work in a progress and that new discoveries could cause minor changes to that ordering, but it is felt that the order is stable enough that only small adjustments will be needed hereafter.

This article is somewhat technical and may be of interest only to those who really want to know the details of the selection and ordering of the stars in both the Star Calendar and the Uniform Star Calendar. The stars and their order are the same for both, the only difference between them is that the Star Calendar adds an extra week of stars in the Cup (Crater) between Leo and Virgo when needed to keep the star year synchronized with the heavens (sidereal year). On the other hand, you may want to read it because the highly advanced ordering technique is based on the simple childlike concept of "connecting the dots" (Matt. 18:3).

Fig. 1. Using a quadrant.
(Click to see how it works.)

First, to what precision were the ancients supposed to be able to measure celestial longitude? The ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy answers that question in his star tables. He gives each longitude to one sixth of a degree. That is the accuracy that stars can be measured without a telescope by using a quadrant (see Figure 1). Students in my astronomy class made a simple quadrant and most could measure their latitude on earth to within about a tenth of a degree (about 7 miles).[3]

Second, the whole idea of a calendar is to replace making astronomical measurements by using a simple pattern (calendar) that summarizes the results. In other words, a calendar is designed to be used by the layman, not the astronomer. How is a layman to remember what star day it is?

Third, remember that the star calendar has an accuracy of only about a week. That is, when a 364 day calendar gets about a week off from the actual position of whatever is being tracked, then an entire week is added. That suggests that star days can be up to about a week off from the true position of the stars. A week is about seven degrees. What is the point of measuring star positions to a sixth of one degree when the calendar itself is only accurate to within about 7 degrees?

With that amount of variation in star position allowed, the question becomes just how to order the stars to be within about a week of the correct position in a way to maximize the ease of use by the layman.

1.1 Zodiac Grouping

Fig. 2. Crown stars grouped.

The first new criterion to order the stars is:

8. The constellation should be entirely located within one zodiac month where feasible.

There were several examples where this principle became important. For example, all of the stars of the little constellation of the Crown (Corona Borealis) neatly fit into the Libra month except for one. One star in Hercules has a longitude to put it in the middle of the Crown. This rule allowed it to be moved by 4 days to be in the month of Virgo in order to allow all of the Crown stars to be together in Libra (see Figure 2).

Another example is the stars of the Big Bear are so spread out that they cover enough longitude to require at least two zodiac months. They barely fit into Cancer and Leo together, being the first star of month of Cancer and the last star of Leo. But it is clear that there should be no stragglers outside of those two months if they can all squeeze in.

1.2 Object Grouping

The next principle is:

9. Stars in an object within a constellation should grouped together where feasible.

Table 1. A House of Order.

Several constellations contain objects. For example, the Archer (Sagittarius) has a bow and an arrow. The Hero (Perseus) wields a sword, and there are bands (or a net) with the two Fishes (Pisces). The Princess (Andromeda) is manacled. The numbers of stars in each of these parts is also important (see Table 1). Seven stars generally identify a complete person, which may allow the number of stars in the objects to be determined. That, in turn, helps to identify the stars because this criterion requires those stars to be on adjacent days. It also helped to identify the star on day 8 Sgr (δ Sgr, see Figure 3) as being in the hand of the Archer, not in the bow.

Fig. 3. Bow and arrow stars together.

In the case where there are at least two stars in an object, they should have contiguous star days if they are within a few degrees of each other. A test case is the arrow in the bow of the Archer (see Figure 3). It has two stars, one at each end, which would be nine days apart if the stars were simply put into a star day slot according to its longitude. The evidence seems clear that these two stars should be on successive star days (1 and 2 Sgr). If so, then the same rule could apply to all shorter separation intervals, and indeed that appears to be the case.

Another example of the power of object star grouping and of the number of stars in objects is with the Sea-Goat (Capricornus). An earlier paper showed that there was most likely a spear stuck in that sacrificial animal, but it was only represented by one star, which seemed strange. With 9 stars allotted in the Star Calendar and seven needed to represent the creature (being Christ), that leaves two for the spear. A new investigation led to the discovery of the two stars, having the required longitudes and even showing the spear pointing upwards and piercing the side, even as the spear pierced the Savior on the cross (see Figure 4). Is their any supporting evidence for the existence of this spear? Yes, Jacob's prophecy of Levi and Simeon says that there are "instruments of cruelty" in their habitations (Gen. 49:5). Levi (Pisces) has chains or cords in his zodiac house of birth, but what such instrument is in Capricornus for Simeon? A spear fills that requirement admirably!

Object grouping also allowed the discovery that indeed the Maiden holds a branch in her right hand and some wheat stalks in her left (Isa. 11:1), as she is usually depicted. The later Greeks left many objects out their constellation descriptions, including both of these. While most illustrations show a palm branch, a grape vine is more likely because the very old name of the star, quoted by Aratus, means "Grape Maiden". Indeed, it the name of the bright star Spica in the Maiden which preserves the fact that she holds wheat in her other hand because that star name means the "ear of wheat". The other two stars which are in the wheat stalks are χ Vir and ψ Vir, which have been named the Root and Stem respectively.

1.3 Connect the Dots

Fig. 4. A spear pierces the Sea-Goat.

The last, and by far the most important, ordering principle is:

10. Stars days are arranged in a "connect the dots" order when allowed by small longitude variations.

This is a surprisingly powerful principle which children can easily understand. It solves the problem of stars with very similar longitudes. One can simply draw the stick figure! This has the wonderful result of removing nearly all ambiguity of ordering the stars.

The constellation of the Herdsman (Bootes, pronounced Boe-OH-tees) is an excellent example (see Figure 5; can you find the Crown?). All of its 12 calendar stars fit easily into the long 7-week month of the Maiden (Virgo), so Criterion 8 is easily satisfied. Although many illustrations show a sickle in his left hand, it was not mentioned in the ancient descriptions. In his right hand is a shepherd's staff which has the two stars μ and ν, so they should be adjacent to each other.

Most of the other stars can be put in order by the "connect the dots" rule as shown in Figure 5. Note the star days 31 Vir to 35 Vir simply trace up the left side of his body from foot to head. Similarly, the stars on his right side, including the staff, are put in the same ascending order from 38 Vir to 42 Vir. The two intervening slots of 36 Vir and 37 Vir are needed for stars within the Maiden herself. These runs of five days straight are possible because the constellation is more or less vertical in the sky so that the stars on each side have similar longitudes.

Fig. 5. Just connect the dots!

There seems to be another tacit implied rule which goes hand in hand with Criterion 4, which requires a simple stick figure representation. When there are star days in a row in the same constellation, it nearly always implies that the pencil keeps drawing connecting lines. When there is a break caused by another constellation, then one lifts the pencil. In Figure 5, the hand is first connected to the elbow on days 10 and 11 Vir. Then the pencil is lifted and another line connects the left leg up to the head in one line from 31-35 Vir. Then the pencil is lifted again to start on the right foot all the way to the top of the shepherd's staff. It is amazing how much information can be hidden in a star table!

Another excellent example, which led to the inclusion of the word "stellar" in the title, is the case of the Twins (Gemini). They are not shown vertically in the sky as is Bootes, but rather obliquely, being nearly in a horizontal position. Thus, they provide a good test case in connecting the dots because one cannot simply trace up each side.

The result is shown in Figure 6. It contains much more information than expected by simply connecting the dots. To keep the longitudes similar, increasing with the days from right to left, the lower portions are drawn first and then the upper. This emphasizes the striking similarity between the Twins. Note that there is even a gap of several days between the first star of each twin in his left foot until the next star. This gap suggests that the similarities between the upper portions is important. To have such hidden information contained in simply connecting the dots was totally unexpected.

Fig. 6. "Connect the dots" as the day numbers increase going left.
(Click for full stick figures or no labels.)

Another important discovery was made as this rule was being applied to put the stars in their final (hopefully) order. When the first five stars of Virgo were arranged by making one connecting line between them, it was noticed that the order was the same as the order that Ptolemy's ancient list of the stars in Virgo. Before, that order had looked random because the stars were not in order of brightness nor longitude. Now it appears that the ancient order may have been preserved!

2.1 Bright Stars

Most bright stars follow these ordering principles. For example, Arcturus, α Boo (stars are designated with a Greek letter along with the constellation name, see Table 2), is the second brightest star in the entire Star Calendar. It is shown in Figure 5 near the left knee of Bootes as day 32 Vir. It gets no special treatment, but is just connected in the line of star dots with the others. One witness is that it is on the correct star day is that 32 Vir was the day on which Noah was born. Many of the greatest prophets were born on the days of either bright stars or holy days.

Table 2. Stars are designated by Greek letters.

On the other hand, until now it has appeared that if a bright star is very near the location of a holy day, then it may be moved by a few days to be on that holy day. This is how some of births of great prophets were known to be on certain bright star days even before the details of the placement of every star was known. Such exceptions, however, may not be needed because when the details of star placement were discovered, most of these exceptions were no longer needed, as was the case with Noah. If so, then bright and dim stars are treated the same!

2.2 Lunar Mansions

A recent article identified 28 stars as "lunar mansions" which mark the daily progress of the moon.[4] They were considered important to the ancients and turn out to all be holy days in the Star Calendar. The fact that these star days are considered to be minor holy days does not appear to affect their placement, so they are not really an exception to the placement criteria.

2.3 First Days

Fig. 7. The Dragon surrounds the pole.

The main question about the lead star of each zodiac month was whether or not it must be a member of the zodiac constellation for that month. It became clear early in this work that the last day of each month does not need to be a member of that figure.

The best test case came in the constellation the Crab (Cancer). There is no Crab star near the beginning of its mere two week length. It was decided that indeed the first day of each zodiac month must be a member of that constellation because the Book of Enoch speaks of twelve captains, one for each month, which apparently need to be separate chairs from the 24 lunar mansions around the throne of God and need to truly represent that constellation. It is similar to the need of a government leader of a state needing to reside in that state.

2.4 Dragon Stars

The twelve stars in the Dragon represent God and surround the ecliptic pole, which represents the center and highest point of heaven (see white dot in Figure 7).[5] The Dragon stars are allowed to break the rule of Criterion 8 because it is at the top of the sky so its stars have longitudes in many zodiac constellations. None of its stars fall onto adjacent days.

2.5 Heavenly Stars

The constellations which surround the Dragon, near the center of Heaven, are all considered to be celestial and also generally have longitudes which spread over more than one zodiac constellation. These include the Swan (Cygnus), the Flying Horse (Pegasus) and the King (Cepheus).

2.6 Argo Stars

Fig. 8. Argo stars are Decision Days.

The stars of the Ship (Argo) are perhaps the most interesting in their placement. It was a difficult choice even to include the Ship at all on the Star Calendar because it is located in Perdition. While the other inhabitants of Perdition are fully dedicated to evil, and hence barred from inclusion by Criterion 2, the inhabitants of the Ship Argo are different.

The myth of the Argonauts implies those sailors were men seeking a good resurrection. That is, they were in search of the golden fleece of the Ram, which provided everlasting life. Moreover, they were led by some righteous heroes, such as Castor and Pollux (the Twins). Thus, they seem to represent those in hell who were deceived into following Satan, but are not truly evil. Those are the very ones who will spend a thousand years of the Millennium to decide whom they really want to follow, Christ or Lucifer.[6] It was decided to include Argo in the calendar without knowing exactly how the stars would be used.

Another issue with the Ship is that it sails extremely close to the center of Perdition, namely, the south ecliptic pole, located at the point of the converging lines at the bottom center of Figure 8. In that sense, it is the south polar counterpart of the Dragon. Thus, its stars are also spread out in longitude to cover more than one constellation.

What are these stars good for? What does it mean if someone is born on one of these star days? The use of these 8 stars (8 symbolizing resurrection) is now clear. These are the stars used for the Decision Days and Fast Days which are usually associated with bad decisions and tragedies, such as the Fall of Eve and Adam and the destruction of the temples (commemorated by the Summer Fast). They are technically not evil per se, but often represent bad decisions. It is impressive that several of these stars have longitudes separated by one week even as the Hebrew and Enoch Decision Days are a week apart!

The first day of each zodiac month begins on a Saturday at noon. Because we are used to a weekly calendar beginning each week on a Sunday, it was decided to ask the reader to remember that when the first day of each month is shown as Sunday, that it is really only Sunday morning that is implied. That first day also includes the previous Saturday afternoon.[7]

The following results show the star for each day along with my suggested English name for the star, when its meaning is well enough known to justify a name at this time. It should be remembered that each star day always falls on the same day of the week and of the UE Calendar.

A spreadsheet with all of this information in standard format (comma separated variables), as well as precise star positions and brightnesses, can be downloaded from my website johnpratt.com under the heading "Star Calendar Star Catalog". The days are arranged in order starting with Virgo, the first constellation of the zodiac, and ending with the extra seven days after Leo. Those stars are not included in the following tables. Those seven stars, comprising the Cup (Crater) and numbered 43 Leo-49 Leo in the Star Calendar, are in order: θ Crt, ε Crt, δ Crt, α Crt, γ Crt, ζ Crt, and η Crt.

Notes