Julius Caesar and Mithraism

Looking at the reversed position of the constellations in the Tauroctony, I thought I would put in here a few images of how they appear correctly in the night sky, looking up.

Now, as far as I can see, this is either because the artist copied his images from the Farnese globe, or something very like it, or the images were deliberately reversed AS A STATEMENT or a clue to the observer who would know that it meant something.
It could have something to do, with the intentional use of the image in an initiation ceremony.
From the post of Voyageur (the first at the top of the page):

Initiation into the rites of Mithras, like initiation into many other ancient schools of philosophy, apparently consisted of three important degrees. Preparation for these degrees consisted of self-purification, the building up of the intellectual powers, and the control of the animal nature. In the first degree the candidate was given a crown upon the point of a sword and instructed in the mysteries of Mithras' hidden power. Probably he was taught that the golden crown represented his own spiritual nature, which must be objectified and unfolded before he could truly glorify Mithras; for Mithras was his own soul, standing as mediator between Ormuzd, his spirit, and Ahriman, his animal nature.
What I mean is - the Tauroctony could basically be meant as a mirror image for the initiant/adept. Literally like a look in a mirror.
Of course it's just a 'speculative hip shot'. I could be wrong.
 
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A: Mithraism was the reversal of the STO version {of tauroctony?}.

Does this hint that maybe the Bull was reversed.?
The question can be understood in a number of ways. If one looks at the signs of the zodiac, some signs rise with their hinder part first, some with their front. For the head of the bull to rise first, it might happen if the surface of the Earth moved, corresponding to a 180 degrees flip. It could also happen if the Earth began to rotate in the opposite direction. Such changes would require a cataclysmic event.


The ancient Goods of Macedon
by Basil Chulev.
THis is the part from the page 246 in the book.

[...]Indigenous Pelasgian Macedonians from Phrygia reinvented and adopted back their traditions through the cult of Mithra from Persia, and reintroduced it in Dionisiac manner in certain regions of Macedonia and other provinces of the later Roman empire. His festival was celebrated on the same day of the winter solstice like Apollon, like Leivino Dionis, like the Horned God, like Orion, etc., and his birth had brought light into the world. Mitra‟s greatest deed was to slay the mystic bull Apis, the source of fertility. The concurrent causes of the spread of the Mithraic Mysteries overlapped from the previous Eleusian, Dionisiac and Orphic Mysteries.
It is hard for me to understand, why it would be great to destroy a symbol of fertility? Or was the image popular with soldiers because they needed to extract the power of the bull and take it for themselves to fight their enemies, or fulfil the orders of their superiors. The superior is not in the image of the bull being subdued, but where is the soldier looking, perhaps even having most of his attention?

From the Wiki about Apis:
Apis was the most popular of three great bull cults of ancient Egypt, the others being the cults of Mnevis and Buchis. All are related to the worship of Hathor or Bat, similar primary goddesses separated by region until unification that eventually merged as Hathor. The worship of Apis was continued by the Greeks and after them by the Romans, and lasted until almost 400 CE.
And from Worldhistory.org
During different eras of Egypt's history various gods assumed supremacy in different regions, or even nationally, such as Osiris, Isis, Amun, Atum, Ra, but the worship of Apis never dramatically changed.
The Wiki about the symbolic traits of Apis:
Apis came to being considered a manifestation of the king, as bulls were symbols of strength and fertility, qualities that are closely linked with kingship. "Strong bull of his mother Hathor" was a common title for Egyptian gods and male kings, being unused for women serving as king, such as Hatshepsut.
[...]
Occasionally, Apis was pictured with the sun-disk symbol of his mother, Hathor, between his horns, being one of few deities ever associated with her symbol. 1661242166235.png
In the above image, one notices the disk above the horns of the bull, which is a bit similar to the zodiacal sign of Taurus, though here one finds the circle below, and there are other interpretations:
In astrology, the Moon is exalted in Taurus. This means her energy is most active and able to flow freely. The Taurus glyph may be a simple symbol of the Moon. The full circle could symbolize the Full Moon. A semi-circle would represent a crescent Moon:

Taurus Symbol Structure
There is also a smiley ♉.

While Apis was an object of worship, the bull in the Tauroctony scene is depicted being tortured, or what else to call it when:
  • It appears, the nostrils of the bull are being held. Nostrils of a bull are sensitive, that is why bulls often have a ring in the nose.
  • The bull is being stabbed, but it is not a fast bleeding location, it is being bled to death slowly, while being fully conscious.
  • The dog probably not so much drinks the blood, which is salty, but more likely barks at the bull, or bites it, making the bull even more scared.
  • The scorpion is attacking the testicles of the bull. Whether pinched or stung, it will hurt.
From this perspective, the image shows disrespect for life, and in particular the idea of sacredness attributed to a bull.

Perhaps the destruction of one symbol was needed for another to rise? At least Christianity took over. From the article on Worldhistory.org
The Apis cult continued until the rise of Christianity in the 4th century CE. The eternal bull who symbolized Egyptian values was incompatible with the new Christian vision, and the rituals surrounding the bull declined. The Serapeum of Ptolemy I was destroyed by zealous Christians c. 385 CE in their efforts to eradicate pre-Christian beliefs in Alexandria. This same zeal may have also resulted in the destruction of the great library, located near the Serapeum, at the same time or a little later. In the 5th century CE, the Apis cult was banned along with other pagan sects and rituals as the Christian understanding of the universe and divinity became dominant.
A contemporary consideration
Of course, it is not related, but it is odd for me to engage in a discussion of Mithraism and topics like the Divine cow/bull and tauroctony, while there are headlines in the UK, the Netherlands and elsewhere about culling the number of cows because they release methane, or eat too much nitrogen requiring green grass, as if the planet was over-bovinized, whereby I intend to say overpopulated with cattle 🐂🐄. Well maybe, but is it not rather the situation that the world population is being over-bullied and over-cowed by pathological people, or is it "bulls" and "cows", in places of power.
 
The question can be understood in a number of ways. If one looks at the signs of the zodiac, some signs rise with their hinder part first, some with their front. For the head of the bull to rise first, it might happen if the surface of the Earth moved, corresponding to a 180 degrees flip. It could also happen if the Earth began to rotate in the opposite direction. Such changes would require a cataclysmic event.
Here is the excerpt that includes the question having led to the quoted answer:

Cass session\Cass 2011\09042011
Q: (L) What did the 7th grade of Mithraism originally confer?
A: Mithraism was the reversal of the sto version.
 
Ra material on warfare, the first question answer is their observed opinion, but in the second question they seem to make a statement of fact.

90.12 Questioner: Was there a reason for choosing the forms that have evolved upon this planet and, if so, what was it?

Ra: I am Ra. We are not entirely sure why our Logos and several neighboring Logoi of approximately the same space/time of flowering chose the bipedal, erect form of the second-density apes to invest. It has been our supposition, which we share with you as long as you are aware that this is mere opinion, that our Logos was interested in, shall we say, further intensifying the veiling process by offering to the third-density form the near complete probability for the development of speech taking complete precedence over concept communication or telepathy. We also have the supposition that the so-called opposable thumb was looked upon as an excellent means of intensifying the veiling process so that rather than rediscovering the powers of the mind the third-density entity would, by the form of its physical manifestation, be drawn to the making, holding, and using of physical tools.

90.18 Questioner: There seems to have been created by this Logos, to me anyway, a large percentage of entities whose distortion was toward warfare, in that we had the Maldek and the Mars experience and now Earth. It seems that Venus was the exception to what we could almost call the rule of warfare. Is this correct and was this envisioned and planned into the construction of the archetypical mind, possibly not with respect particularly to warfare as we have experienced it but to the extreme action to polarization in consciousness?

Ra: I am Ra. It is correct that the Logos designed Its experiment to attempt to achieve the greatest possible opportunities for polarization in third density. It is incorrect that warfare of the types specific to your experiences was planned by the Logos. This form of expression of hostility is an interesting result which is apparently concomitant with the tool-making ability. The choice of the Logos to use the life-form with the grasping thumb is the decision to which this type of warfare may be traced.
 
or the images were deliberately reversed AS A STATEMENT or a clue to the observer who would know that it meant something.
It could serve as a statement, that there have been times when the Sun rose in the West, that the axis was flipped.
Theory of the Reversing Earth| Scientia Press has:
There are good reasons to think that Earth has turned over on various occasions. But who can be surprised that this notion—so removed from everyday experience and common sense—seems less than instantaneously persuasive?

The good reasons include telling evidence in narrative testimony and correctly interpreted myths of the ancients, embedded patterns in ancient cultures that give evidence of inversions, and the insights and arguments of two formidable researchers. Now we can 1) add new reasons that strengthen the case; 2) specify the approximate dates of four inversions; 3) comprehend that Earth is actually prone to inversion; and 4) point to where to find more evidence. Understanding inversions helps us correct errors in interpreting past planetary and Earth science, and it may provide clues relevant to climate change.

Ancient Sources and Velikovsky

Herodotus wrote that Egyptian priests had told him that four times since Egypt became a kingdom “the Sun rose contrary to his wont; twice he rose where he now sets, and twice he set where he now rises.”
The Egyptians had a name for the Sun when it rose in the west, “Re-Horakhty”.1 And the concept of the Sun rising in the west occurs in both Christian and Muslim literature. There were also accounts of stars reversing the direction of rising, while various texts talk of north becoming south at a time of chaos. This reversal appears in Greek literature, too, most notably in the Statesman of Plato.

[...]
In addition to ancient testimony, Velikovsky found further evidence of reversals. The Chinese zodiac is retrograde. The name Arab derives from the word for the setting of the sun, so that the Arabs, as seen from the Levant, were the people of the setting sun. Egyptian administrator Senenmut had one of the two ceiling panels of his tomb painted with a retrograde stellar array and one with a prograde array, fitting a sky that had inverted. In other words, the evidence goes beyond written narratives and rather easy-to-interpret myths, which some observers (incorrectly) dismiss as fanciful or ambiguous. It also is too plentiful and fitting to be outweighed by exaggerated counterfactual objections, e.g., that such an inversion would create a colossal flooding of Earth’s entire landmass, for which there is no evidence. In fact, there is plenty of evidence of lesser but still gigantic tsunamis that were evidently set off by inversions that took place over ten days, thereby mitigating the inertial effect that a more rapid inversion would have had on the oceans.
[...]
The east-west pattern of Chinese dynasties supports what the Egyptian priests told Herodotus about the Sun rising twice in the west and setting twice in the east: clearly, they meant that there were four inversions. As the Aztecs put it, we now live in the age of the Fifth Sun.

Thus the various findings and theoretical explanations in Stages 3 and 4 make it increasingly difficult to deny that Earth has a built-in capacity for inversion, that it has indeed turned over upon occasion, and that it may turn over again.
There is a YouTube interview with the author, Kenneth Dillon: Theory of the Reversing Earth

The Cs said in 1997 that "earth was oriented differently axially speaking." and in a session from 2001, that "Perpendicularity will be restored." Below are the two excerpts.

"Perpendicularity will be restored."
Q: (A) In this concept of pole shift, what would be the main feature of this pole shift, of all those which we were discussing?
A: New axial orientation, and magnetic reversal.

Q: (L) That's fairly dramatic. (A) Alright, now, change of axis or orientation of axis of rotation: can we say we would straighten up, getting almost perpendicular to the ecliptic? Or the other possibility is that it will fall down being almost parallel to the ecliptic. The third is that we'll flip completely by 180 degrees. We know it's highly unpredictable, but can we have a clue from which one is, so to say, dominate?
A: Perpendicularity will be restored.
Q: (A) We know the axis will change dramatically and magnetic reversal will happen. You didn't mention a change or shift of the lithosphere alone. Can we...
A: Lithospheric shift will feature to some extent.
Q: (A) But, that means eventually that the equator will almost not change because...
A: Correct.
Q: (A) So it will just shift a little bit, but its not going to go to Hawaii? (L) Oh rats! That was my theory! Well, it was a good idea. (A) What about changes in the lithosphere: can we predict a little bit of change in geography, coming from motions in lithosphere and changes in water level?
A: Chaotic features predominate but in general it will be safer inland and in mountainous areas since less folding occurs in such locations.
Q: (A) Now, the major, the change of the orientation of the axis, what would be the main trigger, force, or activity, or what kind of event will trigger this change of the axis?
A: Cometary bodies.

Q: (L) Are the planets of the solar system going to kind of shift out of their orbits and run amok? Is that a possibility?
A: Yes.
Q: (A) Due to cometary orbits alone?
A: Yes. Twin sun also.
Q: (A) When we speak about these cometary bodies, are we speaking about impacts?
A: Some will hit.
Q: (A) What would be - if any - the role played by electric phenomena?
A: Twin sun grounds current flow through entire system setting the "motor" running.
Q: (L) Does this mean that all of the different bodies of the solar system are like parts of some kind of giant machine, and once this electric current flows through them, depending on their positions relative to one another at the time this current flows, that it has some influence on the way the machine runs?
A: Yes, more or less.
The Earth was oriented differently axially speaking
Q: Why was astrology absent from the myths of ancient Greece?

A: Not absent, "Stalinized."


Q: What does that mean?

A: Soviets removed Stalin from the history books when he fell from popularity. So, Greeks, Astrology... "Stalinized"...

Q: Why?

A: Deadly secrets would be revealed.


Q: Revealed to whom?

A: You.

Q: If we could find the pieces and put them together, they would show us the drama and the connection between 3rd and 4th density?

A: You would have to use the original astrology, before cosmic changes of a planetary nature; there was no Venus, for one example, and earth was oriented differently axially speaking.

Q: And the destruction of Kantek. This was the last whitewash, the writings of Homer and so forth were put place... is there any source where we can get closer to these myths that will help us to figure out who is REALLY on first?

A: Check the Isle of Man.
Is the Isle of Man comment in response to astrology or Kantek, both, or something else?
Stalinized could mean that there still are traces here and there.
A deadly secret could mean one could die from just knowing, or that one could be killed by someone else because one knew. There is a Wiki on Hellenistic astrology explaining that Rome continued earlier Greek traditions.

If perpendicularity is restored, stars behind the Sun, the zodiac might correspond to star signs on the celestial equator. Below is a screenshot from Stellarium, showing Taurus and Orion. Orion is placed right on the celestial equator. Taurus is above. It is quite possible some people would be born in Orion, rather than in late Taurus or early Gemini, if the difference between the ecliptic and the celestial equator was less.
Screenshot 2022-08-23 151400.jpg
 
There are lot of books lately that are trying to colorise the whole antic period as Macedonian, and to name most of the ancient philosophers as Macedonian, so I don't trust these books very much. Maybe there is some truth, I don't know. I found these except from the book interesting and suitable for this thread. Maybe even helpful.
Then the following might illustrate that myths and understandings change, or that the image of the bull being slain is not astrological as relating to the Zodiacal sign of Taurus. In the program Stellarium, there is a setting, where you can click the kind of star lore you are interested in:
Screenshot 2022-08-23 182535.jpg
About Macedonia, they write:
Constellations:
Mother Hen (Kvachka) [Quatʃka] is the best-known constellation, which is recognized by all elderly people in Macedonian villages, without any exception. This name people use for the star cluster Pleiades

Rooster (Petal) [Petel] This is the name of the star Alnath (or Elnath) from the constellation Taurus.

Hawk (Јastreb) [Yastreb] Hawk, as one of the most famous enemies of the Mother Hen and the Rooster, is right above them in an attacking position. Bright star Capella (Kapela) from the constellation Auriga is actually known among people as Hawk.

Fox (Lisica) [Lysitsa] Fox is the second by importance natural enemy of the Mother Hen and the Rooster so it is obvious why people also “see” it on the sky. The red color of the bright star Aldebaran from the constellation of the Bull is the reason why people perceive it as a Fox ready to attack the Mother Hen and the Rooster.

Pigs (Svinji) [Sviƞi] Near to the Mother Hen, people on the sky noticed the star cluster Hyades. Scattered appearance of the stars of this cluster associated people to the image of pigs in a village yard, and so it’s called Pigs.
Even in the days of the Greeks and Romans, there can have been competing myths and names for stars in the sky. I guess one has to make assumptions, when trying to interpret what goes on, and then see if that yields results.

Assuming the bull in the Tauroctony scene is connected to the constellation Taurus, below is more about the stars.
One astrologer, Deborah Houlding, wrote:
Manilius, writing in the first century AD, described Taurus as dives puellis 'rich in maidens', although he was referring to the seven Pleiades and seven Hyades, all daughters of Atlas, collectively known as the Atlanteads, which are celebrated within its form.[1] In his description of the characteristics given to the natives of this constellation he speaks about their beauty and 'peaceful lives'; their gifts being 'not gifts of glory, but the fruits of the earth', a fruitfulness derived from the constellation's role in heralding the renewal of the agricultural year:

When it carries the sun's orb upon its horns, it bids battle with the soil begin and rouses the fallow land to its former cultivation, itself leading the work, for it neither pauses in the furrows nor relaxes its breast in the dust... Its sons have a love of unsung excellence; their hearts and bodies derive strength from a massiveness that is slow to move, whilst in their faces dwells the boy-god Love.[2]

Despite the peaceful gentility given to the constellation as a whole, many of the stars and clusters within the group are notable for an influence that is fierce, ambitious and violent.
Does the above characteristics of "fierce, ambitious and violent" reflect past events that took place in the sky, or are they inherent attributes?
The references to the article has used a couple of older works on astrology, and there are notes about the qualities of the Pleiades and Hyades.
Notes & References:
1 ] Manilius, Astronomica, (c.10 AD), Harvard Heinemann, Loeb Classical Library; 2.50, (Loeb p.95).
2 ] Ibid. 4.140-150 (Loeb p.233).
3 ] For specific references see for example Lilly p.649; Dorotheus p.253; Ptolemy III.2 (Loeb p.321).
4 ] Ebertin-Hoffman, The Fixed Stars and Their Interpretations, 1928, p.28.
5 ] Vivian Robson, The Fixed Stars & Constellations, 1923; p.182.
6 ] Insouciance: carefree/irresponsible attitude.
7 ] Manilius, 5.140-157 (Loeb p.311).
8 ] Firmicus, Matheseos Libri VIII, 4th century, VIII.VII; (Ascella reprint p.267).
9 ] William Lilly, Christian Astrology, 1647, p.536.
10 ] Ibid. pp.667-668.
11 ] Ibid. p.649.
12 ] Ibid. p.679.
13 ] Ptolemy II.11 (Loeb p.203) - the Pleiades are marked by earthquakes, winds and mists; the Hyades by Fire, thunder and lightning. See also Allen, p.387 and p.398. The Pleiades have always shared in the reputation for rain attributed to the Hyades, and are intimately connected with stories of floods and the Deluge-myth.
Back to text
14 ] Manilius, 5.118-130 (Loeb pp.307-309).
15 ] Lilly, p.536.
16 ] Ibid. p.690.
17 ] Robson, p.125.
In the article, there is a list of stars with their qualities as well as a map of Taurus with a few stars inserted.
Screenshot 2022-08-23 161602.jpg1661274902301.png
According to this Wiki: "In astrology, the Royal Stars of Persia are Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut." and mentioned in an old Iranian text, Bundahishn. Actually they no longer play the same role in navigation, do to precession, but they are still prominent stars, as this article from 1948 points out.

The Wiki about Aldebaran writes:
Aldebaran was originally نير الضبران (Nā᾽ir al Dabarān in Arabic), meaning "the bright one of the follower". al Dabarān (الدبران) then applied to the whole of the lunar mansion containing the Hyades.[16] It is assumed that what it was following is the Pleiades.[15] A variety of transliterated spellings have been used, with the current Aldebaran becoming standard relatively recently.[16]
Aldebaran is almost directly opposite Antares, but that is not where the figure in the Tauroctony is looking, or is it? If that is the case, I learned here that, the two stars, Aldebaran and Antares, were listed in Roman times as being respectively 15 degrees in Taurus and 15 degrees in Scorpio:
The two stars, Aldebaran and Antares, specifying this reference axis of the Babylonian zodiac were defined to be in the center of the zodiacal signs of Taurus and Scorpio rather than elsewhere (for example, at the beginning of their respective signs), as they both lie centrally in groups of stars which had long been recognized as distinct stellar configurations marking the constellations of Taurus and Scorpio. Confirmation of this line of reasoning is to be found in excerpts relating to two Greek astrological texts:

Cleomedes states (De motu I, 11, p. 106,25 to 108,5 Ziegler) that there exist two bright stars such that the rising of one coincides with the setting of the other: Aldebaran (α Tauri) and Antares (α Scorpii), both being located at the 15th degree of their respective sign.11
?the diametrically opposite positions of Aldebaran and Antares in Taurus 15 degrees and Scorpio 15 degrees, respectively?is also given in a Greek treatise which goes under the name of the ?Anonymous of the Year 379?.12

The Greek astrologer Hephaestion of Thebes (fourth century A.D.) also lists the longitude of Aldebaran as 15˚ Taurus.13

Why, however, should these statements drawn from Greek astrology have any bearing on the Babylonian zodiac? Greek astrology is relevant here, since it is know that Greek astrologers were the direct recipients of Babylonian star lore, as is evident in the case of the astrological school founded by Berossos on the Greek island of Cos early in the third century B.C.14 From sources such as Berossos, Babylonian star lore was transmitted to Greece and became incorporated into the corpus of Greek astrology.​
11 O. Neugebauer, HAMA ii, p. 960.
12 Ibid.
13 Cf. O. Neugebauer-H.P. van Hoesen, Greek Horoscopes (Philadelphia, 1959), p. 187.
14 Cf. P. Schnabel, Berossos und die babylonisch-hellenistische Literatur (Leipzig, 1923),pp. 250-275 for Greek fragments of Berosos? writings.
Some astrologers have opinions on the qualities of both stars, and the influence of their axis, but what is reliable? At any rate, if the Phrygian slayer of the bull is looking in the opposite direction of the bull, then he may be looking in the direction of Antares in Scorpio, although that would hardly be possible, except in an abstract sense, because when two stars are in complete opposition and one is above the horizon, then the other is most likely below the horizon.
 
[...]

Is the Isle of Man comment in response to astrology or Kantek, both, or something else?
[...]

One thing that comes to mind about the Isle of Man is its flag, which shares a similarity with a symbol of the Basque, the Lauburu:

Isle of Man:

1661296750268.png

Coat of arms: 1661297710018.png




Lauburu:
1661297617605.png
Flag of Arrieta:

1661297104844.png

Lauburu​


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia







A typical lauburu. Each arm can be drawn with three sweeps of a compass



Left and right facing lauburu



Curved lauburu.

The lauburu (Basque: lau ("four") + buru ("head")) is an ancient hooked cross with four comma-shaped heads and the most widely known traditional symbol of the Basque Country and the Basque people.[1] In the past, it has also been associated with the Galicians and Asturians.[citation needed]

A variant of lauburu consisting of geometrically curved lines can be constructed with a compass and straightedge, beginning with the formation of a square template; each head can be drawn from a neighboring vertex of this template with two compass settings, with one radius half the length of the other.

Background
Historians and authorities have attempted to apply allegorical meaning to the ancient symbol of lauburu. Augustin Chaho[2] said it signifies the "four heads or regions" of the Basque Country. The lauburu does not appear in any of the seven historical provinces' coats-of-arms that have been combined in the arms of the Basque Country: Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Araba, Upper Navarre, Lower Navarre, Labourd, and Soule. While some authors have suggested that the four heads of lauburu could signify, e.g., form, life, sensibility, and conscience,[3] lauburu is more generally considered just a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.

After the time of the Antonines, Camille Jullian[4] finds no specimen of hooked crosses, round or straight, in the Basque areas until modern times.

Paracelsus' Archidoxis Magicae features a symbol[5] similar to the lauburu that is to be drawn to heal animals.

Louis Colas[6] considers that the lauburu is not related to the swastika but comes from Paracelsus and marks the tombs of healers of animals and healers of souls (i.e., priests). Around the end of the 16th century, the lauburu appears abundantly as a Basque decorative element, in wooden chests or tombs, perhaps as another form of the cross.[7] Straight swastikas are not found until the 19th century.

Many Basque homes and shops display the symbol over the doorway as a sort of talisman. Sabino Arana interpreted it as a solar symbol, to support his own theory of a hypothetical Basque solar cult (based on etymologies that have later been shown to be incorrect) in the first issue of the daily newspaper Euzkadi in 1913.

The lauburu has been featured on flags and emblems of various Basque political organisations including Eusko Abertzale Ekintza (EAE-ANV).

The use of the lauburu as a cultural icon fell into some disuse during the Francoist regime in Spain (1939-1975), which repressed many elements of Basque culture.


Etymology​

Lau buru means "four heads", "four ends" or "four summits" in Basque. Some[who?] argue this might be a folk etymology applied to the Latin labarum.[8]

However, Father Fidel Fita thought the relation reversed, labarum being adapted from Basque, under Augustus Caesar's rule.[9]

Two small quotes on what the swastika may have represented:

Q: (L) What is the origin of the swastika.

A: Oriental. Signified supremity.
I read a book some years ago that proposed that the swastika was at first a representation of a comet.
 
I think it’s interesting that if you go back to the pictures of the slaying of Julius Caesar and the Masonic initiation version next to it that some symbolic differences are noteworthy. For instance the head of JC is directly resting on a V on the floor and his right arm is also forming a open V. This is a symbol for the feminine. For the mother.
Whereas the Masonic picture has the V with the bottom facing upward, which is the symbol for male.
So we would be looking at two cults in direct opposition to one another. And the whole pirate thing just seems to be or seems to coincide with the creation or the beginning of Admiralty or Maritime law.
Water from a rock also sounds like the enforcement of maritime law on the land, very much like we still have today with the court system etc. wherever there’s water, there’s maritime law, even when the water sails an infant to the new world through the mother’s womb.
 
Not being familiar with the night sky and placing of the stars and all the changes over the millennia but I remembered something I read in EARTH CHANGES AND THE HUMAN-COSMIC CONNECTION. I can't download here but on page 206 there is a graph....''Obliquity of the ecliptic over the period 2345BC-2000AD''. Would this curve affect the position of the stars in the night sky and how they were observed.

As I say I don't know how to interpret these things so if above is way off please ignore.
 
Not being familiar with the night sky and placing of the stars and all the changes over the millennia but I remembered something I read in EARTH CHANGES AND THE HUMAN-COSMIC CONNECTION. I can't download here but on page 206 there is a graph....''Obliquity of the ecliptic over the period 2345BC-2000AD''.

Here is the relevant excerpt:

Tilt of the geographic poles​

Let’s first focus on the geographic pole and its 23.5° tilt. As mentioned above, if our planet had been accreting matter to itself, rotating quietly within its solar system cradle with its fellow nursery mates for billions of years, which is the official theory, then its rotation axis should be vertical. Even classical mechanics – which doesn’t take into account the electric nature of our universe – shows that an external factor is necessary for the Earth’s rotation axis to change and not be vertical. The following was stated as early as 1878:

When a mass of matter is in rotation about an axis, it cannot be made to rotate about a new one except by external forces.[1]

Later on, scientists discovered the existence of an electric field in which our planet is embedded, which led to a better explanation for the tilt of the Earth’s geographic axis:

… the Earth’s field is tied up in some ways with the rotation of the planet. And this leads to a remarkable finding about the Earth’s rotation itself … The Earth’s axis of rotation has also changed. In other words, the Earth has rolled about, changing the location of its geographical poles[2]

Zoologist François de Sarre confirms that the rotation axis of the planet should be vertical and explains how the electric force generated by a highly charged comet passing close to Earth could easily interact with Earth and shift its rotation axis:

Armin Naudiet[3] noted that the attraction exerted by the Sun on the Earth gyroscope would cause, in a long run, its straightening [spinning axis perpendicular to the plane of the solar system], because our planet is not a perfect sphere. Geometrically speaking, it is an ellipsoid. Due to its own rotation and the existence of a higher centrifugal force at the equator, the Earth deforms: it is not spherical but slightly flattened at the poles. In other words, if, as astronomers admit, our planet rotates ‘quietly’ (that is to say without having been ‘shaken’) for billions of years around the Sun, there should be no axis inclination¼ and no seasons, since they result from the inclination (23 ° 26 ') of the Earth’s axis relative to the plane of the solar system.

In any case, the recent discovery near the poles of a fossil fauna (dinosaurs!) rather used to heat seem to support the thesis of an Earth without seasons during the Secondary era.[4] It was hot all over the globe!…

How to explain that there are now seasons (in our latitudes) and that the Earth ‘nods’ its head, oscillating around its tilted axis? Presumably it received a ‘big shock’. The asteroid that ended the saga of dinosaurs is now widely accepted in science – in terms of the impact and its immediate consequences. But not a word about the disruption that could result in the Earth’s rotation.

In his book[5], German engineer Hans-Joachim Zillmer thinks the current tilt of the Earth is due to a celestial body carrying a strong electric potential (a comet?), which, passing close to Earth, has tilted [it]¼

Suppose a close-passing comet has recurred here for a few thousand years. Exposed to the sudden presence of electrokinetic forces, the inclination of the axis of the Earth relative to the ecliptic could have increased sharply, up to 30 or 35 degrees¼ No, no danger that Earth would tip over; let us recall the image of the toy top!

Then the Earth began to recover slowly. This would explain the phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes. Contrary to what astronomers usually think, it would not be constant, but be steadily declining, since the Earth returns to its original position, perpendicular to the plane of the solar ecliptic (despite the inertia of the system).[6]

As emphasized in the above excerpt, an external agent has to be factored in to explain the current tilt of the Earth’s rotation axis. A highly charged comet passing close enough to Earth could very well be the responsible agent, exerting massive electro-gravitational forces on the planet and ‘pulling’ the geographical axis away from its default vertical position. If this scenario is accurate, the Earth has been slowly returning to its default vertical position (because of the inertia of the gyroscope that is planet Earth).

However, for mainstream science Earth’s obliquity (i.e. its axial tilt angle) has always been there and is gently oscillating between 22°1 and 24°2 every 40,000 years, on average.[7] There are even pre-made formulae, like the Newcomb formula,[8] that calculate the Earth’s tilt one million years in the future or in the past. But all these figures about the past or future tilt of our planet are based on theoretical models that don’t even fit past observations.

George Dodwell[9] conducted an extensive study of ancient observations of the obliquity of Earth. He gathered 120 measurements[10] spanning the last four millennia, from 1100 BC up to the 20th Century.[11]

obliquity dodwell.jpg
Obliquity of the ecliptic over the period 2345 BC–2000 AD. Newcomb theoretical formula (red) vs. Dodwell’s compiled observations (blue). (© Dodwell)

The graph above covers the period 2450 BC to 1960 AD. It shows the evolution of Earth obliquity (in degrees) according to the Newcomb theoretical model (red line) and the observations compiled by Dodwell (blue curve).

The observations compiled by Dodwell not only diverge from the theoretical model held by mainstream science, but also define an almost perfect logarithmic curve. This logarithmic curve – showing a sudden and pronounced change (at least several degrees) in obliquity c. 2345 BC – strongly suggests the occurrence of a major cosmic event that rolled the Earth over.

At this time, severe climatic, geological and archaeological changes occurred in which the great Bronze Age civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece were wiped out. For example out of the 350 Early Bronze Age sites in ancient Greece, more than 300 were destroyed and many others were abandoned[12].


[1] Hill, E., ‘On the possibility of changes in the Earth’s axis’, Geol Mag, Vol.V, pp 262-266
[2] Runcorn, S., ‘The Earth’s magnetism’, Scient Am, 1955, pp. 152-162
[3] Naudiet, A., ‘Das Geheimnis der Präzession’, Efodon Synesis n° 9, 17-23, 1995
[4] Among other sources, the presence of mid-latitude and tropical flora in the circumpolar region is confirmed by the findings described in: Kropotkin et al., ‘Baron Von Toll on New Siberia and the Circumpolar Tertiary Flora’, Geogr. J., Vol.XVI, pp. 95-98.
[5] Zillmer, R. Irrtümer der Erdgeschichte, Langen Müller, 2001
[6] De Sarre, F., Mais où est donc passé le Moyen Âge, p 39
[7] Berger, A., ‘Obliquity and Precession for the Last 5,000,000 Years’ ,Astronomy and Astrophysics, pp. 127–135
[8] Newcomb, S., Tables of the Four Inner Planets, 2nd ed., 1898
[9] George F. Dodwell (1879-1963), leading Australian astronomer.
[10] ‘Dodwell main chart’, Setterfield. See: www.setterfield.org/Dodwell%20main%20chart.html
[11] Sources included Thales, about 558 BC; Eratosthenes, about 230 BC; Hipparchus, 135 BC; Ptolemy, 126 AD; and several medieval astronomers up to the time of Tycho Brahe, 1587 AD, and Wendelin, 1616 AD.
[12] Peiser Benny J., ‘collapse of early bronze age civilizations: has the smoking gun been found?’, Cambridge Conference Correspondance
 
Just a speculation , or idea that came to my mind while reading this short paper:
"The Soul's Ascent and Tauroctony: On Babylonian Sediment in the Syncretic Religious Doctrines of Late Antiquity - by Amar Annus"


Untitled-1.jpg


In the above text, just try to imagine that the Saturn is not the actual planet Saturn. What if they know that the solar system is a binary star system. He mentioned the concept of 2 suns. And one od the"suns" is "black". ( dark dwarf star?)
What if one of the Mithraic secrets was the knowledge that there are 2 suns? Sorry if this is just a noise, but this idea came to my mind while reading this paper.
The tauroctony in the Mithraic iconography was certainly related directly or indirectly to the contemporary ritual practice called taurobolium.

Taurobolium was a ritual, mostly in honour of the Phrygian Great Goddess, in which a bull was sacrificed over a pit containing the initiand;
through whose blood he was reborn for eternity (in aeternum renatus CIL VI 510, Clauss 2001: 31). According to Latin inscriptions, 􀂴dedicators desired
to be purified by receiving the taurobolium􀂵 (Duthoy 1969: 72). Prudentiusin the 4th century AD described the taurobolium in his poem On the
Martyrs Crowns
(10, 1011-50), where the high priest (summus sacerdos)descended into the pit in order to receive the consecration (consecrandus).

In Vermaseren’s words:

He is in full ceremonials, his head and temples are decorated with woollenfillets and ribbons, in his hair he wears a gold crown and he is attired in a
silken toga. Over the pit a wooden platform has been constructed. The bloodof the bull, which has been killed by means of a sacred spear (sacrato venabulo),drips down through holes, drilled in the boards. The priest lifts his face, and even licks up the blood (linguam rigat). When the animal has been dragged away the priest comes out, a gruesome sight (pontifex visu horridus), and he is hailed and saluted by the crowd, and worshipped from a distance (adorant eminus). (Vermaseren 1977: 103.)




Also in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the pits open in the ground when the Bull of Heaven arrives Uruk on the noserope of Ishtar



At the snort of the Bull of Heaven a pit opened up, a hundred men of Uruk all fell into it. At its second snort a pit opened up, two hundred men of Uruk
all fell into it. At its third snort a pit opened up, Enkidu fell in up to [his] waist. Enkidu sprang out and seized the Bull of Heaven by [its] horns; the

Bull of Heaven spat slaver at his face, with the tuft of its tail [..] ..[..]. (VI,

119-27, George 2003: 627.)
Is the whole tauroctony actually some king of "dramatisation" of some huge celestial event that changed everything ?
Given the centrality of the bull-killing episode in the Mithraic representation, it must have been supremely relevant to the lives of the initiates. The tauroctony itself can be interpreted as an act of creation, or an act of salvation, or an eschatological act of consummation at the world’s end it may even be two or all three of these (Beck 1984: 2080􀂲81).

The S. Prisca Mithraeum has a couple of painted texts in verse which may be the openings of liturgical hymns or self-contained symbola. One of
these may refer to the salvific act of bull-killing by Mithras: “us too you have save by blood eternally “nos servasti eternali sanguine fuso), but
the reading of the first part of the line is quite uncertain (ibid.: 2029). The episode in the epic of Gilgamesh, where the hero kills the Bull of
Heaven is reflected in the royal bull hunt descriptions in the royal inscriptions of ancient Mesopotamia. Already the king Shulgi killed “the big
wild bull.
The bull of the Heaven during his hunting expedition

The prey of the royal hunt is called “Bull of Heaven” which places Shulgi hunt in cosmological context. As a defined ruller of the UR dynasty III
dynasty, his account of the bull hunt thus deliberately alludes to the episode in the Gilgamesh epic (Watanabe 2002: 74-75). Similar accounts
of the royal bull hunting are attested also in the Assyrian royal inscriptions (see Watanabe 2002: 72-75).

Theologically, the Assyrian king is acting as the counterpart of a divine saviour during the royal bull or lion hunt, saving his people and cattle (see Annus 2002: 102-8).

The Mithraic icon of tauroctony contains some standard elements, Which includes metamorphosis of the tip of the bull’s tail into an ear or
ears of wheat, the presence of moon and torchbearers, a crater; and several animals: dog and snake, who are precisely on a par; a scorpion, a
lion, and a raven (Beck 1984: 2080). Some prominent scholars of Mithraism would like to see the icon of tauroctony as a map of the
heavens, the composite elements corresponding to a particular set of constellations 􀂲 bull to Taurus, dog to Canis Major and/or Canis Minor,
snake to Hydra, lion to Leo, crater to Crater, raven to Corvus, scorpion to Scorpius, and the wheat- at the tip of the bull’s tail to the star Spica
(ibid.: 2081, Ulansey 1989a: 24).

This view is quite speculative, but can be supported by comparative data, including the Mesopotamian sources that
are not taken into account by Roger Beck. It may be relevant that the Bull of Heaven, Sumerian gud-an-na and
Akkadian alû, was also the name of the constellation Taurus in Sumero-Babylonian astronomy. According to a Sumerian version of the tale, the Bull of Heaven grazed where the sun rises before the battle with Gilgamesh:


Great An replied to holy Inanna: My child, the Bull of Heaven would nothave any pasture (on the earth), as its pasture is on the horizon. Maiden
Inanna, the Bull of Heaven can only graze where the sun rises. So I cannot Give the Bull of heavens to you B 46-49.)

If the epic tale(s) of Gilgamesh served as a model or some kind of source for creative Mithraic reinterpretations under the circumstances of a Irano-
Mesopotamian synthesis, then it may also be relevant that we have a nearlyfull set of animals occurring in the Epic of Gilgamesh that also appearon the Mithraic icon.
Is the story about taurectony just a record of a big "celestial drama"?

Maybe something emerged from the constalation of Taurus, some big comet. The description of the ritual of killing the bull tells us that the initiate was "bellow" the bull, like hiding in a pit.
If a giant comment emerged on the sky people were probably trying to hide in caves because a big celestial body would probably cause a terrible condition on the earth.
So a hero, the king, the divine saviour duty was to kill the Bull of Heavens and protect his people and cattle so they can survive.
According to Sumerian version of the tale the Bull of Heaven grazed where the sun rises before the battle with Gilgames.

Maybe the inverse representation of the Tauroctony in Mithraism is because it is a record of the "drama" that happend in the sky, in the heavens, so maybe a copy of that "celestial drama" is recorded as inverted. Like the earth is a mirror of what happens to heaven( mirror of the battles in higher densities maybe???)

Did a huge celestial body appeared from the east ( where the sun rises) before created mayhem on the earth ?

These are just an ideas that came to my mind while reading the attached paper.
 

Attachments

I apologize didn't yet read all the comments, I just spotted the mentioning of Diocletian and heard a legend that seems to fit this cult.

Talking about Diocletian, there is a legend that he got a prophecy by some Druid Priestess that he would become emperor when he killed APER - a wild boar, which was for him confusing as it was usual to kill wild bor at least one in a year in huntings, etc and still he didn't become emperor. ... but in 284 Diocletian stubbed in some dispute a Lucius Flavius Aper and that made him become Emperor Diocletian.

Also what got my attention is that nothing is known of Aper's origins or the date and circumstances of his birth, same as with Diocletian.

Diocletian proclaimed himself the son of the God Jupiter, demanding to be treated like a God.

And APRIS in Sanskrit is a special invocation related to an animal sacrifice.
 
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