Heliacal Phenomena and the Origin of the Exaltations or Hypsomata [HELIACAL] Cyril Fagan. On Heliacal Phenomena ("First Light" Appearances and Disappearances of Planets) in ancient Babylon & Egypt, especially with regard to the First Crescent Moon, its primary importance, & how to calculate it. Never before published FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX Tables for dating Distant Eras (revised Egyptian Chronology); excerpts from 9/1958 "Solunars," A.A. On Heliacal Phenomena and the Origin of the Exaltations or Hypsomata; excerpts from 6/1969 "Solunars." On the Origin of the Horoscope Form from the Heliacal Rising of Sirius at Heliopolis in 2767 B.C., the inauguration of Sothic Era as the earliest known horoscope; excerpts from 12/1961 "Solunars" and letter of 5/1966. Cyril Fagan, "Solunars," A.A. (9/1958) [HELIACAL PHENOMENA] Babylonian Accuracy If reference is made to the Egyptian Sothic Calendar for 2767 B.C, it will be found that the Greek name for the first month of the season Shemu was Kaphon (Copic=Pachons). This was because the festival of Pa Chons or Chronsu ("The New Moon") was celebrated during this month, which tallied with the Julian year commencing March 13th. Pa Chons was the god of the New Moon and in the monuments he was represented as either a falcon-headed man wearing the solar disc and lunar crescent on his head, or as a naked boy similarly crowned. This seems to prove convincingly that the Egyptians celebrated the Neomenia or 1st New Moon of the lunar year, which tallied with the Babylonian 1st Nisan, long before the institution of their calendar of 360 days, plus 5 epagomenal days, especially as their ideogram for a month was a representation of a crescent moon! 1 | FAGAN -- HELIACAL Many hundreds of Babylonian cuneiform tablets of baked clay have been excavated, which gave the dates of the first appearance of the lunar crescent. Referring to these, Dr. J. K. Fotheringham of Oxford University says "...Elaborate computations of the date of this appearance have come down to us, and we are able to check Babylonian lunar dates for predicted phenomena with sufficient frequency to know the high accuracy with which the late Babylonians were able to predict this phenomena. The late Babylonian ephemerides must in the nature of the case have been regulated by predicted appearances..." And Karl Schock declares "...I can say of the Babylonians, who were persistent observers of the crescent during 3000 years, that not only their observations but their computations for ephemerides are admirable...." But while the Babylonians were able to predict with such marvelous accuracy the dates on which the crescent moon would first become visible in Babylon, the problem, even to this day, is one of the most intricate exercises of positional astronomy, notwithstanding our advanced mathematical technique. It is first essential to know the precise time of the syzygies and in the Venus Tablets of Ammizaduga (Oxford University Press, 1928) Schoch has published simple tables for the computation, accurate to within five minutes of time, from 3508 B.C. to 1992 A.D. Before his lamentable death in 1929, Schock issued privately even more accurate elements of the luminaries, and with these James Hynes of Dublin has compiled more precise tables, permitting the accurate calculation of the longitude and time of the conjunctions and oppositions of the Sun and Moon for any date between 4000 B.C. and 2000 A.D. Sighting Problems To ascertain the date on which the crescent will become visible to the sharp-sighted observer (weather permitting), it is necessary to know the Altitude of the Moon over the western horizon at the moment of sunset, for the 2nd day after the syzygy. This is dependent on the season of year, the age of the Moon, and the azimuth difference between the Sun and Moon. In the latitude of Babylon (N 32.30') if the azimuth difference is zero, the Moon will need to have an altitude of 10.7 2 | FAGAN -- HELIACAL degrees before it can be spotted, but should the azimuth difference amount to 19 degrees it can be seen when it is only 6.3 degrees above the western horizon. But these values will differ for every degree of geographical latitude. If the altitude is less than tabular requirements, the Moon will not be seen until after sunset of the 3rd day after the syzygy. Given a set of heliacal table for the required latitude and a Sun- date table, such as those compiled by Hynes, it is a very simple matter to ascertain the date of the heliacal rising or setting of a planet or fixed star, or the date of its acronychal rising or cosmic setting, provided the arcus visionis is known. Or vice versa, if the date is known to determine the value of the gamma. Since the time when Ptolemy penned his famous ALMAGEST or "Great Work" it has been customary to regard the visibility of a planet or fixed star as dependent on the angular distance of the Sun below the horizon at the time of the rising or setting of that planet or fixed star, and this angular distance is known among astronomers by the Greek letter gamma. The minimum value of gamma which will render a star visible is known as the arcus visionis ("arc of vision"). The value of the 'arcus visionis' is in the first instance determined empirically, that is, through direct observation by a team of trained observers, for it is not only dependent on the magnitude of the star or planet, the season, the azimuth difference of the Sun and star, but on such local conditions as the terrain--whether hilly or flat country, whether inland or on the coast, conditions of visibility and the like. It may happen that two places may be situated on the same parallel of geographical latitude but while the prevailing conditions in respect of visibility in one may be excellent, in the other they may be very poor indeed, and the values of the 'arcus visionis' for both will be affected accordingly. From the dates of heliacal risings, given on ancient monumental and cuneiform inscriptions, Schock found that the mean gamma for Sirius at heliacal rising at Babylon was 7.7 degrees and at Memphis in Egypt 8.8 degrees. At heliacal setting it was one degree less. This means that the Sun must be approximately 44 degrees separated from the conjunction 3 | FAGAN -- HELIACAL of Sirius for the latter to be seen on the horizon at Babylon immediately before sunrise. But once the 'arcus visionis' of a star is known, magnitude and azimuth distance from the Sun is determined empirically for any given place, then the 'arcus visionis' of all other fixed stars and planets can be determined form the appropriate trigonometical formulae. Most of the great epochs and eras of antiquity were dated from the heliacal rising of one or other of the fixed stars. The Harakhte era began with the heliacal rising of Spica at Heliopolis on September 15, 3130 B.C. and the Sothic era with the heliacal rising of Sirius at Heliopolis on July 16, 2767 B.C. The rainy season was ushered in at the heliacal rising of the Hyades and the vine harvest at that of Tsha Nefre, the "beautiful boy" or Bacchus, identified with Vindemiatrix in Virgo 15 degrees 12'. The zodiacal exaltation degrees o the planets (except Venus were the degrees of the zodiac in which they heliacally rose or set during the lunar year 786-785 B.C. Thus, in that year Jupiter set heliacally on June 22, 786 B.C. in Cancer 15d. Mercury set heliacally in the east in Virgo 15d on September 13, 786 B.C., Saturn set heliacally in the west on September 23, 786 B.C. in Libra 21d and Mars rose heliacally in the east on January 30, 785 B.C. in Capricorn 28d. On New Year's Day of that year (1st Nisan) April 3, 786 B.C. at midnight (because the Babylonian ephemerides were always computed for this time) the Sun was in Aries 19d, the Moon in Taurus 3d and Venus in Pisces 27d, which are their traditional exaltation degrees. This alone demonstrates the immense importance that the ancient astrologers gave to heliacal phenomena. All these longitudes are, of course, in terms of the sidereal zodiac computed from Spica in Virgo 29d06'. Dating Distant Eras The omission of any reference to heliacal phenomena in any astrological textbook suggests that it is of modern vintage. it is true that Ptolemy does not specifically refer to such in his TETRABIBLOS, although he dilates at length upon the subject in his ALMAGEST. But Schock has demonstrated that Ptolemy's values for the 'arcus visionis' are impossible, even for Alexandria where visibility 4 | FAGAN -- HELIACAL is said to be very poor. Unfortunately these values appear to have been translated to India and will be found in the Surya-Siddhanta, but they are equally inapplicable to that continent.... To determine the 'arcus visionis' for a fixed star for any other place it is necessary to have a team of sharp-eyed observers, capable of recognizing the star, watching the unobstructed eastern horizon and a locality where the darkness of the night sky is not destroyed by the glow of neon lights or the like. From about a week or so before the calculated time of heliacal rising at Babylon, the vigil should commence, and the date noted on which the star is seen for a fleeting moment in the early morning skies on the eastern horizon before sunrise. Knowing the star's right ascension and declination, the geographical latitude of the place and the longitude of the Sun, it is a simple matter to compute the value of the gamma.