The Zodiac of DENDERA

it shows the stars and planets in the positions they would have been seen at that date. it is the only complete map that we have of an ancient sky"has been conjectured to represent the basis on which later astronomy systems were based^. It is now on display at the Musée du Louvre, Paris.




The vault of heaven is represented by a disc, held up by four women assisted by falcon-headed spirits. Thirty-six spirits or "decans" around the circumference symbolize the 360 days of the Egyptian year. The constellations shown inside the circle include the signs of the zodiac, most of which are represented almost as they are today. Aries, Taurus, Scorpio, and Capricorn, for example, are easily recognizable, whereas others correspond to a more Egyptian iconography: Aquarius is represented as Hapy, the god of the Nile flood, pouring water from two vases. The constellations of the northern sky, featured in the center, include the Great Bear (Ursa Major) in the form of a bull's foreleg. A hippopotamus goddess, opposite Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, represents the constellation of the Dragon.

An astronomical configuration corresponding to a specific date

The five planets that were known at the time are associated with certain signs of the zodiac: Venus ("the god of the morning") is behind Aquarius, Jupiter ("Horus who Reveals the Mystery") is near Cancer, Mars ("Horus the Red") is directly above Capricorn. Mercury is called "the Inert" and Saturn "Horus the Bull". This particular configuration of the planets among the constellations occurs only about once every thousand years; an astrophysicist has dated it between 15 June and 15 August 50 BC. Two eclipses are represented exactly where they occurred. The solar eclipse of 7 March 51 is depicted as the goddess Isis holding a baboon (the god Thoth) by its tail, signifying her attempt to stop the moon from hiding the sun. The lunar eclipse of 25 September 52 is represented by an udjat-eye (the "whole one"), because a lunar eclipse only occurs when the moon is full.

The Zodiac, an Egyptian-style illustration?

The Zodiac of Dendera was transported to France in 1821 with the permission of Egyptian ruler Mohamed Ali Pasha. It is one of the most famous Egyptian monuments preserved in France.
It should be interpreted as a map of the sky rather than a giant horoscope or a perpetual astrological tool. However, the Egyptians believed that certain constellations and decans could have a negative influence on their destiny or health.
The representations of the signs of the zodiac as we know them today did not appear in Egypt until the Greco-Roman Period. This monument reflects the way Egyptian cultural elements merged with Babylonian and Greek astronomical and astrological theories, as a result of the Assyrian and Babylonian deportations of the 8th and 6th centuries BC, and the Persian and Greek invasions of the 6th and 4th centuries.

we can see in the image the symbols of the twelve zodiac signs, then the planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), the Moon, Sirius, Orion, the three known constellations of the north, (Draco, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major) and the axis of the temple. The Duck is seen on a temple north of Esneh as similar to the number 36 Decan or the Aquila character between Capricorn and Sagittarius.

   I have added the number sequence from 1 to 36 to the image above to show a precise count of the 36 decans.  The 36 characters proceed in a counter-clockwise orientation on the outer edge of the Denderah circle.  These are called decans because in a circle of 360 degrees divided by 36 it equals 10, therefore deca, ten.  As you can see this allows three decans per zodiac sign (every 30 degrees).   the images around the perimeter are definitely decan stars only nobody knows which ones are which stars.
   Notice that the large disk with the eight symbols inside, has been left out of the decan count, as it is very plain that this symbol is not like any of the other 36 characters (figures, animals, statues, etc.).  Some claim it to be Decan stars and therefore it is one of the 36 characters around the circle of the Denderah zodiac, which every ten degrees the stars identified by the glyph is reactive. 

the symbol and line drawing show that in the circle are eight men on their knees, with their heads chopped off, and their arms tied behind their backs, possibly representing the world of the enemies (as the classic image of foreign enemies) to the Egyptians.   The image to the right is found on the temple north of Esneh  It appears to be different from the eight characters in the large disk of the Zodiac of Denderah.

The eight captives inside the large disk represent eight (actually 9 but traditionally seen as being 8) that could form the left-hand half of Capricornus.  These figures do stand for the glyphic symbol of enemies or wickedness.      These are Decan stars and the glyphs say Sa-r-a or a-r-sa, the figure to the right is also named sa-r-a (possible an indicator of epithet, title or a piece of time).

   These stars can be easily identified since the experts have identified all the planets elsewhere within the circle. The only major constellation below and between Capricornus and Aquarius is Piscis Austrinus.
   If the Eight figured star is indicative of Fomalhaut, the Egyptian connection is not noticeable for me.
   Piscis Austrinus, The Southern Fish, appears on the Meridian on October 10. It has been occasionally shown as two fish, but it is more commonly seen as a single fish, sometimes drinking from a stream of water poured from the jar held by Aquarius, which lies just north of it. An older, but incorrect, form of its name is Piscis Australis. The Sumerians called this Enki’s Fish.
    



The Grand Temple of Denderah
   The red-letter commentary is emphasized by myself to define some of the aspects of the image. The whole point is to propose the concept that the circle with eight figures marks the beginning with Capricorn and continues in a counter-clockwise rotation with the 36 decans and ends at Aquarius.
    To confirm this concept lets continue with other images which are to follow.
     the first part of a zodiac sculpture from the portico of the grand temple. The image is quite long, scroll to the right to see it if necessary. Notice that it shows in the lower left corner the head of the Egyptian female aspect who transcends across the image in a semi-circular concept.