Cartomancer
The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs - Book Review
The Kabbalah and Alphabets section is joined as a topic section, but this thread will focus on the alphabet. This thread is not about letter paths on the Tree of Life, but instead will investigate the letters of ancient alphabets and their relation to the Tarot. This will be an in-depth investigation to determine if the Tarot is based on the alphabet.
After this initial investigation we will take a closer look at the alphabet which will include alphabetic inscriptions, ancient star maps, and the pictures on the Major Arcana Tarot cards. Eventually it will be shown that techniques used in astroarchaeology or archaeoastronomy can be applied to the decipherment of the Tarot. Although I don't necessarily support all of the ideas I present in this review, I believe some are worth exploring.
My thesis is that the Major Arcana cards of the Tarot are based on a set of constellations that the alphabet was based on. In other threads I have posted my conclusions about how the Major Arcana Tarot cards are based on constellations and the alphabet. In this thread I will offer support for my theory. Later I will show how using methods of decipherment that can be used to decipher individual cards of the Tarot, which I have discussed in other threads on this forum.
This thread starts with a book review of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs by Hugh Moran and David Kelly as a way to introduce the topic of decipherment, the alphabet, and the Tarot. I include additional commentary exploring the possible influence of the alphabet on the Major Arcana of the Tarot. A comparison between the Hebrew alphabet and the Chinese lunar calendar signs also reveals information that may be pertinent to the origins of the Tarot. Other calendar systems and their possible relation to the Tarot will be explored after looking at the Chinese system.
For instance, the Hebrew letter 'Waw' may correspond to the Lovers card. According to Moran, the letter 'Waw' corresponded to the Chinese Lunar calendar sign 'Pi', which means 'a wall', 'a prince,' 'princess', 'to rule', 'punish'. In this case the prince and princess may correspond to the man and woman in the Lovers card. If the Lovers portray the Greek constellations Perseus and Andromeda, then the words: 'prince, princess, rule, and punish' are connected with those myths because Prince Perseus rescued Princess Andromeda who was being punished by Poseidon.
These are the types of analogies that are valued in etymological research because they show how names can be transferred between different peoples through cultural diffusion. The alphabet is known to have been transferred between cultures through diffusion, but could the Tarot have been brought to Europe through cultural diffusion as well? In the investigation of the alphabet we will also take a very close look at the connection between the pictures on the Major Arcana Tarot cards and the alphabet. Other information that pertains to the Tarot and ancient calendars will be covered. Since this is a dusty and ignored topic, any scholarly help would be appreciated.
The "Alphabet Book" (as it has been called) by Moran and Kelly has been cited in Bibliographies and is sometimes quoted from. Some reviewers see Dr. Moran's thesis as unreliable and his conclusions incorrect. As an introduction, I want to first provide links to other reviews of Moran's theory. I will cover Dr. Kelly's theories later, although they were better received by critics than Moran's theories.
Some reviewers of Moran's contribution to the "Alphabet Book" have not given good reviews, while the worth of Moran's research has been recognized by others. First, links to the reviews by Gary D. Thompson, Marshall Durbin, and Rick Flavin, and a quote from the book's Foreword by David Diringer. If you find other relevant reviews of Moran and Kelly's book, then please provide a link.
Review articles with brief critical quotes:
From:
Studies of Occidental Constellations and Star Names to the Classical Period: An Annotated Bibliography Compiled by Gary D. Thompson
"The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs. [Note: The book is comprised of separate essays by both authors - the longer one by Hugh Moran is unreliable. Our alphabet uses a visual mark (letter) to represent a sound of spoken language, rather than a complete idea (i.e., pictograph or ideogram). Hugh Moran claimed to have established a definite link between the shapes of the Semitic letters of our phonetic alphabet and those of the Chinese lunar zodiac. According to Moran the letters of the Hebrew, Greek and Arabic alphabets are based on/derived from the signs of the Chinese lunar zodiac." - Gary D. Thompson
http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page7.html
From:
The Evolution and Diffusion of Writing by Marshall Durbin of Washington University
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/aa.1971.73.2.02a00010/pdf
Durbin discounts Moran's theories and presents his own view of the history of writing, but has this observation: "No simple solution such as correlating the number of signs in the alphabet with the number of signs in the ancient calendar can take into account the complexities of the origin or evolution of the alphabet. While calendar signs undoubtedly are important in a study of this sort they can by no means account for the known complexities of ancient writing systems as outlined above." - Marshall Durbin
From:
"Another Farewell" A tribute to Cyrus Gordon by Rick D. Flavin.
Moran and Kelly's alphabet book is favorably mentioned.
http://www.flavinscorner.com/4-6-01.htm
"Prof. Gordon’s alphabet article proposed a lunar-based calendar technology and narrative mnemonic attached to the Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet, and argued that the acrophonic principle and a mathematical calendar ultimately combined to directly inspire our abc’s. This model arose from an appreciation of the groundbreaking work of Hugh Moran and Prof. David H. Kelley (The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs, by Hugh A. Moran and David H. Kelley, with an introduction by David Diringer, second edition, Palo Alto, CA: Daily Press, 1969), which put forth a basic hypothesis of a profound relationship between writing and the calendar. Moran regarded the alphabet as a means to convey tradition, myth, and establish a lunar-based calendar, and received the support of the day’s (1952, for the first edition)) leading alphabetologist, Dr. David Diringer. Kelley added his knowledge of Mayan “day names,” as well as improved upon many of Moran’s proposed Old World correspondences." - Rick Flavin
Also see: "The Oldest ABC's: The Ugarit Cuneiform Alphabet"
http://www.flavinscorner.com/abc.htm
David Diringer writes of Dr. Moran in the book's Foreword:
"Dr. Moran's theory is entirely original and to my knowledge has not been presented elsewhere. His thesis is, however, more than a new theory, for Dr. Moran shows us the fresh light reflected on it from his research both in the Chinese and the Near Eastern field; his reading as well as his scope has clearly been wide..."
"The author likes to speculate, to attempt generalizations, to explore dark areas. While Dr. Moran's suggestion is not to be accepted or rejected lightly, it holds the possibly of important results. The author expects critical co-operation rather than blind belief from the intelligent reader who desires to increase his knowledge." - David Diringer
Now for my review of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs.
This is a book review of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs by Dr. Hugh Anderson Moran and Dr. David Kelly (Daily Press, Second Edition, 1969). This review is from the perspective of someone who has closely investigated the ancient alphabet and had personal instruction in the methods described in the book by Dr. Moran himself. Some of my insights about this book were formed during meetings with Dr. Hugh Anderson Moran in the 1970s. Dr. Moran was kind enough to meet with me for a couple of hours a week for over a year and instruct me in his methods of decipherment. Over a period of several semesters I received college credit for individual study of the alphabet directed by Dr. Moran.
My interest in the alphabet was sparked by the traditional assertion that the Tarot was somehow based on the alphabet. Exactly how the Tarot was based on the alphabet has not been adequately explained, so I began an investigation of the alphabet starting with a book I checked out of the college library for a history report I gave in the 1970s. Decades later I prepared much of this review for another college history class. It has been updated to address the Tarot and its connection to the alphabet.
I will be reviewing the Second Edition of the book, which has improved graphics and minor textual corrections in addition to an entire section written later by Dr. David Kelly that explores the American parallels as well as other calendar systems used around the world. This review will start on the material presented in Part One of the Second Edition, which is an edited version of the First Edition published in 1953.
This review is continued in my next post.
"The letters of the alphabet are the abc's of the Tarot." - Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
The Kabbalah and Alphabets section is joined as a topic section, but this thread will focus on the alphabet. This thread is not about letter paths on the Tree of Life, but instead will investigate the letters of ancient alphabets and their relation to the Tarot. This will be an in-depth investigation to determine if the Tarot is based on the alphabet.
After this initial investigation we will take a closer look at the alphabet which will include alphabetic inscriptions, ancient star maps, and the pictures on the Major Arcana Tarot cards. Eventually it will be shown that techniques used in astroarchaeology or archaeoastronomy can be applied to the decipherment of the Tarot. Although I don't necessarily support all of the ideas I present in this review, I believe some are worth exploring.
My thesis is that the Major Arcana cards of the Tarot are based on a set of constellations that the alphabet was based on. In other threads I have posted my conclusions about how the Major Arcana Tarot cards are based on constellations and the alphabet. In this thread I will offer support for my theory. Later I will show how using methods of decipherment that can be used to decipher individual cards of the Tarot, which I have discussed in other threads on this forum.
This thread starts with a book review of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs by Hugh Moran and David Kelly as a way to introduce the topic of decipherment, the alphabet, and the Tarot. I include additional commentary exploring the possible influence of the alphabet on the Major Arcana of the Tarot. A comparison between the Hebrew alphabet and the Chinese lunar calendar signs also reveals information that may be pertinent to the origins of the Tarot. Other calendar systems and their possible relation to the Tarot will be explored after looking at the Chinese system.
For instance, the Hebrew letter 'Waw' may correspond to the Lovers card. According to Moran, the letter 'Waw' corresponded to the Chinese Lunar calendar sign 'Pi', which means 'a wall', 'a prince,' 'princess', 'to rule', 'punish'. In this case the prince and princess may correspond to the man and woman in the Lovers card. If the Lovers portray the Greek constellations Perseus and Andromeda, then the words: 'prince, princess, rule, and punish' are connected with those myths because Prince Perseus rescued Princess Andromeda who was being punished by Poseidon.
These are the types of analogies that are valued in etymological research because they show how names can be transferred between different peoples through cultural diffusion. The alphabet is known to have been transferred between cultures through diffusion, but could the Tarot have been brought to Europe through cultural diffusion as well? In the investigation of the alphabet we will also take a very close look at the connection between the pictures on the Major Arcana Tarot cards and the alphabet. Other information that pertains to the Tarot and ancient calendars will be covered. Since this is a dusty and ignored topic, any scholarly help would be appreciated.
The "Alphabet Book" (as it has been called) by Moran and Kelly has been cited in Bibliographies and is sometimes quoted from. Some reviewers see Dr. Moran's thesis as unreliable and his conclusions incorrect. As an introduction, I want to first provide links to other reviews of Moran's theory. I will cover Dr. Kelly's theories later, although they were better received by critics than Moran's theories.
Some reviewers of Moran's contribution to the "Alphabet Book" have not given good reviews, while the worth of Moran's research has been recognized by others. First, links to the reviews by Gary D. Thompson, Marshall Durbin, and Rick Flavin, and a quote from the book's Foreword by David Diringer. If you find other relevant reviews of Moran and Kelly's book, then please provide a link.
Review articles with brief critical quotes:
From:
Studies of Occidental Constellations and Star Names to the Classical Period: An Annotated Bibliography Compiled by Gary D. Thompson
"The Alphabet and Ancient Calendar Signs. [Note: The book is comprised of separate essays by both authors - the longer one by Hugh Moran is unreliable. Our alphabet uses a visual mark (letter) to represent a sound of spoken language, rather than a complete idea (i.e., pictograph or ideogram). Hugh Moran claimed to have established a definite link between the shapes of the Semitic letters of our phonetic alphabet and those of the Chinese lunar zodiac. According to Moran the letters of the Hebrew, Greek and Arabic alphabets are based on/derived from the signs of the Chinese lunar zodiac." - Gary D. Thompson
http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page7.html
From:
The Evolution and Diffusion of Writing by Marshall Durbin of Washington University
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/aa.1971.73.2.02a00010/pdf
Durbin discounts Moran's theories and presents his own view of the history of writing, but has this observation: "No simple solution such as correlating the number of signs in the alphabet with the number of signs in the ancient calendar can take into account the complexities of the origin or evolution of the alphabet. While calendar signs undoubtedly are important in a study of this sort they can by no means account for the known complexities of ancient writing systems as outlined above." - Marshall Durbin
From:
"Another Farewell" A tribute to Cyrus Gordon by Rick D. Flavin.
Moran and Kelly's alphabet book is favorably mentioned.
http://www.flavinscorner.com/4-6-01.htm
"Prof. Gordon’s alphabet article proposed a lunar-based calendar technology and narrative mnemonic attached to the Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet, and argued that the acrophonic principle and a mathematical calendar ultimately combined to directly inspire our abc’s. This model arose from an appreciation of the groundbreaking work of Hugh Moran and Prof. David H. Kelley (The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs, by Hugh A. Moran and David H. Kelley, with an introduction by David Diringer, second edition, Palo Alto, CA: Daily Press, 1969), which put forth a basic hypothesis of a profound relationship between writing and the calendar. Moran regarded the alphabet as a means to convey tradition, myth, and establish a lunar-based calendar, and received the support of the day’s (1952, for the first edition)) leading alphabetologist, Dr. David Diringer. Kelley added his knowledge of Mayan “day names,” as well as improved upon many of Moran’s proposed Old World correspondences." - Rick Flavin
Also see: "The Oldest ABC's: The Ugarit Cuneiform Alphabet"
http://www.flavinscorner.com/abc.htm
David Diringer writes of Dr. Moran in the book's Foreword:
"Dr. Moran's theory is entirely original and to my knowledge has not been presented elsewhere. His thesis is, however, more than a new theory, for Dr. Moran shows us the fresh light reflected on it from his research both in the Chinese and the Near Eastern field; his reading as well as his scope has clearly been wide..."
"The author likes to speculate, to attempt generalizations, to explore dark areas. While Dr. Moran's suggestion is not to be accepted or rejected lightly, it holds the possibly of important results. The author expects critical co-operation rather than blind belief from the intelligent reader who desires to increase his knowledge." - David Diringer
Now for my review of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs.
This is a book review of The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs by Dr. Hugh Anderson Moran and Dr. David Kelly (Daily Press, Second Edition, 1969). This review is from the perspective of someone who has closely investigated the ancient alphabet and had personal instruction in the methods described in the book by Dr. Moran himself. Some of my insights about this book were formed during meetings with Dr. Hugh Anderson Moran in the 1970s. Dr. Moran was kind enough to meet with me for a couple of hours a week for over a year and instruct me in his methods of decipherment. Over a period of several semesters I received college credit for individual study of the alphabet directed by Dr. Moran.
My interest in the alphabet was sparked by the traditional assertion that the Tarot was somehow based on the alphabet. Exactly how the Tarot was based on the alphabet has not been adequately explained, so I began an investigation of the alphabet starting with a book I checked out of the college library for a history report I gave in the 1970s. Decades later I prepared much of this review for another college history class. It has been updated to address the Tarot and its connection to the alphabet.
I will be reviewing the Second Edition of the book, which has improved graphics and minor textual corrections in addition to an entire section written later by Dr. David Kelly that explores the American parallels as well as other calendar systems used around the world. This review will start on the material presented in Part One of the Second Edition, which is an edited version of the First Edition published in 1953.
This review is continued in my next post.
"The letters of the alphabet are the abc's of the Tarot." - Cartomancer (Lance Carter)