The Behenian Fixed Stars

Scion

I'm opening this thread to coontinue a discussion that has sprung up about the Fixed stars and their possible relation to the TdM trumps.

kwaw said:
I have labelled what I think are the 15 on the rete of this Hebrew inscribed astolabe from Spain c.1400:

HebrewAstrolabelABELLED.jpg


I am not 100% sure about all of these so if anyone knows better please feel free to correct. Some of the Hebrew names are transliteration of the arabic, for example ?DBRAN = aldabaran (the ? is for a character I am not familiar with, I think it may be a single symbol for the two letter 'AL', it appears at the front and end of the name on the star pointer that by its position I judge to refer to Spica for example, which would give AL-AOZ-AL, that I take as a transliteration of one of the names for Spica, Alaazal); others are titles in Hebrew, for example ZNB HGDI = Tail of the Goat, which I think by its position is Deneb Algedi; LB HOQYB = Heart of the Scorpion, Antares; Polaris is an exception in that it is called ZNB HChLB, Tail of the Dog, hebrew translation for the rarely used Greek name for the North Star [cynosura]; the Hebrew name for Sirius means the crosser, the crossroads or travellor, refering perhaps to the myth of the dog who crossed the river [sirius crossing the river of the milky way), the other being unable to [procyus the weeper).

Kwaw
Click to expand...

Kwaw, the next thing is the ascription of fixed stars to Trumps, right? Do you have thoughts on the subject? Does anyone else in this neck of the woods want to discuss the "22 stars 'bryhte to the syhte'" and the way they might be related to the Trumps?

Daana Mindon has done a fascinating series of articles relevant to this, and Rodes/Sanchez did something slightly similar in their Book of Fire. If anyone else knows of other constellational (non-Zodiac) Trump assignments by any authors I'd love to know about them.

Scion
 

kwaw

ChNF HOVRB = Wing of the Crow (Corvi) XV - Devil

It is said: "When the crow finds a corpse, it first pecks out the eyes."

The root of the Hebrew word for Crow (OVRB), as used as the name for this star, is OVR that means to make blind, to cause perversion of judgment. "Place no stumbling block before the blind", it is said; meaning cause no man to sin. Blindness is associated with Samael, that great devil called the blind angel sometimes portrayed as conjoined into one androgynous being with his 'demon' wife Lilith.

OVR also means skin, hide; and ChNF as well as 'wing' means to be covered, hidden; as in when Man fell into sin, he was covered in a hide of skin (OVR) in place of light (AVR).

Kwaw
(This probably needs to be moved over to another forum such as marseille and historical decks as I don't mean it to be taken as in any way defining an historical intention but rather an exercise in exploring speculative relationships).
 

kwaw

ZNB HGDY - The Tail of the Goat - XVII 'Star'

Dened Algedi, the tail of the fish goat, lies here on the ecliptic with the Sign Aquarius, replacing Formalhaut as the quarter marker. Its tail may be seen rising from the water next to the Aquarian like kneeling figure of the Star card in the Cary Vale sheet; who may also be seen as representing Hercules diverting a river to clean out the Augean Stables. The cleaning out of shit being figured as a metaphor for the washing away of sin; of the scapegoat on whom accumulated sins of the community are symbolically placed and sacrificed; and of the blood of Christ that washes away sin (Hercules was often portrayed in the period as a type of Christ, a salvation figure). The new year and returning light is enabled by washing away the 'weight' of darkness built up of the years 'filth' holding down the Sun.

Kwaw
 

Rosanne

I am very interested in this list of 15 Stars. I would like firstly to know why they are called 'Behenian'.
Here is a list of what Behen means.
Behen \Be"hen\, Behn \Behn\, n. [Per. & Ar. bahman, behmen, an
herb, whose leaves resemble ears of corn, saffron.] (Bot.)
(a) The Centaurea behen, or saw-leaved centaury.
(b) The Cucubalus behen, or bladder campion, now called
Silene inflata.
(c) The Statice limonium, or sea lavender.
Centaurea is the thistle family,(Star shaped flowers) is most likely the thistle mentioned in Genesis.
In the ancient world, they were the Beekeeper's flower. They were sometimes drawn in Almanacs as a beehive. If one was to imagine the dome of the sky as a beehive, the Stars on the list tracked in April from the highest (Polaris) to the lowest (Sirius) wind down in a spiral, looking like they ecentuate the shape of a beehive. Also Bees have a flying pattern- they go point to point in a pattern.
Of course they might have another reason for their name Like- Mr Behenian's list... but I do not know what is the reason they are called Behenian. It is thought, I have read, that this list might be originally from Babylonia?~Rosanne
 

Rosanne

I would also like to know if these Stars shine yellow in the night sky?~Rosanne
 

kwaw

I love the beehive spiral connection...

Don't know of off hand about the colours of the stars.

Yellow as in 'honey' coloured you thinking? (Or the stars as yellow 'bees'?)

In reference to colour 'behen' in olde English and French refers to 'a very cordial root, one white one red.'

Kwaw
 

Scion

Etymology of behen

Digging around on the web, I disciovered that Dangap (Moringa oleifera) seed oil was often called ben oil or behen oil. (home.att.net/~numericana/answer/culture.htm )

Ben-oil tree (Moringa oleifera) Tree of the Moringaceae family, bearing white flowers. Behen oil is extracted.from its seeds.
[Italian bèen. From the Persian bahman: eleventh month of the Persian year, corresponding to the sign of Aquarius, when the roots of this tree were traditionally harvested and consumed.] (emphasis mine)

Back to the Persians... and from http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=bahman

BAHMAN
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Iranian, Near Eastern Mythology
Possibly means "good mind" in Persian. This was the name of a Zoroastrian god (one of the Amesha Spenta) associated with domestic animals. It is also the name of the eleventh month in the Iranian calendar. (emphasis mine)

Where are the Harranians in this?

Running out the door, more shortly.
 
Concise History of the Pips? Article on tarot history