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This article first appeared in:
SIS Review Vol. II No. 2: December 1977

Part II "Geological Genesis" (1993)

The Primordial Light?

Harold Tresman & B. O'Gheoghan

Harold Tresman, a Home Counties businessman, is co-founder and
founding Chairman Of the Society; Mr O'Gheoghan is a professional
physician.
_________________________________

What is the reality behind Saturn's place as the original deity in
cosmogonic myth? What is the significance of the "Golden Age" and
other legends surrounding this planetary god? The following paper
is based on an idea arrived at some years ago and presents the
startling conclusions of the authors' researches into the
traditions of peoples.
_________________________________

The publication, in 1950, of Worlds In Collision heralded a
revolution in contemporary thought. In that book Dr Velikovsky
dealt with catastrophes affecting the Earth since 1500 BCE. At
various points in the narrative he alluded to previous
catastrophes: indeed, he has promised sequel volumes on the
subject. Further indications of the nature of the pre-Exodus
catastrophes have been given by Mullen (1), by Greenberg and
Sizemore (2), by Sieff (3) and by Cardona (4). We find the subject
matter sufficiently stimulating to pursue our own inquiry, and we
are spurred on by these words:- "Don't bring every question to me.
Decide it among yourselves. And those of you who know how to ask
questions should continue on to find answers." (5)

At one point in the narrative Dr Velikovsky hints that Jupiter must
have previously wreaked havoc in our Solar System and that much of
the confusion between Jupiter and Venus in the myths could be
attributed to just this cause (6). As to the origin of the
Venus-comet he says:- "The collision between major planets, which
is the theme of the sequel to Worlds in Collision, brought about
the birth of comets. These comets moved across the orbits of other
planets and collided with them. At least one of those comets in
historical times became a planet (Venus) . . ." (7) It is his
opinion that Venus was born from Jupiter; thus Jupiter would have
been in collision with another of the major planets(8) to cause the
disturbances in the Solar System.

Dr Velikovsky leaves us with no doubt as to where he proposes the
collisions took place within our System. "The zodiacal light, or
the glow seen in the evening sky after sunset, stretching in the
path of the sun and other planets (ecliptic), the mysterious origin
of which has for a long time occupied the minds of astronomers, has
been explained in recent years as the reflection of the solar light
from two rings of dust particles, one following the orbit of Venus,
the other an orbit between Mars and Jupiter, places where,
according to Worlds in Collision, collisions of planets and a comet
took place." (9). And . . . "The large number of asteroids between
the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter suggests that at some
unknown time another planet revolved there; now only these
meteorites follow approximately the path along which the destroyed
planet circled the sun. Possibly a comet ran into it and shattered
it." (10)

As to the origins of the instability within our System, he puts
forward a few suggestions based on current theories. He mentions
the double star system hypotheses of Lyttleton and of Russell: "A
passing star crushed the companion of the sun, and out of its
débris planets were formed." (11) But he does point out some
objections to this theory, which has been used by others to account
for the past history of our Solar System. A précis of this
hypothesis and an analysis of how its problems may be overcome is
being prepared by Sieff (12) and may appear as a sequel to this
paper. Sieff sees Jupiter as an invader of our System (then a
double star system) - moreover, he sees Jupiter as having caused
the disintegration of Saturn, the one-time companion to the sun.*
Dr Velikovsky has similar views, viz:- "Also, some dark star, like
Jupiter or Saturn, may be in the path of the sun, and may be
attracted to the system and cause havoc in it." (13)

[*But compare the alternative scenario outlined by Ralph Juergens
later in this issue. -Ed.]

And Dr Velikovsky offers a few hints as to how he sees the fate of
the one-time companion to the sun: "From time to time a nova is
seen in the sky, a blazing fixed star which until then had been
small or invisible. ... It is thought that this may be the result
of a collision between two stars (a phenomenon that, according to
the tidal theory, occurred to the sun or to its theoretical
companion). Comets arriving from other solar systems may have been
born in such collisions." (14) Also, Mullen offers us Dr
Velikovsky's opinion that Saturn went nova as a result of
disruption by Jupiter (15).

The nature of the postulated collision between Saturn and Jupiter,
and its consequences, has also been spelled out by Dr Velikovsky
(16). We content ourselves with a brief extract here and commend
our reader to see the original in full. "In the near collision with
Jupiter, Saturn, of much larger mass than at present, was disrupted
. . . Jupiter swept up the dispersed material and later . . .
underwent fission." He goes on to suggest a process whereby Venus
could be born of Jupiter.

There are other hints offered by the deductions Dr Velikovsky has
made from his theories, some of which are confirmed, none refuted.
The correct prediction of the radio noises of Jupiter is but one
example. He claims that Saturn will be found to contain water and
to possess molecular chlorine (17). Consider those predictions in
the light of the following:- "The water of the oceans contains a
large amount of soluble sodium chloride, common salt, Sodium might
have come from rocks eroded by rain; but rocks are poor in chlorine
and the proportion of sodium and chlorine in sea water calls for
fifty times more chlorine in the igneous rock than it actually
contains." (18) Did much of the salt and water in our oceans
originally come from Saturn?

The details of the early catastrophes affecting our Earth in Dr
Velikovsky's reconstruction have yet to be filled in, but the
general outline as hinted by Dr Velikovsky and his associates runs
something like this:-

1. Ours was a double star system originally, Sun plus (probably)
Saturn.
2. A passing dark star - e.g. Jupiter (19) - was attracted to the
System and entered it.
3. It collided with or disrupted Saturn.
4. Some of the débris of this collision is marked by the asteroid
belt of today (20).
5. Saturn went nova as a result of disruption.
6. Comets originate from the great collision (21).
7. But the Venus-comet was born of Jupiter, so did Jupiter acquire
some of the mass of the disrupted Saturn, thus itself becoming
unstable? (22)
8. Some more of the débris from Saturn approached the Earth and was
the cause of the great Deluge, whose waters were salty.

Permit us then to extrapolate from this basic scheme in the light
of our own research, and present our own reconstruction of the
history of the Solar System. Will the evidence of mythology,
geology and the physical sciences bear out the reconstruction
sketched out above? Or will we have to modify this outline to a
greater or lesser extent? We propose to deal here with the first of
these three fields: the myths and records.

1. The "Génie du Pivot"

We shall begin by looking at Saturn. A very striking conclusion
derives from the study of the earlier myths - that the importance
of the planetary deity Saturn in the early mythologies is out of
all proportion to its present appearance in the night sky. Indeed,
Saturn is not an easy object to spot in the heavens. Yet Saturn was
an obsession of the ancients. He was chief among the gods before
his throne was usurped by Jupiter - " . . . a planet which only a
few persons out of a crowd know how to find in the sky was the main
deity of the peoples of antiquity." (23)

It is not our purpose to demonstrate that indeed Saturn was once a
senior deity by giving exhaustive proofs. Many learned books have
been written on just this topic. We do propose to identify Saturn
in the many mythologies, e.g. in the Egyptian as Osiris (24), Greek
as Kronos, Babylonian as Ninurta (25), Hittite as Kumarbis (26),
Hindu as Brahma (27) . . . etc. Tacitus records the Jews as
worshipping the planet Saturn (Shabbatai) as their god (28). From
the importance of these deities in their respective pantheons we
may clearly see that here was a very important god, and in his time
he was chief among the gods.

We may go further back in order to identify an original deity. Such
is the theme presented by de Santillana and von Dechend (29): that
at one time Saturn exercised the supreme power on Earth, his reign
being remembered as the Golden Age, his time revered, a time which
Man longed to return to. The Egyptians compared their Pharaohs with
the original deity in their elaborate afterlife rituals (30).
There, Pharaoh was identified with Horus, and his life traced back
into the time of his father Osiris, and back further to the origins
of time through Osiris into Atum (31). Now Atum was the ruler of
the greatest antiquity; none had ruled before him. In the Sumerian
pantheon we may clearly identify An or Anu, ruler from the first
era (32); very likely Anus of the Hittites corresponds to this
An/Anu deity. The first astral deity of the Greeks was Ouranos - he
was dethroned by Kronos (who is Saturn). The Hindu Prajapati was
likewise their first god (33); he merged into Brahma in a fashion
similar to that of Atum into Osiris.

There is every indication that this original deity was at one time
the only visible planetary body of the heavens. From the Hindu
sources we have: "In the beginning, Prajapati existed alone" (34).
The Egyptian records tell that Atum "was alone in the primeval
watery abyss" (35). The deities An/Anu and Ouranos were both lone
planetary deities, although their names translate literally as
"heaven" (36). In this context, it is worth referring to the
Creation Myths and the known similarity between those of the
Egyptians, Sumerians and Hebrews (37). "In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Atum was the
creator of Shu and Tefnut, who in turn gave rise to Nut and Geb:-
literally "heaven" and "earth" (38). An and Ki are similarly
created in the Sumerian myths. Now An = heaven and Ki = earth (39).
There are indications that An-ki was the Sumerian concept for the
Universe. (40)

In each case the successor to the original deity was a Saturn-type
god. Thus Prajapati gave rise to Brahma (though the distinction
between the two of them is not made clear) and Atum merged
imperceptibly into Osiris. Ouranos was displaced by his son Kronos
after being castrated by him. The castration motif may even derive
from the similar Hittite myth (41) where Kumarbis does just this to
Anus in order to seize his throne. For the purpose of clarity we
propose to call the original deity "proto-Saturn". Where there is
descent it is obvious, otherwise the transition between the
original deity and the later Saturn god (who was also chief among
the gods) is not too marked.

The nature and properties of the major planets Jupiter and Saturn
are well characterised in the records. The Dogon know of four
satellites of Jupiter (42) and of the rings of Saturn (43). The
existence of the satellites of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn was
also chronicled by Job, as is argued by Sieff (44), this being his
interpretation of the phrases "Arcturus with his sons" and "the
bands of Orion". There exists amongst the Pygmies of the Éfé tribe
a tradition that calls Saturn "the star of nine moons" (45). The
Maori also possess considerable astronomical knowledge, including
that of a planet that wears a circlet or headband (46).

The Chinese records tell of Saturn as "génie du pivot" (47), which
connotation implies that the property of having satellites was well
known long before the time of Galileo. This should be taken in the
light of the statement: Huang-ti established everywhere the order
for the sun, the moon, and the stars." (48) Kronos was addressed
(in an Orphic Hymn) as "you who hold the indestructible bond"; and
Ninurta likewise held "the bond of heaven and earth" (49). And when
the time came for him to hand over power to Jupiter, Saturn gave
"all the measures of the whole creation" (50). Further examples of
Saturn as a primary for satellites may be found in Robert Temple's
equation of Osiris (as the Saturn-god) with the Sirius system - a
well-known binary star system (51).

The Kabbalah divides the degrees between the divine and the mundane
into a series of ten spheres, or sephiroth, which have planetary
and other correspondences. Now, the sphere of Saturn is known as
Binah; and the terrestrial sphere, known as Malkuth, is said to
have its foundation in Binah. In the words of the Sefer Yetsirah
(Book of Creation), describing Malkuth, the sphere of the Earth:-
"It sits on the throne of Binah." (52) Elohim, the name of the
Creator in Genesis 1, is the divine name attributed to the sphere
of Binah.

Dr Velikovsky has explained how it was that the planets (whose
aspects are tiny) came to be so revered - not at their present
distances, but as a result of close contacts thus, especially,
Venus. Saturn and Jupiter, now distant planets, figure prominently
in the early myths. Surely, in distant times, these two great
bodies must have been much closer to the Earth, for their
attributes to be so vividly presented in myth? And at the origin of
time, what must have been the aspect of the original deity, that on
account of its size it be called "heaven", and the association of
the Earth with this "heaven" be thought of as the Universe?

What must have been the relationship between the Earth and this
great body - proto-Saturn? There are two answers we consider. The
first is that the Earth was indeed nearer to this body, but on an
orbit about the Sun independent of the great body, thus there would
be times when the aspect of the proto-Saturn body would be large.
However, there would also be times when its aspect would be quite
small, as at present. Neither does this explanation account for
some of the satellitic descriptions.

The alternative proposal is startling. It is that at one time the
Earth orbited as a satellite of proto-Saturn (53). How are we to
test this unlikely-sounding hypothesis? Surely few descriptions
have survived the ravages of time and cataclysm? And yet they are
to be found. The Sumerian ideogram for "star", "god", and "heaven"
(An) is one and the same, a simple eight pointed star shape
[8-pointed star-shape] (54). "This strongly suggests that they
believed that the original 'heaven' was a body that later became a
star. It also strongly indicates that the first deity was this
star-heaven god." (55)

We therefore propose our hypothesis of Earth as a former satellite
of proto-Saturn, and we further state that this hypothesis can be
tested by reference to the mythology. Such a system, if it existed,
has obviously undergone disruption, and there will be descriptions
to be found for this. We present below the myths we have found
which seem to us to refer to this period, and believe that they
match in sufficient detail to provide confirmation for our
hypothesis.

2. Saturn as a Bright Object

We have so far considered some of the properties of Saturn in early
time, but we are now to debate its appearance. If Earth were to be
in orbit around such a great body then this primary body would
surely appear to be very bright. It would certainly reflect an
enormous amount of light from the sun, and in this respect could be
considered to be a larger version of our present Moon - a huge
moon-like object. But maybe it also emitted light of its own, and
we may speculate thus in the knowledge of its present emissions of
radiation - twice what it receives from the Sun. If this great body
were an emitter of light in its own right then it could be
considered to be a kind of Sun. The myths furnish us with many
accounts of Saturn/proto-Saturn as a bright object, sometimes as a
"lunar" (56) and sometimes as a "solar" type of deity.

[*!* Image: Saturn as shown in an early German print]

The Phoenician Sanchuniathon saw Ouranos as the "enlightener" (57)
and made him equivalent to Kronos, whose name he saw as meaning "to
put forth horns" or "to send forth rays of light". Diodorus Siculus
was also of the opinion that Saturn was a bright object when he
wrote: "Saturn is the star of the Sun" (58). In Pali (the ancient
liturgical language of Buddhism), Saturn is known as Ravisuta (59).
Now ravi translates as "sun" and suta as "son". Hence, Ravisuta is
"son of the sun", an appellation also used, for example, of Marduk
in an Akkadian text (60) to denote that he too was shining.

The Egyptian god Atum was visualised as a solar deity and was
commonly depicted as the setting sun (61). He is referred to in "a
litany in which the priests address the Sun as a manifestation of
Atum . . ." (62) and this also serves to show the relative
importance of the Sun to Saturn. Again, he is attributed with the
words:- "I am Atum when I was alone in Nun; I am Re in his (first)
appearances, when he began to rule that which he had made." (63)
The Phoenician god El (=Kronos (64)) was also referred to as a
solar deity (65).

There is abundant evidence from Mesopotamia to support the equation
of Saturn with a sun (66). "We are told, for instance, that the
face of the god Ninurta is Shamash the sun-god; that one of
Ninurta's ears is the god of wisdom Ea - , and so on through all of
Ninurta's members. These curious statements may be taken to mean
that Ninurta's face derived its dazzling radiance from, and thus
shared in that brilliance which is characteristically the
sun-god's, and concentrates itself in him." (67) Ninurta is
described in another text, the Assyrian version of the Myth of Zu,
as "Ninurta, the light of the gods" (68). Descriptions of Ninurta
as "the light of heaven and earth" and as "one who pursues his path
over the wide world" (69) were found by Morris Jastrow, who
declared that Saturn was the "lesser light" of Genesis 1 (70).

Not only are we permitted to conclude that Saturn was seen to
reflect light from the Sun, but also it must have been exceedingly
bright and could have even emitted light of its own. Was it as
bright as, or maybe brighter than the sun? Do we have evidence to
support Dr Velikovsky's contention that Saturn went nova? So far we
have only seen evidence to the effect that Saturn was bright; now
we shall consider evidence that it shone only briefly.

Cardona (71) has suggested that the phrase "Let there be light"
(Genesis 1:3) refers to the nova (of proto-Saturn) Indeed, the
attentive reader cannot fail but notice that light exists before
the creation of the Sun and Moon. Ginzberg refers to this
"primordial light" which existed until the Fourth Day and states
clearly: "The light created at the very beginning is not the same
as the light emitted by the sun, the moon and the stars, which
appeared only on the fourth day." (72)

This "primordial light" is hinted at again at the time of the
Flood: "In the week of mourning for Methuselah God caused the
primordial light to shine." (73) Now Methuselah died seven days
before the great Deluge (74). And seven days before the Deluge Noah
and his family took refuge in their Ark:- "And it came to pass
after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the
earth." (Genesis 7:10) Had the "primordial light" served as God's
signal to Noah to go into the Ark?

Thus we have evidence from the Jewish myths that on two occasions a
brief, bright light has flooded this Earth. Can Saturn have been
this Primordial Light?

3. The Disruption of Saturn

The most striking myth of the destruction of Saturn is that in the
Egyptian referring to the demise of Osiris at the hands of Seth
(75). Osiris is dismembered. Other destruction motifs relating to
the end of Saturn are given by de Santillana and von Dechend with
reference to the destruction of the Mill, where before it finally
sank into the sea it ground out stones. (76)

There is an account in the Mahabharata of how Indra does battle
with Vrtra, and here Indra is clearly acting in his capacity as a
Jupiter deity (77). The cause of Indra's troubles was his killing
of the son of a Prajapati, one Trisiras, by striking him with a
thunderbolt. The effect on Trisiras is to make him "shine with
energy"; Indra was "blinded and scorched by Trisiras's energy"
(78). Indra got out of his predicament by having the "heads" of the
dead Trisiras cut off; when this was done various "birds" in great
numbers, came out of his head and the "fever left his body" (79).

We interpret this remarkable myth as telling of how a body was
disrupted and made to glow with incandescent heat and light after
being struck by a thunderbolt. Any similarity between the names
Trisiras and Osiris appears to be co-incidental: however, the two
do have many common features. The name Trisiras means "the three
headed one" and the heads "were like the sun, the moon, and fire"
(80). Trisiras, like Osiris, is notable mainly for being killed.
Also he was a gentle saintly figure. Moreover, he was the son of a
Prajapati (an original deity). Although we have no direct
indications that Trisiras represents a planetary body, the above
attributes are taken by us to mean that Trisiras was indeed a
Saturnian figure.

The other myths are equally descriptive. Kronos is said to have had
a number of "children" but to have attempted to swallow them as
they were born (81). A couple escaped this fate, and one, Zeus,
overthrew him, making him regurgitate the swallowed "children" in
the process (82). Mullen makes reference to Brahma's attribute of
absorbing all the products of his creation at the end/beginning of
World Ages (83). Such myths are descriptive not only of the
disruption but also of the re-absorption that followed the
"creation" of other bodies from the first body.

Mullen quotes Dr Velikovsky's opinion that Saturn once went through
a short nova-like phase as a result of disruption. However, Mullen
has obvious difficulties with his explanation because "Cronos had
been swallowing his children, absorbing what came out of him before
(his italics) the time when he was attacked by his son Zeus" (84).
Also the name of Atum, who is the proto-Saturn deity, is given the
meaning "the One who has been completed by absorbing others".* The
answer to Mullen's difficulties lies in the fact that there were
two episodes of disruption; after the first the proto-Saturn deity
reabsorbed his creation (largely); the second disruption was not
followed by reabsorption in this manner. Both disruptions may have
been associated with a period of incandescence.

[Footnote: * Mullen quotes no source for this reading, which seems
difficult to support as the root of the word - in its full form,
'itmw - is clearly tm (accompanied by a "prosthetic aleph" and the
perfective ending -w - see Gardiner, Grammar, pars. 20, 272, 309,
359ff.). The recorded meanings of this (Grammar, p 600 and
Faulkner, Dict., p. 298) are "to finish"; "to complete"; "to be
complete"; "to cease". In line with this, and with presumed later
confusion or deliberate punning with the "verb of negation" tm
(Grammar, pars. 342ff.), the 1975 Lexikon der Ägyptologie lists
only the readings: "the not yet present one" (by Kees), "he who is
a completeness" (by Morenz) and "the incomplete one who became
complete" (in the Coffin Texts). I would be interested to know of
the source for Mullen's inclusion of "by absorbing others". -
R.M.L.]

4. The Saturn-Jupiter Conflict

A set of myths is analysed by de Santillana and von Dechend which
reveal the theme of the "wicked uncle" who displaces the virtuous
ruler (of a Golden Age). A son is born to the original ruler in the
house of the wicked uncle, and when he grows up he exacts revenge
for his father. (85) The virtuous ruler clearly is Saturn. It would
seem that the avenging son is Jupiter, the "wicked uncle" therefore
being the terrible cosmic serpent. Thus, in the Egyptian myth
Osiris is avenged by Horus, who kills Seth after a mortal struggle.
Similarly, in the Akkadian myth Marduk kills Tiamat after an epic
fight. Other myths tell of how Saturn is displaced by Jupiter
himself, who has then to despatch the serpent. For example, Indra
kills Trisiras and then has to overcome Vrtra. The Storm-god
dethrones Kumarbis but then has to battle Illuyankas. Zeus topples
Kronos from his chariot but then must face Typhon.

The Saturn deity is utterly vanquished and forced to retire. Saturn
plays no part in the myths henceforth. The Jupiter deity picks up
the mantle and becomes chief god. He is never overthrown: his glory
is only made to look somewhat pale with age and in the light of the
later and spectacular deeds of Venus.

5. The Origin of Jupiter

These myths imply that Jupiter was of direct descent from the
original deity, usually of the second generation. Thus in the
Akkadian myth (86) the ancestry of Marduk is traced back through Ea
to An (who is proto-Saturn). In the Egyptian Horus is born of
Osiris to avenge him of Seth his killer (87). The Hittite myths are
clear on this too the Storm-god - i.e. Jupiter (88) - is born from
the swallowed genitals of the ancestor Anus (89). Likewise, the
birth of Zeus follows the swallowing of the genitals of Ouranos by
Kronos (90). The verdict is that Jupiter was indigenous to our
System, its formation being a consequence of the breaking-up of
proto-Saturn.

6. Mythology of the Flood

There is a universal mythology dealing with the Deluge of Noah
(91). A tale in which mankind is destroyed by water with the
exception of one man (or a few) who escapes in some kind of craft
is common to the Greek (Deucalion), Persian (Xisthros), Hindu
(Manu), Jewish (Noah), Chinese (Fo-hi), Akkadian (Utnapishtim) and
Mexican (Nota) mythologies, to name but a handful of the many.

It appears likely that the source of the Flood waters was the body
Saturn. Sieff (92) interprets Job's narrative in just that vein.
Ugaritic myths (93) tell that El (i.e. Saturn) was the source of
the Flood waters. In the Papyrus Ani (94) Atum threatens to revert
the land once more to the floodwaters.

There is also some evidence to the effect that Saturn warned man of
the coming of the flood. Just as in Genesis the Creator warns Noah
of the impending Deluge, so Kronos warns Deucalion (95) and Ea
(=Kronos, according to Berossus (96)) warns man in the Akkadian
myth (97). In the Mexican myth, it is Titlachahuan who warns Nota
(98).

"In the sacred books of the Mexicans we read: 'In the aeon
Atonatiuh, the Age of the Water Sun, the Sun was a semi-liquid
mass. It had absorbed all the water of the Earth. (99) These
enormous quantities of water it ultimately discharged over the
whole Earth and thus caused a complete destruction of all life.'"
(100) Thus we have a myth that tells of a solar deity that was the
source of the waters of the Deluge. We have already cited El as
being a sun-god and the source of the waters (101).

From the Norse Eddas we have:- ". . . the primeval giant Ymir, who
is formed of fire and water. . . " (102). Although we have no
direct evidence that Ymir was an actual astral deity, he bears
Saturnian attributes (103) and was the source of the waters of the
great Deluge - e.g.:". . . the god Bor had three divine sons, Odin,
Wili and We, and . . these sons slew the giant Ymir. From the
wounds of the dying giant there gushed such a stream of blood that
it drowned all the other giants except one, named Bergelmir, who
escaped with his wife in a boat. . . " (104)

[*!* Image: Osiris receiving an offering from Thutmose IV]

Jupiter's relationship to the Flood is directly put in the Akkadian
myth where Ea reproaches Enlil for having caused the waters to fall
(105). Other indications lie with the identification of Jupiter
deities as rain and storm gods. Thus the origin of the epithet
Jupiter Pluvius, who is Marduk, Thor the thunderer, the Storm-god
of the Hittites and Indra god of rain (106). In this context we may
refer to the Hittite and Hattic myth of "The Moon that fell from
Heaven". He is pursued by the Storm-god, who sends storms of rain
after him (107). This may be yet another example of a myth
describing the demise of Saturn at the hands of Jupiter.

The waters of the Flood were described by the mythographers as
being salty. Thus, the tapir that cut down the Salt-water tree and
caused the great Deluge (108). In the Hindu myth of the churning of
the ocean (109), the first time the gods churned the celestial
ocean, it ground out salt into the sea.

We are indebted to Sieff for the following analysis of Hamlet's
Mill:" . . . de Santillana and von Dechend collected together myths
that were interpreted by them to show that Saturn was the first
Lord of the Mill (see pp. 116 and 146). The Mill is a huge
grindstone (therefore circular) perceived in the [revolving] sky,
which grinds out different substances over the Earth at the
start/changes of World Ages (pp. 140, 146). For the age in question
[i.e. the demise of Saturn] it ground out salt into the sea. The
Mill is sunken in a great cosmic maelstrom (pp. 86-112); we are
able to identify it as the Flood catastrophe." (110)

7. The Nature of Jupiter

Dr Velikovsky has given us an indication of the troubles he had in
sorting out the myths dealing with Jupiter from those concerning
Venus (111). We have found this question very taxing and do not
claim to have found the answer. There is either a source of
confusion for these two bodies, else a source of similarity between
them. We propose to give a few examples of this intrigue.

Which deity is fighting the serpent? In Egyptian myths both Horus
and Isis are given serpent-fighting legends, the serpent being the
same named body, Seth. It is Dr Velikovsky's opinion (112) that the
name Horus, for instance, was at one time given to Jupiter, another
to Venus. In the Akkadian myths Marduk fights Tiamat, the cosmic
serpent. In the context of the Enuma Elish (113) it would seem that
it was Jupiter who was fighting the serpent at the time: on the
other occasions Marduk fighting Tiamat has been interpreted (114)
as referring to the Venus-comet. We have already mentioned the
account dealing with the battle between Indra and Vrtra; however,
there exist other accounts where Vrtra is overcome by Vishnu (115).
And Krishna also does battle with the Serpent (116). Now Dr
Velikovsky has identified both Vishnu and Krishna with the
Venus-comet (117).

The serpent of the Jupiter-type myths is always seen to be a
creation of the proto-Saturn god. For instance, Atum gives rise to
Seth (and to others of his generation, Osiris, Isis and Nephthys),
Prajapati to Vrtra, etc. . .

Another property of the Jupiter deities was the phallus or phallic
symbol (118). The worship of these was commonplace around the world
at the time when Jupiter was the chief deity. One such deity who is
notable for the phallus was Shiva (119), who cut off his own
phallus when he realised his creative ability was finished (120).
Is this a variation on the theme of the loss of a cometary tail?
Indeed, we must seriously consider, did Jupiter once resemble a
great comet?

NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. William Mullen: "A Reading of the Pyramid Texts", Pensée IVR III
(1973), pp. 10ff.
2. L. M. Greenberg and W. B. Sizemore "Saturn and Genesis", Kronos
I, 3 (1975), p. 46;
3. M. Sieff: "Planets in the Bible", Part 1: "The Cosmology of
Job", SISR I:4 (1977), pp 17ff.
4. D. Cardona: "The Sun of Night", Kronos III, I (1977). pp. 31ff.
5. I. Velikovsky speaking at the McMaster University symposium, as
reported in Pensée IVR VIII (1974), p. 37.
6. W in C I, ix: "Zeus and Athene". We discuss the problem below in
section 7.
7. W in C II, ix: "The End".
8. The other major planet is named as Saturn: see note 16.
9. E in U, supplement: "Worlds in Collision and Recent Finds in
Astronomy".
10. W in C I, i: "The Most Incredible Story".
11. W in C, Prologue, i: "The Origin of the Planetary System".
12. M. Sieff: "Father of the Gods" (unpublished draft, 1977).
13. W in C II, ix "The End".
14. W in C, Epilogue.
15. Mullen, op. cit. note 1, p. 14.
16. I. Velikovsky and R. E. Juergens: "The Birth of Venus from
Jupiter", Kronos II, 1 (1976), p. 5. (Originally published in the
Yale Scientific Magazine for April 1967.)
17. T. Ferte: "A Record of Success", Pensée IVR I (1972), p. 23.
18. W in C I, ii: "The Planet Earth".
19. Cf. C. E. R. Bruce: A New Approach in Astrophysics and
Cosmogony (London, 1944): "In fact it may well be that both Jupiter
and Saturn were at one time minor stars and that their satellite
systems were formed as a result of minor or planetary nova
outbursts."
20. For some references on the origins of the Asteroid Belt see E
in U, supplement: "Worlds in Collision and Recent Finds in
Astronomy". For mention of a planet of Saturnian size in the
Asteroid Belt cf. R. W. Bass: "Did Worlds Collide?", Pensée IVR
VIII (1974), p 14, with references to the work of M. V. Ovenden;
also "Can Worlds Collide?", Kronos I, 3 (1975), p. 69, on the
controversy surrounding Ovenden's Principle of Least-Interaction
Action " . . . mainly, I would assume, because Ovenden has used the
Principle to 'prove' that there must once have been a Saturn-type
planet (90 Earth masses) in the asteroid belt which somehow has
been destroyed". Ovenden believes that this planet has now left our
Solar System and only its debris, the asteroids, remains.
21. R. MacKinnon (personal communication, June 1977) has suggested
that long period comets may originate from this collision and that
one of their foci may be Jupiter. Also, Van Flandern (following
Ovenden) is working on a similar catastrophic model to explain the
origin of such comets. (See Analog, June 1977.)
22. A possible mechanism for this was offered by Dr Velikovsky in
Kronos II, 1 (see ref. 16).
23. W in C, Epilogue.
24. According to most Egyptologists, Osiris = Venus. We use here Dr
Velikovsky's identification, as followed also by Mullen.
25. Ninurta = Saturn is widely accepted: see e.g. G. Contenau: La
Divination chez les Assyriens et les Babyloniens (Paris, 1940), p.
307.
26. See 0. R. Gurney: The Hittites (Harmondsworth, 1976), p. 191,
quoting Dr H. Güterbock on the parallel Kronos = Kumarbis.
27. We again follow the identification of Mullen, op. cit. note 1.
28. Tacitus: The Histories V, chap. iv.
29. G. de Santillana and H. von Dechend: Hamlet's Mill: An essay on
myth and the frame of time (London, 1970),
30. E.g. Wallis Budge: The Book of the Dead (London, 1928).
31. As cited by Mullen, op. cit., p. 15.
32. See S. N. Kramer: Sumerian Mythology (revised edition by Harper
Torchbooks, 1961 - 1st publication 1944), p. 40.
33. E.g. the Brahmanas, Upanishads, etc. See W. D. O'Flaherty
(translator): Hindu Myths (Harmondsworth, 1975), pp. 29-31.
34. From the Satapatha Brahmana; see O'Flaherty, op. cit., p. 32.
35. Mullen, op. cit., p. 13.
36. An as heaven: see Kramer, op. cit., p. 40; also see the
incantation, "The Worm and the Toothache", ANET, p. 100. - Ouranos
is actually the Greek for "heaven".
37. R. K. G. Temple: The Sirius Mystery (London, 1976), p. 90.
38. Mullen, op. cit., p. 13.
39. Kramer, op. cit., p. 41.
40. Ibid. See also Temple, op. cit., p. 102. (Temple equates an-ki
with a binary system, that of Sirius.)
41. "Kingship in Heaven", ANET, pp. 120f.
42. M. Griaule and G. Dieterlen: Le Renard pâle (1965), p. 329.
43. Ibid., p. 292. See also Temple, op. cit., pp. 27-9.
44. Sieff, op. cit. note 3, pp. 19f.
45. J.-P. Hallet: Pygmy Kitabu (London, 1974), p. 291. - Saturn is
currently known to possess ten moons, not nine. However, the
astronomical knowledge of these Pygmies was in advance of Western
science until 1898, up to which time only eight moons had been
known. In that year W. H. Pickering discovered Saturn's ninth and
most remote satellite, which he named Phoebe. This was the state of
knowledge until only eleven years ago: "On December 15, 1966, when
the ring system of Saturn was edge-on with respect to the Earth and
extremely faint, A. Dollfus was able to photograph an object of
about magnitude 14 at a distance of some 98,000 miles from the
centre of Saturn. Other photographs almost conclusively confirm the
reality of this tenth and innermost satellite of Saturn, which
Dollfus has named Janus." (F. L. Whipple: Earth, Moon and Planets,
3rd edn., Harmondsworth, 1956, p. 188; our italics.) Scientists are
awaiting favourable conditions for full confirmation.
46. The planet is called Parearu. Pare denotes a fillet or
headband; arau means "entangled", perhaps "surrounded" in this band
- see Elsdon Best: The Astronomical Knowledge of the Maori,
Dominion Museum Monograph No. 3 (Wellington, N.Z., 1922), pp. 35f.
"Even though there is some doubt about the identity of Parearu, it
is clear from the Maori's own statements that it wore a 'band'.
Some Maori thought it was Saturn, and a comparative snippet from
the Dogon lore seems to confirm this: see Temple, The Sirius
Mystery [op. cit. note 37], p. 28: ' . . . the Dogon affirm that
there is a permanent halo round the star, different from the one
sometimes seen round the Moon. ... the star is always associated
with the Milky Way.' Best reported that the Maori called Parearu
the leader or 'puller' of the Milky Way. If Parearu is Saturn, as
it seems to be, this shows a remarkable parallelism with the
concepts of the Dogon." (Personal communication from P. J. James.)
47. De Santillana and von Dechend, op. cit. note 29, p. 136,
quoting Schlegel: L'Uranographie chinoise, pp. 525, 628ff.
48. Ibid., p. 135, quoting M. Granet: Chinese Civilisation (1961),
p. 12. Compare the actions of Huang-ti with those of the Creator in
Genesis 1:16.
49. Ibid., p. 133.
50. Ibid., p. 265.
51. Temple, op. cit. note 37, pp. 70 and 79.
52. Sefer Yetsirah (Book of Creation), as quoted in A Practical
Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism by Gareth Knight (London, 1965), p.
189.
53. This is a development of ideas first formulated by Harold
Tresman late in 1972, which led to his visualising the Earth in a
"locked" orbit around Saturn - i.e., same face always towards the
primary - at a time (within human memory) when Saturn was without
its rings and Earth without its Moon. The immediate consideration
of this is that the measurement of time would be drastically
different then from now, and this is one of the conclusions reached
by Rose in his article, "The Lengths of the Year", in Pensée IVR
VIII (1974), p. 36. Also see the paper by F. B. Jueneman quoted by
Rose, with reference to the speculation that the Earth may have
orbited "some body other than the Sun" prior to the Flood.
[Similar conclusions of a Saturn stationary in the sky as a
nocturnal "sun" are reached by D. Talbott in his forthcoming book
dealing with the "Polar Configuration", advance publicity on which
reached us from R.C.N. after completion of this paper. A full
review must await publication of the book; in advance it may be
stated that the book appears to cover much of the same source
material as Tresman and O'Gheoghan: however, whilst agreeing in
some details, it appears difficult to reconcile with either the
Velikovskian scheme or the thesis presented here, as well as
presenting serious dynamical problems. - Ed.)
54. S. N. Kramer: The Sumerians (Chicago, 1963), p.302.
55. Personal communication from P. J. James, 28.2.77.
56. Note on Saturn as a Lunar Deity: - Osiris as a moon-god was a
fashionable concept at the turn of the century. E.g., see Sir N.
Lockyer: The Dawn of Astronomy (London, 1894, reprinted Cambridge,
Mass., 1973), p. 297: Lockyer cites Osiris as depicting a waning
moon. Also see Wallis Budge (chapter "Osiris as Moon" in Osiris and
the Egyptian Resurrection - London, 1911), who bases himself mainly
on Plutarch's Isis and Osiris. Budge interpreted the light of
Osiris to be akin to that of silvery moonlight. Nowadays his
argument is held to be rather far-fetched

Genesis 1:16 furnishes us with an early account of the celestial
luminaries: "And God made two great lights; the greater light to
rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the
stars also." Lest one think that these lights were the same as our
present Sun and Moon, we refer our reader to verse 1:14, where it
is notable that days and years, signs and seasons are mentioned,
but no mention is made of months. (See also letter by de Jong in
Pensée IVR VII, p. 50.) Indeed, there is no mention of months in
Genesis until the Flood (7:11). [But note the possible link between
"months" and "signs" suggested by M. G. Reade (SISR II: 1, p. 17):
the moon "completes a circuit of the zodiac, plus one sign, in a
month". - Ed.]

Rashi quoted the Talmud (Tractate Chul. 60b and Genesis Rabbah 6)
on Genesis 1:16 thus:- "The Great Luminaries, they were created of
equal size but that of the moon was diminished because she
complained and said, 'it is impossible for two kings to make use of
the same crown' . . . and the stars, because He decreased the moon,
He increased its attendant hosts to mollify it." We interpret this
evidence as showing that from the beginning there were two great
luminaries (of which one was Saturn, not the moon as Rashi
supposed) and when one of these (Saturn) was decreased in size more
of the heavens became visible.

L. Ginzberg, in Legends of the Jews (Philadelphia, 1909: 7 vols.),
confirms that the two great luminaries were of equal size initially
and adds:- "When God punished the envious moon by diminishing her
light and splendour, she fell, and tiny threads were loosed from
her body. These are the stars." (I, p. 26) In vol. V, p. 40, he
cites Hadar and interprets that ".... the light of the moon was
dimmed because some of her parts fell off".
57. Sanchuniathon (Bremen, 1837), pp 16-19, as quoted in Hislop:
The Two Babylons (London, 4th edn. 1972), pp. 193-4, fn.
58. Diodorus Siculus: Biblioth. Histor. ii, 30, 3 & 4. Jastrow
commented: ". . . its satellite, so to speak, and alter ego". - M.
Jastrow: Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylon and
Assyria (New York and London, 1911), p. 223.
59. From privately circulated study by R. M. Lowery, 1976.
60. Enuma Elish, ANET, p. 62 line 102 and p. 69 line 128.
61. E.g. Veronica Ions: Egyptian Mythology (London, 1968), p. 40. -
It is not clear why Atum should have been depicted as the setting
sun. Lockyer (loc. cit. note 56) explains this, maintaining that
the cult of Osiris stems from the original worship of Osiris as the
waning moon or setting sun: i.e. the cult of the "dying" celestial
body in particular becomes the cult of the dead in general. This
seems to be a reasonable argument and could be taken to mean that
the ancient Egyptians recognised that Saturn had been a sun-like
object that "died".
62. Mullen, op. cit. note 1, p. 16.
63. "Creation by Atum", ANET, p. 3.
64. E.g. see S. Moscati: The World of the Phoenicians (London,
1973), p. 57 in paperback, citing Philo of Byblos and other
classical writers.
65. L. Delaporte: "Phoenician Mythology", in New Larousse
Encyclopaedia of Mythology (London, 1975), p. 79.
66. ". . . at all events, the fact that Saturn was also called the
'sun' is vouched for, both by explanatory notes attached to
astrological connotations, and by notices in classical writings to
that effect." - Jastrow, op. cit. note 58, p. 223. See also
Cardona, op. cit. note 4, pp. 33-5.
67. Thorkild Jacobsen: Before Philosophy (Harmondsworth, 1963), pp.
145f
68. ANET, p. 515.
69. M. Jastrow: Religion of Babylon and Assyria (1898).
70. Idem., op. cit. note 58, p. 234.
71. D. Cardona, in "Cows, Caste and Comets", essay included in the
as yet unpublished anthology presented to Dr Velikovsky by the
Center for Velikovskian and Interdisciplinary Studies, Glassboro,
N.J., December 1975.
72. Ginzberg, Legends (op. cit. note 56) I, p 8-9.
73. Ibid., V, p. 175.
74. "Methuselah = when he is dead it shall be sent, i.e. the
Deluge" - from marginal note on Gen. 5:21 in Bagster's Companion
Bible (London 1974, based on the King James Authorised translation
of 1611). Ginzberg op. cit., V, p. 166 relates that from two
Midrashic sources it is known that the Flood was postponed for a
period of seven days so that the world might mourn the death of
Methuselah. See for example op. cit., I, pp. 141f., where it is
related that ". . . when he died the people heard a great commotion
in the heavens and they saw 900 rows of mourners corresponding to
900 orders of the Mishna which he had studied, and tears flowed
from the eyes of the holy beings down upon the spot where he died.
Seeing the grief of the celestials, the people on Earth also
mourned over the demise of Methuselah, and God rewarded them
therefor. He added seven days to the time of grace which He had
ordained before bringing destruction upon the Earth by a flood of
waters."
75. E.g. see Sir J. Frazer: The Golden Bough (London, 1936), chap.
XXXVIII, "The Myth of Osiris".
76. At the end of the "Golden Age", the Mill churned out first
gold, then salt, then sand and stones. See for instance, de
Santillana and von Dechend, op. cit., p. 146. [The millstone is
considered to represent the revolving sky - see end of section 6 -
Ed.]
77. From the Mahabharata: see O'Flaherty, op cit. note 33, p. 80,
for the Vrtra legend. Indra is identified by O'Flaherty as the
"Warrior of the gods" and "god of rain". He is also associated with
a personal weapon - the thunderbolt. In the Vedic hymns he is
clearly supreme god (see ibid, p. 56). He battles with a serpent,
Vrtra.
78. Ibid., p. 78.
79. Ibid., p. 79.
80. Ibid., p. 77.
81. E.g. see R. Graves: The Greek Myths (Harmondsworth, revised
edn. 1975), vol. I, p. 39.
82. Ibid., p. 40.
83. Mullen, op. cit. note 1, p. 15.
84. Ibid., p. 14.
85. See de Santillana and von Dechend, op. cit. note 29, pp. 11-42.
The theme is a well-known one; cf. A. H. Gardiner: Egypt of the
Pharaohs (Oxford, 1974), p. 8.
86. Enuma Elish, ANET, p. 61.
87. See for instance Gardiner, loc. cit.
88. See Gurney, loc. cit. note 26, citing Güterbock on the parallel
Storm-god = Zeus.
89. "Kingship in Heaven', ANET, p. 120.
90. Graves, op. cit. note 81, p. 38.
91. E.g. Byron Nelson: The Deluge Story in Stone (Augsburg
Publishing House, 1931); but the most comprehensive and reliable
account we have seen is that of T. E. Gaster in Myth, Legend and
Custom in the old Testament (Harper Torchbooks, 1975), vol. I, pp.
82-131.
92. Sieff, op. cit. note 3, pp. 20f.
93. E.g. see ANET p. 129, line 4 and p. 133, line 21.
94. ANET, p. 9: "Further, I shall destroy all that I have made, and
this land will return into Nun, into the floodwaters, as (in) its
first state."
95. E.g. Alexander Heidel: The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament
Parallels (Chicago, 1975), p. 117.
96. E.g. see ibid., fn. 49.
97. "The Gilgamesh Epic", tablet XI, in ibid., pp. 80f., lines
19-34. Also same in ANET, p. 93.
98. Nahua legend as translated by Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg from
the Mexican Codex Chimalpopoca ("Annals of Cuauhtitlan"), in S'il
existe des Sources de l'histoire primitive du Mexique dans les
Monuments égyptiens (1864).
99. Similar myths referring to the heat and/or drought that
preceded the Deluge are to be found in Philip Freund: Myths of
Creation (London, 1964), chap. 2, but should be treated with
caution. It is not always easy to distinguish those myths that deal
with the Venus catastrophes (fire plus tidal waves) from those of
the nova.
100. H. S. Bellamy: Moons, Myths and Men (London, 1938), p. 125.
101. See notes 65 and 93 respectively.
102. Bellamy, op. cit., p. 178. - This concept, implying that
heaven consisted of fire and water, is also to be found in the
Jewish literature; e.g. Ginsberg, op. cit. note 56, V, p. 7, note
16:- "The heavens, like all the beings dwelling therein, consist of
a combination of fire (not of an earthly or physical nature) and
water, whereas the earth was formed of the snow under the heavenly
throne." He then makes the equation ish vamayim (fire and water) =
shamayim (heaven).
103. E.g. he was notable mainly for dying; he was the owner of the
Mill (see de Santillana and von Dechend, op. cit., p. 92); and the
world was made out of him.
104. Gaster, op. cit. note 91, p. 92.
105. "Gilgamesh Epic", tablet XI, lines 177-9 - e.g. ANET, p. 95
106. O'Flaherty, op. cit. note 33, p. 56
107. "The Moon that Fell from Heaven", ANET, p. 120.
108. Cuna Indian myth quoted by de Santillana and von Dechend, op.
cit. note 29, p. 213.
109. From the Mahabharata - see e.g. O'Flaherty, op. cit. note 33,
pp. 273-80.
110. M. Sieff, in personal communication to H. Tresman, Dec. 1974.
111. W in C I, ix: "Zeus and Athene".
112. Ibid.
113. ANET, pp. 65-7.
114. W in C I, iii: "The Battle in the Sky".
115. From the Bhagavata Purana - see e.g. O'Flaherty, op. cit. note
33, p. 222.
116. Ibid., p. 223.
117. W in C I, iii: "The Battle in the sky".
118. E.g. Thor. See for instance Pears Encyclopaedia of Myths and
Legends (London, 1977), vol. 2, p. 75.
119. W in C I, iii: "The Spark".
120. From the Siva Purana, Dharmasamhita - see e.g. O'Flaherty, op.
cit. note 33, p. 140.

Finally, we should like to express our gratitude to Martin Sieff,
to Peter James, and to the many others who have helped us
enormously in the preparation of this article. It should not be
assumed, however, that they necessarily agree with the views
presented above
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