HPB-SD(ed.1) v.2 p.1 st.12 sl.47-49 ch.The Sidereal and Cosmic Glyphs: Difference between revisions

Meru — the abode of the gods — was placed, as before explained, in the North Pole, while ''Pâtâla'', the nether region, was supposed to lie in the South. As each symbol in esoteric philosophy has ''seven keys'', geographically, ''Meru ''and ''Pâtâla ''have one significance and represent localities ; while astronomically, they have another, and mean “ the two poles,” which meanings ended by their being often rendered in ''exoteric ''sectarianism — the “ Mountain ” and the “ Pit,” or Heaven and Hell. If we hold at present only to the astronomical and geographical significance, it may be found that the ancients knew the topography and nature of the Arctic and Antarctic regions better than any of our modern astronomers ; they had reasons, and good ones for naming one the “ ''Mountain ”'' and the other the “ ''Pit.''” As the author just quoted half explains, ''Helion ''and ''Acheron ''meant nearly the same : “ ''Heli-on is the Sun in the highest ”'' (Helios, Heli-on, the “ most high ”) ; “ and ''Acheron ''is 32 deg. above the pole, and 32 below it, the allegorical river being thus supposed to touch the northern horizon in the latitude of 32 degees. The vast concave, that is for ever hidden from our sight and which surrounded the southern pole, being therefore called the Pit, while observing, toward the Northern pole that a certain circuit in the heavens always appeared above the horizon — they called it the Mountain. As Meru is the high abode of the Gods, these were said to ''ascend ''and ''descend ''periodically ; by which (astronomically) the ''Zodiacal ''gods were meant, the passing of the original North Pole of the Earth to the South Pole of the heaven.” “ In that age,” adds the author of that curious work, the “ ''Sphinxiad ”'' and of “ ''Urania''’''s Key to the Revelations ”'' —  “ at noon, the ecliptic would be parallel with the meridian, and part of the Zodiac would descend from the North Pole to the north horizon ; crossing the ''eight coils of the Serpent ''(eight sidereal years, or over 200,000 solar years), which would seem like an imaginary ''ladder ''with ''eight staves ''reaching from the earth up to the pole, ''i.e''., the throne of Jove. Up this ladder, then, the Gods, ''i.e''., the signs of the Zodiac, ascended and descended. (Jacob’s ladder and the angels) . . . . It is more than 400,000 years since the Zodiac formed the sides of this ladder.” . . . .