by Andy Lloyd

16th May 2001

This web-site has considered a radical set of ideas, none more so than the identification of the Messianic Star as Nibiru, the Winged Disc. We have explored the potential significance of the ‘red Sirius’ anomaly, and how the alleged color change of the stellar field around Sirius in ancient times provides us with Messianic symbolism. The red ‘star’ Horus was born from Sirius (white Isis), a celestial event that captured the meaning of the Egyptian mythology beautifully. It is less easy to pinpoint a specific date, however, as many of the ancient accounts of red Sirius were traditional, and based upon earlier texts.

The account of Seneca represents the latest possible date, I would suggest, which was in 25AD. However, the Bible contains the description of the Messianic Star as the ‘Star of Bethlehem’, whose appearance occurred sometime between 12BC and 1AD. Modern scholars tend to date this event to about 6BC, a little further back in time than previously thought (1).

If Nibiru appeared during the decade preceding the beginning of the Christian calendar, then we can calculate Nibiru’s current periodicity as being about 3750-60 years (given that Zecharia Sitchin has dated the previous perihelion passage of Nibiru to 3760BC, the first year of the Nippurian calendar, and the start of the Jewish Count of Years).

This orbital period of about 3750 years is greater than that described by Sitchin (3,600 years) and I believe that this greater figure reflects a slight expansion of Nibiru’s orbit at the time of the Flood. Nibiru appears to have been in conjunction with Mars during perihelion 13,000+ years ago, and may have been slightly perturbed into a larger orbit at that time. The subsequent reconfiguration of planetary binding energies affected the orbits of the other planets, including the Earth.

As a result, our planet suffered a slight axial tilt, and a progressively warmer climate as our planetary binding energy increased. The immediate effect of this event was the catastrophic flooding of the Earth and the reported visual effect of the ‘sky falling’. Both of these incredible cataclysms are recorded in diverse mythologies across the globe. Mars may also have been affected by catastrophic climate change in the same way, leading to a temporary release of water to the surface of the red planet.
 

The Sun's Magnetic Field

The orbital period of 3750 years finds a remarkable corollary in research conducted by the author Maurice Cotterell. This was first drawn to my attention by Gary Gilligan, who noted that Cotterell calculated a reversal of the Sun’s entire magnetic field every 3750 years. This figure is based upon analysis of the standard sunspot cycle, combined with orbital dynamics within the solar system, and the varying rotational periods of the Sun’s atmosphere (2). The result is a reversal of the ‘neutral sheet’, or local space around the Sun. Cotterell was unable to offer an explanation for this behavior beyond citing external influence upon the Sun.

I suggest that the complex shape of the ‘warped neutral sheet’ is created by the Sun's periodic interaction with the brown dwarf Nibiru as it moves through the solar system. Nibiru's own magnetic properties might be the cause of the reversal of the Sun’s polarity during the dark star’s perihelion passage. Cotterell notes that similar numerical figures appear in Mayan records, particularly “the Mayan super-number of 1,366,560 days recorded in the Dresden Codex” (2). This number corresponds to 3,741 years.

The astronomer Percy Seymour, of the University of Plymouth in the U.K, has shown that there is a mechanism whereby ‘a planet’s gravitational field may have an effect on the Sun’s magnetic field’, and that ‘magneto-tidal’ resonance between the planets could have a basis in reality (3).

This appears to reflect ancient knowledge, as exemplified by the ‘Nineveh Constant’, a remarkable number recorded on a clay tablet in the Library of the Assyrian King Assurbanipal. Maurice Chatalain, a one-time NASA scientist, calculated that this sexigessimal-equivalent 15 digit number was a Great Constant of the solar system, incorporating the orbital periods of planets known (and unknown!) to the Assyrians (4). Of course, if Zecharia Sitchin is correct, then the Assyrians would have inherited the Sumerian knowledge of all the planets, including Nibiru, a giant planet/brown dwarf that still remains ‘unknown’ to us.
 

An Egyptian Expectation

Given that the Mayans and Assyrians seem to have held knowledge of such cyclical behavior in the heavens, then would the re-birth of the dark star Nibiru not have been expected by many of the ancients? The Messiah was certainly the talk of the Middle East for centuries before Christ, and I have already outlined the celestial ramifications of this event. But much of the world at that time was under the military control of the Romans, or the cultural influence of the Greeks. The religions of the Winged Disc, and the ancient gods of Mesopotamia and Egypt, were playing second fiddle to the European imports, rather like Americanization has side-lined many diverse traditions of our modern world. Despite these difficulties, an expectation above and beyond the craving for the coming Messiah was evident.

In Hellenistic Egypt, during the Ptolemaic period, the enigmatic ‘Followers of Horus’ seem to have suddenly re-emerged. The construction of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus at Edfu began in 237BC, and it was finally opened in 105BC. It appears to have been built on the site of an older temple that was once orientated to the East. It contains reliefs of Pharaohs embracing gods and ‘other images which appear to go back to a much more distant tradition – the era of the ‘First Time’ or ‘Primeval Age’ (Egy. Sep tepi)” (5). The Egyptologist David Rohl draws comparisons between the rituals enacted at Edfu and the Temple of Dendera, and the religious ceremonies of Sumer. Most importantly is his point that “Horus, the sky-god, was closely associated at Edfu with the winged sun-disc, Harakhty (‘Horus of the (Eastern) Horizon’)” (5).

It is my contention that the Winged Disc was not the Sun at all, but the dark star Nibiru, the Star of the East. I believe that the Temple of Horus at Edfu was constructed in anticipation of the return of the Celestial Lord.

The associated Temple of Dendera contains a more specific reference to this event. The Egyptians created a somewhat unusual zodiac on the ceiling of this temple. The normal circle of the zodiac has been distorted, with Cancer being ‘singled out for special treatment’ (6). Between Cancer and Sirius is a peculiar symbol; a falcon perched on a vertical ‘club’. Sitchin considers this to indicate the Age of the depiction as being between 6540BC and 4380BC (7). I strongly doubt that this is the meaning of the ceiling depiction.

Graham Hancock notes that the Dendera zodiac depicts the constellations at the cardinal points as they appeared in 4000BC (8).

This coincides roughly with the previous passage of Nibiru in 3760BC. I believe that the distortion of the zodiac is designed to impart knowledge of the parabolic visible motion of Nibiru through the Duat, and that the Ptolemaic Temple of Dendera was constructed with the ancient teachings of the ‘Followers of Horus’ firmly in mind. In the zodiac, the falcon is Horus, equated with the Winged Disc, and the club signifies a celestial marker, akin to the many obelix-type megalithic stones used by the ancients to mark positions in the heavens. Yet it is positioned away from the zodiac, within the southerly Duat.

This magnificent zodiac indicates the expectation of the imminent return of Horus among the Ptolemaic followers of the ancient Egyptian stellar cult. The brightest point of the transit was expected between Leo/Cancer and Sirius.

I have also included this image from Hancock & Faiia's book 'Heaven's Mirror' which I suggest is the 'Horus Barge'. If Horus was the Sun, then why include attendants and the Bennu Bird on the barge? If Horus is indeed symbolic of the Dark Star Nibiru (and note the red disc above Horus' head), then the attendant might be moons, and we could speculate that the Bennu Bird is symbolic of the Anunnaki homeworld/moon (representing the 'Field of Reeds').

If that is the case, then this motif records a total of six moons. Other pieces of evidence point to seven, as I have shown, and it is still unclear which is correct. Further research is required in this area.
 

Nimrud Dag

The constellation of Leo is often associated with the Messianic Star. This zodiacal constellation lies close to Cancer, where Nibiru crossed the plane of the ecliptic during a previous passage through the solar system. The appearance of Nibiru in the heavens during perihelion is subject to the same parallax effects as the other planets viewed from Earth. They sometimes appear to slowly ‘dance’ in the sky, and Nibiru’s position in the heavens could similarly vary, dependant upon the relative position of the Earth at any given point in its transit. As such, Nibiru might be seen to cross the ecliptic for the first time in Leo instead of Cancer. The monuments on Mount Nimrod (Nimrud Dag) in Turkey seem to imply this.

Adrian Gilbert has visited the site of the Hierothesion of Antiochus Epiphanes, a pyramid-like tumulus of boulders that top the Mount. Standing at 50m high, this impressive monument is accompanied by giant statues of the gods, and reliefs of the area’s nobility ‘shaking hands’ with gods (9). There is a shaft built into the mountainside that is 158 meters long, and set at 35 degrees. Its purpose is unknown, but given the pyramidal nature of the Hierothesion, one can imagine that this might be a ‘star shaft’ used to pinpoint a particularly significant part of the sky. Gilbert believes that this is the star Regulus in Leo. Other monuments include a second tumulus on the road to Urfa from Commagene, this one 35m high. It is set within several groupings of upright pillars, one offering a perch for an eagle, another for a headless lion. Further astronomical references are inferred by this site.

But the most significant artifact on the Nimrud Dag mountainside is to be found on the western terrace. There is a frieze of a Lion beset by stars. This has been shown to symbolize the constellation of Leo, and contains a crescent and 3 planets; Mars, Mercury and Jupiter. Scholars have shown that this frieze represents a horoscope, set in the year 62BC.

Gilbert concurs with this analysis, but is troubled by the fact that the Romans were directly interfering in the internal affairs of Commagene at that time, a shameful state of affairs that the Kings of Commagene would surely not have wanted to advertise. Perhaps, then, this religious and astronomical site had a different meaning; a Messianic craving of a people who would rather see the back of the Romans.

There is something rather peculiar about the frieze. The crescent ‘moon’ is lying on its back, as we have seen before, and a star has been placed within the lunar disc, presumably indicating to scholars that the moon occults the star Regulus. If this was a horoscope, then an actual occulting of Regulus by the moon would be an irrelevance.

Dr Seymour states quite emphatically that an astrological conjunction of planets is about their relative positions along the ecliptic, and has little to do with whether an actual visible conjunction takes place (3). Not only that, but the relative position of the Moon in the star field is quite difficult to calculate. So why include such a plainly visible conjunction on the frieze?

Using a reproduction of the frieze given on another web-site, I analyzed the relative positions of the stars on the frieze and came up with a good fit with the constellation of Leo (10).

The only problem was that, by doing so, it became apparent that the ‘occulted star’ was not Regulus! I have depicted the constellation here, and indicated the relative position of the ecliptic, as well as the positions of the other planets (that are labeled on the Frieze). This analysis then begs the question, if the star is not Regulus, then what is it?

There is a particularly striking Sumerian cylinder seal showing the Winged Disc 'in conjunction' with the crescent moon. The 16-pointed star would appear to be the Sun (Venus would be shown by an 8-pointed star). I believe that the frieze at Nimrud Dag indicates the expected return of Nibiru, and that the ‘place of crossing’ would be between Regulus and Cancer.

This would then explain the construction of the rubble Pyramid, that is claimed to have religious significance by Antiochus, and the presentation of images about gods meeting men. The people of Commagene expected a return of Kingship and the ancient gods. But when?

The array of planets in Leo serves to verify the date. While scholars have concentrated on the date of 62BC, I used my astronomical computer program to check out a few other dates during the Messianic Era that would see Mercury, Mars and Jupiter all in Leo. There was to be no match around 25AD. But, significantly, the three planets appeared in Leo in August 2BC (the 26th, specifically).

2BC?

Now, I don’t mean to say that this is the exact date that Nibiru was expected to appear near Leo. But the alignment allowed the creator of the frieze to visually pinpoint a year in the future, combining this dating with the image of Nibiru in Leo. The ‘star shaft’ in the mountainside would then have been used to track the heavens for the first appearance of the Messianic Star at that time. In fact, all the evidence indicates that Nibiru’s passage occurred in the winter/spring, not the summer. The latter stages of the perihelion transit were then hidden by the locking down of the Duat below the horizon, as well as the relative position of the Sun at that time of year. Nevertheless, enough of the transit was noted to create the ‘red Sirius’ anomaly, the account of the Star of Bethlehem, and all the attendant religious fervor that went with it.

The date 2BC is an approximation, used to identify a particular point in time. It corroborates the Messianic Star, I suggest, and strengthens the case that Nibiru appeared at the time of the birth of Christ. (My previous proposals that Seneca was recording the actual transit in 25AD, rather than alluding to a messianic tradition in place at that time, may require careful revision). The frieze of Leo on Mount Nimrod is not a record, rather a prediction. If it was a record, then why construct the alleged star shaft? Why draw attention to a point in history dominated by Roman influence?

That this approximate date corresponds with the beginning of the Christian calendar is also very interesting. Nibiru’s previous transit marked the beginning of ancient calendars. This Messianic transit appears to mark the beginning if the modern calendar. The ancient Ages, or Sars, appear to continue into our modern Era after all.

I wonder if the next calendar will begin around 3750-60AD? Ominously, Nostradamus used a similar method of planetary positions to pinpoint the year to end his predicted annals of Mankind:

“A mighty earthquake, in the month of May
Saturn, Capricorn, Jupiter and Mercury in Taurus
Venus also in Cancer, Mars in Virgo
Hailstones, larger than eggs, will then fall” X/67 (11)

The date indicated by this quatrain is 3797AD. Does his methodology reflect that of the creator of the Nimrud Dag frieze, specifying an approximate period in time? This would then corroborate my prediction for Nibiru’s next appearance, around 3750-60AD. If so, and Nostradamus is correct in his apocalyptic imagery, then there will be no need for a calendar after this date at all…
 

1) D. Hughes “The Star of Bethlehem Mystery” Dent 1979
2) A. Gilbert & M. Cotterell “The Mayan Prophecies” Appendix 4, pp63-7, Element 1995, Thanks to Gary Gilligan, http://www.nibiru.tv 
3) P. Seymour “The Birth of Christ: Exploding the Myth” pp176-7, Virgin 1998
4) M. Chatelain “Our Ancestors came from Outer Space” Ch1, Pan 1979
5) D. Rohl “Legend: The Genesis of Civilization” p339-41 Arrow 1999
6) M. Hope “The Sirius Connection” pp8-9 Element 1996
7) Z. Sitchin “When Time Began” p208 Avon 1993
8) G. Hancock & S Faiia “Heaven’s Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization” p61 Penguin 1999
9) A. Gilbert “Magi: The Quest for a Secret Tradition” pp125-47 Bloomsbury 1997
10) ‘Nimrud Dag, beside the Euphrates in Turkey’ http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi190.htm 
11) N. Halley “The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus” Wordsworth 1999
 

by  Andy Lloyd

August 2000

Let us look more closely at the ancient Egyptian mythology relevant to the Dark Star Theory, and explore the mythology central to an understanding of that sacred part of the sky, the Duat. In doing so, it will become clear why I have proposed that this sacred area of the sky dominated by Sirius and Orion marks the perihelion passage of Nibiru.

Osiris is represented in the heavens by the constellation of Orion, and the goddess Isis is represented by the star Sirius. (1) We have already looked at the idea that Horus, born of Isis, represented Nibiru, born in the sky near Sirius during the time of its heliacal setting and rising (DS6). But what of the other major figure in this mythological drama, the evil god Seth? There is some evidence that he was associated with the planet Mercury. He is clearly identified in ancient Egyptian mythology as a dark or invisible serpent, as well as a red-haired man:

"Seth, the red-haired god of prehistoric invaders, who slew Osiris, became the Egyptian Satan, and he was depicted as a black serpent, a black pig, a red mythical monster or, simply, as a red-haired man"

"A similar myth represents the Sun as a great cat, which was originally a female but was identified with Ra as a male. It fought with the serpent Apep below the sacred tree at Heliopolis and killed it at dawn. In this myth Seth is identified with the serpent." (2)

None of the above rules out a connection between Seth and Mercury, but the mythological identity of Seth as an invisible, red 'star' akin to a serpent seems more in keeping with what we know about Nibiru. The other difficulty with the idea that Seth was associated with Mercury is the solar aspect identified with his worship. Whilst discussing the magical rituals of the Egyptians, Seligmann described this gruesome ceremony aimed at Seth:

"To make an enemy harmless, the magician would smear his own feet with clay, placing between them the severed head of an ass and rubbing his mouth and hands with its blood. He turned to the Sun, and having put one arm forward, the other back, he addressed Seth-Typhon, the Evil One, in magical rhythmic speech: "Thou terrible, invisible, all-powerful one, god of gods, assailer and destroyer…"" (3)

Here we have a solar god revered for its might and dominance, yet described as invisible. Mercury lies close to the Sun, and one could argue that this religious outburst may have been aimed at the 'invisible' Mercury of day-time. But why worship Mercury in the day? Why not carry out the ceremony at dusk or dawn, when Mercury appears as an evening or morning star? Not only that, but the concept of terrible destructive power associated with Seth seems at odds with Mercury’s low celestial profile. This presents us with a quandary, and opens up the possibility that Seth has been associated with the wrong planet. A more powerful identity is called for. It is not Venus, the other planet that is associated with the Sun. Could this imagery again be alluding to an invisible solar deity which is, at times, hidden behind the Sun?

The Duality
I am proposing that Nibiru can be understood as a mixture of the battling deities, Horus and Seth. They represent a duality of good and evil, and the myths surrounding them attempt to explain the bizarre nature of the Dark Star; sometimes fiery, mostly invisible. In this way, Nibiru was also understood as both a force for good - the heavenly domain of the gods - but also represented great potential evil, whose arrival in the heavens could signal coming apocalyptic destruction.

Seth is a black, celestial serpent, as well as a red-haired deity, which fights the Sun. This fits the notion that Seth represents our brown dwarf in cometary motion; a dark star with red appearance and halo, which challenges the Sun with its opposite motion in the heavens. The dark star is associated with evil-doing and the death of gods, in keeping with the cataclysmic role of Nibiru in the Enuma Elish. It also indicates the dread with which the appearance of the brown dwarf was held by the ancients. Yet Nibiru’s appearance was also a time of great celebration, as Anu visited the Earth on one of his epoch-making ‘state visits’. One would expect the myths surrounding Nibiru’s appearance to reflect this mix of terror and hopeful expectation in the human populations of the prehistoric world.

Horus was born of Isis, returning to avenge his father’s death at the hands of Seth. Horus appears to be associated with the Messianic Star, appearing by Sirius. The following poetic rendering of the appearance of Horus nudges us in the direction of a celestial object appearing miraculously from the depths of space:

"Another myth represented the newborn sun as the child Horus rising from a lotus bloom that expanded its leaves on the breast of the primordial deep" (2)

Horus In the Island of Fire
Horus is identified with a fiery throne by Ra himself, whilst discussing mankind’s coming destruction by the Flood; a clear celestial depiction of Nibiru’s fiery countenance:

"For lo! I wish in my heart to destroy utterly that which I did create. All the world will become a waste of water through a great flood, as it was at the beginning, and I alone shall be left remaining, with no one else beside me except Osiris and his son Horus. I shall become a small serpent, invisible to the gods. To Osiris will be given power to reign over the dead, and Horus will be exalted on the throne that is set on the island of fiery flames." (2)

The myth is describing the Flood, occurring simultaneously with the disappearance of the sun god into the primordial darkness. The cataclysmic consequences of the sun-god's journey go beyond the familiar assertion that these myths describe the annual flooding of the Nile. The discussion is more Biblical in content. The sun god becomes invisible in the heavens, decreasing in size to a ‘small snake’, and finally ‘invisible to the gods’. This seems to denote Nibiru’s exit from the Solar System at the end of the catastrophic perihelion passage that flooded the world. Horus' depiction of being set in the 'island of fire' is reminiscent of that other Egyptian myth, the Phoenix, which is also identifiable with the Dark Star.

Duat and the Star Clock
Egyptologists perceive of the Duat as the snake-like path undertaken by the Solar Disc, Ra, as it moves through the underworld during night-time. It is understood to be divided into 12 hourly divisions, and each 'hour' sees Ra battle with new demons of darkness. He enters the domain of Osiris, the divine judge of the dead, in the 7th hour, and finally emerges at dawn, the 12th hour division, entering the ‘tail of the mighty serpent, which is named 'Divine Life’. This final gate is guarded by Isis and Nepthys, and signifies the Sun rising at dawn with Sirius (Isis). But there is a problem of scale with this interpretation: Sirius and Orion are practically adjacent to one another in the heavens. So if the Duat were describing the celestial journey of the Solar Disc through the constellations under the horizon at night, then they should be adjacent segments, certainly not the 7th and the 12th.

A partial answer to this problem is found in the concept of the Egyptian ‘star clock’. They divided the sky into 36 equal sections, and nominated a star in each segment to be the heliacally rising ‘decan’. Each section represented one ten-day interval, or Egyptian week. As E.C Krupp describes:

"The Egyptians used a star or a group of stars to signal the beginning of one of their ten-day "weeks". Such a star or group of stars is called a "decan". Just as the Egyptian civil calendar evolved into our present calendar, the decans generated a system of time-keeping that led to our use of a twenty-four-hour day. Because the duration of the night is not constant throughout the year, the Egyptians allowed the hours to vary in length. The pattern of Sirius at the summer solstice became the plan for the entire year, for all the decans were chosen from stars located in a band south of and parallel to the ecliptic." (4)

Of particular interest was the heliacal rising of Sirius, the decan associated with the Summer Solstice during the Pyramid Age. This shortest night is about 6 modern hours long in Egypt. The night-time was divided into 12 intervals, which represented the fact that only 12 of the possible 36 decans could be seen that night. So at this crucial time of year, when the Duat was ‘activated’, the Egyptian nocturnal variable hour was only ˝ modern hour long. The Duat, according to this way of thinking, comprised one third of the total Solar Cycle in the sky, rather than one half. In contrast, some Egyptologists consider the Duat to be active all year-long. But the star clock hypothesis goes some way to explaining the anomalous number of divisions between Sirius and Orion in the Duat. Saying that, it is still difficult to understand why as many as 6 intervals should exist between adjacent star constellations. There are more difficulties with the conventional understanding of the Duat.

Problems with the Duat
Why did the Egyptians choose decans which lie off the ecliptic at all? A more precise method surely would have involved choosing stars in the zodiac to be decans. There are perfectly adequate stars on the ecliptic near Sirius and Orion in the form of Pollux, Castor and Alhena in Gemini; and Aldebaran and the Hyades in Taurus!

Egyptologists point to the heliacal rising of Sirius during the Pyramid Age being coincidental with the summer solstice and the flooding of the Nile. But this symbolic coincidence does not necessarily explain the ancient importance attached to Sirius. The timing of the flooding of the Nile tended to vary, and the heliacal rising of Sirius wasn't necessarily a strong indicator of the coming Nile flood. But there is a more important point here; the Isis/Osiris/Horus mythology predated the Pyramid Age considerably, and represented the most ancient of Egyptian mythology. As one goes back in time, then the precession of the equinoxes take the heliacal rising of Sirius further away from the solstice, occurring earlier in the year as you go back further in time. Therefore, the more ancient source of this mythology cannot have arisen based upon the Nile flood timing, or indeed the Summer Solstice, because these religious notions pre-date this calendrical coincidence

Sirius lies well south of the ecliptic, and its dominance of the Duat must indicate another important factor at play here than simply part of a zodiacal sky clock. The same goes for Orion. The Duat mythology involves the barque of Ra traveling through the various decans and encountering the monsters and deities associated with each. Which begs the question: How can Ra, as the invisible serpent, encounter the God of the Dead, Osiris, if the Sun doesn't actually pass through Orion? This is a fundamental problem with the Egyptology position, and casts their interpretation of the nature of the Duat into doubt. To encounter Osiris, our celestial traveler must pass through Orion, and therefore travel off the ecliptic. Up until now, that point has been unanswerable, as all the visible planets travel along the ecliptic. But Babylonian texts indicate that an entirely different body passed through Canis Major and Orion in the form of Marduk, or Nibiru. My contention is that Sirius marks the perihelion position of the Dark Star, and that the choice of decans south of the ecliptic indicates the Winged Disc’s appearance in the Duat.

Journey Through the Duat
If Sirius marks the endpoint/rebirth of the Dark Star’s journey (Decan 12), and Orion is the half-way mark (Decan 7), then the Egyptians were describing a very different motion in the heavens. The conventional dawn divisions fit neatly with the initial appearance of Nibiru as it approaches Sirius in its opposing trajectory to the Sun:

"The god Horus burns great beacons in the eleventh hour division. Ruddy flames and flames of gold blaze on high in beauty- the enemies of Ra are consumed in the fires of Horus…The sun god is reborn in the twelfth hour division…The last door of all is guarded by Isis, wife of Osiris… " (2)

This point of rebirth of the Dark Star near Sirius also marks the beginning of the cycle of the Duat, and the fiery sun-god is Horus, returning to the skies after its era-long absence. It overcomes a high wall, which signifies Nibiru’s swing around the Sun and change of celestial direction, and enters the gate of the Duat in the 1st division. The red star Horus battles with the great serpent Apep from that point on, as it moves on through the next few divisions, signifying how the bright red orb could again be made invisible by the Serpent Seth at any time. But it fights through a mass of flying monsters to pass near the Drowning Pool (signifying the point where the Flood was unleashed on the Earth in a previous Nibiruan passage), and then enters Orion in the 7th division. At this point of the Duat, the souls of the dead are judged by Osiris and a great fight ensues with the serpent, showing how Seth, the invisible black snake, begins to overcome Horus and establish himself as the sun-god identity. In the 10th division onward the monsters that the sun god encounters take on a more watery character, showing how it has again become submerged in the primordial deep, and fully taken on the guise of Seth.

From the perspective of an Earth-based observer gazing at the fiery orb of Nibiru as it moves through the night sky, it seems to move through an arc, in the opposite direction to the Sun’s motion. It appears faintly near Cancer, and brightens significantly as it moves towards Sirius. This rebirth by Sirius (Isis) denotes its character as Horus, and shows Horus’s victory over the evil darkness of the Seth identity. The perihelion marks the point of rebirth, the movement past the high wall (around the Sun) and thus through the ‘gate of the Duat’. This is the end of the 12th division and the start of the 1st. On towards Orion it goes, fading as it does so. (The memories of the Flood are captured by the monuments of Giza, and their age-long vigilance, denoting the celestial point of Nibiru's journey through Orion when the world was once destroyed by the sun god). From there, the red orb fades rapidly as it swings towards Taurus and Aries. Finally it is lost to the darkness, and becomes the dark serpent, Seth, once again. Like a serpent biting its tail, the invisible path of the dark star eventually leads back to Isis, creating an Ouroboros in the sky.

Horus Versus Ra
Some might argue that, despite the astronomical difficulties I have cited, the evidence remains strong that the Duat was simply the region of the sky that the Sun moved through during the night. They will base this argument upon the predominance of the cult of the sun god Ra. But Ra was not Horus, and there is strong evidence that these two solar deities were entirely separate entities. The problem has been the previous lack of another ‘sun’ to pin one of them on. Naturally enough, everything has been reduced to the one Sun. The cult of Ra arose after the Osiris/Isis/Horus cult. Egyptian religion was a conglomeration of different pantheons of deities, many of them imported, and the Egyptians were loath to discard any of the ‘old gods’ in favor of the new. As such, their mythology grew by molding one god onto another, and this is what eventually happened with the Horus sun god:

"Horus was united with Ra as Harmkhis, and the sun god of Heliopolis became Ra Harmakhis. The hawk god was thus symbolized as the winged sun disc." (2)

This point is crucial. Horus was depicted by the ancient Egyptians in the same way that Nibiru was depicted by the Sumerians. Given that the Sumerian culture pre-dated Dynastic Egypt, and that the Egyptians were fond of importing foreign religious ideas, it is evident that the appearance of the Winged Planet was worshipped by the Egyptians as Horus.

Egyptologists are in a state of denial about the stellar origin of the ancient cults, particularly of Osiris and Isis. This is despite strong evidence in favor of this interpretation given us in the Pyramid Texts. But the import of the ‘Winged Planet’ religion gives us a very clear and simple picture of what these star cults were really all about. The Sun cult absorbed the star cult during and after the Fourth Dynasty, in the same way that Christianity was so adept at absorbing the polytheistic religions it replaced, forming a pantheon of saints to make up for the lost gods. In the Egyptological text dealing with this absorption of the Horus identity into the Ra identity, it is clear that they were not one-and-the-same, but rather two separate solar identities:

'Then Horus flew up to the Sun as a great winged disc, and he was afterwards called ‘the great god, the lord of the sky’. He perceived the enemies of Ra, and went against them as a winged disc.’ (2)

"The doors of the sky are thrown open for Horakhti… the doors of the sky are thrown open at dawn for Horus of the east … go to … Horakhti at the horizon … on the eastern side of the sky where the gods are born." (5)

Other forms of Ra see Egyptologists grasping at planetary identities for Horus, despite their own insistence that the Egyptians were totally uninterested in astronomy as a basis for their gods:

"The planet Saturn was Horus the Bull, Mars was Red Horus, and Jupiter ‘Horus, revealer of secrets’. At Letopolis a temple was erected to Horus of Not Seeing. In this form he is supposed to have represented the sun at solar eclipse…" (2)

One must ask why the Egyptians would identify Horus with so many different planets, as well as the Sun? If Seth is truly Mercury, how can Horus be simultaneously Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and various aspects of the Sun’s appearance? This is a complete mess. It seems far more likely that these various aspects of Horus represent a different traveler in the heavens, and identify its route. ‘Horus of Not Seeing’ is presumably Nibiru traveling back into the ‘primordial deep’, whilst Horus the Bull is the winged disc as it disappears into the Taurus constellation. (Interestingly, bulls were a strong part of ancient religious beliefs, and references to them eating snakes or eels in myths is not uncommon. This alludes to Nibiru, the disappearing dark serpent, being consumed by Taurus as it departs from our skies. The same goes for Aries, as the sun god touches upon this constellation also as it departs, and this might explain the emphasis on rams in ancient Egyptian mythology.)

The reference to Horus, the ‘revealer of secrets’, as Jupiter, is derived from the earliest known astronomical ceiling in the Tomb of Senmut, around 1473BC. E. C. Krupp identifies Jupiter as ‘Horus Who Illuminates the Two Lands’, a slightly different rendition, but one which reveals another aspect of the Dark Star’s passage. (4) The Two Lands could signify the zodiacal twins, Gemini, illuminated by the star as it passes by, but not through, this constellation. Or it might refer to its bright countenance shining down upon the Two Lands of Egypt.

Summary
This solution to the meaning of the Duat overcomes the problems faced by the standard Egyptological interpretation. The Duat describes the rare passage of the Dark Star, not the daily passage of the Sun (which doesn't even go through Canis Major or Orion). It is little wonder, then, that the sun god 'avenges' himself during this rare passage in the myths. In the intervening millennia, the memories of Nibiru have all but disappeared, as is clear in our modern age. Why believe in what is entirely invisible? The difference now is our technology, the use of which could allow us to rediscover the invisible serpent as it moves through the primordial deep of the Oort Cloud.

This hypothesis regarding the Duat and Nibiru's perihelion passage has been instrumental in showing that Nibiru should currently lie in the opposite part of the Celestial Sphere from Sirius/Orion. This is in the area of Aquila and Serpens. It is where Murray identifies the location of his giant planet/brown dwarf (DS2). But we still don't have an historical account of Nibiru's last passage, which fills the following criteria:

An anomalous bright, red star observed in the Duat
Its appearance during the life-time of Christ,

which the New Testament portrays as the Star of Bethlehem
A clear, astronomical reference of this sighting, contemporary with Christ

 by Andy Lloyd

August 2001

This fascinating image features in Andrew Collins' book 'Gods of Eden'. He describes it thus:

This image contains a lot of symbolic information pertinent to our investigation.

The cosmic winged serpent appears to be traveling around the perimeter of this 'island in the Duat'. The island takes the shape of an elongated ellipse, the orbital shape of Nibiru. The winged serpent takes much of the symbolism we have explored for Seth and Horus; a dark serpent, a Hawk-headed god and a pair of celestial wings. The three heads of the serpent are reminiscent of the three heads of the alchemical dragon Azoth. The most crucial piece of imagery, however is the ankh-like cross leading the right-hand head of the winged serpent. This, I have suggested, is the multi-facted symbol of the appearance of Nibiru.

This curious imagery links Nibiru with the Fifth Hour of Duat, and connects it with the omphalus, primeval mound and 'benben', all central to ancient Egyptian iconography. Zecharia Sitchin notes that the Fifth Hour is the place of the the hidden god Seker, that the actual identity of Collins' 'benben' is actually the beetle symbol (Kheper), and the female head on the mound that of a goddess (7). Is she Isis, representing Sirius, below the scarab beetle (Cancer)? The Fifth Hour is the one immediately preceding the realm of Osiris (Orion), so this position in the heavens would fit well with this assumption. Since the Fifth Hour is the 'deepest sub-terranean' part of the secret ways of Seker, are we not being shown the point of Nibiru's perihelion in the southern constellations? From Cancer, the hidden path of Seker leads to its lowest point in Duat near Sirius, before turning back towards Orion.
 

1.) R. Bauval and A. Gilbert "The Orion Mystery" p202 Mandarin 1994
2.) Geddes & Grosset "Ancient Egypt: Myth and History" pp32-33, Ch1, pp145-147 The Gresham Publishing Co, 1997
3.) K. Seligmann "The History of Magic" p69 Pantheon Books Inc 1948
4.) E.C. Krupp "In Search of Ancient Astronomies" pp192-194, Penguin 1984
5.) R. Bauval & G. Hancock "Keeper of Genesis" p183 Mandarin 1996
6.) A. Collins "Gods of Eden" pp167, 184 Headline 1998
7.) Z. Sitchin "The Stairway to Heaven" pp55-7 Avon 1980