From The Alpha and the Omega - Volume III
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © July 20, 2002, all rights reserved
"Volume III - The First Month - Constellation Names for Eridanus"
In the First Month of Aries
Eridanus, the River, the Celestial River
The constellation name for Eridanus:
- Eridanus, "The River," or "The Celestial River," or a River Ocean that surrounded the entire world. Others call it the "River of the Judge," or "river of judgment," a fiery river that flows out of the foot of Orion, then goes past Cetus, and disappears into the outer darkness. Eridanus is supposedly a representation of the celestial equivalent of the Nile to the Egyptians and the Euphrates to the Babylonians as it snakes its exceedingly sinous path.
- Eridu on Earth was an ancient Sumerian city of the Ubaid Culture and in heaven the same as Eridanus (the head of a man), known as the river of forgetfulness, i.e. the "underworld."
- Sumero-Semitic Euphratean Eridanus was the constellation "Strong-One-of-the-Plain."
- Sumero-Akkadian Pur-edin.
- Babylonian-Assyrian Eru-edimu, the Euphrates.
- Eridanos as an Aryan name would mean "The-Strong-Flowing."
- Turanian "The-Strong-River."
- River.
- Hebrew nahar, naw-hawr', from Heb. nahar, naw-har', a primary root to sparkle, i.e. (fig.) be cheerful, hence (from the sheen of a running stream) to flow, i.e. (fig.) assemble, flow (together), be lightened, thus a stream (including the sea, especially the Nile, Euphrates, etc.), fig. prosperity, flood, river.
- Arabic Nahr, seen also under Cancer star names, is also Al Nahr
, Nah'ar, Nar.
Sumerian ída, íd, i7: river; main canal; watercourse (éd,'to issue', + a,'water').
Greek potamos, pot-am-os', probably from a der. of the alt. of Gr. pino, pee'-no, to imbibe, drink, thus a current, brook or freshet (as drinkable), i.e. running water, flood, river, stream, water.
Tigris and Euphrates in (Gen. 2:14).
- Euphrates.
- Sumerian buranun: Euphrates river (bu5, 'to rush around', + ra, 'to flood, overflow', + nun, 'great, noble').
- Hebrew Perath, per-awth', from an unused root meaning to break forth, rushing, Perath, a river of the East, Euphrates.
- Usually the river or the great river is the Euphrates (Gen. 15:18, 31:21).
- Tigris.
- Sumerian IDIGNA, Akkadian Idiglat, "The Tigris."
- Sumerian idigna: the Tigris river (ída/íd, 'river', + ì, 'impersonal verbal conjugation prefix', + in, 'to go', + nominative a, "the river that goes", the Tigris was a faster-moving river than the Euphrates; it was less likely to overflow because, not depositing as much silt, it did not built up its bed as high).
- Hiddekel or the Hebrew Chiddeqel, khid-deh'-kel, probably of foreign origin, the Chiddekel (or Tigris) river.
- The Abana and Pharpar (2 Kings 5:12).
- The Jordan (Mark 1:5).
- The rivers of Ethiopia (Zeph. 3:10).
- Ye'or, a stream, refers to the Nile.
- River's.
- Hebrew ye'or, yeh-ore', of Egyptian origin, a channel, e.g. a fosse, canal, shaft, specially the Nile, as the one river of Egypt, including its collateral trenches, also the Tigris, as the main river of Assyria, brook, flood, river, stream.
Egyptian/Coptic:
- On the Denderah Zodiac below the forefeet of Aries, Eridanus is seen and described as a female figure, but upon a closer look at the Denderah image it may be a male face, wearing a long robe holding the Egyptian waas-scepter in front of both hands.
- Some sources claim Eridanus to be known as Peh-ta-t, the mouth of the river.
- Mouth.
- Hebrew peh, peh, from Heb. pa'ah, paw-aw', a primary root to puff, i.e. blow away, scatter into corners, thus the mouth (as the means of blowing), mouth.
- Egyptian peh is usually represented in hieroglyphs as a mouse sign, and as seen in Peh-ta-t, this continues as the Egyptian sign for ta, and then the bread loaf sign, the Egyptian t, followed by a star.
- Usually the Egyptian hieroglyph for mouth is in transcription the letter r.
- In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 129 "In the Denderah Zodiac it (Eridanus) is a river under the feet of Orion. It is named Peh-ta-t, which means the mouth of the river."
- In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 130 "Other names: Pheat, mouth (of the river)."
- In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 130 Eridanus' star "a Achernar, the after part of the river (mouth of the river)."
- As seen above the word for river in Hebrew nahar, naw-hawr', and in the Arabic Nahr, and as in Cancer star names, is also Al Nahr, a comment made in "Hamlet's Mill" by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, Gambit Inc. 1969 it states on page 120-121, "That there is a whirlpool in the sky is well known; it is most probably the essential one, and it is precisely placed. It is a group of stars so named (zalos) at the foot of Orion, close to Rigel (b Orionis), the degree of which was called 'death,' according to Hermes Trismegistos, whereas the Maori claim outright that Rigel marked the way to Hades (Castor indicating the primordial homeland). Antiochus the astrologer enumerates the whirl among the stars rising with Tauros. Franz Boll takes sharp exception to the adequacy of his description, but he concludes that zalos must indeed be Eridanus 'which flows from the foot of Orion.' Now Eridanus, the watery grave of Phaethon, ... was seen as a starry river leading to the other world. The initial frame stands, this time traced in the sky. And here comes a crucial confirmation. That mysterious place, pï närätï, literally the 'mouth of the rivers,' meaning, however, the 'confluence' of the rivers, was traditionally identified by the Babylonians with Eridu. But the archaelogical site of Eridu is nowhere near the confluence of the Two Rivers of Mesopotamia. It is between the Tigris and Euphrates, which flow separately into the Red Sea, and placed rather high up."
They continue on page 211 "[W.F. ALbright exchanged 'mouth' and 'source' ...]. The 'source' is as unrevealing as the 'mouth' has been ... Eridu, Sumerian mulNUNki, is Canopus, a Carinae, the brightest star near the South Pole."
- Some claim that this Eridanus is known as Adept, which is seen in Cetus (in Pisces) for connection with Adept and Bastet.
- One source states this about Cetus; "The adept holds the scepter with both hands close to his bosom. The adept does not pass the sensual Bastet, but follows her into eternity." "Bastet symbolizes nine lives for any sensation ... including the seven spirits of being." Thoth is the ruler of nine. "The ninth life of Bastet is certainty of wisdom."
- It would seem logical that the two figures at the end of the cord (or bands) would represent the constellations Cetus and Eridanus. There is not much information of the Egyptian connection to the two.
Other names for Eridanus: Alvahar (Chilmead), Guad, Guag', Al Kaff Alge'ria, Al Jariah (stars), Al Nahr, Nah'ar, Nar, Vahi'yy, Kursiyy al Jau'zah, Var'di.
- Seen as the French Eridan, the Italian Eridano, and the German Fluss Eridanus.
See Star Names of Eridanus.
This page updated on March 14, 2005, and July 15, 2008.
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