From The Alpha and the Omega - Volume III
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © July 20, 2002, all rights reserved "Volume III - The Second Month - Constellation Names for Auriga"
In the Second Month of Taurus

Auriga, the Charioteer, the Shepherd
The constellation name for Auriga:

• Some sources claim that it is accepted that Auriga represents:
  • The Assyrian's viewed this as a chariot (as shown below).
  • Others see it as a bearded man carrying a goat (i.e. Shepherd).
  • The Greeks saw it as a lame man riding a horse.
  
  
• The Charioteer connection:
  
  
• Latin auriga, charioteer, Auriga, orig- "he who manages the (horse's) bit"; ig-, lengthened from ig--, driving, from *ag-, possibly from os-], and is basically of unknown origin, but see the Hebrew below.
  • Lengthened (as seen above for orig-).
    • Hebrew 'orek, o'-rek, from Heb. 'arak, aw-rak', a primary root to be (caus. make) long, lengthen, thus length, for ever, length, long.
  • Drive, Driving (as seen above for "driving, from *ag-").
    • Hebrew minhag, min-hawg', from Heb. nahag, naw-hag', a primary root to drive forth (a person, an animal or chariot), i.e. lead, carry away, drive (away), thus the driving (of a chariot), driving.
      • Driver.
        • Hebrew nagas, naw-gas', a primary root, to drive (an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army), driver.
  • In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 135 calls this the "coachman."
  
  
• One source claims in the Euphratean star-list Auriga is called Mar-urbi, "The-Chariot-by-itself."
  • Sumerian mar, means "chariot or "wagon."
  • Sumerian ur-bi: by itself ('dog' ? + 'its; and').
  
  
• In other sources it is also called Gar, meaning "Chariot" and Sugi, as meaning "Chariot-Yoke."
  • Sumerian gúr, meaning "wheels."
  • Yoke (see notes in Virgo under Bootes, i.e. "Yoke.").
    • Hebrew tsemed, tseh'-med, a yoke or team.
    • Hebrew 'ol, ole or 'owl, from Heb. 'alal, (Chald.) al-al'.
    • Other words in Hebrew 'alah; Heb. mowt, mote; Heb. mowtah, mo-taw'.
    • Sumerian SHUDUN, Akkadian niru, "The Yoke," referenced as belonging to Boötes.
      • Sumerian (giš)šudun_(2,3,4,5), (giš)šudul_(2,3,4,5): yoke, crosspiece (šúš/šú, 'to cover', + dun(4), 'warp yarns connecting opposite sides of a loom frame' and dul, 'to cover').
        • Sumerian šu: n., hand; share, portion, bundle; strength. v., to pour.
        • Sumerian (giš)dun-gi: a tool; a type of yoke (?) ('to scrape, dig' + 'reed' or 'firm, strong').
          • Sumerian NITAH-dun-gi: a type of jackass ('male' + 'yoke' ?).
            • Sumerian (giš)bìr-mar: wagon yoke ('team' + 'wagon').
            • Sumerian gú giš... gál: to submit (to someone: dative) ('neck' + 'yoke' + 'to place').
      • Richard H. Allen mentions in his Capricornus section: Sayce, Bosanquet, and others think that they have without doubt identified it with the Assyrian Munakha, the Goat-Fish; and we see other probable names in Shah or Shahu, the Ibex, and in Niru, the Yoke, this last perhaps a popular one.    Brown gives for it the Akkadian Su-tul of the same meaning; and another possible title, resembling the early Hindu, was Makhar, claimed also for Delphinus.
  • Richard H. Allen mentions in his Libra section: Brown also says that the Euphratean Sugi, the Chariot Yoke, which he identifies with alpha and beta of this constellation, remind us by sound and signification of the Zugon and Jugum of Greece and Rome respectively, and that astrology adds evidence in favor of a Chaldaean origin, for it has always claimed Libra — the Northern Scale at least — as a fruitful sign, taking this from the very foundations of astrology in the Chaldaean belief that "when the Sugi stars were clear the crops were good."    In modern astrology, however, the reverse of this held in the case of the Southern Scale.
  
  
• In the Semitic it is Narkabtu-istênis.
  
  • In "Hamlet's Mill" by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, Gambit Inc. 1969 it states on page 438, "... chariot (narkabtu) at Ningirsu.    MES.LAM.TA.E₃.A, the oldest name know of the god Nergal, 'who comes forth from MES.LAM'."
  
  
• Sumerian GIGIR (GISH.GIGIR), Akkadian narkabtu, "The Chariot," in Auriga as "The Charioteer," although others call him "The Shepherd," which is also referenced in Orion.    War chariots had their beginnings in Early Mesopotamia around 3000-2000 B.C. (Ur).
  • Sumerian gigir₍₂₎: wheel(s); chariot; wagon (reduplicated gur₄/gir₈, 'to turn, roll').
    • Sumerian guruš, guruš: sled (archaic pictogram); adult workman, laborer (human sled); young man (gúr, 'wheels' [cf., gigir], + uš, 'to stand upon').
      • Sumerian guruš_3,4, guru₅, gur₅; kur₅: to circumcise (?); to trim away, strip; to cut, clip (a part of the body); to notch, incise; to fell trees; to be parted, relieved of (gur₁₀, 'sickle', + gìš/uš, 'penis').
    • Sumerian anše-mar: chariot or wagon ass ('equid' + 'wagon').
    • Chariot.
      • Hebrew merkabah, mer-kaw-baw', fem. of Heb. merkab, mer-kawb', from Heb. rakab, raw-kab', a primary root to ride, thus a chariot, also a seat (in a vehicle) thus a chariot.
        • Hebrew rakkab, rak-kawb', a charioteer, chariot man, driver of a chariot, horseman.
        • Hebrew rekeb, reh'-keb, a vehicle, chariot, wagon.
      • Hebrew 'appiryown, ap-pir-yone', probably of Egyptian derivation, a palanquin, chariot.
      • Hebrew hosten, ho'-tsen, from an unused root meaning apparently to be sharp or strong, a weapon of war, chariot.
      • Greek harma, har'-mah, probably from Gr. airo, ah'ee-ro, [perhaps with l (as a particle of union) prefixed], a chariot (as raised or fitted together), chariot.
      • Greek rheda, hred'-ah, of Latin origin, a rheda, i.e. four-wheeled carriage (wagon for riding), chariot.
  • Sumerian giš, geš: tree; wood; wooden implement; scepter; tool; organ; plow; natural phenomenon.
    • Sumerian gish, wood or tree, is seen as four wedges forming a rectangle on cuneiform writing..
    • Sumerian giš-gi: reed bank, thicket ('tree' + 'reed').
    • Sumerian giš-gíd-da: long wood; punting pole; javelin, spear ('wood' + 'long' + nominative).
    • Sumerian giš-gíg: a date palm ('tree' + 'black, dark').
    • Sumerian giš-si₄: a date palm ('tree' + 'red-brown').
    • Sumerian giš...tag: to make a religious offering, sacrifice (often with dative) ('tree' + 'to adorn').
  • In "Hamlet's Mill" by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, Gambit Inc. 1969 it states in regard to the chariot of Auriga on page 266, "... two wheeled race car, Greek harma, Latin currus, Babylonian narkabto."
  
  
• The Shepherd connection:
  
  
• Auriga's group of stars has long been associated with goatherds, as Auriga as a Shepherd is usually portrayed with a goat over one shoulder, represented by the bright star Capella.    In his lap or arms we find two, sometimes three kids (or new-born baby goats).    He holds in his right hand a band.
  • In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 134 "Auriga is from a Hebrew root which means a shepherd."
    • Shepherd.
      • Hebrew ro'iy, ro-ee', from act. part. of Heb. ra'ah, raw-aw', a primary root to tend a flock, i.e. pasture it, thus pastoral, as noun, a shepherd, shepherd.
      • Hebrew tso'n, tsone, or ts^e'own (Psa. 144:13), tseh-one', from an unused root meaning to migrate, a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats), also fig. (of men), (small) cattle, flock, lamb, sheep ([-cote, -fold, -shearer, -herd]).
      • Greek poimen, poy-mane', of uncertain affin., a shepherd, (lit. or fig.), shepherd, pastor.
  • The domestication of sheep and goats in the Egyptian Naqada I, 3800-3600 B.C., Naqada II, 3400-3200 gives some relevance to the names of Auriga and its association with the Age of Taurus.
    • Herdsman, Herdman (also connected to Bootes in Virgo).
      • Hebrew noqed, no-kade, act. part. from the same as the Heb. noqod, naw-kade', thus a spotter (of sheep or cattle), i.e. the owner or tender (who thus marks them), herdman, sheepmaster.
      • Hebrew ra'ah, raw-aw', a primary root, to tend a flock, herdman, pastor, shepherd.
      • Sumerian na-gada: herdsman ('human' + 'linen' ?).
  
  
• Egyptian/Coptic connection:
  • In the Egyptian Denderah Zodiac it shows Auriga holding in his right hand a scepter, the upper part that shows the head of the Lamb, the lower part is shaped like a cross.
    • On the Denderah Zodiac at the end of the tail of Taurus, Auriga is seen as a male figure with a crown of either two plumes or double crown.    Some call it the shepherd, who carries in his left hand a short scepter, the top with a goat head with horns and the bottom with a cross.
    • With the Egyptians the cross was a sign of life.
    • In the "Gospel of the Stars," Joseph Seiss, page 109 claims "In the Zodiac of Denderah, Auriga holds a scepter, the upper part of which shows the head of the Lamb, and lower part a figure of a cross."
    • In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 135-136 "In the Zodiac of Denderah the same truth was revealed more than 4,000 years ago, but the Man (Auriga), instead of carrying the sheep, is carrying a scepter, and is called Trun, which means scepter or power.    But this is a strange scepter, for at the top it has the head of a goat, and at the bottom, below the hand that holds it, it ends in a cross!"
    • Some believe this is seen in Malachi 4:1-3, Psalm 37:38-40.
      • Graft, Graff.
        • Greek egkentrizo, eng-ken-trid'-zo, from Gr. en, en, denoting (fixed) position and a der. of Gr. kentron, ken'-tron, from kenteo (to prick), a point ("centre"), i.e. a sting (fig. poison) or goad (fig. divine impulse), prick, sting, thus to prick in, ie. ingraft, graff in (-to).
      • Sceptre.
        • Hebrew sharbiyt, shar-beet', for Heb. shebet, shay'-bet, from an unused root probably meaning to branch off, a scion, i.e. (lit.) a stick, rod, sceptre, staff, thus a rod of empire, sceptre.
          • Malachi 4:1, Branch.
            • Hebrew 'anaph, aw-nawf', from an unused root meaning to cover, a twig (as covering the limbs), bough, branch.
            • Scion, is a shoot or bud of a plant, especially one for grafting, or a descendant heir.
        • Greek rhabdos, hrab'-dos, from the base of Gr. rhapizo, hrap-id'-zo, thus a stick or wand (as a cudgel, a cane or a baton of royalty), rod, sceptre, staff.
  
  
• Other Auriga connections:
  
  
• Sumerian GÀM, Akkadian gamlu, "The Crook," one source claims that it is associated with Auriga, but it seems to fit better with Leo, and the Sumerian words for the "curved weapon."
  • Sumerian gàm: n., sickle; handle; v., to shine, glitter.
    • Sumerian gam: n., decline, incline (cf., gúr); v., to bow down, kneel (for someone: dative; direction: terminative); to bend, curve; to shrivel.
    • Sumerian gur_10,14; ur₄: n., sickle; v., to reap, harvest; to pluck; to shear (sheep); to gather in; to catch (in a net); to gather together; to join in assent (probably reduplication class).
      • Sumerian še-gur₁₀-ku₅: harvest ('grain' + 'sickle' + 'to cut').
    • Sumerian zubu, zubi: sickle (zú, 'flint; tooth', + bu[r], 'to pull, draw, cut off').
  • Under the Leo constellation names for Hebrew/Greek words for Sickle we find:
    • Hebrew chermesh, kher-mashe', or hermesh, from Heb. charam, khaw-ram', a primary root, to seclude, to devote to religious uses, thus a sickle (as cutting), a reaping hook. (Found in the Bible in Deut. 16:9; 23:25.)
    • Hebrew maggal, mag-gawl', from an unused root meaning to reap, a sickle, a reaping hook. (Found in Jer. 50:16 and Joel 3:13).
    • Greek drepanon, drep'-an-on, from drepo (to pluck), a gathering hook (for harvesting), a tool used for cutting grain.
    • The esoteric meaning of Aquarius's Hebrew letter Tzaddi, was a fishing hook, and is seen in Matthew 17:21 where the Lord told him to cast a hook (KJV).
  • From www.lexiline.com, "The Crook Staff (GAM), god of the crook staff (d.Gamlum), one source claims this is the staff in the hand of Orion (note that it is an Egyptian waas scepter on the Denderah Zodiac)."
  • Richard H. Allen comments in his Aries section: He also finds, from an inscription on the Tablet of the Thirty Stars, that the Euphratean astronomers had a constellation Gam, the Scimetar, stretching from Okda (another name for Alrisha) of the Fishes (Pisces) to Hamal of Aries, the curved blade being formed by the latter's three brightest components.    This was the weapon protecting the kingdom against the Seven Evil Spirits, or Tempest Powers.
  • In his work “BABYLONIAN STAR-LORE: An Illustrated Guide to the Star-lore and Constellations of Ancient Babylonia,” by Gavin White on page 30 claims, "The Charioteer (Auriga) is plainly based on he Babylonian Chariot, which contrary to its name was also depicted as a chariot-driver with no chariot.    The star Capella, the 'little goat,' often found at the Charioteer's shoulder is also a memory of a Babylonian star called the Crook, which was similarly envisioned as a goat-kid."
        White's image of Auriga here and continue to his page 39, to see his image of the Crook and his comment, "The constellation of the Crook depicts a shepherd tending his flocks.    Beyond the obvious pastoral symbolism of the herds, the shepherd also functions as one of the primary symbol of the king, who guides his people and nation as a shepherd guides his flocks.
        As a symbol the shepherd's crook naturally represents the king's regalia and his divinely ordained power to rule.    It is therefore fitting that the Crook star rises in the first month of the year when the king was inaugurated and empowered by the gods.    The figure of the shepherd-king is naturally associated with Dumuzi, who is now grown to be a young man and is about to marry the goddess in the rite of the Sacred Marriage.    By this union the king, who was identified with Dumuzi, established his right to rule and further guaranteed the fertility of his realm."
  
  
• In Peru Capella was called Colca associated with herder of flocks.
  
  
• Other names for Auriga: Alanac', Alanat', Alioc', Alathod', Alatud'o, Atud', Ayyuk', Dhu al 'Inan, Ma'sik al 'Inan', Mum'assich Alhanom (Chilmead), Mum'sik al 'Inan.
  • Richard H. Allen comments: The barbarous Alhaior, Alhaiot, Althaiot, Alhaiset, Alhatod, Alhajot, Alhajoth, Alhojet, Alanac, Alanat, and Alioc, — even these perhaps do not exhaust the list, — used for both constellation and lucida (alpha star Capella), are probably degenerate forms of the Arabs' Al ‘Anz and Al ‘Ayyuk, specially applied to Capella as the Goat, which they figured as the desert Ibex, their Badan; and Ideler thinks that this may have been the earliest Arabic designation for the star.
        The Arabians translated the classic titles for the Rein-holder into Al Dhu al ‘Inan, Al Masik al ‘Inan, and Al Mumsik al ‘Inan, — Chilmead's Mumassich Alhanam; but the Rabbi Aben Ezra mixed things up by calling the figure Pastor in cujus manu est frenum.
  • Seen as the French Cocher, Italian Cocchiere, and German Fuhrmann.

See Star Names for Auriga.

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    This file last updated on March 14, 2005, July 15, 2008, and March 30, 2010.

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