Comet Lulin

[Andrew Bevan]

[Mark]

I have been reading the latest issue of The Tradition. Its absolutely loaded with 116 pages of excellent astrological discussion. What a bargain at only 5 Euro!

It includes an article on Comet Lulin by the Portugese traditional astrologer Luis Ribeiro.

I was glad to see he adopts the traditional approach in terms of only considering a comet that becomes naked eye visible:

[margherita]

[SusanA]

Thank you all for an interesting and well-informed discussion about Comet Lulin and what it might signify here on planet Earth.

What leaps out at me, here in New Zealand, is that Lulin first became visible to the naked eye a day before the devastating bushfires erupted in Victoria, Australia - this from Wkipedia:

Hundreds of fires began around the state on the 7th of February, 2009, during what was described as "the worst bushfire conditions in Australia's history". Melbourne recorded its highest temperature ever at 46.4°C. The current death toll is at 210, most of the deaths occurring in Kinglake, Marysville and the surrounding areas, northeast of Melbourne. West Gippsland, Bendigo, Beechworth and other areas were also affected. 2,273 houses were destroyed and 7,562 people displaced.

These events have been the focus of considerable media coverage (as well as human concern & sympathy) in Australia, and NZ, over the past month, and there is an ongoing investigation into why these fires were so exceptionally fast & ferocious. Fast & ferocious fires = Mercury/Mars, surely!

[margherita]

[SusanA]

Ah, thank you for reminding me about the eclipse, Margherita - and 26 January happens to be Australia's national day...

[Mark]

[margherita]

[quote="MarkC"]

[Mark]

Hi Margherita,

I do have the text by Pliny the Elder from his Natural History and was aware of the section you quoted. Still its a good text to share on the thread.

Note I used the word astrological source for the hellenistic approach to Comets. Pliny the Elder makes clear in his text he doesn't believe in astrology and criticises the notion that a person's destiny can be reflected in their time of birth. However, comets and stars for weather fore-casting appear an exception in the text!

While this clearly points to an ancient tradition of comet delineation I am not sure this is the direct source for later medieval astrologers. Do you think it is?

As you suggest it all leads us back to Arisitotle. I must study his "Meteorologica' which sets out his view of comets.

According to Aristotle, comets were produced by gases that rose into the upper atmosphere where they caught fire, apparently being ignited by sparks generated by the motion of the heavens around the Earth. If the gases burned quickly, they produced the sudden flash of a shooting star. If they burned slowly, a comet was the result.

This theory seems quite remarkable to us today but was consistent with Aristotle's cosmology. In Aristotle’s cosmology, the Earth was stationary at the centre of the Universe, and all celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars –revolved around the Earth on spheres of pure crystal. Nothing could be allowed to violate the perfection of the heavens, so that any temporary blemish such as a comet had to be assigned to the atmosphere. Hence Aristotle does not discuss comets in his astronomical work 'On the Heavens' and instead discusses them in his text discussing Meteorological phenomena. Ptolemy adopted this view too and therefore leaves out discussion of comets in his astronomical epic the Almagest and restricts discussion of comets to his astrological text The Tetrabiblos.

Although classical writers such as Seneca did question the view of Aristotle, by suggesting comets might have orbits like the planets, it was not really until Tycho Brahe wrote on the Nova of 1572 that the idea of celestial spheres and the immutability of the fixed stars began to be rigourously challenged.

[margherita]

[Mark]

[Olivia]

Probably best to check with your friend. When I was in America, I heard 'cerulean blue' for sky colour, and 'sallow' for pale, or pale yellow, a kind of skin colour.

Not the same as the original Greek, I am certain!

[Mark]

[steven]

Throughout my life I've picked up some strange habits One of them being my inclination to learn the etymology of words that we often (as an English speaker) take for granted.

I would tend to think that perhaps Schmidt has translated the Greek correctly using the word "sallow". Our modern English definition of it referring to the unhealthy skin colour of an ashen pale yellow comes from its original useage to the common European willow. The Latin origin is salix.

The common willow has clusters of pollen called catkin which always appear before the leaves do. When studied they are a very translucent pale green tinged with yellow. Anyone who has studied art or even graphic design can tell you that yellow is a secondary colour which is the result of the combination of the two primary colours red and green. Therefore, depending on the intensity of green, yellow will have a "greenish" hue, especially when in the lower intensity ranges. I imagine when describing the comet's colour it may have reminded the early greeks of the colour and shape of the catkin found in the common European variety of willow! Thus to describe it as "sallow" would be quite correct in the context of the ancient meaning of "sallow". Knowing Schmidt's knowledge of etymology I rather think that is why he used the word. Whether that was the wisest choice for most readers is debateable!

Steven

[margherita]

Hello Olivia and Mark and Steven,