North Star and Animals of the 12 Year Cycle as Constellations （北極星と１２支の星座）
1. North Star
(1) [ ] is North Star
In Linear A symbol (A544), pronounced KI-TA (north in Japanese), there is a small pictograph [ ] in the top right hand corner that is likely to be shorthand for North Star.
This is because, if one consults the astrological charts to survey the spatial area close to the North Star, [ ] can be easily be identified as the Big Dipper in Ursa Major* and Little Dipper in Ursa Minor, juxtaposed face to face. The space enclosed in between focuses on kappa Draconis, North Star from 1793 to 1000 BCE, and this corresponds to the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean.
At the same time, [ happens to be the Linear A symbol TA (*59) that seems rooted in TATSU or dragon in Japanese, considering the fact that symbol (*66), which resembles the head and neck of a dragon, is also pronounced TA. ( ] is an inverted variation.)
Then for the Minoans, North Star was surrounded by 2 dragons.
* The oldest recorded constellations are from ancient texts left by the Amorites, who succeeded the Sumerians and the Akkadians, and founded Babylon (1830-1530 BCE), whose 6th king issued the Code of Hammurabi.
In their records from circa 1800 BCE, Ursa Major (Big Bear) is known as Wheelbarrow. Other constellations include Hunter in Heaven (Orion) and the signs of the zodiac, albeit without Cancer, Libra, or Sagittarius.
** The Greek poet Aratus from the 3rd century BCE wrote that Ursa Major and Ursa Minor suckled Zeus when he was a young child, in a cave in Crete.
(2) Dragons
(a) DWA and TA
The sign DWA (25) projects the image of a sea horse, and so DWA, akin to TATSU (dragon in Japanese), must have signified dragon.
(b) Phaistos Disk
Accordingly, if we read the last passage of Side B on the Phaistos Disk in clockwise direction and decode it as Japanese, Theseus, upon his return to Athens after slaying the Minotaur in Crete, mourns over the loss of his father Aegeus, King of Athens, who threw himself off a cliff after seeing the mistaken black sail on Theseus’s ship; he goes out on a raft into a sea cave that leads to Hades, to see Aegeus, who appears as a ghost that admonishes Theseus. The slash at the end of a word indicates that it should be read in both directions.
I-PE-KA-TRE AU-NI-TI-NO / AU-NO-PA
「いや、勝て！ 互いの合う日、後に会うから」 会う相手は
“No, go for a win! We will meet again, on a mutually congenial day.” A reunion
[B20] AU-DI-TI / (SA)-AU-NI-TI-NO /
偉大な父。信じよう、「ある日、後に会うさ」との言葉を。
With great father, let me trust these words, on our eventual meeting one day.
KA-PI-NA-DWA TI-RJU-TE
か ひな とは 散る/ ちゆて/ 知る。天
その時、小さな辰/ 戸 は 散る/ 癒される/ 知る だろう。
And then this small dragon will pass away/ find solace/ understand.
TI-DI-TI / TI-NA-RJU-DE (MI/SA)-AU-NI-TI-NO /
地、信じ、父 しなるで み あうにち のちにあうさ
天地を信じ、父の しなる腕 ゆえ、相応しい日、後に会うさ、
With trust in heaven and earth, in view of my old father, like a bending branch, we will see each other again, on a mutually congenial day,
PE-QUI-RE-RJU-TI
きへきれる地。
遠く離れた所で。
In a far, distant land.
I-GYU-TE-NA-TI AU-PI-NA-DWA
（もはや王位から）退く手はない。夜空の大きな辰/戸 は、
Now, I must not hesitate from ascending the throne, as the big dragon/ door in the night sky
[B30] DI-TI /
父！ 父に違いないから！
must be father! Father in person!
Theseus refers to the dragons (DWA), big and small, as King Aegeus and himself. If these dragons are in the heavens, the stellar formations of Big Dipper and Little Dipper may well fit the description, as they are found near kappa Draconis, North Star, around which they used to revolve in Minoan times. Theseus is deeply moved because he sees the Big Dipper as he leaves the cave and, because it symbolizes the king, believes it must be Aegeus.
2. 12 Animals represent Constellations for each Month
(1) In the Japanese tradition, the 12 animals of the ETO （干支）calendar system are linked to the months as follows, with reference to the solar year:
December Mouse
January Ox
February Tiger
March Rabbit
April Dragon
May Snake
June Horse
July Sheep
August Monkey
September Bird
October Dog
November Wild Boar
Given such correspondence, and because ETOS in ancient Greek meant year, it may be inferred that these animals used to represent constellations for each month.
(2) In Western astrology, the 12 signs are constellations representing the “monthly” houses in which the sun resides in the ecliptic over the course of a year. These constellations, identified in the northern hemisphere toward the southern night sky, are not visible during the corresponding months in astrology; instead, they start to appear about 4 months earlier and are seen over roughly 3 months. For example,
Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18) ⇒ Visible Sept 20-Dec 18
Taurus (April 20-May 20) ⇒ Visible Dec 20-March 20
Leo (July 23-Aug22) ⇒ Visible March 23-June22
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21) ⇒ Visible June 23-Sept 21
In contrast, the 12 animals of the ETO should represent constellations visible in the actual months with which they are identified because the Minoans, as seafarers, would not have invented a system unassociated with navigation.
(3) As Crete and Japan (especially near Izumo or Shimane Prefecture) lie on similar latitudes, people in Japan should observe star formations comparable to those that Minoans recognized in Crete and used for navigation, notwithstanding the passage of 3000 years.
As the night sky shifts with the hours, the same star configurations are visible at 9PM on the 1st day, 8PM on the 15th day and 7PM on the 30th day, every month.
(4) Using modern astrological charts, the following correspondence is suggested:
December 子 (NE) Mouse ⇒ North Star (kappa Draconis)
January 丑 (USHI) Ox ⇒ Taurus
February 寅 (TORA) Tiger ⇒ Orion (Hunter)
March 卯 (U) ⇒ Rabbit (Lepus)
The 3 signs USHI,TORA,U were probably read together (丑とらう) to mean “capturing the ox,” where Taurus was the ox and Orion was seen as the capturer carrying a huge bag (Winter Triangle) over the shoulder, with Lepus representing feet.
In fact, the symbol A (100/102), for man, must be derived from Orion, as it also has a triangle over the shoulder and lacks a head. Minoan woman may have been referred to as TORA, because of their skirts with horizontal stripes.
April 辰 (TATSU) Dragon⇒ Draco
May 巳 (MI) Snake ⇒ Big Dipper (in Ursa Major)
June 午 (UMA) ⇒ Centaurus
July 未 (HITSUJI) ⇒ Lupus
August 申 (SARU) Monkey ⇒ Aquila
September 酉 (TORI) Bird ⇒ Cygnus
With August and September taken together, SARU TORI means, bird flying away (去る鳥), and this points to Aquila and Cygnus. The three stars, Altair in Aquila, Deneb in Cygnus and Bega in Lyra form the Great Summer Triangle, and this leads to the triangular symbol for 酉 (TORI) in Chinese oracle bone script.
October 戌 (INU) Dog/ Shoot with arrow ⇒ Sagittarius/ W shape in Cassiopeia
In Chinese oracle bone script, 戌is a pictogram of an archer about to shoot and, in Japanese, INU is a homophone that means either “shoot with arrow” (射ぬ) or Dog.
November 亥 (I) Wild Boar ⇒ Cepheus
If the archer in INU is construed as the W shape in Cassiopeia, Cepheus is found nearby, looking like a wild boar in November. Outside Japan, 亥 is understood to be Pig.
3. International Diffusion
The animals of the 12- year cycle can be found in such diverse lands as China, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Iran, Turkey and Finland.
The Minoans must have used these animals to guide mariners when they sailed in the evening and the idea must have spread to lands bordering on the Mediterranean with which they traded or offered transport services with their merchant vessels.
Later, Minoan migration must have spread this custom to lands in east Asia and took on use in the Chinese/Japanese calendar, as well as in prophecy and entertainment.
The 12 animals eventually lost their original purpose of helping navigation; to indicate direction, each one was assigned a specific position corresponding to the hours of a clock, with the Mouse in 12 o’clock position indicating North, Rabbit in 3 o’clock for East, Horse in 6 o’clock for South and Bird in 9 o’clock for West.
