Noah's Ark, the Zodiac, the 0/9 Number System & the Preservation of Knowledge

Noah's Ark, Edward Hicks, 1846

As a continuation of 'Cataclysms and the Preservation of Knowledge', I will present below some evidence that should give readers reason enough to consider that the story of Noah's Ark of is not about an actual boat of animals in the literal sense, but rather a symbolic reference to the animal-laden circle (vessel) of life, i.e. the 360° zodiac. This symbolic vessel, whose main-frame is the 0/9 number-system and the cardinal cross and 12 months of the Earth's year, can be seen as a system  or way of preserving eternal knowledge of the 360° field and structure of time and space ... a way of preserving the divine maya (measure) of the Individual, Earth, and Cosmos. This 'vessel' can endure in the face of cataclysms, because it can be eternally rediscovered by humans, based on the geometries and dynamics of the Earth, Solar System and Cosmos. It is a seed/symbol of the unified field the individual is born from and born into. The potential contained in this seed/symbol is that the individual and the collective will evolve, in due course of time, to embody the consciousness of a dynamic Unity ... of a dynamic Wholeness. It is a symbol key not only of material knowledge, but also knowledge of the soul, spirit and destiny of the Earth and its creatures in the course of time.

The first clue that Noah's Ark should be considered as a cosmological symbol rather than a physical boat comes from the fact that the biblical myth of Noah is a derivation of Vedic mythology in which Vishnu the Preserver becomes a fish (Matsya/Pisces) who keeps outgrowing his various Water Pots (Kumbha/Aquarius) until he becomes as big as the ocean, and warns Manu of an oncoming deluge/flood. Manu builds a huge boat bringing along his family, 9 seeds, and a host of animals to repopulate the Earth. When the flood comes Manu fastens his boat to Vishnu in the form of a horned fish (Goatfish – Makara/Capricorn) using Vishnu's snake/Shesha (Time) for a rope. In other Vedic mythology Vishnu is described safely floating upon the vast ocean of space on the coils of Shesha.  It is no huge leap to infer that symbols of the Manu myth are referring to the backward movement of the Precession of the Equinoxes, starting from 0° Aries, moving directly into the Age of Pisces, then to the Age of Aquarius, and onward to the Age of Capricorn.

Paradin, Claude: Devises heroïques (1551)
'I have given him rule without end.

I wrote above, 'it is no huge leap', yet few have made it because our current civilization is somewhat set in the erroneous belief that the origin of the zodiac is Babylonia. Evidence that the zodiac is found further back in history, in the Rig Veda,¹ is somehow overlooked.

The next clues about Noah's Ark are etymological in nature. Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words. Tracing words back to their Sanskrit roots is often quite illuminating. For instance the word 'Noah' can be recognized as derivative from the Sanskrit roots/cognates nav, nau, nu and no, which actually connote a ship or vessel, as well as the numbers 9  and 0 ... as well as 'time'. These roots and their essence show up in English words: 'navy', 'navigate', 'navel', 'nave', 'no',  'none', 'noon', 'naught', 'nautical', 'anull',  'annual,' 'note', 'november' (the ninth month of the zodiac), 'new' (nu), 'nuclear', 'number', 'numen' and 'now'. Also, the Sanskrit word nodha – a close match with Noah and of the English word 'node' – literally means means 'in nine parts'. And to top it all off, the Sanskrit word naubandhana is said to be ‘the highest peak of the Himalayas to which in the great flood Manu fastened (binded/bandha) his ship’. Naubandhana could also be loosely translated as ‘bound by zero’ or ‘bound by nine’ which describes the foundation of Vedic knowledge and mathematics. Readers will remember that in the Manu myth described above, he fastened his ship to a horned-fish which I have suggested is one and the same as the Capricorn goatfish. In the terms of the zodiac, the 10th sign Capricorn is also associated with the mountain goat and the mountain itself. In the Vedic journey (i.e. the zodiac) this symbolic mountain top or peak is arrived at after full passage through the first 9 signs.²  When the zodiac is applied to the 24 hour day, 0° Capricorn is equivalent to high noon which, as mentioned above, is derivative of the Sanskrit words nau/nu.

Next we move to the etymology of the word 'Ark'. 'Ark' originates from the Sanskrit word arka which means ‘the sun; hence the number 12’ (i.e. the 12 months of the year). The 'arc',  'arch' and arc-seconds of the circle are all kin to this Sanskrit root, as are the words 'archeologist' and 'archetype'. Arka also means ‘hymn’, ‘song’, ‘singer’ as well as ‘belonging or relating to the sun’.³

Then there is the Sanskrit word Manu to consider. The root nu has already been discussed above as meaning 'ship',  'time' as well as the numbers 9 and 0. The root ma means 'measure' as well as 'mother'. So Manu could be translated as 'Mother Ship'. The Sanskrit work Anu, means 'fine, minute, atomic', 'an atom of matter' or 'an atom of time.' Anu in this light, can be seen as a microcosm of Manu (as is 'Man'). Ma is the Sanskrit root of English words: 'mom', 'mother', 'matter', 'math', 'matrix', 'matriarch', 'mark', 'material', 'manifest', 'many,' 'manual,' 'month', 'map,' 'mass', 'man', 'mantle', 'magi', and 'magic'; and Sanskrit words mas, masa, mahi, mata, maya, mana, mani, maha, mandala, and manipura.^{4 [see definitions in endnotes]}

Hopefully, after pondering the information above (and in the endnotes), readers can consider that the parallel-mythologies of Noah's Ark and Manu – as well as the words themselves, – have been used by our predecessors to convey/communicate the formative circular and spherical measures and dynamics of our cosmos (Cosmic Mother) and our Earthly existence (Mother Earth). The more one digs into this matter, the more and more believable it becomes that the true subject of these myths is the 12-fold, 9-'node' geometry/structure of the 360 degree circle. 

Image inspired by Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet's Gnostic Circle

This circle can be seen as a divinely-built vessel (nu/sipa) that survives the periodic floods and disasters that wipe out all man-made structures and civilizations. Readers who have built a 12-petaled 'flower of life' by arching the radius of a circle from each of the circle's (the zodiac's) cardinal points will be closer to understanding why this 'vessel' is eternal and why it can survive the ages.⁵ 

Manu and the Precession of the Equinoxes

Modern-day Hindus consider the mythical Manu to be a kingly or divine person, a progenitor of man who repeatedly incarnates in cavernous 306,720,000 year cycles or portions of time (manvantara). What must be considered in an modern-day analysis of Vedic mythology, is that Vishnu and Manu are figures of the 25,950 year Precession of the Equinoxes and the Earth's Tropical Year (zodiac), as well as larger cycles of time which all necessarily utilize the Earth's year and the precessional cycle as base measures. Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet has discussed in length Vishnu's incarnation/manifestation in each quarter of the precession (6,480 years) during the four fixed-sign ages (Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and Scorpio).⁶ The benefit of following this line of thought is that Manu's cycles and Vishnu's incarnations or manifestations can be seen as pointing to and as tracking actual cycles of the Earth, cycles that are discernable/measurable by human observation.

When the measure for the Hindu yugas (ages) and manvantaras are disconnected from this real mega or maha cycle of time, the golden thread is lost and there is NO WAY that future civilizations (after whatever manner of flood or cataclysm) can be expected to pick up, relate to and orient themselves within cycles of time that have no real meaning in terms of the Earth's and man's actually journey/experience in time. The only time-measures that have the real power and fortitude to survive throughout the ages (stand the test of time), and in this sense be 'eternal', are those that can be rediscovered, reconfigured or reconfirmed at any point in Earth's time frame by sentient beings who study the behavior of the Earth, stars and luminaries. These true measures help mankind align itself with (and within) the dynamics of Mahi (Mother Earth) and Mahakali (Time Spirit); and from that attainable alignment is born the true sense and experience of one's divine place and purpose within the whole.

The Rosicrucian 'Mysterium' and the Cosmic Person

More evidence of the connection between Noah's Ark and the zodiac is found in Lugdani Batavoaum's 1593 'Mysterium' engraving. 'Mysterium' is considered an artifact of the Rosicrucian rites and school of knowledge.

Note that the Ark is measured out in terms of the zodiac, and that the body of Man (Noah) is equated with the body of the Ark. In this sense Man is recognized as a microcosm of the macrocosm (Manu). This body of knowledge/gnosis ... this WAY of self-recognition has survived unknown numbers of aeons and unknown numbers cataclysms, yet still waits to be fully realized in the hearts and minds of men and women in our own day and age. 

The likelihood that the Vedic Manu and his mythology are symbols of the zodiacal body/body of knowledge is quite high. It is possible, with such information, to connect the dots of our collective story, to move beyond the imaginary 'sanctity' of (and need to defend) our own separate belief systems, stories and religions, and to set our sights on a truly integral and all-encompassing view of our Earth experience.

The Cosmic Person
Image from 'Caste, Calendar and Cosmos' (PNB, 2011).

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Endnotes: 

1   'Vishnu in the Mother’s Symbol and in Sri Aurobindo's The Secret of the Veda'  (LT, 2009).

²  For more information on the significance of the 10th month of the Earth's year – the Vedic year – see 'The Path of Integral Knowledge & the Twelve Months of the Year' (LT, 2007).

³ The connection between the arc of a circle and ‘hymn, song, singer’ is explained in ‘In Harmony’s Way’ (LT, 2010).

⁴ English definitions of the Sanskrit words: mas – to measure; moon; masa – one twelfth of the Hindu year; measure; moon; month; symbolic for the number 12; mahi – Earth, the great world; mata – mother; design; formed, made, composed; maya – measure, mother; mana – a standard measure; a dwelling; mani – pearl, gem; globule, amulet; maha – sacrifice, great (sacrifice in the Rig Veda refers to the Earth's 12 month year); mandala – circular, round, globe, orb; the path or orbit of a heavenly body; sacrifice; manipura – navel, jewel; mystical circle on the navel.

⁵ The eternal structure of the 12 month Year is discussed in 'Why Is the Year Divided Into 12 Months?' (LT, 2010).

⁶ The Gnostic Circle (PNB, 1975); Secrets of the Earth (PNB, 2009); and 'The Yugas & the Precession of the Equinoxes' (LT, 2006).

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See 'Was the ark round - a Babylonian description found' - 24 January 2014