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Dave Talbott and myself have been collaborating on a historical reconstruction for over 40 years now.
I thought the audience might be interested in a walk down memory lane and a bit of ancient history.
The following video is the first of several that will attempt to outline our principal findings.
In 1979, shortly after the publication of the archaic Sumerian hymn, ‘The Exaltation
of Inanna’, I wrote an article arguing that Inanna as the planet Venus was best
understood as a comet-like phenomenon. I was inspired to investigate the Inanna
traditions by the eccentric writings of Immanuel Velikovsky whose ‘Worlds in
Collision’ had caused a scientific uproar when it was published in 1950. It was
Velikovsky's claim that Venus presented the appearance of a giant comet during
the mid-second millennium BCE, and that this catastrophic event could be used as
a benchmark to launch a revolutionary new approach to ancient chronology. Shortly thereafter, while attending a
Kronos-sponsored symposium in Princeton, New Jersey, I was informed of the recent
publication of ‘The Saturn Myth’ by one David Talbott. Talbott, it will be remembered,
was the publisher of the seminal and hugely popular Pensée series during the early 1970s, examining the scientific
basis of Velikovsky's writings. Upon contacting Dave by phone, I learned that he too had arrived at much the same
conclusion vis-a-vis the cometary origins of the Inanna traditions. Finding a kindred spirit in Dave, we eventually
agreed to jointly author a series of articles for Kronos on the Venus comet. The basic thrust of our findings was
that yes, while Venus did indeed present the appearance of a comet-like apparition in the distant past, since the
catastrophic events in question were already attested in the earliest Sumerian and Egyptian texts dating to the
third millennium BCE, such events most likely occurred during the prehistoric period, and thus could
not be used as a linchpin in any reconstruction of biblical or Homeric chronology as per Velikovsky's thesis.
During the 80s and 90s, Dave and I continued to fine-tune and bolster our historical reconstruction, this while
authoring dozens of scholarly articles on comparative mythology. We also traveled about the U.S and Canada
presenting our findings. In the mid-90s Dave and I were regular participants on
such internet fora as talk.origins and sci.astro, where we argued our case and
debated top astronomers and other scientists. Suffice it to say that during
the decades in question our arguments fell on deaf ears, both within the catastrophist community as well as
within the scientific community at large. In 1994 Dave published ‘The Great Comet
Venus’ in Aeon, a masterful analysis of the cometary imagery attached to the
planet Venus in ancient sources. In 2001 I published ‘The Many Faces of Venus’,
offering a cross-cultural analysis of Venus mythology. Other books fleshing out the evidence
pertaining to Venus's recent catastrophic pass followed in subsequent decades. From my perspective the jury is
in. During a relatively recent prehistorical period, the planet Venus was involved in a series
of extraordinary catastrophes, involving the planet Earth and other neighboring planets, during which it moved on a
different orbit than at present and presented the appearance of a long-haired comet-like apparition.
Short of a shared delusion, how is it possible to explain the confidence that
Talbott and I have in the general accuracy of our historical reconstruction? The short answer is the compelling nature and
apparent universality of the human testimony pertaining to Venus's former comet-like behavior. Briefly, Talbott and I
analyzed the mythological and linguistic traditions attached to Venus in archaic cultures around the globe, in order to
discover whether common patterns could be found. Those patterns, which were otherwise inexplicable by reference to
the present solar system, were of a special interest and, in our judgment, sealed the case.
Very early on, Dave and I noticed that Venus was directly connected with a cosmic tie or band of some sort.
In ancient Mesopotamia for example, the planet Venus was intimately associated
with the royal headband marking the king as a universal sovereign. The Sumerian word for the headband in
question is ‘mus’, a word which is written with the very pictograph denoting Venus in the earliest Sumerian
script. Quote, “Numerous texts mentioned the ‘mus’ as a kind of headband or diadem, which is tied on deities and
kings...”, end of quote. As more than one scholar has noted, the pictograph in question certainly
resembles the pre-scientific picture of a comet. As we have documented, analogous traditions will be found around the
globe. In ancient Meso-America for example, the planet Venus was specifically associated with the verb
k’al = to tie, a term used to describe the tying on of the royal headband during coronation rites.
Venus's apparent connection with the tying on of the royal headband in turn, corresponds precisely to Inanna's
function in Mesopotamian royal iconography, where she is said to secure or tie on kingship. Already during the
third millennium BCE Inanna Venus is said to tie on the kingship for an early
king. Quote “When Inanna had tied the lordship with the kingship for Lugalkiginnedudu, she let him exert lordship in
Uruk”, end of quote. Now, here is an interesting, albeit unexpected and improbable finding. What
in the world could the distant planet Venus possibly have to do with the royal
headband and the origins of kingship? As Talbott and I suggested in our very
first article together, the Venus tie had reference to a celestial band that at a decisive juncture in Earth history
appeared to encircle, or otherwise crown or adorn, the planet Mars. A classic example of this motif occurs
already in the pyramid text, wherein Isis Venus was credited with tying on a headband on Horus, the latter
identifiable with the planet Mars. Quote, ”She who tied on the headband on her son
Horus as a young boy in Akhbit.” End of quote. The Egyptian word for headband here is mdh.
The Egyptian hieroglyph depicting this royal tie in turn is virtually indistinguishable from the pictograph
employed to denote the planet Venus in the early Mesopotamian script. The fact that both ideograms were
employed to describe the head-banding of the king during the sacred coronation
ritual confirms their fundamental affinity, and suggests that their spiraling volute-like form traces to a
common celestial prototype. Egyptologists have long noted that Isis Venus was celebrated as a kingmaker.
Witness the following observation of Jan Assmann, renowned Egyptologist. ”As mother of the Horus child, Isis is the
bestower of legitimate kingship...Isis is the ‘kingmaker’ par excellence...” End of quote.
If the historical reconstruction offered here, is based upon an accurate reading
of the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian sources, it follows the Venus's crowning
of Mars as a decidedly extraordinary celestial event and as such was likely witnessed around the globe.
It stands to reason therefore, that such memorable events would be reflected in
the sacred traditions of other ancient cultures. This, despite the fact that this
particular conjunction of planets is impossible in the modern sky. As a superior planet Mars cannot appear
in front of Venus in order to be crowned by it. Is there any evidence then that ancient
cultures conceptualize the planet Venus as a crown? The ancient cultures of Mesoamerica had
a long history of astronomical observation, and as a result more than one of their few remaining codices
attest to a detailed knowledge of astronomical phenomena. Maya astronomers took a keen interest in Venus and
succeeded in calculating that planet's period to within a fraction of its true value: 584 days.
In this instance, as in various other astronomical achievements, the Maya rivaled anything achieved by
contemporary astronomers of the old world. How curious then to find that certain
hieroglyphs believed to represent the planet Venus, are occasionally depicted
as crowning kings and gods in these same codices. Plate 45 of Codex Borgia for example,
depicts a denizen of the underworld with a Venus crown. According to Bruce Bylan, a noted authority on the Codex, the
enthroned figure wears a Venus star as his head- dress. Maya monuments elsewhere represent the
planet Venus as a half star. In light of this fact, it is notable to find that the half star elsewhere
appears as a crown-like headdress. As Talbott and I have emphasized since our first writings on the subject, it is
important to underscore the formative nature of these astronomical events involving Venus and Mars.
In ancient Mesopotamia, as in the New World, it is the tying on of the Venusian headband that makes the king.
A Sumerian text describes the situation exactly. Quote, “Ninurta put on a crown
as a sign of kingship, tied on a lapis lazuli ‘mus’ as a sign of enship.” End of quote.
According to the Sumerian King List and other early texts, kingship descended
from heaven. There is much truth in this archaic belief. Indeed, Sumerian texts make it clear that
it is the planet Venus who endows the local king with kingship. Thus, it is the
mythical king and Murkar announces in an early hymn, quote “My kingship the starry
lady gave me.” End of quote. The word translated as ‘starry’ here is mul-mul-e,
to shine, or radiate, a verb formed from the Sumerian word for star, mul, and
hence referring to the luminous splendor of Venus itself. The clear import of this passage
accordingly, is that kingship itself is a gift of the planet Venus. Far from being figurative in nature, the language of
this early hymn is best understood in literal fashion. It is the planet Venus who makes the king by investing him with
a luminous headband or crown of glory. What is true of the rights of kingship is also true of the primary rights
surrounding marriage, the founding of temples, the layout of ancient cities, and other rudiments of human civilization.
Simply put, human civilization as we know it, would not be recognizable without the
extraterrestrial stimulus provided by mind-altering catastrophes associated with the neighboring planets.
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