The symbolism and use of the number twelve in organizing ancient societies
• Connects the zodiac, the twelve months of the year, and the political divisions of ancient nations
• Explores the sacred geography of ancient landscapes in Europe and Israel
Throughout the world--in countries as far apart as China, Ireland, Iceland, and Madagascar--there survive records and traditions of whole nations being divided into twelve tribes and twelve regions, each corresponding to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac and to one of the twelve months of the year. Best known are the twelve tribes of Israel under King Solomon, but there have been many others. Wherever they occur, they are associated with an ideal social order and a golden age of humanity.
Exploring examples of these twelve-tribe societies, John Michell and Christine Rhone explain the blueprint for this organizational structure and look at the musical, mythological, and astronomical enchantments that kept these societies in harmony with the cosmos. They also examine the astrological landscapes of classical Greece, the aligned St. Michael sanctuaries of Europe, and the true site and function of the Temple in Jerusalem. They show that the sacred geography of these sites was part of an ancient code of knowledge that produced harmony between nature and humanity and is as relevant to our present and future as it was to our past.
Autorentext
John Michell (1933-2009), educated at Eton and Cambridge, was the pioneer researcher and specialist in the field of ancient, traditional science. Author of more than twenty-five books, his work has profoundly influenced modern thinking, including The Sacred Center, The Dimensions of Paradise, The New View Over Atlantis, Secrets of the Stones, and The Temple of Jerusalem: A Revelation.
Inhalt
Introduction
The Grail: What It Is and Where to Look for It
PART ONE
1 The Universal Twelve Tribes
2 The Classical Amphictyonies
The Twelve-Tribe Amphictyonies of Greece and Asia Minor
The Twelve Cities of Etruria
The Twelve Gallic Tribes
3 Scandinavia
The Twelve Gods of Odin
The Zodiacal Wheel of Asgard
The Enchantment of Iceland
4 Africa and Asia
Egypt
West Africa
Polynesia and the Berbers
The Twelve Kings of Madagascar
The Twelve Saints of Georgia
Central Asia and the Mountain at the Center of the World
5 The Celtic Realm
The Sacred Geography of Ireland
The Ancient Divisions of Wales
Twelve Saints and the Enchantments of Britain
6 The Cosmological Foundation of Twelve-Tribe Kingdoms
Plato's Amphictyony
The New Jerusalem and the Twelve Tribes Reunited
The Global Amphictyony
The Numerical Creation
The Twelve and the Seven
7 The Science of Enchanting the Landscape
PART TWO
8 Zodiacal Wheels on Ancient Landscapes
9 The Sacred Geography of Continents: The St. Michael?Apollo Axis
Skellig Michael
St. Michael's Mount
Mont St.Michel
Sagra di San Michele della Chiusa and San Michele in Garfagnana
Monte Sant'Angelo, Monte Gargano
Delphi and the Greek?Apollo Line
Mount Carmel
A Line of Power and Vision
10 A St. Michael Line through England
PART THREE
11 The Chorography of Nations
The Astrological Geography of Pentecost
12 The Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Sacred Geography of the Holy Land
The Story of the Twelve Tribes
Geomancy in the Holy Land
The Axis of Vision
Jerusalem's Messianic Ley
The Revelation of the Temple
Bibliography
Sources of Illustrations
Index