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The Saturn Myth

A reinterpretation of rites and symbols illuminating some of the dark corners of primordial society.

Dust Cover:

Intrigued by Velikovsky's claim that Saturn was once the pre-eminent planetary god, David Talbott resolved to examine its mythical character. "I wanted to know,", he wrote, "if ancient sources had a coherent story to tell about the planet ... I had no inkling of the spectacular tale hidden in the chronicles.

In this startling re-interpretation of age-old symbolism Talbott argues that the "Great God" or "Universal Monarch" of the ancients was not the sun, but Saturn, which once hung ominously close to the earth, and visually dominated the heavens.

Talbott's close textual and symbolic analysis reveals the fundamental themes of Saturn imagery and proves that all of them -- including the "cosmic ship", the "island at the top of the world", the "eye of heaven" and "the revolving temple" were based on celestial observations in the northern sky. In addition he shows how such diverse symbols as the Cross, "sun"-wheels, holy mountains, crowns of royalty and sacred pillars grew out of ancient Saturn worship. Talbott contends that Saturn's appearance at the time, radically different from today, inspired man's leap into civilization, since many aspects of early civilization can be seen as conscious efforts to re-enact or commemorate Saturn's organization of his "celestial" kingdom.

A fascinating look at ancient history and cosmology, The Saturn Myth is a provocative book that might well change the way you think about man's history and the history of the universe.

David N. Talbott is the founder and former publisher of Pensee, and out-growth of the Student Academic Forum which developed the book, Velikovsky Reconsidered. He is also the co-author of The Ecstasy of Sati-Ra, a cosmological mystery. He now lives with his family in Oregon.


Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Talbott, David N.,

The Saturn Myth.

Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Saturn (Planet) (in religion, folklore, etc)

I. Title.
BL325.S37T34 291.2'12
ISBN: 0-385-113376-5
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76-51986

Copyright © 1980 by David N.Talbott.
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
First Edition.

T.S.M. $15.95


The Saturn Myth

Contents

  1. Introduction .. 1
    • Myth and Catastrophe .. 2

  2. The Great Father .. 6
    • The "One God" of Archaic Monotheism .. 7
    • The Universal Monarch .. 13
      • The Age of Kronos .. 14
      • The Rites of Kingship .. 20
    • The Heavan Man .. 22
      • Who Was Adam .. 23
    • The Great Father Saturn .. 30
    • The Saturn Myth Reconstructed .. 35

  3. The Polar Sun .. 37
    • Sun and Saturn .. 37
      • Day and Night .. 40
    • Saturn and the Pole .. 42
      • The Unmoved Mover .. 45
      • Egypt .. 47
      • Mesopotamia .. 52
      • India .. 54
      • China .. 56
      • The Americas .. 57

  4. Saturn's Cosmos.. 60
    • The Enclosed Sun .. 61
      • The Lost Island
    • The Cosmos and the Divine Assembly .. 71
      • The Circle of the Gods
    • The Great Mother .. 80
      • Womb and Thigh .. 85
      • Womb and Cosmos .. 87
      • The Hermaphrodite .. 88

  5. The Holy Land .. 90
    • The Mother Land .. 91
      • Saturn's Earth .. 91
      • The Egyptian Paradise .. 93
      • The World Wheel .. 99
      • The One-Wheeled Chariot .. 102
      • The City of Heaven .. 105
      • The Enclosure as Prototype .. 110
      • The World Navel .. 113
      • The Ocean .. 116

  6. The Enclosed Sun-Cross .. 120
      • The Four Rivers of Paradise .. 120
    • The Crossroads .. 122
      • The Four-eyed or Four-faced God 133
      • The Foundation Stone ..134
      • The Four Pillars of Heaven .. 138
      • Symmetrical Elaborations of the Sun-Cross .. 139

  7. Temple, Crown, Vase, Eye and Circular Serpent .. 145
      • The Egyptian Temple .. 150
      • Temple and Womb .. 151
      • The Crown .. 152
      • The Vase .. 155
      • The Eye .. 158
      • The Cirular Serpent .. 163
      • In Summary: A Coherent Docrine .. 170

  8. The Cosmic Mountain .. 172
      • Egypt .. 173
      • Mesopotamia .. 185
      • India .. 189
      • Japan, China, Iran, Siberia .. 191
      • Siberia .. 193
      • Greece and Rome .. 195
      • Western Semitic .. 196
      • The Americas .. 199
      • A Collective Memory .. 202
      • The Mount of Musculine Power .. 205
      • The Cosmic Mountain Personified .. 207
      • The Single Leg .. 210
      • The Serpent/Dragon .. 213
      • The Stream of Life .. 217
      • The King of the Mountain .. 225

  9. The Crescent .. 228
      • The Crescent and Saturn .. 230
      • The Crescent and Womb .. 237
      • Crescent and Motherland .. 238
      • The Cresent and Mount .. 240
    • The Heavenly Twins .. 245
      • Who Were the Dioscuri? .. 246
      • The Black and White Twins .. 248
      • Symbolism of the Cresent .. 258
    • The Crescent-Horn .. 260
      • The Horned Mountain .. 265
    Ch. 9 Part 2
    • The Crescent-Ship .. 269
    • The Crescent-Arms .. 282
        The Ka-Arms .. 286
    • The Crescent-Wings .. 298
    • Interconnected Symbols .. 308
      • The Plant of Life .. 309
      • Sword .. 312
      • The Altar .. 314
      • Above and Below, Left and Right .. 315
      • Saturn's Day ., 320

    Conclusion .. 328

    Notes .. 333
    Bibliography .. 385
    Index .. 393