image: Wikimedia commons (link).
The June solstice (summer solstice for the northern hemisphere) is rapidly approaching, and I am very much looking forward to attending the ninth annual Summer Solstice Celebration at the Great Serpent Mound -- a free festival "to share new and ancient knowledge, stories and crafts."
The Great Serpent Mound is located in the modern-day state of Ohio. It is one of the largest surviving effigy mounds in the world, stretching over a quarter mile in length. The mound itself is not very high -- only a few feet -- and like the famous Nazca lines of South America it seems to have been designed to be viewed from the air, which in itself is extremely provocative to consider.
Here is a link to an article in the Dayton Ohio Daily News containing some aerial photographs which give a perspective of the full design of the Serpent Mound which cannot be obtained from ground-level.
The design of the Great Serpent Mound displays a wondrous array of alignments and celestial knowledge. The long "corridors" formed by the deep coils of the serpent's body have been found to align with all the solstitial and equinoctial sunrises and sunsets, as well as with lunar maximum and minimum rising and setting points. The head of the serpent, which appears to be in the act of swallowing a large oval or "egg," also points towards the setting point of the sun on summer solstice (see for instance this diagram, among many others available on the web). And the entire serpent includes an alignment to true north, running through the center of the coil formed at the tail of the serpent through the same observation point at the base of the head of the serpent which aligns (through the egg) to the summer solstice sunset.
In addition to all of those alignments, which are themselves indicative of extremely deep understanding of the heavenly cycles, the size and shape of the Great Serpent Mound may also reflect the constellation Draco in the heavens, and be arranged to fit within a circle whose circumference perfectly encompasses the effigy itself while also centering a point which would correspond to the star Thuban (in Draco -- also known as alpha Draconis, which once marked the celestial north pole in the heavens).
This argument has been put forth by Ross Hamilton, who will be speaking at the upcoming Summer Solstice Celebration at the Serpent Mound (on Saturday, June 17). Here is a blog post from 2012 in which I discuss Ross Hamilton's theory and the evidence he has found to support this proposition. Here is another post from 2014 in which I discuss some of the other amazing analysis which Ross Hamilton has done, showing that the ancient mounds of the Ohio Valley elegantly incorporate absolutely incredible levels of geometric and mathematical sophistication, while at the same time displaying celestial alignments and connections to the heavens.
I will be giving a presentation at this year's festival on Friday afternoon, June 16. If it is at all possible for you to attend, I hope you will join me at what promises to be a wonderful weekend.
Due to logistical considerations, I will not be bringing any books with me for sale, but if you would like to bring any books of mine that you've already purchased for me to inscribe, I would of course be happy to sign them for you. However, you don't need to travel anywhere in order to get a signed copy of any of my books -- you can order signed copies through the "Books" section of my main website, here.
I am definitely looking forward to attending the Summer Solstice Celebration at the Great Serpent Mound this month. I hope that you will be able to attend as well, if at all possible! It should be a very special event.
Here is a link to an article in the Dayton Ohio Daily News containing some aerial photographs which give a perspective of the full design of the Serpent Mound which cannot be obtained from ground-level.
The design of the Great Serpent Mound displays a wondrous array of alignments and celestial knowledge. The long "corridors" formed by the deep coils of the serpent's body have been found to align with all the solstitial and equinoctial sunrises and sunsets, as well as with lunar maximum and minimum rising and setting points. The head of the serpent, which appears to be in the act of swallowing a large oval or "egg," also points towards the setting point of the sun on summer solstice (see for instance this diagram, among many others available on the web). And the entire serpent includes an alignment to true north, running through the center of the coil formed at the tail of the serpent through the same observation point at the base of the head of the serpent which aligns (through the egg) to the summer solstice sunset.
In addition to all of those alignments, which are themselves indicative of extremely deep understanding of the heavenly cycles, the size and shape of the Great Serpent Mound may also reflect the constellation Draco in the heavens, and be arranged to fit within a circle whose circumference perfectly encompasses the effigy itself while also centering a point which would correspond to the star Thuban (in Draco -- also known as alpha Draconis, which once marked the celestial north pole in the heavens).
This argument has been put forth by Ross Hamilton, who will be speaking at the upcoming Summer Solstice Celebration at the Serpent Mound (on Saturday, June 17). Here is a blog post from 2012 in which I discuss Ross Hamilton's theory and the evidence he has found to support this proposition. Here is another post from 2014 in which I discuss some of the other amazing analysis which Ross Hamilton has done, showing that the ancient mounds of the Ohio Valley elegantly incorporate absolutely incredible levels of geometric and mathematical sophistication, while at the same time displaying celestial alignments and connections to the heavens.
I will be giving a presentation at this year's festival on Friday afternoon, June 16. If it is at all possible for you to attend, I hope you will join me at what promises to be a wonderful weekend.
Due to logistical considerations, I will not be bringing any books with me for sale, but if you would like to bring any books of mine that you've already purchased for me to inscribe, I would of course be happy to sign them for you. However, you don't need to travel anywhere in order to get a signed copy of any of my books -- you can order signed copies through the "Books" section of my main website, here.
I am definitely looking forward to attending the Summer Solstice Celebration at the Great Serpent Mound this month. I hope that you will be able to attend as well, if at all possible! It should be a very special event.
