Very Early
Calendars / © 2005 by Franz Gnaedinger, www.seshat.ch, fg(a)seshat.ch,
fgn(a)bluemail.ch / provisional version in freestyle English, very demanding /
update 2008
Blombos 1 / Blombos 2 // Lebombo // N’Dhala Gorge // Lascaux 1 / Lascaux 2 / Lascaux 3 // Göbekli Tepe / menhir5h.GIF / Halaf / Halaf 2 / beersheb.JPG / disc.htm / menhir5j.GIF // Wedjat // Lascaux / Lascaux 2 / Meaning and Philosophy of KA (text, long)
Very Early Calendars
Christopher Henshilwood and his team of the
Blombos Cave Project found two engraved ocher plaques in a 75,000 years old
level of the
a k c m e o g q i
j b l d n f p h r
Draw the rectangle a-i-r-j-a and the zigzag
lines a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i and j-k-l-m-n-o-p-q-r, thus you obtain 7 standing
rhombs, which can be understood as a week of 7 days. The 4 corners of the rectangle
may stay for the 4 weeks of a month. There are 18 corners a b c d e f g h I j k
l m n o p q r, plus 8 intersecting points of the intersecting zigzag lines,
yielding 26 corners. 26 times 14 days or 2 weeks yield 364 days. The ocher
plaque may have been meant as a grave good, supplying a worthy dead with new
blood and flesh, symbolized by the red ocher, and with a new lifetime, or
simply time, symbolized by the hypothetical calendar figure … Blombos 1
// Meaning and Philosophy of KA
Thirty nine perforated Nassarius kraussiani
snail beads again from a 75,000 years old level in the
ooooooo-----
7 beads for 7 days
Counting periods of 14 days:
oooooo-----o
ooooo-----oo
oooo-----ooo
ooo-----oooo
oo-----ooooo
o-----oooooo
-----ooooooo
7 days or one week
o-----oooooo
oo-----ooooo
ooo-----oooo
oooo-----ooo
ooooo-----oo
oooooo-----o
ooooooo-----
14 days or two weeks
Now use the 26 beads for counting periods of 14
days:
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo-----o 1 period of 14 days
oooooooooooooooooooooooo-----oo 2 periods of 14 days
ooooooooooooooooooooooo-----ooo 3 periods of 14 days
...
-----oooooooooooooooooooooooooo 26 periods of 14 days
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo----- one more day, day 365
Counting years:
ooooo-----o
1 year
oooo-----oo
2 years
ooo-----ooo
3 years
Blombos 2 // Meaning and Philosophy of
KA
Lebombo Bone
In the
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o
The pattern consists of 14 by 14 dots, linked
by two more dots. The 29 dots of the top line can be read as a lunar calendar.
There are 30 spaces between and next to the 29 dots. Read the spaces and dots
as follows: 30 spaces plus 29 dots plus 30 spaces plus 29 dots plus 30 spaces
…, yielding 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 … nights or 30 59 89
118 148 177 207 236 266 295 325 354 384 413 443 472 502 … nights for 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 … lunations. There are 2 x 13 x 14 dots below
the top line, yielding 364 days; add the dot in the middle of the bottom line
and you obtain 365 days for a year Lebombo
N’Dhala Gorge,
A pecked rock engraving of two figures wearing
rayed headdresses from N’Dhala Gorge, central Australia, may be read as a
variation of the Blombos Cave calendar: 14 rays of the woman on the right side
= 14 days of a long or double week; add the 12 rays of the man on the left side
to the 14 rays of the woman and you obtain 26 rays; 26 long or double weeks
yield 364 days; add the circle of the woman’s head for New Year and you obtain
a solar year of 365 days N’Dhala // Meaning and Philosophy of KA
The lunar calendar of Lascaux makes use of the
number pattern 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 / 29 (30 29 30 29 30 …) nights:
I
I I I
30 29 30 29 30 29
I I I
I I 29I30
29 30 29 30
The 11 first lunations yield 325 days, an
important number, as you shall see later on.
The solar calendar can be rendered as a square
of nine sub-squares:
h i b
41 40 41
g a c
40 41 40
f e d
41 40 41
h 41
i 40 b 41
g 40
a 41 c 40
f 41
e 40 d 41
h41 Apr01-May11 i40 May12-Jun20 b41 Aug01-Sep10
g40 Feb20-Mar31 a41 Jun21-Jul31 c40 Sep11-Oct20
f41 Jan10-Feb19 e40 Dec01-Jan09 d41 Oct21-Nov30
)
) ) )
) O O
O O )
) ) ) )
)
) ) )
O O O
O O )
) ) )
)
) ) )
) O O
O O )
) ) ) )
)
) ) )
O O O
O O )
) ) )
)
) ) )
) O O
O O )
) ) ) )
)
) ) )
O O O
O O )
) ) )
)
) ) )
) O O
O O )
) ) ) )
)
) ) )
O O O
O O )
) ) )
)
) ) )
) O O
O O )
) ) ) )
O
O O O
) ) )
) ) O
O O O
O
O O O
O ) )
) ) O
O O O O
O
O O O
) ) )
) ) O
O O O
O
O O O
O ) )
) ) O
O O O O
O
O O O
) ) )
) ) O
O O O
O
O O O
O ) )
) ) O
O O O O
O
O O O
) ) )
) ) O
O O O
O O O
O O )
) ) )
O O O
O O
O
O O O
) ) )
) ) O
O O O
)
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) O O
O O )
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)
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O O O
O O )
) ) )
)
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) O O
O O ) )
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O O O
O O )
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) O O
O O )
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)
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O O O
O O )
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)
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O O O
O ) )
) )
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) O O
O O )
) ) ) )
The first eight periods add up to 325 days, the
number of nights of the eleven first numbers of the lunar calendar. New Year
begins at midsummer (June 21). If a full moon occurs in the night before the
midsummer morning, a full moon will again occur between period 8 and period 9
of the solar calendar Lascaux 1 / Lascaux 2 / Lascaux 3
Now for a practical form of the same calendar,
a standing rectangle of 28 times 13 small pebbles, plus one more pebbles for
day 365 of the solar year. M marks a full moon occurring at New Year and then
again according to the lunar sequence 30 29 30 29 30 …, S marks the end of the
nine solar periods, X marks the coincidence of an ending solar period and a
full moon, W marks midwinter:
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - S - - 82
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - S - - - - - 163
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - S - - - - - - - - 244
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
M - - - - - - - - - - - - 354
- X - - - - - - - - - - - 325 days
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - M - - - - - - - - - - 295
- - - M - - - - - - - - - 266
- - - - - - - - - - - S - 41
- - - - M - - - - - - - - 236
- - - - - M - - - - - - - 207
- - - - - - - - S - - - - 122
- - - - - - M - - - - - - 177
- - - - - - - M - - - - - 148
- - - - - S - - - - - - - 231
- - - - - - - - M - - - - 118
- - - - - - - - - M - - - 89
- - S - - - - - - - - - - 284
- - - - - - - - - - M - - 59
- - - - - - - - - - - M - 30
S - - - - - - - - - - - - - 365 days
M
Below is the ideal pattern starting with a full
moon at New Years Day, on the right side is the example of another year on day
four of the new year, m for full moon, s for the end of a solar period, x for
the coincidence of m and s, w for midwinter, n for the three days or nights of
a new moon:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . . n n
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . n n
. . . . . . . . . . s . . . . . . . . . . . . s . n
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . s . . . . . . . . . . . . s . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . .
. . . . . . W . . . . . . . . . . . . w . . . . . .
. . . . s . . . . . . . . . . . . s . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . .
m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m . . . .
. x . . . . . . . . . . . . s . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . n . . . . . . . . m . . .
. . m . . . . . . . . . . n n .
. . . . . . . m . .
. . . m . . . . . . . . . n n . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . s . . n n . . . . . . . . x .
. . . . m . . . . . . . . . . n n . . . . . . . . m
. . . . . m . . . . . . . . . n n . . . . . . . . .
. . . .
. . . . s . . . . . . . n n . . . s .
. . .
. . . . . . m . . . . . . . . . . n n . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . . n n . . . . . . .
. . . . . s . . . . . . . . . . . . z n . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . m . . . . . . .
. . . n n . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . . n n . . . . .
. . s . . . . . . . . . . . . s . . . . n n . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . . . n n . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . m . . . . . . . . . n n . . .
s .
. . . . . . . . . . . . s . . . . . . .
. . n n . .
m
Lascaux 1 / Lascaux 2 // Lascaux
Late Magdalenian Calendar
My reconstruction of the lunisolar
calendar from Lascaux led me to an experimental reconstruction of Magdalenian,
and my linguistic experiment led me to a late Magdalenian calendar:
IAS 1-36 (January 9 till February
13), coldest time of the year, when many get ill, hence IAS for healing
CED 1-37 (February till March 22), a
time when the provisions get scarce and people have to care for each other,
hence CED for to care. The spring equinox occurs by the end of this period
(March 21)
PhON 1-36 (March 23 till April 27),
spring comes, a lot of noise in the camp, hence PhON for noise
DKO --- 1-37 (April 28 till June 3),
time when one can leave the camp, hence DKO for the walls and roof of the tent
or hut (which one can leave now, that is)
PAS 1-36 (June 4 till July 9), time
when one roams the land, hence PAS for everywhere (in a plain). Midsummer
occurs in the middle of this period (June 21)
SAI 1-37 (July 10 till August 15),
warmest time of the year, lovely summer, hence SAI for life, existence (inverse
of IAS)
SAP 1-36 (August 16 till September
20), the world in more dimensions, hence SAP for all the places in the world,
here, south and north of me, east and west of me, under and above me (inverse
of PAS), origin of September
OKD 1-37 (September 21 – October
27), time for to build a new camp, or to renovate the old one, hence OKD for
the ground plan of a tent or hut (inverse of DKO), origin of Oktober. The fall
equinox occurs at the begin of this period (September 23)
NOPh 1-36 (October 28 till December
2), time of the first snow, hence NOPh for to snow (inverse of PhON), origin of
November
DEC 1-37 (December 3 till January
8), time one spends in the camp and has to behave, hence DEC for decent
(inverse of CED), origin of December. The midwinter solstice occurs in the
middle of this period (December 21)
A year has 365 regular days and
requires one leap day every fourth year.
Explanation of the words: Lascaux 2
The lunisolar calendar of
Göbekli Tepe, versions from Nevali Cori, Halaf, Safadi, Ghassoul, Egypt,
Knossos, Tiryns, and
Lunisolar calendar of Göbekli Tepe:
a year has 12 months of 30 days, plus 5 and occasionally 6 days, while 63
continuous periods of 30 days yield 1,890 days and correspond to 64
lunations goebekli.GIF The begin of the calendar walk was marked by
a stone phallus. The calendar walk forms two loops, while the additional days
at the end of the year are represented as space between the pair of central
pillars. The calendar walk is at the same time a representation of the life of
a supreme leader: the first pillars mark youth, the central pillars his
apointment as ruler and supreme ruler, the following pillars his adult life,
the final space between the pillars his death, the leaping foxes on the central
pillars the guides of his soul through the Underworld back to daylight … A
charming Celtic coin shows the sun horse on the early morning of the summer
solstice, under it the snout of a fox peeping out of a hole in the ground – the
fox that guided the sun horse through the Underworld and back to daylight menhir5h.GIF Refined Göbekli Tepe calendar: 2 and
occasionally 3 days of the winter solstice, 3 times 30 days of PIR GID, 3 times
30 days of AD DA MAN, 3 days of the midsummer solstice, 3 times 30 days of AAR
RAA NOS, 3 times 30 days of BIR GID (for
the meaning of the words see the Lascaux chapters).
Cult building II of Nevali Cori shows
12 pillars along the walls, each representing 30 days, plus a pair of central
pillars for the 5 and occasionally 6 additional days. Cult building III shows
thirteen pillars along the wall, each representing 28 days, while the space
between the central pillars represents one and occasionally two additional
days, and this time 135 continuous periods of 28 days yielding 3’780 days
corresponding to 128 lunations …
The lunisolar calendar in the
version of Halaf required 6 leap days in 25 years.
Sooner or later the calendar of
Göbekli Tepe was combined with an astronomical observatory in a river plain
with a flat horizon, somewhere in Upper Mesopotamia. Imagine a pole or a tree
of life in the center of a circle, on the circumference a dozen poles in the positions
of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 o’clock, the poles of 3 6 9 12 o’clock marking
the cardinal directions east south west north. Sighting lines provided by the
poles allow indicate where the sun will raise and set on the mornings and
evenings of the equinoxes and solstices halaf.GIF / halaf2.GIF
This calendar observatory became the Asherah sanctuary, from AS AAR RAA
meaning upward (as) toward the one composed of air (aar) and light (raa).
On the lid of a curved ivory box
from Beersheba I recognize a schematic representation of the Asherah sanctuary,
twelve poles around a tree of life in the center, flanked by two geometric
representations of AC CA, while a pendant from Ghassoul, left upper part chipped
off, shows a more realistic Asherah sanctuary, with a schematic tree, branches
pointing upward, and an altar in the form of a cross. A small ivory disk from
Safadi shows a variant of the lunisolar calendar from Göbekli Tepe: nine
perforations around a pair of central ones, each of the nine perforations
representing a period of fourty days. Nine periods are 360 days, add 5 and
occasionally 6 days for a year. The ratios of lunations (l) to periods of
fourty days (p) yield very good additive values l/p: 4/3, 19/14, 23/17, 42/31,
65/48, 107/79 * 65/48, 42/31, 107/79, 149/110, 256/189. (All
three objects mentioned in this paragraph are from the fourth millennium BC beersheb.JPG
An Egyptian month counted 30 days, a year 12
months plus 5 days. Horus was the Celestial Falcon. His right eye was the sun,
his left eye was the moon. Seth destroyed the moon eye, whereupon wise Thoth
healed it. The healed eye, the famous Horus Eye or wedjat (referring to the
color green, the color of new life) was called The Whole One. The six elements
of the Horus Eye were associated with numbers, namely the fractions 1/2, 1/4,
1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, or, in my simple notation, ‘2 ‘4 ‘8 ’16 ’32 ’64. These
numbers add up to 63/64, not really to 1. Why then, The Whole One? The Horus
Eye or wedjat, I believe, represented a lunation, from one to the next new
moon, or from one to the next full moon. Multiply a month of 30 days by the
Horus Eye series ‘2 ‘4 ‘8 ’16 ’32 ’64 and you obtain 29 ‘2 ’32 days, or 29 days
12 hours 45 minutes - not even a minute longer than the actual value from 1989
AD, namely 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes 2.9 seconds. With a little fantasy you
can even see the wedjat eye in the moon Wedjat
The Minoan double axe may be a
graphic rendering of the solstices derived from the Asherah sanctuary, as shown
in this drawing, inspired by the carvings on a block at Knossos menhir5j.GIF (see also the chapters on Mallia and Knossos below)
The rosette in the center of the
Tiryns disk, Middle Helladic, around 1650 BC, represents another variation of
the Göbekli Tepe lunisolar calendar: each petal stays for 45 days, and the
small circle in the center for 5 and occasionally 6 days, while 21 continuous
periods of 45 days yield 945 days and correspond to 32 lunations disc.htm
The Azilian calendar may also have been used in
the Neolithic Yangshao culture, and in Banshan. Later on, the legendary first
Chinese emperor Fu-hi divided the zodiac into 28 animals and mansions. This
suggests a modification of the Azilian calendar: a profane week of 7 days, a
profane month of 28 days, a profane year of 12 months plus 1 and occasionally 2
leap days, while 135 continual weeks of 7 days, yielding 945 days, equal 32
lunations; a sacred week of 13 days, perhaps 1-5-1-5-1 days, a sacred year of
28 weeks plus 1 and occasionally 2 leap days, while 184 continual weeks,
yielding 2392 days, equal 81 lunations.
Mallia
Mallia in northern Crete, east of Knossos,
combined the Azilian calendar with an ingenious longtime calendar: a week has
11 days, a month has 3 weeks or 33 days, a year has 11 months plus 2 days,
every fifth year 3 additional days. Five years have 165 regular weeks plus one
additional week, together 166 weeks. 30 years have 330 regular months plus two
additional months. 30 years equal 332 continuous months or 996 continuous weeks
or 10,956 days, and correspond to 371 lunations. Evidence: kernos in the southwestern
corner of the central court of Mallia.
Linear A mi-nu-the,
represented by the head of a bull, the visual pun of an abstract bull leaper on
the feet hands feet, and a Tree of Life, refers to a region of Syria (Cyrus H.
Gordon, Walther Hinz) and may be the origin of Minos and the Minoans. Thesis:
the ceremonial bull leaping symbolizes the moon passing the sun, hence the
empty moon, Leermond in German.
Knossos combined the Azilian calendar with another longtime calendar: 9 lunar
years are about 266 days, or 7 plus 7 periods of 19 days; 9 solar years are 173
periods of 19 days; 19 solar years equal 235 lunations.
This calendar may be encoded in the fable of
Theseus. The Minotaur, as bull and man of a double nature, may symbolize 9
lunations and 235 lunations, the seven young women and seven young men from
Megara symbolize periods of 19 days. Minos symbolizes 9 solar years. Theseus
symbolizes 19 solar years. Ariadne’s sword and thread symbolize the
mathematical skills and intuition required for such calculations:
9
lunations “devour” 7 plus 7 periods of 19 days
9
years “absorb” 173 periods of 19 days
19
years “overcome” 235 lunations
The fable of Theseus would then convey a
triumph of early astronomy and mathematics, anticipating the lunisolar calendar
of Meton by more than a millennium. The numbers can be found as follows:
30 29 30 29 30 29 30 29 30 days yield 266 days
for 9 lunations
19 periods of 19 days yield 361 days. Add 4 and
occasionally 5 days for a solar year. 9 years have 9 x 19 x 19 days, and
require, say, 38 or 2 x 19 additional days. 9 years have then 173 periods of 19
days.
3 years are roughly 37 lunations. 8 years are
about 99 lunations. 3 plus 8 years are 11 years and about 136 lunations. 11
plus 8 years are 19 years and practically 235 lunations (longtime calendar of
Knossos). 11 plus 19 years are 30 years and practically 371 lunations (longtime
calendar of Mallia).
Solomon’s Vision
Combine two measures of length as follows:
1
small unit su measures 2.5 centimeters
1handbreadth measures 3 su or
7.5 centimeters
1
black cubit measures 21 su or 52.5
centimeters
1 red
cubit measures 22 su or 55
centimeters
Let the diameter of a pond in the shape of a
circle measure 10 black cubits or 27.3 meters. The circumference measures 156
red cubits or 85.8 meters. Let a central islet in the shape of a circle have a
diameter of 26 black cubits or 13.65 meters. The circumference will measure 78
red cubits or 42.9 meters. Place a dozen poles on the circumference of a
smaller circle on the islet, diameter 10 black units or 5.25 meters,
circumference 30 red cubits or 660 su
or 16.5 meters, arc from one to the next pole 55 su or 137.5 centimeters. Carve a dozen lions from wood, and let
each one carry a vessel of metal.
Solomon may have planned such a pond as
variation of the Asherah sanctuary. The biblical description of the molten sea would then be a distortion of
the original idea, no longer understood by the author of the Books of the
Kings.
The implicit value of pi according to the Bible
was 3, according to the above method 22/7. Solomon makes use of squares that
measure 20 by 20 cubits. Let them measure 20 by 20 black cubits, the diagonals
will then measure 27 red cubits, yielding 99/70 as implicit value for the
square root of 2, another very fine value.
Ezekiel’s Vision
Solomon, leader of a nomadic tribe
in the Near East in the Early Iron Age, was a clever man. For measuring
purposes he combined a black cubit of 21 parts with a red cubit of 22 parts. If
the diameter of a circle measures 1 black cubit, the circumference measures 3
red cubits. If the radius of a circle measures 1 black cubit, the area measures
1 black cubit times 3 red cubits. If the diameter of a sphere measures 2 black
cubits, the volume measures 2 black cubits times 2 black cubits times 1 red
cubit. If the side of a square measures 20 black cubits, the diagonal measures
27 red cubits. Relying on these numbers, Solomon invented an ideal Jerusalem
and described it in a poem, a distorted memory of which survives in the Bible
(first book of Kings).
Another ideal Jerusalem, this time
of a most peculiar nature, is found in the vision of Ezekiel. Consider these
numbers:
30 “measures” correspond to one
lunation
64 “measures” correspond to 63 days
The surrounding wall in the form of
a circle has a length of 4 times 4,500 measures = 18,000 measures,
corresponding to 600 lunations, while the length of the diameter corresponds to
191 lunations or 5,640 days or 5,730 measures.
Four gates in the wall mark the
cardinal directions N E S W. Connect them with a square. How long is the side?
It corresponds to 135 lunations or 3,988 days or 4,050 measures. Transform the
square into a circle of the same area. How long is the diameter? It corresponds
to 4,500 days (key number of Ezekiels vision).
Inscribe a dodecagon in the large
circle of the wall. How long is the periphery? It corresponds to 30 Venus years
(roughly 48 solar years).
A vision involving a large circle, the
moon and Venus, long periods of time, days and the four cardinal directions,
the number 12 of the zodiac, and the complicated motion of wheels within
wheels, must refer to the sky. Ezekiel would then have described a heavenly
Jerusalem …
Ezekiel was in all probability an
astronomer on exile in Upper Mesopotamia, where he relied on the numbers of the
very ancient lunisolar calendar from Göbekli Tepe: a year has 12 months of 30
days, plus 5 and occasionally 6 days, while 63 continuous periods of 30 days yield
1,890 days and correspond to 64 lunations. One lunation would then be 63/64 of
a month, or, using the Egyptian Horus eye series, ‘2 ‘4 ‘8 ’16 ’32 ’64 of 30
days.
What is Time?
Laotse was born by the end of the seventh
century BC, probably in the province of Henan, homeland of the Neolithic
Yangshao culture. His name as a scholar was Be Yang, Earl Sun. He may have
known the old calendar of the Yangshao culture.
In Saying 11 of his Daode jing he says: 30 spokes meet in a hub, yet the usefulness of the
wheel is given by the empty space in the center of the hub. A potter forms clay
into a vessel, yet the hollow of the vessel makes it useful. A house is useful
for the empty rooms; windows and doors are useful for the empty spaces in the
walls. Being provides possession, not being provides usefulness. (My free
translation)
The 30 spokes of the wheel make me think of the
30 days of the Yangshao calendar that goes back to the Azilian calendar. If so,
what could the empty space in the hub of that “wheel” of time possibly mean?
Becoming, devenir in French? May conventional time be a shell, a vessel, a
house of real time which is given by what comes into being, prospers and
blooms?
St. Augustin famously wrote: What is time? I know it, as long as nobody
asks me, but I don’t know it anymore when I am getting asked. Laotse, who
lived long before Augustin, may have found an answer, and given it, though
indirectly, in Saying 11 of his Daode
jing. Engage yourself, for your children, for a good case, for a project with
a future (mine is a fair history of civilization, prerequisite for a prospering
global society), and you may overcome time, become one with time …
