Libra is a solar concept being a representation of the autumnal equinox or where the day is the same length as the night. It is also considered as the midpoint between the seasons. Obviously the balance between day and night time were probably the first easily observable phenomena by megalith builders. Over time they began to study more than the sun's movements, but also the stars as well. Star movements were then associated with the previously observed daytime movements and calendar seasonal cycles. Being that the tracking of the sun was associated with harvest activities, it is only natural that the deity of the harvest or the power of regeneration in the earth, Osiris, would become associated with Maat in the form of the scales. Again, we see the beginnings of this in the Old Kingdom where Osiris begins to take form as a underworld deity from his origins as an agricultural deity. Maat being related to the sun and possibly the solstice meaning balance between day/night becomes symbolic of balance on a more universal scale life/death, harvesting new crops/threshing dead crops and inundation/dryness.

There can be no doubt that this was idea of a "balance" related to the sun's movements are observed in Egypt from the very oldest kingdoms, as the various sun temples built by Niuserre, Sahure, etc seem to form as more glorified megaliths, measuring the seasons and tracking the movement of the sun on its journey through the day, in other words Ra. Maat was associated with Ra from the very beginning, which reflects that the concept of scales or "balance" had a solar origin in tracking the movements of the Sun.

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Southwest of the altar at the south east corner of the pedestal, was an opening into the dedication chapel, which also allowed access to the "chamber of the seasons". Within the T-shaped entrance vestibule of the temple enclosure are five granite lined doorways. Those in the center lead into the courtyard. Those to the side opened into corridors that lead off to the right and left, A granite pillar at the site of Niuserre's Sun Temple inscribed with his cartouche skirting the courtyard. The right corridor appears to lead around the edge of the courtyard to the storage annexes. On this corridor's east end was a stairway that led to the roof terrace. The corridor to the left (south) lead completely around the courtyard finally providing access first to the "chamber of the seasons" and then the dedication chapel. The "chamber of the seasons" included fine, low relief depictions known as the "Seasons", which portray the changing seasons of inundation and harvest. Doubtless present, but now gone, were reliefs of the third part of the year, the season of emergence (of the fields from the flood or the crops from the ground). However, von Bissing removed these reliefs and transported them to Germany where today they make up one of the most valuable exhibits of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin.

From: [www.touregypt.net]

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Libra is the Seventh sign of the Zodiac. It is sometimes referred to as the Balance. The Sun enters Libra around the time of year when day and night are of equal length. Thus, this is when the Earth and the Sun are in balance...a time such balance is also illustrated by the fact that when the Sun reaches this point, Spring and Summer have passed and the harvesters are weighing and balancing the fruits of their labors. Now, the beginning of Autumn heralds the Harvest Season. The origin of the word Libra derives from the Latin meaning "balances" or "scales." Often, a statue of the Goddess of Justice holding the scales or balances is erected over the domes of modern court houses. In ancient times, this constellation was associated with the judgment of the living and the dead. Libra is the only inanimate Sign of the Zodiac, the other eleven representing either human or animal forms. Those born under this Sign are natural arbitrators and diplomats, constantly seeking balance and harmony. In short, they are sociable, cheerful and charming souls. Perhaps the greatest fault of this Sign is indecision. Libra individuals find it difficult to make up their minds and strongly dislike taking sides. Although they have an aversion to those who are rude, they themselves can frequently be disconcertingly brash and blunt. Nonetheless, some astrologers consider Libra to be the most desirable of all Zodiac types because it represents the zenith of the year. Libra is representative of balance...the weighing of values and justice. When those ruled by this Zodiac Sign manage to bring balance into their lives and curtail the inherent tendency to waver from one side to the other, then they will find the contentment that is so necessary to their well-being.


The symbol...or glyph...of Libra is generally considered to be a representation of the Beam of the Balance. However, in ancient times, it was thought to depict the top of the Euphratean Altar. Of course, the standard image is that of the scales, indicative of balance, equilibrium and justice...a sign of cosmic reciprocity and cooperation rather than competion. It is also said to be the Spirit in its material expression, ready to ascend back to its original pristine state...the junction point of the world and that which is beyone. In some cultures, this glyph is said to symbolize the setting Sun as it descends over the horizon and a more lowly description that has been given to this symbol is that of a humpback bridge.

From: [www.novareinna.com]

If the reference to the glyph of Libra being the glyph for offering table, then one again sees this in Egypt as the glyph for "hotep" meaning "is satisfied" is also the form of the glyph for offering table and is also the glyph for Libra.

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An important part of every tomb, intended to receive the offerings brought to the tomb by the relatives of the deceased, or in their names by the mortuary priest. The offerings were probably originally placed on a woven reed mat; a depiction of this with an offering loaf on it forms the hieroglyph 'hetep', which means 'offering'. Later offering tables, usually made of stone, frequently represent this hieroglyph. Other goods considered to be of value to the deceased could also be depicted on them in stone, such as meat and fowl, which then functioned as magical, eternal replacements for the actual offerings. Channels could also be cut into the stone for oils and other liquid offerings. In many instances the offering table was also inscribed with the so-called offering formula or offering list.

From: [www.globalegyptianmuseum.org]

[www.globalegyptianmuseum.org]

Egyptian offering formula heiroglyphs:
[en.wikipedia.org]

Htp heiroglyph from Gardiner's sign list.
[www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk]

From all of this, in the old Kingdom, Maat was seen as law and balance and the reflection of divine law in the person of the Pharoah, who made offerings to the gods to bring Maat, balance and order to the land. The word of the pharoah was law and Maat personified. The pharoah also personfied the growth of crops and the harvest, where the Pharoah determined when it was time to plant and harvest based on observations of priests at the various temples in the land. In this early period Maat is also with wisdom good deeds in life and a person who lives a balanced life and became part of what was required for one to make it to the afterlife in the Halls of Judgement.

[maat.sofiatopia.org]


[www.crystalinks.com]

Up to this point, I have covered Maat as symbolic of Law, Speech, Balance, death, judgement the Seasons and Solar observations. I have also touched on the origins of the symbol Libra in the hieroglyphic symbol for hotep or offering table.

The two main periods of the day when the day is equal to the night in length are during the There is no one constellation that can be assigned to it, as all of the constellations move through their positions based on precession. Some of the earliest constellations were associated with the various seasons. And one of these is said to have been Scorpio. It is from the constellation scorpio that the stars now associated with Libra became identified. One of the earliest possible representations of a Scorpion associated with a star or constellation is in the ceiling tomb of Senenmut.

Libra as a constellation and sign of the modern Zodiac is a quite late arrival. It was created by the Romans to symbolize balance in nature. However, the mythology and symbolism associated with Libra can all be traced back to the legacy of Solar Observations and the symbolism of Maat that I laid out in the beginning of the post.

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Eventually the stars of Libra came to represent the Golden Chariot of Pluto. The story of Pluto's abduction of Persephone is a widely known Greek myth, perhaps because it has such a strong astronomical association. Hades was a brother of Zeus and of Poseidon; he was usually ignorant of the happenings of the Upperworld, only emerging rarely from his dark kingdom.
It was considered imprudent and dangerous to mention the names of certain gods and goddesses. Thus the Furies, or Cronies, were called Eumenides (Kindly Ones), and Hades was called Pluto (Rich One).
His golden chariot was pulled by four jet-black horses. While he used the chariot to periodically visit the Upperworld, in order to seduce a beautiful nymph, he rarely wished the relationship to last. Until he saw Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. When he took Persephone back to Tartarus, the deepest part of Hades, the Upperworld would change forever.
Deep beneath the Earth, he owned all its mineral riches, but his favorite possession was a gift from the Cyclopes: a helmet that rendered him invisible.
Demeter was the sister of Zeus and Hades, and one of the most important of goddesses as she was responsible for Agriculture, and all growing things. Hades is so enamoured by the beauty of Persephone, he wants her for his own, so takes her by force down to his kingdom, where she becomes the Queen of the Underworld. Demeter mourns for her lost daughter and begs the other gods for help. So Theseus and Peiritheus descend into Hades in search of Persephone, but are unsuccessful. In fact, they are held captive by Hades, and Heracles is sent to rescue them. He can only manage to bring back Theseus; Peiritheus is condemned to remain forever in Hades.
Demeter is so distraught about the loss of her daughter she neglected her godly duties and no seeds sprouted. A vast drought spreads throughout the Upperworld. Zeus becomes vexed, for he is owed a certain tribute, and if the drought continues his tribute will not be forthcoming. Some accounts give Zeus a more noble reason for acting on his sister's behalf: that he empathizes with Demeter and wishes to rectify her loss. In any event, he convinces his brother Hades to give up Persephone, so that the Upperworld can again become green and lush.
Zeus rules that she must forever divide her time between the Upperworld and the Underworld; four months out of the year she must stay with her husband, while the rest of the year she may visit her mother, in the Upperworld. Thus every year the world retreats briefly into a cold and forbidding place, until the 21st of March, when Persephone is allowed to emerge from the Underworld, bringing Spring with her.
bullet The Romans invented Libra and gave it importance as a constellation of the Zodiac. Libra was "the Scales of Justice" held by Julius Caesar. Later the scales became associated with Virgo, the Goddess of Justice. The Romans choose a scale because when the zodiac was still in its infancy, some four thousand years ago, the sun passed through this constellation at the autumnal equinox (September 21). That is, day and night were of equal length, and the day would begin to lengthen from that day on.
bullet The ancient Greeks did not recognize Libra. Instead they saw it as part of Scorpius. Libra made up the two claws of the scorpion.
bullet As a symbol for equality, the constellation came to represent Justice in several middle Eastern cultures.
bullet The Egyptians also saw Libra as a set of scales, one in which the human heart was to be weighted after death, "the Scales of Justice."
bullet In India, the constellation was called Tula, meaning "a balance," showed a man bent on one knee, holding the scales.
bullet The ancient Chinese called the constellation Show Sing, "the Star of Longevity," but later generation changed the name to Tien Ching, meaning "the Celestial Balance."

From: [www.coldwater.k12.mi.us]

In the Mythology of Pluto you can see the mythology of Maat, Osiris, Agriculture, seasons and solar observations of the Equinox.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2007 08:13AM by Doug M.