Table 2. Substantive correspondences between Arabian geomancy, Sikidy divination from Madagascar, and the Southern African (particularly, Shona) four-tablet system
Notes
to table 2
1
o = uneven; o o = even.
2
The northern lunar node, i.e. the northern end of the
intersection of the moon’s plane with the ecliptic plane in
which the earth turns around the sun; in classical, Arabian and
European astrology the two lunar nodes in many ways are treated
as if they were planets in their own right; and like planets
(which concept astrologically includes the luminaries Sun and
Moon) they rule a specific sign of the zodiac. In Arabian
astrology, the star sign al-Sunbala is virtually equivalent, in
connotations and meaning, with Virgo in the classical and
European astrological tradition.
3
The southern lunar node.
4
In astronomy, major stars of our galaxy are designated, per
constellation (an apparent grouping of stars as seen from the
earth), by a Greek letter from a to w in order of magnitude, i.e.
apparent brightness. As the brightest star of the constellation
of Virgo, Spica some 3000 years ago found itself in the star sign
of Virgo, but due to the precession of the earth axis zodiacal
star signs (i.e. 30° sectors of the apparent celestial globe
measured along the ecliptic) and constellations have since
drifted apart.
5
o = uneven; o o = even
6
o = open; • = closed.
Order used here: Kwami-Chilume-Ntakwale-Lumwe, the usual order
when naming the tablets in Francistown. This order is arbitrary.
7
‘You are burdened’.
8
‘That which opens’.
9
‘Shelter, sanctuary, liberation’.
10
‘Fee for consultation’.
11
‘Open!’
12
‘That which is long and thin’/’a patch of burnt
grass’.
13
‘That which is long and thin’/’a patch of burnt
grass’
14
‘Foursome’.
15
Cf. the alternative name of the Shona configuration with only the
junior male tablet open.
16
Cf. Zunga, Zungamana in Shona nomenclature, column V.
page last modified: 2000-04-30 22:22:06