An Introduction

Up until recent years, there was no record of written texts or works of art specifically addressing the “Lion’s Gate Portal of August 8”. Is the Lion’s Gate nothing more than an echo chamber of the long distant past? What relevant archetypes are embedded in the symbolism of the iconographic lion and number eight in our modern traditions and worldviews? If traditional, cultural, and historical changes, over many epochs, have primed us never to forget, the millennia of time between origin points and present day has also pressed us further into collective forgetfulness. One reason we struggle to find an origin of the Lion’s Gate is the possibility that this celebration evolved from some of world’s oldest echo chambers: the ancient history and iconography of Stars, Lions, Dogs, and Gates.

From generation to generation, ancient wisdom and “the keys of power” were disseminated to priests, royalty, sages, prophets, and other chosen people throughout all of recorded history. Beginning about 6,000 years ago, this tradition can be traced back to the earliest Mesopotamian civilizations. Although there is evidence of power transmissions, magic, divination, and star alignment traditions connecting ancient peoples with cosmic forces in the Universe, we know little to nothing about the actual rituals and ceremonies that were dedicated to pursuing, upholding, and transmitting this power and wisdom. Over thousands of years, the stars, stories, omens, symbols, rituals, invocations, rites, and other sacred practices, dedicated to wisdom and power, have been assimilated into more rational modes of thought and ways of thinking. The varying political, religious, and sociocultural structures that emerge, in each new era of time, shape how we cognitively and structurally identify and understand what is relevant and meaningful. The louder the echo chamber, the more obscurity develops between symbol, embodiment, and relative meaning. When a process of meaning-making is lost to antiquity, it leaves sacred symbols and ancient traditions to the realms of mystery. It transforms symbolic intentionality into purposes primarily related to fashion, decorative art, and household décor. According to Marshall G. S. Hodgson,

“The use of symbols springs from the human condition – from the perception of vital and cosmic correspondences, which was perhaps at its most seminal in archaic mankind. In the course of history, then, symbols live and change: once established in concrete forms, they may move from context to context and be used to diverse ends. It has been suggested that there might finally also be a death of symbols – or, if not ultimately a death, at least some sort of desacralization, even if only temporary... The death of a given symbol might be its transition into sheer un-understood tradition and then, presumably, its use simply for its esthetic form."
(Islam and Image, History of Religions III, I964, pp. 220-221.)
(Hartner W., 1964)

What remains of the Lion’s Gate in the year 2024 AD, is the faint glimmer of a long-exalted past deeply and intuitively devoted to stars, sky, earth, water, bears, deities, hunters, lions, bulls, deer, snakes, birds, shepherds, dogs, plants, and agriculture. These 17 symbols date back to the most archaic times and relate to nearly every story, poem, incantation, and record that remains. Although other prehistoric symbols also exist (and may hold just as much mystery as those listed above) these 17 symbols play a significant role in relation to wisdom and power. How did our distant ancestors maintain thriving civilizations in hostile environments within dynasties that lasted for thousands of years at a time? What wisdom did they possess that gave them access to such immense power on this planet? Do these symbols hold a key to the prosperity and abundance that was experienced by the priests, priestesses, and royalty of long ago? Do we have access to this same energy during the Lion’s Gate Portal today? To help answer these questions, we first need to revisit the significance of stars in the archaic world through archaic cosmology and ancient astronomy.

“Constellations provide a unique way of gaining insight into a culture because they consider an intellectual aspect of prehistoric society, something that is hard to discern from more typical archaeological sources…. The sequence moves from religious to folk to practical to scientific usages, a consistent trend toward decreasing spirituality and increasing quantification.” (Schaefer, 2006).

Archaic Cosmology
In the ancient world, archaic cosmology constituted the core foundation of religion in which the invisible and visible formed reality – cosmology was inseparable from myth or religion (el-Aswad, 1997). The cosmology of archaic times reveals common mythologies across the planet. “When we study the world’s mythologies and discover the archetypal patterns that essentially unite those mythologies, we study what might reasonably be called the dreams of humankind, in which we find information about the nature of humanity itself”. In anthropology, a term for this phenomenon is the ‘psychic unity of mankind’ (Bloem Viljoen, 2023).

Especially in examples between the Egyptian and Christian religions, the cosmology of one religion is nearly indecipherable between that of the other. As told by Fowler in 1901, when the Roman emperor Hadrian visited Egypt, he wrote a letter to the consul Servians in 134 AD saying “they who worship Serapis are Christians, and some who call themselves Bishops of Christ are devoted to Serapis … the very Patriarch himself, when he came into Egypt, is maintained by some to have worshipped Serapis, by others Christ”. As noted by Hartner (1964),

“a study of the iconographies on vases, seals, etc., from the earliest settlements of the Persian, Elamite and Mesopotamian area throughout the ages down to the Assyrian, Achaemenian and Seleucid periods, reveals a perfectly astounding continuity of tradition in regard to a considerable part of the constellations, such as they were eventually transmitted to the Greeks”.

One of the most challenging aspects of a preserved recurrence of specific star groups in mythology is the constant change of names and myths associated with the exact same stars over long periods of time. This is how a cosmic echo chamber begins. With relation to cosmology, ancient astronomical lore, stars as mediators, and evidence from precession, we can begin to piece together a map of time and space that includes diverse references to consistent cosmic sources over the millenniums.

Astronomical Lore
Across the planet, one of the oldest constellations known in myth and lore is the Great Bear (Ursa Major). The Greeks, Basques, Hebrews, and tribes of both Siberia and North America had knowledge of this basic star/myth combination. Some evidence suggests that this star-myth was already spreading through human migrations during the last ice age. According to research, some form of bear worship, spiritual reverence, or tradition is implied in European cave paintings, artifacts, and ensembles of bear skulls. The existence of cave-bear cults dates as far back as Paleolithic times, approximately 30,000 years ago (Gurshtein, 1997; Schaefer, 2006).

From information about astral magic, the art of harnessing the power of the stars, found in Babylonian texts, the “most frequently beseeched constellation to irradiate a substance exposed to it” is the Great Bear because it could be invoked at any season of the year (Reiner, 1995). Since Ursa Major is a circumpolar constellation, it never sinks below the horizon. According to the Greeks, “she alone is denied a plunge in the Ocean’s baths”, “ever turning around in one place”, or as it was in Babylonia, “stands there all year”. During this time, both illness and healing were seen to be caused by stars and planets governing different parts of the physical body (Crossen, 2007; Reiner, 1995). Ursa Major is known by many names across the epochs. From her earliest origin stories as the Great Bear, Ursa Major became associated with other names and forms including the Wagon, Big Dipper, Plow, Ištar, the Seven Sleepers, and the Imperishable Ones.

The role of stars as mediators first materializes in descriptions found in Mesopotamian poetry and omen literature. In the peak era of Mesopotamia, stars functioned with a dual role in relation to man: they exerted direct influence and served as mediators between man and god. The annual movement of stars across the sky offered ancient hunters and farmers a calendar and mnemonic by which they could predict change – if they had the ability to recognize star patterns. This knowledge was essential to their survival as it helped them know when to plant, when to harvest, and when herds would migrate. Other areas of Mesopotamian life that relied on the power of stars are magic machinations (for beneficence/protection or maleficence/harm), the creation of charms and amulets, the establishment of favorable/unfavorable moments in time, and the domains of medicine regarding herbs, medical substances, and the preparation and administration of medicine. In ancient times, the reading of stars, interpretation of dreams, and analysis of scriptures were seen as ways to gain understanding of the divine laws of the universe, divine wisdom, and the future (Koet, 2009; Reiner, 1995).

Hartner’s studies also mention that the divisions and subdivisions of ancient farmer calendars forming the solar year are never indicated by the sun; but, by the astronomical phenomena of the heliacal rising and setting of stars. Among the stars and constellations that recur in all ancient calendars are the Pleiades, Taurus, Leo, Scorpius, Aquarius, and the Pegasus Rectangle.

“The observers of this time were bound to recognize the major outline of this extraordinary harmony that happened to lie in the distribution of the main stars. It was undoubtedly this that caused them to conceive the main constellations in their definitive shape and to depict them in uncounted variations and combinations on their art objects, which, we may be certain, were primarily objects of worship; holding both significance as calendars for agricultural needs as well as significant religious importance”.
(Hartner, 1965)

Prior to stars as calendrical mediators is an origin point that divides all prehistoric constellations into three major groups, the highest divine triad: air images, anthropomorphic images walking the earth, and water images. Based on cuneiform texts and symbols for the Upper/Enlil (deity for atmospheric phenomena and storms), Middle/Anu (deity of beings in the Middle World), and Lower/Ea (deity of subterranean water) Worlds, the Sumerian-Akkadian sky was already divided into the divine triad before their rise to civilization. Constellations within the three pathways of the night sky relate to mythological stories from the earliest of astronomical lore. These stars and constellations include Ursa Major, Orion, Sirius, Spica, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, and Draco. Many of the mediator constellations identified during the Neolithic era, prior to 4000 BC, were anthropomorphic in nature. Based on precession, this 3-segment, or three-arch pathway of the sky, and the early star-myths that accompany it, may date as far back as 14,000 BC (Gurshtein, 1997). However, the first record of precession, occurring around 6000 years ago, signified a transition from the Gemini epoch to the Taurus epoch. Historically, this shift is referenced through evidence that supports a change in markedness or level of significance (el-Aswad, 1997) from cosmically anthropomorphic mediators to animalistic mediators and mediative lore.

In the period when constellations along the ecliptic were transitioning into the Taurus epoch, human populations were less focused on the anthropomorphic images that represent the constellations of the Gemini quartet (ca. 6500 BC to 4400 BC). The Neolithic traditions and motifs of the Gemini epoch (represented by three anthropomorphic constellations: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius; and Pisces) gradually transformed into the use of animal figures representing the constellations of the Taurus quartet (Taurus, Leo, Scorpius and Aquarius). Prehistoric settlers of Persia, Elam, and Mesopotamia were eventually taken over by the Sumerians and Akkadians at a time when the transfer of worship from a female or mother goddess image (such as the Great Bear) into a male image was consistent with the symbols of the bull and lion for masculine virility and supreme power, respectively. Although knowledge and traditions from both the times of mother goddess and the newer male gods were passed from the Sumerians and Akkadians down to the Greeks, the prevalence of male dominated forms of worship prevailed into present day.

Precession
Astronomical lore is calculated and dated with a distinct method based on the precession of the skies. Precession is the “movement of stars against the coordinate grid defined by the North Pole and the equinoxes” (Schaefer, 2006). One consequence of precession is, the positions of the equinox and solstice points move along the ecliptic, the earth’s ‘wobble’ as it spins on its axis (Gurshtein, 1997). From ancient Greece, the writings of Hipparchus mark a shift into the scientific study of the stars, and the birth of deterministic/horoscopic astrology. Hipparchus was the first to intellectually reason the shifting of stars based on precession.
 

Since most star observations are dependent on the specific latitude of the observer, a full analysis of precession can produce accurate latitudes of an observer at an estimated time of observation. By reviewing the constellations aptly described in early texts or the iconography displayed in temples, palaces, and tombs, scholars of ancient astronomy have been able to calculate the latitudes and dates of early observers and produce critical information that helps determine the locations and names of ancient cities and sacred sites around the globe. Based on precession, scholars have also been able to map out epochs of time based on the constellations that appear especially along the horizon line at solstices and equinoxes. According to Hartner, “in 4000 B.C., at Persepolis, the Pleiades and Regulus indicated by their heliacal risings, with a high degree of accuracy, the times at which the Sun passes through the equator from South to North (Spring equinox) and the Sun’s highest position, in the northern tropic (Summer solstice), respectively.” For the Egyptians, Chinese (mutatis mutandis), and late Mesopotamian astronomers, the high degree of significance of heliacal risings and settings cannot be underestimated. Over long periods of time, calendars (both solar and lunisolar) were made independent of the direct observations of varying lengths of day by basing observations exclusively on heliacal phenomena (Hartner, 1965).

Based on precession, the earth is currently transitioning from the Aries epoch into the Aquarian epoch. The heliacal rising of Sirius and the Pleiades no longer occurs in the same month as it did 6000 years ago. With the advent of the leap year, and rulers who chose their own calendar dates for beginning a new year, heliacal celebrations are less common. In 2024 AD, depending on one’s degree of latitude on earth’s surface, Sirius is seen to rise anytime between July 17 (at 10 degrees North latitude) and September 2 (at 60 degrees North latitude).

The Lion
Prehistoric star-myths regarding the lion can be traced in iconographies from the earliest Persian, Mesopotamian, and Elamite settlements with an uninterrupted history of more than 3000 years by the time the Achaemenian palaces were constructed (Hartner, 1965). The Lion Gate at Mycenae (ca. 1250 BC) is the only remaining example of Mycenaean architectural sculpture; atop the ancient citadel’s main entrance, two opposing lionesses confront one another. Ancient civilizations associated lions with death and rebirth as the guardians of the eastern and western horizons (Carroll, 2013).

Among the most salient models of early iconography are the lion and bull reliefs from the Apadana at Persepolis from the 5th century BC (Hagan, 2023). Reliefs on the Terrace at Persepolis and the Palace of Darius depict the lion as both supreme hunter and sphinx. The lions of the Išhtar Gate and Processional Way at Babylon (ca. 600 BC) emphasize both the protective power and the curse of wild nature that can be invoked by the apotropaic powers of these iconographs. Other reliefs from the Palace at Nineveh show the lion as centaur and demon. The purpose of humanoid figures depicting the lion are apotropaic (protective or magical) in nature (Watanabe, 2015); such as the Great Sphinx at Giza – a humanoid-lion guardian (head of a pharaoh; body of a lion) that protects humans during the annual flooding of the Nile.

Alongside star-myths, the lion developed from natural symbolism as the supreme hunter in the animal world. Parallelisms of power were drawn between man as hunter/warrior and lion as supreme power (Morgan, 1998). In conquering the lion, man appropriates the lion’s power and divinity and thus reigns supreme. During the Neo-Assyrian monarchy, the royal lion hunt was so central that the motif of the lion-hunter combat formed the royal seal from 859 BC to 612 BC. Throughout the history of Assyrian monarchy, the ruler was both priest and king. Even before the existence of kingship in the Third Dynasty of Ur, when the concept of LUGAL (big man; territorial and hegemonic ruler) began, the epithet “priest/priestess” referred to all monarchs who participated in coronation rites to consecrate their priesthood. After the battle of the wilderness, understood as the lion hunt, the king returns to the city and his people like a shepherd watching over his flock – a transit of liminality – overcoming the wilderness and returning to civilization (Dick, 2006). In ancient African kingdoms, the lion or leopard was directly equated with the king. This occurred to the extent that some myths proclaim a woman conceiving as the result of an encounter with a lion or leopard. During times of divinely royal births, a lion’s roar was said to pronounce the birth of a king or ruler (McCall, 1973).

Early lion, bull, scorpion, stag, and snake/dragon motifs often indicate a strong relationship to constellations by the star symbols, rosettes, and other astronomical elements around them. The star symbol found on the shoulder of uncounted lions in Ancient Near and Middle Eastern (Sumerian, Babylonian, Ras Shamra) and Egyptian art, down to the intertwined lions and other lions pictured on Sasanian silver objects, indicate a celestial lion (Hartner, 1965). “The lion and the bull were the two most powerful and noble beasts in the Iranian sphere. The emblem projects their union in a symbolic landscape of abundance signifying the combined powers of nature brought together by and for the Achaemenid empire” (Margaret Root, Professor of Near Eastern and Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Michigan).

During the Taurus epoch, the constellation Leo marked the summer solstice with its bright star Regulus only 8 degrees from zenith point on the same day the sun reached its highest point on the ecliptic path. In testing the alignments from 4000 BC at Persepolis, Hartner discovered that

“the summer solstice of 23 June, would have seen Regulus rise heliacally together with Sirius. The horns of the Ibex (Aquarius) would have been near cosmic setting, with its actual cosmic setting ten days later, and the heliacal rising of the Pleiades, Regulus, Antares and Pegasi occurring practically on the exact days of equinoxes and solstices.”

“The triumphant Lion, standing at zenith and displaying thereby its maximum power, kills and destroys the Bull trying to escape below the horizon, which during the subsequent days disappears in the Sun's rays to remain invisible for a period of forty days, after which it is reborn, rising again for the first time (heliacal rising on March 21) to announce Spring equinox and the advent of the light part of the year. Thus, in the early period, the Lion-Bull and the Lion-Deer combats were interchangeable symbols for the beginning of agricultural activity after Winter solstice”
(Hartner, 1965).

The significance of the lion also corresponds directly to the brightest star of the Leo constellation, Regulus, which imbues the power of the lion. On a small tablet from the Seleucid period, parts of the liver are enumerated in correspondence to a god, month, and constellation. In this text, the “gate of the palace” is Ninegal; month V; star Regulus. This is a very early example from ancient Uruk that connects the celestial lion with a symbolic gate and ancient extispicy.

Prior to the epoch of Taurus, and the rise of kingship throughout the third millennium BC, the celestial lion of lore can be found in the story of Gilgamesh. In this story, the goddess Innana maintains power over the lion, and the city at Uruk where her temple continued to prosper. Before the rise of the pharaohs, Egyptians also worshipped lion-headed goddesses including Aker (guardian of the gateway to Duat), Bastet (goddess of fertility), and Sekhmet, goddess of war and destruction (Carroll, 2013). Other lion goddesses include Hathor and Isis, Qadash among the western Semites, and Išhtar in Babylonia. Through the gradual transition of worship from the anthropomorphic Mother goddess to the emerging male deities, the lion is released from symbolic association at the foot of the goddess and appropriated into kingship by the lion-kings of lore. By the time of Christianity, the winged lion had already been taken to represent St. Mark; while other lion iconography, especially in the Romanesque style, is prevalent throughout early European Christian art (McCall, 1973).

The Dog
Of all the stars described in Mesopotamian poetry, it is Sirius (the Arrow/Dog Star) that is especially addressed under its stellar name ‘Arrow’ and as the star’s divine manifestation, the god Ninurta. The hymnic invocation "Arrow-star by name, making battle resound, . . . paths, making everything perfect” is part of a collection of incantations, some in Sumerian and others in Akkadian, known under the title HUL.BA.ZI.ZI “Evil Be Gone”. ‘Lifting-of-the-hand prayers’ to the constellations were reserved for the Wagon (Ursa Major), the True Shepherd of Anu (Orion), the Pleiades, the Scorpion (Scorpius) and the Arrow Star (Sirius) (Reiner, 1995). In the two earliest written sources of the Greeks (the epics of Homer and the farmer’s almanac of Hesoid) two prominent constellations (Orion and the Great Bear), two star clusters (the Pleiades and the Hyades), and two stars (Sirius and Arcturus) are mentioned (Schaefer, 2006). In ancient Sumerograms, “becoming visible” and “rise” are considered equivalents to the time when the Dog (Sirius) rises and the Pleiades sets (Goldstein, 1990).

Stories of a shepherd (Boötes) or a hunter (Orion) and his dog are commonly known throughout the archaic world. Mythologies of Orion and Sirius (Canis Major) are of the oldest archaic lores. The story of the Seven Sleepers is another ancient myth that may originate in Greece in the mid 5th century. It has Christian roots and influences from Muslim folk traditions and the Gnostic Alawi faith. Versions of the story have spread from Morocco to Western China. This tale corresponds to the Great Bear constellation and the Sumerian Fox Star (80 Ursae Majoris) which has had canine associations beginning in the Sumerian 3rd millennium and lasting into the Roman period. Near the end of Classical antiquity, the legend of the Seven Sleepers was united with the seven bright stars of the old Sumerian celestial Wagon (the Great Bear) and the faint eighth star became their dog. Evidence of precession comes with the legend of Draco at the time when his wings were clipped to make the Lesser Bear. In the texts of Greek writer Aratos of Soli, the canine origins of 80 Ursae major are exposed when Aratos names the small bear as Cynosura. This word may have roots in the word kyōn, meaning “hound”, as noticed in the word for dog humanoid, cynocephalus (Crossen, 2007).

In the time of the Egyptians, both Egyptian and Kemetic people relied on the Sothic calendar (from as early as 4241 BC) which referenced the sun, moon, planets, and stars in the Pyramid Texts. These documents, bearing on religion and life after death, are inscribed in the burial chambers of kings from the 5th and 6th dynasties. Shifts in the position of constellations were noted as seasons changed throughout a Sothic cycle. Sothis, or Sopdet, was identified with Isis and called the “Queen of the Decans”; her rising indicated the beginning of the New Year, and thus, she had precedence over all stars (Bull, 1923). The Egyptian New Year was a celebration that marked the return of the rains and the flooding of the Nile River. Today, Sopdet is known as Sirius.

The Zoroastrian New Year, the Nowrūz, was associated with religious ceremonies and rituals dedicated to the return of spring. Ancient Persian calendars that did not incorporate a leap month celebrated Nowrūz in July. A spring celebration in July marks a direct correlation to precession. Today, Nowrūz is celebrated by Zoroastrian Parsis in both July and August, while others celebrate Nowrūz in March, at the present time of Spring Equinox, or in both March and July (Preston, 2024).

In Kemetic society, Sopdet was assimilated as an avatar of Aset in the Late Ptolemic/Early Roman Period. Aset demonstrated the high competency of women in the time of the Mother goddess and her presence helped provide balance in the intangible world. Her veneration spread as far as the Roman Empire, touching even England and the Arabian Peninsula. Appropriation of Aset into male-dominated religions is an important origin point in the echo chamber of the Dog Star. In Christianity, the appropriation of Aset is most akin with the Virgin Mary (Williams, 2014).

A specific dog humanoid that emerged in Egypt is Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death and protector of the dead. Anubis played a major role in a person’s transition from life to death and back to life again. Anubis was eventually appropriated by the Romans as Hermanubis, guardian of the Underworld. In the Palaces at Nineveh (ca. 700 BC), the humanoid dog (uridimmu) and lion-demon (ugallu) are pictured on large-scale relief walls and doors, and apotropaic figurines that were buried at strategic locations throughout Assyrian buildings and Sargon’s palace (Kertai, 2015).

In the 6th dynasty tomb chapel of Ptahhotep at Saqqara, a combination of lions, bulls, and dogs accompany man. Amongst fragments of Aegean art and seal stones are found some of the earliest combinations of dog and man elements. Both dog and lion helped protect deities either individually or in pairs (Morgan, 1998). Across many examples of iconography and ancient texts, dogs are prominent figures in the archaic and old-world. Whether seen joining the hunter in lion combat, as carrion-dogs following war-wagons into battle, or positioned near the feet of a deity, the natural symbolism of dogs is a significant part of ancient cultures alongside the dog star-myths and Egyptian/Kemetic/Zoroastrian New Year traditions.

One mysterious humanoid dog, often depicted as a cynocephalus, is Saint Christopher. There are many legends about this Christian saint including his role as a powerful ferryman for travelers, alongside themes of rejection, fear, the idea of outsideness, and assimilation into other cultures (Friedrich, 2017). The central story of Saint Christopher says that he carried an unknown child on his shoulders while crossing a river. As he continued to make his way across, the weight of the child became almost unbearable. When he reached the other shore, Saint Christopher found that the child had grown into an adult who revealed himself as Christ (Millard, 1987). In the Acts of Saint Bartholomew, a Gnostic document originating in the IV century Egypt, there is a note about Christianus, a cynocephalus and anthropophagus (divine nurse or protector) who had been converted by Saint Bartholomew. Is it possible that the dog, Anubis-Hermanubis, and Dog Star, Aset, both endure in the story of Saint Christopher? Since the triumph of Christianity was facilitated by its ability to adapt and transform the ideas and beliefs of older religious traditions, Saint Christopher may have originated as a tradition of the Coptic church (Stefanović, 2013). The tragedy of Saint Christopher is his nearly forgotten or ununderstood origins. The mystery and discomfort of his saintly presence, often depicted as a monstrous beast rather than a benevolent humanoid creature, translates into a rather dark and scary echo chamber that exudes fear, caution, and the protectivity of religious and cultural beliefs. Instead of celebrating Saint Christopher as “the bearer of Christ”, the appropriation of this dog-saint seems to live in obscurity and forgottenness.

The Gates
Archaic cosmology is the foundation of religions and myths in which the invisible domain formed a sanctified and unquestionable reality (el-Aswad, 1997). This worldview materializes the core substance of a priori associations with nature and the Universe. The cosmological pair, Visible and Invisible/Seen and Unseen are an origin of the diachronic arrangement of time. For the Sumerians, “becoming visible” is synonymous with “rise” and is understood through Sumerograms depicting the heliacal movements of Sirius and Pleiades. What once was invisible now becomes visible; movement is from the unseen realm to the celestial domains. This movement can be traced to solar, lunar, and star mythologies.

While much of the archaic world appears to be dominated by dyadic polarities (heat/cold, light/darkness, dryness/wetness, brightness/dullness), an innately triadic relationship exists between all things. Regarding visible and invisible, the Middle World acts as a gateway or portal between the visible and invisible worlds. For all other dyads, it is the transitional movement from one side to the other that is represented in the triad. In mythology and cosmology, this transition is highly symbolic and religious. Through the symbolism of the gate and the cosmology of axis mundi, ancient priests/priestesses and royalty made transitions between the realms of the visible and invisible. Axis mundi (the central connection between cosmos and earth) holds the worlds together; it is represented by mountains, trees, ladders, standing stones, and doorways. Everything that comes into and out of existence is organized through this central point (Bloem Viljoen, 2023).

Across the ancient world, gates served many functions in diachronic, geographical, and liminal terms. In the visible world, gates presented as sacral spaces, places for royal monuments and iconography, processions, the public appearance of royalty, public assemblies, places for judicial activities, places for public executions, a marketplace, and a place of control. Diachronically, the ‘space of gates’ demarcates locations before, inside, and behind the gate. In the ancient Near East, the space of the inner gate (inside the gate) was designated as a gatehouse and used for various purposes. The Lion’s Gate of Arslantepe (Melid) had a royal statue installed in its inner gatehouse in the 8th century BC. By the 6th century BC, all Babylonian gates were named after gods and godesses. Each gate was the starting point of ‘the ceremonial way’ through which a procession passes. The most important sacral space was the temple gate or the ‘gate of the god’. The most famous ‘New Year festival gate’ is the Babylonian gate of Ištar (May, 2013). One of the most remarkable gates of the Old World is the Lion Gate built in the capital city of the Hittite Empire (Hattusa, Turkey). This early 14th century BC gate demonstrates unparalleled craftmanship, construction technique, and mastery of stone. The Processional Way at Hattusa is understood to form a ritual processional complex. The procession would have started with the king exiting the King’s Gate, passing through the Sphinx Gate at the furthest point of the city wall, and finally reentering the city at the Lion Gate (Middleton, 2021).

In ancient Mesopotamia, the symbolism of doors and entrance ways extended far beyond any architectural features or iconography, and endowed the threshold with both ritual significance and power. Gateways were filled with magic and the potential for both good and evil. They controlled the prosperity or ruin of a building, temple, palace or city. Liminally speaking, doors elevated ‘spatial passages’ into ‘spiritual passages’. In the late Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian eras, doors, gates, and inner gates were adorned with colossi (a combination of lion or bull with wings and a human head) or humanoids. In the royal palace of Sargon II, a threshold inscription reads “May the protecting colossus, the guardian god, wield unlimited say therein, night and day; may they not depart from its side”. For Assyrian kings, the use of lion and bull colossi at the main doorways of their palaces served decorative, protective and propitiatory purposes (Portuese, 2021).

The word liminal indicates ‘being on a threshold’, while liminal areas could be defined as the “dangerous space between the visible physical and the unseen spiritual worlds: a place where humans are in limbo and in need of ritual to facilitate their entry into one or the other sphere”. Cosmologically, liminal travel through a threshold is both spatial and spiritual; it involves altered states of consciousness and relates to processes and rituals regarding dying and rebirth. The many examples of a god or deity protecting humans as they travel through the underworld to be reborn, or guiding a human across the waters, allude to the potentially dangerous feat of rebirth or resurrection (Bloem Viljoen, 2023). In the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca 1550 – 1070 BC), the clearest example of this symbolism is the Book of Gates, a funerary text that is part of the Netherworld Books. In this text, the epic journey of the Sun through the gates is understood as a battle between the forces of order and chaos (Lee, 2023).

During the Babylonian empire, in the 7th century BC, the goddess Ištar of Uruk received daily offerings at the temple. This was an era of divination, magic, and divine interpretation of physical phenomena. There were specific regulations for the division of sheep offerings and who was served which parts. The king received a shoulder, side of the ribs, and a leg while the priest of the sacred chariot received the ‘palace gate’ (Joannès, 2004). To understand the gate in this context, Babylonian extispicy must be considered. During a ritual sacrifice, Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian diviners would analyze the visceral surface of the animal’s liver to determine the omens. In the Old Babylonian extispicy texts, each part of the liver is described relative to a specific omen and potential future outcome. In this context, the Palace Gate or City Gate was synonymous with the umbilical fissure. The umbilical fissure is highly symbolic with relation to Axis Mundi and Umbilicus Mundi. Descriptions of the Palace Gate are also synonymous with diachronic architectural gates. In Babylonian extispicy, the Palace Gate is directly opposite the “Well-being”. From the Seleucidan period tablet Iqqur Ipus, the ‘gate of the palace’ indicates the liver relative to a god, month, and constellation. Here, the Palace Gate is Ninegal; month V; star Regulus; and is symbolically and religiously united with the Lion (Jeyes, 1978).

The Number 8
The concept of mystical arithmetic (arithmology) means an understanding of mathematics that imbues numbers with a capacity of signification that is greater than the quantity that it materially refers to. Interest in the qualitative use of numbers and geometrical figures is a worldwide cultural phenomenon or ‘psychic unity of mankind’. According to the ancient Greek culture and the Christian interpretations of arithmological data, any number may refer to a cosmological reality, and one or more numbers can represent moral virtues, a divine entity, or appeal to other hidden spiritual significance. In these traditions, the number 8 represents harmony and perfection.

The basic ideas of Pythagorean Numerology states that we can tell something about someone’s character or fate by substituting numbers for the letters of their name and then manipulating those numbers, along with the numbers of their birthday, to reach a single figured integer. Therefore, August 8, 2024 would become 8 + 8 + (2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 8) which results in 888. In a statement by the Greek Philolaus, “all things which are known have number. Without this, it is not possible for anything at all to be understood or known”. In his interpretations of the cosmos and application of numbers and music theory to cosmic comprehension, Philolaus says “nature in the cosmos was fitted together out of unlimited and limited things, both the whole cosmos and the things in it. The first thing to be fitted together, the one, is in the middle of the sphere and is called the hearth” (Lawrence, 2015).

The number 8 is symbolically and religiously associated with cultures from across the globe. In the East, there are eight Chinese musical instruments, eight attributes of art, science or religion in ancient China, eight symbols of Buddhism, eight emblems of a scholar, and eight symbols of the “immortals” in Taoism. In Germany, Odin’s horse has eight legs; and in ancient Germanic traditions, the 8-spoked wheel symbolizes the year. In Japanese tradition, eight comprises the ‘infinite numbers’ and the ‘great 8 islands’ of ancient Japan. In ancient Babylon, the number eight was associated with stars, paradise, and the ‘number of the gods’. From the ancient Near East through to Judaism and Christianity, the number eight holds both mathematical and geometrical symbolism in connection to Ištar, the Virgin Mary, Venus, angels, the octagon, the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, and signs of good luck. Schimmel writes that:

Christ’s resurrection took place on the eighth day of the Passion, thus promising future glory and eternal life to the believer. In addition, the name of Jesus in Greek letters, IHESOYS, yields the numerical value of 888, a multiplication and hence strengthening of the sacred 8. Gernot of Rechersberg, a medieval German theologian, therefore says: “Octonarius primus in numeris cubicis est, aeternae beatitudinis nobis in anima et corpore stabilitatem simul at soliditatem designans” (“Eight, as the first perfect cube, imprints us in body and soul with the security of eternal beatitude”).
(Schimmel, 1994)

In the late 1600’s, a Christian writer named Thomas Lyster wrote a book called “The Blessings of Eighty Eight: or, a short narrative of the auspicious protection of our reform'd Protestant church under the number of eight”. Lyster was known to have studied mathematical sciences and was perhaps involved in a secret Christian society. Early in his book, he writes that few have published or printed works of this kind prior to him and that his work “treads in a dark Path, wherein so few have set the print of a Foot before me”. After a short disclosure on the symbolic significance of numbers not exceeding the power of God, Lyster continues:

“It’s herein asserted, that God by his providence, hath in ages past, dispensed his blessings most commonly upon his Church and People, under the Number of Eight, and yet not meant of Eight only, but of Eighty Eight times Eight also, or any Octonary Number; as our Saviour faith in another case, Matt. 18. not unto Seven times, but unto Seventy times Seven; but altho’ our Saviour doth not here mean Septenarious Numbers only, yet it is the fittest number to be in such a case used; because Seven is the most frequent number of regulation and instruction. But as for what is said herein, of the preceding numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc. it hath for the most part been lately penned and designed as an introduction to what was before observed, to fall under that most remarkable number of Eight.”

Later in his book, Lyster speaks about the shape of the number eight as an endless character that can express or ignite the endless Love of God. He also attributes the number eight to the concept of eternity, usefulness in arithmetic, and its harmony in music. Towards the end of his book, Lyster writes ‘The Summary of Eight’ which includes the following excerpt:

“Under this number of Eighth was
To Adam the whole earth surrendered.
The Christian Sabbath instituted.
Eight persons in the Ark preserved.
The whole world replenished”.
(Lyster, 1698)

While the Christian interpretation of arithmological data appropriated the three-fold pattern of ancient Greek culture regarding numbers in cosmological, ethical, and theological terms, Christianity was predominantly concerned with Scripture and its content. The Bible was considered by Christian interpreters of number symbolism to be divinely inspired writing. They believed that any number mentioned in the Bible must contain spiritual or mystical significance. This belief led to the advent of Christian hermeneutics and a strictly doctrinal interpretation of all numbers, number symbols, and number cosmology throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages (Lawrence, 2015). However, the microscopic focus of Christian interpreters on Scripture and the Bible marginalized number symbolism into the constructs of a single religion. Although this was helpful in creating meaningfulness in every Biblical number, and an advanced degree of mathematical awareness, it also structured an echo chamber of associative bias concerning mysticism and spirit.

Conclusion
Constellations, astronomical myths and lore, symbolism, precession, and thousands of years of human history have shaped what we know about life on planet earth. The Lion’s Gate Portal of 8/8 may already hold strong relevance and significance to those who follow or practice astrology today, but the roots and origins of this auspicious day travel far deeper into the core foundations of humanity. Before the time of astrology, star-myths, gods and goddesses, priests and priestesses upheld long-standing religious beliefs and practices in honor of the divine, harmonic relationship between the heavens, earth, and underworld. From the oldest divination, magical, and incantation ceremonies and rituals associated with symbols and cosmology, stories of lions, dogs, and transformational gateways between the visible and invisible realms, propelled societies and cultures into prosperous civilizations. For thousands of years at a time, societies and civilizations honored the forces of nature and the cosmic balance between order and chaos.

The Lion’s Gate Portal of 2024 is numerologically significant especially if we choose to celebrate the cosmic rising of Sirius on August 8 because of the harmonic and divine alignment of 888. Each of the major symbols in the Lion’s Gate iconography: lion, dog, gate, and number, have common symbolic origins. Therefore, these symbols are synonymous and cosmologically cannot be separated. Proof of this complex and interconnected history is deeply woven in the fabrics of time and space. Today, it is up to us how we interpret these symbols and stories to find or make meaning in our own lives. Although the Lion’s Gate Portal is most often celebrated on August 8, the portal energy associated with the rise of Sirius over the heliacal horizon changes depending on a person’s latitude. This means that the window of cosmic energy is open for much longer than just one day. During this time, the transitional energy between one stage and another also symbolizes a gate; this gate is both spatial and spiritual. How we choose to move through this threshold is up to us.

Without the grand ceremonial rituals, palaces, processions, and celebrations of old to support us in our New Year transitions, it is important that we each consider what is relevant and meaningful for us in responsible ways. Although this will look different for everyone, perhaps one way we can demonstrate responsibility is by listening to the echo chamber in our own minds and bodies and feeling what reverberates. Does a lack of evidence cause us to instantly fall into disbelief and skepticism? Is personal manifestation, power, and abundance the only words echoing within your Lion’s Gate chamber? How can we broaden our understanding and interpretations of the past so as not to forget, or perhaps un-forget, the many names, symbols, myths, and spiritual associations that emerged and evolved throughout time? Since echo chambers tend to enfold many layers, memories, and connotations into one singular identity (whether protective or evil), it is important for us to consider ways of unfolding all that is now encoded in our cells, DNA, and structural awareness as imprints of the ancestors, heroes, deities, and star-beings that have shaped and molded us.

One of the greatest possibilities that exists in this way of understanding the Lion’s Gate is a direct connection to ancient cosmic energy that has flowed on this planet throughout all of time. Since the beginning of antiquity, humans have learned to harness and embody the power of the Universe. During auspicious moments, like August 8, 2024, this potential is amplified by 88 x 8! Although we may not have access to the direct wisdom and spiritual transmissions of ancient priests, goddesses, and deities, we do have access to the same cosmology, iconographs and symbolism that birthed human spirituality and orientation in space-time. Our tools and techniques for accessing this energy, power, and wisdom, may manifest in very different ways compared to the rituals and processions of the ancients, but the driving force of life, harmony, and balance is yet the same. Re-member yourself in kinship with the kings and queens of old. Celebrate the goddesses, call upon the names of those who came before us for protection and empowerment. Embrace your inner divine. Remember that appropriation is a common thread throughout history that changes how we associate with ourselves, our world, and our memories. Let your dreams become your intentions and let your intuition guide you. With the heart of the Lion, the soul of the Dog-Star, and the spirit of God, we are each invited to transition into harmonic consciousness, divine wisdom, and cosmic power.

 
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