Al-Hamal is the Arabic name for Aries (actually originates from ras al-hamal, which means head of the Ram). It is the name of the brightest star in the constellation of Aries, and for the last 2000 years it appears around the time of the vernal equinox marking the start of spring in the Northern hemisphere. (It no longer does since the precession of the equinox has shifted this constellation into Pisces… but thats a whole ‘nother story…)
Recently, reading through Henry Corbin’s Temple and Contemplation, a book dedicated to gnosis and cosmology in Islam, I came across a study of the 13th century diagrams of Haydar Amuli. In these drawings, which investigate the correspondence in number and geometry of the heavens prophethood and the divine names of Allah, Amuli connects certain verses of the Qur’an with the astrological signs. I have to preface this by underlining that by no means does the contemplation of the Signs of the heavens have anything to do with PREDICTION. As stated by our 10th century Ismaili ancestors, the Ikhwan as-Safa (also known as the Bredren of Purity): Astrology does not pretend and has not the right to pretend to an anticipated knowledge of events. .. the unknown is accessible neither to the astrologers, nor diviners, nor prophets nor sages. It is the work of God only.
That being said, I wanted to revisit Amuli’s theory by comparing these verses to the archetypes associated with the astrological signs - primarily based on their symbol, number and geometry. The first observation was how wonderfully poetic the selected verses were - they are all comprised of only two words, and often the same word repeated, as in the case of al-hamal, or Aries. “Zajirati zajran” is actually quite difficult to translate - both words have the same root, one being used as a noun, the other as an adjective. Amuli defines it as “those who drive strongly” which is very similar to what we’d expect from traditional and esoteric astrology in terms of the fiery and cardinal Aries, ruled by Mars - a determination and will to achieve at any cost. Yusuf Ali considers this verse, which is part of a string of similar type two-word sentences at the beginning of Sura Saffat (37), to refer to the roles of various angels, and translates this particular verse as “So are strong in repelling (evil).”
What interests me is the archetype of Aries, representing the 1st house, the center of a circle, the origin of our solar year - Navroz. And moreover, as I will show in subsequent posts, my goal is to see how the archetypes are manifest in the design and expression of XSITE.