Journal of Geomancy vol. 2 no. 2, January 1978

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Terrestrial Zodiacs; Iconographical Research

by NIGEL PENNICK

One of the problems encountered by researchers studying terrestrial zodiacs is that of the origin of, and parallels with the iconography employed.  The present state of our knowledge presents us with two basic types of zodiac which I will designate with two letters: Type A and Type B.  Type A represents all the terrestrial zodiacs so far discovered and published, with the exception of Professor Lord’s Pendle Zodiac, which differs greatly and will therefore be designated Type B.  This latter zodiac, which has relatively ‘Classical’ features, has been dealt with at length by Prof. Lord in Pennick & Lord: Terrestrial Zodiacs in Britain (1976). 

The first Type A zodiac to be discovered was that in Somerset, now generally known as the Glastonbury Zodiac.  It was found by Katherine Emma Maltwood (1878–1961) who put zodiacal research ‘on the map’, so to speak.  Subsequent zodiacs of Type A have been found at Pumpsaint, Nuthampstead, Kingston, Ongar, Holderness, Stanley, Chiltern Hills, Alton, Bury St. Edmunds, Stonegate, Hebden Bridge and various other places which, hopefully, are being evaluated by various students of geomancy. 

On looking at the Glastonbury, Pumpsaint, Nuthampstead, Kingston, Holderness or Ongar Zodiacs (the only zodiacs to be published in anything like enough detail to evaluate them (Type A), immediately apparent is the absence of Cancer, The Crab.  Libra is also absent, being replaced (it is believed) by a bird, usually called The Dove, put perhaps a Swan parallel with the celestial constellation Cygnus. 

The author’s researches into the iconography of terrestrial zodiacs recently turned up the copy, here reproduced, of a mediaeval Irish manuscript of the Liber S. Isidori, in which an Irish version of the zodiac was drawn.  This zodiac has several impressive corroborative parallels with the iconography employed by the constructors of Type A zodiacs.  {40}

The Crab is absent from Type A terrestrial zodiacs, and in the Irish Zodiac from the Liber S. Isidori it appears, crowded out by Leo the Lion.  What is remarkable in the Irish Zodiac is the absence of a dividing line between the Crab and the Lion, whilst every other figure is carefully separated from the next.  In the Liber S. Isidori zodiac, the figure of Virgo, as in Type A zodiacs, is shown with a cowl and a long skirt.  The cowl is deflected back, but it is recognizable to those who know terrestrial Virgos.  Libra is not shown as the conventional Graeco-Roman scales, or even as a figure bearing scales.  It is depicted in the form of a legless winged human figure, half man, half bird, just as terrestrial Libras are believed to be in the form of a Dove or Swan.  Capricorn, unlike those in Classical traditions, has hind legs like those on the earth. 

The find of the Liber S. Isidori zodiac is just the tip of the iceberg in zodiacal research.  Terrestrial zodiacs’ figures have until now mainly been approached from the descriptive point of view, or tied in with legendary material from other sources.  Naturally, these approaches are necessary, yet an untapped source of corroborative evidence remains in the actual iconography of these figures.  The Irish zodiac is an overt statement of iconography with direct parallels in British terrestrial zodiacs.  However, despite the Libra/Virgo/Cancer/Capricorn parallels, the eagle/phoenix of Aquarius seen by Mrs. Maltwood and her disciples has not been depicted there.  Again, this has been held up as an objection against the whole validity of terrestrial zodiacs.  This assumption is based entirely upon ignorance.  The Persian and later Roman god Mithras was often depicted as the guardian of time, entwined with a serpent and surrounded by the signs of the zodiac, generally in Graeco-Roman iconography.  On such a representation of Mithras from Sidon, c. AD 400, illustrated in Francis King’s book Magic (Thames & Hudson), plate 9, the signs of the zodiac are depicted in the normal manner.  In addition to the traditional twelve signs, a dove and an eagle appear in the identical positions they occupy in Type A zodiacs. 

Stone from Rosemarkie, Scotland

Leaving aside the overt iconography of zodiacs, one might ask “Where are the parallels likely to be in Britain, assuming those in churches would tend to follow the Graeco-Roman model rather than the native interpretation?” Apart from enigmatic rock carvings, like cup-and-ring marks or the Ilkley Swastika, images on stone are restricted in Britain to churches, which will be discounted for the present, and monumental stones.  Tombstones, while often of great mystical interest, are generally of too late a period to show the type of image which might shed light on terrestrial zodiacs.  Stone crosses are, with few exceptions, repositories for interlaced patterns (whose meanings are now lost) and mythical representations (Wayland the Smith, Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, etc.).  However, in Scotland, that geomantically-neglected country, there are many large standing stone slabs of Pictish origin covered with images which up to now have defied interpretation.  The examples illustrated here are all from such stones. 

Stone from Golspie, Scotland

In his 1945 book The Riddle of Prehistoric Britain, W. Comyns Beaumont illustrated the stone from Golspie (reproduced here), which he described as a pre-historic zodiac.  He believed the two linked circles, a motif which frequently occurs on Pictish stones, represented a comet which caused ‘the Flood’.  I will leave the knotty problem of the Flood and other cataclysms to students of the works of Ignatius Donnelly and Immanuel Velikovsky, but the notion of such stones bearing representations of the zodiac seems a reasonable hypothesis.  When the stones’ symbols are compared with the iconography of Type A zodiacs, their common origins are immediately apparent.  Unfortunately, many of the stones in Scotland, especially those of a later date and hence of the Christian period, only bear a few symbols and are consequently less valuable than the Golspie Stone.  Later still, the themes on the stones are reduced to crosses and interlaces.  There are tragic tales associated with some fragments of these stones which tell of uneducated Philistines who used gunpowder to blast them from their fields, so there are {41} far fewer in existence now than we would like.  Ongoing research I am making into such matters is turning up more and more examples which I hope to be able to write up as an Occasional Paper during late 1978 or 1979, depending on the usual exigencies of such matters. 

Recent research on the Nuthampstead Zodiac has revealed a hitherto unsuspected ‘guardian dog’ figure which I call the Ardeley Hound after the village which forms its muzzle.  The dog is illustrated here for the first time with several Pictish hound representations for comparison, which, while not identical, show a considerable resemblance.  As for other terrestrial zodiac dogs, like the Girt Dog of Langport, Mary Caine’s Chertsey figure, Janet Roberts’s Polden Hound and Philip Heselton’s Holderness figure, all of them appear to have a symbolic guardianship role. 

The Ardeley Hound

The Ardeley Hound is shown in the accompanying illustration.  It is a leaping dog which encompasses the village of Ardeley, which is to the west of the Nuthampstead Zodiac.  The estate of Ardeley Bury is inside the head of the figure, and Ardeley church nestles just below the dog’s ear.  The outline of the figure is drawn by streams and roads, as in other zodiacal figures.  The Old Bourne, a stream which runs roughly north–south, delineates most of the rump.  The ‘tuft’ at the tail’s end is marked by two parallel streams.  The dog’s eye is marked by an enclosure at Ardeley Bury and its heart is formed by St. John’s Wood,

Ardeley Bury is notable in being the seat of the Chauncy family, from which sprang the famous historian of Hertfordshire, Sir Henry Chauncy.  He is also notorious in being responsible for the last witch trial to be held in England in 1712, Jane Wenham of Walkern was tortured by Chauncy, and, having naturally confessed, was sentenced to the death penalty.  Fortunately, the witch-hunting mania was then at an end, and she was pardoned.  The connexion of witchcraft with the ancient religion of Britain is well documented and its association with terrestrial zodiacs is most noted at Pendle. 

As if to guard it, the hound is leaping over the village of Benington (alternatively spelt Bennington), which, although now unremarkable, was the residence of the Kings of the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia.  A council was held there in AD 850, which attests to the importance of the place.  The nearby legend of Jack O’Legs may refer to an as yet undiscovered giant figure to the north near Baldock, seat of the Knights Templar.  At Benington Lordship is an interesting ‘folly’, a fake castle built between 1830 and 1832 by George Proctor, the landowner.  It is built on the site of an earlier structure and incorporates fragments of genuine Norman architecture.  Its esoteric significance is, as yet, undetermined, if indeed it has any. 

The Ardeley Hound is yet another piece of iconographical evidence to fit into the overall pattern.  Doubtless further examples, like the connexion of the Lacy Fret with Whalley in the Pendle Zodiac and its twelvefold nature,will be revealed as research continues.  The author has now a considerable corpus of material on the whole subject which will be put in a future offering.  Meanwhile, any relevant material will be gratefully received. 

REFERENCES AND LITERATURE