Talk:Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning
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BorgQueen, your edits came in while I was upgrading my contribution. Sorry about any confusion.
I have clarified the relationship to astology
--GwydionM 20:31, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
Yes. Richard Hinckley Allen's Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning (Dover Publications, 1963) was a useful corrective to certain earlier efforts that went back to Bible maniacs such as Seis (DD, LLD!! – 1884) and Bullinger (DD!! – 1888), who were both in turn indebted to Frances Rolleston (1875), and who were all determined to discover in the Arabic names for the stars references to the Hebrew and/or Greek Bible and the alleged message of Christ.
Unfortunately the whole thing came a dreadful cropper when Rolleston confidently interpreted the names 'Sualocin' and 'Rotanev' (Alpha and Beta Delphini) in the 1814 Palermo catalogue as meaning 'swift (as the flow of water') and 'swiftly running (as water in the trough)' – both being references (of course!) to Jesus's alleged claim in John's revelation 'Behold, I am coming quickly'.
Alas, what she didn't know was that the then director of the Palermo observatory, Nicolo Cacciatore, had in fact named both stars after himself -- simply by reversing the Latin version of his name, Nicolaus Venator!!!
Oh dear! --PL 16:28, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
PS Mind you, that did't stop E Raymond Capt from bringing out his The Glory of the Stars in around 1977 (Artisan Sales/Topstone Books), regurgitating all the old 'biblical' theories! --PL 16:32, 24 January 2006 (UTC)
