In Anthony Writer's The Use of Fixed Stars in Astrology, I read:

To the Vedic sages the stars were known as nakshatras ( groups of stars having different shapes). Initially, due to the gradual retrograde shifting of the Sun?s rising position in the horizon of the polar region, it was observed that the Sun shifts the place by an interval of 1000 years and at the end of this period a new star rises in the East. The number of asterism or stars according to the then belief was 24 in one Brahama?s ahoratra of 24000 years.

I wonder if any of you know more about this.

Michael Sternbach:

Boll believed that the ascension of the Mesopotamians' 24 stars marked the hours of the day. He further connected this with a gnostic text, the Testamentum Adami, in which all the hours of the days are under the influence of higher entities.

According to Boll, Diodorus meant 24 stars that are rising with zodiacal constallations (paranatellonta) ? not stars that themselves belong to the zodiac. ? I am not sure if the original text leaves this totally unambiguous, though.

I do envy your being able to read Boll first hand in German. There are so many many other excellent German scholars I would love to read such as Wilhelm Gundel, E Weidner, and Franz Kugler.

Michael Sternbach wrote:

I wonder if any of you know more about this.

I have never heard of this idea. There are currently, 27 nakshatras in the Indian system today. However, older sources often point to 28.

I recommend that you post any questions like this on the Indian forum. We have members there like Kenneth Johnson and Martin Gansten who are authorities on this kind of topic.

You will find a few threads already discussing the original of the nakshatras there. Nothing like your quote above I am aware of though.

I believe the nakshatras were originally equatorial not ecliptical.

Mark

Mark wrote:I recommend that you post any questions like this on the Indian forum. We have members there like Kenneth Johnson and Martin Gansten who are authorities on this kind of topic.

I can't speak for Kenneth, but for my own part, I've never heard of this idea either.

Mark wrote:

I do envy your being able to read Boll first hand in German. There are so many many other excellent German scholars I would love to read such as Wilhelm Gundel, E Weidner, and Franz Kugler.

Being born and educated in a German-speaking country sort of brings this ability with it. Please send me an e-mail if I can assist you in any particular case.

I recommend that you post any questions like this on the Indian forum. We have members there like Kenneth Johnson and Martin Gansten who are authorities on this kind of topic.

I will take your advice and start a thread regarding this on the Indian forum. Thanks.

Thank you Martin also.

Regards
Michael