Andrea's video (see link in her above post) gives a wonderful response to the questions raised in this thread about her translation of the Aries passage.

There is a new thread that kicks off with this video link so since this thread has rambled a bit I suggest that any questions or comments that relate directly to the points she covers in her video are added there. I'll link it through to this so that new readers can come here for background info:

Gehrz responds to The Aries Question
http://skyscript.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6569

I can only express my admiration for such a clear and thorough explanation!

(I am going to lock this thread for 2 days to avoid the topic points getting split - if anyone wants to comment here on other points, you will be able to do that shortly)