2. More Connections: Giants, the Red-Paint People, and the Astronomical West
Egyptian, Irish-Celtic, and Gallic-Celtic legends refer to an enigmatic “Land of the West” which may well refer to the two American continents. The various Celtic and Germanic traditions also refer - as we saw in chapter three - to races of warlike giants, and even the Cherokee nation of North America refers to the Tsunilkalu, a “slant-eyed” race of giants” from a land in the west, and classical Greek references exist quoting Gallic stories about a “Hyperborean” land in the west which was invaded by warring giants from the Western Ocean.507
Another peculiar connection exists between the “New” world and the “Old” world of ancient Egypt: the “Red Paint People.” The Mayan god Pacal was depicted as a white man of - for then - large stature, “whose teeth were discovered to be painted bright red.”508 It is this same figure of Pacal on his famous “sarcophagus” in Palenque, that many revisionists of the “ancient astronauts” school, beginning with Erich von Däniken in his famous Chariots of the Gods, take to be a stylized portrayal of an astronaut in a space capsule.
Lord Pacal of Palenque
While many revisionists see in Pacal’s sarcophagus a corroboration of their “ancient astronauts” theory and are quick to dismiss its mythological connections, there really is no reason to oppose the mythological elements of the sarcophagus lid from what are also very suggestive elements of stylized technology and transportation.
Why this is so may be seen from the fact that, as author and alternative researcher David Hatcher Childress observes, the “sacred bird, sun and moon motifs” that appear to the left of the picture “signify the upper world, while the monster below signifies the under world. The ancient Chinese had the exact same belief in three interlocking worlds.”509 Indeed, the theme of the three interlocking worlds is a common one in most mythological traditions.
But Pacal, as was seen, is an example of the “Red Paint People,” and it is this connection which, with its own network of concepts, traces to Egypt, and to the possibility that, in Pacal’s case, the “ancient astronaut” and the “mythological” elements need not necessarily be opposed, but rather, aid in each other’s complete understanding. As Rux observes,
The Red Paint People were written of around the turn of the (last) century by such notable scholars as Lewis Spence in The History of Atlantis, and then appear to have been ignored until such anthropologists as Richard Cavendish and Franklin and Mary Folsom brought them up again.... Also known as the “Maritime Archaic” culture circa 5,500-2,000 BC, they were a comparatively tall white race (five-foot eight or taller) who...got their nickname from their practice of sprinkling red ochre paint (common to Egypt...) over their dead.510
Even more strange is the fact that this “Red Paint People’s” skull measurements and medical defects appear the closest to the Irish, and that their remains have been found over a wide range from Canada, in Labrador and Newfoundland, to Norway, Finland, central Siberia, Mesoamerica, and that their bodies are always buried facing west.511
But why red paint? Why that color in particular? The color itself reveals some interesting associations, again, from legends spanning the globe and seemingly unrelated cultures. The Hopi Indians of North America, for example,
Have “hundreds of tales” about a mysterious Red City of the South from which the kachinas came, where the highest learning and moral instruction were taught in structures specifically designated as pyramids. This may or may not have been the once-red Mayan city of Tikal.512
However, notes Rux, the Hopi nation is not “the only tribe with legends telling of a lost red land.”513
The “Weeping God” on the Gateway to the Sun at Tiahuanaco514 is said to cry for “the sunken Red Land.” L. Taylor Hansen, in The Ancient Atlantic, quotes a Sioux chief as saying, “...this is the land of our beginning, where we went from the old Red Land before it sank, because this land is as old as the dragon land of the fire god” The Apache myth is the same: “Long before the Deluge, we used to live in the land of red fire, in a city whose entrance was hard to find... the mountains were the highest in the world in those days, and deep down in them was the abode of the fire-god...It was through his rage that our old land was destroyed: the god left his underground cave, rose up through the mountain and poured fire and death on the terrified people.”515
As Rux rightly observes, the last reference could indicate a massive volcanic eruption. But the problem is the lack of agreement between this legend and others; they are simply not agreed in its particulars.516 Notes Rux, the Awawak Indians likewise have a similar legend about their fire-god, suggestively named “Aimon,” destroying the world by burning and submerging it.517 The name “Aimon” might refer, as Rux observes, to Amon-Ra, the Egyptian fire and sun god.
And with Ra one has yet another intriguing connection in the catalogue of associations with the color red within mythology, for red is “the color worn in battle by both the Valkyries and Sekhmet, who the ‘Father of Terror,’ Ra, sent with his eye to burn the human race.”518 And more importantly, Sekhmet wore red because “it was the color of her homeland.”519 So here is another curious reference, this time from Egyptian, and not native American Indian, sources associating red with a lost land. Note, too, that Ra is “the Father of Terror,” a designation that would associate him with the Sphinx at Giza, which in the Arabic tradition is known as Abu-Hol, the Father of Terrors. As we shall see later on in this chapter, there are yet more references associating Ra with the chimerical figure of a sphinx.
3. The “Underworld” as a Planet
With Ra, we are back to the theme of the Underworld, where we began this excursion with the sarcophagus lid of Lord Pacal in Palenque. Ra, of course, ruled the Egyptian underworld for a time. But the Egyptian underworld, while certainly understood to be a real place beneath or inside of the Earth, was also a place
In “the west,” under the sea or ocean, or beneath the earth. All these locations were one, used interchangeably,
a fact that recalls, once again, the Unified Intention of Symbol. Thus,
Since “sea” or “ocean” can also mean “space”, and there is no up or down in space, it is certainly possibly that this Underworld is actually beneath the earth - another planet.520
Alford’s identification of the underworld with a meteor that has crashed into, and sunk beneath, the surface of the Earth has now been stood on its head, for while Alford himself pointed out the meaning of “oceans” and “mountains” and “islands” as “planets in the deep sea of space,” it appears that — in his rush to flatten the multi-tiered meanings of mythological symbols into one flat and utterly prosaic meaning, he has forgotten the very astronomical context of many of his own observations, and forgotten, therefore, that “Underworld” itself may refer not only to the interior of the Earth in a prosaic sense, but also to another planet which was and still is entirely real.
4. The Red Land, the Red Man, and the Red Planet
a. The Red Land
But which planet is meant?
The clues thus far examined, and to be examined, lead inexorably to Mars, the Red Planet. Another clue to the role of Mars in this paleoancient interplanetary war is found scattered throughout Spell 17 of the Egyptian book of the Dead, where a cryptic reference occurs to the “Children of Heaven” who have “entered into the eastern part of the sky,” whence “there straightaway taketh place a battle in haven and in the earth to its whole extent.”521
The reference to the “eastern part of the sky” is an astronomical reference, to be sure, but its meaning must not be associated merely as a reference to where the Sun rises. The “eastern part of the sky” refers to those regions of space and the planets that lie outside the Earth’s orbit, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, whereas the “western” part of the sky refers to those regions and planets inside the Earth’s orbit, Venus, Mercury, and the Sun itself.522 Thus, if one follows the mythological clues, the war involved regions outside the
Earth’s orbit, as well as the planet Earth herself. The war, in other words, could have involved the planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and possibly the satellite bodies associated with them. This is our first real textual clue of where the war took place.
There are other indications that support this interpretation. Red, of course, was the color of one of Egypt’s “Two Lands,” the other being black. As Bruce Rux notes,
The Red Land was the Sacred Desert in which the Pharonic Pa-Ra-Emheb Stela named Ra as the engineer who measured the land and built the ‘protected place’ from which he could ‘ascend beautifully and traverse the skies,’ and the Sphinx in his own image and name (Ra-Harakhte). Red was also the original color of the Sphinx itself, evidenced by the traces of bright scarlet paint still found on its uraeus crest and beard in the British Museum. 523
Ra appears here as nothing less than the Egyptian counterpart, indeed, perhaps merely the Egyptian name, of Marduk, who similarly measured the structure of the deep, and who, as a Babylonian god, possessed his own “ekur” or pyramidal mountain temple, a “protected place.” In other words, Ra and Marduk share not only the role of “sun-gods”, but also performed similar functions and were associated with similar technologies. Presumably this is the reason the ancient Egyptians associated the color red with the home of Ra and Sekhmet, and since the latter destroyed the earth with “fire,” also associated red with evil. Note again, the association of Ra with the Sphinx via yet another root, the color which they both share.
b. The Red Man
A second association tying Mars to events on Earth is man himself. This association is no mystery to students of esoteric or astrological lore, for the symbol for Mars, ♂ is the same as the symbol for man, ♂. But there is more.
Red is the color of the clay from which Adam was made, and the color associated with the sea Moses crossed in the Exodus. Red is also the color the Egyptians painted the males of their race in hieroglyphs... In addition to its aforementioned meanings, Adom means “he of the ruddy complexion,” or “he who is red.” Adama, and its parallel Akkadian word Adamatu, both had the distinct meaning of “dark red soil” or “dark red earth.” That red soil was taken by Enki from the Abzu or Lower World, where he lived, and it was there that he made mankind.524
Alford, of course, would have it that this merely refers to mankind’s life having been “seeded” to Earth by life-bearing meteorites which set the process of evolution in motion. But the ancient texts know of no materialistic concept like evolution.
There is yet still more: the term “Abzu” or “Absu” is not only a term referring to the sun, but also for a boat or ship of some sort which reaches Enki’s world. It may thus be associated with the “solar barques” which ferried the deceased to the afterlife both in the Egyptian and Celtic traditions.525 The texts thus clearly suggest an inextricable relationship between mankind and Mars, but also in some cases even associate the origins of mankind, and the Deluge itself, with Mars.
And now the plot really thickens...
5. The Two Sphinxes of Ra, and the Two Eyes of Horus
As noted above, Ra is associated with the Sphinx. However, as Rux states, there are problems with that association:
Ra was specifically mentioned in Egyptian stelae as erecting a Sphinx in his own image in a “protected place,” i.e., a place of pyramids. Until the discoveries of the Viking probe, we had nothing but Giza to equate that to. But the Cairo Sphinx does not look like Ra, who was depicted as a hawk - the Cydonia Sphinx on Mars does. The very name of this Sphinx is given as Ra-Harakhte: “Falcon of the Horizon.” More to the point, Ra was said to wear a diadem on his forehead...
(This is sounding familiar!)
...from which he could fire a bolt to kill his enemies - the Cydonia Sphinx appears to have exactly such an item sculpted on its forehead.526
But why refer to the Cydonia Face as a Sphinx at all?
Alternative researchers George J. Hass and William R. Saunders, in their remarkable and provocative book The Cydonia Codex: Reflections from Mars, summarize the history of Richard Hoagland’s, and his associate, Dr. Mark Carlotto’s identification of the Cydonia face as a Sphinx in the following manner:
In 1984, Hoagland proclaimed the “Face on Mars” to be the embodiment of a Martian Sphinx, where the face was half humanoid and half feline. The profound implication of Hoagland’s claims was that an identical fusion of two specific combinations of humanoid and feline features exists on massive structures on two different worlds: Earth and Mars. Using computer enhancements of NASA’s Viking Frame 70A13 by Dr. Mark Carlotto, Hoagland produced a mirror split of the “Face.” He was astonished with the results and quickly adopted the title of Martian Sphinx in reference to the “Face.”527
We can perform this experiment ourselves.
First, the Viking frame 70A13:
Then, Carlotto’s computer enhancement:
Carlotto’s Enhanced Image of Viking Frame 70A 13.
If one now pauses and recalls Rux’s comments, it would appear that there are three, and not just two, types of forms being morphed into this fascinating figure, for clearly, while the left and right sides each have their own peculiar humanoid and feline characteristics, as we shall see in a moment, their overall combination could be loosely construed as ornithological, or bird-like. The author can only add that his own personal reaction, when he first saw this image, was one of fright and fear. In short, my reaction to this face is that it conveys a malevolent intention, an intention that will, I believe, become more apparent with the later images.
In any case, Hoagland correctly identified the humanoid and feline aspects of this Martian Sphinx.
And Hoagland’s humanoid aspect is no less apparent:
The above image, in my opinion, is not the countenance or visage of “love, harmony, and peace”; it is most decidedly not Disneyworld “jonquils and daisies.”
But then came the images from the Mars Orbital Camera, in 1998, and it appeared as if the whole Martian Face-Sphinx controversy would die down, for as nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Art Bell quipped, the image looked like a cat’s litter box, and the name stuck. The image became “The Catbox Image:”
But careful scrutiny of the image will show face-like features. The question then became whether this image preserved the peculiar double morphology of a Sphinx. If so, then it was, once again, an artificial structure, albeit one in great decay. Haas and Saunders set out to do just that.
This time, much to the chagrin of “it’s just a mesa” proponents, the flipping of the image, after computer rectification to provide an overhead view that could be flipped, was nothing less than astounding, as Haas and Saunders point out.
1998 Mars MOC Image, Flipped for Feline Component
If anything, the improved optics of the 1998 Mars Orbital Camera only enhanced, rather than overturned, Hoagland’s original Sphinx hypothesis, providing a confirmation of it. The resemblance of the image to a head-on image of an African male lion is all too apparent and palpable.
But what of the humanoid component?
Here the results were even more astounding, for not only was the humanoid component confirmed, but Rux’s additional comment that the “headdress” of the Face appeared to show a diadem or jewel of some sort, as associated with Ra’s “eye”, appeared to be confirmed in no uncertain terms, a fact made all the more remarkable in that Rux wrote his comments in 1996, fully two years before the image was even captured by the satellite’s camera!
1998 Mars MOC Picture, Humanoid Aspect with Clearly Visible Diadem
Ra then, is associated with two Sphinxes, one on Earth, and the other, paradoxically, on Mars.
But there is still more.
Rux again points the way to yet more Mars-Earth connections by stating that
On the painted papyrus of Queen Nejmet in the Egyptian Department of the British Museum is a red planet to the right, surmounted by Harpokrates, the young Horus - it is called “The Red Eye of Horus.�
�� Horus is sometimes referred to as having “two red eyes” or “two blue eyes”, or as having one red eye with the other blue. Ra’s “right eye” and “left eye” being used to refer to the Sun and Moon respectively, and “Thoth’s eye” used to refer to the Moon, we know that “eyes” are sometimes used by the ancient Egyptians to refer to planets. Horus lost one of his eyes in battle with Set during the civil wars, having it restored to him by the magic of Thoth....it is not unreasonable to assume ...that Horus’ blue eye would of course be the blue planet, Earth. As reasonably, his red eye would be Mars.528
In other words, Earth and Mars describe two parts of an interplanetary relationship — a civilization.
But Rux then notes a disturbing aspect to this use of “eyes” to mean planets: “An ‘eye’ also can represent a weapon and/or a ship, as has been demonstrated.”529 Moreover, if viewed as a ship, and if one “enters the vehicle which is ‘the eye of Horus,’ it powers up, and one goes from the blue to the red — more specifically, in the typical dual meaning of ancient sacred puns, from his ‘blue eye’ to his ‘red eye,’ or from Earth to Mars.”530 Indeed, if this “ship” were based on any sort of field propulsion, its ionization of the atmosphere would first start on the blue end of the electromagnetic spectrum and as the “ship” swiftly receded from its point of origin, its radiation would undergo the classic Doppler phase shift, from blue to red.
The Cosmic War: Interplanetary Warfare, Modern Physics and Ancient Texts Page 30