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This article is about a non-fiction entity related to the Astronist belief system or the Astronic tradition.
Any article relating to a fictional entity will be clearly marked as being part of the Spacefaring World
.


Part of a series on the

Millettarian Philosophy

 
Main traditions

Prehistoric
(Before c.3300 BCE)
Archaeoastronism (List of branches) · Proto-astralism · North Star cult · Solar religion · Star-cults · Stonehenge religion

Ancient
(c. 3300 BCE to c. 1 BCE)
Asteria · Astraea · Astraeus · Astrolatrism (Moon temple · Moon worship · Sun temple · Sun worship) · Astrology (List of traditions) · Morning Star · Sabaism · Stellar deity (List)

Modern
(Pre-Cometanic forms)

(c. 1 CE to c. 2000 CE)
Modern astrology · Planet worship · Russian cosmism · Transhumanism

Contemporary
(Cometanic forms)

Astronism

(Non-Cometanic forms)
Bruere Praxis · Goertzel Cosmism · Space Renaissance International · Terasem Faith · Turing Church

Astronic-related religions
Ancient Egyptian · Anthroposophy · Aztec · Babylonian · Humanism · Mandaeism · Mayan religion · Mesopotamian · Native American · Neopaganism · Shamanism · Shang-Zhou theology · Singularitarianism · Sumerian · Zoroastrianism · Zuni religion

Main contributors
Cometan
Main practices and beliefs

Pre-Astronist
Astrolatry · Astromancy · Astrotheology · Geocentrism · Heliocentrism · Transtellation

Astronist
Astrocentricity · Cosmocentricity · Cosmomancy · Humanic Exploration of The Cosmos · Millettarian cosmology · Millettarian worldview · Sentientism

Astronic-related beliefs
Animal worship · Animism · Dark Green religion · Earth mother · Earth religion · Ecospirituality · Freethought · Gaianism · Green religion · Nature worship · Naturalism · Omnism · Religious naturalism · Sky deity · Sky father · Thunder god · Totemism · Tree worship · Water deity · Yoism

Primary works
The Grand Centrality · The Omnidoxy · The Grand Lexicon of Millettology

Archaeoastronism, also known as proto-Astronism, is the belief and set of related theories holding that Astronism has existed in a series of primitive forms since prehistoric times and that many non-Astronic identifying religious and cultural systems possess a covert celestial theme that in fact link them to the Astronic tradition. Archaeoastronism interacts closely with theories like Mathisenism but differs in its interpretation of how the discovery of celestial themes in both ancient and modern religious systems relates to the Astronic tradition.

The Astronist Institution currently recognises a collection of 121 ancient and prehistoric religions based on and around archaeoastronomical sites. According to the Astronist Institution, modern day Astronism, often referred to as neo-Astronism in an archaeoastronist context, is the fulfilment and completion of these many prehistoric and ancient religious systems.

Archaeoastronism is classified as a collectivity of religions existing as a subcategory of the Astronic tradition. Each are directly derived from the notion that archaeoastronomical sites held religious intentions and utilities for their constructions. The most well-known of the archaeoastronist religions is the Stonehenge religion.

Branches of Archaeoastronism[]

List of archaeoastronomical sites[]

 Armenia[]

  • Zorats Karer (aka Carahunge), archeological site claimed to have astronomical significance although this is disputed.

Australia[]

  • Ngaut Ngaut oral tradition says these engravings represent lunar cycles.
  • Wurdi Youang, a stone arrangement with possible solar alignments.

Brazil[]

Bulgaria[]

  • Magura Cave, Bronze Age "paintings of staggered black and white squares could have been used to count the days in a calendar month", possibly indicating the number of days in the solar tropical year.

Cambodia[]

  • Angkor Wat
  • Phnom Bakheng, According to Jean Filliozat of the École Française, the center tower represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the 4 lunar phases each with 27 days.

Canada[]

Colombia[]

  • El Infiernito, (Spanish for "Little hell"), is a pre-Columbian Muisca site located in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá Department, Colombia. It is composed of several earthworks surrounding a setting of menhirs (upright standing stones); several burial mounds are also present. The site was a center of religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites, and also served as a rudimentary astronomical observatory.

China[]

Egypt[]

  • Abu Simbel, The axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that twice a year, on October 20 and February 20, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculpture on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god connected with the Underworld, who always remained in the dark.[9][10]
  • Nabta Playa
  • Precinct of Amun-Re

Finland[]

  • The so-called Giants' Churches (Finn. jätinkirkko), which are large, from c. 20 metres (66 ft) to over 70 metres (230 ft) long rectangular or oval stone enclosures built in the Neolithic (c. 3000–1800 BC), have axis and doorway orientations towards the sunrises and sunsets of the solstices and other calendrically significant days. For example, the Kastelli of Raahe, which is one of the largest Giants' Churches, had its five "gates", i.e. wall openings, oriented towards the midsummer sunset, the winter solstice sunrise, winter solstice sunset, the sunrises of the mid-quarter days of early May (Walpurgis, Beltaine) and August (Lammas), as well as the sunrise 11 days before the vernal equinox in 2500 BC.

France[]

Germany[]

Guatemala[]

Honduras[]

Indonesia[]

India[]

For a full list see the chapter on India in the ICOMOS book edited by Clive Ruggles and Michel Cotte. These sites include:

J.M. Malville and Rana P.B. Singh have done much work on the archaeoastronomy of sacred sites in India.

Iran[]

Ireland[]

  • Newgrange, once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun shines directly along the long passage into the chamber for about 17 minutes and illuminates the chamber floor. (Generally accepted).
  • Knowth
  • Dowth
  • Loughcrew
  • Carrowkeel
  • Mound of the Hostages
  • Drombeg stone circle, at the winter solstice, the sun sets into a v formed by two distant overlapping hills and makes an alignment with the altar stone and the two main uprights. Due to the nature of the site and the western hills, local sunset is c. 15:50.
  • Beltany stone circle
  • Beaghmore Stone Circles, a complex of early Bronze Age megalithic features, stone circles and cairns. Some archaeologists believe that the circles have been constructed in relation to the rising of the sun at the solstice, or to record the movements of the sun and moon acting as observatories for particular lunar, solar or stellar events. Three of the stone rows point to the sunrise at the time of the solstice and another is aligned towards moonrise at the same period.

Italy[]

Kenya[]

Korea[]

  • Cheomseongdae, ancient observatory in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea.

Malta[]

Mexico[]

  • Calakmul
  • Cantona
  • Cañada de la Virgen
  • Casas Grandes
  • Chichen Itza
    • The Caracol is theorised to be a proto-observatory with doors and windows aligned to astronomical events, specifically around the path of Venus as it traverses the heavens. (Debated among specialists).
    • The main pyramid El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan) displays the appearance of a snake "crawling" down the pyramid at the spring equinox (Unproven).
  • Coba
  • Dzibilchaltun, Spring equinox, the sun rises so that it shines directly through one window of the temple and out the other.
  • Ik Kil - hierophany where the sunrise on the day of the solar zenith transit aligns with the summit of Ikil Structure 1 as viewed from an observation point within Ikil Cave 1.
  • Izamal
  • Mitla
  • Monte Alban, zenith tube
  • Palenque
  • La Quemada
  • El Tajín
  • Teotihuacan, the pecked-cross circles as survey-markers
  • Tulum
  • Uxmal, Venus alignment of the "Governor's Palace"
  • Xochicalco, zenith tube
  • Yagul

Netherlands[]

  • Hunebedden - Funnel Beaker Culture megalith graves ("hunebedden") in the eastern Netherlands might be oriented on moonrises.

North Macedonia[]

  • Kokino Situated 1030 m above sea level on the Tatićev Kamen Summit near Kumanovo.(disputed)

Pakistan[]

Peru[]

Portugal[]

Romania[]

Russia[]

Spain[]

Syria[]

  • Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights, territory occupied by Israel.

Sweden[]

Switzerland[]

Turkey[]

United Kingdom[]

United States[]

See also[]

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