The most important diagram that Herschel has discovered originates from the Hebrew version of the Key of Solomon (Mafteah Shelomoh):

Diagram A) Key of Solomon diagram appearing in a Hebrew version of the Key of Solomon

According to Herschel, the eight-pointed cross depicted at the 10 o’clock position in the left upper corner of the diagram is exactly the same token used in the diagram depicted below and supposedly represents the constellation Orion.

Diagram B) According to Herschel, The eight-pointed cross in the diagram supposedly represents the constellation Orion.

Herschel’s rendition of the eight-pointed cross

About the square with the two semi circles in diagram A of the Hebrew Key of Solomon, Herschel writes the following on his website.

The meaning of the square and the two curves on each side of the star most likely represent sunrise and its path to sunset - the Ecliptic.

We fully support Herschel’s view that the two semicircles in between the two slopes represent the Sun. The glyph in the centre of diagram A looks very familiar with the Egyptian Akhet glyph where the Sun was depicted in between similar slopes. The Akhet glyph represented the rising and setting Sun on the horizon, and in hieroglyphic texts it is often translated as ‘horizon’.

Akhet

The Sun on the right represents the rising Sun in the East while the Sun on the left represents the setting Sun in the West. Only twice does the Sun rise and set exactly at the cardinal directions East and West, and this is during the Equinox. We therefore surmise that the two semicircles in the square of diagram A symbolise the Equinox. Following the same reasoning, the semicircles in diagram B should also represent the Sun. Wayne fails to give any reasonable explanation as to why these semicircles occur around a symbol that represents Orion. The semicircles representing the Sun at the corners of the square in the South and North region of the circle (globe) and its diagonals that form a cross could mean either one of two possible things:

• It represents the Solstices

Solstices

Square with semicircles represents the Equinox as does the eight-pointed cross with double cross bars through the East-West axis. (encircled in red)

Considering this fact, the eight-pointed cross could also mean:

• The Sun at the Galactic Cross in the precession cycle.

Great Celestial Conjunction

The blue cross represents the Galactic Cross while the red cross represents the equinox-solstice axis or Earth Cross. The orange circle represents the precession cycle. During a Great Year, the Sun resides exactly four times on the Galactic Equator, twice at an Equinox and twice at a Solstice. Put in other words, during one revolution of the Earth Cross against the backdrop of the fixed Galactic Cross, the crosses overlap exactly four times. The symbology of the square with its four corners and its four suns attached to these corners could therefore represent these four Great Celestial Conjunctions of a Great Year.

Wayne Herschel has cleverly identified the eight stars in the rim of diagram A as parts of the Pleiades constellation. On his website, Herschel explains in great detail how the Pleiades can be constructed from these stars. His explanation is rather complex and involves the joining of the stars with a jump in the sequence for star number ‘6’ and removing the pencil from the paper not once, but twice!  According to Herschel, star number 6 is a ‘lost’ star of the Pleiades constellation that is no longer visible in our present time.

Aaron Parlier has worked out a far simpler and more logical rendition of the Pleiades star cluster.  His solution requires neither a jump in the sequence nor does it involve removing the pencil from the paper.  Also, Parlier’s rendition does not account for an irregularity with any ‘lost’ star.

The Pleiades in the Key of Solomon form the pointer to the Silver Gate, the place of the Sun during a Great Celestial Conjunction at an Equinox or Solstice.

Starting at position 1 in the rim the stars are assembled by, as Herschel states, ‘binding’ them. Each star has a beam protruding from it and when these beams are connected in a counter clockwise direction starting with star 1 in exactly the same layout as they occur in the diagram, the Pleiades star cluster is formed.  The beam of star number 5 is pointing downwards exactly in the direction of the Silver Gate. The Pleiades template in the picture above is exactly the same template that has been tested on Stonehenge whereas the star map was pointing to the Summer Solstice Sun on the Silver Gate at the current Great Celestial Conjunction (summer solstice 1998).

In the diagram, star number 5 (red encircled) appears straight above the central star with the light beam inside the square. The beam of star 5 is pointing exactly downwards towards the central Sun with the beam. Since the central Sun itself inside the square represents the Equinox Sun, the authors therefore surmise that: 

Diagram A in the Key of Solomon symbolizes a Great Celestial Conjunction (8-pointed cross) during an Equinox (double cross bars in the 8-pointed cross and Equinox Sun in the central square). The diagram may therefore refer to the last Great Celestial Conjunction when the vernal equinox was in the Gate of Silver! This amounts to 25,920 (years in a Great Year)/4 = 6480 years ago. That equates to +/- 4482 B.C. and is roughly the same year as encoded in the Palette of Narmar.

References

http://www.keyofsolomon.net

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon

http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/ksol.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_God

http://ancientegypt.hypermart.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal

Further research, however, revealed that the Washington Memorial site does have some remarkable alignments related to the Winter Solstice! As Herschel suggested, we placed a spectator at the foot of the water causeway (known as the ‘Reflecting Pool’) looking East over the obelisk with the Capitol Building in the background. Calculations reveal that, standing at the foot of the Reflecting Pool, the angle from the ground to the tip of the obelisk is exactly 8º36’.

On the Fourth of July when the Sun has reached the altitude of the tip of the obelisk at exactly 8º 36’, the Sun, the Capitol Building and Jefferson Memorial will align within a precision of less than 1 degree. (for details, see calculations). This is the moment that Orion has just climbed over the horizon in its entirety.

Sun at the tip of the obelisk at 4th of July, Orion is just over the horizon.

4th of July. When the Sun reaches over the tip of the obelisk, the Sun, Capitol and Jefferson Memorial will align. The red cross marks the place of the observer.

Although we have already disproved Herschel’s claim that the 4th of July sky reappears only on the Winter Solstice, there is a unique alignment that does only occur on this date. When the Sun has reached the altitude of 8º 36’ shortly after sunrise on the winter solstice, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial will align with it. The Sun will be visible over Jefferson Memorial from Lincoln Memorial. For the exact calculation, see the ‘Washington Calculations’ document´.

Winter Solstice alignment. When the Sun reaches the altitude of the obelisk, the Sun Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial align.

Notice that the Sun now resides over the Potomac River!

Herein, lay the true secret of the Washington Memorial obelisk. The obelisk is a Sun token and represented the Sun god Ra in ancient Egypt. Since the Egyptians worshipped the sacred River Nile representing the Milky Way, the water causeway in front of the obelisk is highly symbolic! The water causeway at Washington Memorial is called the Reflecting Pool. It is called this because the Reflecting Pool reflects the obelisk!

Reflecting Pool reflecting the obelisk

What is being reflected in the water is the token of the Sun. The water causeway itself is the esoteric symbol of the Milky Way (the great river in the sky).

On the Winter Solstice, when standing at the Lincoln Memorial at the base of the Reflecting pool, the Sun will reside over the Potomac River!

Most of the ancient sites that Herschel identified are situated near a river. While Herschel’s initial research cleverly revealed that all of the ancient pyramids along the Nile represented the stars along the Milky Way; in his ensuing research, the fact that the majority of the sites that he researched are situated near a river completely evaded him. This crucial point is necessary to completely unlock the esoteric symbolism and to truly understand what the builders were trying to tell us.

It is this fundamental oversight that has led Herschel to search for a star near the Pleiades, nearly 400 light years away. Perhaps if he had taken the latter facts into account, he would have realized that his ‘mystery star’ was in fact. . . . our very own sun.

http://www.keyofsolomon.org/Washington%20Alignments.php

A similar symbolic view occurs at the Vatican: viewed from the Vatican at the Equinox sunrise the obelisk aligns with the Sun over the Tiber River, again symbolizing the Sun on the Milky Way!

Equinox Sun over the River Tiber.

St Peter’s Square contains the eight-pointed cross symbol of the Great Celestial Conjunction.

On the Key of Solomon website, Herschel presents an image looking east from the Vatican on the night of December 25th`. The Pope is standing on his balcony watching the night sky. Wayne has suggested that the Seven Hills of Rome represent the Pleiades, a sharp observation that both authors agree with. In his picture, Herschel has placed the Orion constellation, or his rendition and interpretation of the eight-pointed cross, exactly over St. Peter’s Square where the eight-pointed cross occurs. Orion now resides perfectly East. The problem, however, is that the Pleiades now also reside East instead of over the Seven Hills of Rome!

When Herschel’s picture is corrected and the Pleiades are shifted to their correct place in the sky over the Seven Hills, a completely different result is obtained. Now, the Silver Gate resides perfectly East! The Silver Gate is of course the place where Solstice Sun crosses the Milky Way.

Notice how all of the symbols of the Great Celestial Conjunction align: the Pleiades are now correctly found above their symbolic Seven Hills, and the eight-pointed cross of St. Peter’s Square aligns with the Tiber River and the Silver Gate!

St. Peter’s Square, when the Pleiades are placed correctly over the Seven Hills of Rome, the Silver Gate resides perfectly East and aligns with the eight-pointed cross on St Peter’s Square.

In Paris the boulevard de Champs Élysées is aligned to an azimuth of 115º. This azimuth corresponds with the azimuth of sunrise on the cross quarter day Lugnasadh at the 7th of November. The Champs Élysées runs from the Louvre museum in the East all the way to La Defense in the West over a total distance of almost 8 kilometres. Because it connects many historical buildings in Paris the axis of the Champs Élysées is called the ‘Axe Historique’ (historical axis). A spectator looking from the Louvre museum along this axis would see the following historical objects in line:

• The obelisk at Place de La Concorde
• Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe at the Place d’Etoile
• The business centre La Defense, in the shape of larger version of the Arc de Triomphe.

There are twelve roads extending from Place d’Etoile which may be a reference to the 12 signs of the zodiac since the square is actually called the ‘Star Square’. Since the Axe Historique aligns with the Sun on the pagan celebration day Lugnasadh, we can rest assured that the Axe Historique has an astrological significance.

Hence like Washington also Paris has it’s own ancient Egyptian obelisk situated near the river, in this case the Seine. But the location of the obelisk at the bank of the Seine River is remarkable. Place de la Concorde with the Paris obelisk resides exactly in a bend in the river where the river starts to run parallel to the Axe Historique parallel to the Louvre museum. The Seine would cross the Axe Historique exactly at the place of the obelisk if it hadn’t been for the bend in the river. Esoterically one could say that the river ‘crosses’ the path of the Sun, albeit not a solstice or equinox sun, but a cross quarter day sun’s sunrise. The esoteric symbolism of the obelisks ‘crossing’ the river due to their inherent alignments, are therefore similar for both Washington and Paris. The central obelisk at Place de la Concorde is flanked by two fountains. The two fountains and the obelisk reside on a line perpendicular to the Axe Historique. This line leads to the bridge ‘Ponte de La Concorde’ across the Seine. This means that the obelisk with the two fountains is connected to the Seine by means of this bridge. In addition a huge pond with a diameter of 68 meter in the shape of an octagon is situated on the Place de la Concorde.

Octagonal pond at the Place de la Concorde

The obelisk is placed inside an oval within a larger octagon. At the 8 corners of the latter octagon statues are placed representing the eight largest cities of France.

The cathedral the Notre Dame de Paris just 1500 meters south of the Louvre museum is built on an island in the Seine and is aligned to the 115º azimuth of the Axe Historique. Facing the Sun on Lugnasadh (7th of November) the Notre Dame has a perfect eight pointed cross placed on the apsis roof which welcomes the rising Sun on this special day.

Although the Axe Historique does not align with a solstice sunrise or sunset, on the summer solstice the setting Sun crosses the Axe Historique at an altitude of 9º. This means that a spectator standing at the Louvre museum on the summer solstice would see the setting Sun just above all of the historical monuments on the Axe Historique.

Seine ‘crosses’ the Axe Historique exactly at the Place de la Concorde with the obelisk.

The obelisk at Place the la Concorde is one of the three obelisks called the needles of Cleopatra. The name is a misnomer since these obelisks did not belong or have anything to do with Cleopatra. Another of these needles resides in London on the Victoria embankment of the river Thames. In London the obelisk is virtually placed on the river. The third needle resides in Central Park New York. The authors did now discover any interesting alignments for the obelisks in both London and New York.

http://www.keyofsolomon.org/Paris%20Alignments.php