lunation. The Sun and the Moon therefore, by undergoing eclipses on unusual days, will cause a great slaughter of the creatures of the earth. Meteors, effulgent like Indra's thunder-bolt, fall with loud hisses . . . People, for meeting together, coming out of their houses with lighted brands, have still to encounter a thick gloom all round . . . From the mountains of Kailasa and Mandara and Himavat thousands of explosions are heard and thousands of summits are tumbling down . . . Fierce winds charged with pointed pebbles are blowing, crushing mighty trees. In villages and towns trees, ordinary and sacred, are falling down, crushed by mighty winds and struck by lightning.’”
It seems very clear from these descriptions that the celestial bird in this story was a comet that had broken apart and whose fragments rained down upon India causing all manner of destruction.
Interestingly, both Rahu and the Cosmic Crocodile were associated with spirals. This further associates them with the swastika-shaped comet. As stated previously, the only way an observer on Earth could see a swastika-shaped comet is if it were headed directly towards them. As this comet rotated the swastika arms would form a spiral in the sky.
Notice the spirals in the eyes and elsewhere on this statue of Rahu. (©Kriangsak Hongsuwanwattana)
Two Cosmic Crocodiles with spiral, curly-q designs above or near their eyes.
Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, was also associated with spirals. Sculptures of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza both featured spirals on the side of the serpent’s head. Thus it is clear that the Celestial Bird, Cosmic Crocodile and Feathered Serpent were different ways to represent the same comet.
Quetzalcoatl sculpture from Teotihuacan featuring spiral design. (Courtesy Wikipedia)
Quetzalcoatl sculpture from Chichen Itza featuring spiral design (Courtesy Wikipedia)
Thus it seems clear that the symbols used to encode these myths are all consistent with the interpretation that a bird-like, swastika-shaped comet appeared in the sky. As it rotated the arms of the swastika formed a spiral. An eruption from the sun ripped off these arms and tails and likely caused the comet to fragment. Several of these fragments “descended from the sky” and impacted multiple oceans causing mega-tsunamis that destroyed coastal settlements. The survivors recorded these events in their myths and legends as well as their artwork.
Now let us take a look at some other myths from around the world that also recorded this event and see what additional details can be discovered.
18. Medusa: A Greek Account
The Hindu story of Rahu and the Mayan story of the Celestial Bird and Cosmic Crocodile were not the only ancient myths that encoded this comet fragmentation and impact event. The Greek account of Medusa sounds remarkably similar to the Mayan Flood Myth and its decapitation of a Cosmic Crocodile.
In Greek mythology, Medusa was a gorgon who once had long beautiful hair. Gorgons were always represented with large, wild eyes. According to Wikipedia,
“The large eyes, as well as Athena's "flashing" eyes, are symbols termed "the divine eyes" by Gimbutas (who did not originate the perception), appearing also in Athena's bird, the owl. They can be represented by spirals, wheels, concentric circles, swastikas, firewheels, and other images.” [138]
Thus we see Medusa, like Rahu, the Cosmic Crocodile, and Quetzalcoatl, was associated with spirals and swastikas. Depictions of Medusa are nearly identical to those of Rahu. She had spirals in her hair and an open mouth with fangs identical to those of Rahu (see previous chapter).
Archaic (Etruscan) fanged goggle-eyed Gorgon (Courtesy Wikipedia)
According to myth, Medusa’s beautiful long hair was turned to serpents after she was raped by Poseidon, god of the sea. It should be noted that the word comet in Greek means “long-haired” since they saw comets as long-haired stars;
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