Terrestrial Zodiacs; Iconographical Research

Nigel Pennick

Source:​ Journal of Geomancy ​Vol. 2 No. 2, January 1978, pp. 39-42.

One of the problems encountered by researchers studying terrestrial zodiacs

is that of the origin of, and parallels with the iconography employed. The
present state of our knowledge presents us with two basic types of zodiac
which I will designate with two letters: Type A and Type B. Type A
represents all the terrestrial zodiacs so far discovered and published, with
the exception of Professor Lord’s Pendle Zodiac, which differs greatly and
will therefore be designated Type B. This latter zodiac, which has relatively
‘Classical’ features, has been dealt with at length by Prof. Lord in Pennick &
Lord: Terrestrial Zodiacs in Britain (1976).

The first Type A zodiac to be discovered was that in Somerset, now generally
known as the Glastonbury Zodiac. It was found by Katherine Emma
Maltwood (1878–1961) who put zodiacal research ‘on the map’, so to speak.
Subsequent zodiacs of Type A have been found at Pumpsaint,
Nuthampstead, Kingston, Ongar, Holderness, Stanley, Chiltern Hills, Alton,
Bury St. Edmunds, Stonegate, Hebden Bridge and various other places
which, hopefully, are being evaluated by various students of geomancy.

On looking at the Glastonbury, Pumpsaint, Nuthampstead, Kingston,

Holderness or Ongar Zodiacs (the only zodiacs to be published in anything
like enough detail to evaluate them (Type A), immediately apparent is the
absence of Cancer, The Crab. Libra is also absent, being replaced (it is
believed) by a bird, usually called The Dove, put perhaps a Swan parallel
with the celestial constellation Cygnus.
The author’s researches into the iconography of terrestrial zodiacs recently
turned up the copy, here reproduced, of a mediaeval Irish manuscript of the
Liber S. Isidori, in which an Irish version of the zodiac was drawn. This
zodiac has several impressive corroborative parallels with the iconography
employed by the constructors of Type A zodiacs. ​{40}

The Crab is absent from Type A terrestrial zodiacs, and in the Irish Zodiac
from the Liber S. Isidori it appears, crowded out by Leo the Lion. What is
remarkable in the Irish Zodiac is the absence of a dividing line between the
Crab and the Lion, whilst every other figure is carefully separated from the
next. In the Liber S. Isidori zodiac, the figure of Virgo, as in Type A zodiacs,
is shown with a cowl and a long skirt. The cowl is deflected back, but it is
recognizable to those who know terrestrial Virgos. Libra is not shown as the
conventional Graeco-Roman scales, or even as a figure bearing scales. It is
depicted in the form of a legless winged human figure, half man, half bird,
just as terrestrial Libras are believed to be in the form of a Dove or Swan.
Capricorn, unlike those in Classical traditions, has hind legs like those on the
earth.

The find of the Liber S. Isidori zodiac is just the tip of the iceberg in zodiacal
research. Terrestrial zodiacs’ figures have until now mainly been
approached from the descriptive point of view, or tied in with legendary
material from other sources. Naturally, these approaches are necessary, yet
an untapped source of corroborative evidence remains in the actual
iconography of these figures. The Irish zodiac is an overt statement of
iconography with direct parallels in British terrestrial zodiacs. However,
despite the Libra/Virgo/Cancer/Capricorn parallels, the eagle/phoenix of
Aquarius seen by Mrs. Maltwood and her disciples has not been depicted
there. Again, this has been held up as an objection against the whole validity
of terrestrial zodiacs. This assumption is based entirely upon ignorance.
The Persian and later Roman god Mithras was often depicted as the
guardian of time, entwined with a serpent and surrounded by the signs of
the zodiac, generally in Graeco-Roman iconography. On such a
representation of Mithras from Sidon, c. AD 400, illustrated in Francis
King’s book Magic (Thames & Hudson), plate 9, the signs of the zodiac are
depicted in the normal manner. In addition to the traditional twelve signs, a
dove and an eagle appear in the identical positions they occupy in Type A
zodiacs.
 Stone from Rosemarkie, Scotland

Leaving aside the overt iconography of zodiacs, one might ask “Where are
the parallels likely to be in Britain, assuming those in churches would tend
to follow the Graeco-Roman model rather than the native interpretation?”
Apart from enigmatic rock carvings, like cup-and-ring marks or the Ilkley
Swastika, images on stone are restricted in Britain to churches, which will be
discounted for the present, and monumental stones. Tombstones, while
often of great mystical interest, are generally of too late a period to show the
type of image which might shed light on terrestrial zodiacs. Stone crosses
are, with few exceptions, repositories for interlaced patterns (whose
meanings are now lost) and mythical representations (Wayland the Smith,
Thor fishing for the Midgard Serpent, etc.). However, in Scotland, that
geomantically-neglected country, there are many large standing stone slabs
of Pictish origin covered with images which up to now have defied
interpretation. The examples illustrated here are all from such stones.
 Stone from Golspie, Scotland

In his 1945 book The Riddle of Prehistoric Britain, W. Comyns Beaumont

illustrated the stone from Golspie (reproduced here), which he described as
a pre-historic zodiac. He believed the two linked circles, a motif which
frequently occurs on Pictish stones, represented a comet which caused ‘the
Flood’. I will leave the knotty problem of the Flood and other cataclysms to
students of the works of Ignatius Donnelly and Immanuel Velikovsky, but
the notion of such stones bearing representations of the zodiac seems a
reasonable hypothesis. When the stones’ symbols are compared with the
iconography of Type A zodiacs, their common origins are immediately
apparent. Unfortunately, many of the stones in Scotland, especially those of
a later date and hence of the Christian period, only bear a few symbols and
are consequently less valuable than the Golspie Stone. Later still, the
themes on the stones are reduced to crosses and interlaces. There are tragic
tales associated with some fragments of these stones which tell of
uneducated Philistines who used gunpowder to blast them from their fields,
so there are {​ 41}​ far fewer in existence now than we would like. Ongoing
research I am making into such matters is turning up more and more
examples which I hope to be able to write up as an Occasional Paper during
late 1978 or 1979, depending on the usual exigencies of such matters.

Recent research on the Nuthampstead Zodiac has revealed a hitherto

unsuspected ‘guardian dog’ figure which I call the Ardeley Hound after the
village which forms its muzzle. The dog is illustrated here for the first time
with several Pictish hound representations for comparison, which, while not
identical, show a considerable resemblance. As for other terrestrial zodiac
dogs, like the Girt Dog of Langport, Mary Caine’s Chertsey figure, Janet
Roberts’s Polden Hound and Philip Heselton’s Holderness figure, all of them
appear to have a symbolic guardianship role.
 The Ardeley Hound

The Ardeley Hound is shown in the accompanying illustration. It is a

leaping dog which encompasses the village of Ardeley, which is to the west of
the Nuthampstead Zodiac. The estate of Ardeley Bury is inside the head of
the figure, and Ardeley church nestles just below the dog’s ear. The outline
of the figure is drawn by streams and roads, as in other zodiacal figures. The
Old Bourne, a stream which runs roughly north–south, delineates most of
the rump. The ‘tuft’ at the tail’s end is marked by two parallel streams. The
dog’s eye is marked by an enclosure at Ardeley Bury and its heart is formed
by St. John’s Wood,

Ardeley Bury is notable in being the seat of the Chauncy family, from which
sprang the famous historian of Hertfordshire, Sir Henry Chauncy. He is also
notorious in being responsible for the last witch trial to be held in England in
1712, Jane Wenham of Walkern was tortured by Chauncy, and, having
naturally confessed, was sentenced to the death penalty. Fortunately, the
witch-hunting mania was then at an end, and she was pardoned. The
connexion of witchcraft with the ancient religion of Britain is well
documented and its association with terrestrial zodiacs is most noted at
Pendle.

As if to guard it, the hound is leaping over the village of Benington

(alternatively spelt Bennington), which, although now unremarkable, was
the residence of the Kings of the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia. A council was
held there in AD 850, which attests to the importance of the place. The
nearby legend of Jack O’Legs may refer to an as yet undiscovered giant
figure to the north near Baldock, seat of the Knights Templar. At Benington
Lordship is an interesting ‘folly’, a fake castle built between 1830 and 1832
by George Proctor, the landowner. It is built on the site of an earlier
structure and incorporates fragments of genuine Norman architecture. Its
esoteric significance is, as yet, undetermined, if indeed it has any.
The Ardeley Hound is yet another piece of iconographical evidence to fit into
the overall pattern. Doubtless further examples, like the connexion of the
Lacy Fret with Whalley in the Pendle Zodiac and its twelvefold nature,will be
revealed as research continues. The author has now a considerable corpus of
material on the whole subject which will be put in a future offering.
Meanwhile, any relevant material will be gratefully received.

REFERENCES AND LITERATURE

CAINE, M. Kingston Zodiac. Wall Poster. The Golden Section
Order, 1975

EDWARDS, L. Unpublished maps in the possession of the

Institute.

HESELTON, P. Holderness Zodiac. Privately published,

Kingston-upon-Hull, 1977.
KIMMIS, J. Ongar Zodiac, I.G.R. Occasional Paper No. 9, Bar Hill,
1977.

MALTWOOD, K.E. Temple of the Stars. James Clarke, London,

1964.

PENNICK, N. & LORD, R. Terrestrial Zodiacs in Britain. I.G.R.

Hong Kong, 1976.

ROBERTS, J. Somerset Legendary Geomancy, in Glastonbury:

Ancient Avalon; New Jerusalem. Zodiac House, London, 1976.