Old and New Moon Boat

0 Comments | January 24, 2007 at 12:54 am by mahud
Filed under Mesopotamian Mythology, The Cosmic Mysteries

This iconic representation of a cylindrical stamp seal from Bahrain (Dilmun), depicts the image of a bull standing upon a high-prowed boat, feeding upon a plant, with a rotated lunar crescent adjacent with the bull’s head.

Between the repeating image of the boat stands another plant or tree, enclosed within the crook-shaped prows surmounting the bow and stern.

Bull upon the Old and New Moon Boat

The Lunar Cycle

This image can be understood as a representation of the ever-revolving lunar cycle of 29.5 days, particularly when the waning moon disappears and later reappears as a waxing crescent, as if reborn.

The Lunar Bull

The bull is the animal representative of the moon, and the bull’s horns are here identified with the rotated image of a lunar crescent.

The bull feeds upon the plant of life, the ambrosial source of the moon’s rebirth. The Plant itself can be understood as concealed within the brief period of darkness, where the dead moon must pass, if it is to be revived. The boat’s prow and stern represent the waxing and waning moons that enclose the mysterious plant.