04-01-2017, 09:56 AM
It is certainly true that the flower does invoke the shape of an eclipse. As far as I understand it, eclipses would have had the highest importance in ceremonial and religious contexts. If the priestly elite can predict when the sun will disappear, they can exert great power over the people.
They would of course also be of interest to those studying the movements of the heavenly bodies for "scientific" reasons.
That said, "41 descending node" seems like a very technical term to be found in a flower - I mean, it's not the kind of thing you would expect a botanist or even a traveler or navigator to know.
Do you know when people started numbering the saros like this? Would "41 descending node" have been understood already in the 15th century?
They would of course also be of interest to those studying the movements of the heavenly bodies for "scientific" reasons.
That said, "41 descending node" seems like a very technical term to be found in a flower - I mean, it's not the kind of thing you would expect a botanist or even a traveler or navigator to know.
Do you know when people started numbering the saros like this? Would "41 descending node" have been understood already in the 15th century?