Earth Mother Symbolism at Mounds State Park, Anderson Indiana
Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.
The alignments
It is evident that the most effort was expended in the construction of the
henge complex for the alignment of the winter solstice sunrise that
occurs generally on December 22; that is the longest night of the year
and the shortest day. The sun sets at this furthest point in the
southwestern sky for two consecutive days, but on the third day
December 25, the sun begins its path back to the north and with
this it becomes higher and higher in the daytime sky and the days
become longer each day. As the days become longer the time when
night and day are equal is marked by the equinox that occurs generally
on March 22. The days continue to lengthen and the sun rises higher in
the sky until June 22, which is the Summer Solstice and the longest day
and when the sun rises at the furthest point the north.
Henge complex at Mounds State Park was unique in that the largest henge's gateway was aligned to a the setting of the bright star Fomalhaut and the rising of Capella. For more on Mounds State Park and burial mounds and earthworks in Indiana, go here
Fish were originally worshiped as a symbol of Nimrod, the sungod, who after being killed, was reborn in his wife Semiramus' womb. Her womb was represented as "the waters of the great deep". Nimrod then became the fish-god being reborn in these "waters."
The shapes of the earthworks
There is evidence of female icons within the earthwork complex, whether this represents an “Earth Mother” or that of a Celestial Virgin is unknown. An ancient “Earth Mother” symbol is the vesica pisca, or the vessel of the fish. This icon is achieved when two circles intersect at the midpoint
Mary is often depicted within the vesica pisca. The depiction of the vesica as symbolic of an Earth Mother icon
Another vesica shaped earthwork is located north of the group of 8 henges. Its alignment to the May 1 sunrise (May is "Ma" or "Mother") is an easy clue that this shape represented the Earth Mother
This henge is called the "Lost Henge" that is unmarked within Mounds State Park but still visible The gateway is aligned to the winter solstice sunrise that is associated with the "Birth" of the Sun.
