“Golden in form is he, like gold to look on, his colour is like gold, the Son of Waters.” – Rig Veda 2.35.10, tr. RTH Griffith

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“From inmost reservoir in countless channels flow down these rivers which the foe beholds not. I look upon the streams of oil descending, and lo! the Golden Reed is there among them.” – Rig Veda 4.58.5, tr. RTH Griffith

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“The heaven with streams of golden hue….The golden Pair [2] yield Indra plenteous nourishment: between them moves the golden One.” – Rig Veda 3.44.3, tr. RTH Griffith

In 2018 Richard Oldale wrote: 

“The golden fish in Buddhist symbolism has been lifted directly from ancient Vedic mythology. The Hindu God, Vishnu turns himself into a fish, Matsya who rescues Manu, the first man from a flood.” – “The Symbolic Meaning of Two Golden Fish in Buddhism”

Regardless of being unaware of the geometric and zodiacal context of Vedic mythology, Oldale was accurate in recognizing a connection between the Golden Fish of Buddhism, Vedic mythology, and Vishnu’s first avatar – the Fish/Matsya.

The 12,000-year-old Pisces petroglyph of Ratnagiri completely defies the academic understanding of the antiquity and origin of zodiacal gnosis and symbols. One of the other equally ancient petroglyphs discovered in Ratnagiri can easily be seen as the Aquarian symbol of the Man, aka Manu, in the midst of several Fish, holding his pot or kumbha overhead, as if pouring it out. 

In the post-Vedic mythology of the Mahabharata, Manu rescues Matsya/Vishnu as a small fish. Manu then puts Matsya in larger water vessels and bodies of water as he grows. In the end, Matsya (full grown) saves Manu and Seven Rishis from the Great Flood – a reference to the seven floods (=rivers) of the Vedas which, as I have written and will write more about below, deliver Agni to the sign of the Kumbha, aka the sign of the Man, in the 360° Vedic Year. Many academics have held the view that the Zodiac was imported into India from Babylonia and has nothing to do with India’s ancient Vedas. In her many writings, Thea strongly countered this view, demonstrating that the 12-month division of the Earth’s 360° year and thus the Zodiac itself, is equivalent to the twelve-month Vedic Sacrifice and is the basis and foundation of the Rig Veda. 

Via the petroglyphs of Ratnagiri, we can see and appreciate, or simply consider that the knowledge of the Zodiac extends back at least 12,000 years. Some might not be convinced that the Ratnagiri Man/Manu is a symbol of the Aquarian Man, aka Water Bearer, but if we take the (≈60°) angle of this Man’s outstretched arms and the visible arc carved above his arms as an indication of the width of the radius of a circle (measuring out one-sixth/60° of the circle’s circumference), there does seem to be some zodiacal geometry and sense to this 12,000-year-old figure. I have demonstrated this zodiacal geometry in the Ratnagiri image above right. Using the 60° measure of the upper arc, I drew out the corresponding circle and its two vesicae pisces (Two Fish).  

If the ancient artist had carved this Man with geometric precision, his body would be better centered within the circle, like the Vitruvian Man within his circle, and the visible right-side arc (and corresponding fish) of the petroglyph would line up better with the arc of the right-side vesica piscis. It is entirely possible that the aerial image I have used (first published by BBC) was taken from an angle that distorts its actual geometry. In the image above to the right, I have added the lines of the subtle descending triangle whose width and sides equal the measure of the radius, which cuts through what appears to be a pot, jar or kumbha that this Man holds over his head, hovering in the midst of the measure of his arms. The horizontally oriented pot is approximately one-third of the width of the radius (one-sixth of the diameter). 

In Part Three of this series I wrote about the 1926 message in a bottle that was cast out, submerged and then found 95 years later with its message intact. In the case of the Ratnagiri petroglyphs we have messages that were “cast out” circa 10,000 BCE, buried and then recovered some 12,000 years later, in 2018, from the dirt which covered and concealed them. As some readers already know, 2018 was the year I published Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom which details the 2016 recovery of the vesica piscis, aka the “Vessel of the Fish” as a long-lost key of our world’s ancient symbols and lore. For those with eyes to see, this synchronicity is a sublimely orchestrated precision rather than a random coincidence. [3]

One of the things I really want to impress upon readers in this installment of “The Obstruction of the Vedic Waters & the Fixed Water Sign Scorpio” series is that the connection between the sacred waters (=rivers) of the Vedas and the eternal law (sanatana dharma) of the vesica piscis and radius – which serve as and establish the divine maya (divine measure) of the 12-month Zodiacal Year – is hidden in plain sight in the hieroglyph and in the name of last WATER sign of the Zodiac. In other words the hieroglyph and name of Pisces both contain in themselves (as if in a long-sealed vessel) the occult or long-hidden geometric key and weapon of gnosis by which the Vedic Waters are released from their obstructions in the fixed water sign of Scorpio, and by which the Rig Veda can be properly read in our Age of Aquarius/Kumbha – the Age of the Water Bearer (aka the Man) whose jar, kumbha or heavenly vessel is a symbol of the exact same Vedic key, light and weapon of purifying gnosis.

In 2016 it became apparent that Vishnu’s first avatar Matsya (the Fish) is an ancient carrier, symbol or vessel of this same geometric, zodiacal and eternal law of the Vedas. As all who have already read Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom know, the knowledge of Matsya’s geometric sense preceded and opened the gates of knowledge to the geometric sense of the Vedic waters/rivers and kumbha. It is notable that the name Matsya specifically begins with mat, which is connected to the Sanskrit words for measure (matra, maya) and mother (ma, matri), and to the English words “math” and “meter”. It is also notable that the first syllable of Vishnu’s name is phonetically similar to the word Fish. [4] I have discussed the vesica piscis as the geometric basis of Vishnu’s avataric forms and their accompanying lore in Geometric Keys of Vedic Wisdom and in previous posts and will not repeat the story of that recovered gnosis here other than to once again share the picture that visually demonstrates the connection between Vishnu’s first two avatars (Matsya and Kurma) and the sacred geometry (=sacred measure) of the vesica piscis and of the Zodiac. [Click HERE to see an animated construction of how Vishnu’s Turtle form measures out the Zodiac.]

In this image, the shell of Vishnu’s Sanatana-Dharma-saving Turtle (Kurma) is the circle of the Zodiac and his four legs are the extensions (beyond the circle) of the four vesicae piscis measured out by the four cardinal point radii. The width of the Turtle’s four legs (where they come out of his “shell”) measure out the 30° span of each of Vishnu’s four fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. What I want to add to what I have already written about the Kurma form of Vishnu’s second avatar is that signifies the doubling of the geometry of the hieroglyph of Pisces (Matsya) within the circle of the Zodiac which in turn, measures out all 12 signs of the Zodiac. 

The second image in the sequence above is a 90° rotation of the Pisces hieroglyph overlaid upon the circle it measures. Together these two pisces hieroglyphs measure out the four cardinal points and the twelve months of the Vedic/Zodiacal Year. Via this geometry, the sanatana dharma or eternal truth and law that Vishnu is credited with protecting as Matsya, Kurma, and as various other forms or incarnations throughout the ages, comes into clear focus. We can see and understand that eternal and universal law of the ancient Rishis which Vishnu’s avatars protect and reinstate is, at a fundamental level, equivalent to the eternal geometric law of the radius and vesica pisces which together measure out the circle of the twelve-month Vedic Year. 

As I documented in Geometric Keys of Vedic Widsdom, approximately six months after Vishnu’s geometric key/law was delivered out of the dark waters of Ignorance in 2016, it proceeded to reveal and release the geometric sense and shape of the immortal Vedic waters (the seven rivers, streams, floods, etc.) and thousands of other symbolic treasures of the Rig Veda from aeons of Ignorance. In other words Vishnu’s geometric key – the vesica piscis, aka “vessel of the fish” – does not only function as a key of the sense and significance of Vishnu's symbols and lore, but it also functions as a key which unlocks, unveils and uncovers the sense and significance of the intentionally veiled or occulted language and sanatana dharma of the Vedic Rishis which, according to Sri Aurobindo, has been widely misunderstood and misinterpreted by Vedic scholars, priests and pundits, and consequentially by most if not all of humanity, for thousands of years.

The Hieroglyph of Cancer

I added the white overlay of the three vesicae piscis in the middle plate above, so viewers can easily see the three subtle “fish” – the three interlaced vesicae piscis – and thus the geometric gnosis and key contained in the inner circle of this ancient Indus Valley “Pisces” plate. [See “Demystifying the Ancient Symbol of Three Fish With One Head”] It is worth noting here that Thea saw the Cancer hieroglyph as a symbol of the female reproductive system.

“Cancer's hieroglyph…immediately strikes the observer as being perfectly in accordance with the maternal gestating significance of the sign. When correctly designed its form is wholly womb-like, while at the same time it evokes the image of the female breasts and the reproductive system.” – Thea, The Magical Carousel, Commentaries, pp. 26-27

Whereas her seeing of the Cancer hieroglyph is valid in its own right, it also makes perfect sense that the zodiacal hieroglyph of the first water sign Cancer is occultly connected (i.e. connected in a veiled and widely unseen way) to the ancient hieroglyph, fish symbolism and geometry of the last water sign of Pisces.

The Hieroglyph of Scorpio 

Whereas the M-shaped hieroglyph of the water sign Scorpio:  (similar to the M-shape of Virgo: ) has no obvious visual connection to the Piscean fish, in my view it is – like the Pisces hieroglyph – a compact symbol of the sacred geometry, measure and mythology of the Zodiac. The best way to convey how I see the connection between the M-shape of Scorpio and Virgo and the sacred geometry, measure of the Zodiac is visual rather than verbal:  

There is much to unpack regarding this zodiacal “M” and its vertical symmetry. Here I want to focus on how the M-shape hieroglyph of Scorpio occultly contains in itself the story of the victorious release of the Vedic Water-Jar (Kumbha) and is purifying waters (seven rivers). In my view, the “V” or Valley in the midst of this M-shape is equivalent to the descending equilateral triangle in the midst of the Zodiac. I see this zodiacal and geometric V-shape as the basis of the V-shaped hieroglyph of Capricorn: , as well as to various words that start with “V”, including but not limited to “valley”, “vessel”, “vat” and “victory”. [5] In Indus Valley Script, the V-shape forms the basis of the prolific symbol for “Jar”:  (i.e. Kumbha). [6] The descending triangle or “V” of the Zodiac and zodiacal “M” measures out the entrances into all three of the Air signs: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. The ascending right side [7] of the “V” (and of the Air Trine) rises from the entrance into the seventh sign of Libra (0° Libra) to the destination of 0° Aquarius – the entrance into Vishnu’s highest seat of Aquarius – the sign of the Man (Manu), the Friend (Mitra), the Water Bearer and the Water Jar (Kumbha). Aquarius is of course the only sign of the Zodiac whose names and symbols are specifically concerned with the pouring out of heavenly, sacred or purifying waters. This line or side of the descending Air-sign triangle, rises up at a 60° angle from the horizonal plane of 0° Libra (the 4.5 Point of the Gnostic Circle), and forms the long axis of the seventh river (the seventh vesica piscis) of the Zodiac/Vedic Sacrifice. The shorter axis of the seventh river of the Zodiac is the radius of 0° Sagittarius, known as the son of the seven rivers (aka “the Son of the Waters”) in the Rig Veda. This radius geometrically draws, bears or pours out the seventh river of the Zodiac.

As I have written and demonstrated throughout my writings and illustrations since 2016, the ascending side of the Air Trine is the basis of the formation, shape and position of the number 7 in the combined circle of 9 and 12 [aka the Gnostic Circle]. This ascending line is likewise the basis of the arrow hieroglyph of Sagittarius which is a symbol of the weapon and victory of the war god Agni [8] (aka “the three-fold flame, Trita, Skanda, Kartikeya), launched from 0° Sagittarius – the third of his three seats in his triple sacrifice, equivalent to the third angle of the ascending Fire Trine (0° Aries, 0° Leo and 0° Sagittarius). As Thea pointed out in her writings, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, this hero-sage-son went by the name of Triptolemus, meaning “threefold warrior”. [9]

"The Gold-hued, purified [Agni], makes him[self] three seats…. On through the long wool of the sheep to the meath-dropping vat [=kumbha] he flows: The Ṛṣis’ sevenfold quire hath sung aloud to him." – Rig Veda 9.102.2-3, tr. RTH Griffith

This Vedic mythology simply cannot be accurately understood outside the context of the Tropical Zodiacal Year and its sacred geometry. Agni’s heroic deeds as the conquering Sage, Horse and Son of the Vedas are inextricably linked to the Sage and Horse of Sagittarius. Different religions have adopted different names and persona for this self-purifying, world-purifying, divine hero-son-savior of the Vedas; but regardless of the name given, the concept stems from the same ancient Zodiacal source. 

The Rishis simultaneously spoke of Agni’s victorious ascent to the Jar or Kumbha (aka Aquarius) via his seven rivers (=seven mothers) and the victorious release, descent and pouring out of these same seven rivers. In Rig Veda 9.74.7-8, Agni (Soma Pavamana) as the conquering Horse becomes white (i.e. purified) when he strives or steps to his victory in the 360° course of the Vedic sacrifice, whereupon he bursts open (i.e. releases) the “water-holding cask of heaven”. In my view, this victory is entirely equivalent to the release of the Aquarian Kumbha or Water Jar and the accumulated waters (=the seven rivers) that it HOLDS or contains up to that point in the sacrifice. This Vedic imagery is mirrored (however reimagined) in St. John’s Revelation when the Son of God (=the Lamb) opens the first of the seven seals, prompting one of the four fixed signs of the Zodiac (likely a reference to the Man of Aquarius) to thunderously announce the presence of the bow-wielding divine conqueror on his White Horse. 

“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” – Revelation 6:1-2, NIV

This Biblical symbolism is, beyond a shadow of doubt in my mind, a symbol of the conquering Sage-Horse of the 12-month Vedic Sacrifice, who ascends to the the Kumbha – his "goal" and "special place" – at the forefront of his seven mothers (=seven rivers), which are equivalent to the seven flasks, seven seals, seven voices (etc.) of St John’s Revelation. Given this Vedic story and context, hopefully readers can see and understand that the arrow of the M-shaped Scorpio hieroglyph contains in itself the event of Agni’s sevenfold, river-born ascent to the Aquarian Kumbha which goes by many names in the Vedas, including “the heaven’s wide vessel”, a reservoir, jar, vat, cask and filter, as well as the “meeting place” of the seven rivers and of the sacrifice. It is also referred to as “Indra’s heart”. Via this divine birth, ascent and victory of the Vedic Son, the seven rivers (=the heavenly waters) are released or poured out from the lowest edge or degree of the Kumbha (0° Aquarius), which is simultaneously the highest extent and culmination of the 30 degrees (or days) of the Capricorn mountain and month. [10] Thus it can be seen and said that the seven rivers of the Vedas are released after full passage through the tenth month of the sacrifice, from the top of the Capricorn mountain, “[a]s down the steep slope of a river to the vale” (RV 9.69.7, tr. RTH Griffith). Via this release, at the culmination of ten full months of the Zodiac, the obstruction and stagnation of the waters in the fixed water sign of Scorpio is conquered, and the Vedic sacrificers are carried “beyond affliction”, i.e. beyond the Ignorance that obstructs or occults the eternal law and gnosis of the Ancient Seers.

“Bards [=the Seven Rishis] of approaching Dawn [11] who know the heavens are come with hymns to throw the mountain open. The Sun [=Sūrya, the Son, Agni, Soma Pavamana, Sage, etc.] hath risen and [opened] the stable portals: the doors of men [MANUṣīḥ], too, hath the God thrown open.  

“Sūrya [Agni] hath spread his light as splendour: hither came the Cows' Mother, conscious, from the stable, to streams that flow with biting waves to deserts; and heaven is stablished like a firm-set pillar.  

“This laud hath won the burden [contents] of the mountain. To aid the ancient birth of mighty waters [=the Seven Rivers] the mountain parted, Heaven performed his office.… [12]

“Come, let us carry out, O friends, the purpose wherewith the Mother threw the Cow's stall open, that wherewith Manu [=”the Man”] conquered Visisipra, wherewith the wandering merchant gained heaven's water.  

“Here, urged by hands, loudly hath rung the press-stone wherewith Navagvas [13] through ten months sang praises.…  

“Borne by his Coursers Seven may Sūrya [Agni] visit the field that spreadeth wide for his long journey. Down on the Soma [Amrita] swooped [Agni] the rapid Falcon. Bright was the young Sage moving mid his cattle.

“Sūrya [Agni] hath mounted to the shining ocean when he hath yoked his fair-backed Tawny Horses [Seven Mares=Seven Rivers/Floods]. The wise have drawn him like a ship through water: the floods obedient have descended hither.  

“I lay upon the [Seven] Floods your hymn, lightwinning, wherewith Navagvas their ten months completed. Through this our hymn may we have Gods to guard us: through this our hymn pass safe beyond affliction. – Rig Veda 5.45, excerpts 1-11, tr. RTH Griffith [All emphasis and text in brackets added]

In Part One of this series, I presented a variety of Vedic hymns [14] like this one, which portray some version of Agni’s victorious birth as the Horse-Sage [aka Sūrya above] and his swift movement at the forefront of his seven rivers-mothers, to the Jar, Vat or Kumbha of Aquarius. Below I’m including several more hymns or verses which portray this same zodiacal geometry and story, including one which describes Agni swiftly moving to Aquarius “like an arrow on the bow”. The veiled references to the sign of Aquarius/Kumbha are emphasized via bold text. Veiled symbolic references of the radius or ray of 0° Sagittarius within the 360° Vedic Sacrifice in these hymns include the portrayal of Agni [Soma Pavamana] as “like and arrow on the bow…loosed like a young calf”, the “[golden hued] Immortal”, “the tawny well-beloved One”, “the blissful flame, white in his birth, [red] glowing in his mightiness”, the “Sage” who is “manifest with song”, the “Steed” (=Horse) who “steps forward to the goal.” Veiled references to the vesica(e) pisces are listed after the verses. I want to give readers a chance to identify them on their own first.

“Laid like an arrow on the bow the hymn hath [Agni/Soma Pavamana] been loosed like a young calf to the udder of its dam.… [H]e looses Aditi's Daughters [15] for the worshipper.…[T]he Goddesses [elsewhere named as seven goddesses/rivers] approach [Agni’s/Soma Pavamana’s] own resting-place.  

“Onward hath Soma passed…as ’twere, endued a garment newly washed. The golden-hued, Immortal, newly bathed, puts on a brightly shining vesture that is never harmed. He made the ridge of heaven to be his radiant robe, by [[spreading out the two bowls with the power of heaven]].

“… [T]ogether rush they forth, these swift outpourings [=seven rivers] in long course of holy rites: no form save only Indra shows itself so pure. As down the steep slope of a river to the vale, drawn from the Steer the swift strong draughts have found a way. ….these drops of Soma, to Indra have sped forth like cars to [treasure]. Effused, they pass the cleansing fleece, while, gold-hued, they cast their covering off to pour the rain down.” – Rig Veda, 9.69 excerpts, tr. RTH Griffith [Text in double brackets is translated by Jamison & Brereton with the tense of “spread” changed to “spreading”.]

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“Loud as a river's roaring wave [Agni/Soma Pavamana’s] powers have lifted up themselves: Urge on thine arrow's sharpened point. At thine effusion [pouring] upward rise three voices full of joy, [16] when thou flowest upon the fleecy ridge. On to the fleece they urge with stone the tawny well-beloved One, even Pavamana, dropping meath. Flow with thy current to the sieve [17]…. – Rig Veda 9.50.1-4, tr. RTH Griffith

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“The seven mighty rivers increased [Agni] the blissful flame, white in his birth, ruddy glowing in his mightiness…” – Rig Veda 3.1.4, tr. Sri Aurobindo     

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“There where the mountains downward slope, there by the meeting of the [seven] streams [Agni, the] Sage was manifest with song. Thence, marking, from his lofty place downward he looks upon the sea, And thence with rapid stir he moves. Then, verify, they see the light refulgent of primeval seed, kindled on yonder side of heaven. …To Indra have the Kanvas sung, like waters speeding down a slope….” – Rig Veda 8.6.28-30, 34, excerpts, tr. RTH Griffith

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“The Steed steps forward to the goal. Thus …[Agni, aka Soma Pavamana] turned to the vat that drops with meath.” – Rig Veda 9.36 1-2 excerpts, tr. RTH Griffith

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“O [Agni] Soma, these Seven Rivers flow, as being thine, to give command: The Streams of milk run forth to thee. Flow onward, Soma in a stream, [poured out] to gladden Indra's heart, Bringing imperishable fame. Driving thee in Vivasvān's [the Sun’s] course, the Seven Sisters [Rivers] with their hymns made melody round thee the Sage.…The streams of Pavamana, thine, Sage, Mighty One, have poured them forth…. They [the seven rivers, streams, sisters, virgins etc.] have been poured upon the fleece towards the meath-distilling vat: The holy songs have sounded forth. Like milch-kine coming home, the [seven] drops of Soma juice have reached the lake, have reached the place of sacrifice.” – Rig Veda 9.66.6-12 excerpts, tr. RTH Griffith [All emphasis and text in brackets added.]

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“The heaven's wide vessel is your own on the flood's shore your [the Ashvins’] chariot waits. Drops, with the hymn, have been prepared.… [T]he drops are in the heaven; the wealth is at the waters' place: Where will ye manifest your form? Light came to lighten up the branch, the Sun appeared as it were gold: And with its tongue shone forth the dark. The path of sacrifice was made to travel to the farther goal: The road of heaven was manifest.” – Rig Veda 1.46.8-11 excerpts, tr. RTH Griffith

In these last verses, references to the vesica piscis include “heaven’s wide vessel”, “the flood”, “the drops” of Soma, the Ashwins’ [18] “form” and “chariot”, the “light”, the “path of sacrifice” and the ”road of heaven”. The number of Soma drops that sits at “the flood’s shore” and in “the heaven’s wide vessel” (=0° Aquarius/Kumbha) is not stated in this hymn, but as we have seen, it is precisely seven drop-shaped vesicae pisces that bring us to this much lauded point in the twelve-month sacrifice. Other varied references to the eternal law and form and measure of the vesica piscis (within the 360° Vedic Year) in the verses above include: the “bow”, “hymn”, “udder”, “Aditi's daughters”, “the goddesses”, a “newly washed garment,” a “shining vesture never harmed”, a “ridge of heaven”, a “radiant robe”, the “spreading out of two bowls”, “swift outpourings”, “swift strong draughts”, the “[gold hued] drops of Soma” that speed like cars (through the 360° sacrifice) and “cast off their covering to pour the rain down”, a “river's roaring wave”, Agni’s “powers”, “three voices full of joy”, a "stone, “seven mighty rivers”, “seven streams”, the “light refulgent of primeval seed”, “waters speeding down a slope”, “the vat that drips with meath” (i.e. is full of the seven drops of Soma), a “lake” (=reservoir), “streams of milk”, “seven sisters with their hymns [and melody]”, “holy songs”, and “milch-kine” (=cows). For those who did not catch these references to the measure and form of the vesica piscis the first time I around, I suggest that you reread the above verses with the key and light of their geometric sense in mind.