Re: VMs: Pleiades Occultation Further Date Refinement

[Dennis <tsalagi@xxxxxxxx>]

	In reply to Pam, Elmar, and Jan,

Pamela Richards wrote:

> I'm not sure if your suggestion is entirely serious,
> but for a moment I will consider it for the sake of
> objectivity.

	I am not joking.  Kennedy and Churchill discussed this idea 
at some length, which is why I am bringing it up.     So no, 
it is not Ruggish.  :-)   I myself may have suggested it in 
the past.

> I have had the misfortune of experiencing visual
> migraines; unless this person had entirely atypical
> ones, the pattern is a shimmering (sometimes described
> as "sawtooth") that shifts over the visual field in
> the space of about a half-hour or 45 minutes,
> spreading outward from the one side of the field until
> it eventually clears the field entirely.

	I used to have severe chronic daily headaches.  I now know 
that these were muscle tension headaches, but I also got, 
and occasionally still get, migrainous visual symptoms. 
What you are describing is the scotomata, the blocking of 
the visual field, which I have had too.    However, the very 
first part of the migraine aura is often phosphenes, the 
'stars', similar to those one sees with a blow on the head. 
 I have had these as well, and that is different from what 
you are describing.  The phosphenes are distinct bright 
sparks; some fall slowly, like meteorites.  So, sufferers 
often describe these as stars.

	The visions of Hildegard of Bingen are now widely believed 
to have been inspired by migrainous imagery.  Here is one of 
her images with stars:

http://67.120.246.148/teachers/art_gallery/hildegard/thefallenstars.jpg

	Here is a good collection of her art:

http://www.soultospirit.com/teachers/art_gallery/hildegard/hildegard_art.asp

	and a verbal discussion of her art and its inspiration by 
migraine aura:

http://mahan.wonkwang.ac.kr/link/med/feminism/health/hildega.html

> I don't know how one would determine which "stars"   
> to focus upon in such an image.  Imagine looking at a
> television screen full of "snow".  In a constantly
> shimmering image, with continuous flashes constantly
> shifting to a different part of the field and each
> lasting no longer than a fraction of a second, where's
> the "constellation"?  

	This is just my point.  Most of the star patterns in the 
VMs don't seem to follow any "constellation", they are just 
random collections.  This would suggest that they were 
inspired by something besides real or mythic celestial images.

> Having experienced visual migraines, I do not feel
> this hypothesis offers much in the way of an
> explanation.

	See my remarks below.

Elmar Vogt wrote:

> AIUI, Dennis implies that the items depicted in the VM 
aren't stars in the
> sense of celestial bodies at all, but represent 
"patterns" you see during a fit
> of migraine. (Or when being whacked over the head, or 
when rising quickly from
> a clining position... you get the idea.)

	Yes, I am saying that we might explain the majority of the 
VMs stars in this way.

> In other word, the whole "Pleiades" discussion would be 
completely void.

	No, I think the 'Pleiades' could be an exception.

> I find this an interesting thought, but of course it's 
difficult to reconcile
> with images of the moon etc.

	Not necessarily.  Migraine aura could have been merely part 
of the artist's inspiration.

	I think the important point is that most of the VMs stars 
don't seem to fit known constellations.  This would point to 
some explanation besides celestial images.

	I also think that some other images in the VMs could have 
been inspired by migraine aura.   The circular images, the 
castles, the baths, the rainbow, even the nymphs!  Once 
again, Kennedy and Churchill spoke at length of this.  The 
totality of these might point to migraine aura.

Dennis


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