Across the globe and through the ages, humanity has imbued specific places with spiritual significance, such as mountains where gods dwell, or oracles can be heard, rivers believed to purify the soul, at key times and places, and temples carved into bedrock. But why is one place sacred and not another? While many explanations are cultural, mythological, or historical, there is evidence that solar geometry, the way sunlight interacts with the Earth's surface across seasons and latitudes, may have played a surprisingly important role in selecting the locations of these sacred sites. This article presents findings from research into solar profiles of sacred sites, with a focus on patterns of daylight duration, solar azimuths, and connections to seasonal markers like solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days. Properties of a sacred place's latitude are considered in order to partly explain the reason for their location. These solar patterns may not explain everything about why a site was chosen as sacred, but they offer a striking layer of logic, a kind of astro-geometric magic, underlying the sacred geography of the ancient world.

1. Plato's Three Oracle Centres: Delphi, Dodona, and Ammon

   In the Laws (738C), Plato refers to three great oracle centres: Delphi, Dodona, and Ammon (Siwa Oasis). He advises city founders to respect these sources of divine instruction when establishing, or reforming cities. Plato is specifically speaking in terms of number, and saying that this should apply to the citizens and the size of the city. But perhaps there is more to the idea that number and the divine can and should help shape the founding, or reforming, of a city. It seems that by connecting a city to specific numbers and to the divine, both by following instructions from the oracle and assigning a deity for it, a city is somehow harmonised with a greater mathematical and divine world. Perhaps even this idea extends to the sacred places themselves, even to the oracles. Were the very locations for these places chosen in alignment with ancient wisdom, through the use of number and the association with the divine?

In the passage above, Plato mentions three oracles: two Greek ones, both mountainous, located not far from each other, Dodona and Delphi, and a third, Egyptian one, Ammon, often referred to now as Amun, on the edge of an oasis in the desert. What makes their locations significant?

Oracle of Amun

 The Siwa Oasis in Egypt, is the majestic site of the Oracle of Amun (or Ammon). While it is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, in dynastic times it was dedicated to Amun-Ra, a fusion of the gods Amun, of the wind, and Ra, of the sun. This god was associated with Zeus and Jupiter in Greece. This is the place where Alexander the Great trekked over the desert to get to in order to speak to the oracle personally, who then declared him to be a god.

A quick look at the website www.sunearthtools.com shows that at the summer solstice, a day has exactly 14 hours of daylight, a 7/12 ratio of the full 24-hour day. This is significant because the number 14 is associated with the moon, being half of 28, and Osiris, who was cut into 14 parts. More striking still, the angle of sunrise on the summer solstice is 62.36°, which corresponds to the diagonal of a rectangle with sides of 10 and 5.23606, or 5 and 2.61803, which is Phi². This is a kind of golden rectangle, and has an area of 10 Phi². The Phi ratio (approximately 1.618:1), and Phi² (approximately 2.61803:1) are proportions often regarded as divine or aesthetically ideal. Phi² is associated with the Egyptian royal cubit, as one of its accepted values is Phi² x 2 / 10 metres, the metre itself being an important unit of length in the ancient world. Sometimes Phi² is approximated to 55/21 or 144/55, and there are also several accepted values for an ancient metre, from the modern, to 39.375 and 39.6 inches, giving a range of possible values for the Royal Egyptian cubit, such as 20.61444 inches, 20.6181818 inches, and 20.625 inches. Either way, the importance of Phi squared is clear, which is what this rectangle shows.

It's worth briefly mentioning that this geometry is found on an important date at another important site, Saint Michael's Mount, off the coast of Cornwall, as the diagram below shows:

The Phi connection is a double one at Saint Michael's Mount, as it underlies the angle of the sunrise and sunset azimuths within the geometry of this 10 x Phi² golden rectangle, on a day when daylight and darkness themselves are in Phi ratio. At any given place, darkness and daylight can be in roughly Phi ratio four times a year, twice before the summer solstice, and then twice before the winter solstice, within a certain band of latitudes, beyond which it becomes impossible. If there are either 14 hours and 50 minutes, or 9 hours and 10 minutes of daylight, then daylight and darkness are in Phi ratio, with each other as well as with the 24 hour period. The summer Phi day is when day and night are in Phi ratio, in the summer time, with daylight being 14 hours and 50 minutes. This is significant in that the azimuth of the rising sun at Saint Michael's Mount on this day at the mount points precisely to Stonehenge, Furthermore the sunrise azimuth of the winter Phi day, when there are 9 hours and 10 minutes of daylight, points to the bay from which the Mont Saint-Michel rises, just north of the famous mount. These two Michael mounts are almost exactly equidistant from Stonehenge, and exactly so from the Normanton Down barrows. This illustrates the concept of landscape geometry on a big scale.

To go back to Egypt, it is interesting that the summer solstice sunrise azimuth from the temple of Amun at Siwa leads to just south of the city of Alexandria, and then on to the southern slopes of Mount Hermon.

      Also interesting is that on the 1st of May, a key date of the year, usually described as a cross quarter day between the equinox and solstice, and there are 13 hours and almost 18 minutes of daylight there on that day, just two minutes short of 800 minutes. This 800 minute duration of day is a key theme that is found again and again. Also, at this site, the sunrise and sunset azimuths are 72.1 and 288.09, but a few millennia ago, this would have been 72 and 288 exactly. Because the obliquity of our earth has decreased somewhat. on the 1st May, a cross-quarter day (roughly midway between equinox and solstice), known in north-west Europe as Beltaine or Beltane, daylight at Siwa reaches 13 hours and 18 minutes, just two minutes shy of 800 minutes, a duration that recurs across many sacred sites worldwide on that date. At this time, the sunrise and sunset azimuths are 72.1° and 288.09°, aligning with 1/5th and 4/5th of a 360° circle, suggestive of intentional solar-geometrical alignment. It's possible that this site was chosen as special for this reason at a time in the past when daylight was exactly 800 minutes on May 1st, when the obliquity of the earth was slightly greater.

Dodona

The temple of Dodona, an oracle of Zeus, which may have been dedicated to a mother goddess before that, has an interesting Phi connection. In Dodona, one of the days daylight and darkness are in Phi ratio there is the 4th of June (14h50m of light to 9h10m of darkness), which may be significant in that this date is at the 20/9th point in the year, counting from the winter solstice.

Another possible marker is on the 15th August, a date which is associated with Saint Mary in modern times, but may be of significance in several ancient monuments, and on this day there are 13 hours and 43 seconds of daylight at Dodona. This is very close to a 4/7 division of the 24 hour period. Dividing this 24 hour period by 7 and multiplying by 4 would result in 13 hours 42 minutes and 51 seconds, which is very close.

At Dodona, the winter solstice sun rises and sets at azimuths of approximately 120° and 240°, within 0.25 of a degree, forming a triangle with two equal-length sides from the observer to the horizon, and an internal angle of 120°. This produces a scalene triangle with sides in the ratio 1:1:√3, a geometric unit found within hexagonal symmetry and sacred geometry. It suggests a deliberate embedding of solar cycles into spatial form, where the rising and setting points mirror a sixfold division of the circle. There are also two minutes less than 900 minutes of daylight at summer solstice

Delphi

  The Temple of Apollo at Delphi also has interesting winter solstice sunrise and sunset azimuths, being very close to 120 and 240 degrees, like Dodona. The tables below, from www.sunearthtools.com, show these values. The azimuth of sunrise on the summer solstice is just below 120 degrees, and it may be that because of the mountainous landscape the sun is only visible a few minutes after twilight, which would explain the slightly lower than 120 degree azimuth seen in the table, since as the sun rises it also travels south. Another factor, and this applies to all the sites looked at in this article, is that the angle between the earth's axis and the path it takes around the sun (obliquity) varies somewhat over time, and this has decreased slightly in the last few thousand years. The same thing applies to the summer solstice sunrise azimuth. The summer and winter solstice sunrises and sunsets fitting in with the geometry of a six pointed star provides a possible explanation for the choice of location of this temple.

This geometry is found at Kairouan, in Tunisia. The Great Mosque of Kairouan has a sunrise azimuth of 59.99° and a sunset azimuth of 300.01° at the summer solstice, whereas at Delphi and Dodona the summer solstice connection to a hexagon was a little flimsier (still, within two degrees or so) but the winter solstice sunrises and sunsets there were a good fit for the hexagon. As if to underline this geometry, the sun dial at the mosque is in the shape of a hexagon.

Elsewhere on this latitude, Tehran's Golestan Palace also fits this pattern.

While sunrise and sunset azimuths are symmetrically placed around the north-south axis on any given day, this symmetry doesn't carry over between the winter and summer solstices, due to the tilt of Earth’s axis (obliquity) and the solar declination's asymmetric motion across the year. However, certain ancient sites appear to encode a compelling hexagonal geometry into their orientation. At the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia, the sunrise and sunset azimuths at the summer solstice are almost exactly 60° and 300°, aligning with the angles of a regular hexagon, and the mosque's sundial reinforces this symbolism with its hexagonal shape. Similarly, at Delphi and Dodona, the winter solstice sunrise and sunset azimuths are very close to 120° and 240°, suggesting intentional design based on a six-pointed star geometry. These patterns could explain why such locations were considered sacred, possibly chosen to mirror a cosmic geometry on Earth. It’s important to note that both local topography, such as mountainous horizons delaying visible sunrise, and long-term astronomical changes like the gradual decrease in Earth’s axial tilt (obliquity) can affect observed solar azimuths over centuries, as the image below illustrates:

This makes it challenging to determine the exact epoch of alignment without knowing when a site first became sacred, but the enduring geometric resonance of these orientations suggests a deep, intentional relationship with the movements of the sun. There may also have been changes to the earth we can't be certain of, as the comments by Flinders Petrie, in relation to the orientation of the Giza pyramids, suggest:

The city of Córdoba is to the north of Kairouan, in Spain, but similar to Delphi's latitude (Delphi: 38°28′56″N 22°30′04″E and Córdoba: 37°53′24″N). The historical values for the earth's obliquity show that this summer solstice star would have been just about perfect in the past; obliquity today is 23.44 degrees, decreasing at a rate of 0.013° per century, and the angle of obliquity required would be 23.53°, so about 31 centuries ago a 60 degree sunrise at Córdoba would have worked well. Perhaps Kairouan was seen as an updated marker for a place where the sun rose and set in the points of a six-pointed star at the summer solstice, after Córdoba and other sites no longer possessed this attribute. Kairouan was founded by the Umayyads in the 7th century and Córdoba was chosen as the capital for the last prince of the Umayyads after he fled from Damascus. Christianity and Islam are relatively young religions, and so if some sacred places related to them have indeed been placed in accordance with some sort of solar geometry or day to night ratio in mind, then it is easier to identify than at a much older site, especially if the epoch of that site's first being chosen is unclear.

At Delphi the summer Phi day is the 14th or 15th June. The possible significance of this date is in relation to a 360 day year divided into 8 parts, as explained in the second section.

2.  Sacred Mountains of Greece

Mount Parnassus, upon the slopes of which the temple of Apollo at Delphi is situated, is a significant mountain. It's possible the mountain itself was considered sacred for a long time before the temple was built. Other sacred mountains in Greece are located in the same region, such as Mount Olympus and Mount Othrys.

Mount Parnassus, and the temple of Apollo at Delphi which is located on it, are on a similar latitude to many other important sites, such as Cahokia in the USA, to the island of Pico in the Atlantic, which is strangely not famous for its (admitedly small) pyramids, the city of Córdoba, as we've seen. Also approximately on this latitude are three of the seven churches of Asia: Sardis, Smyrna and Philadelphia, all located in Turkey, and one of the four sacred mountains of Buddhism, Mount Wutai, in China. As a result, all these sites can also be considered in the same light as Mount Parnassus and the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and Dodona. At these places, the winter solstice sunrise and sunset have azimuths which suggest a hexagon.

Also on this latitude are Mount Nemrud in Turkey, famous for the many statues erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century BC, and in Japan, Mount Gassan has an important shrine on top dedicated to Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto (月読命), the Shinto moon god. While it is impossible to be certain what the reason for the location of these sacred sites was, the fact that so many important ancient sites are on roughly the same latitude is intriguing in itself.

Mount Othrys and Mount Olympus

In Greek mythology, Mount Othrys was home to Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans and Titanesses. Their troublesome offspring, which eventually came to be known as the Olympian gods, fought for ten years to topple their reign during the ten-year war, known as the Titanomachy. The children of Cronus and Rhea, who were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, were triumphant, and gained dominion of all of heaven and earth. However, they chose to abandon their birthplace, and the home of their parents, Mount Othrys, in favour of a new place: Mount Olympus, on a similar longitude but further north.

Daylight on the day of the summer solstice is about three minutes short of being in Phi ratio with darkness. Was the summer solstice at Mount Othrys once also a Phi day, when the earth's obliquity was greater? Did this solstice also once have sunrise or solstice azimuths which matched the angles of a hexagon?

Mount Olympus became the home of the gods when the Titans were overthrown from Mount Othrys. Why was the mountain itself changed? Did some ancient property of the place need to be updated? One reason the gods might chose to take up residence on a mountain top is that this is close to the sky, remote, far away from human affairs. But could there also be a reason connected to the way the sun seems to behave as viewed from there? Why fight to take down the old order at Othrys and then when victory is yours, abandon it and settle elsewhere altogether? The victory of the soon to be Olympian gods over the Titans seems to have been about a defeat of an old order, not just a simple power grab. Why move the seat of power? Perhaps the Olympians’ choice to leave Othrys was not just a change in power, but a reflection of an evolving relationship between the sun, the sky, and the sacred landscape.

Today, Mount Othrys (latitude 38.96° N) still exhibits interesting solar alignments. On the summer solstice, the sun rises at approximately 59.05° azimuth, and on the winter solstice, at about 119.45°. These two values lie just under the ideal 60° and 120° angles that form part of a regular hexagon, a key figure in sacred geometry. On the summer solstice, daylight at Othrys lasts about 14 hours 47 minutes, which is almost exactly Phi (1.618):1 when compared to the remaining hours of darkness, a “Phi day.” This harmony is remarkable in itself, but in the past, the match would have been even more precise.

   Around 3000 to 5000 BC, Earth's axial tilt (obliquity) was greater, about 24.0°–24.1°, compared to 23.44° today. This increased tilt pushed the sun’s extreme positions further along the horizon. Using standard astronomical calculations, we can estimate that at summer solstice during this era, the sunrise azimuth at Mount Othrys was about 59.97°, and at winter solstice, 120.03°, a near-perfect hexagonal alignment. Summer daylight, likewise, would have reached about 14 hours 50 minutes, precisely matching the golden ratio with the 24-hour day. These alignments suggest that Mount Othrys, long before its mythical designation, may have held sacred or symbolic significance due to this cosmic geometry.

   But why then did the Olympians, in myth, reject Othrys in favor of Mount Olympus? Olympus, further north at latitude 40.1° N, would not have shown such perfect symmetry in the classical period (circa 1000–200 BC). At that time, with Earth’s obliquity around 23.7°, the summer solstice sunrise at Olympus would have been about 58.4°, and the winter counterpart around 121.6°, close, but deviating more clearly from the hexagon model than Othrys had millennia before. Daylight at summer solstice was about 15 hours, slightly exceeding the Phi point. Perhaps this reflects the Olympians’ more complex and changeable nature: not the idealised cosmic order of the Titans, but the evolution of myth and power as the Earth and its heavens slowly shifted.

   The astronomical alignments do not provide a definitive cause for the mythological shift from Othrys to Olympus, but they do suggest a compelling cosmic backdrop. Othrys belonged to an age when geometry, time, and light were in near-perfect harmony.

  By the classical period (circa 500 BC), when the Olympian gods would have been at their prime, the summer solstice sunrise azimuth at Mount Olympus was approximately 58.3°, a slight increase from today’s value of 57.84°, due to the gradual decrease in Earth’s axial tilt over millennia (obliquity would have been around  in 500 BC). This figure aligns with uncanny precision to the angle of the diagonal in a golden rectangle, a shape whose sides are in the divine proportion, 1 : 1.618, or Phi.

   At Mount Olympus, both solstices appear to trace the diagonals of a golden rectangle laid across the landscape. A golden rectangle, defined by the famous proportion Φ : 1 (where Φ ≈ 1.618), has a diagonal that forms an angle of approximately 58.28° with its base. At the summer solstice today, the Sun rises at an azimuth of about 57.84°, and in the classical period around 500 BC, it would have risen at roughly 58.28°, a near-perfect match. Remarkably, the winter solstice sunrise around 500 BC had an azimuth of about 121.72°, precisely the angle formed by the opposing diagonal of the same golden rectangle (180° − 58.28°). This dual alignment suggests that Olympus may have been seen not only as a lofty home for the gods, but as an astro-geometric marvel, replacing Mount Othrys at a time when the solar geometry there had drifted from such perfection. The double golden diagonal, one for each solstice, may have symbolised balance, eternity, and divine harmony, fitting ideals for the throne of the Olympians.

   The consequence of this alignment is striking: as the solstice sun rose behind Olympus, it ascended along a path that mirrored the golden diagonal, the most elegant line from corner to corner of this perfect form. In symbolic terms, the gods did not merely occupy a mountain; they rose with the light that traced divine proportion itself.

   By contrast, Mount Othrys, while once potent in its own celestial symbolism, may have lost its edge. Around 3000–5000 BC, it offered a Phi-like relationship between daylight and darkness at the solstice, and azimuths close to hexagonal angles (60° and 120°). But over time, the slow mechanics of axial drift eroded this symmetry. By the classical age, the sun’s alignment at Othrys had drifted out of step with sacred geometry.

Thus, Olympus probably didn’t simply replace Othrys in myth, it superseded it in cosmic alignment. The gods, ever attuned to beauty, harmony, and proportion, may have chosen their seat in the sky’s own architecture.

   Such precise solar geometry, inscribed in the landscape by the golden ratio itself, may have been seen not just as coincidence but as a divine presence, a direct thread between heaven and earth. Geometry can be understood not merely as a tool but as a sacred language, revealing the hidden order of the cosmos. That the gods chose to dwell where the sun traced out Φ in light suggests that divinity was understood as harmony, proportion, and eternal balance, the same principles encoded in the golden rectangle, and in the rhythms of the heavens themselves

3. The Life Cycle of Sacred Sites

   
   

Sacred sites may not be static; they can evolve, or expire, in response to changes in the cosmic order they were once built to reflect. As astronomical conditions shift over millennia such as the obliquity of the Earth, precession of the equinoxes, or changes in sunrise/sunset azimuths, the geometric and symbolic alignments that once made a site sacred may begin to lose their precision. If a temple or mountain once mirrored the heavens, for example if it aligned perfectly with a solstice sunrise, or structured around a harmonic ratio of light and shadow, then subtle shifts in those cosmic conditions could gradually erode its potency or spiritual relevance.

This may help explain why some sacred places, like Mount Othrys, were abandoned in favour of others like Mount Olympus. It could also explain the migrations of religious centres (e.g., from Teotihuacan to Tenochtitlán, or Thebes to Amarna) or the layers of rebuilding at sacred sites like Jerusalem, Stonehenge, or Delphi, where new forms of sacred geometry overlaid or replaced the old.

Just as the gods “moved house” to align with new cosmic ideals, priesthoods, builders, and sages may have responded to changes in the heavens by redefining the sacred landscape on Earth. In this way, sacred geometry isn't a fixed map but a living dialogue between sky and ground, one that sometimes requires renewal, relocation, or re-imagining.

The transition from Teotihuacan to Tenochtitlán as the central sacred site of Mesoamerica has long intrigued scholars, especially given Teotihuacan's immense scale, cosmological layout, and apparent spiritual significance. While political, environmental, and cultural factors likely played important roles in the shift, a more subtle and overlooked cause may lie in the sky itself. At Teotihuacan, the solar calendar is deeply encoded in the layout of the Avenue of the Dead, with alignments thought to relate to zenith passages and significant calendar dates. Yet over centuries, small but cumulative changes in Earth’s axial tilt (obliquity) and possibly precessional drift could slightly alter the solar geometry. On the summer solstice, daylight at Teotihuacan is around 799 minutes and 20 seconds, just shy of the neat and symbolically resonant 800-minute threshold, a number that might have held calendrical or cosmological importance for priest-astronomers attuned to natural harmonics.

By contrast, Tenochtitlán, founded centuries later and located further south and slightly closer to sea level, experiences almost exactly 800 minutes of daylight on the summer solstice, a figure striking in its precision and suggestive of intentional astronomical selection. If the ideal of solar balance or calendrical harmony was central to the religious worldview of the Mexica (Aztecs), then even a difference of 30 to 40 seconds might have been symbolically significant. Such reasoning would align with a broader tradition of Mesoamerican sacred architecture and city planning, in which temples, pyramids, and plazas were often calibrated to solar zenith passages, solstices, and Venus cycles. In this view, Tenochtitlán wasn’t just a political capital, it was a recalibrated axis mundi, a renewal of sacred geography in sync with the evolving sky.

The abrupt shift from Thebes to Amarna under Akhenaten around 1346 BCE stands as one of the most radical religious and political reorientations in Egyptian history. Thebes, the seat of power for over a millennium, was the heart of the Amun priesthood, whose complex temple rituals and polytheistic cosmology Akhenaten rejected. In its place, he founded Akhetaten (modern Amarna), dedicated exclusively to the solar deity Aten, the visible sun disc, and instituted a startlingly different, more abstract form of worship. Scholars have often read this change as ideological or political: a deliberate break with Theban tradition and the power of the priesthood. But a deeper cosmological layer may also have played a role.

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If ancient Egyptian astronomer-priests were sensitive to such proportions, as is suggested by their deep engagement with solar cycles and geometry, then, Amarna’s founding may have been driven not just by monotheistic zeal, but by a desire to align the new sacred centre with a unique and fleeting moment of solar-geometric perfection. Thebes, further south, would not have shared this ratio at its founding c. 3200 BCE, potentially reinforcing the case for a calculated astronomical reorientation toward the Aten. One reason for Thebes's position could be that it is at the 2/7th point between the pole and the equator, as as noted by Livio Stecchini in A History of Measures.

The city of Amarna, founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten around 1346 BCE, was referred to, in the boundary stelae, as the “Horizon of Aten”. Aten, the visible sun-disk, was also god.

This dramatic setting of the new site, dominated by cliffs, aligned with Akhenaten’s radical religious reforms, which sought to elevate Aten above all other gods, placing emphasis on direct solar experience over traditional temple ritual. Were there any properties of latitude which may have influenced the choice of location?

The summer solstice sunrise azimuth at Amarna is 62.83°. A rectangle with a width of 1.61803, the golden ratio, and a length of 3.15271, with the diagonal from the bottom left to the top right creating an angle of 62.832°, and the length of the diagonal being 3.54367, almost exactly the number of days in a lunar year divided by 100. The length of 3.15271 can be interpreted in relation to the solar year of 365.242199 days and Mercury's synodic orbital period of 115.88 days (365.242 / 115.88 = 3.151899). Though speculative, this suggests a designed synthesis of solar and lunar harmonics, perhaps as a hidden mathematical tribute to Aten’s dominion over time and light.

The landscape and celestial design appear to replace the older religious symbolism of Thebes, home of Amun, whose cult Akhenaten rejected. If we also consider the length of the summer solstice day at Amarna, around 13 hours 56 minutes, we see it approaches (though doesn’t exactly match) the √3 ratio when compared to a 24-hour day. This ratio has been observed at other ancient sites. While the reasons remain mysterious, the presence of φ, lunar time, the solar year and Mercury's orbit in the geometry created by the summer solstice sunrise azimuth suggest that Amarna’s selection was grounded in an ambitious celestial-theological vision, an architecture of the sky.

At the latitude of Thebes (modern-day Luxor, Egypt), the summer solstice sunrise today occurs at an azimuth of about 63.35°, but during the period around 1000 to 500 BC, when Earth’s axial tilt (obliquity) was slightly higher, approximately 23.74°, the sunrise azimuth would have been almost exactly 63.435°. This figure corresponds precisely to the angle formed by the diagonal of a 1×2 rectangle, a double square, which is a simple but powerful geometric form revered in ancient architecture and symbolism. In this configuration, the long side is twice the short side, and the diagonal forms an angle of 63.435° with the base. This means that, around that epoch, the rising sun at the solstice in Thebes would have traced the diagonal of this archetypal shape across the horizon, effectively linking celestial motion with a fundamental geometric proportion. Such a connection may have reinforced the spiritual and cosmic significance of Thebes as a sacred centre aligned with divine order.

At Göbekli Tepe, the solar azimuths at both the winter and summer solstices today already display a striking near-symmetry around hexagonal geometry. The winter solstice sunrise and sunset occur at approximately 119.24° and 240.76°, while the summer solstice sunrise and sunset align at about 59.29° and 300.7°. These values are within less than a degree of the ideal angles for a six-pointed star or hexagon: 60°, 120°, 240°, and 300°. Due to the gradual change in Earth’s axial tilt (obliquity), the match would have been even closer around 10,000 BC, when the site was in use. At that time, the sun would have risen and set slightly farther north in summer and farther south in winter, nudging the azimuths toward exact hexagonal symmetry. This suggests that the builders of Göbekli Tepe may have intentionally aligned the site with these solstitial solar angles, possibly reflecting an early sacred geometry rooted in celestial observation. Such precision hints at a cosmological worldview where harmony between heaven and earth was inscribed into the very stones of ritual space.

An example of a near perfect hexagonal alignment for sunrise and sunset at the winter solstice is Mount Wutai in China, and another is Delphi in Greece..

Göbekli Tepe, located at latitude 37.2236° N, was constructed and actively used between roughly 9600 and 8000 BC. It is the oldest known large-scale ceremonial complex in the world, predating writing, pottery, and agriculture. Its builders may have incorporated celestial alignments into the architecture. Due to the Earth’s higher axial tilt at the time, which would have been around 24.2°, compared to today’s 23.44°, the observed sun’s path through the sky was slightly more extreme. This affects both the length of daylight and the azimuths (angles from true north) of sunrise and sunset at the solstices.

   At Göbekli Tepe, the solstitial sunrises during the 10th millennium BC exhibit compelling geometric and astronomical correspondences. On the summer solstice in 9600 BC, the sunrise azimuth was approximately 56°48′, according to Stellarium, which closely matches the diagonal angle of a 2x3 rectangle, which produces an angle of 56.31°(which is 56°18'36" - Stellarium uses this notation). This geometric alignment is repeated with slight variation across the period: 56°39′ in 9800 BC, and 56°40′ in 10 000 BC. By 8500 BC with a sunrise azimuth of 57° 15", the geometry provided by the 2x3 rectangle, and the angle of 56.31°(56°18'36") which went with it, were ancient history.

Another remarkable aspect of the solstice at Gobekli Tepe in 10 000 BC, is that the site experienced exactly 15 hours of daylight on the summer solstice (or 900 minutes). This may have been very significant. The slow oscillation of Earth’s axial tilt means that even over the period of Göbekli Tepe’s use, solar azimuths would have shifted. The once perfect 900 minutes of daylight at the summer solstice, then the 3 x 2 rectangle created by the sunrise azimuth of a 3:2 rectangle geometry would no longer match the rising sun on the sacred day. This gradual misalignment may have temporarily eroded the symbolic foundation of the site’s geometry, rendering its cosmic harmony obsolete.

 In this light, the eventual burial of Göbekli Tepe by its own builders might reflect not mere abandonment, but a kind of cosmological closure, a recognition that the geometry that once tied the heavens to this unique hilltop had passed its prime. The world had changed, and with it, the geometry of the sacred location. Perhaps it could even be said that the location was no longer sacred, at least for a period of time, until some new astro-geometic magic made itself known there. Maybe the astronomers were waiting till 6000 BC when the summer solstice day would become a Phi day, that is, daylight and darkness would be in Phi ratio on the longest day of the year.

Around 8000 BC, the Earth passed a celestial threshold, when the maximum of its axial tilt, or obliquity, peaked at about 24.2°. For tens of thousands of years, the tilt had been slowly increasing, influencing the rhythms of sunrise, sunset, and seasonal extremes ever so subtly. But then, like the sun at the summer solstice, that long cosmic ascent paused, and reversed. Just as the sun, in spring and early summer, climbs higher and rises further north each day, then halts at its peak before retracing its path south, the cycle of ever increasing obliquity also stopped and retraced its steps. This turning point is akin to a "Great Solstice" in the 41,000-year obliquity cycle. If the solstices divide the solar year, this moment divides epochs. It’s difficult to know how consciously the people of Göbekli Tepe understood this transition, but they may well have sensed its significance. Their world may well have been perfectly aware of existence within spacetime, the sky unfolding in motion, patterns in time written across the land. And just as seasonal solstices were marked by monuments and rituals, it’s tempting to wonder whether this cosmic solstice of the Earth’s axis, occurring roughly between 9000 and 7000 BC, was felt or even anticipated as the crest of a larger, slower wave. The maximum obliquity (~24.2°) occurred around 7800 BC, and shortly afterward, Göbekli Tepe was abandoned (~8000 BC). This period may have marked a turning point not only in solar geometry but in worldview, a celestial “solstice” in the 41,000-year obliquity cycle, as the slow climb of Earth's axial tilt halted and reversed. It's tempting to imagine that ancient observers, deeply attuned to sky cycles, saw time and space as one unfolding fabric, recognising in cosmic rhythms the same pauses and returns that shaped their rituals and architecture..

In the case of Göbekli Tepe, its abandonment around 8000 BC, just as obliquity began to decline, could reflect more than just cultural or environmental change. It might symbolise the end of a cosmic sequence that had unfolded over generations. Perhaps the builders had tracked solar patterns for centuries, even millennia, and after witnessing the climax of the solar-geometric order they revered, they felt the site’s purpose had been fulfilled. Did the people of the area know that the cycle would continue to take its course? Or did they worry about the cycle having seemingly come to an end?

It’s a speculative but deeply evocative idea: that precession and obliquity were not just abstract celestial mechanics to ancient peoples, but living rhythms, and that they may have seen themselves as caretakers of sacred time-space, waiting for the unfolding, then the reversal, of a divine astronomical story.

4. The Ancient Year

   
   

One of the key dates, which comes up over and over again, is May 1st. This is surprising for two reasons, one being that this date is associated with Beltaine, a festival associated with the north west of Europe, especially Ireland, but also Britain and France. So why would this date be significant far beyond those shores? And the other is that May 1st is famous for being a cross quarter day, because it is roughly midway between the equinox and solstice. But the problem is that it is only roughly midway. What seems to appear in the solar profiles for various sites is an exact association with the 1st May. This goes hand in hand with another observation that may seem surprising at first, that precision is key. Time keeping has been precisely practiced for a very long time. At times, the reason for a sacred location can be linked to a particular number of minutes or hours of daylight at a certain key date, and at others the reason can be associated with a particular ratio of daylight to darkness at a key date.

Obviously there must be many factors for a place to be sacred, not just a property of latitude which is what an analysis of daylight periods would give. Natural features are key also, mountains, rocks, dykes, caves, river bends, and particular lines of longitude, as well as distances from other key sites, as part of a network. In this article I have focused on the analysis of daylight at sacred sites, which are absolutely key. But to understand them you need to think about the year in a particular way, and particularly in terms of the solstices, and the equilux.

The solstices are two key points in the year, to do with the motion of the sun, as seen from earth, and the length of day and night. There are two solstices, one in the winter and one in the summer, and they last for three days. Our calendar has them begin on the 21st of December and the 21st of June. The first day after the solstice, which is the 24th, is associated with change. The sun begins to change its course, as we see it. In the march towards summer, the sun appears to rise on the horizon ever closer to the north, and then the solstice is a time during which this travelling stops. The next day it begins to travel south, until mid-winter the northern hemisphere. There again it pauses for three days, and the following day begins its course back towards the north. In the southern hemisphere this is reversed. At the equinoxes, which are on the 21st or 22nd of March and September, the sun can be seen to rise in the east exactly. But this day when the sun rises due east is not the day when daylight and darkness are in equal ratio. This may seem surprising, but the truth is that if you look closely at the number of hours of daylight at the equinox it will not be exactly half of the 24 hour period. For this, we need to look to the equilux. The reason there is a difference between the equinox, which is technically about the sun's position in relation to the earth's equator, and the equilux, which is about the actual length of day and night, is partly to do with atmospheric refraction. In the northern hemisphere this is on the 17th March in the spring, and the 24th September in the autumn. Again we find an Irish connection: the 17th March is Saint Patrick's day, and this is not a coincidence.

Briefly, we can say two things about Saint Patrick, one is that nobody knows the actual date of his death, which would be the usual contender for a saint's celebration, especially if that saint was martyred, but Patrick was not. The second thing is that Saint Patrick seems to have been remembered within a particular mythical or religious framework. There is no doubt he was a real historical person (or two, according to some), but there are stellar and mythical connections to be found in the way he is portrayed. Saint Patrick is depicted standing, looking straight towards us, often with a group of small snakes at his left foot, holding a staff, and sometimes something else in his other hand such as a book, or a shamrock, and sometimes he is shown with rocks or mountains in the background and water near his right foot. These details allow us to link him to the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, and other divine figures also associated with this constellation. One such figure is Saint Michael, or the Archangel Michael, who is shown facing us directly most often, carrying one or two items, the most important being a spear or sword, and sometimes in his left hand a pair of weighing scales. He is shown standing on a dragon or devil, which has its head near the Archangel's left foot. The dragon, or devil, at Saint Michael's feet, is, like the snakes at Saint Patrick's feet, linked to the constellation Scorpio. The weighing scales are the constellation Libra. Saint Patrick doesn't have the weighing scales, but it is typical of other Ophiuchus linked figures that they carry one or two items. Neither does Saint Patrick have wings, associated with the constellation Serpens, but this is understandable in that he is a man. The mountains or rocks are present in other Ophiuchus derived deities such as Mithras and Attis, born out of rock, and the water represents the Milky Way, which runs at the right foot of Ophiuchus, and this is shown in some religious paintings in the European tradition, before the modern era, depicting either biblical or ancient Roman or Greek figures. In my view, Ophiuchus had a major role to play in the ancient divine world. This is a constellation which has one foot in the Milky Way, at the precise place were the Milky Way meets the ecliptic the path of the sun. So in a sense you could call Ophiuchus a constellation of the zodiac, but it is not one of the official twelve. It plays the role of a major deity presiding over these twelve zodiac constellations, each associated with a deity, and works in tandem with another major constellation, directly opposite in the sky, and which rises when it descends: Orion. Orion has the tip of his right hand reaching up towards the point another point in the sky where the ecliptic meets the Milky Way. The times of the year during which Orion is high in the sky, and then gives way to Ophiuchus for the second half of the year do not align, now, with the seasons in a precise way, but it is possible that once these two constellations, Ophiuchus and Orion, were linked to the two halves of the year as marked out by the solstices, or two other important markers. It is possible that these constellations can be associated with the sun, or with precession, time, the seasons. One figure associated with Ophiuchus is Mithras and he is known as Sol Invictus, which positions him as mightier than even the sun. Others include Jesus Christ and Horus, and they too have solar associations, as well as lunar. It would make sense to link the constellations Ophiuchus and Orion, and the deities they are connected to, to forces of light and darkness, as when one rises, the other descends, and so they are locked in an everlasting struggle for balance, just like the Archangel Michael and the dragon or devil at his feet. As mentioned earlier, however, the forces of darkness are also well represented by the constellation Scorpio.

The reason the connection between Saint Patrick, the Archangel Michael and constellations such as Ophiuchus and Orion is important to make here is that they are all in turn probably linked to the old gods Belenus (or Bel, Belinos) and Lugh, major deities associated with western Europe. Unfortunately there are very few images of these gods. But perhaps we can make a leap of faith and take the solar associations to Belenus and Lugh and link them to Ophiuchus and Orion, tentatively. The Archangel Michael and Saint Patrick were understood, and their images created according to some earlier divine figure, associated with Ophiuchus, and the sun. We can at any rate associate these two Belenus and Lugh with key times of the year in the Irish calendar: Bel with Beltaine, and Lugh with Lughnasa, the 1st of May and the 1st of August, respectively. We can link Saint Patrick, and by extension Ophiuchus deities, more generally, with the 17th March, the equilux in the spring. And we can bear in mind that the sun itself was a divinity in many religions, long ago.

For anyone interested in the motions of the sun as a deity, or closely linked to a divine figure, in the ancient world, the solstices would have been two literally pivotal moments in the year. Of course they are still key for us today, and many parts of the world still celebrate festivals in relation to the winter and summer solstices. The Christian world for example associates the birth of Jesus Christ with the first day after the winter solstice when finally the sun begins to move towards its summer position, and Saint John the Baptist with the first day after the summer solstice, when the sun begins its course to its winterly place. However, also key are the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter. Should these begin at the equinoxes, or equiluxes?

Traditionally, in the old Irish calendar, summer begins at Beltaine on May 1st, and winter begins at Samhain, on November 1st. This is still the case today in Ireland in fact. This coincides with a two part year mentioned by Bede: winter and summer, onto which the pattern of lunations can be overlayed. We've seen that the solstices are key and precise periods in the year, and the equinox and equilux are also very precise and key moments. But the problem with the so called cross quarter days, 1st May, 1st August, 1st November and 1st February, is that they are not exactly midway between the either the equilux or the equinox and the solstices. So what is the reason for these precise dates? The answer lies perhaps in going back to a 360 day year, plus 5 epagomenal days.

The number 360 is a very important one, being 6 x 6 x 10, and it is possible that this was considered reason enough to take a period of 360 days seriously, and then keep the extra five or six days in a solar year separate. This is what happened in many traditions, from Egypt and Ethiopia, to South America, epagomenal days were kept separate, though I am not aware of any mention of this in the ancient Irish calendar. In the Aztec calendar, for example, the xiuhpohualli was a civil and religious calendar of 365 days, divided into 18 months of 20 days each, 360 days in all, plus 5 days called nemontemi. These days were associated with bad luck, as in Egypt, but unlike Egypt, where these days were gathered together, into a single week, it is not known whether the nemontemi were all together in one week or dotted through the year.

It may be the case that this did happen in the old Irish and British calendar, as this would go some way to explaining the dates of Beltaine, Lughnasa, etc. Between the 17th March, the equilux, and 1st May, Beltaine, there are 45 days, and these 45 days multiplied by 8 give 360. Another 45 days beyond 1st May take us to 15th June. 45 days beyond that take us to 30 July, which is two days before Lughnasa, the next 45 day period brings us to 13th September, then to 28th October, which is 4 days before the 1st November. Counting in increments of 45 goes some way in explaining the cross quarter days, but they are still a little off. So it would make sense to skip a few, and consider some of the days in that period as not fully part of the 360 day year. So if we skip 1st May, 15th June, 1st August, 15th September, and count as if they did not exist, we get to 1st November, which is Samhain, the start of winter. Perhaps then there was a system according to which the 1st May, 15th June, 1st August, 15th September, and 1st November were nemontemi days. The 1st February can in fact be counted, as there are 28 days in February, counting the 1st, and then add 17 days to get to the equilux.

Perhaps this could explain the significance of May 1st beyond the traditional Irish calendar, as a particular moment in the year, between the equilux and solstice, and this would be valid for any culture that placed importance in the sun, and daylight, as opposed to darkness. The second point after this May 1st date would be 15th June, and this is a key date at Delphi: the date when day and night are in Phi proportion.

5. The Pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh Mela

The Kumbh Mela is celebrated at four sacred Indian cities: Haridwar, Prayagraj (Allahbad), Ujjain, and Nashik. Each of these cities is located on the banks of a holy river and tied to a mythic moment when drops of the elixir of immortality (amrita) fell to Earth during a divine struggle. This myth, central to Hindu cosmology, involves the churning of the primordial ocean (Samudra Manthan) by gods and demons, and the spilling of the nectar as Garuda, the celestial bird, carried the pot (kumbha) to safety. The four cities are each associated with a different river: Haridwar lies along the Ganges, Prayagraj at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and invisible Saraswati; Ujjain sits by the Shipra, and Nashik by the Godavari.

Do these locations have interesting properties of latitude?

At Haridwar, on May 1st, daylight reaches 799 minutes and 31 seconds, close to the key threshold of 800 minutes (13 hours and 20 minutes), a number that appears repeatedly across global sacred sites. We've already come across this number, with the daylight period at the summer solstice at Tenochtitlán and Teotihuacan, in Mexico. Here, however, the 800 minutes are on the 1st May (to within about 30 seconds). This subtle solar balance may have been more exact in antiquity, when the Earth's axial tilt was slightly greater. Haridwar is on very similar latitude in fact as one of the three oracles mentioned by Plato, which we have just looked at: the Temple of Amun, at the Oasis of Siwa. This is an interesting coincidence, and even if the reason for the importance of the site had no relation to the 800 minutes of daylight on May 1st, there must be some property of latitude that connects them. At the Oasis of Siwa and at Haridwar, the connection to the divine is direct, one being an oracle where the voice of the gods can be heard, the other being a place where drops of a divine substance fell from the sky. Further on, we will see there are many key sites along this particular latitude.

   Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, lies at one of the most spiritually significant confluences in India, the Triveni Sangam, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and the invisible Saraswati rivers are believed to merge. As a focal point for the Kumbh Mela and a historic pilgrimage centre, Prayagraj has long been revered as a site of cosmic alignment, not just in myth and theology, but, intriguingly, in mathematics and astronomy as well.

   At the summer solstice, the sunrise azimuth at Prayagraj is approximately 63.42°, a number that matches with extraordinary precision the angle of elevation (∠A) in a right triangle with sides in the ratio 1:2:√5. This triangle is no ordinary one: it encodes several fundamental mathematical constants. With side a = 2, side b = 1, and hypotenuse c = √5, the triangle not only gives a precise match to the solstice sunrise angle, but also establishes connections to golden ratio mathematics. The triangle's perimeter is approximately 5.236, which is 2 × Φ² (where Φ, the golden ratio, ≈ 1.618). An Egyptian royal cubit is 0.5236 metres long (though there are various accepted measures). Its semiperimeter, 2.618, is Φ². This triangle is also half of a double square, or 1 x 2 rectangle, which is central to ancient geometry, and important in the work of Howard Crowhurst. These are no trivial coincidences, they suggest a deep awareness of harmonics, proportion, and solar cycles, possibly embedded in the site’s original layout or selection.

   Such a triangle links geometric elegance to cosmic time. The angle ∠A = 63.435° is functionally indistinguishable from the current solstitial sunrise azimuth, and that close match would have been even tighter in earlier epochs, when Earth's axial tilt was slightly greater. This triangle also encodes √2 (via its median) and a right-angle structure that fits neatly into canonical Vedic geometry, which often employed ratios of whole numbers and square roots in altar design, temple layout, and cosmological modelling.

   While there is no direct textual evidence that ancient city planners at Prayagraj deliberately encoded this geometry, the coincidence is striking, especially in a culture where astronomical timekeeping, ritual geometry, and sacred landscape were tightly interwoven. Whether discovered through empirical solar observation, intuitive sacred design, or numerical symbolism, this triangle at Prayagraj offers a compelling example of how solar alignments and mathematical harmony may have been guiding principles in site selection. In that sense, Prayagraj is not just a meeting point of rivers, it may be a confluence of solar light, sacred number, and geometric truth.

Although Ujjain today shows no strong astro-geometric resonance, its summer solstice sunrise azimuth of 63.94° hints at a powerful past alignment. Around 3500–4000 BC, this angle would have matched the diagonal of a 2:1 rectangle, a form loaded with geometric symbolism and cosmic harmony. Additionally, Ujjain likely lay near the Tropic of Cancer in ancient times, making it one of the few places in India where the sun stood directly overhead at midsummer. This zenith event, combined with Ujjain’s historical role as the prime meridian of Indian astronomy, suggests that its sanctity may stem not from visible solar geometry today, but from a once-profound alignment between geometry, sun, and sacred space.

Nashik, one of the holiest cities in Maharashtra, India, rests on the banks of the sacred Godavari River. It is a place of profound spiritual importance, hosting one of the four sites of the Kumbh Mela, India’s greatest cyclical pilgrimage. With a history reaching deep into antiquity and a geography that straddles the spiritual and astronomical, Nashik sits quietly at a latitude that may not only connect rivers and rituals, but also the movements of the sun.

At the summer solstice, Nashik experiences precisely 800 minutes of daylight. The clarity and symmetry of this duration make it stand out: 13 hours and 20 minutes of daylight is a beautifully round figure, hinting at a possible ancient appreciation of solar harmonics. While we cannot say definitively whether this number influenced the site's importance, the evenness of 800 minutes, may have held practical or symbolic value.

These solar patterns may have acted as subtle cosmic signatures, reinforcing the mythic significance of the amrita drops by linking each place to a celestial moment of balance.

A few important sites are also on the same latitude as Nashik.

India’s Kailash Temple and the 800-Minute Day

One of these four sites, Nashik, is on the same latitude as some other important sacred sites also in India, the famous megalithic Kailash or Kailashanatha temple, and the nearby Ellora caves. (The latitudes are: Kailash Temple 20°01′26″N, and Nashik 19°59′51.0″N)

 The famous megalithic temple in India Kailash or Kailashanatha temple has 800 minutes and 40 seconds of daylight at the summer solstice. Carved into a cliff face, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its size, architecture, and sculptural treatment. One of the 34 Ellora caves, which are all cut into the rock

Also on roughly the same latitude as Nashik and Kailash Temple is Tula in Mexico. Tula is an important archaeological site, once an important regional centre as it was the capital of the Toltec empire.

This line of 800 minutes of daylight on 1st May sites is intriguing, as it also links Giza, Saqqara, Petra, Persepolis, Kerman, Harappa, Haridwar, a number of mountain temples in Nepal and China, the famous giant Buddha in Leshan, and three sacred Buddhist mountains. It is curious how many of these sites are just under the 800 minutes, as if now suggesting that centuries ago, when the obliquity of the earth was slightly greater, the match may once have been perfect. Many of the sites are around 40 seconds short of 800 minutes, and the ones closest to the east are around 8 to 9 seconds short.

Another key site in India: Barabar Caves

It's interesting to speculate on other key sites, and look at the solar profile on key dates. For example, the Barabar caves have 13 hours of daylight on the 15th August, and 800 minutes of daylight on the 15th May, a Phi point between the equilux and the summer solstice.

 6. Mount Kailash: Cross-Quarter Light

Mount Kailash, a peak sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Bon, has its own solar mysteries. Tibet is not short of mountains, so why is this one so special? On 1st February, a cross-quarter day, it receives 10h 43m 42s of daylight, nearly equal to 24 ÷ √5. On 15th August, daylight is around 13h 16m, just short of the 800-minute threshold. The sunrise azimuth is 72.3°, once again near that sacred fifth of a circle (360° ÷ 5 = 72°).

If we divide the full 24 hour period divided by √5 would give 10 hours 44 minutes of daylight. At Mount Kailash there are 10 hours and 43 minutes and 42 seconds of daylight on 1st February, a cross quarter day.

A rectangle with sides 14 and 26 encodes a remarkable web of mathematical and cosmological relationships. Its diagonal measures approximately 29.53, matching the length of the synodic lunar month in days. The area of the rectangle is exactly 364, the number of days in the fixed solar year found in ancient calendars such as the Book of Enoch and the Dead Sea Scrolls, where the year is structured as 13 months of 28 days. The triangle formed by splitting the rectangle along its diagonal (with sides 14, 26, and 29.53) has an inradius of approximately 5.235, close to 2 times Phi squared (2 × 2.618...), suggesting a harmonic link to the golden ratio. When measured from one of the base angles, the triangle's height is around 12.3266, nearly identical to the average number of lunations in a solar year (12.368), meaning that when this height is multiplied by the diagonal, it yields a solar year-length in days. Additionally, the rectangle’s long side, 26, evokes symbolic significance: in Hebrew gematria, the name YHWH sums to 26, and in Mesoamerican timekeeping, 13 × 20 (a calendar cycle used by the Maya) equals 260, subtly related to 26 × 10. The rectangle’s diagonal angle, 61.699°, also aligns with the summer solstice sunrise azimuth at Mount Kailash, one of the world’s most sacred mountains, 61.76°. Altogether, this simple rectangle appears to function as a hidden cosmogram, uniting lunar, solar, and sacred numerical orders into one elegant geometric form.

7. The Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism in China

In Chinese Buddhism, four mountains are venerated as sacred sites of pilgrimage and spiritual revelation: Mount Wutai, Mount Emei, Mount Jiuhua, and Mount Putuo. Each is associated with a particular Bodhisattva and considered a place where divine presence is especially accessible. Mount Wutai, in Shanxi province, is linked to Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom; Mount Emei, in Sichuan, to Samantabhadra, the Bodhisattva of practice and meditation; Mount Jiuhua, in Anhui, to Kṣitigarbha, the protector of the dead; and Mount Putuo, an island off the Zhejiang coast, to Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of compassion. These mountains have been pilgrimage destinations for centuries, known not only for their temples and natural beauty but also for the profound spiritual experiences reported by those who visit.

From a solar-geographical perspective, three of the four sacred mountains, Emei, Putuo, and Jiuhua, are on similar latitudes, and share a curious commonality: on May 1st, they each receive close to 800 minutes of daylight (13 hours and 20 minutes). These three mountains are also part of an intriguing much longer line of sacred sites. This string of sites with 800 minutes of daylight on 1st May also links the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, Petra, Persepolis, Kerman, Harappa, Haridwar, a number of mountain temples in Nepal and China, and the famous giant Buddha in Leshan.

At Mounts Emei, Jiuhua and Putuo, on May 1st, the daylight length is within mere seconds of this 800 minute threshold. This raises the possibility that their sacred status owes something to this cosmologically significant latitude.

The fourth sacred mountain, Wutai, diverges from this pattern in latitude, but has other astronomical features, such as the sunrise azimuth at the winter solstice, possibly tying its sacred status to solstitial phenomena rather than solar duration. Mount Wutai is significantly further north, and its sunrise azimuth at winter solstice (120.04°) and sunset (239.96°) may point toward symbolic geometric values, as the sun rises in one corner of a great equilateral triangle and sets in the other, the third angle pointing north. Also daylight on the 1st May at Wutai is in ratio with the 24 hour day close to √3, the square root of three (13 hours 50 minutes and 41 seconds). This ratio also belongs to an equilateral triangle, as it is the ratio between the height and one half of a side. Mount Wutai is on a similar latitude to Cahokia, Pico Island, the temple of Apollo at Delphi on Mount Parnasus, Sardis, Smyrna, and Philadelphia, as mentioned above.

Together, these four sacred mountains, Mount Wutai, Mount Emei, Mount Jiuhua, and Mount Putuo, are subtly written in light.

The fourth, Mount Wutai is on a latitude very similar to the temple at Delphi in Greece, and the other sites mentioned above on that latitude. This mountain is full of sacred monasteries and temples. On the winter solstice, sunrise is at azimuth 120.02° and on the summer solstice 58.4°. So while the winter solstice is an almost perfect 120° and 240° for the sunset, the summer solstice is less precisely aligned to the angles in a 6 pointed star, or hexagon. To compare, the azimuth of sunrise on the winter solstice at Delphi is 119.77° and sunrise 58.69°, values which are very close to those at Mount Wutai.

Another thought-provoking value that appears at this latitude is the daylight ratio to the full 24 hour period. At Mount Wutai, on the 1st May, there are 13 hours 50 minutes and 41 seconds of daylight. This means a 24 hour period divided by this period is close to √3.

A daylight period which is exactly in √3 ratio to the full 24 hour period would be 13 hours 51 minutes and 23 seconds. This is about 32 seconds more than the daylight period currently at Mount Wutai. At Delphi on the 1st May, by comparison, daylight is just a little too short by about a minute and a half to make such a ratio work.

Cahokia shares a similar solar profile.

8. Some other sacred sites across the world: Mount Sinai, Mount Hermon, Timbuctu, Paris, Hill of Tara, London, Skellig Michael, Machu Pichu, Easter Island

Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine's Monastery

Saint Catherine's Monastery sits at the foot of what is traditionally believed to be Mount Horeb in the Sinai Peninsula, one of several locations associated with the biblical Mount Sinai. According to tradition, this may be the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments. On the summer solstice, this area receives approximately 13 hours, 57 minutes, and 50 seconds of daylight. This proximity to 14 hours of daylight raises intriguing questions: was the solstitial day closer to a round 14 hours during the 2nd millennium BC, when the events of Exodus are believed to have occurred?

 During the 2nd millennium BC, particularly around 1500–1200 BC, the Earth's axial tilt was slightly greater than it is today, approximately 24.0° to 24.1° compared to the current 23.44°. This increased tilt would have caused slightly longer summer days (and shorter winter ones).

In the Late Bronze Age, the period associated with the Exodus narrative, a higher obliquity would have increased summer solstice daylight slightly.

Around 1500 BCE, this region would have had close to or just over 14 hours of daylight on the summer solstice. In the ancient world, 14 hours of daylight could have been interpreted numerically or cosmologically: 14 is twice 7, a number of completeness and covenant in biblical tradition. This may have marked the mountain as an axis mundi or divine contact point, fitting the story of a revelation from God.

Mount Hermon

On the summer solstice Mount Hermon, a mythologically important mountain shared by Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, experiences 14 hours and 23 minutes of daylight, or precisely 3/5 of a 24-hour day (864 minutes). This fraction could have held symbolic weight for ancient observers.

Timbuctu

One way in which a site can distinguish itself is in a comparison between the winter and summer solstices. This is particularly striking at Timbuktu in Mali, where the difference between daylight periods at the summer and winter solstices is exactly two hours, or 7 200 seconds.

Paris: Saint-Denis and Montmartre

  The Basilica of Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, holds a profound place in both Christian mythology and sacred architecture. It is not only the traditional burial place of French kings, but also the site associated with the miraculous legend of Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris. According to medieval accounts, Denis was executed on Montmartre, which means the “mount of martyrs”, during Roman persecution in the 3rd century. After his decapitation, he is said to have picked up his severed head, walked several miles north, preaching a sermon the entire way, and finally collapsed at the spot where the basilica now stands. This astonishing myth links Montmartre to Saint-Denis in both geography and spiritual narrative, forming a symbolic axis of death and rebirth, sacrifice and sanctification.

   From an astronomical and geometrical perspective, this axis is mirrored by the winter solstice sun. At both Montmartre and Saint-Denis (only a few kilometres apart), and for Paris generally, the sunrise and sunset azimuths on the winter solstice occur at roughly 126° and 234°, forming a solar arc of exactly 108°. This number is deeply resonant: 108° is the internal angle of a regular pentagon, tying it to fivefold symmetry, the golden ratio, and the planet Venus, which traces a pentagram-like figure in the sky over an 8-year synodic cycle. In many spiritual traditions, from Hinduism and Buddhism to early Christian mysticism, 108 is a number of completion, spiritual alignment, and celestial harmony. The winter solstice sunrise and sunset align with the corners of a pentagon, which has Phi properties. Unlike other ancient or sacred sites, where changing solar alignments across millennia might prompt relocation (as perhaps at Thebes or Teotihuacan), here the geometry remains unchanged. Montmartre and Saint-Denis share nearly identical solar profiles, so the headless saint's walk northward was not driven by a solar update. Rather, it suggests that the act of movement itself, the journey from Montmartre to Saint-Denis, may have been the point. The walking saint, bearing his own head, becomes a living axis, dramatising the sun's low arc in the sky during winter. His path replicates the sun’s journey toward rebirth, as the days begin to lengthen. Saint Denis’ strange locomotion may thus encode a myth of solar resurrection, inscribed on the landscape through memory, legend, and stone.

   At the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the geometry of 108° may have further encoded a sacred harmony into the bones of the cathedral itself. Designed by Abbot Suger in the 12th century as the prototype of Gothic architecture, Saint-Denis was more than a church, it was a cosmic temple, meant to reflect divine light and order. The sun’s winter solstice path, matched to the holy number 108, may have been intentionally aligned to express both astronomical truth and theological beauty. In this sense, the basilica doesn’t simply mark the endpoint of a saint’s journey, it becomes a solar sanctuary, where myth, martyrdom, and mathematics converge.

Hill of Tara and the Boyne Valley Monuments

The Hill of Tara, located in County Meath, Ireland, is a site of great ceremonial and political significance dating back to the Neolithic and early Bronze Age periods. It was considered the seat of the High Kings of Ireland and served as a ritual centre for centuries. Closely linked to Ireland’s mythological and cosmological traditions, Tara is part of a broader sacred landscape that includes the great megalithic tombs of the Boyne Valley, such as Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth.

While Newgrange is famously aligned with the sunrise on the winter solstice, the general area is full or megalithic monuments and important ancient sites such as the Hill of Tara, the Hill of Slane, there may have been several key times of the year when this area was lit up by the magic of astro-geometry. Tara may encode a different seasonal moment: the spring cross-quarter day, falling around February 1st, associated with the ancient festival of Imbolc and later with Saint Brigid’s Day. On this date, the Hill of Tara experiences 11 hours and 57 seconds of daylight, suggesting a threshold moment where winter is beginning to yield to the first signs of spring. This is a nice modern-day coincidence, but what about in the neolithic?

At the Hill of Tara, modern solstice sunrise azimuths no longer align with simple geometric values, but if we look back to the Neolithic period, a different picture emerges. Around 5000 BC, according to Stellarium, sunrise at the summer azimuth would have been very close to 45 degrees. The winter solstice counterpart was 131.55°, which does not fit with a square-based solar geometry. However in 10 500 BC the sunrise azimuth for the winter solstice would have matched the angle of a diagonal of a square, with an azimuth of 135 degrees. This suggests that in 10 000 BC and then again in 5000 BC, Tara may have been sacred not only for its elevated ridge and visibility but for how it captured the sun's journey with mathematical precision, anchoring its cosmic role in a perfectly squared world. These changes can be seen on Stellarium.

The alignment of monuments and ceremonial timing to such transitional days shows the sophistication of early Irish societies in tracking solar time. Tara’s high vantage point and its commanding views over the surrounding plains would have made it an ideal place for marking these celestial rhythms, reinforcing its role as both a spiritual and temporal centre.

London

   At the latitude of London, the azimuth of the summer solstice sunrise (approximately 48.89°) nearly coincides with a geometric angle formed by drawing a line from the centre of a circle to the upper right point of a hexagram, two interlocking equilateral triangles inscribed in that circle. This geometric line forms an angle of 49.107° from due north. The sun reaches this geometric azimuth just one minute after it rises.

   Conversely, the winter solstice sunrise azimuth at London is approximately 128.38°, while the corresponding geometric line from the hexagram gives 130.893°. The sun reaches this azimuth 14 minutes after sunrise, suggesting a looser but still potentially significant alignment.

   The summer solstice line fits a geometry with two equilateral triangles, neither alone provides the correct angles. The winter solstice line fits less precisely but is quite close. Alternatively, the sunrise and sunset lines for the solstices can be thought of as the diagonals of a 2 x √3 rectangle, suggesting a geometric reason for the significance of this latitude, with the solar extremes of the year functioning as a kind of cosmographic framework.

Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael, or Sceilg Mhichíl in Irish, is a dramatic rocky island off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. Rising sharply from the Atlantic Ocean, it is home to a remarkably well-preserved early medieval monastic settlement, and has long been dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been a sacred sanctuary for centuries, its isolated and elevated position reinforcing its spiritual symbolism.

One intriguing astronomical feature of Skellig Michael is that at the summer solstice, the island receives just over 1000 minutes of daylight, round and resonant number in the context of solar geometry. But perhaps even more remarkable is the alignment that occurs on Michaelmas, the feast day of Saint Michael (29th September). On that date, the sunrise azimuth from Skellig Michael points directly toward Stonehenge in Britain. This suggests not only a deliberate positioning in relation to the heavens, but also a terrestrial link between two major sacred sites associated with cosmic and calendrical significance.

This pattern, where sunrise or sunset on a key liturgical or solar date aligns with another sacred site, is not unique to Skellig Michael. At Saint Michael’s Mount, off the coast of Cornwall and also dedicated to the archangel, the sunrise on May 15th, which is the Phi point between the equilux (around March 17th) and the summer solstice, aligns with Avebury, kicking off the famous Michael alignment which runs through England from Cornwall to Norfolk (See here). Such inter-site alignments reinforce the idea of a consciously networked sacred landscape, structured through solar geometry and a shared spiritual cosmology.

Machu Pichu

    Located near the equator, Machu Picchu experiences relatively stable daylight year-round. On May 1st, it receives just under 700 minutes of daylight. The difference between summer and winter solstice daylight is limited: about 774 minutes in summer and 681 minutes in winter. This makes Machu Picchu unsuitable for Phi days or 800-minute light days. However, its cross-quarter day on February 1st reveals a compelling symmetry: the sunrise azimuth is 107.64°, close to 108°, which is exactly one-third of a circle (360°), indicating intentional alignment.

On the first of May at Machu Pichu, daylight time is just over two minutes short of being 700 minutes.

   At Machu Pichu, the summer solstice sunrise occurs at an azimuth of 66.19°, which precisely matches the angle of the diagonal in a rectangle with sides in the proportion 6:√7. The winter solstice azimuth at sunrise is 114.2 degrees, within 0.4 degrees of the diagonal of this rectangle.. Whether symbolic, practical, or both, this rectangle suggests a deep connection between terrestrial geometry and celestial motion in Inca sacred design.

Easter Island

Amid the many wonders of sacred geometry encoded in ancient sites, Easter Island , or Rapa Nui, stands as a compelling outlier, not only because of its remote location in the southern hemisphere, but also because of the geometrical and astronomical harmony that seems to govern its orientation. On the summer solstice (around December 21st in the southern hemisphere), Easter Island experiences 13 hours, 51 minutes, and 20 seconds of daylight. This number is geometrically significant. A full day has 24 hours. If you divide 24 by √3 (the square root of 3), you get 13.8564 hours, or 13 hours, 51 minutes, and 23 seconds. The island's solstice daylight is almost an exact match. The square root of 3 (√3 ≈ 1.732) is a fundamental constant in geometry, particularly in the structure of equilateral triangles, hexagons, and systems derived from circles inscribed in squares and vice versa. In ancient architecture and sacred geometry, √3 appears regularly in temple proportions, pyramidal angles, and mandalas, often representing dynamic equilibrium, the meeting of stability (square) and fluidity (circle). This 1:√3 ratio may therefore represent more than coincidence. It could suggest that solar behaviour, specifically, the relationship between daylight and the full 24-hour cycle, was understood, tracked, and possibly even encoded intentionally at this remote site. If so, Easter Island would be a southern-hemisphere counterpart to the many northern sites where sacred architecture reflects geometries like √2, √5, and the golden ratio (φ) in solar azimuths and daylight proportions. The island is closely associated with sun cults and seasonal rituals, including the Tangata Manu (birdman) ceremony, which was tied to astronomical timing. Though much of its indigenous religious structure is lost or fragmented, what remains suggests a worldview attuned to cyclical time, celestial observation, and balance, the very themes found encoded in its solar geometry. In a world seen through the lens of light and darkness, ratio and rhythm, Easter Island may represent a southern beacon in an ancient global matrix. A site placed, or interpreted, according to universal principles, shared across continents and millennia: the turning of the sun, the balance of day and night, the silent grammar of √3 and the cosmos itself.

9. Stonehenge and Crucuno, and the study of astro-geometry

The previous article looked at some latitudinal properties of Stonehenge and Crucuno, briefly summarised below, and drew on the findings of researchers in astro-geometry. The study of astro-geometry began to take shape in the latter half of the 20th century, building on broader inquiries into megalithic science. Gerald Hawkins, whose pioneering work in the 1960s brought widespread attention to the astronomical alignments at Stonehenge. In his book Stonehenge Decoded, Hawkins used computer simulations to demonstrate that the monument could function as a sophisticated solar and lunar observatory. His controversial yet groundbreaking theory helped establish the legitimacy of archaeoastronomy as a field and opened the door for later researchers, like Alexander Thom, the Heath brothers, and Howard Crowhurst, to explore the deeper geometric and astronomical significance of megalithic sites across Europe. Alexander Thom laid much of the foundational groundwork through his precise surveys of megalithic monuments across Britain and France, including Carnac. He proposed that ancient builders used a standard unit of measure, the megalithic yard, and that their constructions embodied sophisticated geometrical and astronomical principles. However, the specific identification of the Crucuno rectangle, with its clear orientation to the solstitial and equinoctial sunrises and sunsets, is largely credited to Robin Heath and his brother Richard Heath. They demonstrated how the Crucuno rectangle, with its 3:4 proportions and 5:12:13 Pythagorean triangle alignments, encodes solar cycles with surprising accuracy. Their work linked geometry to timekeeping and suggested that megalithic geometry was a form of calendrical science.

In more recent years, Howard Crowhurst, based in Brittany, has brought further attention to the deep mathematical and astronomical precision of sites like Crucuno and the broader Carnac region. Crowhurst is best known for his work on double and triple square geometry, showing how multiple interlocking geometric patterns, sometimes using √2 and √3 diagonals, appear to have been consciously embedded into the layout of the stones. He has argued that Carnac's megalithic builders possessed a profound understanding of geometry, rhythm, and cosmic cycles, far exceeding what conventional archaeology has typically allowed for. The work of Quentin Leplat on megalithic astro-geometry has also been exceptional. Together, the contributions of the Heath brothers and Crowhurst have expanded our understanding of how solar and lunar movements, expressed through geometry, were materially inscribed into one of the world's most extensive megalithic landscapes. It is based on and inspired by the work of these researchers that this article was written.

The 1st May at Stonehenge is a Phi day, meaning day and night are in Phi ratio on this important date. The station stone rectangle diagonal reflects the azimuth of sunrise on May 1st, while its widths reflect the azimuths of sunrise at the solstices, and its length, the summer moonrise when low, as per the work of Gerald Hawkins.

This is about comparing sunrise and sunset azimuths at key times of the year.

 At Carnac in Brittany, France, the Crucuno rectangle, based on a 3 × 4 grid, beautifully aligns with key solar events. This configuration forms a 3:4:5 triangle, whose diagonal angles (notably 53.13°) closely match the summer solstice sunrise azimuth, which was around 52°–52.7° between 5000 BC and the present. Similarly, winter solstice sunrises and sunsets align with the longer sides of the rectangle, with values hovering around 125°–126°. Though slight discrepancies exist due to the sun’s elevation at observed moments (and landscape effects), the architectural geometry mirrors the solar arc. The rectangle’s orientation, aligned to the cardinal axes, suggests a deliberate and precise integration of solar astronomy into Neolithic design, with the rectangle serving as a geometrical reflection of the solar calendar embedded in stone. (See Richard Heath & Robin Heath, “The Origins of Megalithic Astronomy as found at Le Manio”, https://www.academia.edu/5384545/The_Origins_of_Megalithic_Astronomy_as_found_at_Le_Manio4)

11. The 800-Minute Daylight Line: A Latitude of Light

This article began at the Temple of Amun in the Siwa Oasis, Egypt, one of the ancient oracles mentioned by Plato. From that starting point, a remarkable pattern emerged. Siwa, along with many other ancient sacred sites across Asia and the Middle East, shares a common solar characteristic: on or around the 1st of May, each location receives almost exactly 800 minutes of daylight. This is a strikingly specific threshold, and one that is repeated across dozens of significant locations.

Among the sites on or very near this 800-minute line are some of the most iconic and spiritually revered places in the ancient world. These include:

• The Pyramids of Giza and the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt

• Petra, Jordan

• Persepolis and the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Iran

• Harappa, Pakistan

• Haridwar, Kailashanatha Temple and the Ellora Caves, and Nashik, India

• Mounts Emei, Putuo, and Jiuhua, three of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism

• Tsurphu, Drepung, Sera, Ganden, and Samye Monasteries in Tibet

• The Giant Buddha at Leshan, and nearby temples such as Baoguo, Fuhu, and Wuyou

• Mount Lu, Mount Wuyou, and other sacred peaks in Sichuan and Jiangxi

• Fengdu Ghost Town, Baodingshan, Tazi Mountain Pagodas, and temples in Emeishan City, China

• Puji Temple on Mount Putuo, enshrining Guanyin, the goddess of mercy

These places span a vast arc from the western deserts of Egypt to the eastern peaks of China, forming a luminous ribbon of sanctity. Many are located just slightly under the 800-minute mark today, often by 30 to 40 seconds, suggesting that when Earth's axial tilt (obliquity) was slightly greater in antiquity, the match may have been perfect. The precision and repetition of this solar alignment raise the possibility that these sites were deliberately chosen or revered for their cosmological timing, perhaps recognising a connection between the Earth’s position, the rhythm of the sun, and spiritual significance.

What’s even more striking is how many of these places are mountain sanctuaries, rocky, elevated places of worship, suggesting a common ancient impulse to link the heavens with sacred earth, and possibly a shared metaphysical worldview rooted in solar cycles. This is reflected in another line across France and Italy.

12. A Michael and Mary line across France and Italy

    
    

One remarkable example of this ancient solar-geometrical language can be found along a Saint Michael line, a collection of sacred sites running across southern France, northern Italy, and onto Romania. These places include ancient cave shrines, some medieval chapels, some rocks and even a mountain peak, many of which are dedicated either to the Archangel Michael or to Saint Mary. Many of these sites share themes: they are elevated, often volcanic or mountainous, and frequently associated with caves, bulls, or divine encounters. Whether built in the Christian era or millennia earlier, the geometry remains. If we take the day of equal day and night (which at this latitude falls around 17 March, not the equinox) and calculate the golden ratio (Phi ≈ 1.618) point between that and the summer solstice on 21 June, we land on 15 May. At this precise latitude, something incredible happens: the Phi point between the spring equilux and the summer soltice also has a Phi ratio of daylight to darkness. It is a double Phi Day,. To divide a 24-hour day by the golden ratio:

24 hours / 1.618 ≈ 14 hours 49 minutes 58 seconds of daylight

leaving 9 hours 10 minutes 2 seconds of night

The sacred sites along this latitude include:

Le Puy-en-Velay

Sacra di San Michele

Sacro Monte di Crea

Saint-Michel Basilica, Bordeaux

Lascaux Caves

Font-de-Gaume

Rocamadour (Chapelle Saint-Michel)

At Bruniquel Cave, in southern France, which is home to the oldest known human-made structures, dated to over 176,000 years ago, the sunrise and sunset azimuths on the winter Phi day are 120.1° and 239.99° respectively. These match one-third and two-thirds of a full 360° circle, in today's epoch.

A similar interplay of solar geometry and sacred geography can be observed elsewhere. On 15 August (another key calendrical date in the Christian liturgical calendar, the Feast of the Assumption), places like Moissac, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Avignon, and Bruniquel Castle all experience approximately 14 hours of daylight, linking the prehistoric cave below to the medieval Christian abbeys above. This layered continuity between prehistoric caves, Roman sanctuaries, and medieval basilicas, suggests an unbroken chain of cosmological symbolism. Whether consciously maintained or unconsciously echoed, these places seem to obey a shared, ancient template.

These patterns suggest that ancient builders may have understood not only the sky, but the Earth’s geography, in ways that encoded meaning and myth into the very placement of temples, mountains, and monuments. This ties in with the conclusion most students of ancient metrology come to: the earth was accurately measured and surveyed in the Neolithic.

This raises a question: why are some sacred sites clustered along a latitude that resonates with a specific solar pattern, such as the May 1st 800-minute line, while others appear alone, isolated on a particular latitude, aligned with key moments in the solar year.

The recurrence of these alignments, in time, space, and sacred narrative, offers a profound reminder that ancient civilisations may have viewed space-time as a single living continuum, one where cycles of light and shadow guided where, when, and why the sacred was built

Basilique Saint-Michel, Bordeaux

14th May:14 h 49 mins 36 secs (2023 value)

(An ideal Phi day would have 14 hours 49 mins 58.27 secs)

Eglise Notre-Dame-de-la-Roque-Gageac

14th May: 14 hours 49 mins 32 secs (2023)

Grotte de Rouffignac

15 May: 14 hours 50 minutes 39 seconds (2023)

Lascaux Caves

15th May: 14 hours, 50 mins 55 secs (2023 value)

Grotte de Font-de-Gaume

15th May: 14 hours, 50 mins 12 secs (2023 value)

Chapelle Saint-Michel, Rocamadour

Le Puy-en-Velay

Pic Saint-Michel (Vercors)

Sacra di San Michele, Piedmont

Sacro Monte di Crea, Piedmont

Basilica di San Michele, Pavia

15th May: 14 hours 51 mins 40 secs

Castillo Estense or Castillo San Michele, Ferrara

15th May: 14 hours 49 mins 34 secs

    Beyond the Adriatic, more sites appear with similar characteristics.

Băile Herculane, Romania

These two tables show that on a day when darkness and light are in Phi ratio, the sun rose at 120.1 degrees and set at 239.99 degrees, which can be rounded to 120 and 240, a division of a circle into three parts.

Bruniquel Cave, earliest human-made structures known, Wikimedia Commons

Bruniquel Castle

There are many such alignments along lines of latitude around the world. This next one has been included because Easter Island was. A square root of three ratio might seem fanciful, especially when it is an island in the middle of the ocean, with no other nearby islands beside it. But in the northern hemisphere there is a whole line of sites which have daylight hours in √3 ratio with the 24 hour day.

Below are some images of temples and other sites listed above that lie on the 24/√3 hours of daylight on summer solstice latitude. They are the northern hemisphere counterparts to Easter Island.

Mohenjo Daro,13:52:05 hours of sunlight 21 June (every year of our epoch)

 Yogi Bharthari Nath Temple, www.sunearthtools.com: 13:52:25

Yogi Bharthari Nath Temple, Alwar, www.sunearthtools.com, 21/06/2022, 13:51:02 hours of daylight, summer solstice.

 Taj Mahal

21/06/2022:13:51:25 hours of daylight

Sankassa: 13:52:09 hours of daylight, summer solstice

Shravasti, 13:52:57 hours of daylight, Summer solstice

Lumbini:13:52:50 hours of daylight at summer solstice.

Paro Taktsang, 13:52:52 hours of daylight on summer solstice.

Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang 13:52:36 hours of daylight summer solstice

Rinpung Dzong 13:52:52 hours of daylight summer solstice

Tashichho Dzong, 13:52:52 hours of daylight summer solstice.

Dechen Phodrang Monastery hours of daylight at summer solstice

Simtokha Dzong 13:52:37 hours of daylight summer solstice

Dochula Pass:13:53:06 hours of daylight at summer solstice.

Gangteng / Gantey Monastery 13:52:55 hours of daylight at summer solstice

Trongsa Dzong, 13:52:54 hours of daylight at summer solstice

Wangdue Phodrang: 13:53:06 hours of daylight at the summer solstice

Lhuentse Dzong 13:53:41 hours of daylight at summer solstice

Tawang Monastery, 13:53:18 hours of daylight at summer solstice.

Namsai, 13:53:54 hours of daylight at summer solstice.

Asyut: 13:51:24 hours of daylight for the 21st June.

14. Darkness and Light

 At the heart of nearly every religious or spiritual tradition lies a simple, yet profound duality: light and darkness. Not merely opposites, but principles, active, symbolic forces shaping existence, morality, and cosmology. From the mythic origins of the cosmos to the structure of sacred sites, this duality has quietly underpinned our understanding of the world. This is a central element of the ancient Persian cosmology, for example, according to which the universe is cast as a battleground between Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd), the god of light, and Ahriman, the spirit of darkness. Unlike the apocalyptic tone of later religions, the Persian system offers a metaphysical optimism: even Hell is not eternal. Eventually, when all beings have chosen the path of light, darkness itself will be transformed. The struggle is not endless, it is purifying. This symbolic battle survives in many forms. In Christianity, the light of God dispels the darkness of sin. In Hinduism, divine radiance (Tejas) is associated with truth and liberation, while shadow is often aligned with illusion (Maya). In Buddhism, enlightenment itself is the escape from darkness. Daoism, also, embraces balance rather than conflict, recognises light (yang) and dark (yin) as fundamental, generative forces.

   How old is this system, with its symbolic architecture of light and darkness? The answer may lie partly in the ancient texts, partly also in the ancient stones, but also, crucially, in the locations of the ancient sacred sites themselves. All around the world, from Giza and Petra to Leshan and Harappa, there are sacred sites that seem to obey an almost forgotten logic, a geometry of sunlight. Their placements are often tied to solstice sunrises, cross-quarter day lengths, or to precise alignments with solar azimuths and diurnal ratios. They echo a systematic awareness of the Earth as a timepiece: its tilt, its spin, its position in the sky, encoded in temples, tombs, and mountain sanctuaries. In texts like the Book of Enoch, we can get a glimpse of this worldview explicitly. Days are divided into portions of light and dark, with ratios like 8 parts day to 10 parts night, forming an intuitive solar calendar based on direct observation. The heavens are described as having "windows" and "gates", through which the sun enters and exits, a poetic description of azimuthal bands, not unlike those still used today in archaeoastronomy. The system in the Book of Enoch is fundamentally about measure, proportion, and balance.

This ancient belief may well predate writing itself. Sites like Göbekli Tepe, and Stonehenge show clear evidence of solar alignment from epochs no written texts have survived, if they ever existed. If this symbolic system of light and darkness did once exist as a global or semi-global spiritual framework, then it must be over 10 000 years old.

   And perhaps that’s why its echoes survive today, though not as a forgotten religion exactly, but as a substrate, a resonance, undergirding all major religious traditions. The idea that moral and cosmological truth is found in light, and that darkness is either ignorance, opposition, or simply the canvas on which light is seen most clearly. From this perspective, the temples and sacred mountains aligned to the sun's behaviour are not merely architectural feats, they are statements of metaphysical truth. Geography, geometry, and astronomy are not just tools for marking time; they are part of a spiritual grammar, spelling out a long-lost understanding of space, time, and the human place within them.

Conclusion: A Forgotten Global System of Light, Latitude, and Sacred Measure

From the snowcapped monasteries of Bhutan to the high plateaux of Peru, from the prehistoric caves of France to the luminous temples of Egypt and Iran, a remarkable and subtle pattern emerges, which suggests the existence of a lost global science, and rooted in the measurement of light, the observation of celestial rhythms, and the sacred geometry of place. Across thousands of years and vast cultural divides, the builders of temples, shrines, sanctuaries, and sacred mountains appear to have chosen their locations with astonishing care, aligning not just with local terrain or cardinal points, but with specific latitudes that express meaningful relationships between light and darkness, sunrise azimuths, and cosmic number.

The evidence points toward a system in which latitude itself was sacralised, a way through which the Earth’s orientation toward the Sun could be captured. On key dates, such as the solstices, the equinoxes, and Phi-days (those that divide the solar year in golden ratio), many of these sites exhibit remarkable solar properties: precise sunrise and sunset azimuths, day-length ratios reflecting √2 or √3, or daylight totals that express simple mathematical or symbolic constants, such as 800 minutes on May 1st. What is perhaps most extraordinary is how these patterns shift slowly through time, due to the Earth's changing obliquity, which progresses over a period of approximately 41 000 years. As the angle of obliquity changes, so too do the sunrise azimuths and day-lengths associated with each latitude. In this sense, each place moves through a long astro-geomantic cycle, where the geometry of light and shadow evolves. A sacred site may once have aligned precisely with a golden ratio of day and night, or a √3 division of time on the solstice, only to pass out of that alignment over centuries, as the celestial mechanics shift. Yet the placement remains, like a fossilised chord of cosmic music, echoing a moment when Earth and sky were momentarily in tune.

That so many sites appear to have been chosen for their resonance with these fleeting astronomical conditions, and across such vast distances, suggests not a series of coincidences, but the intentional preservation of a unified cosmology: a sacred science in which time, space, light, and meaning were one. Places such as Stonehenge, Kairouan, Petra, Golestan Palace, and Mount Emei do not merely sit on latitudes that happen to be mathematically interesting today, they sit at points on the Earth where solar geometry resonates with universal proportion, and often did so even more precisely in the past.

Some of these alignments are truly breathtaking in scope. A latitude yielding precisely 800 minutes of daylight on May 1st connects sites as disparate as the Pyramids of Giza, Persepolis, Harappa, Mount Emei, and the great monasteries of Tibet. Another, aligned with the square root of three as a ratio of total daily light, stretches from the Indus Valley to the monasteries of Bhutan. These configurations are not only cross-cultural but cross-temporal, often spanning millennia. The implication is that many sites may rest atop older ones, built when these geometric and luminous harmonies were still active, preserving a tradition that may well predate written history.

Meanwhile, in France and Italy, an extraordinary alignment of Marian and Michaelic shrines along a shared latitude, with solar day lengths that mirror Phi on a precise calendrical date, underscores that Phi and √3 are not abstract numbers, but luminous ratios encoded in the living sky. The clustering of prehistoric painted caves like Lascaux and Rouffignac along the same latitude raises the tantalising question of whether even Paleolithic peoples were attuned to the celestial fingerprint of their land. Modern examples, such as the Axe Majeur in Cergy, near Paris, marking a latitude with exactly 8 hours of daylight difference between the solstices, suggest that this tradition of astro-geometry has not vanished entirely. Rather, it remains semi-dormant, emerging occasionally in visionary projects that still seek to express the marriage of Earth and cosmos.

The evidence presented here suggests that astro-geometry is a legitimate field of interdisciplinary inquiry, touching on archaeoastronomy, sacred geography, geodesy, and the anthropology of religion. This article draws on previous findings presented in this article. In this light, the work of brilliant researchers like Jim Alison, who first explored the global patterning of ancient sites, deserves renewed attention. More recently, the pioneering investigations of Mat Apocalypse, whose mostly longitude-based analysis complements the latitude-focused framework explored in this article, have opened further dimensions into what may be a once-unified system of sacred mapping, based on the full spherical geometry of the Earth. What emerges is not a single “lost civilisation,” but a shared philosophical thread, measured in light. In this worldview, temples were not just built on Earth, they were built with the Earth, in resonance with its rhythms. Sacredness was part of a process of measure, calculation, observation, and many sacred sites were probably only temporary, lasting only as long as the astro-geometry that underpinned a place.

This article has only scratched the surface of this vast and intricate topic. There are surely dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other geometries and alignments to uncover, other key dates, other constants to explore. the moon also is important, but wasn't included in this article. The hope is that the examples chosen here offer compelling evidence that something real and intentional lies beneath the surface. I would encourage readers to think about sacred sites with the tools of skywatchers, calculate sunrise azimuths, check daylight hours on key dates like solstices, equinoxes, cross-quarter days, and especially the Phi points, and to ask: What did the sun do here? What patterns of light and shadow were once visible? What geometry of sacredness might have once been known? To see clearly, we can think laterally, literally looking east and west, at the sun's behaviour. Perhaps the Earth once spoke to us in light, in angle, in ratio, and perhaps, if we learn to listen again, it still does.

Notes

1. Plato, Laws, translated by David Horan, https://www.platonicfoundation.org/translation/laws/

2. Donaldson, D. T., & Iwatani, R. ( The Source in the Sahara)