The Solar Arc
The term 'solar arc' refers to the fact that the sun rises and sets in a different spot on the horizon every day of the year. The solar arc is different for different degrees of latitude, and we can use the following illustration to help us learn what the arc is at different locations on the globe. The image above shows a representation of the earth, with the poles, the equator and the tropics marked on it. Note that it is aligned for a person standing on the north pole. To represent the point of view at the equator, we would turn the image on it's side (rotate it 90 degrees). Consider the above image to represent, first, a circle on the ground, looking toward the sunrise in the east. At the equator, the sun rises due east in March and September, while in June it will have moved 23 degrees to the northeast, and in December it rises 23 degrees to the southeast. (The equator is the only place where this works, but) if we consider that the red line in the image is pointing 'up', it also can be seen to represent the noon time locations of the sun throughout the year. The next illustration shows the complete sun circle with the solar arc for the equator marked both in the east and the west. For locations not on the equator we have to rotate the above image the same number of degrees as the latitude of the place; Washington DC, for instance, is at 39 degrees north latitude. In that case, we rotate the image to the right 39 degrees, putting this degree of latitude at the top of the world. The solar arc is indicated by where the tropics lines cross the horizontal line. Projecting these points onto the figure below gives us the complete sun circle for 39 degrees north latitude, while the top half of the upper figure shows the noon time positions for the sun throughout the year there. As you can see, the solar arc at 39 degrees north is 62 degrees and produces a figure that is indistinguishable from the star of david. 31 Degrees If you were to look at a star atlas, you would see a curving line marked amongst the star called 'the ecliptic', which is the apparent path of the sun, as seen from the earth, through the background of stars. The plane of the earth's orbit around the sun is called 'the ecliptic plane', and the solar arc is a result of the fact that the earth's orbital axis is 'inclined' 23.5 degrees to this plane. What we call 'the zodiac' is a band of stars that surround the ecliptic, or the sun's path among the stars. When the sun is passing in front of a group of stars, it is said to be 'in' that group. None of the other bodies in the solar system orbit in the same plane as the earth does, so they all appear to be first 'above' the sun and then 'below' it. The moon's orbit varies from the sun's by as much as 5 degrees, and while the sun ranges from 23.5 north to 23.5 degrees south, the moon can go to 28 degees north and south. (Eclipses of course happen where the two orbital planes are crossing at a given time.) The planet that varies the most is Mercury. Given that it is as much as 7.5 degrees from the sun, it tracks from 31 degrees north to 31 degrees south, meaning that if we wanted to depict a star map to include only the sun and the planets, it would be 62 degrees wide and 360 degrees long. Bromwell suggests that the floor of the Masonic Lodge depicts the ecliptic, the tropics and the bounds of the other planets. He notes that you can depict this belt of stars fairly easily on a cylinder that is 1:6 (1 tall and 6 round) without much distortion. The image below shows that the sucessive inferior and superior conjunctions with the sun of the planet Mercury (inferior means between the sun and the earth, while superior means behind the sun) form a hexagram. Continue

The Solar Arc

The term 'solar arc' refers to the fact that the sun rises and sets in a different spot on the horizon every day of the year. The solar arc is different for different degrees of latitude, and we can use the following illustration to help us learn what the arc is at different locations on the globe.

The image above shows a representation of the earth, with the poles, the equator and the tropics marked on it. Note that it is aligned for a person standing on the north pole. To represent the point of view at the equator, we would turn the image on it's side (rotate it 90 degrees).

Consider the above image to represent, first, a circle on the ground, looking toward the sunrise in the east. At the equator, the sun rises due east in March and September, while in June it will have moved 23 degrees to the northeast, and in December it rises 23 degrees to the southeast. (The equator is the only place where this works, but) if we consider that the red line in the image is pointing 'up', it also can be seen to represent the noon time locations of the sun throughout the year.
The next illustration shows the complete sun circle with the solar arc for the equator marked both in the east and the west.

For locations not on the equator we have to rotate the above image the same number of degrees as the latitude of the place; Washington DC, for instance, is at 39 degrees north latitude. In that case, we rotate the image to the right 39 degrees, putting this degree of latitude at the top of the world.
The solar arc is indicated by where the tropics lines cross the horizontal line. Projecting these points onto the figure below gives us the complete sun circle for 39 degrees north latitude, while the top half of the upper figure shows the noon time positions for the sun throughout the year there.

As you can see, the solar arc at 39 degrees north is 62 degrees and produces a figure that is indistinguishable from the star of david.

31 Degrees
If you were to look at a star atlas, you would see a curving line marked amongst the star called 'the ecliptic', which is the apparent path of the sun, as seen from the earth, through the background of stars. The plane of the earth's orbit around the sun is called 'the ecliptic plane', and the solar arc is a result of the fact that the earth's orbital axis is 'inclined' 23.5 degrees to this plane.
What we call 'the zodiac' is a band of stars that surround the ecliptic, or the sun's path among the stars. When the sun is passing in front of a group of stars, it is said to be 'in' that group.
None of the other bodies in the solar system orbit in the same plane as the earth does, so they all appear to be first 'above' the sun and then 'below' it. The moon's orbit varies from the sun's by as much as 5 degrees, and while the sun ranges from 23.5 north to 23.5 degrees south, the moon can go to 28 degees north and south. (Eclipses of course happen where the two orbital planes are crossing at a given time.)
The planet that varies the most is Mercury. Given that it is as much as 7.5 degrees from the sun, it tracks from 31 degrees north to 31 degrees south, meaning that if we wanted to depict a star map to include only the sun and the planets, it would be 62 degrees wide and 360 degrees long. Bromwell suggests that the floor of the Masonic Lodge depicts the ecliptic, the tropics and the bounds of the other planets. He notes that you can depict this belt of stars fairly easily on a cylinder that is 1:6 (1 tall and 6 round) without much distortion.
The image below shows that the sucessive inferior and superior conjunctions with the sun of the planet Mercury (inferior means between the sun and the earth, while superior means behind the sun) form a hexagram.

Continue