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The Cygnus Mystery - Unlocking the Ancient Secret of Life's Origins in the Cosmos
It was a universal belief among ancient civilizations that life came originally from the cosmos, and ultimately would return there after death. The shamanic journey was always to this sky-world - and it appears that it was always located in the direction of the stars of Cygnus - also known as the Northern Cross - accessed either via the Milky Way or an imagined cosmic axis. Andrew Collins demonstrates that this belief is based on an ancient astronomy - around 17,000 years old. All over the world, standing stones, temples and monuments are orientated towards the rising and setting of the stars of the Cygnus constellation or the "entry point" of the Milky Way. Collins has discovered that the use of deep caves by palaeolithic man was essential to the rise of religious thought and the belief in life's stellar origins. Science has now confirmed the existence of high-energy particles in the caves - particles that come from a binary star known as Cygnus X3.
It would seem that these ancient people were aware of what science is now telling us - that the DNA of life came originally from deep space.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 9, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 6, 2014
The book I read to research this post was The Cygnus Mystery by Andrew Collins which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. This book starts off about the Dogon People in Mali who since ancient times and as part of their beliefs claim people came from the star we call Sirius in the Cygnus of which the Sun is part of. Anyway they knew there was 3 stars as part of what to the naked would be perceived as one star and this wasn't confirmed by the scientific world until the 1980's. They also worshipped a star we call Deben and claim when you die your body is taken somewhere in that constellation to start a new life. The constellation Cygnus is of course so named because it resembles a swan and there is strong beliefs among many ancient peoples that swans are special and that they bring spirits to our world obviously because they travel far when they migrate but Andrew argues could this belief have something to do with spacemen actually coming from this region of space. The idea we have that storks allegedly deliver babies may come from this belief. There is also what maybe circumstantial evidence that comets and meteors colliding with the Earth may have brought life here in ancient times and that there may have been some life on Mars even if only in the form of bacteria. Many ancient sites like Avebury & Stonehenge among others were aligned to these stars albet as well as others and of course there primary function appears to have been identifying the times to do things like plant crops. A lot of these kinds of sites were built around the same time even in widely different locations. Andrew tends to do books that look at ancient history and argue that ancient peoples may have been more advanced than we realize as well as looking at strange phenomena. I really enjoyed reading this book and I can tell by all the places he said he visited that he has gone to a lot of trouble to research it. According to this book also ancient peoples were may be more in contact which each other than what we realize although maybe sporadically.
July 28, 2023
CAN A ‘UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS’ LINK OUR BRAINS TO ALIENS?
Author Andrew Collins wrote in the Introduction to this 2006 book, “Paleolithic cave art … shows key stars and star groups in highly abstract form. These images must on have figured prominently in the religious experiences of those who made the paintings… which would have included communication with perceived otherworldly intelligences, very likely through the aid of hallucinogenic substances and other shamanic-based practices… the stars… feature again and again in … archaic cosmologies and creation myths. These record that our first ancestors came from the sky … and that it is to the sky that the souls of the righteous would return in death… Indigenous peoples worldwide have continued to believe in our cosmic origins… Yet now, finally, science is catching up. Evidence for panspermia, the theory of ‘life everywhere,’ is mounting all the time… The idea that micro-organisms were able to hitch a ride either inside meteors or comets is now pretty much established by science…
“So our distant ancestors might well have been right after all. Life probably does come from deep space, and if this is indeed the case, then how did these obviously very enlightened individuals gain such a profound insight into life’s origins?... hallucinogenic substances used by Paleolithic shamans in ritualistic practices might well have played an important role… I shall propose that these ancestors of human civilization came to recognize the influence on their lives of cosmic rays emanating from a point source in the night sky---a binary system in the constellation of Cygnus… The following account of how this connection came about, and the scientific battle it has already stated, are set to alter everything we know about the influence of the stars on our lives, and indeed on human evolution itself.”
He explains, “Cygnus is commonly known as the Northern Cross because of the unique way it resembles the Cross of Crucifixion as it slides down toward the western horizon each night… its connections with Christianity go back to antiquity… it has been suggested that it could date back to the age of Constantine the Great, responsible for instituting Christianity as the state religion of the empire.” (Pg. 32-33) He continues, “Cygnus was identified in the Hellenic world as Ornis, the Bird… Beyond this… Cygnus was the underworld God Orpheus elevated into the night sky as a swan…. There is a link here I feel to the use of skulls for … oracular purposes in the Neolithic death cult… To find that Orpheus was additionally associated with the crucifix, and might even have been equated with Jesus Christ during the early centuries of the Christian era is also important…. It is strongly possible… that the familiar image of the crucifix… in fact derives from the cruciform appearance of Cygnus, venerated originally by the pagan followers of Orpheus.” (Pg. 35)
He suggests, “Regardless of whether these extraordinary discoveries prove to be correct or not, and they are not accepted by mainstream historians, I strongly suspect that the magico-religious mindset of the first Native American peoples was heavily influenced by shamanic ideologies that originated in the Eurasian continent. Once the Beringia land bridge became submerged, and there was no opportunity to return to Asia, any cosmologic ideas… would thereafter have evolved in isolation, meaning that if they still matched those present among the shamanic-based cultures of the ancient world, then the two almost certainly had a common origin that dated back to Paleolithic times.” (Pg. 42)
He asserts, “There is no doubt in my mind that the alignment between Giza Heliopolis was the … true Road to Rostau, with the word ‘road’ being used in a very fluent sense; ‘pathway’ perhaps being a better description. I realize that any scholars of Egyptology who might read these pages will argue that there is nothing special about the Giza pyramid field over and above any other in the Memphite necropolis… Moreover, they will point out that Giza is not unique in its monuments targeting Heliopolis… However, in my opinion, the implications of the Giza-Heliopolos alignment targeting the rising of Deneb are quite extraordinary.” (Pg. 158)
He contends, “Although it is merely conjecture as to whether our Paleolithic ancestors did use mushrooms of the Psilocybe group, we know that its psychedelic effects were understood in the past…. Mushroom cults have been found among the indigenous people in countries such as Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and, particularly, Mexico. Obviously, the Catholic Church in Latin America attempted to stamp out these ungodly practices, and were highly successful in doing so…” (Pg. 205)
He notes, “Did Cygnus only become important to our Paleolithic forebears because they wanted to create a meaningful sky-world to satisfy the spiritual needs of their communities worldwide? Did their descendants unwittingly perpetuate a religious ideal that had become outdated[?]… O was there some deeper-rooted reason why our ancestors believed that the human soul came from… a single point in the night sky?” (Pg. 218)
He recounts, “I read Jeremy Narby’s groundbreaking book ‘The Cosmic Serpent'… it was the deeper implications of his findings that really excited me… If Narby is right and some form of two-way non-local communication can occur between the collective consciousness of DNA in different life forms, then what if, as scientists are now coming to believe. Life did not originate on earth? What if DNA arrived on this planet complete, with genetic instructions to create and evolve new life to its ultimate end?” (Pg. 223, 226)
He asserts, “[Francis] Crick not only used ‘small doses’ of LSD… but he was also ‘high’ when he cracked the DNA code… Such an admission… has prompted a fierce reaction from his friends and family, who deny this was the case… Crick became a fervent supporter of what he called ‘directed panspermia’ … [and] went on to author a popular book on the subject entitled ‘Life Itself’…” (Pg. 228-229)
He summarizes, “So how did the world come to believe such views of life’s cosmic origins---which were invariably attached to the stars of Cygnus as the cosmic axis and northern apex of the Milky Way?... I suspect it was a result of the shamans or priestly elite of prehistoric communities telling their people exactly this… What is more, the possibility that psychedelic substances can enable the human mind to achieve a state of DNA-linked cosmic consciousness allows us to perceive of the shamanic experience as authentically real… it is obvious that any highly evolved ETI ‘out there’ would have created a means of communication and/or contact with distant planets that was more or less instantaneous… it means that human beings have always been capable of contact with intelligences anywhere in the universe, and that this might well be a necessary part of our evolution. I am not saying that the human mind is able to project itself through space to communicate with some alien intelligence in another star system. What I am saying is that there exists some kind of UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS that can link together the brains of carbon-based forms, wherever they are. It exists… in inner space, that is inside our heads, and can be imagined like some kind of neuropsychological Internet chat room, where… [the] visiting entities…take whatever form our minds deem acceptable… If non-local contact with supernatural beings and worlds is available through the activation of junk DNA, then it is a process that has been going on since time immemorial.” (Pg. 235-236)
He wonders, “Could it be possible that the intervention of cosmic rays during the Upper Paleolithic age… was behind not just the acceleration in human evolution during this period, but also for catalyzing the events in Upper Mesopotamia responsible for the birth of civilization itself?” (Pg. 267)
This book will mostly appeal to ‘Ancient Aliens’ fans who are fond of very speculative theories.
Author Andrew Collins wrote in the Introduction to this 2006 book, “Paleolithic cave art … shows key stars and star groups in highly abstract form. These images must on have figured prominently in the religious experiences of those who made the paintings… which would have included communication with perceived otherworldly intelligences, very likely through the aid of hallucinogenic substances and other shamanic-based practices… the stars… feature again and again in … archaic cosmologies and creation myths. These record that our first ancestors came from the sky … and that it is to the sky that the souls of the righteous would return in death… Indigenous peoples worldwide have continued to believe in our cosmic origins… Yet now, finally, science is catching up. Evidence for panspermia, the theory of ‘life everywhere,’ is mounting all the time… The idea that micro-organisms were able to hitch a ride either inside meteors or comets is now pretty much established by science…
“So our distant ancestors might well have been right after all. Life probably does come from deep space, and if this is indeed the case, then how did these obviously very enlightened individuals gain such a profound insight into life’s origins?... hallucinogenic substances used by Paleolithic shamans in ritualistic practices might well have played an important role… I shall propose that these ancestors of human civilization came to recognize the influence on their lives of cosmic rays emanating from a point source in the night sky---a binary system in the constellation of Cygnus… The following account of how this connection came about, and the scientific battle it has already stated, are set to alter everything we know about the influence of the stars on our lives, and indeed on human evolution itself.”
He explains, “Cygnus is commonly known as the Northern Cross because of the unique way it resembles the Cross of Crucifixion as it slides down toward the western horizon each night… its connections with Christianity go back to antiquity… it has been suggested that it could date back to the age of Constantine the Great, responsible for instituting Christianity as the state religion of the empire.” (Pg. 32-33) He continues, “Cygnus was identified in the Hellenic world as Ornis, the Bird… Beyond this… Cygnus was the underworld God Orpheus elevated into the night sky as a swan…. There is a link here I feel to the use of skulls for … oracular purposes in the Neolithic death cult… To find that Orpheus was additionally associated with the crucifix, and might even have been equated with Jesus Christ during the early centuries of the Christian era is also important…. It is strongly possible… that the familiar image of the crucifix… in fact derives from the cruciform appearance of Cygnus, venerated originally by the pagan followers of Orpheus.” (Pg. 35)
He suggests, “Regardless of whether these extraordinary discoveries prove to be correct or not, and they are not accepted by mainstream historians, I strongly suspect that the magico-religious mindset of the first Native American peoples was heavily influenced by shamanic ideologies that originated in the Eurasian continent. Once the Beringia land bridge became submerged, and there was no opportunity to return to Asia, any cosmologic ideas… would thereafter have evolved in isolation, meaning that if they still matched those present among the shamanic-based cultures of the ancient world, then the two almost certainly had a common origin that dated back to Paleolithic times.” (Pg. 42)
He asserts, “There is no doubt in my mind that the alignment between Giza Heliopolis was the … true Road to Rostau, with the word ‘road’ being used in a very fluent sense; ‘pathway’ perhaps being a better description. I realize that any scholars of Egyptology who might read these pages will argue that there is nothing special about the Giza pyramid field over and above any other in the Memphite necropolis… Moreover, they will point out that Giza is not unique in its monuments targeting Heliopolis… However, in my opinion, the implications of the Giza-Heliopolos alignment targeting the rising of Deneb are quite extraordinary.” (Pg. 158)
He contends, “Although it is merely conjecture as to whether our Paleolithic ancestors did use mushrooms of the Psilocybe group, we know that its psychedelic effects were understood in the past…. Mushroom cults have been found among the indigenous people in countries such as Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and, particularly, Mexico. Obviously, the Catholic Church in Latin America attempted to stamp out these ungodly practices, and were highly successful in doing so…” (Pg. 205)
He notes, “Did Cygnus only become important to our Paleolithic forebears because they wanted to create a meaningful sky-world to satisfy the spiritual needs of their communities worldwide? Did their descendants unwittingly perpetuate a religious ideal that had become outdated[?]… O was there some deeper-rooted reason why our ancestors believed that the human soul came from… a single point in the night sky?” (Pg. 218)
He recounts, “I read Jeremy Narby’s groundbreaking book ‘The Cosmic Serpent'… it was the deeper implications of his findings that really excited me… If Narby is right and some form of two-way non-local communication can occur between the collective consciousness of DNA in different life forms, then what if, as scientists are now coming to believe. Life did not originate on earth? What if DNA arrived on this planet complete, with genetic instructions to create and evolve new life to its ultimate end?” (Pg. 223, 226)
He asserts, “[Francis] Crick not only used ‘small doses’ of LSD… but he was also ‘high’ when he cracked the DNA code… Such an admission… has prompted a fierce reaction from his friends and family, who deny this was the case… Crick became a fervent supporter of what he called ‘directed panspermia’ … [and] went on to author a popular book on the subject entitled ‘Life Itself’…” (Pg. 228-229)
He summarizes, “So how did the world come to believe such views of life’s cosmic origins---which were invariably attached to the stars of Cygnus as the cosmic axis and northern apex of the Milky Way?... I suspect it was a result of the shamans or priestly elite of prehistoric communities telling their people exactly this… What is more, the possibility that psychedelic substances can enable the human mind to achieve a state of DNA-linked cosmic consciousness allows us to perceive of the shamanic experience as authentically real… it is obvious that any highly evolved ETI ‘out there’ would have created a means of communication and/or contact with distant planets that was more or less instantaneous… it means that human beings have always been capable of contact with intelligences anywhere in the universe, and that this might well be a necessary part of our evolution. I am not saying that the human mind is able to project itself through space to communicate with some alien intelligence in another star system. What I am saying is that there exists some kind of UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS that can link together the brains of carbon-based forms, wherever they are. It exists… in inner space, that is inside our heads, and can be imagined like some kind of neuropsychological Internet chat room, where… [the] visiting entities…take whatever form our minds deem acceptable… If non-local contact with supernatural beings and worlds is available through the activation of junk DNA, then it is a process that has been going on since time immemorial.” (Pg. 235-236)
He wonders, “Could it be possible that the intervention of cosmic rays during the Upper Paleolithic age… was behind not just the acceleration in human evolution during this period, but also for catalyzing the events in Upper Mesopotamia responsible for the birth of civilization itself?” (Pg. 267)
This book will mostly appeal to ‘Ancient Aliens’ fans who are fond of very speculative theories.
September 24, 2009
Falls apart slightly towards the end, but the bulk is fascinating speculation on the role of the polar stars in myth and prehistory. Cracking good travel reading!
September 5, 2011
The history is well researched and documented. If you stick to the history in this book you will get good information.
October 28, 2011
READ IT!!!!!
July 1, 2015
Well written, interesting book.
PS: No bloody aliens in space-ships! Thank the Valar.;)
PS: No bloody aliens in space-ships! Thank the Valar.;)
September 22, 2017
Some interesting ideas, but I thought big parts were clutching at straws
December 19, 2024
This book was mostly brilliant, but I've had to shave a star off my rating due to the ending. In summary, this is an exploration of the prevalence of traditions relating to swans, geese and other such birds, still alive today, but dating back thousands of years. In addition, it is about the very probable link between these traditions and a fixation with the constellation Cygnus (the swan), made apparent in the 'mythology' of ancient peoples, as well as the alignments of numerous ancient megaliths around the globe.
It is a tremendously fascinating subject that had me hooked right from the start. The author makes a very convincing argument that the Cygnus tradition dates back to some long-lost belief system from the so-called hunter-gatherer era, and that our ancestors believed the birds carried our souls to the afterlife, through a hole at the top of the sky (the pole star region). I could not begin to summarise all the evidence Collins presents for this theory. He has clearly done his research.
That said, I questioned whether, at times, he lost sight of the forest for the trees. For example, the book is split into different global regions, and when it hit the India section, he spent a great deal of time focusing on the cult of Saraswati. I appreciate that she rides a swan. However, I thought more could have been made of her consort, Brahma. Let's bear in mind that Brahma is said to be the creator of the material universe, and yet he only gets a page in this book. He, too, rides a swan. More than that, he has 4 heads - Cygnus is a cross with 4 points. He was born of Vishnu's naval - Cygnus crosses over the constellation Aquila, which is an eagle, and Vishnu happens to ride the eagle Garuda. Vishnu also lies on an 'ocean of milk' - Aquila lies on the Milky Way, in our sky. Siva rides a bull - surely this means Taurus. He has a son who is taken up into the sky to become the 7th star in the Pleiades - the Pleiades are part of Taurus. I don't think one needs to go into much esoteric detail to convince someone that Brahma must represent Cygnus, bearing in mind all the other obvious astronomical symbolism in these stories - and yet none of this is mentioned in the book. As I say, Collins instead focuses on Saraswati, and spends a great deal of time discussing the now extinct Saraswati river, northerly orientation, etc. It's all very interesting, but I was surprised to see he'd overlooked the obvious in the first place. The India section was also very short compared to other world regions, something I didn't understand, as I know for a fact there is so much more in there to support Collins' argument.
Then we get to the ending, which frankly confused me. The last 50 pages suddenly switched into a discussion about mushroom cults, radiation beaming down from Cygnus, and the notion that atoms in our bodies might communicate with each other. I'm not going to get into whether I believe or agree with any of these things. My main issue is that none of it tied together. I couldn't understand what any of it really had to do with what he'd said in the previous 300 pages of the book. It didn't strike me as a valid conclusion. It felt more like he'd worked out that everyone once worshipped the constellation Cygnus, and he needed to come up with some reason why - but he couldn't, so he started throwing tons of unrelated theories on the page and finished without really saying anything.
Actually, the more I think about the ending, the more I think perhaps I ought to down-rate the book again, to 3 stars. But I think that would do it a disservice, because up until those final 50 pages, this truly was a fascinating book. I personally think perhaps the way to read this book is to get very involved in it and then stop as soon as he says, 'Now let me tell you why our ancestors were so interested in Cygnus.' Because he doesn't really know. Maybe no one ever will. If Collins is right, this dates back to a time of which we have no written record. Perhaps the fun of this book is to come up with your own theories as to why they would have been so fascinated with that constellation in particular. In that sense, I recommend it. Just, as I say, maybe take the last 50 pages with a pinch of salt.
It is a tremendously fascinating subject that had me hooked right from the start. The author makes a very convincing argument that the Cygnus tradition dates back to some long-lost belief system from the so-called hunter-gatherer era, and that our ancestors believed the birds carried our souls to the afterlife, through a hole at the top of the sky (the pole star region). I could not begin to summarise all the evidence Collins presents for this theory. He has clearly done his research.
That said, I questioned whether, at times, he lost sight of the forest for the trees. For example, the book is split into different global regions, and when it hit the India section, he spent a great deal of time focusing on the cult of Saraswati. I appreciate that she rides a swan. However, I thought more could have been made of her consort, Brahma. Let's bear in mind that Brahma is said to be the creator of the material universe, and yet he only gets a page in this book. He, too, rides a swan. More than that, he has 4 heads - Cygnus is a cross with 4 points. He was born of Vishnu's naval - Cygnus crosses over the constellation Aquila, which is an eagle, and Vishnu happens to ride the eagle Garuda. Vishnu also lies on an 'ocean of milk' - Aquila lies on the Milky Way, in our sky. Siva rides a bull - surely this means Taurus. He has a son who is taken up into the sky to become the 7th star in the Pleiades - the Pleiades are part of Taurus. I don't think one needs to go into much esoteric detail to convince someone that Brahma must represent Cygnus, bearing in mind all the other obvious astronomical symbolism in these stories - and yet none of this is mentioned in the book. As I say, Collins instead focuses on Saraswati, and spends a great deal of time discussing the now extinct Saraswati river, northerly orientation, etc. It's all very interesting, but I was surprised to see he'd overlooked the obvious in the first place. The India section was also very short compared to other world regions, something I didn't understand, as I know for a fact there is so much more in there to support Collins' argument.
Then we get to the ending, which frankly confused me. The last 50 pages suddenly switched into a discussion about mushroom cults, radiation beaming down from Cygnus, and the notion that atoms in our bodies might communicate with each other. I'm not going to get into whether I believe or agree with any of these things. My main issue is that none of it tied together. I couldn't understand what any of it really had to do with what he'd said in the previous 300 pages of the book. It didn't strike me as a valid conclusion. It felt more like he'd worked out that everyone once worshipped the constellation Cygnus, and he needed to come up with some reason why - but he couldn't, so he started throwing tons of unrelated theories on the page and finished without really saying anything.
Actually, the more I think about the ending, the more I think perhaps I ought to down-rate the book again, to 3 stars. But I think that would do it a disservice, because up until those final 50 pages, this truly was a fascinating book. I personally think perhaps the way to read this book is to get very involved in it and then stop as soon as he says, 'Now let me tell you why our ancestors were so interested in Cygnus.' Because he doesn't really know. Maybe no one ever will. If Collins is right, this dates back to a time of which we have no written record. Perhaps the fun of this book is to come up with your own theories as to why they would have been so fascinated with that constellation in particular. In that sense, I recommend it. Just, as I say, maybe take the last 50 pages with a pinch of salt.
December 17, 2018
Some parts of this book was difficult to make it through but the information was very interesting and worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews