JF Ptak Science Books   Quick Post

I came across this interesting image in L’Astronomie, revue mensuelle d’Astronomie Populaire, published in Paris in 1894, and edited by the  profoundly busy Camille Flammarion. The description and image is credited to the French author/adventurer Pierre Loti, and it describes the Turks of Constantinople shooting at the Moon (” Les Turcs tirent des coups de feu sur notre satellite”) in observance of the the fight of light versus darkness exemplified no doubt by the constellation Draco, the dragon, or Ouroboros, or serpent consuming itself, or some such.  During an eclipse it was believed going into the dim past that Draco was consuming the sources of light, and that in order to stop it from doing so observers would make as much noise as possible to scare the thing away.  Loti notes that this practice probably  has been observed since the time of The Prophet, though it is probably older than that.

I’ve never seen an image depicting people shooting at the Moon with rifles (there are some famous examples of this with the first motion picture version of Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon) and so I’m sharing it–perhaps someone out there will help with the deeper interpretation of what is going on.  

• “L’une des dernières éclipses de Lune a été l objet d une observation d un genre spécial à Constantinople par M Pierre Loti l élégant auteur de Madame Chrysanthème, auquel nous devons le dessin fort original reproduit ici. Les Turcs tirent des coups de feu sur notre satellite pour le délivrer du Dragon qui le ronge antique dragon astrologique qui a laissé des vestiges dans les signes astronomiques modernes mêmes nœud période draconitique etc. La dernière éclipse a sans doute été l objet d une cérémonie du même genre chez les disciples de Mahomet….”–Populaire Astronomie, pg 17.