ancient Egyptian astronomy · Middle Kingdom onward

Thirty-six positions for reading the night

Decans first appear here as stars or small star groups in tables of night hours. This is a map of the shared structure—not a modern personality zodiac in pharaonic dress.

12 night-hour rows · 36 ten-day columns · 5 days outside the regular months

The ideal civil-year grid

Each civil month has three ten-day periods. Four months make a season, and three seasons make thirty-six positions. The numbers below are Bodhastra's neutral reading aids: ancient tables carry decan names, but no surviving table follows the ideal perfectly and the ordered list varies by witness.

position 01AkhetInundation · month 1days 1–10
position 02AkhetInundation · month 1days 11–20
position 03AkhetInundation · month 1days 21–30
position 04AkhetInundation · month 2days 1–10
position 05AkhetInundation · month 2days 11–20
position 06AkhetInundation · month 2days 21–30
position 07AkhetInundation · month 3days 1–10
position 08AkhetInundation · month 3days 11–20
position 09AkhetInundation · month 3days 21–30
position 10AkhetInundation · month 4days 1–10
position 11AkhetInundation · month 4days 11–20
position 12AkhetInundation · month 4days 21–30
position 13PeretEmergence · month 1days 1–10
position 14PeretEmergence · month 1days 11–20
position 15PeretEmergence · month 1days 21–30
position 16PeretEmergence · month 2days 1–10
position 17PeretEmergence · month 2days 11–20
position 18PeretEmergence · month 2days 21–30
position 19PeretEmergence · month 3days 1–10
position 20PeretEmergence · month 3days 11–20
position 21PeretEmergence · month 3days 21–30
position 22PeretEmergence · month 4days 1–10
position 23PeretEmergence · month 4days 11–20
position 24PeretEmergence · month 4days 21–30
position 25ShemuHarvest · month 1days 1–10
position 26ShemuHarvest · month 1days 11–20
position 27ShemuHarvest · month 1days 21–30
position 28ShemuHarvest · month 2days 1–10
position 29ShemuHarvest · month 2days 11–20
position 30ShemuHarvest · month 2days 21–30
position 31ShemuHarvest · month 3days 1–10
position 32ShemuHarvest · month 3days 11–20
position 33ShemuHarvest · month 3days 21–30
position 34ShemuHarvest · month 4days 1–10
position 35ShemuHarvest · month 4days 11–20
position 36ShemuHarvest · month 4days 21–30

In the original right-to-left tables, names move diagonally through twelve rows. See how to read the grid →

Four layers, in order

c. 2100 BCEDiagonal star tables appear on coffin lids
Twelve night-hour rows meet thirty-six ten-day columns. The decan names run diagonally through the grid.

c. 1473–1458 BCEThe Senenmut ceiling records another astronomical layer
The New Kingdom ceiling lists planets and decans alongside constellations and month circles.

50 BCEThe Dendera zodiac combines later sky systems
The Hathor temple ceiling includes zodiac figures, decans and constellations in a Ptolemaic-period object.

2005 CEA named modern deity-zodiac version is in print
A Sterling edition of Jonathan Dee's popular divination book includes an Egyptian zodiac; it is evidence for modern reception, not an ancient birthday table.

Why there is no birthday calculator

The ancient civil calendar drifted against the solar year, the surviving star tables disagree, and their grid tracks stellar appearances and night hours—not a continuous Gregorian natal-sign rule. Assigning your birthday to one of these positions would hide three invented choices behind one confident result.

Explore the evidence layers → · Open the Egyptian source panel →