Hi Kees,

>>Maybe our ancestors where of a unity with the cosmos and each other that made any need for symbols and/or rituals obsolete . . . During our further development the connection with, and understanding of, the material world grew. This could have led to a spiritual devolution.<<

I think so. How "further development" leads to a "spiritual devolution" is a little tough to get ahold of, but, if you mean that in the sense of a prolonged proximity to the material, perhaps -- or in the sense of a pervasive "influence," I can see the fundamentally entropic nature of the material dimension affecting the living soul (literally as well as figuratively).

>>We have this mechanism of elders who tend to write things down, or express knowledge in symbols, when it is noticeable to them that a certain general capability is on its way out. We can see plenty of examples in almost every area of human endeavour over this. Elders tend to preserve knowledge on its way out, not on its way in.<<

Some might speculate that it was the very act of writing them down that marked the downward spiral to spiritual devolution. There was a rather disciplined oral tradition at first whereby the sagas were recounted around the campfire at night, before wide-eyed children cradled in their parents arms. One can picture the elder, the orator, the guide, animatedly invoking the spirit of the buffalo or the bear, casting about for a better, clearer, metaphor with which to fix in the children's minds the memories of the tribe -- one can see this elder suddenly begin to etch upon the sky pictures, connecting the dots, so to speak, for the eager eyes attendant upon him . . .

It's not such a great leap then, IMHO, from inscribing the heavens, to drawing on a cave wall. As above; so below?

>>So it can therefore be constructed that these elders started to create the first symbols and rituals to preserve what was slowly escaping us.<<

Right now, I'm considering that it was the instant of transcription that started the decline . . .

>>The story of Moses could very well be symbolic of the fact that the early Jewish faith as expressed in the Torah and Kabala is the closest to the star based AE version we have.<<

"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also" (Gen 1:16).

Stars seem an afterthought to Moses (or the Genesis compilers), IMO. Likewise, references to stars throughout the Torah, relatively speaking, are nowhere near as numerous as, say, "stone," or "tree," or, for that matter, "land." I see connections, but not astral ones.

>>Taking into account that Christianity branched off from there it can be suggested that the actual core of Christianity is also star based. (Christ being born on the winter solstice does reminds us of Osiris !!)<<

One might argue that star based influences are reflected in Christian observances and tradition, and I suppose one might also be able to cobble together a star based theology on the basis of those relatively few references to star and stars there are (in the Torah). The NT references to the Magi and the star heralding the advent of the Christ are interesting, but does the star do more than mark the occasion? I'd have to hear more.

>>During the 2000 year of suppression one can ask, what was suppressed? What was the role of all these so called secret societies in these matters?<<

A mixed bag is my guess.

Regards,
Mark