Page Content (OCR)
37 Figures 17a and 17b and accompanying notations in Akkadian that referred to vari- ous planets, stars, and constellations. Of particular interest is an almost-intact segment (Fig. 17b) whose notations (trans- lated here into English) of space flight instructions identify it as the Route of Enlil from a mountainous planet (Nibiru) to Earth. Beyond Earth's skies (the "Way of Enlil") lie four celestial bodies (which other texts identify as Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus). In between, the flight passes by seven planets. The count of seven planets is signficant. We consider Earth to be the third planet, counting from the Sun outward: Mer- cury, Venus, Earth. But for someone arriving from the outer limits of the solar system, the count would be Pluto as the first, Neptune as the second, Uranus as the third, Saturn and Jupiter as the fourth and fifth, Mars as the sixth, and Earth would be the seventh. In fact, Earth was so depicted (by the symbol of seven dots) on cylinder seals and monuments, oftentimes with Mars (the sixth) as a six-pointed "star" and Venus (the eighth) as an eight-pointed one. passes The Three Who to Heaven Ascended