Book Description

Modern biblical dictionaries and commentaries designed for a popular readership tend to shy away from any reference to the word Mazzaroth, let alone attempt to interpret it. This is scarcely surprising, for the word is obscure and it occurs only once in the Bible; twice, if it is equated with Mazzaloth. Traditional sources tended to interpret the word as meaning the constellations, specifically those forming the zodiac. But there was no universal agreement; others accepted that the word referred to the zodiac, or even identified it with the star Sirius. The idiosyncratic ideas expressed in the four parts of Mazzaroth, and its appendix Mizraim, are all based on solid research -- misapplied, perhaps, in light of Rolleston's steadfast Christian outlook, but fully documented and with sources quoted at length. The whole work provides the reader with an amazing compendium of obscure material on ancient mythology, symbolism, and etymology, with comprehensive biblical references and a wealth of learned and detailed footnotes. Much of the information is set out in a tabular form that inevitably reminds the reader of S. L. MacGregor Mathers's book of correspondences that we know as 777. And this may not be coincidental. Mazzaroth may have been passed over by reviewers when it appeared, but it was not ignored by esoteric scholars, even though they were not its intended readership. W. Wynn Westcott possessed a copy and loaned it to the Golden Dawn library, where it was certainly read by F. L. Gardner (he includes the book, albeit misdated, in his Bibliotheca Astrologica) and most probably by Mathers when he compiled 777. It is a valuable resource that fully deserves its rescue from oblivion, just as its neglected author deserves our praise. Rolleston (1781-1864) spent her life studying the sky and the scriptures