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ASTRONOMY/ASTROLOGY IN PERSONA 2: TSUMI
"Ahhhhh!! It's the end of the world!! Run!" If you were so inclined, you could narrow down the events of Persona 2: Tsumi to a particular day in August, 1999. There are two major astronomical events that are referenced in the game - the Grand Cross of August 18-19, 1999, and the Leonid Meteor Shower. August 1999 was a strange month for astronomy overall; in a single week, there was a solar eclipse on August 11, a meteor shower (the Perseids) on August 12-13, and the Grand Cross on August 18-19. Astrology nuts were going crazy over the end of the world, but nothing happened....right? ^_~ THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER The Leonid Meteor Shower is so named because the streaks of light seem to be coming from the direction of the constellation Leo. Occasionally you can hear a whistling noise as a particularly noisy meteor shoots by - that's the Lion's Roar, I suppose. Some of the Leonids from 1998 were so bright that they could be seen in daylight - so Atlus wasn't at all wrong to show the meteors falling during the day. The Leonids usually occur between November 13-20 every year, which is why the Head Priest said it was a very bad sign that the Leonids were happening..in fact, it should have been impossible to be seeing the Leonids at that time! There was, in fact, a meteor shower that happened a week before before the Grand Cross of 1999. However, this was the Perseid Meteor Shower, which peaked on the nights of August 12-13, 1999. (The Perseids seem to be coming from Perseus, naturally.) If you want to learn more about the Leonids, click here or here (for pictures). THE GRAND CROSS The big one. All the planets are essentially lined up in either Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, and Scorpio, making a crude cross-shaped configuration in the sky. It's not a perfect cross as in the game, but the idea is the same; the planets are at right angles to each other from the earth. Jupiter and Saturn were in Taurus, the Moon and Mars were in Scorpio, Neptune and Uranus were in Aquarius, and the Sun, Mercury, and Venus were in Leo. Note that the Earth is in the center of the Cross, as in the game. 
(image from Revelation 13: The Grand Cross Astrology Pattern of August 1999, and The Cassini Spacecraft's Journey to Saturn. Click on the image for a larger view.) People think this is a Significant Astronomical Event for a number of reasons. Some cite Nostradamus. Some claim that the four signs of the Grand Cross are special because they're the Fixed Signs of the Zodiac, one for each element. Other claim that the four signs - The Lion, the Bull, the Eagle (Scorpio is also represented by an Eagle) and the Angel - are the four Beasts of the Apocalpyse that surround the Throne of Heaven. "4:6: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within." Revelations (KJV) Are they nuts? Of course they're nuts! But the Grand Cross was a perfect choice for an apocalyptic event. Nice one, Atlus. |