# A stronger case for identifying Mars as Borgil?



## Asterion (Jan 21, 2021)

Hi As you know, in the following passage from The Lord of the Rings (Book 1, Chapter 3), some celestial bodies are mentioned:



> Away high in the East swung Remmirath, the Netted Stars, and slowly above the mists red Borgil rose, glowing like a jewel of fire. Then by some shift of airs all the mist was drawn away like a veil, and there leaned up, as he climbed over the rim of the world, the Swordsman of the Sky, Menelvagor with his shining belt.



Remmirath and Menelvagor can be easily identified as the Pleaiades and Orion, respectively, but the identity of red Borgil does not seem that clear. Although the most likely candidates are Aldebaran and, to a lesser extent, Betelgeuse, Mars has a stronger case than I previously thought. These are two reasons why it is often disregarded:

1. Elsewhere (Morgoth's Ring), the name for Mars is given as Carnil/Karnil.

2. Mars rarely appears rising in the Eastern sky between the Pleaiades and Orion at midnight, as opposed to Aldebaran, always there as part of the Taurus constellation, and Betelgeuse, always there as part of Orion.

Now, Borgil means "red star" in Sindarin, while Carnil/Karnil also means "red star", albeit in Quenya. So that argument could easily be turned around and be used in favour of Mars, not against it (same name, different languages). As to the second point, it is true that Mars does not usually appear in a "Borgil position". However, and I am not sure if this has been noted before, in mid-late September 1943 Mars was exactly where you would expect Borgil to be, and there is a chance that Tolkien wrote this passage around that time. For instance, in early 1944 (letter 69) he wrote to Christopher that he was revising the descriptions of the Moon throughout the book: "I found my Moons in the crucial days between Frodo's flight and the present situation (arrival at Minas Morghul) to be doing impossible things. [...] Rewriting bits of back chapters took all afternoon!". This passage originally featured the moon, not stars, so maybe it was amended to stars around this time. This is how this passage read in the first phase of the manuscript (per The Return of the Shadow):



> Out of the mists away eastward a pale gold light went up. The yellow moon rose; springing swiftly out of the shadow, and then climbing round and slow into the sky.



In the third phase, the Full Moon was changed to a New Moon to make the Moon phases more consistent throughout the book:



> Above the mists away in the East the thin silver rind of the New Moon appeared, and rising swift and clear out of the shadow it swung gleaming in the sky.



Despite this phase amendment, Christopher notes that "it is an odd and uncharacteristic aberration that my father envisaged a New Moon rising late at night in the East". Probably due to this, Tolkien later replaced the Moon by stars, which is what got published in The Fellowship of the Ring. I could not find a date for this revision, but if indeed it happened in the context of those Moon revisions cited in letter 69, he must have intended for the stars to be as accurate as possible, so as not to just swap one astronomical "aberration" for another. And, in the nearest observation of that region of the night sky at that date and time (mid-late September 1943), Mars was indeed between the Pleiades (Remmirath) and Orion (Menelvagor). The following image shows the midnight sky on the 14th of September 1943 as seen from Oxford (I used this date instead of the 24th of September cited in the appendices as the day the hobbits and the elves camped together because this Shire calendar date corresponds to around the 14th of September in our Gregorian calendar. The general picture would not change that much in those 10 days anyways, the main difference being that all bodies would be a bit higher in the sky):



If one were to assign the title of "red star" to a body "gleaming like a jewel of fire" in this context, I think it would be difficult to not be referring to Mars. But, of course, Tolkien may not have noted the sky that particular September, or he may have used an almanac of a totally different year, where there would be no trace of Mars. But it is a fun theory nonetheless! Do you think it is plausible?

I have also made this video recreating the scene to help visualise the movement of the stars that night:


----------



## Starbrow (Jan 21, 2021)

Very impressive post, Asterion.


----------



## Asterion (Feb 14, 2021)

Thanks, Starbrow! 

I was reading the chapter "The Ring Goes South" and came across another reference to a red star:

"But low in the South one star shone red. Frodo could see it from his window, deep in the heavens, burning like a watchful eye that glared above the trees on the brink of the valley."

This scene takes place right after a full moon in early November (or late October), and in those weeks both Betelgeuse and Aldebaran can be seen from Oxford around midnight due South, and in 1943 Mars was there too, so I think there is a good chance this red star is Borgil too.

The funny thing is that, while reading that passage and musing about Borgil, I looked South out of my window and there they were, the three main alternatives for Borgil (Aldebaran, Betelgeuse and Mars) all neatly lined up and looking down on me! If you are in the Northern hemisphere and want to check them out too, today and during the next month or so they will be clearly visible and almost lined up right after sunset up high due South and setting due West as the night advances. It's not common to see Mars in such a position, so now it's a good opportunity to compare the three Borgil possibilities with the naked eye!


----------



## Ugluk (Sep 19, 2022)

Mars must be a strong contender from a literary perspective given it's widespread (though not universal) association with war.


----------



## Uminya (Sep 19, 2022)

> Away high in the East swung Remmirath, the Netted Stars, and slowly above the mists red Borgil rose, glowing like a jewel of fire. Then by some shift of airs all the mist was drawn away like a veil, and there leaned up, as he climbed over the rim of the world, the Swordsman of the Sky, Menelvagor with his shining belt.



I think that Borgil is either Aldebaran or Betelgeuse; the description implies that the Remmirath/Pleides are already above the horizon, which would mean that Taurus was already in the sky. Because Borgil is implied to have risen before the rest of Menelvagor/Orion, however, it seems to imply that Borgil was the westernmost star (i.e. the first to rise), which would make it Betelgeuse. Because of how Borgil is described in relation to the Remmirath/Pleiades, however, it seems to be referring to Aldebaran. Both stars are notably red, but I would agree with the general consensus that Aldebaran is the star that Tolkien intended to reference.

I don't think that Borgil is Mars, however, because Mars' position in relation to the Remmirath and Menelvagor would change regularly, and I think that Tolkien (even with a non-professional knowledge of astronomy) would know that the planets were treated differently than stars were because of their high apparent motion. Consider the complex story around Venus/Earendel's Star and compare it to the relatively simple and singular mention of Borgil. Borgil is not mentioned as being noteworthy for its current position, which implies that its position is fixed or constant, rather than a planet whose motion and position would be notably variable, even for ancient observers.


----------



## Elbereth Vala Varda (Sep 19, 2022)

Deeply intriguing. Thanks for the read.


----------



## Ugluk (Sep 19, 2022)

The Book II Ch 3 (The Ring goes south), passage says:

_The Hunter's Moon waxed round in the night sky, and put to flight all the lesser stars. But low in the South one star shone red. Every night as the Moon waned again, it shone brighter and brighter. Frodo could see it from his window, deep in the heavens, burning like a watchful eye that glared above the trees on the brink of the valley._

The astronomical aspects are:

The Moon is passing from full to last quarter, so, using the 1943 phases as a guide, this is November 12-20th.

The red star is low in the southern sky, therefore, like Borgil, this star is either on or close to the ecliptic.

It one of the few stars visible when the Moon is full and gets brighter as time progresses, either because it appears brighter as the Moon wanes, or is increasing in brightness - or both.

Mars lies on the ecliptic, is brightest at opposition (when it is closest to Earth), in 1943 this was December 5th. This was a mid distance opposition, essentially identical in configuration to this year's on December 8th, when it will have a magnitude of -1.9. This is much brighter than Aldebaran (as an irregular variable whose magnitude is 0.75-0.95) or Betelgeuse (also an irregular variable, from 0 to 1.6). The brightness of Mars would steadily increase over this period (check it for yourself) as the planet draws closer (note that astronomical magnitudes are both positive and negative, the lower the value (including negative numbers) the brighter the object.

To me this star seems mostly likely to be Mars. Especially as:

The description seems to be ominous (_But low in the South one star shone red... it shone brighter and brighter... burning like a watchful eye..._) hinting at a parallel with the growing threat of Sauron symbolised by the red eye.

Plus the association in western astrology of Mars with war, with the approach of conflict paralleling the increasing brightness as Mars approaches opposition.

Like I said, you can watch a similar configuration this year. There is a full Moon November 8th and last quarter November 16th, with Mars opposition December 8th (which is another full Moon, in 1943 it would have been December 12th, a week after opposition.

So clear skies permitting, those in the northern hemisphere can replicate the sight seen by Frodo (and probably Tolkien)


----------



## Elbereth Vala Varda (Sep 19, 2022)

Very VERY interesting! 

Also the term _burning _to me signifies Mars in its red hue and ominous pigment. I had speculations on this prior to your post, and you have well confirmed each of them.

Thank you.


----------



## Deimos (Sep 20, 2022)

Borgil could be Betelgeuse but I don't think it is for this reason:

Borgil is seen (mentioned) first, then the mist clears, and Menelvagor (Orion) is revealed and is said to be climbing.
At the latitude we are assuming for this (Oxford) Betelgeuse is not really "leading" the rest of Orion, but rather is rising with his torso.
By way of comparison where I live (about 33deg N) when Orion rises he is almost lying on his side, such that Betelgeuse and Rigel (did Tolkien have name for Rigel?) are almost parallel to the horizon for a little while (meaning, if you drew a line from one to the other), even tho' they are diagonally opposite (B= right shoulder, R= left foot) and Aldebaran is already well ahead.
Whether Borgil is Mars, it is possible I suppose, but I think it it is more likely that Tolkien meant it to be Aldebaran.
I think the Red "Star" in the South is Mars for all the reasons Ugluk states.


----------

