A few years ago I came across a number of references to the phrase “four corners of the earth” in Hamlet’s Mill. This is a scriptural term and this exact phrase can be found in Isaiah 11:12 (cf. 2 Nephi 21:12), Revelation 7:1, D&C 124:128, and JST Mark 13:31. Additionally, there are many other scriptures that refer to the “four quarters” of the earth. I thought the following references were insightful, especially regarding the temple liturgy of ancient Israel with the High Priest performing the rites of atonement.
The “Frame” of the Ecliptic
Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend wrote that the corners are marked by the four points of the year – the ecliptic:
Meanwhile, it is necessary to explain again what this “earth” is that modern interpreters like to take for a pancake. The mythical earth is, in fact, a plane, but this plane is not our “earth” at all, neither our globe, nor a presupposed homocentrical earth. “Earth” is the implied plane through the four points of the year, marked by the equinoxes and solstices, in other words the ecliptic. And this is why this earth is very frequently said to be quadrangular. The four “corners,” that is, the zodiacal constellations rising heliacally at both the equinoxes and solstices, parts of the “frame” skambha, are the points which determine an “earth.” Every world-age has its own “earth.” It is for this very reason that “ends of the world” are said to take place. A new “earth” arises, when another set of zodiacal constellations brought in by the Precession determines the year points.1
Skambha is a Sanskrit word and means “pillar”; the Finnish correlative is Sampo—in other words, the tree that holds up the sky. The word solstice comes from the Latin sol which means sun, and sistit which means “stands”:
For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky—that is, its noontime elevation does not seem to change. At the solstices the sun’s apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of summer solstice, about June 22, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer. In the Northern Hemisphere the longest day and shortest night of the year occur on this date, marking the beginning of summer. At winter solstice, about December 22, the sun is overhead at noon at the Tropic of Capricorn; this marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. For several days before and after each solstice the sun appears to stand still in the sky, i.e., its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day.2
Equinox , either of two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect. The vernal equinox, also known as “the first point of Aries,” is the point at which the sun appears to cross the celestial equator from south to north. This occurs about Mar. 21, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. At the autumnal equinox, about Sept. 23, the sun again appears to cross the celestial equator, this time from north to south; this marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. On the date of either equinox, night and day are of equal length (12 hr each) in all parts of the world; the word equinox is often used to refer to either of these dates. The equinoxes are not fixed points on the celestial sphere but move westward along the ecliptic, passing through all the constellations of the zodiac in 26,000 years. This motion is called the precession of the equinoxes. The vernal equinox is a reference point in the equatorial coordinate system.3
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