５ A : FREE WILL TO GET OWN POINT

From the contact from one Japanese young man

くくり点太素さんへ (現実大好きっ子)

2012-06-05 20:00:01

私のコメントを使っていただきありがとうございます。
私のコメは気がつけば一つのテーマがありましたね。悪魔、男根、ミロク、両性具有、牛くん、物質文明（シリウス）、など。
これらを1つに表す、クロウリーのトートタロットの「15　悪魔」のカードは興味深いです。そこには両性具有とされるバフォメットと、男根をも表す生命の木が描かれています。
I realised that , that is about my most comments. They have linked to the one big theme of Mystic face : Satan,Devil,Linga, Miroku,Black Bull,Bisexual,A material culture and so on. 
Those subjects can go into one symbol so,I interested Crowley Thuth Tarot, specially for [15 Devil] as a one of card.
A bisexual Baphomet and Life tree 
as a meaning of Penis which had has been drawn on its card 15, it make me feel so imaginative.


THUTH TAROT: トート・タロット (Thoth Tarot) とは、近代西洋儀式魔術の魔術師、アレイスター・クロウリーがデザインし、女流画家フリーダ・ハリスが描いたタロットである。
歴史 [編集]

まず1944年に、クロウリーによるタロット解説書『トートの書』の挿絵として発表される。しかしカードとしての出版は長らく叶わず、1969年になって、ようやくカード化された。主な特徴として、やや大判のサイズとサイケデリックな絵柄が挙げられる。タロット愛好家からの評価は高い。しかし、出版年からも分かる通り、クロウリーの死後に出版されている為、実際に彼自身が選んだ図柄が出版されているか不明で、近年では魔術師のカードが複数枚入ったセットも出版されている。その他のカードにおいても同様に、クロウリーの指示によってハリスの描いた、ラフではない絵が複数枚ある事でも有名。

他のタロットとの相違点 [編集]

ウェイト版などと同じく、黄金の夜明け団の教義に基づいてはいるが、クロウリー独自の解釈も加わっており、かなり相違点がある。

一例として、ウェイト版では、マルセイユ版などの伝統的なものと違い 、大アルカナの「正義」と「力」の番号が入れ代わっていたが、トート・タロットではマルセイユ版の数列と同じになっている。また、大アルカナや小アルカナのカードの名称変更が多い。

名称変更された大アルカナは、

• 『正義』 JUSTICE が 『調整』 Adjustment
• 『力』 STRENGTH が 『欲望』 Lust
• 『節制』 TEMPERANCE が 『技』 Art
• 『審判』 JUDGEMENT が 『永劫』 The Aeon
• 『世界』 THE WORLD が 『宇宙』 The Universe

以上の5枚である。

小アルカナの方は人物札が、『騎士』 Knight、『女王』 Queen、『王子』 Prince、『王女』Princess（代表的なタロットでは王、女王、騎士、小姓）に、それぞれ変更されている。そのほか、大アルカナ、小アルカナとは別に、「獣の印」とよぱれる一筆書きの六芒星が描かれたカードが入る版もある。

カードの概説 [編集]

トートタロットでは一般的に呼称される大アルカナを『アテュ』と呼称し、小アルカナを『スモール・カード』と呼称している。スモール・カードの人物札は『コート・カード』と呼称しており、一般的なタロットと同じである。

アテュ [編集]

• 0 『愚者（The Fool）』

• I 『魔術師（The Magus）』

裸の魔術師が描かれている。

• II 『女司祭（The Priestess）』

• III 『女帝（The Empress）』

• IV 『皇帝（The Emperor）』

• V 『神官（The Hierophant）』

• VI 『恋人（The Lovers）』

• VII 『戦車（The Chariot）』

牛・鷲・天使・ライオンのスフィンクスを従え、聖杯を抱え持つ御者の姿が描かれている。

• VIII 『調整（Adjustment）』

• IX 『隠者（The Hermit）』

隠者が持つカンテラが光輝いている。右下にケルベロス、左下には精子が描かれている。

• X 『運命の輪（Fortune）』

「絶えず流動する宇宙」だとされる。

• XI 『欲望（Lust）』

七つの顔を持つ獣に乗った女が描かれている。これはベイバロンとされている。

• XII 『吊られた男（The Hanged Man）』

逆さに磔にされた男の姿が描かれている。

• XIII 『死神（Death）』

死の舞踏を舞う漆黒の死神の姿が描かれている。

• XIV 『技（Art）』

二つの顔を持つ錬金術師が、大釜の中に火と水を注ぎ混ぜ合わせている。

• XV 『悪魔（The Devil）』

三つ目の山羊はバフォメット（あるいはパーン）を表す。

• XVI 『塔（The Tower ）』

建物が炎などにより破壊されている。

• XVII 『星（The Star）』

• XVIII 『月（The Moon）』

基本構成は従来の物と同じだが、二人のアヌビスが向かい合っている図が描かれている。

• XIX 『太陽（The Sun）』

太陽の周りを黄道十二宮が取り囲んでいる図が描かれている。

• XX 『永劫（The Aeon）』

中央にホルスが描かれている。

• XXI 『宇宙（The Universe）』

参考文献 [編集]

• アレイスター・クロウリー『トートの書』（1991年、国書刊行会）ISBN 4-336-04647-6

外部リンク [編集]

• Tarot Museum
• ___________________________

前にも書きましたが、このカード「１５＝悪魔」はヘブライ文字の「アイン」に対応し、「アイン」は目の意味です。

This card [ 15= The Devil ] is corresponding [Eye] which was translated into Hebrew.
A question : 
Q :  再度の質問です。
古代から世界各地に伝わるホルスの目やメイソンのピラミッドアイなどは人間を食すタイプの旧神の眼を表現したものなのでしょうか?
 *_ホルスは、ラーと習合したラー・ホルアクティ（Ra-Harakhte、「地上のホルスたるラー」の意）を初め、様々な神との習合が見られる。エジプトを象徴する模様として有名な「ウジャトの目」とは、ホルスの目のことである_*_*_フリーメーソン（英: Freemason）は、16世紀後半から17世紀初頭に、判然としない起源から起きた友愛結社。現在多様な形で全世界に存在し、その会員数は600万人に上り、うち15万人はスコットランド・グランドロッジならびにアイルランド・グランドロッジの管区下に、25万人は英連邦グランドロッジに^[1]、200万人は米国のグランドロッジに所属している^[2]。「フリーメイソン」は厳密には各個人会員の事を指しており、団体名としては英: Freemasonry（フリーメイソンリー）、仏:Franc-maçonnerie（フランマソヌリ）、独:Freimaurerei（フライマウレライ）である。
Since an ancient ,
The Eye of Horus and 
A Pyramid Eye of Freemasonry has been spread among many part of the whole world.
Are they (Eyes) as symbols describing 
The  ancient God`s Eye sort of eats 
a mankind ?
__Answer by Ise-Hakusan Dou_
。。。そうです。生贄を求める存在です。交換条件です。
Yes they are.  
A existence to demand sacrifice, victim, offering.
It is a bargaining point.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
交換条件＝願掛け＝眼欠けに通じそうなこのシンボル。
A bargaining point = Gankake (in Japanese 願掛け) : Asking, Begging to God = Gankake  ( in Japanese 眼欠け) : Lose own eye after asked to God for something of self`s life be better. 
*___That symbol of Eye to a human eye`s image is just like Eye to eye.
I (eye) ask to Eye then lose my own eye. 
Oh, my.......


またこのカードは占星術の宮では磨羯宮に対応しますが、磨羯宮の支配惑星は土星で、土星（Saturn、サターン）はサタン(Satan)であります。
Also this card 15 relates to the Planet Saturn by Zodiac house. 
Saturn is same as Satan.
*___In both astrology and historical astronomy, the zodiac (Greek: ζῳδιακός, zōdiakos) is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude that are centered upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets also remain close to the ecliptic, within the belt of the zodiac, which extends 8-9° north or south of the ecliptic, as measured in celestial latitude. Historically, these twelve divisions are called signs. Essentially, the zodiac is acelestial coordinate system, or more specifically an ecliptic coordinate system, which takes the ecliptic as the origin of latitude, and the position of the sun at vernal equinox as the origin oflongitude.

*___Wheel of the zodiac: This 6th century mosaic pavement in a synagogue incorporates Greek-Byzantine elements, Beit Alpha, Israel. 
*___The Earth in its orbit around the Suncauses the Sun to appear on the celestial sphere moving over the ecliptic (red), which is tilted with respect to the equator (blue).
___________________________
そして磨羯宮で「興」となる火星がそのエネルギーを与えていますが、火星の惑星記号はオスの表記「♂」に転用されていますし、その記号♂が男根のようにも見えるのが興味深いです。
And Mars is [ Promote, produce] , giving a energy to Saturn. A Mar`s planet sign is 「♂」as a sign of Male. That sign seems Penis,such interesting.


*___I agree, its sign seems Penis. I got this sentence [ A father of LINGA faith ] in my mind because I got a name of : Kunitokotachi Ookami as Japan island it self in my mind.
  Japan rise like a phoenx from the ashes. 


____ TO BE CONTINUED ____ As below : Zodiac_

History

Further information: Former constellations and Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning

[edit]Early history

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Further information: Babylonian star catalogues and MUL.APIN

The division of the ecliptic into the zodiacal signs originates in Babylonian("Chaldean") astronomy during the first half of the 1st millennium BC, likely duringMedian/"Neo-Babylonian" times (7th century BC),^[3] The classical zodiac is a modification of the MUL.APIN catalogue, which was compiled around 1000 BC. Some of the constellations can be traced even further back, to Bronze Age (Old Babylonian) sources, including Gemini "The Twins", from MAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL "The Great Twins", and Cancer "The Crab", from AL.LUL "The Crayfish", among others.

Babylonian astronomers at some stage during the early 1st millennium BC divided the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude to create the first known celestial coordinate system: a coordinate system that boasts some advantages over modern systems (such as equatorial coordinate system). The Babylonian calendar as it stood in the 7th century BC assigned each month to a sign, beginning with the position of the Sun at vernal equinox, which, at the time, was depicted as the Aries constellation ("Age of Aries"), for which reason the first constellation is still called "Aries" even after the vernal equinox has moved away from the Aries constellation due to the slow precession of the Earth's axis of rotation.^[4]

Because the division was made into equal arcs, 30º each, they constituted an ideal system of reference for making predictions about a planet's longitude. However, Babylonian techniques of observational measurements were in a rudimentary stage of evolution and it was probably beyond their capacity to define in a precise way the boundary lines between the zodiacal signs in the sky^[5]. Thus, the need to use stars close to the ecliptic (±9º of latitude) as a set of observational reference points to help positioning a planet within this ecliptic coordinate system^[6]. Constellations were given the names of the signs and asterisms could be connected in a way that would resemble the sign's name. Therefore, in spite of its conceptual origin, the Babylonian zodiac became sidereal^[7].

In Babylonian astronomical records, a planet position was generally given with respect to a zodiacal sign alone, less often in specific degrees within a sign^[8]. When the degrees of longitude were given, they were expressed with reference to the 30º of the zodiacal sign, i.e., not with a reference to the continuous 360º ecliptic^[9]. To the construction of their mathematical ephemerides, daily positions of a planet were not as important as the dates when the planet crossed from one zodiacal sign to the next^[10].

Knowledge of the Babylonian zodiac is also reflected in the Hebrew Bible. E. W. Bullinger interpreted the creatures appearing in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation as the middle signs of the four quarters of the Zodiac,^[11][12] with the Lion as Leo, the Bull is Taurus, the Man representing Aquarius and the Eagle representing Scorpio.^[13] Some authors have linked the twelve tribes of Israel with the twelve signs. Martin and others have argued that the arrangement of the tribes around the Tabernacle (reported in the Book of Numbers) corresponded to the order of the Zodiac, with Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan representing the middle signs of Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio, respectively.^[14][15] Such connections were taken up by Thomas Mann, who in his novel Joseph and His Brothers attributes characteristics of a sign of the zodiac to each tribe in his rendition of the Blessing of Jacob.

[edit]Hellenistic and Roman era

The 1st century BC Dendera zodiac(19th-century engraving)

The Babylonian star catalogs entered Greek astronomy in the 4th century BC, via Eudoxus of Cnidus and others. Babylonia orChaldea in the Hellenistic world came to be so identified with astrology that "Chaldean wisdom" became among Greeks andRomans the synonym of divination through the planets and stars.Hellenistic astrology originated from Babylonian and Egyptian astrology. Horoscopic astrology first appeared in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Dendera zodiac, a relief dating to ca. 50 BC, is the first known depiction of the classical zodiac of twelve signs.

Particularly important in the development of Western horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy, whose workTetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks, and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and signs of the zodiac were rationalized and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day.^[16] Ptolemy lived in the 2nd century AD, three centuries after the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes by Hipparchusaround 130 BC, but he ignored the problem by dropping the concept of a fixed celestial sphere and adopting what is referred to as a tropical coordinate system instead.

[edit]Hindu zodiac

The Hindu zodiac uses the sidereal coordinate system, which makes reference to the fixed stars. The Tropical zodiac (of Mesopotamian origin) is divided by the intersections of the ecliptic and equator, which shifts in relation to the backdrop of fixed stars at a rate of 1° every 72 years, creating the phenomenon known asprecession of the equinoxes. The Hindu zodiac, being sidereal, does not maintain this seasonal alignment, but there are still similarities between the two systems. The Hindu zodiac signs and corresponding Greek signs sound very different, being in Sanskrit and Greek respectively, but their symbols are nearly identical. For example, dhanu means "bow" and corresponds to Sagittarius, the "archer", and kumbha means "water-pitcher" and corresponds to Aquarius, the "water-carrier". The correspondence of signs is taken to suggest the possibility of early interchange of cultural influences.

[edit]Middle Ages and early modern period

The zodiac signs as shown in a 16th-century woodcut

A 17th-century fresco from theCathedral of Living Pillar inGeorgia depicting Christ within the Zodiac circle

The High Middle Ages saw a revival of Greco-Roman magic, first inKabbalism and later continued in Renaissance magic. This included magical uses of the zodiac, as found, e.g., in the Sefer Raziel HaMalakh.

The zodiacal symbols are Early Modern simplifications of conventional pictorial representations of the signs, attested since Hellenistic times. The symbols are encoded in Unicode at positions U+2648 to U+2653 in the Miscellaneous Symbols block.

[edit]The twelve signs

Main article: Astrological sign

What follows is a list of the twelve signs of the modern zodiac (with the ecliptic longitudes of their first points), where 0° Aries is understood as the vernal equinox, with their Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and Babylonian names (but note that the Sanskrit and the Babylonian name equivalents denote the constellations only, not the tropical zodiac signs). Also, the "English translation" is not usually used by English speakers. The Latin names are standard English usage.

№	Symbol	Long.	Latin name	English translation	Greek name	Sanskrit name	Sumero-Babylonian name[17]
1	♈	0°	Aries	The Ram	Κριός/Kriós	Meṣha(मेष)	MUL LUḪUN.GA "The Agrarian Worker", Dumuzi
2	♉	30°	Taurus	The Bull	Ταῦρος/Tauros	Vṛiṣabha(वृषभ)	MULGU4.AN.NA "The Steer of Heaven"
3	♊	60°	Gemini	The Twins	Δίδυμοι/Didymoi	Mithuna(मिथुन)	MULMAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL"The Great Twins" (Castorand Pollux)
4	♋	90°	Cancer	The Crab	Καρκῖνος/Carcinos	Karkaṭa(कर्कट)	MULAL.LUL "The Crayfish"
5	♌	120°	Leo	The Lion	Λέων/Léōn	Siṃha(सिंह)	MULUR.GU.LA "The Lion"
6	♍	150°	Virgo	The Maiden	Παρθένος/Parthénos	Kanyā(कन्या)	MULAB.SIN "The Furrow"; "The Furrow, the goddessShala's ear of corn"
7	♎	180°	Libra	The Scales	Ζυγός/Zygós	Tula(तुला)	zibanitum "The Scales"
8	♏	210°	Scorpio	The Scorpion	Σκoρπιός/Scorpiós	Vṛścika(वृश्चिक)	MULGIR.TAB "The Scorpion"
9	♐	240°	Sagittarius	The (Centaur) Archer	Τοξότης/Toxótēs	Dhanus(धनुष)	MULPA.BIL.SAG, Nedu"soldier"
10	♑	270°	Capricorn	"Goat-horned" (The Sea-Goat)	Αἰγόκερως/Aegócerōs	Makara(मकर)	MULSUḪUR.MAŠ "The Goat-Fish"
11	♒	300°	Aquarius	The Water-Bearer	Ὑδροχόος/Hydrochóos	Kumbha(कुम्भ)	MULGU.LA "The Great One", later qâ "pitcher"
12	♓	330°	Pisces	The Fish	Ἰχθύες/Ιchthues	Mīna(मीन)	MULSIM.MAḪ "The Tail of the Swallow", later DU.NU.NU "fish-cord"

18th century star map illustrating how the feet of Ophiuchus cross the ecliptic

[edit]Zodiacal constellations

It is important to distinguish the zodiacal signs from theconstellations associated with them, not only because of their drifting apart due to the precession of equinoxes but also because the physical constellations by nature of their varying shapes and forms take up varying widths of the ecliptic. Thus, Virgo takes up fully five times as much ecliptic longitude as Scorpius. The zodiacal signs, on the other hand, are an abstraction from the physical constellations designed to represent exactly one twelfth of the full circle each, or the longitude traversed by the Sun in about 30.4 days.^[18]

There have always been a number of "parazodiacal" constellations that are also touched by the paths of the planets. The MUL.APINlists Orion, Perseus, Auriga, and Andromeda. Furthermore, there are a number of constellations mythologically associated with the zodiacal ones : Piscis Austrinus, The Southern Fish, is attached to Aquarius. In classical maps, it swallows the stream poured out of Aquarius' pitcher, but perhaps it formerly just swam in it. Aquila, The Eagle, was possibly associated with the zodiac by virtue of its main star, Altair.^{[citation needed]} Hydra in the Early Bronze Age marked the celestial equator and was associated with Leo, which is shown standing on the serpent on the Dendera zodiac.^{[citation needed]} Corvus is the Crow or Raven mysteriously perched on the tail of Hydra.

Due to the constellation boundaries being redefined in 1930 by the International Astronomical Union, the path of the ecliptic now officially passes through thirteen constellations: the twelve traditional 'zodiac constellations' plus Ophiuchus, the bottom part of which interjects between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Ophiuchus is an anciently recognized constellation, catalogued along with many others in Ptolemy's Almagest, but not historically referred to as a zodiac constellation.^[19]

The technically inaccurate description of Ophiuchus as a sign of the zodiac dates to the 1970s.^{[citation needed]}This drew prominent media attention on 20 January 1985, following the BBC's opening 'Nine o'clock News' announcement that "an extra sign of the zodiac has been announced by the Royal Astronomical Society".^[20]Investigation into the source of the story revealed there had been no such announcement, and that the report had merely sensationalized the 67-year-old 'news' of the IAU's decision to alter the number of designated ecliptic constellations. This was done for the purposes of promoting a forthcoming BBC astronomy program, presented by the RAS's Public Relation Officer, which touched upon the topic of precession.^[21] The false assumption that Ophiuchus constitutes an astrological sign periodically resurfaces in the media, due to public misconception and failure to appreciate that the irregular astronomical demarcation of visible constellations does not relate to the separate frame of reference provided by the equally spaced twelve-fold longitude division of the ecliptic into zodiacal signs.^[22]

[edit]Table of dates

The following table compares the Gregorian dates on which the Sun enters

• a sign in the Ptolemaic tropical zodiac
• a sign in the Hindu sidereal system
• the astronomical constellation of the same name as the sign, with constellation boundaries as defined in 1930 by the International Astronomical Union.

The theoretical beginning of Aries is the moment of vernal equinox, and all other dates shift accordingly. The precise Gregorian times and dates vary slightly from year to year as the Gregorian calendar shifts relative to the tropical year.^[23] These variations remain within less than two days' difference in the recent past and the near-future, vernal equinox in UTC always falling either on 20 or 21 of March in the period of 1797 to 2043, falling on 19 March in 1796 the last time and in 2044 the next.^[24]

Sign[25]				Constellation[26][27]
Name	Symbol	Tropical zodiac (2011)	Sidereal zodiac (2011)	Name	IAU boundaries (2011)	Solar stay	Brightest star
Aries		21 March – 20 April	15 April - 15 May	Aries	18 April – 14 May	25.5 days	Hamal
Taurus		21 April – 21 May	16 May - 15 June	Taurus	14 May – 21 June	38.2 days	Aldebaran
Gemini		22 May – 21 June	16 June - 15 July	Gemini	21 June – 20 July	29.3 days	Pollux
Cancer		22 June – 22 July	16 July - 15 August	Cancer	20 July – 10 August	21.1 days	Al Tarf
Leo		23 July – 22 August	16 August - 15 September	Leo	10 August – 16 September	36.9 days	Regulus
Virgo		23 August – 23 September	16 September - 15 October	Virgo	16 September – 31 October	44.5 days	Spica
Libra		24 September – 23 October	16 October - 16 November	Libra	31 October – 21 November	21.1 days	Zubeneschamali
Scorpio		24 October – 22 November	16 November - 15 December	Scorpius	21 November – 29 November	8.4 days	Antares
Ophiuchus		n/a		Ophiuchus	29 November – 17 December	18.4 days	Rasalhague
Sagittarius		23 November – 21 December	16 December - 14 January	Sagittarius	17 December – 20 January	33.6 days	Kaus Australis
Capricorn		22 December – 20 January	15 January – 14 February	Capricornus	20 January – 16 February	27.4 days	Deneb Algedi
Aquarius		21 January – 19 February	15 February - 14 March	Aquarius	16 February – 12 March	23.9 days	Sadalsuud
Pisces		20 February – 20 March	15 March - 14 April	Pisces	12 March – 19 April	37.7 days	Eta Piscium

Because the Earth's axis is at an angle, some signs take longer to rise than others, and the farther away from the equator the observer is situated, the greater the difference. Thus, signs are spoken of as "long" or "short" ascension.^[28]

[edit]Precession of the equinoxes

Further information: Precession of the equinoxes, Epoch (astronomy), Sidereal and tropical astrology, Astrological age, and Ayanamsa

Path taken by the point of vernal equinox along the ecliptic over the past 6000 years

The zodiac system was developed in Babylonia, some 2,500 years ago, during the "Age of Aries". At the time, it is assumed, the precession of the equinoxeswas unknown, as the system made no allowance for it. Contemporary use of the coordinate system is presented with the choice of interpreting the system either as sidereal, with the signs fixed to the stellar background, or as tropical, with the signs fixed to the point of vernal equinox.

Western astrology takes the tropical approach, whereas Hindu astrology takes the sidereal one. This results in the originally unified zodiacal coordinate system drifting apart gradually, with a precession angular clockwise (westward) velocity of about 1.4 degrees per century.

For the tropical zodiac used in Western astronomy and astrology, this means that the tropical sign of Aries currently lies somewhere within the constellation Pisces ("Age of Pisces").

The sidereal coordinate system takes into account the ayanamsa, a Sanskrit word where literally ayan means transit or movement and amsa means small part i.e. movement of equinoxes in small parts. It is unclear when Indians became aware of the precession of the equinoxes, but Bhaskar-ii in Siddhanta Shiromani gives equations for measurement of precession of equinoxes, and says his equations are based on some lost equations of Suryasiddhanta plus the equation of Munjaala.

It is not entirely clear how the Hellenistic astronomers responded to this phenomenon of precession once it had been discovered by Hipparchus around 130 BC. Today, some read Ptolemy as dropping the concept of a fixed celestial sphere and adopting what is referred to as a tropical coordinate system instead: in other words, one fixed to the Earth's seasonal cycle rather than the distant stars.

Some modern Western astrologers, such as Cyril Fagan, have advocated abandoning the tropical system in favour of a sidereal one.

[edit]In modern astronomy

Further information: Epoch (astronomy)

The zodiac is a spherical celestial coordinate system. It designates the ecliptic as its fundamental plane and the position of the Sun at Vernal equinox as its prime meridian.

In astronomy, the zodiacal constellations are a convenient way of marking the ecliptic (the Sun's path across the sky) and the path of the moon and planets along the ecliptic. Modern astronomy still uses tropical coordinates for predicting the positions the Sun, Moon, and planets, except longitude in the ecliptic coordinate system is numbered from 0° to 360°, not 0° to 30° within each sign. Longitude within individual signs was still being used as late as 1740 by Jacques Cassini in his Tables astronomiques.

Zodiac is also used to refer to the zodiacal cloud of dust grains that move among the planets and the zodiacal light that originates from their scattering of sunlight.

Unlike the zodiac signs in astrology, which are all thirty degrees in length, the astronomical constellations vary widely in size. The boundaries of all the constellations in the sky were set by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1930. This was, in essence, a mapping exercise to make the work of astronomers more efficient, and the boundaries of the constellations are not therefore in any meaningful sense an 'equivalent' to the zodiac signs. Along with the twelve original constellations, the boundaries of a thirteenth constellation,Ophiuchus (the serpent bearer), were set by astronomers within the bounds of the zodiac.

[edit]Mnemonics

There are many mnemonics for remembering the 12 signs of the zodiac in order. A traditional mnemonic:

The ram, the bull, the heavenly twins,

And next the crab, the lion shines,

The virgin and the scales,

The scorpion, archer, and the goat,

The man who holds the watering-pot,

And fish with glittering scales.^[29]

A less poetic, but succinct and perhaps more memorable, mnemonic is the following:

The Ramble Twins Crab Liverish; Scaly Scorpions Are Good Water Fish. ^[30]

("Ramble" is for Ram (Aries), Bull (Taurus). "Twins" is for Gemini and "Crab" for Cancer. "Liverish" recalls Lion, Virgin (Leo and Virgo). "Scaly" recalls Scale (Libra). "Scorpion" is for Scorpio, and "Are" for Archer (Sagittarius). "Good" is for Goat (Capricorn), "Water" for the Water Bearer (Aquarius) and "Fish" for Pisces.)

Mnemonics in which the initials of the words correspond to the initials of the star signs (Latin, English, or mixed):

All The Great Constellations Live Very Long Since Stars Can't Alter Physics.^[31]

As The Great Cook Likes Very Little Salt, She Compensates Adding Pepper.

Really Boring Teachers Can Live Very Sadly Since Apples Give Worthless Feelings.

All That Gold Can Load Very Lazy Students Since Children Are at Play

[edit]Unicode characters

In Unicode, the symbols are encoded in block Miscellaneous Symbols:^[32]

1. U+2648 ♈ aries (HTML: ♈)
2. U+2649 ♉ taurus (HTML: ♉)
3. U+264A ♊ gemini (HTML: ♊)
4. U+264B ♋ cancer (HTML: ♋)
5. U+264C ♌ leo (HTML: ♌)
6. U+264D ♍ virgo (HTML: ♍)
7. U+264E ♎ libra (HTML: ♎)
8. U+264F ♏ scorpius (HTML: ♏)
9. U+2650 ♐ sagittarius (HTML: ♐)
10. U+2651 ♑ capricorn (HTML: ♑)
11. U+2652 ♒ aquarius (HTML: ♒)
12. U+2653 ♓ pisces (HTML: ♓)

[edit]See also

Astrology portal

• Alexander A. Gurshtein
• Astronomical symbols
• Circle of stars
• Cusp (astrology)
• Elements of the zodiac

[edit]References

1. ^ see MUL.APIN. See also Lankford, John History of Astronomy Routledge 1996 ISBN 978-0-8153-0322-0P.43,books.google.co.uk
2. ^ OED, citing J. Harris, Lexicon Technicum (1704): "Zodiack of the Comets, Cassini hath observed a certain Tract [...] within whose Bounds [...] he hath found most Comets [...] to keep."
3. ^ Powell 2004
4. ^ Hugh Thurston, Early Astronomy, (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1994), p. 135–137.
5. ^ Sachs (1948), p. 289.
6. ^ Rochberg (1998), pp. 31.
7. ^ Rochberg (1998), pp. 17, 19.
8. ^ Rochberg (1998), p. 7.
9. ^ Rochberg (1998), p. 17.
10. ^ Rochberg (1998), p. 8.
11. ^ E.W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars
12. ^ D. James Kennedy, The Real Meaning of the Zodiac.
13. ^ Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Vol. 1 (New York: Dover Publications, 1899, p. 213-215.) argued for Scorpio having previously been called Eagle. for Scorpio.
14. ^ Ernest L. Martin, The Birth of Christ Recalculated (Pasadena, California: Foundation for Biblical Research, second ed., 1980), p. 167ff.^{[clarification needed]}
15. ^ D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer (ed.), The New Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., third ed., 1970) p. 173.
16. ^ Derek and Julia Parker, Ibid, p16, 1990
17. ^ MUL.APIN; Peter Whitfield, History of Astrology (2001); W. Muss-Arnolt, The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents, Journal of Biblical Literature (1892).
18. ^ 30.4368 SI days or 2629743 seconds in tropical astrology and 30.4380 SI days or 2629846 seconds insidereal astrology on average (the time spent by the Sun in each sign varies slightly due to the eccentricity of theEarth's orbit).
19. ^ Ptolemy (2nd cent.). "VII.5". In R. Catesby Taliaferro. Almagest (1982 ed.). p. 239. Ptolemy refers to the constellation as Septentarius 'the serpent holder'.
20. ^ Kollerstrom, N. (October 1995). "Ophiuchus and the media". The Observatory (KNUDSEN; OBS) 115: 261–262. Bibcode 1995Obs...115..261K. Reproduced online at SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS), retrieved 13 July 2011.
21. ^ Kollerstrom, N. (October 1995). "Ophiuchus and the media". The Observatory (KNUDSEN; OBS) 115: 261–262. Bibcode 1995Obs...115..261K.
22. ^ The notion received further international media attention in January 2011, when it was reported that astronomer Parke Kunkle, a board-member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, had suggested that Ophiuchus was the zodiac's '13th sign'. He later issued a statement to say he had not reported that the zodiac ought to include 13 signs instead of 12, but was only mentioning that there were 13 constellations; reported inMad Astronomy: Why did your zodiac sign change? 13 January 2011.
23. ^ The Gregorian calendar is built to satisfy the First Council of Nicaea, which placed vernal equinox is on 21 March, but it is not possible to keep it on a single day within a reasonable system of leap days.
24. ^ See Jean Meeus, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, 1983 published by Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, Virginia. The date in other time zones may vary.
25. ^ Jackson Swift (2011-05-31). "Astrology: Tropical Zodiac and Sidereal Zodiac". goarticles.com. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
26. ^ "Astronomical Almanac Online!(subscribers) U.S. Naval Observatory 2008". Asa.usno.navy.mil. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
27. ^ IAU concluded in 1977
28. ^ Julia Parker "The Astrologer's Handbook", pp 10, Alva Press, NJ, 2010
29. ^ Project Gutenberg ebook "An Alphabet Of Old Friends"; see Z for Zodiac.
30. ^ Rey, H.A. (1952). The Stars, Houghton Mifflin.
31. ^ Mnemonic: Zodiac Signs "Mnemonic: Zodiac Signs"
32. ^ "Zodiacal symbols in Unicode block Miscellaneous Symbols". The Unicode Standard>date=2010.

• B. L. van der Waerden, "History of the zodiac", Archiv für Orientforschung 16 (1953) 216–230.
• Emelianov, Vladimir. Nippurskij kalendar' i rannjaja istorija Zodiaka (Nippur Calendar and the Early History of Zodiac). St.-Petersburg, Peterburgskoje vostokovedenje, 1999.
• Ptolemy, Claudius (1998). The Almagest. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00260-6Translated and annotated by G. J. Toomer; with a foreword by Owen Gingerich.
• Powell, Robert, Influence of Babylonian Astronomy on the Subsequent Defining of the Zodiac (2004), PhD thesis, summarized by anonymous editor, Wayback version.
• Tropical v Sidereal debate, The Traditional Astrologer magazine, (Ascella), Issue 14, May 1997, pp. 23–27
• Peters, Christian Heinrich Friedrich and Edward Ball Knobel. Ptolemy's Catalogue of Stars: a revision of the Almagest. (1915). Publishers, Carnegie Institution of Washington.
• Rochberg, Francesca (1998), "Babylonian Horoscopes", American Philosophical Society, New Series, Vol. 88, No. 1, pp i-164
• Sachs, Abraham (1948), "A Classification of the Babylonian Astronomical Tablets of the Seleucid Period", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 271-290

[edit]External links

 Media related to Zodiac at Wikimedia Commons

[hide] v   t   e The Zodiac
Astrology | Signs of the Zodiac
Aries													Taurus													Gemini													Cancer													Leo													Virgo													Libra													Scorpio													Sagittarius													Capricorn													Aquarius													Pisces
Astronomy | Constellations of the Ecliptic
Aries												Taurus												Gemini												Cancer												Leo												Virgo												Libra												Scorpius												Ophiuchus												Sagittarius												Capricornus												Aquarius												Pisces
See also:   Ecliptic coordinates   Precession of the equinoxes   13-sign zodiac   Zodiacal light

[show] v   t   e Greek astronomy

[show] v   t   e Western zodiac

[show] v   t   e Astrology

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