The Zodiac: Map or Magic?
Part 1
A Rational Astrology
The zodiac began life simply as an iconographic means of dividing the circle of the sky into areas named for star patterns, making it easier to observe and record the motions of stars and planets. Most of the brighter stars in the whole sky are grouped into constellations which suggest the form of an object or animal. Twelve of these constellations lie in a band some 17° wide around the Earth's ecliptic - the path of the sun as seen from the Earth and very nearly the mean orbital plane of the sun's planets. They act as backdrops to all the actions of the sun, moon and planets and the zodiac, as astrology would have it, is the theatre in which the dramas of our little lives are played out symbolically.
Although the constellations themselves differ vastly in size, a standard 30° section of the zodiacal belt was given over to each of the twelve signs designating them. The whole sums to the 360° which the Babylonians found to be a convenient division of the circle. If nothing else, the zodiac marks the turning year; does it also mark our turning fortune? - And is there anything to suggest that the zodiac and astrology are more than a fool's quest for meaning in a chaotic and indifferent universe?
Each day, the sun moves from East to West across the sky; each night the stars follow it, likewise moving from East to West. And each year, as the sun moves from North to South, and back again, the great patterns of stars are also seen to have a seasonal cycle; the zodiacal constellations of the winter night sky are diametrically opposite those seen on summer nights. The annually turning zodiac, then, is seen as the major cause of events on the Earth; the quicker motions of sun, moon and other planets as they visit the various signs, add detail. How valid can this assumption be? Is it mere pre-scientific superstition? I do not know whether or not one's future life can be foretold by the stars - though many claim to have found a full astrological reading to provide a remarkable mapping of their future - but do suggest that the stars may indeed provide a fairly accurate assessment of personality, health, aptitude and general proclivity - or would have done so in past ages.
Today, with electric lighting, central heating and air conditioning, frozen foods and rapidly air-transported foods, there is very little difference to us between the seasons in terms of activity, sleep patterns, nutrition and general health. In past ages, nearly all foods were seasonal, with the winter months providing few vitamins and often little in the way of good protein; people were hot in summer and rarely warm in winter; sleep patterns varied as did the amount of daylight. Such seasonal variation must necessarily have affected the state of health of young women in pregnancy and afterwards during lactation; and the overall development and specific maturation in the foetus or neonate would have depended on the state of the mother's health - and the whole of an individual's life is built upon this early development: in short, the date of birth would have been observed to have a significant effect on the health, personality and course of an individual's life.
So much for seasonal differences throughout the year; but what of the differences between years? Or between days? - Or even between hours? There are many cycles in the solar system, some of which are known to produce climatic and radiational changes affecting the Earth, such as the 22-year cycle of sun spots. These cycles could most certainly have real physical consequences. Other phenomena may have no more than the psychological effect of expectation - the so called 'self-fulfilling prophecy'. Should a comet be in the sky when a prince is born, the soothsayers might interpret the sign as a portent that he will be a great conqueror. As he grows up, everyone with whom he is in contact will expect greatness of him and this very ethos will engender the type of personality necessary to perform the act prophesied. Of course, if the prince proves deficient, the soothsayers will be found to have hedged their bets with possible alternatives based on other signs and portents.
|
Ink Amera |
(C) David 7/9/2007 |
Contact |