This manner of division accordingly aligned The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac with The Four Times of Year-Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter-which were likewise defined by the solstices and equinoxes. Unlike the twelve constellations, then, The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac divided the 360-degree ecliptic and, by extension, the solar year into equal subsections: each was allocated 30 degrees of celestial longitude, which, Fletcher notes, approximate the number of lunar cycles and calendar months during the same period. Geometer Rachel Fletcher explains that the path of the Sun relative to the solstices and equinoxes-i.e., the two times of year when the Sun crosses the celestial equator-is what determined the astrological signs in the tropical Zodiac. The difference between the two is a matter of annual timing and measure: a tropical year-also known as a solar year-is measured relative to the Sun, whereas a sidereal year is based on the rotation of the Earth relative to the fixed stars and constellations. In this particular context, The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac meant a tropical Zodiac, not a sidereal one. The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac-used by medical astrologers in early-modern Europe-were based on these constellations but not identical with them. The constellations cited in the southern celestial hemisphere were Libra (the Scales), Scorpius (the Scorpion), Sagittarius (the Archer), Capricornus ( the Horned Goat), and Aquarius (the Water Bearer). The constellations of Virgo (the Virgin) and, its opposite, Pisces (the Fish) marked the intersections of the ecliptic and the celestial equator, signaling the Sun's bi-annual transition between the northern and southern hemispheres. Included from the northern celestial hemisphere were Aries (the Ram), Taurus (the Bull), Gemini (the Twins), Cancer (the Crab), and Leo (the Lion). These constellations were twelve in number and encompassed more than the bestial configurations. Accordingly, the "little animals" referred to a selection of constellations through which the Sun appeared to travel over the course of the year. The word Zodiac-or der Tierkreis in German- stems from the Latin zōdiācus, which is a loanword from Ancient Greek meaning “ circle of little animals.” The circle in question was the ecliptic-i.e., the slanted pathway the Sun appears to trace against the background of the stars, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn**, over the course of the Earth's annual orbit. ![]() The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac* were integral to the language, theory, and practice of medical astrology. ![]() This was a system with a staggering number of moving, interlocking, and overlapping parts, for which precise terminology was ultimately key. Following ancient physicians, like Galen of Pergamon (129–ca.215 CE), medical astrologers in early-modern Europe theorized a system of celestial-terrestrial interrelation that further connected The Four Humors and The Four Elements to The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, The Four Times of Year, The Four Cardinal Directions, The Four Elementary Qualities, The Four Temperaments, and The Four Ages of Man, among other considerations. They defined good health and disease as the relative balance and imbalance of these variables, with respect to a particular patient and their unique humoral constitution. The basic premise of humoral medicine was that the human body consisted of Four Humors-i.e., Blood, Phlegm, Yellow Bile, and Black Bile-produced by four internal organs: the Heart, the Brain, the Liver, and the Spleen. Underlying this proposition were the elemental theories of matter and terrestrial organization -inherited from Empedocles (ca.492–432 BCE), Aristotle (384–322 BCE), and Claudius Ptolemy (ca.100–170 CE)- which stressed the primacy of The Four Elements -i.e., Air, Fire, Earth, Water- in the sublunary spheres. By the late fifteenth century, these premises were revitalized and codified into practical medical doctrines together with another theory from the early Hippocratic corpus: humoral medicine. Historiated Letter "C." Click the image for more information.Ĭorrespondence between the celestial and terrestrial spheres was a fundamental premise of early-modern medical astrology. ![]() Astronomer with compass and globe on a throne symbolizing the universe.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |