13th sign?
Ophiuchus - the Serpent Bearer (The Sun Ingress is between 30th November - 18th December)
Ophiuchus holding the serpent, Serpens, as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London circa 1825. Image via Adam Cuerden (public domain)
Is The Serpent Bearer really a conveniently forgotten constellation that honours the feminine, intentionally suppressed by the patriarchy? Was it truly not known by humanity until the 20th century? Were our predecessors so primitive that they didn’t know that this ‘asterism’ was not caressing the ecliptic?
Attempts to diminish the status of astrology are not simply a product of the Age of Reason. Historically astrology has always had its critics, especially regarding its practise, as humans have sat in judgement against those world view differs to their own. Debates have revolved around the practice of judicial astrology more than natural or mundane astrology, by those ordained within the Christian tradition, focusing on the issue of free will and fate, a thorn that remains embedded in the side of astrologers. Since the 16th century those attacks have been arisen from proponents of science, who mistakeningly believe that astrology requires a physical mechanism that can be consistently replicated to exist. Those arguments focus on the issue of Precession and also the construct of the zodiac.
Moreover, since the ability for discursive and critical thinking has yielded to opinionism of the swipe and skim generation, knowledge has become an intellectualism as opposed to an embodied and lived experience. Many who have turned their back on scientism and have embraced the ancient practises of a broader holistic, pan-psychism similarly have fallen foul of opinions articulated by those who have not taken the time to truly investigate the origins of astrology. This is particularly true of the post 2012 phenomenon, Lion’s Gate (a term attributed to the heliacal rise of Sirius ahead of the Sun over Egypt around the middle degrees of Leo) and the forgotten constellation, Ophiuchus, the latter being allegedly discarded from being the 13th sign of the zodiac by a male-dominated cult that sought to disempower women and cut us off from natural rhythm and the origins of our celestial environment (there are many more examples to support this not-necessarily farfetched claim).
In a modern context, the claims that astrologers don’t know what they are doing is but another example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing, as many people lack the time or indeed interest to truly research or understand the origins of why they believe what they believe or claim what they claim. Moreover, seldom do people reflect on who is claiming something and what their agenda maybe.
The constellations
Like everything that is an intrinsic facet of humanity, constellations are amongst the oldest human cultural ‘inventions’. Certainly they predate writing, and in all likelihood, our notion of what modern civilization itself entails. There is no ‘set’ boundary to a constellation, as the distribution of the stars has to do with our location in the Milky Way and what is ‘seen’ in the night sky is a product of where on the Earth you are viewing the waters above from. Moreover, constellations are cultural entities, as differing societies perceive reality in differing ways and have different stories to account for, and subsequently to justify, their own moral and ethical behaviour. In the West, the 48 constellations that has influenced modern astronomy arose from the Hellenistic tradition, as opposed to those regarded in China or in Australia, the latter defining their sky-light by its absence as opposed to brightness.
The oldest accounts of constellations and individual stars date to the earliest phases of the Old Babylonian culture in the Middle Bronze Age. The number and variety of Sumerian names found in extant catalogues, recorded on cuneiforms, stone tablets, suggests the existence of an earlier, pre-literate tradition, which is very likely to be a nomadic, aural, matriarchal culture, wherein the gods and the world co-existed with each other, before the development of sedentary structures and the emergence of temples on specific regions of the landscape, so chosen to observe the skies and to commune with a deeper consciousness.
A more thoroughly detailed account consisting of lists and observations of nearly all the Mesopotamian constellations were carefully recorded in the MUL.APIN tablets, whose oldest dated version was written in the eighth century BCE, but is based on observations from before 1000 BCE.
The oldest surviving written records which actually go back to a text called “Prayer to the Gods of the Night”, where he in back around 1700 BCE which references the Arrow (the star Sirius), the Yoke Star (Arcturus), the True Shepherd of Anu (Orion), the Dragon (possibly the constellation of Hydra), the Wagon, (the Plough), the Goat Star (Vega), and the Bison (a composite figure depicted in the constellations Ophiuchus and Serpens).
The nature of what defines the boundaries of a constellation, let alone what stars are included within any given constellation, have changed over time as humanity’s myths and understanding of the consciousness has altered. That said, many of the ‘original’ western constellations used from antiquity, date from Ptolemy and his book Almagest, dating around the second century CE. He lists 48 constellations but that has since expanded to 88 in the 20th century.
The International Astronomy Union
Between 1928 and 1930, a group of astronomers already frustrated with the cultural variations on the boundaries of the existing constellations, got together and held a number of meetings now called the International Astronomy Union. They agreed to the current ‘boundaries’ of the constellations and in particular the regions of space surrounding the stars that comprise Ophiuchus were redefined. The new boundaries now extended along the ecliptic and into the space that the constellation of Scorpio once held.
Why is this significant for astrologers? Because the most commonly used zodiac, the tropical zodiac, which is the name for the ‘apparent’ plane along which our Yellow Star walks, as seen from the Earth, traverses.
It is this plane that also defines the Sidereal zodiac, and in part the Draconic zodiac[1], but not necessarily the constellational zodiac. There are differing frames of reference that astrologers use, all of which have their own meaning and reasons for being used, despite the evangelical pleas of those entrenched within their own dogma.
The division of the zodiac into 12 equal parts and not 8s, 13s, 16s or 27s, is beyond the scope of this article, since astrologers are observing the path of our star, the Sun and not that of the Moon. 12, is a number associated with Yangness, as opposed to 13, which is a Yin notion. 12 also is inherent to our understanding of number, time and space[2], three components that are fundamental to the construct of the tropical zodiac, along with geometry and music, two sister disciplines to astrology.
The differing Zodiacs
For clarity sake, the reason why the tropical zodiac has become the most frequented frame of reference is due to the relationship between Earth and the Sun and the orientation of the Earth relative to the Sun to the Cardinal points – North, South, East and West. It is along this Earth-Sun path that the signs of the zodiac fall, and the tropical zodiac is based. The ‘rise’ and ‘fall’ of the Sun has to do with obliquity or the wobble of the Earth, as the Sun ascends out of a southerly low in the South at the solstice of Capricorn, to its perch on its throne in the North at the Cancerian solstice in June. This is regardless of whether someone resides North or South of the equator.
On the other hand, the sidereal zodiac, common to those who practise astrology in India, is based on the current positions of constellations. Those constellations are no longer aligned with the tropical zodiac, a fact that has to do with the third movement of the Earth – the precession of the equinoxes, a slow backwards wobble of the Earth’s pole axis against the background of the plane of the Sun.
Sidereal Astrology also uses this sacred number, 12, and the ‘constellations’ are divided into 12 equal sections of 30 degrees, just as they are in the tropical zodiac.
Constellational astrology uses a different framework, that of the constellations themselves and those that penetrate the ecliptical plane. This means there isn't necessarily a regularity to the size of the signs since constellations are not zodiacal signs and therefore expand across the waters of the night sky unevenly.
Traversing through the constellation of Virgo, for example, takes 47/48 days, or 48/48 zodiacal degrees. This compares to the movement of the Sun through Aries which is around 18 days or degree days. By the same framework, the Sun moves through the constellation of Scorpio over 29 days, but if we include Ophiuchus into the zodiacal band, as it stands just above Ophiuchus stands above the constellation of Scorpio and the Watcher of the West, Antares along the southern horizon in the Northern Hemisphere, it is reduced to a mere 10 degree days, as Ophiuchus’ occupies 19 degree days of the zodiac. But if we are to include all those constellations that come within the band of the ecliptic, why aren’t Sextans, Orion and Cetus also included, as they too lightly brush the path of the Sun?
Patriarchal suppression
Over the course of a solar revolution, there are thirteen moonths within the twelve solar sunths. The number 13 has been, like so many facets of the feminine, maligned, demonised like Algol, as being a sign of bad luck, especially on that quintessentially feminine day, Friday (from Freya in Norse, a goddess associated with Venus, Vendredi, from which Friday is derived).
As briefly mentioned above, another persistent argument focuses on the patriarchalism within the Hellenistic roots of modern astrology and by keeping the zodiac to twelve is an intentional suppression of all things feminine. There is something to this discussion as so much within astrology that is deeply Yin, has been associated with less luminous terms – be it the Descendant, the IC, the lack of feminine ‘gods’ within the planetary lexicon, the relegation of Lilith to a star/ asteroid/ incorporeal luminary and the reduction of feminine deities to that of the asteroid belt, etc.
However, in the case of the ‘forgotten’ 13th sign, this is incorrect and a misunderstanding of the construct of the zodiac. Both tropical and sidereal zodiacs, even the draconic zodiac, use the path of the Sun, the ecliptic, as their frame of reference. The path of the Moon is also framed from this zodiac, though it is entirely possible to generate a different zodiac for the Moon, enabling us to plot the Moon’s monthly path, since it regularly moves beyond the perimeters of the ecliptic (Sun’s path), in a phenomena called ‘out of bounds’. (Moreover, many of those deeper Yin planets – Venus, Ceres and Pluto (along with Mercury), also find themselves in this Yin region of our skies, making for a case to plotting alternative ‘zodiacs’ based on their oscillatory and undulating paths!)
The Moon, however, does not venture into a mere 13 ‘constellations’ when it is out of bounds, but closer to 22, of which 17 are regularly frequented via declination. This is due to the Moon’s orbital tilt of approximately 5° relative to the ecliptic or indeed when its declination exceeds 23.5°, which causes it to sometimes cross into constellations just north or south of the ecliptic[3]. Due to the reorganisation of the boundaries of the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Moon, when traversing tropical Sagittarius, will regularly spend time in the Serpent Bearer’s realms, even if it is not too far south on its own path.
The constellations that the Moon spends regular time within on both astronomical systems include the Hunter/ Messiah (Orion), the Charioteer (Auriga), the Whale (Cetus), the Sea Serpent (Hydra) and the Serpent Bearer (Ophiuchus). This alternative lunar zodiac, plotting the path of Luna through its own signs, significantly differs to that of the Sun. However, astrology is referenced through its focus on our local life giving star, Sol, and the current earth based zodiacal reference, the tropical zodiac, remains the salient interpretative modality for gaining insight into the differing states of consciousness through which our perception of consciousness is viewed.
The meaning of Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, with its radiant presence in the night sky, was well known in antiquity. It was this region of the heavens that beckoned to our ancestors to embrace the transformative power of healing and wisdom. It is through the stars of this constellation, especially that of Rasalhague and Saik, that we find the embodiment of the healer, the one who carries the serpents of knowledge and enlightenment. Just as the serpent sheds its skin, we too are called to shed the layers of our past, releasing the burdens that weigh us down. Ophiuchus teaches us that through embracing our own wounds and shadows, we can rise above them, transmuting pain into wisdom and suffering into strength.
It is perhaps the meaning of Ophiuchus that has some upset that it this constellation has not been included in the tropical zodiacal framework, yet another example of another ‘yin’ factor being ignored in a construct developed during the rise of sedentary culture and patriarchalism. This is not necessarily the case, as the construct of the zodiac has more to do with the notion of the 4x3 structure of consciousness than it has on the constellations. I wonder if we had called the band of the zodiac after vegetables, starkly differentiating it from the constellations of the same name, would we have had the same debate, confusion and division?
Concluding thoughts
So, when somebody says that astrology is incorrect based on the existence of a 13th sign, ask them whether they understand that Ophiuchus’ boundaries were arbitrarily redefined between 1928 and 1930 and now substantially penetrates the ecliptic. At the end of the day, there are differing astrologies, with differing philosophies and practises, all watching the same skies and relating to an intelligent conscious universe, and if someone wants to include Ophiuchus in their system, well and good. I merely hope that they also change other technical facets of their craft to accommodate that change, as unfortunately that does not appear to be the case, including something without truly understanding the butterfly effect on the system that they are diving from.
[1] The Draconic Zodiac is also a fourth ZODIAC, based on the intersection of the path of the soul and the path of the Spirit, which is the moon and the Earth's moon and the sun's path
[2] Number, time and space essentially defines the field of astronomy; whereas number in space, is geometry; and number with time is music, all facets of consciousness that are based on the notion of twelveness
[3] Orion: Located near Gemini and Taurus, the Moon enters Orion when it is out of bounds on the northern side of its path.
Auriga: Near Taurus and Gemini, in the northern sky, and traversed when the Moon’s declination is at its northern extreme.
Perseus: Also north of Taurus, close to Auriga, and regularly encountered when the Moon is far north.
Cetus: South of Pisces and Aries; the Moon occasionally dips into Cetus when out of bounds at southern declinations.
Hydra: South of Cancer, Leo, and Virgo. The Moon crosses Hydra’s expanse in its southern out-of-bounds trajectory.
Canis Minor: Near Gemini, touched when the Moon is near its northern out-of-bounds position.
Ophiuchus: Bordering Scorpius and Sagittarius, frequently crossed in the Moon’s high southern declination.
Sextans: South of Leo, occasionally encountered in the southern out-of-bounds trajectory.
Bootes: North of Virgo, sometimes traversed during northern out-of-bounds phases.
Serpens: This constellation wraps around Ophiuchus and can be crossed by the Moon when it’s near Scorpius at high declinations.
What a feckin’ farntarstic read! (Said in my finest Irish brogue)