Sign and constellation

Recently I was asked for the umpteenth time, perhaps: how many signs are there in the Zodiac - twelve or thirteen? They say that astronomers have declared that there are actually thirteen Zodiac Signs, not 12, because there is also the constellation Ophiuchus. Yes, there is a constellation Ophiuchus, but a constellation is not a sign!

Is there a relationship between the astrological Zodiac Signs and the astronomical constellations? Let's figure it out.

What is a constellation?

Astronomers now understand it as a section of the sky with precisely defined boundaries. Currently, the entire sky is divided into 88 such sections - 88 constellations, but this was not always the case. The exact boundaries of the constellations were drawn only in 1922 and finally clarified only in 1956.

Earlier, in the Middle Ages, the boundaries of the constellations were only outlined, and in ancient times, constellations did not have clear boundaries at all. In ancient times, constellations were called groups of stars united in a single drawing, it depicted some mythical figure. An ancient astrologer could not say: "Mars (or another planet) today moved from the constellation Leo to the constellation Virgo", because constellations did not have boundaries. Let's say you are going for a walk in the forest. On the approach to the forest, several separate trees grow. Now you approach one of them. Are you already in the forest or not yet? - It is difficult to say, the forest does not have clear boundaries. But if you approach a private property, fenced with a fence, then you can say for sure whether you are already in the property or not yet. The same difference between ancient constellations and today's.

Zodiac sign

This is one twelfth of the ecliptic - the visible path of the Sun among the stars. This is not a section of the sky, but an arc of a circle, and the boundaries of the zodiac sign are precisely defined. The zodiac sign is not the intersection of the zodiac constellation with the ecliptic. It was pointless to talk about such an intersection until the constellations had precise boundaries. But even now, when precise boundaries have emerged, this is still not the case. Constellations, intersecting with the ecliptic, form segments of different lengths. And all zodiac signs have the same length - exactly 30 degrees. And we understand that signs and constellations are completely different concepts.

Why are there 12 zodiac signs?

The number of zodiac signs is not the result of an arbitrary decision by ancient astrologers - they say, they wanted and did it. The number 12 is associated with the universal laws that govern time. Any cyclical process in the world goes through 12 phases. The most ancient astrologers understood this law and expressed it in the form of 12 zodiac signs. The zodiac is a universal image of all cyclical processes. The same law is manifested in the division of the day into 24 hours. This is also not a whim of ancient astronomers, but a reflection of the same law. That is why in an hour 60 = 5x12 minutes, and in a minute 60 seconds. This division came to us from the Sumerians.

But the law of twelve is manifested not only in time. Many structures are subject to it. For example, a person has 12 pairs of ribs. In Chinese medicine, there is a concept of meridians - these are the main channels through which energy flows in the human body. There are also 12 such meridians. Hindus count 12 petals of the heart chakra - Anahata.

Astronomers can divide constellations in different ways, just as they once divided the constellation of the ship into several smaller constellations. But there are twelve signs of the Zodiac. And they will become thirteen only when we have a thirteenth rib.

Mikhail Levin