Introduction to the Zodiac, Constellations, and Calendar
Constellations
We’ve already mentioned these. Constellations are patterns or “asterisms” of stars. Different cultures saw different patterns in the sky, although there are a few that are so bright and distinct that they tend to be common to many cultures. Our current constellations and star names are a melting pot of constellations from different cultures. For example, the constellation Sagittarius. Many of the star names are Arabic or derivatives thereof. Gamma Sagittarius (the third brightest star) is called “El Nasl” from the Arabic “The point”. It marks the tip of the arrow being shot by the imaginary archer (a centaur) which was supposedly put in the sky by Chiron to guide the Argonauts in their voyage. This latter characterization is Greek. However, the ancient Hebrews saw it as a tribal symbol of Manasseh and Ephraim. In Christian times, it was identified with the apostle Matthew. Babylonian records refer to it as the “Archer God of War”, and in early India, it was regarded as a horse or horse’s head.
There are 88 constellations in total. We see more than half of these, but not all – the others are in the southern hemisphere and cannot be seen from northern latitudes.
Of these 88, a few took on special significance to ancient observers because they lie along the ecliptic – the path of the sun, moon, and planets. The ancient art of astrology contends that events on Earth are foretold by the stars, and that adepts can divine the future by reading the patterns correctly at given times, especially at the time of birth. This latter is sometimes referred to as “Natal Astrology”.
We’ve already said that the stars don’t move, so the major events distinguishing one point of time from another are the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. Since these move along the ecliptic, plus or minus a few degrees, the constellations in which they move took on special significance.
The length of our year can be determined by watching the repeating cycle of constellation patterns. If you go out tonight, you will see a group of constellations. The most notable of these are Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, etc. If you go out in December or March, you won’t see these. Watching this repeating pattern will inform you that our year is ~365 days long. This has been known for thousands of years.
Our month originates from the cycle of the Moon. The time for the Moon to pass the same star is the sidereal month, 27.3 days. The time for full moon to full moon is 29.5 days. Many ancient civilizations used 12 30-day months for a total of 360 days. This is about 5 days off and will result in the movement of events throughout a decade. The Hebrew calendar uses 12 months with alternating 29 and 30 day months, and every nineteen years adds 7 months to make up the difference (exercise). The Muslim calendar is similar but never makes up the difference – as a result, their holidays “slide” from year to year. A good compromise for calendar purposes is 28 days. How many 28 day “Moonths” can fit into one year? 13 (364 days) + 1 day leftover.
How many signs of the zodiac are there? Today, there are 12, each called “Houses” in the language of astrology. So the Moon and Sun each travel through one House every month. However, if we adopt a 28 day month, there would be 13. In fact, there use to be 13 signs. Which one is now missing? Subject of exercise.
Different cultures have had different “weeks”. Some groups in Africa had 4 day weeks. Ancient Romans had 8 day weeks, while other groups, including most recently the French, have tried 10 day weeks. However, the 7 day week became the standard, each day named for one of the visible “Planets”.
Sun – Sunday
Moon – Monday
Tuesday – Tiwes’s Day in English (Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic), Mars in Latin languages
Wednesday – Woden’s Day in English, Mercury in Latin languages
Thursday – Thor’s Day in English, Jupiter in Latin languages
Friday – Frigga’s Day in English, Venus in Latin languages
Saturday – Saturn’s Day
Largely Roman in origin.
January – Janus
February – Februare “to purify”, probably because this was the last month of the old
calendar.
March – Mars. In ancient Rome, the first month of the New Year. Why?
April – In honor of Venus, an apparent corruption of Aphrodite
May – possibly in honor of Maia, daughter of Atlas
June – Juno
July – Julius Caesar
August – Augustus Caesar
September to December, 7 through 10, based on their order in the original Roman calendar. January and February were added later, but the names retained.
An additional month was often added after Feb. to make up extra days, but that was removed with the Julian Calendar.
Julian Calendar – 45 B.C. Added days to each month to bring total to 365, put a leap year in every 4th year to make up the 0.25 day difference.
Gregorian Calendar – by Decree of Pope Gregory in 1582. The Julian calendar was slightly off (a fraction of a day). This was remedied by excluding leap years ending in ’00 except those divisible by 400. In addition 10 days were “dropped” from the calendar – Thursday Oct. 5, 1582 was followed by Friday Oct. 15, 1582. Not everyone (especially Protestant countries) adopted the measure. Great Britain (and the U.S. colonies) didn’t make the change until 1752, and the Russians until after the Bolshevik revolution.