Scorpio sign Zodiac coin dated to 1605 - 1627 C.E. which was minted by Nur al-Din Muhammad Jahangir, who was a Muslim Indian ruler (the Koran words on the reverse) but who was also influenced by Hinduism (the Zodiac signs on the obverse).
Picture is courtesy of Scott Semans.
Scorpio sign appears on the bottom of the 15th century illuminated manuscript The Hours book (maybe owned later by Henry VIII). Artist: Jean Poyer. Picture shows ploughing and sowing, the agricultural works of October-November.
Scorpio rules the genitals of a horse according to a most interesting 15th century pen drawing from an Italian Manuscript (Livro de la Menscalcia de li cavalli).
Scorpio sign appears on artist Judith Weinshall Liberman’s work titled: THE ZODIAC SERIES I, which was inspired by the 6th century mosaic floor wheel of the zodiac excavated at the synagogue in Beit Alpha, Israel.
Judith wrote to me:
I have completed my first Zodiac series (there will be more). The series consists of 12 separate mixed media works, each one devoted to one of the signs. I have arranged the 12 works in rectangular formation so you can get an idea what they look like when seen together. The arrangement goes row by row from the top row to the bottom row, and each row begins at right so it is read the way Hebrew is read (right to left). The top row represents spring (green), the second row represents summer (yellow), the third row represents fall (red) and the bottom row represents winter (blue).
All Rights Reserved to Judith Weinshall Liberman 2008
Scorpio sign appears at the center (right under Libra)
Spanish Early Renaissance Painter Fernando Gallego (1440-1507) painted the Zodiac and other sky “members” at the ceiling of the old library (Sala Calderón de la Barca) at Salamanca University, Spain, which was founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of Leon. Picture is courtesy of “muuranker” from Flickr.
American Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) translated Dante (1265-1321) Alighieri's Divine Comedy in 1867. Dante wrote in Purgatorio about Scorpio:
That cold animal which with its tail doth smite among the nations
It seems that Dante didn’t like Scorpio’s…
Charlotte R. Long wrote in her book The Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome (p. 295) that the 1st century C.E. altar, found in Gabii in 1793 by Gavin Hamilton shows the twelve heads of the Roman gods in relation to the zodiac signs relieves that run along the side of the cylinder with their symbols. Mars rules Scorpio and his symbol is the Wolf.
I copied this picture from Wikimedia Commons. It was Uploaded by Jastrow (2006) entry: Image:Altar twelve gods Louvre Ma666.jpg
Scorpio sign and glyph appear on a humoristic 2007 Australian Zodiac stamp designed by
Mitch Vane along with the interpretation of two personality traits associated with this sign.
Scorpio sign appears on an Israeli lottery ticket along with the Hebrew words for Good Luck. The word for luck in Hebrew is also the word for astrological sign. We see Scorpio sign on the left and Libra, Aries on the right.
This ceramic wall-hanging blue Scorpio Sign picture is courtesy of Israeli artist Sabina Saad, who bought it at Ramla Market. Diameter: 6 cm. Copyright: Sabina Saad 2008. I guess the artist who made this medallion didn't pay attention to the connection between this sign and "its color", which is brown.
Scorpio sign appears on a marble capital along with the planet Mars and Aries sign at the Palazzo Ducale (1309 to 1424) in Venice:
Picture is cropped from Wikimedia commons entry: Category:Capitals in the Doge's Palace (Venice) - 18 - uploaded by Giovanni Dall'OrtoThe Twelve important Indian Rivers are connected to the Zodiac Signs:
Ganges is connected to Aries; Reva river is connected to Taurus; Saraswati is connected to Gemini; Yamuna is connected to Cancer; Godavari is connected to Leo; Krishna is connected to Virgo; Kaveri is connected to Libra; Bhima River is connected to Scorpio; Radhya Saga is connected to Sagittarius; Tungabhadra is connected to Capricorn; Indus is connected to Aquarius; Pranahitha is connected to Pisces;
Pushkaram is a celebration near each river once in every 12 years. Millions of people participate in each Pushkaram, taking a dip in the river in order to purify physically and mentally.
Scorpio sign appears on a 14th century C.E. illustration from an Arabic manuscript , which is dedicated to astrology, astronomy and geomancy and which was compiled by Abd al-Hasan Al-Isfahani
I copied this image was from Wikimedia Commons, entry: Category: Kitab al-Bulhan; uploaded by: “Peacay”.
Scorpio sign is covered by the left hand of Atlas, but all the other signs appear clearly on the Farnese Atlas, which is kept at the Museo Archaeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy. It is a Roman marble statue depicting 41 ancient Greek constellations, which are shown in relief. The diameter of the globe is 65 cm. Art historians date the statue to the second century C.E., but actually it is a Roman copy from a much earlier Greek original.
Image was copied from Wikipedia entry Farnese Atlas Uploaded by Gssq
Even though astrology/astronomy started in the Near East (Sumer, Babylon, Egypt) the signs of the zodiac as we use them today find their complete explanation in the context of Greek mythology. An excellent website brings a few versions of the same basic story. Here's the story that appears in the 1st century C.E. book titled Catasterismi (Greek: placing among the stars), which is a collection of ancient Hellenistic sources. In The Astronomy Fragment 4 there, which was translated by Evelyn-White, Greek poet Hesiod (from the 8th century B.C.E.) is quoted as saying that:
Orion went away to Crete and spent his time hunting in company with Artemis and Leto. It seems that he threatened to kill every beast, there was on earth; whereupon, in her anger, Ge (the Earth) sent up against him a Scorpion of very great size by which he was stung and so perished. After this Zeus, at the prayer of Artemis and Leto, put him among the stars, because of his manliness, and the Scorpion also as a memorial of him and of what had occurred.
Other sources add that this story about the enmity between Scorpion and Orion explains why they are never seen in the sky at the same time: one of them sets as the other rises.
Colorful Scorpio Sign and date picture is courtesy of “kptattoo” from Flickr
Tattooing the sign alone is like giving away your ID number, adding the date (for those who know some astrology) is like giving away your ID card!
Scorpio sign appears on a Roman Mosaic from the third century C.E., which is showed now at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.
To the best of my knowledge this is the only Roman Mosaic that contains both the zodiac signs and the hexagram.
Copyright: AntonioR [from Flickr] 2008
Scorpio sign and glyph appear on a Silver Zodiac Coin, which was issued by Armenia in 2007
Design: U. Walerzak
Scorpio Sign and glyph appear on an Elizabeth II Coin issued in Cook-Islands in 1977 along with the 11 other astrological signs of the zodiac
