Hours book

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.

Zodiacal Horse

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).

The Symbol of The Wolf

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

Passionate Determined

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.

Bhima River is Connected to Scorpio

The 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 - Origin

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 1^st 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 8^th 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.

The Names of the Zodiac Signs

On this postage stamp, which was issued in Greece in 2007, we see Scorpio constellation sign and glyph.

According to the dictionary most of the zodiac sign names date to 1350–1400 Middle English and are based on Latin

Aries - the Ram

Taurus - the Bull

Gemini- the Twins

Cancer – the Crab; : cancr-, akin to Greek karkínos, crab

Leo the Lion

Virgo, the Virgin, maiden (before 1000; Middle English)

Scorpio - the Scorpion

Libra- the Balance, pair of scales

Sagittarius- the Archer, from sagitta: arrow

Capricorn, the Goat; caper, goat + cornu, horn

Aquarius- the Water carrier, from aqua, water

Pisces the Fishes - from  pisces, plural of piscis, fish

Inner Spiritual Astrology

San Marino stamp with Scorpio sign glyph and constellation

R.S.W.Bobbette wrote in 1997 in her article Introductory Essays On Rudolf Steiner's Star-Knowledge that Steiner claimed

1. That the 12 levels of consciousness were related to the 12 zodiacal signs.
2. That the 12 zodiacal signs are characterized and drawn as the heavenly clock.

An example of Rudolf Steiner's 12 levels of consciousness is given in another article by Philosophy of Freedom where we see a diagram that attaches

Aries to Idealism

Taurus to Rationalism

Gemini to Mathematism

Cancer to Materialism

Leo to Sensationalism

Virgo to Phenomenalism

Scorpio to Dynamism [which explains the material world in terms of active forces, in contrast to the passive view of matter in philosophical mechanism]

Libra to Realism

Sagittarius to Monadism [of Gottfried Leibniz]

Capricorn to Spiritism [séances]

Aquarius to Pneumatism

Pisces to Psychism [The doctrine of Quesne]

The author of this article claims that the basis for his diagram is found in the fourth lecture of Human and Cosmic Thought where Rudolf Steiner speaks of an inner Spiritual Astrology.

Dormition Church, Jerusalem, 1945

Zodiac Signs appear on the 1908 floor of the Roman Catholic Dormition (“Falling Asleep” of the Virgin) Church in Jerusalem along with names of Prophets Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and a verse from Proverbs 8, 23-25. The three intersecting circles in the center symbolize the Trinity. Designer of the church was Heinrich Renard.

Picture is courtesy of “Black and white archive” From Flickr

Picture was taken in 1945 by James George  (1921 - 2006)

Scorpio Rules The Desert

Tha late Rabbi S.Z. Kahana quoted on his web page from Lekach Tov to Genesis 1: 14

(And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years”)

Aries- Persia and Madai

Taurus- Chaldaeans

Gemini- Khazari

Cancer- Armenia

Leo -  Edom

Virgo: Ashkenazi, German

Scorpio- desert

Libra- Africa

Sagittarius- Negro

Capricorn- Eretz Israel

Aquarius - Egypt

Pisces- Hondea

It seems that the idea of zodiac signs ruling geographical areas was not originally Jewish since 

1st century CE Roman poet and  astrologer Marcus Manilius already  wrote in his Astronomica that Scorpio ruled over Carthage, Libya, Egypt, Sardinia.

Scorpio of Pain Tattoo

Scorpio Tattoo (“Eylcia and the Scorpio of Pain”) picture is courtesy of Glandrid who shot it on the beach at a North Provincial Park party on a vacation at Lake Ontario. It is not entirely clear to me if the pain we are talking about here is the pain of Scorpios or the pain of Eylcia in the process of getting a tattoo... or both.

Tetractys Zodiac And Six-Pointed Star

The Tetractys shows the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 as dots, each in a separate line.

The Tetractys is connected to the six-pointed Star, like we see here in the following drawing.

It is also connected to the zodiac as Clare Martin showed in her book "Mapping the Psyche", London, 2005:

Pythagoras devised the Tetractys as a mathematical model that shows how numbers describe the nature of the universe as well as the nature of any system, including the human being…

These numbers are not simply quantitative, but are also archetypes of number, with ‘oneness’, ‘twoness’, ‘threeness’ and ‘fourness’ being understood as wholes or unities in themselves, each with their own qualitative meaning.

1-     There is one zodiac

2-     The signs are active or passive (Scorpio is passive)

3-     The signs are cardinal, fixed or mutable (Scorpio is fixed)

4-     Each sign belongs to one of the elements: fire, earth, air, water (Scorpio is water)

Stones, Colors, Tribes and the Zodiac

Marc Chagall created 12 painted windows at The Synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Center in 1962. The Windows represent the 12 Tribes of Israel, arranged in FOUR groups of three, and the choice of colors was inspired by the description of the breastplate of the High Priest in Exodus 28:17-21.

Picture is courtesy of “tevnin” From Flickr

In his book  (De Vita Mosis  3, 209) Philo (20-50 C.E.) interpreted the names on the 12 stones of the high priest as the signs of the zodiac.

Josephus Flavius (37-100 C.E.) gave a similar explanation to the 12 stones in his book  (Antiquities of the Jews Vo 3 chapter 7)

The stones were placed in FOUR rows like the zodiac signs which are arranged in FOUR groups according to the four elements: earth water fire and air.

The translation of the names of the stones from Hebre

w to English has many variations. Here’s one:

Ruby- Reuven

Topaz - Shimon

Emerald - Levi

Turquoise - Yehuda

Lapis Lazuli - Yissachar

Quartz - Zevulun

Jacinth - Dan

Agate - Naphtali

Amethyst- Gad

Chrysolite -Asher

Onyx - Yosef

Jasper - Binyamin

Now, since each stone had a different color the comparison between a certain stone and a certain tribe was also a comparison between a certain color

and a certain tribe.

The colors of the 12 tribes according to Sefer HaTodaah of Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov:

Red: Reuven

Green: Shimon

White/Black/red: Levi

Blue: Yehuda

Dark Gray: Yissachar

White: Zevulun

Sapphire Dan

Light Red: Naphtali

Light Gray: Gad

Not specified: Asher

Black: Yosef

All the colors: Binyamin

Picture of The Jewish High Priest with the 12 stones is courtesy of Hayim Shtayer from Haifa, Israel and this item is part of his collection

The following stones are associated with Scorpio: ruby, topaz, rhodonite, rhodocrosite, sodalite, bloodstone, beryl, apache tear, aqua aura, azurite-malachite

Labor of the Month

Correlation between months and the signs of the zodiac was a popular theme in medieval art. Here we see Scorpio appearing on a detail from 1556 Kalender of Shepherdes characterizing the months through the typical works that were made during each one of them.

Picture is copied from Wikipedia entry: Image:The Wheel of the Occupations of the Months and the Zodiac.JPG uploaded by Peacay.

See the whole Kalender of Shepherdes on Flickr

January: feasting, giving new years' gifts

February: warming by the fire, cutting wood, taking cattle to the market

March: sowing and ploughing, trimming the vines

April: celebrating spring

May: courting and hunting

June harvesting

July: harvesting

August: gathering fruits from trees

September: harvesting grapes

October: sowing, storing wine (Scorpio)

November preparing for winter

December: killing the pig

Scorpio Represents Punishment

Scorpio sign and gliph

(among the other signs and gliphs of the zodiac) 

on an Israeli stamp issued in 1961  

Picture was taken by Hayim Shtayer and the stamp belongs to his collection.

The stamp  was designed by I. Blaushild. 

According to Jewish tradition (Midrash Tanchumah, Ha'azinu chapter 1) man’s life passes through 12 stages like the sun’s passing through the 12 zodiacal signs:

Birth- Aries

Power- Taurus

Illusion: Gemini

Desire: Cancer

Desire grows: Leo

False innocence- Virgo

Judgment- Libra

Punishment: Scorpio

Repentance- Sagitarius

Purification-1: Capricorn

Purification-2: Aquarius

Completion: Pisces

Midrash Tanchumah is dated to the 6^th century C.E.

Mithraism, Autumn Attacks Spring

Picture of a scorpion (symbolizing autumn) that attacks the testicles of a bull, which was taken by Mike Young, Wikipedia entry: Mithraic Mysteries. This is a detail from a tauroctony, a sculpture of Mithras killing a sacred bull (symbolizing spring). A tauroctony was an essential part of every Mithraic Temple. Mithraism was one of the Roman religions in the 1st to the 4th centuries C.E. This sculpture is displayed at the British Museum of London. To me it looks so poetic!

The Last Supper and The Apostles

Michael Ladwein wrote in his book Leonardo Da Vinci, the Last Supper, 2006 ISBN 1902636759 that there were many interpretations relating the 12 apostles to the 12 signs of the zodiac, each author arranged them according to his own whim, like: 

1.      Bartholomew corresponds Aries

2.      James the elder to Taurus

3.      Andrew to Gemini

4.      Judas to Cancer

5.      Peter to Leo

6.      John the Evangelist to Virgo

7.      Thomas to Libra

8.      James the younger to Scorpio

9.      Philip to Sagittarius

10.  Matthew to Capricorn

11.  Thaddeus to Aquarius)

12.  Simon to Pisces

Michael Ladwein wrote also that

1.      The second-century Gnostic Theodotus was the first to suggest such a relationship.

2.      A lamp found in Geneva dating to Early Christianity has the 12 apostles around a flame (the Sun, Jesus).

3.      In medieval art and literature this association is frequent. 

Picture was taken from Wikipedia (entry: Last Supper), and was uploaded by “Liberal Freemason”.

See Also my Last Supper stamps on Flickr