The History of the zodiac and astrology - Ophiuchus, the forgotten star sign

Astrology and the study of stars, relating them to our fate, is a belief that has been going on for thousands of years. Here I show its history, its challenges, what is wrong with it, but also what is right. And so if you want to understand the stars, then welcome to Crecganford.

Stories about the Stars

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► References
Horowitz, Wayne. 2011. Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography. Eisenbrauns
Lehoux, Daryn. 2011. Astronomy, Weather, and Calendars in the Ancient World. Cambridge University Press
Tester, Jim. 1999. A History of Western Astrology. The Boydell Press

Chapters
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0:00 Introduction
1:35 The Story of the Constellations
2:43 Naming the Planets
6:18 Egypt and the Birth of the Zodiac
9:42 The Greeks
10:22 The Myths of the Zodiac
10:42 Aries
11:13 Taurus and Gemini
12:01 Cancer and Leo
12:51 Virgo
13:36 Libra and Scorpio
14:38 Sagittarius and Capricorn
15:51 Aquarius and Pisces
17:02 The Romans
19:46 The Silk Road and China
21:18 Chinese Mythology
21:56 How the Zodiac and Astrology Evolved
23:34 The Persian Golden Age
26:22 Astrological Controversies
29:17 Ophiuchus: A 13th Sign?
34:58 The Truth about Astrology
36:44 The Value of Astrology

[Crecganford]

Did you want to know about Babylonian cosmology? Or any other culture?

[veracyning]

I'm not super into the zodiac, but I always find it sad that most of us live in places where we can't see many stars. I went camping a few weeks ago, far from any city or large town, and was shocked by how many stars I could see. 🌟

[nesxya]

I love to study myths and astrology. Ophiuchus was recognized in both tropical and sidereal systems. It is tied into the Scorpio's story and bridges to Sagittarius. It brings different layers to those zodiac signs. As in regards to placement in the 12 houses it's considered to be part of Scorpio 8th house: Death and Transformation. It could be considered a hidden zodiac in relationship with the 12 tribes of Israel because Levi is a hidden tribe, the priest class. If it becomes designated as its own zodiac and house it will become the 9th and the wheel will shift, Pisces will go from the 12th spot to the 13th.

One thing I dont like is modern astrologers don't know their astronomy. They use computers that dont take the wobble into account and their charts are all wrong. Historically you needed astronomy and you looked through a telescope. So now they say its symbolism. Nope, people are lazy and dont want to study astronomy and learn to hand plot natal charts or readings like they did in the past. One day I want to be able to correctly plot natal charts using a telescope 🔭 after Im done with all my biology classes.

Love your videos. Thank you.

Im a sun pisces, lunar capricorn, rising leo and north node sagittarius born in the year of the wood rabbit. My three pillars are all rabbits. My hidden fourth pillar will stay hidden. As for the Vedic system, I shift into Aquarius but Im a Pisces hands down. 🐟☺️🐟

[itsfonk]

Always a pleasure to hear you unwind the knotted threads of our ancient notions on place and purpose. Thanks again, Jon. All the best 🤙

[cyan]

I'm one! December 13th. Some people call me a natural healer and I can charm animals, truth!

[TheCosmicSpaceWitch]

BIG FAN of your work. I am a professional astrologer (with an educational background in psychology) rooted in archetypal symbology and ancient mythology (I include Ophiuchus lol) I reference your work often. truth be told I was worried going into this video that you (like many academics) were going to have far too literal of a lens to cover this topic from a perspective that gives it the respect it deserves, I was wrong - this was fabulous. will be joining your Patreon, did I hear you mention before that it grant access to a giant mythological database?

[recursr]

Absolutely Awesome! Had investigated this topic myself, but how you connected the cultural adaption across the timeline- awesome!

[Palaemon]

I’m an Ophiucan and lifelong science nerd. Whenever anyone asked me what sign I was I would tell them Ophiucus, which invariably got me nothing but a blank stare in response. Interestingly, no one ever asked me what I was talking about or showed any curiosity about my answer. Maybe they thought I didn’t understand their question and I was telling them I was from some obscure country called Ophiuc.

[MarcusCactus]

There is a longtime misunderstanding there.
Astrology is about the movement of planets (+sun & moon) along their apparent (i.e. geocentric) path in the sky. This path (the zodiac) has been arbitrarily divided in twelve equal 30° parts, called the signs. This division is based on the seasons, that is on equinoxes and solstices, on the orbit of earth around the sun with respect to its inclination. Not on the stars in the background. Since Antiquity we know that this path is not constant, and Kepler/Newton have showed why.

SOME constellations (12) have been named for these signs. For example, people born in deep summer having the traits of lions, the sign got the name of Lion and afterwards the group of stars got that name.
The rest of star clusters have been named later, by the Greeks, for mythological figures in the greek pantheon: Andromeda, Pegasus, Cassiopea, Procyon, Orion... and Ophiuchus. These are NOT zodiacal constellations!
( Probably the Chaldeans didn't need to name star clusters for themselves.)
Anyway, the idea of a constellation is totally arbitrary, no law exists to attribute a star to this or that cluster. It is only very recently (end of XIXth c.) that a precise pattern of cutting the celestial sphere in zones has been designed, keeping the old name constellations for these zones. Among which Ophiuchus has been extended into the Zodiac and other "sign" constellations have spilled over.

So, neither the signs, nor the personalities associated, are derived from constellations. It is the other way around: those 12 constellation names are derived from the signs they were in, during those ancient times. Today, there is discrepancy between signs (seasons) and constellations (sky) because of the equinoxial precession since those times. For example, the vernal equinox is on 0°Aries in Signs, but somewhere in Aquarius in Sky. Who cares? Astrology is about seasons and personality, not about astronomy.

[nicholas]

A vid on mesopotamian cosmology would be very cool indeed

[grandymommy]

Good one! I love how you don't seem to believe in anything but know all about everything!

[aariley]

Dude, your library is looking so nice these days!!!! You can never have too many books, I say!!!❤

[timothygervais]

Another stellar lesson Jon. Very informative, interesting and captivating as always. Keep up the great work and have a great weekend. Look forward to your next lesson as always. 😊

[geoffreycanie]

Excellent work as always! This has probably been mentioned before, but I'd love to see your take on the mythological theories of Robert Graves.

[WillBrooks-hd]

Good Lessons in Astrology! Since Human Time! Thanks!🙂🙂🙂

[jamiegallier]

Such a great storyteller. Another delightful presentation, as informative and educational as it was entertaining. I appreciate your time and efforts producing such quality on a regular basis. The world needs more scholars like you. ❤

[annakwiatkowska]

Astrology, myths, ancient belives are fascinating. I am enjoying listening to you. 😊

[gmg]

Cheers great work! i like your style of show and delivery.

[angelaarsenault]

This was great!! I too do not believe that anything can predict the future. That being said, there are archetypal themes in the 12 zodiac signs, the different aspects between the planets and what they signify and by keeping those "life lessons" constantly in the forefront of our minds, it helps us be more intentional about life, rather than living in a haphazard way without personal growth.

[daenerystargaryen]

just wanted to say i LOVE that you provide proper subtitles! much appreciated <3 inclusive & important