| The Early Zodiac The animal associations with the Zodiac and how it was created make sense when you see where the positions were for each one at the time the Zodiac was created (4300-2150 BC). Taurus the Bull was at the vernal equinox, spring time, the time of fertility, crop growth, ploughing the fields and following the rainy season; a time when mushrooms are plentiful in many lands. This was a perfect time for the bull to be placed at the head of the zodiac or beginning of the year. Leo, the Lion was at the Summer Solstice, when the sun reaches its highest position in the sky and it’s the hottest time of the year. The lion makes sense to place here because of its fierceness and its mane, which could be likened to solar rays or mushroom veil striations. I cannot be 100% sure why some animals were used but I have noticed the lion’s mane does appear like the mushroom veil at times, especially in the case of Sekhmet in Egypt. The Scorpion was placed at the Autumn Equinox, in late September, or autumn, when the crops are being harvested. This is the reaping. The Scorpion represented this time of the year due to its deadly sting and possibly its sting from the back, or death from behind, making it the counter opposite to the birth sign, the Bull. The fourth and final sign, the Water Carrier, Aquarius, is fitting since the time for Winter Solstice is a time of rain in most parts of the world. In some places it really floods heavily, as in Egypt with its Nile River which would flood the valleys below. In the ancient times, these markers or animal representatives of the seasons were not fixed where they are today, but in slightly previous stations, due to the procession of the equinoxes. Each year, we move slightly farther away from their original positions. Now, 5000 years later, the Taurus Sign falls in late April, early May, not March. The Sign of Leo falls in late July through late August, not June, the sign of Scorpio, in late October through late November, not September, and lastly, Aquarius falls in late January through late February, not December. In 20,000 years from now, people will wonder how in the world the Babylonians ever arrived at the animals chosen for the times of year they represent. It will make no sense anymore unless you understand how it was positioned when the zodiac was first created. (77) (77) Occidental Mythology, p. 259 |