#ZODIAC SIGNS AS MEDIEVAL WEAPONS SERIES#

The Western Zodiac is drawn based on the Earth's relationship to fixed, designated positions in the sky, and the Earth's seasons. Most western astrologers use the tropical zodiac beginning with the sign of Aries at the Northern Hemisphere vernal equinox always on or around March 21 of each year. Over time they developed the system of twelve signs of the zodiac, based on twelve of the constellations through which the sun passes throughout the year, those constellations that are 'Enlightened by the mind'. Astrologers noted these constellations and so attached a particular significance to them. The zodiac is the belt or band of constellations through which the Sun, Moon, and planets move on their journey across the sky. Al-Kindi, in the 9th century, developed Ptolemy's ideas in De Aspectibus which explores many points of relevance to astrology and the use of planetary aspects. An early example is Ptolemy, who wrote influential texts on all these topics.

Īs opposed to Sidereal astrology, Western astrology evaluates a person's birth based on the alignments of the stars and planets from the perspective on earth instead of in space.Īt the heart of astrology is the metaphysical principle that mathematical relationships express qualities or 'tones' of energy which manifest in numbers, visual angles, shapes and sounds – all connected within a pattern of proportion. This relationship is expressed in the Hermetic maxim 'as above, so below as below, so above', which postulates symmetry between the individual as a microcosm and the celestial environment as a macrocosm.

Cycles of change that are observed in the heavens are therefore reflective (not causative) of similar cycles of change observed on earth and within the individual. The individual, Earth, and its environment are viewed as a single organism, all parts of which are correlated with each other.

#ZODIAC SIGNS AS MEDIEVAL WEAPONS SERIES#

Core principles Part of a series onĪ central principle of astrology is integration within the cosmos. Īstrology was widely considered a respectable academic and scientific field before the Enlightenment, but modern research has found no consistent empirical basis to it. the 'position of the Sun' at that date).Īstrology is a pseudoscience and has consistently failed experimental and theoretical verification. Astrology in western popular culture is often reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only the individual's date of birth (i.e. Western astrology is largely horoscopic, that is, it is a form of divination based on the construction of a horoscope for an exact moment, such as a person's birth as well as location (since time zones may or may not affect a person's birth chart), in which various cosmic bodies are said to have an influence. Western astrology is historically based on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos (2nd century CE), which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian traditions. Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries.

Zodiac signs as medieval weapons