Vox stellarum: part nine — Scorpio

The Voice of the Stars: the testament of the Zodiac unveiled

Introduction

In part nine of our survey of the hidden message of the stars we turn our attention to the constellation and Zodiacal Sign of Scorpio. This is the second of the three Signs concerned with Judgement. The other two are Libra, which we discussed in the previous part of this investigation, and Sagittarius, which we will discuss in part ten. We have now reached the pivotal point in the conflict between Horus and Set, light and dark, goodness and evil, manifested in man as the Higher and lower minds. The stars we now behold depict a gigantic scorpion endeavouring to sting the heel of a mighty man who is struggling with a serpent. But the serpent is crushed by the man, who has his foot placed right on the very heart of the Scorpion. It is the rich symbolism of this conflict as it is unfurled in the night sky which we shall explore and attempt to elucidate in this part of our investigation.

In our accompanying Afterword we train our metaphorical telescope on the extra-zodiacal constellations of Serpens and Ophiuchus, otherwise known as the Serpent and the Serpent Bearer, as well as Hercules. Our principal aim, however, remains to reconcile Astrology with its lost sibling — Astronomy, so that we might restore something of the Wisdom they embodied when they were one, unified Science. If you have not read the previous parts of this investigation or our afterwords to them, please do so before continuing, or you will not obtain a complete understanding of the many subjects under discussion. Before we take up the study of Scorpio we would like to say something about Isis-Serqet, the ancient Egyptian Scorpion-goddess.

Anon. — Isis-Serqet, the Egyptian Scorpion-goddess — gouache on artboard. 1983.

Proem: Isis-Serqet or Serket

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. Revelation 9:1

Isis-Serqet, also transliterated as Serket, Serkh, and Isis-Serkh, was usually depicted on the monuments and in the papyri as a goddess crowned with a scorpion, as shown in the above illustration. Sometimes the goddess was depicted simply as a scorpion, at others with the body of a scorpion and the head of a woman; it all depended on what aspect of the mythos the figuration was intended to describe and explain. For, as we have pointed out in several articles about Egypt, any god or goddess can and did have several different meanings depending upon the phase of the mythos under consideration and the era (or time) of its original conception.

Budge tells us that the scorpion was not a type of evil in the Zodiac. It shares this quality with the crocodile which zootype we shall discuss in part twelve of our investigation. The scorpion represented Isis-Serqet who fought for Horus when his birthplace in the mythos was in Scorpio. A fragment of this battle survives in Chapter XXXIX of the Book of the Dead. It is an allusion to that point in the wars of the solar god (either Horus or Ra) with the enemy Apap when Isis-Serqet joins in the battle and is wounded. The passage (our own translation), runs: "Apap falleth; Apap goeth down. Chains are cast upon thee by the Scorpion-goddess (Isis–Serqet). More grave and painful is the defeat inflicted upon thee than the pain that she suffered in its commission." Now, why should Isis-Serqet suffer in defeating Apap? Because, among other things, she stands in a hidden manner for those Divine Beings — guardian angels if you will — who come to the aid of the Higher Mind in its war with the lower mind. In doing so, they are metaphorically 'wounded' by descending to a lower realm to aid the human being in peril. We must never lose sight of the fact that the Egyptian mythos is an allegorical representation of the war between Light and darkness, Good and evil, not a record of actual events.

In Chapter XXXII of the Book of the Dead Isis-Serqet appears as a friend of the deceased, and in Chapter XLII his teeth are identified with those of the goddess. Why teeth, you may ask. Because teeth, in common with many other parts of the head, such as the hair, the eyes, the throat, the tongue, and the ears, possessed an occult Significance, not only in the Egyptian Mysteries, but in those of many other cultures too. Teeth symbolised the spiritual strength of a man; his endurance and resolution in the face of adversity. In the Popul Vuh which inspired Erika Hahn's allegorical tale of The Monkey Puzzle Tree, the evil demon Vucub-Caquix is defeated by the two heroes — Hunahpu and Xbalanque — by the extraction of his teeth. From the legend of Isis recorded on the Metternich Stele which we discussed in our Afterword to our investigation of the Book of the Dead, we learn that Isis-Serqet was accompanied on her journey by Seven Scorpions. We further learn that the child Horus was stung by a scorpion which made its way to him despite all the careful precautions the goddess had taken. On the face of it the contradiction of a scorpion both protecting and injuring Horus seems insoluble. But this misses the point that in Scorpio we encounter the full intensity of the duality of Good and evil, manifested in Man as the war between the Higher and lower minds. This duality, as we have seen in the previous parts of our investigation, notably in Gemini, runs through all the Signs of the Zodiac, but it reaches its greatest expression in the Sign of the Scorpion. It was for this reason that Isis-Serqet was regarded on the one hand as a protector of the living and the dead, and on the other as the nemesis of her enemies.

The word Serq or Serkh means 'to breathe' and to supply breath. Hence, Scorpio is the Sign of the Breathing-Space which followed the water-season, for about the time of the autumn equinox the water of the Nile inundation began to subside. Whilst the Sun was in the constellation Libra the waters had attained their height and were resting at the equipoise. Then the Sun entered the Sign of Scorpio. The scorpion lived in dry earth, and was only to be seen when the waters had subsided. At this point in the mythos the power of Horus as the Lightbringer was waning, and both Horus and the light were now represented by him who was born to die down in the dwindling waters and the lessening light. This coincided with the Autumn Equinox. As an ally of Ra in his struggle with the Apap monster of darkness, Isis-Serqet possessed the power to both open and close throats as the giver and taker of the breath of life. This too, reflects the dual nature of Scorpio; at times beneficent, at others maleficent, depending upon whether the higher or lower aspect of the Sign was in the ascendant or under consideration. This duality has been a stumbling block to many astrologers past and present who, for one reason or another, fail to recognise or reconcile the contradictions of this most puzzling of all the Signs of the Zodiac, as we shall see in the next section.

But ere we do so, we think a few, final words about the scorpion itself may not be out of place. The ancient Egyptian Sages chose their zootypes and symbols with great care and the scorpion is no exception to this rule. Despite, or perhaps because of its fearsome reputation, its poisonous sting accounting for roughly 3,000 deaths each year, the scorpion is a remarkably shy and gentle arachnid. Like the Crab which it resembles in many ways, the scorpion sheds and discards its outer skin. After moulting, their exoskeleton is delicate and soft, taking a few days to harden. Scorpions will typically moult five or six times during their life cycle until they reach maturity. Scorpions hunt primarily at night, hiding between rocks and in crevices during the day. Isis-Serqet also hunted the foes of Ra by night, for night is the time when evil is in the ascendant, as all good witches and wizards know!

One of the strangest characteristics of this fearsome predator is that it glows in the dark! It has been found that the exoskeletons of scorpions contain fluorescent molecules that glow when exposed to UV light. No one knows why, though some scientists think it may be to attract insects or give warning to foes. If the ancient Egyptians were aware of this phenomenon, and we see no reason why they should not have been, it provides another good reason for choosing the scorpion to symbolise the light-giving powers of Isis-Serqet. But there is one characteristic in particular which epitomises the protection the goddess gave Horus, and that is the maternal care which the female scorpion lavishes upon her young. Baby scorpions, known as scorplings, ride on their mother’s back. This fascinating behaviour is crucial for the survival of the species. Immediately after birth, scorplings, with their soft and pliable exoskeletons, are utterly defenceless and at the mercy of every foe. They instinctively crawl onto their mother’s back, where they will remain for a period of from 10 to 20 days. This allows their exoskeletons to harden, and ensures they are protected from predators and environmental hazards during the most vulnerable phase of their life. This behaviour finds its exact parallel in the protection Isis-Serqet afforded Horus when he was alone and unprotected. It also tells us something about those born under the influence of Scorpio who, as we shall see in the next section, share many of the characteristics of this remarkable arachnid.

Scorpio, the Scorpion and the Eagle: The Hierophant

Before we discuss the constellation of the Scorpion, it is only right and proper that we say a few words about the great star which lies at its heart — Antares. The name means "the rival of Mars." Arabian astronomers called it Kalb al Akrab, the Scorpion's Heart, while the ancient Egyptians called it simply "the Heart." Several names are thought to have been associated with this star in ancient Mesopotamia. It was Urbat, Bilushaziri, the Lord of the Seed, Kakshisa, the Creator of Prosperity, Dar Lugal, The King, Masu Sar, the Hero and the King. The Significance of all these names will not be lost on some of our readers. This massive red supergiant was numbered among the four Royal Stars of Persia, the others being Aldebaran (the Eye of the Bull, or Taurus); Regulus (the Heart of the Lion, or Leo); and Formalhaut (the Eye of the Southern Fish, or Aquarius). These four stars marked the equinoctial points when the vernal equinox coincided with Taurus, as we told you in part three. We shall discuss the occult meaning and Significance of these four Royal Stars in the Proem to part twelve of this investigation. In Egyptian astronomy Antares represented the goddess Serqet we discussed in our Proem. The rising of the star heralded sunrise when the autumnal equinox coincided with the Sun entering the Zodiacal Sign of Scorpio.

Scorpio is the Second Sign of the Third Division of the Zodiac — that of Judgement. In the preceding Sign — Libra — the thoughts and deeds of Man are weighed in the balance. In Scorpio the battle between the Higher and lower minds reaches its culmination. Who will be the victor; the saint or the sinner? The light or the darkness? The result of the choice will be seen in the following Sign of Sagittarius — the Archer. Will his arrow take flight for the Heaven of the Circumpolar Stars or fall into the Void spoken of as the cavern of Putrata in the Book of the Dead, where the dead fall into darkness? Before the introduction of Libra separated Virgo-Scorpio into the two Signs we know today, the Virgin and the Scorpion formed the combined sixth Sign of the Zodiac, as we may see in the similarity between the astrological glyphs that represent them shown below.

Now they form the sixth and eighth Signs respectively. We discussed the reason for this in the previous part of our investigation when we told you, quoting from Isis Unveiled, that Virgo and Scorpio were added to the (then) ten Signs of the Zodiac "as blinds to conceal the true names which gave the key to the whole secret of creation..." Madame Blavatsky goes on to explain that: "The true Sabean astrological doctrine secretly taught that within this double Sign was hidden the explanation of the gradual transformation of the world, from its spiritual and subjective, into the 'two-sexed' sublunary state. The twelve Signs were therefore divided into two groups. The first six were called the ascending, or the line of Macrocosm (the great spiritual world); the last six, the descending line, or the Microcosm (the little secondary world) — the mere reflection of the former, so to say.

"This division was called Ezekiel's Wheel, and was completed in the following way: First came the ascending five Signs (euphemerised into patriarchs), Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and the group concluded with Virgo-Scorpio. Then came the turning-point, Libra. After which, the first half of the Sign Virgo-Scorpio, was duplicated and transferred to lead the lower, or descending group of Microcosm which ran down to Pisces, or Noah (deluge). They intended it to imply that when the course of evolution had taken the worlds to the lowest point of grossness, where the earths and their products were coarsest, and their inhabitants most brutish, the turning-point had been reached — the forces were at an even balance. At the lowest point, the still lingering divine spark of spirit within began to convey the upward impulse. The scales typified that eternal equilibrium which is the necessity of a universe of harmony, of exact justice, of the balance of centripetal and centrifugal forces, darkness and light, spirit and matter."

While discussing the double Sign of Virgo-Scorpio and Libra, The 19th century Freemason and Rosicrucian, Hargrave Jennings, observed: "All this is incomprehensible, except in the strange mysticism of the Gnostics and the Kabbalists; and the whole theory requires a key of explanation to render it intelligible; which key is only darkly referred to as possible, but refused absolutely, by these extraordinary men, as not permissible to be disclosed." To which H. P. Blavatsky responds: "The said key must be turned seven times before the whole system is divulged. We will give it but one turn, and thereby allow the profane one glimpse into the mystery. Happy he, who understands the whole!" Even the 'one turn' she makes in Isis Unveiled is quite sufficient to show that the esoteric Sabean astrological doctrine enshrined in Ezekiel's Wheel was faithfully preserved in a hidden manner by the compilers of the Old Testament. In chapter 5 of Genesis, we find a genealogical record of the Ten Antediluvian Patriarchs listed as follows: (1) Adam; (2) Seth; (3) Enos; (4) Cainan; (5) Mahalaleel: (6) Jared; (7) Enoch; (8) Methuselah; (9) Lamech; and (10) Noah. In the previous chapter 4 of Genesis, we find the so-called generations of Cain and Seth. In Isis Unveiled Madame Blavatsky lists these as 'Kenite' (ten evil principles) and 'Sethite' (ten good principles) as shown in the table below:

Evil and Good Principles

Kenite — evil principles

Sethite — good principles

Adam
Cain
Enoch
Irad
Mehujael
Methusael
Lamech
Jubal
Jabal
Tubal Cain

Adam
Seth
Enos
Cainan
Mahalaleel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah

These Ten Antediluvian Patriarchs are identical with the Ten Hindu Prajapatis or Sons of Brahma, the latter standing in the Indian system for Adam in the biblical system. Note that these principles number ten not twenty. The two lists was devised for no other purpose than, firstly, to reinforce the idea of dualism, on which the philosophy of every exoteric religion is founded, and secondly, to conceal the esoteric truth from the uninitiated masses. In other words, these two genealogical tables represent the opposing powers or principles of Good and Evil. If we restore them to their primitive form by erasing these deliberate blinds, we discover they stand for the twelve (originally 10) Signs the Zodiac.

The first blind is that the Kenite names are mere duplications of the Sethite, or of each other. In this way we get rid of Adam, Cain (duplicate of Cainan) Enoch, Irad (variant of Jared), Mehujael and Methusael (both different spellings of Methuselah), Lamech, Jubal and Jabal, who, with Tubal-Cain, form a trinity in one. This leaves us with only one name, Cain or Cainan (the same patriarch). If we now turn our attention to the Sethite list, we find that Enos is father to Cain (an). Now Enos is simply another spelling of Enoch. This further duplication cannot have been accidental. The only reason for it and the inversion of paternity (Cain was the father of Enoch, not the son!) was to create confusion and baffle enquiry. This is the second blind. Once we remove it we see that the Ten Patriarchs are simply the (then) Ten Signs of the Zodiac before Libra was added to separate Virgo-Scorpio into two, or the separation of Adam from Eve, as we can see in the esoteric depiction of Ezekiel's Wheel shown below, which we have adapted from Isis Unveiled. The correspondence between the patriarchs and the Signs of the Zodiac constitutes the third and final blind.

But there is more to the mystery of the system than this. Madame Blavatsky tells us that each patriarch is emblematic of solar and lunar years and astronomical periods, as well as the evolution of human races. Once we know this, it becomes clear that improbably long lives of the patriarchs are symbolical, not literal. Methuselah, for instance is said to have died at the age of 969, Adam at 930 years and Noah at 950 years. With the interesting exception of Lamech who is said to have lived for 777 years — a most remarkable number — nearly all the patriarchs are said to have lived around 900 years. Now the mystical number nine, as the students of numerology among our readers will know, permeates every one of the four great evolutionary cycles known as Yugas. 1728, 1296, 864 and 432 all add to 9. Coincidence, we think not! Madame Blavatsky explores the esoteric meaning of the ages of the patriarchs in The Secret Doctrine to which we refer those readers interested in exploring this subject further; to do so ourselves is beyond the scope of this investigation.

Ezekiel's Wheel contains a cross pointing to the four angles as they are termed in astrology. This marks the beginning of the first four of the 12 Houses which divide a birth chart — namely, the first, tenth, seventh, and fourth — as being of the greatest strength and power. Astrologically, these four positions are termed the Ascendant, Medium Coeli (MC), Descendant, and Immum Coeli (IC) respectively. These correspond to Adam, Noah, Cain-an, and Enoch in the list of patriarchs. They further stand for Alpha or beginning (Adam), Omega or end (Noah), Evil or below (Cain-an) and Good or above (Enoch). When we include the two secret names, now replaced by Virgo and Scorpio respectively, we end up with four triads representing the four occult elements of Fire (Adam), Air (Enoch), Water (Noah) and Earth (Cain-an). Madame Blavatsky goes on to explain that Libra is the pivot around which the entire Circle of the Heavens revolves by identifying the Sign of the Scales with Enoch as you can see in the above illustration. She writes: "The Adam of the first chapter of Genesis is the spiritual, therefore pure androgyne. When woman issues from the left rib of the second Adam (of dust), the pure Virgo is separated, and falling 'into generation', or the downward cycle, becomes Scorpio, the emblem of sin and matter. While the ascending cycle points at the purely spiritual races, or the ten prediluvian patriarchs, the lower one is that of the terrestrial races, led on by Enoch or Libra, the seventh; who, because he is half-divine, half-terrestrial, is said to have been taken by God alive."

It is for this reason that Libra, or the scales of universal harmony, justice and equilibrium are placed at the central point of the Zodiac. The centripetal and centrifugal forces, as symbols of good and evil, spirit and matter, life and death, are also those of the creator and the destroyer, or Adam and Eve in Ezekiel's Wheel. It is these two powers, both in the macrocosm as well as the microcosm which through their eternal conflict keep the universe of spirit and matter in harmony. Hence Scorpio marks the pivotal point in the Circle of the Zodiac where the Balance of the Scales tips to the left, or to the right, to the darkness or to the light, depending upon the choice previously made in Libra. The poet Ovid wrote of this pivotal constellation:

"There is a place above where Scorpio bent,
In tail and arms surrounds a vast extent.
In a wide circuit of the heavens he shines,
And fills the place of two celestial Signs."

The constellation of Scorpio rises as the constellation of Orion falls below the horizon. This astronomical phenomena may have given rise to the Greek myth in which the Scorpion is figured as the slayer of Orion in response to the giant hero's boast that he could overcome any of the beasts of the Earth. There may be rather more to this myth than the somewhat implausible claim that the goddess Artemis sent the scorpion to punish Orion for his unwanted advances. As we pointed out in our a article about giants, myths were not a means of falsifying history or weaving improbable fancies, but the earliest method of communicating certain occult facts, laws and truths in a symbolic manner. What we may have here is a concealed reference to the defeat of the Higher mind by the lower. In Erika Hahn's fairy-tale of The Magic Pearls the bold young prince boasts that he will uproot evil, only to fail miserably in his quest. Have we not all done the same? Has not every sincere seeker after Truth suffered defeat at the hands of his or her lower mind? This, at any rate is how we read the Greek myth.

This constellation is mainly represented by two symbols: the Scorpion and the Eagle. Girtab as the Sumerians called the scorpion, was associated by them with the sacred region in the West and the serpent-bodied guardians of the underworld who guide the spirits of the dead towards their final resting place among the stars. Moreover, as we learned in our Proem, Isis-Serqet was the ally of Ra in his struggle with the Apap monster of darkness. It is interesting in this respect that the Mayan priests also considered Libra and Scorpio as one constellation. In an old manuscript pertaining to the Mayan Zodiac a scorpion is depicted over an altar. Lying beneath it is a human figure in a dark chamber, while on the left a green plant with blossoms is growing under the night sky. Taken together these symbols mark this area of the night sky as the point or place of death, resurrection and rebirth in the Tapestry of the Zodiac. Death and rebirth are also associated with Scorpio in the Vedas. This reinforces the point made earlier, that Pluto is a far better fit for the rulership of Scorpio than Mars.

In his visions, Ezekiel describes the Cherubim as having the likeness of four living creatures, that of a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle. At the time of their conception these were clearly deSigned to mark the summer solstice (Leo); the spring equinox (Taurus); the winter solstice (Aquarius) and the autumn equinox (Scorpio). In view of the fact that Antares — 'the heart of the Scorpion' — has been known as one of the 'Royal Stars' from the remotest antiquity, it is not impossible that the constellation of Scorpio was originally considered to represent the eagle. Another creature sometimes associated with Scorpio was the basilisk. In folklore, one glance from its glaring eyes was enough to kill. So noxious was it that if a man on horseback slew a basilisk with a spear, it was said the poison would run up the weapon and kill, not only the rider, but the horse, as well. Now we know where J. K. Rowling obtained her inspiration for the horror hidden beneath Hogwarts Castle in the Harry Potter book The Chamber of Secrets! Some medieval alchemists believed that the ashes of the basilisk converted silver into gold. If we take this to refer to the 'death' of the lower mind (basilisk) effecting the re-union of the Higher Mind (silver) with the Divine Soul (gold) there may well be some truth in this allegory. Having considered the constellation of the Scorpion we now turn our attention to the Zodiacal Sign of that name see what more we can discover about the hidden meaning of both.

With the discoveries of Uranus (1781), Neptune (1846), and Pluto (1930), modern astrologers felt that these new planets had energies that fit certain Signs better than the traditional rulers. We have already seen in parts four and five that the Earth and Vulcan are a better fit for Taurus and Virgo than their traditional rulers — Venus and Mercury. The same is true of Aquarius, formerly ruled by Saturn and now ruled by Uranus, and of Pisces, formerly ruled by Jupiter and now ruled by Neptune. We shall examine these changing rulerships when we come to discuss Aquarius and Pisces in parts 12 and 13. There is no doubt in our mind that Pluto is a far better fit for Scorpio than fiery, positive Mars. There is nothing combative, restless, pioneering or energetic about the sons and daughters of Scorpio. This is reflected in astrological tradition which ascribed the rulership of Scorpio to "The negative side of Mars." This clearly suggests that this Sign cannot be positively associated with the god of war in his most familiar guise.

Careful analysis of the best and worst characteristics of Scorpio requires a sterner and darker deity than Mars. Pluto, as the god of the underworld who leant his helmet to men the better to disguise their nature and intentions, fits the part to perfection. Pluto is at one and the same time the great destroyer, liberator and regenerator, both in the individual as well as in the mass. Which is why spiritual regeneration and reincarnation are closely associated with this Sign. In Greek mythology Pluto is wedded to Proserpine, who symbolises the seed, which remains in his dark kingdom underground during the long winter months, and, being fertilised, issues forth with the blossoms of spring that gladden the heart of Demeter. The opposite Sign to Scorpio in the Zodiac is Taurus. Whereas personal feelings matter very much to Taureans In the case of Scorpio the emotions are intensified and directed towards people rather than things; towards the feelings engendered by others and shared with others. Like Taurus, Scorpio is a Fixed and Negative Sign and those born under such influences tend to be conservative and set in their ways. But in Scorpio the combination of the triplicity of Fixity with heightened emotionality produces instability. Hence Scorpionians are often at war with themselves. The underground, eliminative and ejectory action of Pluto informs the deeply transformative life processes which come under Scorpio.

The Scorpion and the Eagle symbolise the duality of the nature of this Sign. From this we may deduce the keynote of this part of the Zodiac and the great lesson it has to teach us. That keynote is ATTUNEMENT, especially the attunement to effect Spiritual Regeneration. The Scorpion crawls on the ground, secretes itself in hidden places, then ejects its Plutonian sting with venomous power when least expected. The Eagle takes wing and rising above all earthly illusions enters a new phase of existence in the heights of the empyrean. On Earth the Scorpion can be very cruel, seizing his unsuspecting victims in his talons, but he has the power to rise above if he wishes. It is for this reason that this Sign epitomises the eternal war between the two minds more vividly than any other. Hence, it is often among Scorpionians that we find the very worst and best of men and women; the greatest sinners and the most perfect saints, as well as fools and sages. It all depends upon their individual place on the ladder of evolution. One can be a Hierophant of Goodness and Wisdom, as well as of evil and ignorance!

As we said, the keynote of this Sign is Power, and the kingdom to which the Scorpionian is drawn is power. The highest expression of that power is manifested in the task of absolute self-mastery. The destruction of egotism, the domination of desire, the abolition of everything that can retard our moral, mental and physical regeneration; the attainment of complete control over the will, the intellect, the passions, the emotions, the bodily activities and the psychic faculties; these are, or ought to be, the aim of the evolved Scorpionian. Which is why we use the word 'Hierophant' to describe the most perfect expression of the power of this Zodiacal Sign. It is this characteristic that draws so many sons and daughters of Scorpio into the medical profession. Isabelle Pagan illustrates this trait with her customary perception. "When the ideal doctor — who may stand very well for the ideal Scorpionian — enters the sick-room, the first impression he gives is that of power — quiet, resolute strength; capacity, will and determination to wrestle with and overcome suffering, disease and death. The anxious nurses give a sigh of relief, and the restless invalid stops moaning and lies still. Such a man can impress his will on the most fractious and rebellious of patients." However, it is only fair to point out that the Scorpionian's love and pursuit of power may just as well produce a Harold Shipman as a Florence Nightingale! Interestingly, Florence was born on May 10th 1820, which means Scorpio was opposite to her Sun Sign. Moreover, Venus was squared by Pluto in her birth chart, a powerfully transformative aspect if ever there was one! We do not know Dr Shipman's time of birth so there is no way of calculating his Ascendant. But the conjunction of the Sun with Venus in Capricorn in tight opposition to Mars and Saturn in Cancer does give a somewhat Scorpionic flavour to his chart.

Both sexes possess a depth of feeling encountered in no other Sign. The archetypal Scorpionian is passionately and devotedly attached to the person or the cause that is his, but equally passionately unchanging in his detestation of what he dislikes. Such strength of feeling naturally results in extremes of behaviour. This, coupled with powerful urges working from hidden depths may equally well produce the underground activity of the criminal with his cruel 'sting' or the devoted work for a loved one, work or cause. The secretiveness which is common to all the Water Signs is especially strong in the sons and daughters of Scorpio who often keep their true feelings very secret. It is also the main reason Scorpionians are such inscrutable personages who cannot be understood by the rest, unless they give their absolute confidence to the very few they really love. Moreover, they like nothing better than a little mystery and will often take the utmost delight in leading others by the nose! The fictional wizard, Sirius Black, whose birthday is said to be November 3rd, epitomises this trait in the Harry Potter books, by appearing to be the opposite of what he is. He could also be uncommonly cruel towards those he hated, such his taunting of Severus Snape. But there is no more harm in Scorpionians than in those born under any other Sign, unless they are roused, and then they can be terrible adversaries indeed.

Turning to the female of the tribe, Isabelle Pagan tells us: "The intense virility of this type makes it somewhat difficult for women born under it to accept the limitations and restrictions imposed by their sex." We would say this is something of an understatement; at least so far as the lesser evolved specimens of the Sign are concerned! Writing as she was at the beginning of the 20th century for an audience easily discomfited by the glimpse of a lady's stocking, she was understandably reticent about the depths to which the female of the tribe could sink. She confines herself to saying coyly that "...it is almost impossible for primitive female specimens born under this Sign to adjust themselves to the conditions and limitations imposed on them by their sex, especially in the lower classes and in ill-educated communities." Nowadays, this sounds dreadfully twee, but her readers grasped what she meant without the need to spell out the sordid details our tabloid press revel in today. We would add that what is relish for the female Scorpion is sauce for the male too, both sexes being equally capable of infidelity, debauchery and sexual perversion.

To pre-empt any howls of protest from the Scorpionians among our readers we would remind them that although we have separated the virtues and vices of the twelve Signs of the Zodiac in our investigation, the man or a woman influenced exclusively by one Sign does not exist, has never existed and will never exist. All the Signs in turn, and often several at once, influence us, so that no one can smugly congratulate themselves on being free from the vices, or heir to the virtues, attributed to any particular Sign. Whatever we possess in the way of self-control, the ability to stand on our own two feet and the exercise of our free-will, we owe to the power of Scorpio manifesting in us. But power is a two-edged sword that may be used for good or ill. Isabelle Pagan does not mince her words when describing the worst specimens of this Sign. "For make no mistake, at his worst, the primitive Scorpionian is not merely wicked; he fiendishly evil. Not content with his own reckless defiance of the laws of God and man, he takes a devilish delight in inciting or betraying others into breaking them also. He will lead youth and innocence along the downward path to the very brink of the precipice, and with his own hand give the push that sends him over." His passions are ten times stronger than other men's, his courage never fails him, and his will is iron. If he fails to find his way into the Kingdom of Heaven through the mastery of his lower self he may all too easily and gleefully descend into Hell, the abject slave of the worst desires of his lower self. The oft-quoted exclamation "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven," from Milton's Paradise Lost has been echoed by many a son and daughter of this Sign. Nevertheless, the wings of the Eagle are so strong, that even at the lowest depths of degradation there is always hope. Such is the regenerating power of ATTUNEMENT commanded by Scorpio that we find startling and almost incredible instances of complete conversion which knows no relapse. St Paul, though we do not know his date of birth, in his life and teachings, displays all the characteristics of the higher type of Scorpionian. His conversion from a dogmatic Pharisee who persecuted Christians to the most influential figure in the early Christian church and it's probable founder, is one of the most remarkable examples of the regenerative and transformative power of Scorpio we know.

In the Proem to the next part of this investigation we shall tell you about the ancient Egyptian God Shu and his female counterpart, Tefnut, and the constellation and Zodiacal Sign of Sagittarius or the Archer. In our concomitant Afterword we shall explore the occult meaning of the extra-zodiacal constellations of Centaurus or the Centaur, and Crux, or the Southern Cross.

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Constellations

Part Nine: Serpens and Ophiuchus or the Serpent and the Serpent Bearer, and Hercules.

In our ninth Afterword we explore the extra-zodiacal constellations of Serpens and Ophiuchus, otherwise known as the Serpent and the Serpent Bearer, as well as Hercules, known to the Greeks as Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, who is justly famed for his twelve labours.

Ophiuchus was known to the ancients twelve hundred years before the Christian era. Homer refers to it, and Aratos clearly describes the figure in the following lines:

"His feet stamp Scorpion down, enormous beast,
Crushing the monster's eye and platted breast.
With outstretched arms he holds the Serpent's coils,
His limbs it folds within its scaly toils.
With his right hand its writhing tail he grasps,
Its swelling neck his left securely clasps,
The reptile rears its crested head on high.
Reaching the seven-starred Crown in Northern sky."

There is something remarkable in the central position these two constellations occupy in our Tapestry. They are situated almost exactly in the mid-heavens, being nearly equidistant from the Poles, and mid-way between the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Their commanding location makes these figures especially Significant from an occult point of view.

Modern astronomers divide SERPENS into two separate non-contiguous parts, Serpens Caput, meaning the Serpent's Head, and Serpens Cauda, meaning the Serpent's Tail. Between these two halves we find the constellation of OPHIUCHUS, the Serpent Bearer, as you can see in the illustration below.

To the left of Ophiuchus lie the circular scales of Libra — where previously was placed the Altar. We are now fulfilling the promise made in our previous Afterword that we would explore the three symbolic figurations of the Serpent and the Serpent Bearer, the Crown and the Altar.

Scorpio, which you will remember from the diagram of the ecliptic in part eight, precedes Ophiuchus in the Zodiac. Having wounded the Serpent Bearer in his left heel, the scorpion now gives place to the Serpent, who reaches up to seize the Crown, which is situated immediately over the monster's head. The left side of the body, as we have pointed out in several articles, represents the lower mind or self. For even at its best the lower mind is a beast and there is no gainsaying it.

What a dramatic scene this depicts for those who can read the Scroll of the Starry Firmament! We said in our Introduction that the stars depict a gigantic scorpion endeavouring to sting the left heel of a mighty man. We see him struggling with a serpent while his foot is placed on the star Antares, at the very heart of the Scorpion, as you can see in the two star-maps below.

It is a struggle for dominion, of Light against darkness, good against evil. We behold the monster Apap, figured here as the Serpent, seeking to rob Horus of his victory and Man of his Crown. But he fails in the attempt and is himself utterly defeated and trodden under foot by Ophiuchus.

Thus do we read the mystic Scroll upon which is nightly enacted the great drama of the Scorpion bruising the Serpent Bearer's heel while he struggles to prevent the Serpent from trying to seize the crown. Below them in the Heavens we find the Holy Alta that Signifies the great sacrifice each one of us must make to become worthy of the Victor's Crown.

There are no less than 134 stars in Serpens and Ophiuchus. The brightest is Alpha Serpentis, located in the neck of the Serpent, called UnukalhaiUnuk al Hayyah, the Neck of the Snake, the later Arabic name for this luminary. Another Hebrew name is Alyah, the accursed.

We have shown throughout these afterwords that the ancient Egyptian Sages depicted the war between the Higher and lower minds through the dramatic imagery of astronomical mythology. The conflict between Horus and Set or Ra and Apap (the same thing) was fought for the water as well as for the light; the mortal enemy of man being drought as well as darkness.

Drought and darkness in the mythos do not mean the absence of physical water and light, but their spiritual noumena, that is to say the water of Life and the light of the Spirit. Horus is thus emblematic of every Higher Mind that comes to bring peace and goodwill to Earth as conqueror of spiritual — not material — drought, dearth, and darkness.

He grapples with the dragon in the constellation Hydra as we saw in part two of our investigation, vanquishing it with the 'still waters' of the Psalms. He wrestles with the evil Set and overcomes him in the constellation of the Twins. In the constellation of Ophiuchus he crushes the serpent in the character of the conqueror who triumphed over drought, darkness, decay, and death.

In the previous part of this investigation we said that we would address the question of why Ophiuchus was left out of the Zodiac when it lies between the constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius and intersects the ecliptic? The ecliptic, you will remember, is the path the Sun appears to trace in the sky as viewed from the Earth.

The short answer is that no one really knows. What we do know is that the Babylonians recognized 13 Signs, the 12 we're familiar with, plus Ophiuchus. For reasons we do not know they decided to leave Ophiuchus out of their system, and it was never included as a formal astrological Sign.

The ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy included Ophiuchus in his list of 48 constellations, documenting it in the second century, and it still is one of the 88 modern-day constellations.

In 1970, Ophiuchus captured the attention of the media when an American astrologer, Steven Schmidt, suggested it should be included as the 13th Sign of the Zodiac. He proposed this again in 1995, but very few astrologers took up his suggestion and most serious astronomers remained diplomatically silent!

He did not help his case by proposing that Cetus, which we discussed in our Afterword to part one, should also be included. As this extra-zodiacal constellation lies well south of the ecliptic below Pisces there is no sound astronomical reason for making it the 14th Sign. Having said that, a 14-Sign Zodiac does divide equally into 14 parts of 26 degrees. A Zodiac of 364 degrees is actually much closer to the length of the tropical year than one of 360 degrees. But the same is true of a 13-Sign Zodiac (13 x 28 = 364).

The idea of a 13-Sign sidereal Zodiac was revived in 1995 by British astrologer Walter Berg and his Japanese colleague, Mark Yazaki. This system has since achieved some popularity in Japan. Both Schmidt and Berg proclaimed Pluto as the ruler of Ophiuchus, thus robbing Scorpionians of their present ruler. Others have suggested Jupiter on the basis that it rules the adjacent Sign of Sagittarius. Yet others favour Chiron, a minor planet orbiting between Jupiter and Neptune thought to be about 120 miles (193km) in diameter — rather less than the distance between London and York!

While it is possible that a 13-Sign Zodiac may have existed in the distant past, we cannot in good faith agree with the ideas of Schmidt and Berg. Moreover, we find the suggestion of tiny Chiron as the ruler of a constellation twice the size of Scorpio implausible to say the least. However, there is no disputing that 13 does divide equally into 364.

Consequently a Zodiac which included Ophiuchus would result in 13 Signs each spanning 28 degrees. Coincidentally, the approximate number of days in the lunar cycle is 28, the same as the menstrual cycle in women. Moreover, 3+6+4 add to 13, and 1+3 adds to 4, or the Tetrad, just as 1+3 does.

Our regular readers may recall from our discussions of the sacred science of numbers that the Pythagoreans called the Tetrad or number four 'the greatest miracle,' and 'God after another manner,' 'a manifold divinity,' the 'fountain of Nature,' and 'Justice' as it is the first evenly even number.

For complex astronomical reasons the actual number of days in a lunar month varies between 27 and 29. Interestingly, in English common law, a 'lunar month' is exactly 28 days or four weeks. This was widely used for deeds and other written contracts until as recently as 1925, when it was replaced by the calendar month by an Act of Parliament.

A lunar calendar is still in use among Jews and Hindus, while the Chinese use a lunisolar calendar for various religious and cultural purposes. Since we know that lunar worship preceded solar worship in ancient times it is not impossible, as we suggested earlier, that a Zodiac of 13 Signs was once in use. A tropical year is presently 365 and a quarter days long or 365.24217 to be precise. But this does not mean that it has not been shorter in the distant past, nor that it may not be longer (or shorter) at some time in the future. Currently, the Earth is moving farther away from the Sun, albeit by an almost infinitesimal amount each year.

So, if you were born between November 29 to December 17 you may wish to impress your friends by telling them that you're not a boring old Sagittarian but an Ophiuchusian (pronounced 'oh-few-cuss-ian'). On the other hand, Taylor Swift was born on 13 December which may not be such a good recommendation!

We turn now to HERCULES. The first century Roman astrologer Manilius called this constellation Engonasin; Ptolemy, Geniculator, both terms roughly meaning 'the Kneeling Man'. The poet Aratus described it as follows:

"Near this, and like a toiling man, revolves
A form. Of it can no one clearly speak,
Nor what he labours at. They call him simply
'The man upon his knees': In desperate struggle
Like one who sinks, he seems. From both his shoulders
His arms are high-uplifted and out-stretched
As far as he can reach; and his right foot
Is planted on the coiléd Dragon's head."

This shows that already in the 3rd century B.C., the occult meaning of this constellation was largely lost. The Dragon Aratus mentions is the constellation we discussed in the Afterword to part three of our investigation, Therein we told you that Draco is associated with the twelve labours of Hercules. In the classical drawing shown below the Greek Hero can be seen vanquishing the dragon.

In star maps Hercules is typically depicted brandishing a club in his right hand, while in his left he holds a branch, in which serpents are entangled. Over his shoulders is thrown a lion's skin, as in the illustration shown below.

The Lernaean Hydra of Greek and Roman mythology, killed by Hercules as the second of his Twelve Labours, is a faithful copy of Draco. Its lair was the lake of Lerna, said to be the entrance to the Underworld which the monster was set to guard. Why hell should need to be guarded when so many people seem so eager to enter it is open to question. Perhaps it is to prevent overcrowding?!

Once we know that Hercules stands for Horus and the Dragon or Serpent for Apap, it becomes clear that his twelve labours refer to the Sun's passage through the Zodiac. For example, his first labour was the slaying of the Nemean lion, which corresponds with the Sun's passage through Leo. In his second labour Hercules destroyed the Lernaean Hydra. This feat in captured in the Greek sculpture shown below.

When the constellation Hydra sets, the Sun enters Virgo, which follows Leo in the Zodiac. In his third labour Hercules encountered and slew the centaur. In the next month the Sun enters the Sign Libra, when the constellation of the Centaur rises. Readers familiar with the myth will have noted that Hercules' labours do not always correspond with the Signs of the Zodiac sequentially. For example, Hercules' fourth labour, the capture of the Erymanthian boar of "foaming jaws", corresponds with Taurus. Cleaning the stables (the fifth labour) corresponds with the asterism of the Manger in Cancer which we discussed in part five. The theft of the Mares of Diomeded (the eighth labour) corresponds with Sagittarius.

Nonetheless, these several correspondences are traceable throughout the year. They demonstrate the ingenuity and wisdom of the Ancient Sages who not only first clothed these astrological truths in mythological form, but arranged them in such a way that only close familiarity with the keys of occult symbolism could discover them.

Even in his infancy, Hercules displayed great courage and strength. It is related that he rose in his cradle and strangled the serpents sent by Juno to destroy him, as we can see in the illustration below. Juno of course was the sister and wife of Jupiter, the Demiurge immortalised in Shelley's lyrical drama Prometheus Unbound which we analysed many years ago.

Here, Hercules reprises the role of Prometheus who, in his defiance of Jupiter — the creator of material, as opposed to spiritual man — is condemned to be chained to the sharp rocks of mortality for his disobedience. In the drawing above we see the infant Hercules strangling the serpents Juno sent to destroy him. How reminiscent this is of the scorpion that was sent to destroy Horus by Set that we told you about in our survey of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. How all these myths, legends and stories, widely separated by both time and culture, link up together! This proves, if proof we needed, that at one time, long, long ago, there existed a universal wisdom religion that was the heritage of all mankind, but has since been shattered into numberless pieces.

It is Significant that we often find Hercules represented as kneeling, a somewhat incongruous position for a hero or god engaged in trampling on a great serpent! Mythologists have no satisfactory explanation for this paradox but Occult science does.

We saw in part three that Aratus described Taurus as having 'fallen', an attitude confirmed in many pictures of the constellation that show the Bull crouching with bowed knees. As we said then, Occult Science recognises three 'falls' of Man. The first is the descent of spirit into matter. The second is the fall of the 'gods' or angels into generation, and the third is the fall of man into so-called 'sin'. These three falls correspond to the three figures in the First Division of the Zodiac, namely the Ram, the Bull and the Heavenly Twins. Hercules is depicted as kneeling for the same reason the Bull is depicted as kneeling: both are emblematical of the descent of spirit into matter and the incarnation of the Higher Mind in a material vehicle.

According to the ancients the faint stars in this region of the sky represented a meadow, where a shepherd pastured his flock, and the long rows of stars in Hercules and Serpens are fences protecting the sheep from the hyenas and jackals that are supposed to be prowling about. The other side of the meadow is protected by the shepherd's two dogs, represented by the stars Alpha Herculis and Alpha Ophiuchi.

If we regard the shepherd as Horus, the sheep as his followers or disciples, the 'hyenas' and 'jackals' require little or no elucidation. Have we not all, as sincere seekers after Truth, suffered from the attacks of these cunning predators who come to us wreathed in smiles while their black hearts plot our downfall? Fortunately the Good Shepherd has his faithful apostles to protect his flock, symbolised by the two dogs in this delightful myth.

Hercules is also remarkable for containing a most wonderful star cluster called Messier 13, also known as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules or the Hercules Globular Cluster. It is often described by astronomers as the most magnificent globular cluster visible to northern observers. The astronomer William Herschel estimated that it contained 14,000 stars. Nowadays it is thought to comprise more than 50,000 individual stars.

From first to last Hercules is the embodiment of the Hero engaged in subduing the eternal foe. His labours are emblematic of the tests and trials we all must face and overcome if we are to "bruise the serpent's head" and "tread upon the lion and adder" and so earn the seven-starred Crown of Righteousness which shines in the star-studded Firmament to beckon the weary traveller Home.

In our next Afterword we will examine the extra-zodiacal constellations of Centaurus or the Centaur, and Crux, or the Southern Cross. Meanwhile, we hope that you have enjoyed the ninth of our surveys of the hidden messages of the Stars.

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