Serpens and Ophiucus
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The Constellations
The constellations of Serpens and Ophiucus are by far my favorite objects when i think of the mysterious nature of snakes, serpents, and dragons.
The constellation Ophiucus was given to Asclepius by Zeus as a consolation prize after the latter overlord destroyed the chances of the medicine man to pass on the knowledge of immortality to mortals.
Well that's according to some mythological beliefs that go back to the pantheon of lords of ancient Greece.
The constellation Serpens is actually a twin constellation situated in the vicinity of Ophiucus. The duality of Serpens is divided into a tail and a head section. Their astronomical titles are Serpens cauda for the tail end and Serpens Caput for the head section.
See the pictures below for a better understanding of the cosmic geography of these two agents of the heavens.
Or should that be three ?
The sun and the milky way galaxy
Astronomers and other scholars have named 88 constellations. Serpens and Ophiucus are two of them.
Twelve others are the modern astrological zodiacs.
Ophiucus is the 13th zodiac and is the reason for all the mystery of this subject and the aim of this hub.
Moving out into the Universe
The Sun is but a star in the massive cosmos.
Look on the picture above and notice on the bottom the constellations of Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius.
They form the Zodiac ring along with the nine other constellations.
They are part to the Zodiac because at a certain part of each year they line up from earth - sun - constellation.
Remember that the earth rotates around it's axis every 24 hours and around the sun every 365 . 25 days if you are following a Gregarian calendar.
These are known as the sun signs
This happens with no other of the 88 constellations with the exception of Ophiucus.
The transit between the constellation, the sun and the earth is called the procession of the equinox.
Unlike the precession of the equinox, the procession of the equinox is a yearly cycle.
Sagittarius is the Archer and runs from November 23 to December 21 according to modern astrologers but that is a bit of a fallacy since Ophiucus is supposed to rule for a time usually recognized as November 30 to December 17.
Precession of the Equinox
Ophiucus the serpent holder
OK so let's just feel bad for Ophiucus the serpent holder for being left out of the annual parade. After all astrology is nothing but a means of parting people and their money.
Who is Ophiucus ?
I was recently reading an article that presented Ophiucus as being associated with the healer Pharaoh Imhotep who ruled Egypt in the 27th century BC. That was news to me. It certainly makes for some good science fiction interpretations of a reality of long ago when pyramids , by some claims, served a cosmic purpose outside of being some famous casino in Vegas.
I prefer the Greek mythological version of Ophiucus where a mortal "lord in waiting" named Aesclepius, the son of the overlord Apollo, and a mortal mother named Coronis who dies in childbirth, finds the secret of immortality after observing snakes or serpents sharing herbs.
Aesclepius according this Greek tale was given to the medicine half man Chiron by his father to care for. He grew up learning the crafts of the medicine man. After having discovered the potency of those herbal remedies from the snakes he goes on to use it on other mortals.
This doesn't go well with Zeus who is the grand master of "ruling overlords" and he goes to war with Aesclepius and strikes him down with a thunderbolt. This is a common response from Zeus.
But he has some compassion and turns over the constellation of Ophiucus to the care of Aesclepius. So humanity was once again remain the servants of Zeus the grand master and Aesclepius becomes an immortal.
Snakes....what snakes.....they be everywhere.
Ophiucus...lord in waiting
So here be manna for the imagination.
We have a mystery that involves two serpents on a staff which holds the earth or maybe the solar system and flank around this orb is a set of wings.
This is the Caduceus symbol of modern medicine.
At the other end of the world we have another culture talking about a plumed serpent called Quetzalcoatl who is supposed to save the world someday.
And we have a whole bunch of people interpreting the coming of a new age which some call the age of Aquarius, or a Golden age which is preceded by the calamities of evil.
But where and when.
The precession of the equinox is a whole different thing from the procession of the equinox. The precession of the equinox is based on the wobbling effect of Gaia or mother earth.
At a certain point in that process which scholars on the subject believe to be a 26000 year cycle Ophiucus makes a transit with the solar system and the core of the milky way galaxy. This subject is well researched by John Major Jenkins and is available at alignment2012.com.
To turn imagination into fantasy we could easily come to a conclusion that minds of old knew of Serpens and of the staff which is Ophiucus and of stargates that open up the skies and allow men or serpent like aliens to travel through the cosmos for a time. However far fetched that is...
Time being a concept understood by those who experience it from their perspective of what is IS.......
That is why Serpens and Ophiucus are my favorite subject when i think of snakes, serpents, and dragons.
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Comments
Fascinating, lbtrader - and it's great to find another stargazer here! Aren't the legends behind the stars phenomenal? I don't know if you are aware that Ophiucus was earlier associated with Isis who was known to be the goddess of healing but this didn't really sit well with the Greeks who were patriarchal. Maybe the constellation will come into its own when the planet Vulcan is discovered :)
Here's something you might like:http://grailstar.4t.com/rosie.htm
Ophiucus rules Jewels. Many people are scared of snakes and I contend that they can seem evil when they appear from seemingly nowhere and slither into your perception. They lend themselves well to the esoteric for that subtle personality.
As for what I know about being a Capricorn...I know very little. I read somewhere that Capricorns tend to be contrarians and they might tend to dig deep into subjects in order to find points to fascinate others with. By doing so they may find themselves in controversy because they might be looked upon as self serving and always looking to be a step ahead of the herd. To others the Capricorns might come across as having a condescending tone of disposition where he or she builds up a scenario just to a point just past the understanding of the viewer or listener and then leaves the audience hanging, or worst yet makes them look foolish.
However I don't generally use horoscopes and I trust very few psychics as I find there are just too many students who understand the psychic source but very few masters who have mastered the art of tapping into that energy field.
Thanks for your interest.
Thank you shalani kagal - what a nice name btw....a lifetime is not enough for those who love the science of the lights and the stories they conjure up as generations of humans proceed ahead in the cosmic cycles just make life so much more interesting.
Thanks so much for the link. I could and probably will spend hours looking into that DaVinci puzzle.
I am curious to know what you think it all means....
The Vulcan already...so much to learn...so little time.
Pleased you don't trust psychics and most have no consciousness of what the source is they use. I've spent the last 10 years working under a teacher and learning subtle bodies, self awareness, meditation.
And I don't like horoscopes either. I did a hub Astrology v Horoscopes which explains my distaste for tabloid astrology. I also have a page which delves more into the esoteric side of astrology. http://eyeonlife.squarespace.com/j-braden-gets-ast
There was also a short discussion on 2012. We may have a few things in common, or not!
Jewels says:
2 months ago
I have it on my to do list to study more on Ophiucus because of the relationship to healing. Snakes, serpents and dragons to me have a relationship to the underworlds, but taking out the mysterious or fantasy aspects of it. Phenomenal esoteric symbolism between the serpent and our ability to heal our bodies. I also do astrology, sorry if you think I take peoples money! LOL. I use it as a language and don't buy into the tabloid circus, but that's another topic. I always tie astronomy in with astrology, in the ancient days they were not separated and I've always had a fascination with the night sky.
I just looked at my transits for 2012. Amazing what's available as far as planetary aspects. Following the Mayans and the Sidereal system of course. Are you a Capricorn under Tropical or are you aligning your Sun Sign to the actual Stars - Sidereal which takes into account the earths wobble? Not that Sun Signs are the be all and end all of astrology.