The signs have been used to determine the time of the year by identifying each sign with the days of the year the Sun is in the respective sign. InWestern astrology, and formerlyastronomy, the time of each sign is associated with different attributes. The zodiacal system and its angular measurement in 360sexagesimaldegree (°) originated withBabylonian astronomy during the1st millennium BC. It was communicated intoGreek astronomy by the 2nd century BC, as well as into developing theHindu zodiac. Due to theprecession of the equinoxes, the time of year that the Sun is in a given constellation has changed since Babylonian times, and the point ofMarch equinox has moved fromAries intoPisces.
The English wordzodiac derives fromzōdiacus,[5] theLatinized form of theAncient Greekzōdiakòs kýklos (ζῳδιακόςκύκλος),[6] meaning "cycle or circle of little animals".Zōdion (ζῴδιον) is the diminutive ofzōon (ζῷον, "animal").[7] The name reflects the prominence of animals (andmythological hybrids) among the twelve signs. In English, the term "zodiac" may also be used in reference to or translation for the similar twelve year cycle (also sometimes applied to other time units than years) of the East Asian-derived systems referred to as theChinese zodiac (see also,Earthly Branches): similarities include the use of animal or theriomorphic figures associated with a twelve year cycle used culturally to allege or describe personality traits and/or life events, and their interrelationships -- thus this use in translation.
The zodiac was in use by theRoman era, based on concepts inherited byHellenistic astronomy fromBabylonian astronomy of theChaldean period (mid-1st millennium BC), which, in turn, derived from an earlier system of lists of stars along the ecliptic.[8] The construction of the zodiac is described inPtolemy's comprehensive 2nd century AD work, theAlmagest.[9]
Although the zodiac remains the basis of theecliptic coordinate system in use inastronomy besides theequatorial one,[10][11] the term and the names of the twelve signs are today mostly associated withhoroscopic astrology.[12] The term "zodiac" may also refer to the region of thecelestial sphere encompassing the paths of the planets corresponding to the band of about 8 arc degrees above and below the ecliptic. The zodiac of a given planet is the band that contains the path of that particular body; e.g., the "zodiac of the Moon" is the band of 5° above and below the ecliptic. By extension, the "zodiac of the comets" may refer to the band encompassing mostshort-period comets.[13]
As early as the 14th century BC a complete list of the 36 Egyptiandecans was placed among the hieroglyphs adorning the tomb ofSeti I; they figured again in the temple ofRamesses II, and characterize every Egyptian astrological monument. Both the famous zodiacs ofDendera display their symbols, identified byKarl Richard Lepsius.[14]
Roman Egyptian coin ofAntoninus Pius (dated year 8 of his reign or 145 AD) showing his portrait and a Zodiac wheel with the busts ofHelios andSelene in the centerA sixth-century mosaic zodiac wheel in synagogueBeth Alpha incorporating Greek-Byzantine elements, IsraelZodiac circle with planets,c. 1000 –NLW MS 735C
Around the end of the fifth century BC,Babylonian astronomers divided the ecliptic into 12 equal "signs", by analogy to 12 schematic months of 30 days each. Each sign contained 30° ofcelestial longitude, thus creating the first known celestial coordinate system. According to calculations by modern astrophysics, the zodiac was introduced between 409 and 398 BC, duringPersian rule,[17] and probably within a very few years of 401 BC.[18] Unlike modern astrologers, who place the beginning of the sign ofAries at the position of the Sun at thevernal equinox in theNorthern Hemisphere (March equinox), Babylonian astronomers fixed the zodiac in relation to stars, placing the beginning ofCancer at the "Rear Twin Star" (β Geminorum) and the beginning ofAquarius at the "Rear Star of the Goat-Fish" (δ Capricorni).[19]
Due to theprecession of the equinoxes, the time of year the Sun is in a given constellation has changed since Babylonian times, as the point of March equinox has moved fromAries intoPisces.[20]
Because the divisions were made into equal arcs of 30° each, they constituted an ideal system of reference for making predictions about a planet's longitude. However, Babylonian techniques of observational measurements were in a rudimentary stage of evolution.[21] They measured the position of a planet in reference to a set of "normal stars" close to the ecliptic (±9° of latitude). The normal stars were used as observational reference points to help position a planet within this ecliptic coordinate system.[22]
InBabylonian astronomical diaries, a planet position was generally given with respect to a zodiacal sign alone, though less often in specific degrees within a sign.[23] When the degrees of longitude were given, they were expressed with reference to the 30° of the zodiacal sign, i.e., not with a reference to the continuous 360° ecliptic.[23] In astronomicalephemerides, the positions of significant astronomical phenomena were computed insexagesimal fractions of a degree (equivalent tominutes and seconds of arc).[24] For daily ephemerides, the daily positions of a planet were not as important as the astrologically significant dates when the planet crossed from one zodiacal sign to the next.[23]
The earliest extant Greek text using the Babylonian division of the zodiac into 12 signs of 30 equal degrees each is theAnaphoricus ofHypsicles of Alexandria (fl.190BC).[29] Particularly important in the development of Western horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomerPtolemy, whose workTetrabiblos laid the basis of theWestern astrological tradition.[30] Under the Greeks, and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and signs of the zodiac were rationalized and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day.[31] Ptolemy lived in the 2nd century AD, three centuries after the discovery of theprecession of the equinoxes byHipparchus around 130 BC. Hipparchus' lost work on precession never circulated very widely until it was brought to prominence by Ptolemy,[32] and there are few explanations of precession outside the work of Ptolemy until late Antiquity, by which time Ptolemy's influence was widely established.[33] Ptolemy clearly explained the theoretical basis of the western zodiac as being atropical coordinate system, by which the zodiac is aligned to the equinoxes and solstices, rather than the visible constellations that bear the same names as the zodiac signs.[34]
According to mathematician-historianMontucla, the Hindu zodiac was adopted from theGreek zodiac through communications between ancient India and the Greek empire ofBactria.[35] TheHindu zodiac uses thesidereal coordinate system, which makes reference to the fixed stars. The tropical zodiac (of Mesopotamian origin) is divided by the intersections of theecliptic andequator, which shifts in relation to the backdrop of fixed stars at a rate of 1° every 72 years, creating the phenomenon known as precession of the equinoxes. The Hindu zodiac, being sidereal, does not maintain this seasonal alignment, but there are still similarities between the two systems. The Hindu zodiac signs and corresponding Greek signs sound very different, being in Sanskrit and Greek respectively, but their symbols are nearly identical.[36] For example,dhanu means "bow" and corresponds to Sagittarius, the "archer", andkumbha means "water-pitcher" and corresponds to Aquarius, the "water-carrier".[37]
Angers Cathedral South Rose Window of Christ (center) with elders (bottom half) and zodiac (top half). Medieval stained glass by Andre Robin after the fire of 1451
During theAbbasid era, Greek reference books were translated intoArabic, andIslamic astronomers then did their own observations, correcting Ptolemy's Almagest. One such book wasAl-Sufi'sBook of Fixed Stars, which has pictorial depictions of 48 constellations. The book was divided into three sections: constellations of the zodiac, constellations north of the zodiac, and southern constellations. When Al-Sufi's book, and other works, were translated in the 11th century, there were mistakes made in the translations. As a result, some stars ended up with the names of the constellation they belong to (e.g.Hamal in Aries).
The zodiac is found in medievalstained glass as atAngers Cathedral, where the master glass maker, André Robin, made the ornaterosettes for the North and South transepts after the fire there in 1451.[38]
Ottoman-style sundial with folded gnomon and compass. The sundial features engraved toponyms in Arabic and zodiac symbols.Debbane Palace museum,Lebanon
Astrology emerged in the 8th century AD as a distinct discipline in Islam,[39]: 64 with a mix of Indian, Hellenistic Iranian and other traditions blended with Greek and Islamic astronomical knowledge, for example Ptolemy's work and Al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars. A knowledge of the influence that the stars have on events on the earth was important in Islamic civilization. As a rule, it was believed that the signs of the zodiac and the planets control the destiny not only of people but also of nations, and that the zodiac has the ability to determine a person's physical characteristics as well as intelligence and personal traits.[40]
The practice of astrology at this time could be divided into 4 broader categories: Genethlialogy, Catarchic Astrology, Interrogational Astrology and General Astrology.[39]: 65 However the most common type of astrology was Genethlialogy, which examined all aspects of a person's life in relation to the planetary positions at their birth; more commonly known as our horoscope.[39]: 65
Astrology services were offered widely across the empire, mainly in bazaars, where people could pay for a reading.[41] Astrology was valued in the royal courts, for example, the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur used astrology to determine the best date for founding the new capital of Baghdad.[39]: 66 Whilst horoscopes were generally widely accepted by society, many scholars condemned the use of astrology and divination, linking it to occult influences.[42] Many theologians and scholars thought that it went against the tenets of Islam; as only God should be able to determine events rather than astrologers looking at the positions of the planets.[41]
In order to calculate someone's horoscope, an astrologer would use 3 tools: an astrolabe, ephemeris and a takht. First, the astrologer would use an astrolabe to find the position of the sun, align the rule with the persons time of birth and then align the rete to establish the altitude of the sun on that date.[43] Next, the astrologer would use an ephemeris, a table denoting the mean position of the planets and stars within the sky at any given time.[44] Finally, the astrologer would add the altitude of the sun taken from the astrolabe, with the mean position of the planets on the person's birthday, and add them together on the takht (also known as the dustboard).[44] The dust board was merely a tablet covered in sand; on which the calculations could be made and erased easily.[41] Once this had been calculated, the astrologer was then able to interpret the horoscope. Most of these interpretations were based on the zodiac in literature. For example, there were several manuals on how to interpret each zodiac sign, the treatise relating to each individual sign and what the characteristics of these zodiacs were.[41]
An example of the use of signs as astronomical coordinates may be found in theNautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for the year 1767. The "Longitude of the Sun" columns show the sign (represented as a digit from 0 to and including 11), degrees from 0 to 29, minutes, and seconds.[45]
Mughal kingJahangir issued an attractive series of coins in gold and silver depicting the twelve signs of the zodiac.[46]
A volvella of the moon. A volvella is a moveable device for working out the position of the Sun and Moon in the zodiac, 15th century
What follows is a list of the signs of the modern zodiac (with the ecliptic longitudes of their first points), where 0° Aries is understood as the vernal equinox, with their Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and Babylonian names. But the Sanskrit and the name equivalents (after c.500 BC) denote the constellations only, not the tropical zodiac signs. The "English translation" is not usually used by English speakers. The Latin names are standard English usage (except that "Capricorn" is used rather than "Capricornus").
MULSIM.MAḪ "Tail of the Swallow"; DU.NU.NU "fish-cord"
These twelve signs have been arranged into a nursery rhyme as a mnemonic device:[51]
The ram, the bull, the heavenly twins, And next the crab, the lion shines, The virgin and the scales, The scorpion, archer, and the goat, The man who holds the watering-pot, And fish with glittering scales.
Another mnemonic isA Tense Gray Cat Lay Very Low, Sneaking Slowly, Contemplating A Pounce.[52][53]
The following table compares theGregorian dates on which the Sun enters a sign in the Ptolemaictropical zodiac, and a sign in twosidereal systems: one proposed byCyril Fagan, and a fourteen-sign system proposed by Steven Schmidt which addsOphiuchus (see below) andCetus (theIAU boundaries of which just graze by the ecliptic):
The zodiac signs in a 16th-century woodcut
The beginning of Aries is defined as the moment ofvernal equinox, and all other dates shift accordingly.[54]The precise Gregorian times and dates vary slightly from year to year as theGregorian calendar shifts relative to thetropical year. These variations remain within less than two days' difference in the recent past and the near-future, vernal equinox inUT always falling either on 20 or 21 March in the period of 1797 to 2043, falling on 19 March in 1796 the last time and in 2044 the next. The vernal equinox has fallen on 20 March UT since 2008, and will continue to do so until 2043.[55]
Depiction of the southern hemisphere constellations in an 11th-century French manuscript (from theLimoges area, probably in the milieu ofAdémar de Chabannes, fl. 1020–1034)
^abcSchmidt (1970) added a Sun sign forCetus, falling between Aries and Taurus from May 12 – June 6, as well as the more often seen addition ofOphiuchus,q.v.[ii]. However, his symbols for Cetus and Ophiuchus are not the same as the symbols used here. Under the IAU constellation boundaries, the sign of Cetus corresponds to the half of Taurus mostly west ofAldebaran and theHyades, while the Taurus sign corresponds to the half of Taurus east of Aldebaran and the Hyades.
^abOphiuchus is not a sign in traditional forms of tropical and sidereal astrology, and only appears in a few forms of astrology which use the nominal constellation boundaries adopted by theIAU.
As each sign takes up exactly 30 degrees of the zodiac, the average duration of the solar stay in each sign is one twelfth of asidereal year, or 30.43 standarddays. Due to Earth's slightorbital eccentricity, the duration of each sign varies appreciably, between about 29.4 days for Capricorn and about 31.4 days for Cancer (seeEquation of time). In addition, because the Earth's axis is at an angle, some signs take longer to rise than others, and the farther away from the equator the observer is situated, the greater the difference. Thus, signs are spoken of as"long" or "short" ascension.[62]
These two maps of the constellations, made two centuries apart, both show the zodiac constellations along a curved line representing theecliptic.
18th-centurystar chart illustrating the feet ofOphiuchus crossing the ecliptic
Intropical astrology, thezodiacal signs are distinct from theconstellations associated with them, not only because of their drifting apart due to the precession of equinoxes but because the physical constellations take up varying widths of the ecliptic, so the Sun is not in each constellation for the same amount of time.[63]: 25 Thus,Virgo takes up 5 times as muchecliptic longitude asScorpius. The zodiacal signs are an abstraction from the physical constellations, and each represent exactly1⁄12th of the full circle, but the time spent by the Sun in each sign varies slightly due to the eccentricity of theEarth's orbit.
Sidereal astrology assigns the zodiac sign approximately to the corresponding constellation. This alignment needs recalibrating every so often to keep the alignment in place.
The ecliptic intersects with 13 constellations ofPtolemy'sAlmagest,[64] as well as of the more precisely delineatedIAU designated constellations. In addition to the twelve constellations after which the twelve zodiac signs are named, the ecliptic intersectsOphiuchus,[65] the bottom part of which interjects between Scorpius and Sagittarius. Occasionally this difference between the astronomical constellations and theastrological signs is mistakenly reported in the popular press as a "change" to the list of traditional signs by some astronomical body like the IAU,NASA, or theRoyal Astronomical Society. This happened in a 1995 report of theBBC Nine O'Clock News and various reports in 2011 and 2016.[66][67][68]
Some other constellations are mythologically associated with the zodiacal ones:Piscis Austrinus, The Southern Fish, is attached to Aquarius. In classical maps, it swallows the stream poured out of Aquarius' pitcher, but perhaps it formerly just swam in it.Aquila, The Eagle, was possibly associated with the zodiac by virtue of its main star,Altair.Hydra in the Early Bronze Age marked thecelestial equator and was associated with Leo, which is shown standing on the serpent on theDendera zodiac.[15]
Path taken by the point of theMarch equinox along the ecliptic over the past 6,000 years
The zodiac system was developed inBabylonia, some 2,500 years ago, during the "Age of Aries".[21] At the time, it is assumed, the precession of the equinoxes was unknown. Contemporary use of the coordinate system is presented with the choice of interpreting the system either assidereal, with the signs fixed to thestellar background, or astropical, with the signs fixed to the point (vector of the Sun) at theMarch equinox.[23]
Western astrology takes the tropical approach, whereasHindu astrology takes the sidereal one. This results in the originally unified zodiacal coordinate system drifting apart gradually, with a clockwise (westward) precession of 1.4 degrees per century.
For the tropical zodiac used in Western astronomy and astrology, this means that the tropicalsign of Aries currently lies somewhere within theconstellation Pisces ("Age of Pisces").
The sidereal coordinate system takes into account theayanamsa,ayan meaning "transit" or "movement", andamsa meaning 'small part', i.e. movement of equinoxes in small parts. It is unclear when Indians became aware of the precession of the equinoxes, butBhāskara II's 12th-century treatiseSiddhanta Shiromani gives equations for measurement of precession of equinoxes, and says his equations are based on some lost equations ofSuryasiddhanta plus the equation of Munjaala.[citation needed]
The discovery of precession is attributed to Hipparchus around 130 BC. Ptolemy quotes from Hipparchus' now-lost work entitled "On the Displacement of the Solstitial and Equinoctial Points" in the seventh book of his 2nd century astronomical text,Almagest, where he describes the phenomenon of precession and estimates its value.[32] Ptolemy clarified that the convention of Greek mathematical astronomy was to commence the zodiac from the point of the vernal equinox and to always refer to this point as "the first degree" of Aries.[71] This is known as the "tropical zodiac" (from the Greek word trópos, turn)[72] because its starting point revolves through the circle of background constellations over time.
The principle of the vernal point acting as the first degree of the zodiac for Greek astronomers is described in the 1st century BC astronomical text ofGeminus of Rhodes. Geminus explains that Greek astronomers of his era associate the first degrees of the zodiac signs with the two solstices and the two equinoxes, in contrast to the older Chaldean (Babylonian) system, which placed these points within the zodiac signs.[71] This illustrates that Ptolemy merely clarified the convention of Greek astronomers and did not originate the principle of the tropical zodiac, as is sometimes assumed.
Ptolemy demonstrates that the principle of the tropical zodiac was well known to his predecessors within his astrological text, theTetrabiblos, where he explains why it would be an error to associate the regularly spaced signs of the seasonally aligned zodiac with the irregular boundaries of the visible constellations:
The beginnings of the signs, and likewise those of the terms, are to be taken from the equinoctial and tropical points. This rule is not only clearly stated by writers on the subject, but is especially evident by the demonstration constantly afforded, that their natures, influences and familiarities have no other origin than from the tropics and equinoxes, as has been already plainly shown. And, if other beginnings were allowed, it would either be necessary to exclude the natures of the signs from the theory of prognostication, or impossible to avoid error in then retaining and making use of them; as the regularity of their spaces and distances, upon which their influence depends, would then be invaded and broken in upon.[34]
Two false dawns,[73]gegenschein (middle) and the rest of the zodiacal band of thezodiacal light, with the zodiac marked (visually crossed by theMilky Way), in this composite image of the night sky above the northern and southern hemisphere
Astronomically, the zodiac defines a belt of space extending 8°[74] or 9° in celestial latitude to the north and south of theecliptic, within which the orbits of the Moon and the principal planets remain.[75] It is a feature of the ecliptic coordinate system – acelestial coordinate system centered upon the ecliptic (the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun's apparent path), by whichcelestial longitude is measured in degrees east of the vernal equinox (the ascending intersection of the ecliptic and equator).[76] The zodiac is narrow in angular terms because most of the Sun's planets have orbits that have only a slightinclination to theorbital plane of the Earth.[77] Stars within the zodiac are subject tooccultations by the Moon and other solar system bodies. These events can be useful, for example, to estimate the cross-sectional dimensions of aminor planet, or check a star for a close companion.[78]
The Sun's placement upon the vernal equinox, which occurs annually around 21 March, defines the starting point for measurement, the first degree of which is historically known as the "first point of Aries". The first 30° along the ecliptic is nominally designated as the zodiac sign Aries, which no longer falls within the proximity of the constellation Aries since the effect of precession is to move the vernal point through the backdrop of visible constellations. It is currently located near the end of the constellation Pisces, having been within that constellation since the 2nd century AD.[79] The subsequent 30° of the ecliptic is nominally designated the zodiac sign Taurus, and so on through the twelve signs of the zodiac so that each occupies1⁄12th (30°) of the zodiac's great circle. Zodiac signs have never been used to determine the boundaries of astronomical constellations that lie in the vicinity of the zodiac, which are, and always have been, irregular in their size and shape.[75]
The convention of measuring celestial longitude within individual signs was still being used in the mid-19th century,[80] but modern astronomy now numbers degrees of celestial longitude continuously from 0° to 360°, rather than 0° to 30° within each sign.[81] This coordinate system is primary used by astronomers for observations of solar system objects.[82]
The use of the zodiac as a means to determine astronomical measurement remained the main method for defining celestial positions by Western astronomers until the Renaissance, at which time preference moved to the equatorial coordinate system, which measures astronomical positions byright ascension anddeclination rather than the ecliptic-based definitions of celestial longitude andcelestial latitude. The orientation of equatorial coordinates are aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation, rather than the plane of the planet's orbit around the Sun.[79]
The word "zodiac" is used in reference to thezodiacal cloud of dust grains that move among the planets, and thezodiacal light that originates from their scattering of sunlight.[83] While its name is derived from the zodiac, the zodiacal light covers the entire night sky, with enhancements in certain directions.[84]
In Unicode, the symbols of zodiac signs are encoded in block "Miscellaneous Symbols". They can be forced to look like text by appending U+FE0E, or like emojis by appending U+FE0F:[85]
^"zodiac".Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived fromthe original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved19 September 2017.
^Because the signs are each 30° in longitude but constellations have irregular shapes, and because of precession, they do not correspond exactly to the boundaries of theconstellations after which they are named.
^Noble, William (1902). "Papers communicated to the Association. The Signs of the Zodiac".Journal of the British Astronomical Association.12:242–244.Bibcode:1902JBAA...12..242N.
^Leadbetter, Charles (1742).A Compleat System of Astronomy. J. Wilcox, London. p. 94.; numerous examples of this notation appear throughout the book.
^OED, citingJ. Harris,Lexicon Technicum (1704): "Zodiack of the Comets,Cassini hath observed a certain Tract [...] within whose Bounds [...] he hath found most Comets [...] to keep."
^abcRogers, J. H. (February 1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions".Journal of the British Astronomical Association.108 (1):9–28.Bibcode:1998JBAA..108....9R. Rogers, J. H. (April 1998). "Origins of the ancient constellations: II. The Mediterranean traditions".Journal of the British Astronomical Association.108 (2):79–89.Bibcode:1998JBAA..108...79R.
^Langdon, S. (1935). "History of the Sumerian, Accadian, Assyrian, and West Semitic calendars".Babylonian menologies and the Semitic calendars(PDF). The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy, 1933. London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved15 January 2024.
^Britton, John P. (2010). "Studies in Babylonian lunar theory: part III. The introduction of the uniform zodiac".Archive for History of Exact Sciences.64 (6):617–663.doi:10.1007/S00407-010-0064-Z.JSTOR41134332.S2CID122004678.[T]he zodiac was introduced between −408 and −397 and probably within a very few years of −400.
^Steele, John M. (2012) [2008].A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East (electronic ed.). London: Saqi.ISBN9780863568961.
^abSachs, A. (1948). "A Classification of the Babylonian Astronomical Tablets of the Seleucid Period".Journal of Cuneiform Studies.2 (4). University of Chicago Press:271–290.doi:10.2307/3515929.JSTOR3515929.S2CID164038422.
^Kennedy, D. James.The Real Meaning of the Zodiac.
^Allen, Richard Hinckley (1963).Star names - Their Lore and Meaning. New York: Dover Books. pp. 213–215. argued forScorpio having previously been calledEagle. for Scorpio.
^Montelle, Clemency (2016). "TheAnaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria". In Steele, John M. (ed.).The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World. Time, Astronomy, and Calendars: Texts and Studies. Vol. 6. Leiden: Brill. pp. 287–315.ISBN978-90-0431561-7.
^Saliba, George (1994).A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam. New York: New York University Press. p. 67.ISBN978-0-8147-8023-7..
^Parker, Julia; Parker, Derek (1990).The New Compleat Astrologer. New York, NY: Crescent Books. p. 16.ISBN978-0517697009.
^abGraßhoff, Gerd (1990).The History of Ptolemy's Star Catalogue. Springer. p. 73.ISBN9780387971810.
^Evans, James; Berggren, J. Lennart (2006).Geminos's Introduction to the Phenomena. Princeton University Press. p. 113.ISBN069112339X.
^abAshmand, J. M. (2011).Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos. Astrology Classics. p. 37 (I.XXV).ISBN978-1461118251.
^King, David. 'Angers CathedralArchived 17 December 2013 at theWayback Machine', (book review of Karine Boulanger's 2010 book,Les Vitraux de la Cathédrale d'Angers, the 11th volume of theCorpus Vitrearum series from France),Vitemus: the only on-line magazine devoted to medieval stained glass, Issue 48, February 2011, retrieved 17 December 2013.
^abcdAyduz, Salim (2014).The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam. Oxford University Press.
^Andalusi, Salem (1991).Science in the medical world: 'Book of the categories of nations. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. XXV.
^Varisco, Daniel Martin (2000). Selin, Helaine (ed.).Astronomy Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Astrology. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. p. 617.ISBN978-94-010-5820-9.
^Winterburn, Emily (August 2005)."Using an Astrolabe".Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation: 7.Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved30 July 2022.
^MUL.APIN; Peter Whitfield,History of Astrology (2001); W. Muss-Arnolt,The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents, Journal of Biblical Literature (1892).
^"ccpo/qpn/Agru[1]".oracc.iaas.upenn.edu.Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved2 September 2019.
^Alternative form:ΣκορπίωνSkorpiōn. Later form (withsynizesis):Σκορπιός.
^American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 3rd ed., s.v. "Pisces."
^Tatum, Jeremy B. (June 2010). "The Signs and Constellations of the Zodiac".Journal of the Royal Society of Canada.104 (3): 103.Bibcode:2010JRASC.104..103T.
^Kollerstrom, N. (October 1995). "Ophiuchus and the media".The Observatory.115. KNUDSEN; OBS:261–262.Bibcode:1995Obs...115..261K.
^The notion received further international media attention in January 2011, when it was reported that astronomer Parke Kunkle, a board-member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, had suggested that Ophiuchus was the zodiac's "13th sign". He later issued a statement to say he had not reported that the zodiac ought to include 13 signs instead of 12, but was only mentioning that there were 13 constellations; reported inMad Astronomy:"Why did your zodiac sign change?"Archived 25 June 2011 at theWayback Machine 13 January 2011.
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