Saturday, May 16, 2009
Ophiuchus - The Serpent Holder [蛇夫]Between Scorpius and Sagittarius lies a secret to most but astronomers. Ladies and Gentlemen, in case you haven't heard, there is a 13th constellation originally called "Serpentarius" a greek word for "serpent holder" know commonly known as Ophiuchus. 蛇夫 Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one not counted as an astrological sign!

The story behind the name: The constellation Ophiuchus seems to be a figure of a man entwined with two snakes, one in each hand. The constellation is an ancient one, but most often associated with Asclepius, the son of Apollo and Coronis. Asclepius was regarded as the founder of medicine, having learned the healing arts from both his father Apollo and his tutor, the wise Centaur Chiron. In one series of myths, Asclepius is killed by Zeus. He is said to have tried to save the life of Orion after the famous hunter was accidentally killed by Athena's arrow. Zeus struck him down before he could finish.
Another myth says that Asclepius became so good at healing that he could actually raise people from the dead. A variant on this myth says that Athena gave him one or two vials of Medusa's blood. One could be used to destroy, the other to raise the dead. Another version said that she only gave him the life-saving blood.
Hades was angered by Asclepius's actions, arguing that souls were being stolen from him.
Whether it was quantity, or a particular healing that so angered Hades - in addition to Orion, Asclepius was said to have resurrected Tyndareus, Glaucus, and Hippolytus - legend says that Zeus was persuaded to kill Asclepius. He later relented and restored Asclepius to life, and put his image in the stars holding a snake. Snakes were thought to be connected to healing and rebirth because they sloughed their skins every year. These beliefs may have been influenced by Babylonian legends.

ACTUAL TRUE ZODIAC
The table below lists the dates when the sun is in the real astronomical constellations of the zodiac. The dates fluctuate by a day from year to year.Now, will an Ophiuchus please stand up!Astronomical Constellations of the ZodiacConstellation DatesCapricornus January 19 to February 15Aquarius February 16 to March 11Pisces March 12 to April 18Aries April 19 to May 13Taurus May 14 to June 19Gemini June 20 to July 20Cancer July 21 to August 9Leo August 10 to September 15Virgo September 16 to October 30Libra October 31 to November 22Scorpius November 23 to November 29Ophiuchus November 30 to December 17Sagittarius December 18 to January 18