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Show Signs of Zodiac Had Significance In Middle Ages The peculiar figures st"u"?.g. the signs of the Zodiac are general ly looked upon merely as a cuxity today, but they once were credited with strange powers'. During the Middle ages the 1 signs were supposed to influence human life. As a resu t each sign was connected with a different part of the body in addition to being associated as-sociated with various months of the year. The Zodiac itself is an imag- nary band in the sky with.n which lie the apparent paths of the sun, moon and major planets. Unlike the present calendar wh.ch wiH begin the new year 1942 on January 1, the Babylonian year began be-gan in April. Because jams were sacrificed to the gods dunn i f month, It was associated with Aries, the ram. ' - fcta"t,a' APRIL OCTOBER . Aria, the Rm Libn. tbe BiUnc, MAY NOVEMBER Tiurus. the Ball Scorpio, the Scorpion SH JUNE DECEMBER Cemini, the Twin. S'""EJ" "" i i ( JULY JANUARY Cancer, tbe Crnb Capricoraus, the Goat - fc I,,, i 4 AUGUST FEBRUARY Leo. tbe Lion Aquarius, the Waterman MS L............. i L. i, -, .i.m.- SEPTEMBER MARCH Virgo, tbe Virgin Pisces, tbe Fishes May (Taurus, the bull) brought the approach of summer with the sun being conceived as a bull who plowed his way among the stars. June (Gemini, the twins) was represented rep-resented by Castor and Pollux, twin sons of Zeus and Leda. The backward motion of the crab was associated with July (Cancer, the crab), the month when the sun began to retreat toward the horizon. hori-zon. Culmination of the sun's heat came in August. This was'repre-sented was'repre-sented by Leo, the lion the ancient symbol of fire. v September (Virgo, the virgin) celebrated Ishtar's descent into Hades in search of her husband. The ancients recognized the balance of day and night which occurred during October (Libra, the balance). Scorpio, the scorpion, symbolized the darkness of November following the decline of the sun after the autumn equinox. December was represented by the figure of the archer, Sagittarius, god of war. January (Capricornus, the goat) symbolized the nurse which cared for the young gods of the sun. Even the weather was recognized by the men who drew up the signs of the Zodiac. February (Aquarius, the waterman) was associated with the heavy rains which periodically flooded the Nile river. March (Pisces, the fishes) marked the month when labor was resumed in the fields. It is believed that Homo Signor-um, Signor-um, or Man of Signs, was originated originat-ed about 1300 A. D. The actual signs of the Zodiac, however, were known for many centuries before. |