Mic
it's been around for a long time but not popular because it is hard to explain to most folks..
i was searching for a short paragraph in one of my astrology books to copy for you but i think this is better
a very interesting tale..isn't it...one serpent bring healing herbs to another
he could make man immortal with certain herbs..(tons of references in old books about what those herbs are )
i have always looked at the myths for fragments of truth that need to be teased out
scorpio is also said to have three stages that manifest either thur your life if you maintain a spiritual growth or not..being a very psychic sign you have the snake then the scorpion and then the eagle..another whole long topic there
this has been around for a longgg time..but it seems to pop out of obscurity every so often..the 60's was the last time i recall
a big deal being said
asciepius is holding the lowest of the scorpio vibrations..the snake
in the 60's chiron, the wounded healer, because more of an influence and poor old asciepius had to wait his turn
much more at the site....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus
History
Ophiuchus holding the serpent, Serpens, as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. Above the tail of the serpent is the now-obsolete constellation Taurus Poniatovii while below it is Scutum.According to Roman era mythography,[8] the figure represents the healer Asclepius, who learned the secrets of keeping death at bay after observing one serpent bringing another healing herbs. To prevent the entire human race from becoming immortal under Asclepius' care, Zeus killed him with a bolt of lightning, but later placed his image in the heavens to honor his good works.
There is no evidence of the constellation preceding the Roman era. In Babylonian astronomy, a "Sitting Gods" constellation seems to have been located in the general area of Ophiuchus. Gavin White proposes that Ophiuchus may in fact be remotely descended from the Babylonian constellation, representing Nirah, a Babylonian serpent-god who was sometimes depicted with his upper half human but serpents for legs, perhaps identical with the constellation of Babylonian astronomy.[9]
In medieval Islamic astronomy (Azophi's Uranometry, 10th century), the constellation was known as Al-Ḥawwaʾ "the snake-charmer". In Renaissance to Early Modern star charts, beginning with Albrecht Dürer in 1515, Serpentarius was depicted as standing with one leg on Scorpio, as it were wrestling with the serpent and trampling the scorpion at the same time, while in some depictions (such as that of Johannes Kepler, 1604), Scorpio also seems to threaten to sting Serpentarius in the foot. This is consistent with Azophi, who already included ψ Oph and ω Oph as the snake-charmer's "left foot", and θ Oph and ο Oph as his "right foot", making Ophiuchus a zodiacal constellation at least as regards his feet.[10] This arrangement has been taken as symbolic in later literature, and placed in relation to the words spoken by God to the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15).[11]
Main article: Ophiuchus (astrology)
Despite crossing the ecliptic, Ophiuchus is not included in standard astrological zodiacs, which divide the ecliptic into abstract 30-degree segments (for twelve equal signs). There have however been several suggestions for alternative systems of zodiacal signs in modern western astrology since 1970.
Another symbol is in general use in Japanese pop culture based on Walter Berg's 13-sign astrology (1995). The latter symbol has been encoded in Unicode Miscellaneous Symbols (Unicode
, U+26CE) in version 6.0 (October 2010).
Stars
Johannes Kepler's drawing depicting the location of the stella nova in the foot of Ophiuchus.The brightest stars in Ophiuchus include α Ophiuchi, called Rasalhague (at the figure's head), and η Ophiuchi.
RS Ophiuchi is part of a class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increase at irregular intervals by hundreds of times in a period of just a few days. It is thought to be at the brink of becoming a type-1a supernova.[1]
Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System (the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri), lies in Ophiuchus. (It is located to the left of β and just north of the V-shaped group of stars in an area that was once occupied by the now-obsolete constellation of Taurus Poniatovii, Poniatowski's Bull.)
In 2005, astronomers using data from the Green Bank Telescope discovered a superbubble so large that it extends beyond the plane of the galaxy.[2] It is called the Ophiuchus Superbubble.
In April 2007, astronomers announced that the Swedish-built Odin satellite had made the first detection of clouds of molecular oxygen in space, following observations in the constellation Ophiuchus.[3]
The supernova of 1604 was first observed on October 9, 1604, near θ Ophiuchi. Johannes Kepler saw it first on October 16 and studied it so extensively that the supernova was subsequently called Kepler's Supernova. He published his findings in a book titled De stella nova in pede Serpentarii (On the New Star in Ophiuchus' Foot). Galileo used its brief appearance to counter the Aristotelian dogma that the heavens are changeless.
In approximately 40,000 years Voyager 1 probe will pass within 1.6 light years of the star AC+79 3888, which is located in Ophiuchus.[4]
In 2009 it was announced that GJ 1214, a star in Ophiuchus, undergoes repeated, cyclical dimming with a period of about 1.5 days consistent with the transit of a small orbiting planet.[5] Further, the authors conclude that the planet must have a low density consistent with vast quantities of water. The proximity of this star to Earth (42 light years) makes it a tempting target for further astronomic observations.
In April 2010, the naked-eye star ζ Ophiuchi was occulted by 824 Anastasia.
Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:28 am
