The constellations are fascinating, and none have had more influence on us than those of the zodiac. But there is more to their power than the predictions they inspire in the back of magazines. In addition to the actual scientific interest they inspire, they also have fascinating back stories that evoke some of the most beautiful myths and legends of Western civilisation.
Below are the back stories of the constellations of the zodiac.
Aries
Aries, the Ram, is visible in most parts of the sky, though it is most visible in December. It is made up of four main stars, the largest of which is Hamal. This ancient sounding name, meaning ram, is appropriate, as the ancient Babylonians, Greeks, Persians and Egyptians all agreed that this constellation was The Ram.
This constellation has a tragic backstory to its name. The prince and princess of Thessaly, Phrixus and Helle, were beaten by their stepmother, the queen of Thessaly. Hermes the messenger god took pity on them, and he sent them a ram to help them escape. As they got away, Helle lost her grip and fell into the strip of water between Asia and Europe, which is now called Hellespont in her honour. Phrixus got to the shores of the Black Sea safely, and he sacrificed the ram to Hermes and gave the fleece to a dragon. That fleece was the Golden Fleece that Jason and the Argonauts later slayed the dragon to retrieve. The constellation, then, is named for that brave and loyal ram.
Taurus
Taurus is slightly more visible than Aries, especially in the southern hemisphere. It shines brightest in January, and it is made up of 15 named stars. The biggest star is Aldebaran, whose name means ‘follower’.
Taurus had many associations with the ancient Greeks. First, Taurus was one of the animals hunted by Orion. Second, Taurus was seen as a representation of Zeus, as he took the form of a white bull to take Europa, a princess, away from Phoenicia to become his mistress. Finally, the constellation was associated with the white bull that sired the Minotaur with the wife of Minos, the king of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually slayed by Theseus in the famous myth about the labyrinth.
Gemini
Gemini is most visible in the night sky in February, and like Aries and Taurus, it is easy to see in most parts of the world. It consists of 11 named stars, the largest of which is Castor. Castor, which means ‘beaver’, is actually the 20th brightest star in the night sky, making Gemini especially easy to spot (once you know what to look for).
Gemini has one of the sweetest explanations amongst the zodiac: it is named after the twins, Castor and Pollux, that were amongst the Argonauts. Their mother was Leda and their sister Helen of Troy, but they had different fathers. Castor was the son of the mortal king of Sparta, and Pollux was the result of Zeus’s seduction of Leda whilst in the form of a swan. Pollux, therefore, was a demigod and immortal. Still, the brothers were inseparable. They spent their entire lives together. So when Castor finally died, Pollux was distraught and asked his father, Zeus, to help them reunite, whether in the underworld or otherwise. Zeus decided to bring Castor back to life, and he turned them into the constellation Gemini so they could live together forever.
Cancer
Cancer is not quite as visible as some of the other constellations, as the stars in it are pretty dim. Still, you can spot it, especially throughout the northern hemisphere and in March. It includes five named stars, the brightest of which is Acubens, which means ‘claw’.
Cancer’s most widely accepted origin story is that, while Hercules was battling the Hydra, the crab scuttled out and pinched Hercules’s toe. In retaliation, Hercules stomped the crab, and the goddess Hera felt sorry for the crab, so she made him into the constellation.
Another, much more satisfying story is around, though. In the Scriptures of Delphi, the constellation is said to be Crios the giant crab, who was tasked with protecting the sea nymphs, also known as Poseidon’s daughters, while the gods were hiding from the monster Typhon (who will pop up again in this article). He couldn’t move around much, so he kept the nymphs from getting out of his reach. Nymphs aren’t known for their patience and obedience, however, and four escaped. He couldn’t go after them without leaving the others vulnerable, so he sent a squid to find them. The evil squid ate the nymphs and came back, telling Crios that he just couldn’t find them. Crios knew the squid was lying, so he fought the squid to the death. Crios won, but was wounded so badly that he was in constant pain. When Poseidon returned and discovered how valiantly Crios fought, he placed Crios in the sky so he wouldn’t be in pain anymore.
Leo
Leo is most easily seen in April, and like the other constellations, it can be seen from all of the northern and most of the southern hemispheres. It has 11 named stars, the largest of which is Regulus. Regulus means ‘prince’ or ‘heart of a lion’, and it is the 25th brightest star in the night sky.
Leo is the lion that Hercules killed during one of his great quest. The Nemean lion terrorised residents of Nemea, and its hide couldn’t be pierced with iron, bronze or stone. Hercules tried to reason with the lion, but since he couldn’t, he simply strangled the lion.
Leo didn’t just terrorise ancient Greeks, however. The Egyptians worshipped the constellation, as it was prominent during the regular flooding of the Nile back in ancient times. The Chaldeans, meanwhile, associated the constellation with the sun, since at that time it was visible during the summer solstice.
Virgo
Virgo, the virgin or the maiden, is best seen in May. It can be seen in more of the southern hemisphere, but less of the northern hemisphere, than the constellations above, but most of the world can still see it. It includes nine named stars. Spica is its brightest star and is the 14th brightest star in the sky. Spica means ‘ear of wheat’, and it is the wheat sheaf that the maiden holds.
The most common origin story for Virgo is that several virgins or virgin goddesses from many cultures just sort of combined over time into the one association with the constellation. Some argue, however, that Virgo means ‘self-sufficient’, and that she was seen as a Great Goddess, or a mother goddess. She was a fertility goddess to many cultures. The Babylonians associated the constellation with Ishtar (goddess of fertility, love and war), the Egyptians with Isis (goddess of motherhood, fertility and magic), the Greeks with Demeter (goddess of harvest and fertility) and the Romans with Ceres (the goddess of agriculture and fertility).
Whether you think of Virgo as a virgin or a nurturing fertility goddess, she is still a collection of various cultures’ mythical women.
Libra
Libra is visible from much of the northern hemisphere and all of the southern hemisphere. It is best seen in June, and it includes five named stars. The brightest star is called Zuben Elgenubi, which means ‘southern claw’. The star’s name oddly references Scorpio the scorpion’s claw, though it is not a part of the Scorpio constellation.
The Libra myth is a bit convoluted, as many people believe the scales belong to Virgo. Most agree, however, that the scales were used by Astraea, the goddess of justice, purity and innocence. According to legends, she was the last of the gods to leave man as the Golden Age of Man came to an end. To escape humanity’s wickedness, she fled to the heavens and her scales became Libra. Some argue that she became Virgo, as she was a virgin and owned the scales, but that is up for debate.
Scorpio
Scorpio is also known as Scorpius, and it is best seen in July. All of the southern hemisphere can see it, and only about half of the northern hemisphere can. It has ten named stars, and its main star is Antares, which means ‘rival of Ares’. Both Antares and the planet Mars are named for the god of war, who was called Ares by the Greeks and Mars by the Romans. Because Antares is of similar brightness and colour as the planet, the ancient Greeks would sometimes get them confused. As a result, the star became known as the rival of the planet.
Scorpius was associated with the great scorpion that finally killed Orion. Orion was a demigod who went around bragging about his hunting skills and his affair with the goddess of the dawn, Eos, so much that he eventually drew the anger of Apollo, Gaia (who both disliked his claim that he could and would kill all the animals on the planet) and Eos. Apollo and Gaia were so angry that they agreed to kill Orion, and Gaia created Scorpius to hunt and kill him. Orion died fighting Scorpius, and depending on which myth you read, this is either because Scorpius killed him or because Artemis, who had a big crush on Orion, tried to shoot the scorpion but mortally wounded the hunter instead. However it happened, Zeus turned both Orion and Scorpio into constellations, but he put them on opposite sides of the sky so they could no longer fight.
Sagittarius
Sagittarius lies almost directly between the Earth and the centre of the Milky Way. It is visible in more of the northern hemisphere than Scorpio, but people in the whole of the southern hemisphere can see it. It is best viewed in August, and it is made up of 15 named stars, the biggest of which is Rukbat, which means ‘knee’.
Sagittarius has two origin stories, both of which are almost exactly the same. One story involved Chiron, a centaur, and the other involved Crotus, a satyr. Essentially, the only difference was that Chiron’s bottom half was a horse, and Crotus’s bottom half was a goat. Both were from races that were known for being rough and driven by lust, and both were exceptions to that. They were skilled hunters (Crotus invented the bow, according to legend), especially with bows and arrows. Both were intelligent, polite to humans and loved the arts and sciences. Both became constellations, Centaurus and Sagittarius. Over time, people became a bit confused about which creature became which cluster of stars, hence the two different origin stories. Still, both were very respected and esteemed by the humans and the gods alike.
Capricorn
Capricorn can be seen by much of the northern and all of the southern hemispheres, and it is especially easy to see in September. It includes six named stars, and the largest is Prima Giedi, or ‘first goat’.
Capricorn has been associated with goats since before the ancient Greeks. Even the Babylonians and Chaldeans thought the constellation represented a goat. Still, the common depiction of Capricorn – as a goat body with the tail of a fish – has two different origin stories. The first involves Pan, the goat-bodied god of shepherds and folk music. When the monster of gods Typhon terrorised Olympus, Pan leapt into the Nile to get away. The part of his body above the waters remained a goat, and the parts below the waters became a fish.
The second story will really resonate with parents. In this tale, Pricus is an immortal sea goat who can control time. He has many children who, like him, are goats on the top half and fish on the bottom half and live in the sea. His children love the sun, however, and they use their front hooves to drag themselves out of the sea to sunbathe. The longer they stay out, however, the more they evolve into regular goats: their tails become legs, and they lose the ability to think and speak. When they become fully goat, Pricus turns back time to get them back into the sea. He tries over and over to keep his children in the sea with him, but he fails time and again. Eventually, he learns that no matter how many times he turns back time, he cannot force his children to do what he wants, and he lets them become goats.
Aquarius
Aquarius is quite a faint constellation, and it probably would not have become as famous as it is if it hadn’t been included in the zodiac. Still, it can be seen from much of the northern and all of the southern hemispheres, and it is most visible in October. Of its seven named stars, Sadalmelik, which means ‘lucky star of the king’, is the largest.
Aquarius is almost universally associated with water, and many think this is because the sun enters Aquarius in early winter, which is the start of rainy seasons around the world. The Greek myth associated with the constellation involves Ganymede, a beautiful prince of Troy, and Zeus. Zeus decided he wanted the boy as his lover, so he took the form of a giant eagle, grabbed Ganymede and took him to Olympus to be his lover and slave. Ganymede becomes Zeus’s personal cup bearer, bringing the god wine, water and ambrosia whenever he demands it.
Eventually, Ganymede could take it no longer. He refused to be Zeus’s cup bearer, and he poured all the water, wine and ambrosia in Olympus out onto the Earth. This caused an extreme flood (which you may have heard about in other cultures’ stories), and though Zeus at first wants to punish the boy, he decides instead to make him into an immortal constellation as a sort of apology for how badly he had treated Ganymede. And so Ganymede became Aquarius.
Pisces
Pisces, like the constellations at the beginning of this article, is visible from the whole of the northern hemisphere and much, but not all, of the southern hemisphere. It is best viewed in November, and it only has three named stars. Alrisha, which means ‘ropes’, is the brightest.
Pisces has one of the most direct, clear origin stories. When Typhon raged around Olympus, Aphrodite and her son Eros (called Cupid by the Romans) take to the water to escape. They both turn into fish, and two other fish approach them and show them the way to safety. Sometimes the story says the fish tied their tales together so they couldn’t get separated and lost, which is why they are often depicted as being tied together. Whatever the details of the story, Aphrodite and Eros were so grateful for their help that they immortalised the two fish as the constellation Pisces.
All of the constellations have amazing back stories, but which one do you think is best? What about your own sign? Do you like its story, or do you like another one better?
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