Other Zodiac Traditions

Other Zodiac Traditions

Chinese Zodiac:

Western astronomy divides the sky into dozens of constellations comprised mostly of the larger naked-eye stars, the Chinese divide the sky into hundreds of constellations--some large, most of them small--and also used a great many stars which on some nights cannot even be seen with the naked eye. Their most important constellations were in what is known as the North Circumpolar Region--the region of the sky that is always visible at any time of the year north of the equator and which "rotates" around the current Pole Star, Polaris. The largest and most magnificent of these circumpolar constellations was, and still is, what they called  "Pei Tou", the Northern Ladle, which we know as the Big Dipper--the seven main stars of Ursa Major, the Great Bear.

These 12 animals represent the rotating 12-year cycle that is the basis of the Chinese Zodiac. You have likely heard reference to a particular year being the “Year of the Rabbit” or “Year of the Dragon.” Displayed below are the characteristics of those born in the year of the listed animals.

Rat

Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Rat are quick-witted, clever, charming, sharp and funny. They have excellent taste, are a good friend and are generous and loyal to others considered part of its pack. Motivated by money, can be greedy, is ever curious, seeks knowledge and welcomes challenges. Compatible with Dragon or Monkey.

Ox
Another of the powerful Chinese Zodiac signs, the Ox is steadfast, solid, a goal-oriented leader, detail-oriented, hard-working, stubborn, serious and introverted but can feel lonely and insecure. Takes comfort in friends and family and is a reliable, protective and strong companion. Compatible with Snake or Rooster.

Tiger
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Tiger are authoritative, self-possessed, have strong leadership qualities, are charming, ambitious, courageous, warm-hearted, highly seductive, moody, intense, and they’re ready to pounce at any time. Compatible with Horse or Dog.

Rabbit
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Rabbit enjoy being surrounded by family and friends. They’re popular, compassionate, sincere, and they like to avoid conflict and are sometimes seen as pushovers. Rabbits enjoy home and entertaining at home. Compatible with Goat or Pig.

Dragon
A powerful sign, those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Dragon are energetic and warm-hearted, charismatic, lucky at love and egotistic. They’re natural born leaders, good at giving orders and doing what’s necessary to remain on top. Compatible with Monkey and Rat.

Snake
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Snake are seductive, gregarious, introverted, generous, charming, good with money, analytical, insecure, jealous, slightly dangerous, smart, they rely on gut feelings, are hard-working and intelligent. Compatible with Rooster or Ox.

Horse
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Horse love to roam free. They’re energetic, self-reliant, money-wise, and they enjoy traveling, love and intimacy. They’re great at seducing, sharp-witted, impatient and sometimes seen as a drifter. Compatible with Dog or Tiger.

Goat
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Goat enjoy being alone in their thoughts. They’re creative, thinkers, wanderers, unorganized, high-strung and insecure, and can be anxiety-ridden. They need lots of love, support and reassurance. Appearance is important too. Compatible with Pig or Rabbit.

Monkey
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Monkey thrive on having fun. They’re energetic, upbeat, and good at listening but lack self-control. They like being active and stimulated and enjoy pleasing self before pleasing others. They’re heart-breakers, not good at long-term relationships, morals are weak. Compatible with Rat or Dragon.

Rooster
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Rooster are practical, resourceful, observant, analytical, straightforward, trusting, honest, perfectionists, neat and conservative. Compatible with Ox or Snake.

Dog
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Dog are loyal, faithful, honest, distrustful, often guilty of telling white lies, temperamental, prone to mood swings, dogmatic, and sensitive. Dogs excel in business but have trouble finding mates. Compatible with Tiger or Horse.

Pig
Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Pig are extremely nice, good-mannered and tasteful. They’re perfectionists who enjoy finer things but are not perceived as snobs. They enjoy helping others and are good companions until someone close crosses them, then look out! They’re intelligent, always seeking more knowledge, and exclusive. Compatible with Rabbit or Goat.

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Wiccan Wheel of the Year

The pagan tradition has become known as Wicca here in the United States. It is the Old Religion that existed long before Christianity. It’s priests were the Druids and its priestesses lived on the isle of Avalon. Marion Zimmer Bradley talks about this history in her wonderful book The mists of Avalon Here is the pagan cycle of the year as is it celebrated today.

Yule or Winter Solstice, (December 21) is the shortest day of the year. The Goddess gives birth to her Divine Son, the Sun God. This marks the point of the year when the sun starts its journey back to summer, the days get longer from this point and we can see an end to winter. Wiccans light fires or candles to welcome the Sun's returning light. The Goddess, slumbering through the Winter of Her labor, rests after the delivery. Yule is








seen as a reminder that death is followed by rebirth. It is also the longest night of the year. It is, in the Goddess worship, the time when she delivers the Sun child who shall be both child and eventually lover and father of the next child in the cycle. Winter Solstice for pagans is a time of feasting and the exchanging of gifts. It is the original Holiday that the Christian religions modified into Christmas, even up to the birth of the child. Most theologians who have spent time studying the birth of Jesus, admit he was born in either March or April, not the celebrated Christmas date calendar - it was moved to this date to help induce Pagans to give up their old ways yet allow them their holidays during the spread of Christianity through Europe and the British Isles).  Traditional adornments are a Yule Log, usually of oak, and a combination of mistletoe and holly.

On Imbolc (February 2), the Goddess has recovered from giving birth. The lengthening periods of light awaken her. The God's strength is increasing and He is now a young, lusty boy. The warmth of the Sun fertilizes the earth (), causing seeds to germinate and sprout. 

Candlemas, Brigid's Day, Not common to all Pagans, this is very popular with Wiccans and various Celtic sects. Brigid is the Celtic goddess of fire and inspiration, poetry, smithcraft and healing as well as yet another representation of the Fertility of Femininity and Love.  Brigid had such a strong following among the Celtics that the Christian church decided it was easier to assimilate her into their liturgical year and so she became of Saint Brigit . The Druids were known at that time as 'the snakes' because of their tendency to have tamed snakes that were used to help produce various healing mixtures via their venom, and who were violently opposing the  Catholic church.  In History, of course, the druids lost against the overwhelming odds presented by the church, led by a man who would then be himself sainted by the church, their Saint Patrick (who was no clergyman but a warrior). Thus Christian rule of various sorts came into Ireland. Handcrafts are often sacrificed to Brigid or dedicated to her as they are started on this day. This celebration is done with many candles and much feasting.  This is a Sabbath of purification, a festival of light and fertility. It is also a traditional time for initiations into covens and self-dedication rituals. Also known as: Feast of Pan, Feast of Torches, Oimelc. It is a time of purification, creativity, and inspiration, a welcoming of change from the old to the new.

Ostara, Spring Equinox, (March 21) marks the first day of true Spring. The hours of day and night are equal. The Goddess fully regains her strength and envelops the earth with fertility. Light is overtaking darkness, and the young God is now maturing. The slowness of Winter is taken over by the fruitful bustle of Spring. Ostara is a time for new beginnings, action, and planting spells and of tending the gardens, making opportunities for the future. The Goddess blankets the Earth with fertility as the God stretches and grows to maturity. This is the start in the pagan year of spring, at least among Wiccans and Celtics. The first flowers are praised and the God and Goddess thanked for the true return to happier times for all. Ostara is one of the more colorful holidays, not one of the somber colors found in Yule and Candlemas. Feasting and socializing are the important factors in this holiday as well as the celebration of the return of color to the natural world. In the Christian calendar, again to draw early worshipers, they marked this as the final days and  rebirth of Christ at Easter (when according to history he died in June!).

Beltane (May 1) marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Nature flourishes and He is stirred by the abundance of energy. The God desires the Goddess. They fall in love and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant, which ensures new life after the harvest. Beltane celebrates vitality, passion, love, and desires consummated.  Most important if there is to be a baby at Yule time. Beltane is the great Fertility rite of life, starting at dusk on April 30th and continuing until the dawn of May 1st.  The union of the God and Goddess to conceive the sun-child takes place upon this holiday, no matter which tradition of paganism is involved. Beltane is the one holiday most discouraged by the Christians, who didn't even use it as a point for a holiday of their own because the power and nature of the day involved. The Maypole is a symbol of the union of the God and Goddess to create life, the pole itself a phallic symbol while the dancers and their streamers or vines of flowers represent the fertile womb of the goddess as it takes in the Phallus of the god and takes in his seed. Besides the Maypole often a bonfire is present, and members of the group are encouraged to jump the flames for luck and their own fertility. Food, drink and love are the order of the evening. In most sects the celebration of unions of love are enacted.  Beltane is the time of  marriages/handfastings. Clothing is very optional in most get-togethers on this holiday, and mostly it is sensual and colorful.  Even those sects that are prudish about things tend to accept the rules of the holiday, as it is the holiday of free love. It is said that a child conceived on this day will grow up to wield great power and knowledge and to be healthier than upon any other.

Litha, Summer Solstice, (June 21) is the longest day of the year. The God is at the peak of his power, as is all of nature's bounty. The Earth is awash in the fertility of the Goddess and God. It is the high time of the Sun and is marked with festivals of fire. In the past, bonfires were leapt to encourage fertility, purification, health, and love. Litha is a classic time for magick of all kinds. It is the celebration of light's triumph over darkness and that of the bountiful beauty that light brings into life. Flowers are common in the circle, roses and bright cheerful wildflowers are upon the altar and usually worn by all.   It is the changing point of the year, and the celebration of the spiral. It is at this point that the sun god starts to wane. He is on his journey towards he underworld.

Lammas (August 1) LUGHNASSADH is the time of the first harvest, when the plants of Spring drop their fruits or seeds. Summer is waning; the nights grow longer. So too the God begins to lose His strength. He becomes the God of sacrifice, being cut down in the fields. The Goddess watches in sorrow and joy as She realizes the God is dying, yet lives on inside Her as Her child. Lammas is a time for giving thanks for what we have and making offerings of gratitude. It is a reminder that nothing in the universe is constant. Pagans see this as a time when the God loses his strength as the Sun rises farther south each day and the nights grow longer. As summer passes, Wiccans remember its warmth and bounty in the food we eat. This sabbat is also called Lammas, August Eve, Feast of Bread.

On Mabon, Autumn Equinox, circa (September 21), once again day and night are equal. The God prepares to take His journey into the unseen, towards death. This is the completion of the harvest begun at Lammas, when the fields are cleared of their bounty. Nature draws back, readying for winter and its time of rest. The Goddess nods in the weakening Sun, though fire burns within Her womb. The similarity with the Christian story of the death and resurrection of Christ is also from this ancient origin story dating back to prehistory. She feels the presence of the God even as He wanes. This is the weavers festival, and a braiding of cords are done in the process of casting a spell to add to one’s life from what it is, each person weaving unto themselves what they wish and the coven as a whole weaving all the cords together to unite the power and efforts symbolically. 

Samhain (October 31) marks the Pagan New Year. In the past, this was the time when animals were slaughtered to ensure food through the depths of Winter. Identified with the animals, the God falls as well to ensure continuing existence. The veil between the worlds of life and death is thin on this night. Samhain is a time of reflection, looking back over the last year, coming to terms with death, and honoring ancestors. The old god is dead and searching to be reborn. This grand Sabbath, also known as Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, All Hallows, and of course Halloween. This is a time of reflection and coming to terms with the one thing in life which we have no control - death. Wiccans feel that on this night the separation It is a time of endings of relationships and bad situations and it is the time when one can see the glimmer of hope in the future. There are as many concepts attached to this holiday as any other, truly a time of remembrance of our ancestors and all those who have gone before.

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Why our Zodiac is not the same as it was in Medieval Times

The position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun at the solstices and equinoxes, slowly changes. For example, suppose we observe the Earth's orbit at the summer solstice, when the Earth's axial tilt is pointing directly towards the Sun, one full orbit later (a year), when the Sun has returned to the same apparent position relative to the background stars, the Earth's axial tilt is not now directly towards the Sun: but, because of the effects of procession  it is pointing a little way "beyond" this.

In other words, the solstice has occurred a little earlier in the orbit. The apparent position of the Sun relative to the backdrop of the stars at summer solstice, slowly regresses a full 360° through all twelve traditional constellations of the zodiac, at the rate of about 50.3 seconds of arc per year (approximately 360 degrees divided by 25,772), or 1 degree every 71.6 years.

Today our Spring equinox is in Aries. It takes about 2,148 years to cycle through one zodiacal sign, this is called an Age. There are twelve zodiacal ages in a 25,772 “Great Year.” Each astrological age has seen a major religion come forth, along with an Avatar or great spiritual leader who has defined the principles and qualities of that zodiacal sign. The study of these ages is most detailed in the Hindu sacred texts.

Sacred monuments and pyramids have always been aligned to significant stars at the start of these important cycles in history. This is why many are slightly off from their perfect alignment today.

Temples and other sacred sites have also been positioned in harmony with the Earth’s magnetic lay lines, bodies of sacred water as well as with the stars.  This is so that when rituals are performed, there is ideally, a successful connection between the energy of the light of the stars, the elements of the earth, like water, and a course of magnetic force to project this spiritual energy around the planet.