Aries, astrological sign

The alchemical work began with the first matter, or first agent, being placed into the retort at an astrologically suitable time (usually the spring, under the signs of Aries and Taurus). Astrology has always been important in alchemy, as it is one of the main tools by which an alchemist can try and work in harmony with natural rhythms and cycles. 

Thousands of years ago, when the Babylonians were establishing the principles of astrology, the constellations and the signs of the zodiac were in alignment. On the vernal equinox the first day of spring), the Sun was "in" the constellation Aries That is, if you could see the Sun and the stars simultaneously, you d seethe Sun surrounded by the stars of the Ram. In those happy days, the signs and the constellations coincided. 

When the equinox moves back even further, to the constellation of the Water Bearer, the Age of Aquarius will officially begin. Astrologers differ about when that will be. Some are convinced that it s happening now. Others believe that it s decades — or centuries — away. Eventually, the cycle will begin again. Around the year 23800, the vernal equinox will return to Aries, and astrologers will be able to skip this entire explanation. Meanwhile, constellations of the zodiac and the signs of the zodiac aren t the same. 

The zodiac arcs across the cosmos, huge and impossibly remote. Its symbolic equivalent, small and incredibly close, is the human body. Two thousand years ago, a Roman astrologer named Manilius correlated each sign of the zodiac to a part of the body in a sequence that starts at the head with Aries and runs down to the feet, which belong to Pisces. Medieval art, both European and Islamic, includes many fine renderings of the so-called Zodiac Man, which also appears in ancient medical texts. Indeed,... 

MYSTERIOUS PLANETS Ast. ASTROLOGY 1917 gives three sigils said to represent three invisible planets which are related to the signs Aries, Taurus are Gemini and which will one day become visible as physical bodies. These invisible and unnamed, planets arc related... 

Welburn, 253-254. Unfortunately, the division of signs in astrology (from Aries to Libra above the ecliptic, and from Scorpio to Pisces below) do not correspond with the divisions in the ApJn. Welburn s proposed solution, that the Apjn s list reveals a solar mystery, carmot be properly substantiated. It should be added that if van der Vliet is correct in his restoration of the text Seth, who is called the Ram, then we have two signs of the five corresponding to the constellation Aries. 

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