The Lost Zodiac

The Great Bear - Aug 8 to 15 and Aug 24 to Sept 10

The Legends behind your Star Sign

The Nymph, Callisto

The stars of the Great Bear, which circles round the north celestial pole, and which form the brightest and best-known constellation in the northern skies, have been seen as a bear from Babylon to ancient India, and from Greece to the North American plains. To the ancient Greeks, this constellation represented Callisto, a nymph of the mountainous kingdom of Arcadia, who was a follower of Artemis, the virgin huntress and the goddess of the crescent moon. Artemis demanded the strictest chastity from the maidens who spent their lives hunting through the mountains and bathing in the crystal streams with her; but Callisto was seduced by Zeus, who took on the form of Artemis to deceive her. Some say that Zeus transformed Callisto into the Great Bear and set her in the stars, with Arcas, their child, beside her, to save them from the wrath of the virgin goddess. Others claim, however, that it was either Artemis or Hera who, in rage, cursed Callisto, who then turned into a bear and was pursued by her own hounds, only later to be placed amongst the stars. Arcas, her child, grew up to be Arcadia's king, bringing agriculture to that wild and rugged country, for which he was immortalised amongst the stars as Bootes, the inventor of the Wagon, which is the other name for the stars of the Great Bear.

The Ancient Queen of the Stars

Behind the story of Callisto, however, lies a far more ancient belief. For the Great Bear is really Artemis herself, and Callisto, 'the best', or 'the most beautiful' is another name for Artemis. She is the ancient queen of the stars and the she-bear is her symbol.

The Lady of the Wild Mountains, Goddess of the Crescent Moon

Artemis was known in Greece as 'the Lady of the Wild Mountains' and 'the Sounding One', whose voice was heard in the rustling leaves of the forest, and in the sound of birds and animals and bees in solitary places. She was the queen of the 'inviolate meadow', far from the haunts of men, as well as the crescent moon, and she gave off a 'brilliant blaze' as she hunted through the mountains; moonlight was her actual presence and was believed to cause wild animals and trees to dance.

The Bear Goddess

But it is her connection with the bear - which has been considered sacred since at least 75,000 BC - before the Ice Age - which makes Artemis easily the most ancient of all the goddesses of Greece. And, in ancient Greece 3,000 years ago, young girls, who came under her especial care as the virgin goddess, still danced, dressed as bears, in honour of the old bear-goddess.

King Arthur, the Great Bear

Centuries later the early English also linked this glittering constellation to both the Bear and Wagon. They saw it as the home, or as the bier, or the wagon of the legendary King Arthur, whose Round Table is reflected in the constellations circling the Pole, and whose name some say comes from the Celtic word for 'bear'. And, as King Arthur lay dying after his last battle, a bier appeared, containing three mysterious, immortal queens to take him across the water to the other-world of Avalon, where they would heal his wounds.

Legend also has it that Arthur is not dead, but sleeping in a cave inside a mountain, with his knights beside him, and that he will return one day to save his country in its hour of need.

The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

Even this part of his story is reflected in the stars, for the seven most important stars of the Bear-Wagon are also known as the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, who lie dreaming, like King Arthur, in a mountain cave, waiting for the resurrection. Unlike King Arthur and his knights, however, they are said to have awoken after two hundred years and gone down to the local town to get provisions, after which they went to sleep once more.

Arthur, the 'Once and Future King', then, has many links with the far more ancient Arcas, the 'bear' king and son of the great goddess, Artemis, who rules the Arctic pole.

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The Star Sign

Of all the ancient signs beyond the zodiac, the Great Bear, which dominates the Northern Pole, is the grandest and most powerful. This is the 'royal sign', as can be seen from the long list of monarchs and great statesmen born beneath its star.

It is the queen of all it surveys, as it circles slowly round the Pole, and those born under it, even the many who do not hold the reins of power, are always personalities built on a grand scale. There is nothing mean or petty about their outlook on the world, and they pride themselves on their breadth of vision. 'Renaissance man', who knew enough about most subjects to ensure he had a rounded view of life, is their ideal, and they have no time for those who concentrate on just one field. This can put them at a disadvantage in the modern world, although usually they are more than able to look after themselves.

They have strength and courage, as well as an instinctive understanding of other people, which makes it easy for them to delegate dull tasks. The details of daily existence bore them because their minds work best when engaged on the grand scheme of things. As a result, they may seem lazy, but they are not pretentious and they admire true soul and simplicity far more than sophistication. In fact, unless worldly power and wealth are thrust upon them, they would far rather go without the luxuries of life than waste time and energy pursuing meaningless and trivial things. When they need to, though, they can motivate large groups of people - and win loyalty and support through thick and thin - and with alarming ease.

They do not waste words and there is usually a great deal more going on inside their heads than they admit as they also have a solitary side. Both the bear and the virgin goddess, who was worshipped as one, are loners, and those born beneath the Great Bear's stars never follow the herd blindly.

They need space, solitude and contact with wildness of nature to make them feel relaxed and whole - and to give them time to see life in the round. Without room to breathe, they can become bad-tempered - for which bears, of course, are famous - and anyone who trespasses on their private inner realm can expect to receive short shrift. And one blow from a bear's paw, as everybody knows, can bring a strong man down. But usually they do not mean to hurt others and often do not realise how devastating their ill-humour can be to those who come too close when they want to be alone. Beneath their gruff exterior, they are kindly and affectionate people, and, when they are feeling sociable, they show quite a different side to their nature. Then, they are the soul of warmth and generosity and it is thanks to their great charm and humour - and their approachability - at such times that they are so popular and can make so many loyal and life-long friends.

Even though they can be moody, they are honest, so that you always know exactly where you are with them, for good and bad. They may not say what they are thinking, but they do show their real emotions at all times. They are also very loyal, in turn, to anyone with whom they form a true bond, and friendship is important to them, as are their children, to whom they dedicate a great deal of energy and time.

Affectionate, loyal and honest they may be, with a sardonic sense of humour but, to understand them, it is necessary also to understand why they sometimes need to be alone. The bear, as we have seen, is a symbol of the ancient virgin goddess, who was independent, free and self-contained. She stands for the inner wholeness which does not need to rely on others for meaning and fulfilment.

That wholeness is the true life goal of those born under the Great Bear. This does not mean, of course, that they are always aware of their purpose, nor does it mean that they do not form relationships with others. But it does mean that they are independent and self-sufficient. They need freedom and they respect that need in others. They have a natural understanding that the winds of heaven must always be allowed to blow between them and those with whom they are involved - otherwise no one concerned can change and grow.

Born under The Great Bear

Napoleon Bonaparte, Richard Coeur de Lion, King Henry V, Queen Elizabeth 1, Louis XIV, Ivan the Terrible, Cardinal Richelieu, Camillo Cavour, Fidel Castro, T.E. Lawrence, the 'Grand Old Duke of York', Annie Oakley, Grandman Moses, Raquel Welch, Mother Teresa, Ingrid Begman, Cecil B. De Mille, Leo Tolstoy, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Van Morrison, Davy Crockett, Otis Redding, Peter Sellers, King George IV.

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Discovering the Twenty Two Lost Star Signs

As an astrologer, I sometimes looked for reasons for traits of character which did not seem to be explained exclusively by what the birth chart tells us. For me, the discovery of the importance of the stars and constellations lying beyond the zodiac band turned out to be the missing link.

They do not undermine conventional astrology, but to add a lost dimension to it.

The Earliest Astrologers and The Sacred, Living Sphere

We have grown so used to seeing the planets and the zodiac alone as powerful that it can come as a surprise to find that for the early practitioners of astrology, the whole celestial sphere, from pole to pole, was filled with starry gods and supernatural beings who influenced the life of man. For them, all the stars had power over our lives. They worshipped them, wove myths around them and built their temples in alignment with them.

For the ancient Greeks, therefore, who inherited this vision of a living sphere, and who gave many of the constellations the names and forms which they still have today, it seemed quite natural to believe that Orion and the Great Bear, Perseus, the glittering hero, and the Lyre of Orpheus, the legendary musician, among others, influenced our destiny, just like the narrow zodiac band of stars which forms the pathway of the sun and moon and planets, with which we are familiar.

These twenty two lost star signs reconnect us to the ancient vision of a sacred, living cosmos, and to the great celestial sphere around us.

Your Sign Beyond the Zodiac Linked to your Sun Sign

These star signs are the ancient constellations which lie to the North and South of the zodiac band of stars, and were used in conjunction with it.

The brightest and most powerful star, or constellation of stars, which falls nearest to the sun by longitude on your birthday is 'conjunct' your sun.

This constellation was considered to be your 'sign beyond the zodiac'.

Why Were They Forgotten?

So why did these important star signs, which embody so many of the great myths and symbols of our culture, vanish from the scene ?

In the second century AD the great astronomer, Ptolemy, tried to simplify astrology by excluding the constellations to the North and South of the zodiac band. However, even he could not deny their astrological significance, and described the influence of their individual stars. In 'L'Astrologie Grecque' (1899), Bouche-Leclerq, the leading authority on the history of astrology, quotes Ptolemy as saying that he will 'leave to one side as impracticable the ancient method, which took account of all, or nearly all, the stars'.

But 'the exclusion of the constellations beyond the zodiac is so artificial that it could not be maintained, even by Ptolemy ... all stellar mythology cries out against the privileged position of the zodiac'. Adds Bouche-Leclerq.

The Age of Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, the Personification of the Starry Sphere

They are also highly relevant to the times we live in.

Thanks to the moving equinoxes, we are now entering the new Aquarian Age, which will be ruled by Uranus, the planet named after the ancient Greek sky god who personifies the starry sphere and is the ruler of Aquarius.

To look beyond the zodiac, and beyond the 'village' of our solar system, as astronomers are now doing, towards deep space - the domain of Uranus - is, symbolically, in keeping with the coming age. One of astrology's most important tenets is that the discovery of a new planet heralds an important shift in human consciousness. The discovery of Pluto, in 1930, for instance, which was named after the Roman god of the underworld, and which rules the depths of the unconscious mind, coincided with the rise to popularity of psychoanalysis. The reintroduction of these 'Uranian' signs beyond the zodiac, therefore, and our renewed awareness, when we find our personal star sign in the sky, of our links with the galaxies of stars around us, can be seen to coincide with our entry into the Aquarian Age.

Our Myth and Personal Quest

From my research as an astrologer, it is remarkable how accurate, and how literal, these ancient star signs can be.

Born under the sign of Andromeda, the princess chained to a rock as a sacrifice for her country, for instance, are Houdini, Queen Elizabeth II and Sylvia Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragettes who fought for the emancipation of women.

These ancient signs are rich, dynamic symbols, and can describe the myths behind our lives and the 'Journey of the Soul of Man'. Perseus, for example, by cutting off the gorgon's head, conquers and comes to terms with neglected instinct and emotion, which the gorgon represents. The winged horse of inspiration, Pegasus, learns to distinguish between truth and illusion, in the form of the Chimaera. Andromeda, the chained princess, discovers freedom, and the Swan its human form. Ophiuchus wrestles with the Serpent and transforms its poison into medicine. For the River of Night, which wells up from paradise, life is a journey back towards the sea, where all separate sense of self is lost, and Orpheus overcomes the sovereigns of the underworld with the music of his lyre.

Each one has its own personal quest and compliments our birth chart and our Sun sign.

The Roman Astrologer, Manilius

I knew of the importance many astrologers give to the fixed stars, but my first real encounter with the actual signs beyond the zodiac took place over twenty years ago, when I read the 'Astronomica' of Manilius, the great Roman astrologer and astronomer. Much of the 5th book of his 'Astronomica' is dedicated to their meaning: 'The child of the Lyre will sing beguiling songs at the banquet, his voice adding mellowness to the wine and holding the night in thrall...and, left to himself, he will ever burst into song which can charm no ears but his own...When the Dog Star rises over the rim of the sea...it will fashion unbridled spirits and impetuous hearts...the child of the Crown will cultivate a garden budding with bright flowers, and slopes grey with olives...his heart is set upon elegance, fashion, and the art of adornment, upon gracious living and the pleasures of the hour...', and so on, at great length, for all the extra-zodiacal signs.

What Modern Psychology Has to Add

Beautiful as his descriptions are, our understanding of the myths, and of what they can tell us about the soul of man, has changed and grown, of course, since Roman times. What, I wondered, could modern psychology tell us abut the meaning of these age-old stories set amongst the stars, and so about ourselves ?

With the help of psychology, which I had studied for many years, and of the modern school of astrology, which uses myth and symbol to give the zodiac and the planets a new and deeper dimension, I began to see what it could mean to be born under these ancient signs. I then applied this to famous people, both alive and dead, and to my family, friends and clients.

The results were startling. And, as I continued, an image slowly grew and crystallised of the kind of person each one represented, and of the life-issues they were most concerned with. As with the zodiac signs, each one had its own preoccupations, its own problems and its own outlook on the world.

But the rediscovered signs are different as they tell us more about where our life is leading and describe our inner quest.

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