The Lost Zodiac

The Lyre of Orpheus         Dec 29 to Jan 13

The Legends behind your Star Sign

The Origin of Music

The lyre was created by Mercury from a tortoiseshell. He gave it to Apollo, god of music and prophecy, who placed it in the heavens. Primitive music often imitates the rhythm and the movements of wild animals and birds, which throws light on the story of Orpheus, whose lyre this is.

Orpheus, 'the singer whose song has power to tame all creatures, to gather wild animals and trees around him, who moves stones and cliffs, and even overcomes the laws of Hades', was brought up by Chiron, the Wise Centaur, (another of the 'Lost Zodiac' signs), in his mountain cave.

There, amongst the chestnut forests and the running streams of Mount Pelion, in northern Greece, Orpheus was taught to play the Lyre by Chiron, who was the first to learn the power of music from the gods.

To Shoot, to Sing, to Tell the Truth

Amongst Orpheus's childhood companions were many of the Greek heroes, such as Jason, Achilles, Hercules, and Castor and Pollux, the Heavenly Twins of the zodiac sign of Gemini. Chiron taught them all to 'shoot, to sing, to tell the truth', and, later, Orpheus accompanied Jason on his quest to find the Golden Fleece, and saved the ship's crew from the singing sirens with the music of his lyre.

Orpheus and Eurydice

Orpheus married the wood nymph, Eurydice, but she died soon after of a serpent's bite. Overcome by grief, Orpheus entered the land of the dead and charmed the sovereigns of the underworld with the music of his lyre. Even the furies wept at the sound of his music and Eurydice was allowed to return to the land of the living as long as Orpheus did not look round to see if she was following behind him.

He did not trust the Queen of Hell sufficiently, however, and, as he turned to look, Eurydice faded back once more into the underworld. From then on, he could not be consoled, and was torn limb from limb by a band of jealous women, the wild Maenads, when he ignored them. After his death, his head, and lyre, were washed out to sea from Asia Minor to the isle of Lesbos in the Aegean. His lyre was placed in a temple there, and his head, lodged between the rocks, gave oracles.

The Bringer of Culture

He is also known as the Bringer of Culture and the Father of Mysticism, and because of his violent death, his descent into the underworld, and the school of mysteries which he founded, he has been compared with Christ.

Arion, the Lyre and the Dolphins

The Lyre has also been connected with the Greek musician, Arion. Returning, one day, on a ship from Sicily to Corinth, laden down with prizes he had won for playing the lyre, Arion was set upon by the ship's crew, who were greedy for his gold. He begged to be allowed to sing one last song before they killed him.

Mounting the ship's prow, dressed in his poet's robe, he sang a hymn to Apollo, and then cast himself into the sea, where a school of dolphins, enchanted by his music, had gathered round. He was carried to safety by one of them, who insisted on accompanying him to Corinth and the court, where, so legend has it, it succumbed to a life of luxury.

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The Star Sign

Those born under Orpheus are romantics through and through, with their own vision of beauty and perfection, and they are quite happy to spend hours alone in their private inner world.

But they are supremely able to put into words, or art, or music, the beauty of their vision, for the Lyre is the most imaginative and creative of the signs. When they do, like Orpheus, they often strike a universal chord, which makes them fascinating to other people, for there can be something magical about them; a touch of other-worldly glamour which ensures that they will never lack friends or admirers.

Their imagination is their greatest strength and their greatest weakness, though, for the real world often fails to live up to their expectations, and they have a tendency to turn their back on life and hide behind their dreams. Because of this, they can, at time, appear aloof, and even cold. But they are not cold-hearted. It is simply that when they are bound up with what they are creating, or with some dream of happiness that lies just beyond their reach, they hardly seem to notice other people.

When they are not building castles in the air, however, they are loyal friends and lovers, with a lot of sympathy to offer, for, like Orpheus, who journeyed to the Underworld, they understand the highs and lows of love.

When they fall in love, they believe it is for ever, but their idealised vision of life can make it hard for them to live in the here and now. Where love is concerned they sometimes find it easier to say goodbye than to admit that life is not a fairy tale. That would be too ordinary and boring, which is their greatest fear. Better to retain a perfect image of the beloved, all shortcomings forgotten, than to compromise it with reality. And no one will find it easy to live up to this image, at least not for long.

The Lyre, of course, like all signs, shows its influence in many different ways, some of which may be found on closer examination of the myth. Sometimes, those born under Orpheus have not yet found the creative artist in themselves and live life vicariously through others, seeking out creative people as their friends.

Or it may be Orpheus's great affinity with nature and with animals which shows most strongly. What those born under this star all share, however, is a longing for a more beautiful and better world, and they can be found in any field where ideals really count. Politics and social work, for instance, can be the path they choose, but which ever one it is, like Orpheus, the 'Bringer of Culture', they work to make the world a better place.

Born under the Lyre of Orpheus

Elvis Presley, Pablo Casals, David Bowie, Alexander Scriabin, Francis Poulenc, Max Bruch, Sir Michael Tippett, Stephen Hawking, Andre Messager, Henri Matisse, Gustave Dore, J.R.R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, Jacques Montgolfier, Bo Diddley, George Balanchine, Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender), Augustus John, Grace Bumbrey, Joan Baez.

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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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