What is a constellation?

Constellation refers to the constellation of stars in the sky in Taoist astrology. Since ancient times, human beings have associated three or five stars with their mythical figures or artifacts, which are called "constellations". Constellation is a means to determine the orientation of the sky in almost all civilizations and is widely used in the field of navigation. The division of constellations is completely artificial, and different civilizations have different divisions and names. Constellations have no uniform and precise boundaries. Until 1930, in order to unify the complicated constellation division, the International Astronomical Union divided the sky into 88 official constellations with precise boundaries, so that every star in the sky belonged to a specific constellation. Most of these official constellations are based on the ancient Greek traditional constellations handed down from the Middle Ages. In contrast, some widely circulated star combinations are not recognized as official constellations, such as the Big Dipper (see star list).

In the three-dimensional universe, there is no necessary connection between these stars. Their positions on the celestial sphere are similar, but in fact they may be far apart. If we were in another solar system of the Milky Way, the starry sky we saw would be completely different. Since ancient times, people have been interested in the arrangement and shape of stars, and naturally linked some stars with similar positions to form constellations.

Taoist astrologers divide the starry sky into several regions for the convenience of studying and observing many stars in the sky, and each region is a constellation. It's hard to say clearly when humans began to have the concept of constellation. This astronomical knowledge was known long before there was a historical record. [2] The name of the constellation probably comes from the sailors who sailed early. The origin of constellations may be completely different between civilizations in different regions, but with the expansion and mutual influence of civilizations, the culture of constellations also includes the process of integration.

the west

In 270 BC, the Greek poet Aratus wrote Things, in which 47 constellations were mentioned. According to the star regions recorded in Celestial Bodies, due to precession, the Antarctic in the period described in the book is not consistent with the current Antarctic, so it can be inferred that the starry sky recorded in the book is before 2000 BC; At the same time, the blank area of the starry sky record indicates that the observer should be near 35 to 36 north latitude. So some people think that the practice of dividing the starry sky into constellations originated from Babylon and Sumer in Mesopotamia, and the constellations of Greece and Egypt may have been introduced from this area.

In the Book of Job, several constellations such as Bear and Orion are mentioned. In the12nd century BC, the land landmarks built in the era of Nebuchadnezzar I were engraved with designs of Sagittarius, Scorpio and Ophiuchus. The ancient Greek poets Homer and hesiod also mentioned Ursa major, Orion and the Pleiades (the Pleiades was considered as an independent constellation at that time, not a part of Taurus), and at the same time, Babylon had recorded the zodiac in cuneiform.

In the second century, Ptolemy recorded 1022 stars in 48 constellations in his astronomical masterpiece, which is also the embryonic form of modern constellations. After that, many astronomers filled the gap of Ptolemy constellation with new constellations; Valle in 1603, Jahannes Hewelius in 1690, and Llakaj in 1752 have named the constellations in Nantian in two centuries. [3]

China

See: star officer, three walls, four elephants, twenty-eight nights.

There are some names of 28 homestays in the early Zhou Dynasty in Zhou Li, which was written in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Records of twenty-eight huts and four elephants were first found in historical records. There are many differences in academic circles about the origin, time and place of Twenty-eight Nights. Traditionally, China's twenty-eight lodging system can only be traced back to the eighth and sixth centuries BC. 1978, archaeologists unearthed the lacquer box cover engraved with the image of Twenty-eight Hostels in the tomb of Zeng Houyi of the Warring States Period in Suizhou, Hubei Province, which is the earliest physical specimen of Twenty-eight Hostels discovered so far.

In ancient China, Sanyuan, which is near the North Pole, was defined as a middle official, while Erbasu was actually subdivided from four elephants. The star area south of Erbasu was called a foreign official, that is, "middle official+four elephants+foreign officials", which was just one of the many ways to divide the star areas in ancient China. In addition, there are many ways to divide the stars into seven areas, such as "five beasts+middle officials+foreign officials" and "nine wild+middle officials+foreign officials" which are divided into 1 1 area, but the division method of "middle officials+four elephants" is widely spread.

In ancient China, the sky was divided by star officials. The earliest record of star officials is Sima Qian's Book of Historical Records, which contains 9 1 star officials and more than 500 stars. By the Sui Dynasty, there were 283 star officials recorded in Song of Heaven, belonging to one of the three yuan or twenty-eight lodging houses. Sanyuan refers to the three regions surrounding the Arctic sky, namely Ziweiyuan, Taiweiyuan and Tianshiyuan, which are divided into four elephants around the ecliptic and the celestial equator, and each elephant is subdivided into seven regions of the four elephants, collectively called 28 nights. In ancient China, the lunar calendar was used as a calendar year. Because the moon rotates once around the earth on the 28th of every month, it is called a "shelter" or "shed" when it passes through an area every day. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to the influence of western learning spreading to the east, Xu Guangqi compiled the almanac of Chongzhen with reference to the data of European astronomy, adding 23 star officials near Invivo.

There are different opinions about the order in which the starry sky is divided into three walls, four images and twenty-eight nights. Gaul, an astronomer in the Republic of China, thought in his book Notes on Astrology that three walls appeared first, then four elephants, and finally appeared for 28 nights. Chen Zungui, an astronomer who was the first curator of the Beijing Planetarium, thinks in his works that these four images appeared earlier, and then they were divided into twenty-eight lodges, with Sanyuan being the last one, and points out that the name of Sanyuan only appeared in the Song of Dan Deng Tian in the Sui Dynasty, and the shape of Sanyuan and Twenty-eight lodges was also formed and used here.

India

See: Twenty Seven Nights

Indian's Nakshatra (meaning "Moon Station") is very similar to China's Twenty-eight Nights, and scholars believe that they all come from the same source. [4] Pio, Madler, schlegel, Zhu Kezhen, Xia Nai, Xincheng Xinzang and others claimed that the Twenty-eight Hostel originated in China; Weber, John Chen, Ginzel, King Smir and Edkin advocated the origin of India.

Different from the division of China's Twenty-eight Lodgings, Indian Twenty-eight Lodgings replaced Niu Lodging in China's Twenty-eight Lodgings with Weaver Maid, and replaced female Lodging in China's Twenty-eight Lodgings with River Drum (Cowherd). The starting point of both is the corner beam (? , Chitrā), but after that, the starting place of 28 places in India was changed to Pleiades (,kritik ā). According to ancient Indian classics, rooms and walls were once combined into one night and became twenty-seven nights, or there were twenty-seven nights made by subtracting the Weaver Girl, which is consistent with China. The full name of the Twenty-Seven Hostel first appeared in Brahma's Partridge Book.

Arab world

After the 9th century, Ptolemy constellation spread to the Arab world. Ptolemy's masterpiece Astronomy was translated into Arabic, which was called "the great theory". On the basis of this book, Al Su Fei wrote The Stars, which is one of the three masterpieces of Islamic observational astronomy. )。 Most of the star names used around the world now come from Arabic.

3 constellation divination editor

The original Babylonians made a star chart of the four seasons according to the stars, hoping to use it to predict the fate of the country and people. In fact, this method of divination is similar to that of ancient China. It is based on the relationship between the fortune teller and the stars and explains all aspects of his life. Because ancient humans lived according to the changes of astronomical phenomena, natural disasters were irresistible, which caused the sense of human destiny; And they found that the movement of the sun, moon and stars in the universe affects the rise and fall of everything, even the fate of people. When everyone is born, every planet in the solar system, including the sun, the moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto, runs at different angles and distances, which has great influence; Each planet interacts with its corresponding 65,438+02 constellation, which has different influences on people's personality. When these planets run, everyone's behavior and fate will also change.

The sun sign is the most frequently mentioned in astrology. As long as you know a person's date of birth, you can find out his sun sign. The orbit of the sun is called the ecliptic, and it is divided into 12 zones, each of which is 30 degrees. These 12 regions are what we call solar constellations. The twelve constellations begin in spring, that is, when the sun runs to the vernal equinox around March 20 every year, they will be sorted in order: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Everyone belongs to only one sun sign, because the time when the sun enters the palace is different every year. If the birthday is at the junction of the constellations, it is necessary to check the astronomical calendar to determine the sun constellation to which they belong, and there will never be a situation that spans two sun constellations. Constellation believes that the sun constellation represents people's natural personality, willpower and self-expression way. We can have a basic understanding of a person through the sun constellation, but to really understand a person completely, besides the sun constellation, we should also look at the house where the sun sets and the angle with other stars. Even if the sun signs are the same, they are influenced by different palaces and angles, so there are not only 12 kinds of personalities.

According to the moon sign, the moon sign is the place where the moon was born. The moon affects the tidal changes of the earth, and also affects human emotions, inner security, subconscious, spiritual level, family and clan influence, personal habits, eating habits, preferences, potential, ideals, imagination, acceptance, adaptability, intuition and temperament. The moon symbolizes mother. Through the moon constellation, we can know our attitude towards our mother and the influence her gives us. We can also see our attitude towards other women and show men the way to treat their wives. The moon constellation affects the subconscious, not the external personality, but the formation of personality. The moon constellation is most obvious in childhood and primary school. When you know something about life, you will hide it. Ascending constellation, Sun constellation and Moon constellation are the three constellations that have the greatest influence on one's personality.

Ascending constellation is a constellation that rises on the eastern horizon at the moment you are born, representing a person's true self in personality, appearance and body shape. Usually around the age of 30, after a person really matures, his daily behavior, personality, preferences and appearance are all influenced by the rising constellation. If you want to know your rising constellation, you should calculate it from the specific date and time of birth and the latitude and longitude of the place of birth, just like the traditional birth of China people. Ascending constellation is the beginning of the first house of personal horoscope, which is particularly important and affects nature, health, appearance and personal preferences, as well as fate changes. You can see the stars all over the sky from your personal chart. Different stars are located in the house of life, and the position of each star affects your fortune. If the stars in the palace, the core of your life, are different, they have different meanings.

4 constellation symbol editing

Aries (March 21-April 20)

The symbol of Aries symbolizes the head of the sheep, which is a pictographic method to take out the most obvious horns and noses of the sheep; Some characteristics can be associated with the myth of Aries, such as impulsiveness, freedom and courage. On the other hand, it also points out that the symbol of Aries is a green bud symbolizing rebirth, showing a scene of rebirth and prosperity.

Taurus (April 2 1- May 2 1)

The symbol of Taurus symbolizes the bull's head and depicts the image of the cow with simple lines. From the myth of Taurus, we can find that Taurus is gentle in appearance, but full of desire in heart. On the other hand, the round face of a cow shows relaxation and enjoyment, but the angle on it shows that our temper sometimes breaks out.

Gemini (May 22nd-June 2nd1)

The symbol of Gemini symbolizes twins, which is more abstract than the first two symbols. From the myth of Gemini, we can know the duality and internal contradictions of Gemini. In fact, Gemini represents not only duality, but so-called pluralism. On the one hand, it can be seen that it is wide, on the other hand, it also implies possible superficiality.

Cancer (June 22-July 22)

The symbol of cancer symbolizes the chest, indicating that cancer is related to the chest; As you can imagine from the myth of cancer, there is a feeling of home, which is also related to jealousy. On the other hand, it has also been pointed out that the symbol of cancer is actually the carapace symbolizing cancer, from which we can also see the self-protection characteristics and hidden habits of cancer.

Leo (July 23-August 23)

The symbol of Leo symbolizes the lion's tail, which fully shows the personality of Leo. The myth of Leo can be associated with the romance and enthusiasm of Leo. When lions associate with the characteristics of Leo, it is easy to think of a lot of enthusiasm and sympathy, but don't forget that the lioness is out hunting.

Virgo (August 24-September 22)

Virgo's symbol symbolizes female genitalia; But if you pay attention to the right half, you can see. In the myth of Virgo, we can see the meaning of harvest. When you associate Virgo with Virgo, you can also find some characteristics, such as caution, caution, calmness and shyness. On the other hand, virgins also represent quietness and keenness.

Libra (September 23rd-65438+1October 23rd)

The symbol of Libra symbolizes a steelyard, the Greek letter Ω represents measurement, and the "-"below represents the basis of measurement. The fairness of Libra can be seen from the myth of Libra. But from that scale, we can see the basic idea of Libra's pursuit of balance, and at the same time, the vacillating scale also shows Libra's indecision.

Scorpio (65438+1October 24th-165438+1October 22nd)

The symbol of Scorpio symbolizes male genitalia; From the myth of Scorpio, we can know that Scorpio is the source of jealousy. Scorpio's desire for sex can be known from the male genitals. On the other hand, some people think that the symbol of Scorpio is the symbol of scorpion's carapace and poisonous needle, showing the characteristics of revenge.

Sagittarius (165438+1October 23rd-65438+February 2nd1)

The sign of Sagittarius is the arrow in the shooter's hand, which returns to pictographic form; From the myth of Sagittarius, we can see Sagittarius's wisdom and pursuit of knowledge. The archetype of Sagittarius is a man with a bow and arrow. The horse in the lower half symbolizes the pursuit of ideals, the man in the upper half symbolizes knowledge and wisdom, and the arrow in his hand shows Sagittarius' pursuit of spiritual level.

Capricorn (65438+February 22nd-65438+1October 20th)

The symbol of Capricorn symbolizes the sheep's head and fish's tail, which is abstract but basically pictographic; From the myth of Capricorn, we can know Capricorn's worries and fears. Capricorn, also known as Capricorn, is caused by the image of a goat in the upper body. It has the desire to climb the peak, but don't forget that under water, Capricorn also has a fishtail symbolizing feelings.

Aquarius (65438+1October 21-February 19)

The symbol of Aquarius symbolizes the fluctuation of water and air, concrete but abstract; From the myth of Aquarius, we can see that Aquarius loves freedom and individualism. The wave symbolizing Aquarius is the representative of high wisdom. Thinking about the characteristics of Aquarius from the characteristics of waves seems to be regular but has no specific image. It is an unpredictable constellation.

Pisces (February 20-March 20)

The symbol of Pisces symbolizes two fish with a ribbon in the middle; From the myth of Pisces, we can think of the escape characteristics of Pisces. Two fish in Pisces swim in two directions, which not only shows the duality of Pisces, but also symbolizes the contradiction and complexity of Pisces.