Dividing the Zodiac -How Many Signs?

Did our zodiac always have twelve signs and will it continue to do so? What difference does it make if there are ten , twelve, or twenty signs?

Our present twelve-sign zodiac is based on the fact that there are presently twelve ruling bodies or planets in our solar system. From a geocentric point of view this includes the Sun, Moon, and Earth. From a heliocentric point of view this includes two bodies beyond Pluto.

Astrology is flexible, in that it allows growth or modification, so that new planets(and signs) can result, without losing its totality or effectiveness. When there were eight planets or signs, for example, each planet/sign contained more traits or sets of traits, and when we shall have sixteen or more, each will contain less traits than at present(unless new ones are created).

In the ancient pre-diluvian ten sign zodiac, the planet Lucifer contained the virtues and vices of Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio. Being too powerful, it was destroyed or divided threefold, giving us Earth, Pluto, and and an as yet unrecognized third body(2003UB313?).

The number of signs in a zodiac always remains even, for an uneven zodiac destroys its symmetry and balance, and there would be no aspects(by sign) as we know them. There would, for example, be no opposite sign, or trine sign, or any other basic configuration other than the conjunction.

Even the bodies' chakras or energy centers, which symbolize planetary and zodiacal energies, are all even-numbered, and rightly so. Matter in general is an even-numbered reality. The odd numbers signify mental and spiritual principles and the invisible or sustaining side of creation.

Two signifies the masculine/feminine, energy/matter, or duality principle of creation. Four signifies the basic elements(fire, earth, air, water) and the principle of sentience. Six is the plant or vegetative kingdom, eight is reptillian, ten is mammalian, twelve is human, and sixteen is angelic. Ninety-six and nine hundred seventy-two are the divine and logoic levels.

Humanity in its present degenerated state is somewhere between the tenth and twelfth levels, although we are clearly intended to be on the twelfth. Twelve can be divided more easily than almost any other number and therefore serves as an ideal middle ground or bridge for the lower and higher kingdoms.

The division of twelve by 1,2,3,4,6, and itself(12) gives us our current form of astrology; 12 signs, 6 polarities, 4 elements, 3 modes, 2 genders, and 1 zodiac. It is also the basis of the aspects; 1-conjunction, 2-oppositon, 3-trine, 4-square, 6-sextile, and 12-semi-sextile and inconjunct.

When we evolve to the sixteen sign zodiac, four new planets and signs must be incorporated, and the aspect relationship will change significantly, resulting in a new kind of lifesyle or reality. All of the basic sign traits will still be there, except they will be more singled out or emphasized, and there will be a fourth sentient mode expressing a purer form of emotion or intuition. The order would look something as follows(note: this is only the author's speculation -there may be other ways of arranging the variables)...

1.Aries: cardinal fire5.Cancer: cardinal water9.Libra: cardinal air13.Capricorn: cardinal earth
2.Taurus: fixed earth6.Leo: fixed fire10.Scorpio: fixed water14.Aquarius: fixed air
3.Gemini: mutable air7.Virgo: mutable earth11.Sagittarius: mutable fire15.Pisces: mutable water
4.??????: sentient water8.??????: sentient air12.?????: sentient earth16.???????: sentient fire

The conjunction, oppositon, and square aspects would remain the same, and the semi-square would come to life, but the nature of the other aspects would change significantly. On a wheel of 360° each sign would take up 22.5°, and the characteristics would be more precise or defined. Also, the sixteen sign zodiac, having sentience or the number 4(4x4) as its foundation, would be ideally suited or functional to the astral rather than the mental plane, and its complement -the physical plane.

Our twelve sign zodiac has the numbers 3 and 4(or 3x4) as its foundations and is ideally suited to either the mental or astral realms and its complements -the spiritual and physical realms. Twelve is a transitional number and so is the human state. The major zodiacs have 4 as its square or root number, hence 4, 16, 64, 256, and 1024 signs or petals.

In the 1000+ zodiac(crown chakra), all of the sign characteristics are singled out and become signs of their own. The single Piscean attribute of forgiveness, for example, would occupy one whole sign, which in a 360 degree wheel would take up about 20 minutes of arc. The aspects or relationships each of these signs or attributes would make to one another would probably not necessitate the use of degrees or minutes and still be very complex indeed.

There is probably no limit as to the number of signs or attributes the circle can be divided into, but for now, twelve is the universal middle or balance, at least for our human reality or realm of existence.

Note: The starry constellations have nothing to do with our Earth-based zodiac, except to serve as guideposts for the movements of the planetary bodies. Zero degrees Aries or Libra begins where the Earth's equatorial plane intersects with the solar plane or ecliptic. These two intersecting points are called the equinoxes, from whence thirty-degree segments are measured off to become the signs. The signs are spatial entities -not constellations, and are totally based on a planet's relationship to the Sun.

It is no coincidence that the autumnul equinox begins at 0 degrees Libra, for this is not only the true beginning of the zodiac for us, but reveals the zodiacal or sign identity of our planet. On Mars the initiating equinox point would correspond to 0 degrees Aries, on Jupiter to 0 degrees Sagittarius, and so on. So here, on planet Earth, the zodiac actually begins with Libra and ends with Virgo. There is no real beginning point in the zodiac. It's all relative.

back to table
back to home