Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Scorpio

(October 24 - November 21)

The Ancients found among the stars of the sky many pictures, pictures that they associated with ageless tales. Some of the stories agree, some do not, but they all form the myths that we have, the stories of the gods and goddesses and the heroes of the Greeks and Romans. Among these groups of stars, or constellations, is the constellation of Scorpio, the scorpion. There are twelve constellations that form the zodiac, "an imaginary belt in the heavens and extending about 8 degrees on each side of the sun's path, containing the courses of the moon and the larger planets" (SToL). Each constellation in the zodiac has an accompanying sign used by the ancients to represent it, for Scorpio, this sign is (image not available). This paper will describe the constellation Scorpio as well as the accompanying myths and astrological information.

Location.
The constellation Scorpius is located between Sagittarius and Libra in the sky, "south of the celestial equator" (GH, 2259). A more technical definition of it's location is given by Chris Dolan, in his Constellations home page:
- Right Ascension: 17 hours
- Declination: -40 degrees
- Visible between latitudes 40 and -90 degrees
- Best seen in July (at 9:00 PM)
This basically tells when the constellation rises and where to see it; basically, the best place to view Scorpio is in the Southern Hemisphere, although it is visible to a latitude of 40 degrees North.
Stories.
There are two myths surrounding the constellation. One deals with Orion, the Hunter, and also a constellation. There is more than one version of this tale, with different names being used, but the basic tale is that a jealous Juno (or in some stories, Artemis is the goddess mentioned) sent Scorpio to kill Orion. In all the stories, Orion is stung by the scorpion, and dies. "Orion could not be saved even by Asclepius, the god of healing" (TAS CM). Then, as the story tells, Jupiter, the husband of Juno and king of the gods, took pity on Orion. He "put him and his dogs in the sky as constellations. [He] also put all of the animals he hunted up there near him. Scorpius, however, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so Orion would never be hurt by it again" (Chris Dolan's Constellations).
There is another myth that includes Scorpio. In this story, "Scorpius was also responsible for the runaway horses of Phoebus Apollo when Phaethon tried to drive the Chariot of the Sun, he caused great havoc as he careened around the skys, drying up rivers and scorching the earth" (Texas Astronomical Society's Constellation of the Month Series).
The Zodiac.
The constellation Scorpio has many astrological associations. Some of the terms and concepts assiciated with Scorpio and people born under the Scorpio star sign (October 24 - November 21) are:
metaphysics, putrefaction and death,
regeneration, passion, lust and violence,
insight and profundity, inheritances, loss,
occultism, astrology, borrowing and lending,
other possessions (PBC).
Professions that go with Scorpio are magicians, astrologers, alchemists, surgeons, bondsmen, and undertakers, according to the Phenomenon Book of Calendars. Also associated with Scorpio is Hephaestus (Vulcan), along with fire, blacksmiths, and industry.

Works Cited

Chris Dolan's Constellation Home Page. Internet resource: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/scorpius.html.

The Golden Home and High School Encyclopedia, vol 16. New York: Golden Press, 1961.

The Phenomenon Book of Calendars. Givseppe Maria Sesti. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1979.

Standard Treasury of Learning, vol. 20. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1957.

Texas Astronomical Society's Constellation of the Month Series. Internet Resource: http://fohnix.metronet.com/~cajun/tas.html.

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