In which constellations of the zodiac are the equinox points located? Zodiac Constellations (legends)

Astronomy solution book for grade 11 for lesson No. 7 (workbook) - Apparent motion of the Sun and Moon

1. Using a star chart, indicate through which constellations the annual path of the Sun passes.

Option 1.

Start your list of constellations at the vernal equinox.

Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius.

Option 2.

Start your list of constellations with the autumnal equinox.

Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer.

2. Write down and explain the formula that calculates the height of the Sun at noon (or at its highest culmination).

h ☉ = (90° - φ) + δ ☉ , where h ☉ is the height of the Sun; φ - latitude of the area where observations are made; δ ☉ - declination of the Sun at the time of observation.

3. Fill in the empty cells and unfinished dates in the table.

4. Complete the sentences.

A synodic month is a period of changing lunar phases; it lasts 29 days.

A sidereal month is a complete revolution around the Sun and lasts 27.3 days.

The Moon always faces the Earth with the same hemisphere, since it makes one revolution around its axis in the same time.

5. Using Figure 7.1, draw a view of the Moon (in positions 1-8) and indicate the names of its phases (in positions 1, 3, 5, 7).

6. Consider Figures 7.2 and 7.3 and indicate for each case on which side of the horizon and at what time of day the Moon is observed. (The observer is in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth.)

7. Complete the diagram of the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses (Fig. 7.4) with the necessary constructions and mark shadows and penumbras on it. Using the diagram explaining the occurrence of eclipses, complete the sentences.

When the Moon enters the Earth's shadow, a total lunar eclipse occurs.

When the Moon enters the Earth's penumbra, a partial lunar eclipse occurs.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the disk of the Sun is completely covered by the Earth.

A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Sun is exposed to the penumbra of the Moon.

An annular eclipse of the Sun occurs when, at the time of the eclipse, the Moon's disk is too small to completely cover the Sun.

Eclipses are not observed every month, since the orbital planes of the Earth and the Moon must intersect at an angle of 5°09′.

8. In Figures 7.5 and 7.6, use arrows to indicate from which edge of the full Moon the lunar eclipse begins. From which edge of the solar disk does a solar eclipse begin? (The observer in both cases is in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth.) What is the maximum duration of the total eclipse phase of the Moon and the maximum duration of the total eclipse of the Sun?

On the diagram of the Moon (Fig. 7.5), draw an arrow that points to the right; on the diagram of the Sun (Fig. 7.6), draw an arrow pointing to the left.

Maximum duration of a total lunar eclipse: 11 h 40 m

Maximum duration of total solar eclipse: 7 min 40 sec

All over the world, people love to look at the stars, finding familiar ones and discovering new unknown constellations. But in addition to contemplation, which brings simple entertainment and joy from what he sees, these same stars and constellations serve as a tool.

Constellations were invented in the ancient world to better remember and navigate by the stars. The brightest “neighboring” stars were mentally connected by lines, and then such a “skeleton” was developed into some image: for example, an animal or a hero from legends.

The stars move across the sky according to their usual plan, just like the Sun. At different times of the year, different constellations appear at sunset. The ascending constellations rotate based on the Earth's path through space, and can therefore be used to mark the seasons in regions where moderate weather cannot convey the changes between winter and spring.

Going back further, scientists suspect that markings on the walls of the Lascaux cave in southern France - created more than 17,000 years ago - may represent the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters, making the cave the first known star map.

Of course, different peoples divided the sky in different ways. For example, in China in ancient times there was a map on which the starry sky was divided into four parts, each of which had seven constellations, i.e. only 28 constellations. And Mongolian scientists of the 18th century. numbered 237 constellations. The constellations used by the ancient inhabitants of the Mediterranean have become firmly established in European science and literature. From these countries (including Northern Egypt), about 90% of the entire sky can be seen throughout the year. However, for peoples living far from the equator, a significant part of the sky is inaccessible to observation: at the pole only half of the sky is visible, at the latitude of Moscow - about 70%.

In modern astronomy constellations- these are areas of the starry sky, delimited in accordance with the traditions of grouping stars that had developed by the beginning of the twentieth century, as well as the need for complete, continuous and non-overlapping coverage of the celestial sphere.

For many centuries, the constellations did not have clearly defined boundaries; Usually on maps and star globes, constellations were separated by curved, intricate lines that did not have a standard position. Therefore, from the moment of the formation of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), one of its first tasks was the delimitation of the starry sky. At the 1st General Assembly of the IAU, held in 1922 in Rome, astronomers decided that it was time to finally divide the entire celestial sphere into parts with precisely defined boundaries and, by the way, put an end to any attempts to reshape the starry sky. It was decided to adhere to the European tradition in the names of the constellations.

It should be noted that although the names of the constellations remained traditional, scientists were not at all interested in the figures of the constellations, which are usually depicted by mentally connecting bright stars with straight lines. On star maps, these lines are drawn only in children's books and school textbooks; They are not needed for scientific work. Now astronomers call constellations not groups of bright stars, but areas of the sky with all the objects located on them, so the problem of defining a constellation comes down only to drawing its boundaries.

But the boundaries between the constellations were not so easy to draw. Several famous astronomers worked on this task, trying to preserve historical continuity and, if possible, prevent stars with their own names (Vega, Spica, Altair,...) and established designations (a Lyrae, b Perseus,...) from getting into "alien" constellations. At the same time, it was decided to make the boundaries between the constellations in the form of broken straight lines, passing only along the lines of constant declinations and right ascensions, since it was easier to fix these boundaries in a mathematical form.

At the IAU general assemblies in 1925 and 1928, lists of constellations were adopted and the boundaries between most of them were approved. In 1930, on behalf of the IAU, Belgian astronomer Eugene Delporte published maps and detailed descriptions of the new boundaries of all 88 constellations. But even after this, some clarifications were still made, and only in 1935, by the decision of the IAU, this work was put to an end: the division of the sky was completed.

Often, the classification of constellations is carried out taking into account the calendar month in which they are best visible or according to the seasons: constellations of the winter, spring, summer and autumn sky.

Zodiac circle

The Sun, Moon and planets move along a set path across the sky, known as the ecliptic, and so does the Earth. The list of 13 constellations they pass through are known as the stars of the zodiac.

Astrologers use these 12 constellations as zodiac signs, omitting Ophiuchus, to make predictions. Unlike astronomy, astrology is not a science. Signs are distinguished from constellations by only vaguely referring to each other. The sign of Pisces, for example, corresponds to the rise of the constellation Aquarius. Ironically, if you were born under a certain sign, the constellation named after it is not visible at night. Instead, the sun passes through it at this time of year, making it the day of a constellation that cannot be seen.

List of all thirteen constellations through which our system passes:

Why is there no thirteenth sign of the Zodiac? Here is a comment from the staff of the Perm Planetarium:

“The system of zodiac signs was developed in ancient Babylon, approximately 3 thousand years ago. It was based on the displacement of the Sun against the background of other stars in the sky. This displacement is caused by the annual movement of the Earth around the Sun.

Over the course of a year, the Sun passes against the background of thirteen constellations (12 constellations of the Zodiac circle and the constellation Ophiuchus). Since the area of ​​the constellations is not the same, it turns out that the Sun lingers against the background of one constellation much longer than against the background of another. For example: against the background of the constellation Virgo, the Sun is about 45 days, and Scorpio - 7 days. Because of this difference, the ancient Babylonians decided to average the time of movement of the Sun over the areas of a particular constellation. Since in those distant times the Sun only slightly “touched” the constellation Ophiuchus, it was not included in the number of constellations of the Zodiac."

By today, the position of the stars has changed. Now the Sun resides in the constellation Ophiuchus 18 days a year. However, this is only from an astronomical point of view. From an astrological point of view, nothing has changed.

Designation of stars in constellations

Our Galaxy consists of more than 100 billion stars. Of these, only 0.004% are cataloged; all the rest remain nameless and even uncounted. However, each bright star and most weak ones, in addition to the scientific designation, also have their own name, received in ancient times. Many of the star names used today, for example, Rigel, Aldebaran, Algol, Deneb and others, are of Arabic origin. Modern astronomers know about three hundred historical names of stars. Often they denote the names of body parts of those images from which the name of the entire constellation comes: Betelgeuse (in Orion) - “shoulder of a giant”, Denebola (in Leo) - “lion’s tail”, etc.

Typically, stars and constellations are described by name, designation, and magnitude (visual magnitudes). The most famous are the brightest stars, while a group of dim stars from the constellation Taurus are the famous Pleiades - Alcyone, Asterope, Atlas, Taygeta, Electra, Maia, Merope and Pleione.

When astronomers began a detailed study of the sky at the end of the 16th century, they needed to have designations for absolutely all the stars that were visible to the naked eye, and eventually through a telescope. Johann Bayer, the author of the beautifully illustrated Uranometria, depicted in it the constellations and the legendary figures from which their names were derived. In addition, Bayer was the first to designate stars using the letters of the Greek alphabet in approximately descending order of their brightness: the brightest star in the constellation was designated “alpha,” the second brightest was designated “beta,” and so on.

When the letters of the Greek alphabet ran out, Bayer used the Latin one. In the Bayer system, the full designation of a star includes letters and the Latin name of the constellation. Thus, the brightest star from the constellation Canis Major - Sirius is designated a Canis Majoris, abbreviated as a CMa, and the second brightest star in the constellation Perseus - Algol - b Persei (b Per).

How to find constellations

To make it easier to find a constellation, you need to know what its asterism looks like.

Asterism is a characteristic, easily recognizable group of stars that may belong to one or more constellations. In the past, the concepts of asterism and constellation were almost synonymous - in both cases they were understood as an easy-to-remember group of stars.

Ursa Major is the most easily recognized asterism. Even people far from astronomy know the Big Dipper. Meanwhile, this asterism does not represent the entire constellation Ursa Major, but only the tail and part of the animal’s body.

Finding the Ursa Minor Dipper is also easy. If you draw a straight line through the Ursa Major stars Merak (β) and Dubhe (α), which form the wall of the Bucket, it will point to the North Star, the brightest in the constellation Ursa Minor.

In the current era, the North Star is located close to the North Pole of the world and therefore is almost motionless during the daily rotation of the starry sky.

If you draw an arc through the three stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, it will point to Arcturus Bootes, which is one of the brightest stars in our sky.

One of the most impressive constellations, Draco, stretches between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Between the Ursa Minor Bucket and Vega you can see a small irregular quadrangle - the constellation Dragon's Head, and the stars Etamine (γ) and Rastaban (β) are the “eyes” of the dragon.

Near the Dragon you can see the brightest stars of Cassiopeia. They form the letter M, or W. The constellation Cepheus is observed in Russia, but it is not easy to see.

Between the stars Altair and Arcturus you can find the constellations: Corona Borealis, Serpens, Hercules, Orhiuchus and Scutum.

Moving east, you can find several more constellations, including zodiac ones: Pegasus, zodiac constellations Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces.

Aries (Aries), Taurus (Taurus), Charioteer (Auriga), Triangle (Triangulum), Perseus (Perseus), Giraffe (Camelopardalis). The brightest star in Auriga is Capella, while in Taurus it is Aldebaran. One of the most famous stars of Perseus, Algol, represents the “eye” of Medusa the Gorgon. The constellations Auriga and Taurus can be seen closer to 5 am.

Other interesting objects also appear nearby, such as Orion, Lepus, Gemini, Cancer, Canis Minor, Lynx. The brightest stars of Orion are Rigel, Belgeuse and Bellatrix. The brightest stars in Gemini are Castor and Pollux. Cancer is the hardest person to spot.

It is worth noting that the constellations are static only for several generations of people. As is known, the gravitational influence of the Moon and the Sun on our planet causes a slow cone-shaped movement of the earth's axis, which leads to the movement of the vernal equinox point along the ecliptic from east to west. This phenomenon is called precession, i.e. preceding the equinox. Under the influence of precession, over several millennia, the position of the earth's equator and the associated celestial equator changes noticeably relative to the fixed stars. As a result, the annual course of constellations across the sky becomes different: for residents of certain geographic latitudes, some constellations become observable over time, while others disappear under the horizon for many millennia.

Sources used when creating this post: geo.koltyrin.ru, abc2home.ru, chel.kp.ru, adme.ru, astrokarty.ru, biguniverse.ru, allsozvezdia.ru, v-kosmose.com, files.school-collection .edu.ru

Constellations vs Zodiac Signs

The stars that can be taken as indicators of the periodic displacement of the equinoxes are naturally located near the ecliptic; and these stars - indeed all the stars - have been grouped by observers into “constellations” over millennia. The names and ideas about the size and boundaries of such constellations differed in different civilizations, but some significant parallelism can be established between different definitions of constellations, as long as the comparison is not taken too far.

Obviously, the tendency to group stars into constellations and give them names (and not just animals) corresponds to human needs in all cultures. This may be a projection of the concept of animal "totems" (common in archaic tribal societies) onto the astronomical sphere. Even in Greek mythology we see heroes, or figures of special importance, exalted in the constellations in the sky. Likewise, the Catholic Church canonized its saints and assigned them “feasts” in the ritual of the holy year.

The sky for ancient societies was a great symbol of order and creative activity. They saw the stars and planets as the bodies of gods. The sky as a whole represented the “world of form,” the world of creator gods and the hierarchy of divine intelligence. The whole concept of astronomical constellations has, I believe, mythological origins. This Not diminishes its significance, since myths are extremely powerful factors in the development and formation of human consciousness. And modern science itself contains many myths that are now referred to as initial conditions, postulates, or perhaps "universal constants." Constancy and universality (of postulates) are a matter of faith, even if the values ​​to which these “constants” refer are based on proven facts. Note that these facts were proven under conditions environment existing on Earth today, but it is not the same always and everywhere.

However, there may be a big problem here regarding the twelve zodiacal constellations - groups of stars found on both sides of the ecliptic, and this problem has to do with defining their boundaries. Not only do these boundaries appear to have changed several times, but according to various occult traditions, their number was not always twelve. Some civilizations, for example, had a “lunar zodiac” divided into 27 or 28 “houses” before they had a “solar zodiac”. There is no real reason to believe that all zodiacal constellations should be equal in size (i.e. correspond to 30 degrees of longitude).

The boundaries of the constellations were conditionally approved in 1925 at the Congress of the International Astronomical Union, and these constellations are not equal to each other. And they include sections of the ecliptic that are not equal in length. Thus, the Sun transits the constellation Scorpio in just a week, and the constellation Virgo in a month and a half.

SignsZodiac and constellations Zodiac is two completely different concepts. They have nothing in common except their names. What we call in astrology the zodiac sign, - differs in principle from the concept of constellations. The zodiacal sign is simply one-twelfth of the ecliptic - that is, part of the apparent annual path of the Sun (the earth's orbit, in the modern heliocentric system) of 30 degrees. Zodiac sign belongs tropical zodiac, while the thirteen zodiac constellations belong to the so-called astronomical zodiac. The Tropical Zodiac is measured in degrees of longitude, and the measurement begins at the point where the Sun crosses the astronomical equatorial plane in a northerly direction toward the vernal equinox.

At the vernal equinox, the longitude of the Sun is 0°, and the declination is also 0° (“declination” measures the distance of any astronomical body north or south of the astronomical equator). This means that at the vernal equinox, sunset occurs exactly in the west, and day and night are of equal length, after which the days become longer. At the point of the autumnal equinox, the longitude of the Sun is 180° and the declination is 0°, but in this case the luminary crosses the astronomical equator in a southerly direction. Days and nights are of equal length, but from this point on the night will increase.

Zodiac(zodiac circle, from Greek δῷνλ - living creature)

V astronomy– belt on the celestial sphere along ecliptic(read below), along which the visible paths of the Sun, Moon, planets and asteroids pass.
Ecliptic constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Total 13.
Astrology: the most famous zodiac, consisting of twelve zodiac signs of 30°, formed in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. in the Middle East. The names of the signs are associated with the zodiac constellations that corresponded to them in that era.

The sun moves (relative to the earth) almost strictly along the ecliptic, and the rest of the luminaries in their movement through the zodiac periodically shift north or south of the ecliptic. The ecliptic inclination of the orbits of the Moon and visible planets does not exceed a few degrees (with the exception of Pluto, Eris, Ceres and some asteroids, which, having a large orbital inclination, sometimes extend beyond the Zodiac.

If we say that a planet is in the sign of Aries, then we mean its astrological position. If we say that a planet is in the constellation Aries, we mean its astronomical position.

The sun moves (relative to the earth) almost strictly along the ecliptic, and the rest of the luminaries in their movement through the zodiac periodically shift north or south of the ecliptic. The ecliptic inclination of the orbits of the Moon and visible planets does not exceed a few degrees, but there are exceptions - these are Pluto/Charon, Eris, Ceres and a fairly large number of different asteroids (for example, asteroids of the group of centaurs, Damocloids, etc....). All of them have a sufficient orbital inclination to periodically go beyond the ecliptic constellations (but not symbolic zodiac signs!).

For example, the double system Pluto/Charon never visits the constellations Aries and Pisces, and actually ignores the constellation Scorpio (a very insignificant location for it in time), but in addition to the other 10 constellations of the ecliptic, it “taxies” FOR and passes through the constellations: Cetus, Orion, Coma Speedwell, Northern Crown (very slightly), Bootes (very slightly). That is, a total of 16 congresses.

Example: 1970 The yellow line is the ecliptic, the red line is the path of Pluto/Charon. It is clear that Pluto/Charon does not move along the path of the ecliptic, because its orbit has a large inclination. At the same time, his “path” shifts and for this time he falls out of the zone of the ecliptic constellations and is located in the constellation “Coma Berenices”.

The orbit of Uranus, for example, has a slight inclination and it always moves strictly along the ecliptic without falling outside the zone of the ecliptic constellations.

Examples of intersection of the ecliptic by the following objects:
1. Pluto/Charon: Gemini 104 gr. - Sagittarius 285 gr.
2. Eris: Aries 290 gr. - Virgo 212 gr.
3. Ceres: Gemini 92 gr. - Sagittarius 272 gr.
4. Orcus/Vanf: Taurus 79 gr. - Sagittarius 259 gr.

Traditionally, the width of the zodiacal belt is considered to be conditionally equal to 9° on both sides of the ecliptic. That is, any astronomical object with an inclination of more than9°, on a certain path it will fall out of the zone of ecliptical constellations.

On the picture: zodiacal astrological a circle of 12 zodiac signs, each 30 degrees (in this case, tropical, indicated in green) andastronomical a circle of 13 constellations with different lengths (indicated in pink). The arrow indicates precessional movement. It can be seen that the point of the vernal equinox today is shifted and is not withinconstellationsAries, and already in the constellation Pisces. There was a time, about 2000 years ago, when the Sun at the vernal equinox pointed to the boundary between the constellations Aries and Pisces; that is, at the point of the vernal equinox of that time, the Earth, the Sun and the border between the constellations Aries and Pisces formed a straight line. Then it so happened that the sign of Aries (30 degrees of longitude after the spring equinox) and the constellation Aries coincided - that is, there was no confusion between the zodiac signs and constellations. Butin subsequent centuries due toprecession (read below) the stars and constellations drifted along a grid of signs tied to the ecliptic, so that currently most astronomical zodiac constellations are projected onto the subsequent zodiac sign.
At present, the day of the vernal equinox falls on March 20, i.e. it falls on the day the countdown begins symbolic Aries sign - 0 gr.

The astronomical circle (row) of constellations is also called astronomical zodiac (not to be confused with the sidereal zodiac).

If for the tropical zodiac the starting point (0* Aries) coincides with the apparent position of the Sun on the first day of astronomical spring, that is, with vernal equinox point., then for sidereal, which is used in Vedic astrology, the reference point (0* Aries) is fixed, since it is tied to fixed star Spica. The signs of the sidereal zodiac partly correspond to the astronomical constellations of the same name, partly because the constellation Ophiuchus is not used (as in the tropical one). Thus, the precessional movement of the reference point of the tropical zodiac leads to the fact that the entire tropical zodiac seems to “move” very slowly against the background fixed sidereal zodiac signs. Therefore, the tropical zodiac is also called “moving” or abstract, symbolic, while the sidereal zodiac takes into account precession and is based on the position of the Earth relative to the stars. But the tropical zodiac does not take into account precession and is based on the position of the Earth relative to the Sun, that is, on the change of seasons.

The picture already shows a comparison of the astronomical, sidereal (external) and tropical (internal) zodiac:

The sun in the ecliptic constellations and zodiac signs.

Ecliptical coordinates of constellation boundaries:

The ecliptic (in yellow), the 13 constellations of the ecliptic and some adjacent inner and outer constellations.

Ecliptic(from lat. (linea)ecliptica, from ancient Greek. ἔθιεηςηο - eclipse), great circlecelestial sphere(read below), along which the apparent annual movement of the Sun occurs (the apparent path of the Sun). The ecliptic passes through the zodiac constellations and the constellation Ophiuchus.

The ecliptic is of fundamental importance in astrology; most schools of this occult discipline include the interpretation of the positions of celestial bodies in the signs of the zodiac, that is, they consider their positions specifically on the ecliptic. Also important for most schools of astrology, the angular distances between luminaries in the vast majority of cases are determined in astrology taking into account only their ecliptic longitude, and in this sense Aspects are “resonances” not so much between the real positions of the luminaries on the celestial sphere, but actually between their ecliptic projections, that is between points of the ecliptic– their ecliptic longitudes.

Celestial sphere- an imaginary sphere of arbitrary radius onto which celestial bodies are projected: used to solve various astrometric problems. The eye of the observer is taken as the center of the celestial sphere; in this case, the observer can be located both on the surface of the Earth and at other points in space (for example, he can be referred to the center of the Earth). For a terrestrial observer, the rotation of the celestial sphere reproduces the daily movement of the luminaries in the sky.

The idea of ​​the celestial sphere arose in ancient times; it was based on the visual impression of the existence of a domed vault of heaven. This impression is due to the fact that, as a result of the enormous distance of the celestial bodies, the human eye is not able to appreciate the differences in the distances to them, and they appear equally distant. Among ancient peoples, this was associated with the presence of a real sphere that bounded the entire world and carried numerous stars on its surface. Thus, in their view, the celestial sphere was the most important element of the Universe. With the development of scientific knowledge, this view of the celestial sphere disappeared. However, the geometry of the celestial sphere, laid down in ancient times, as a result of development and improvement, received a modern form, in which it is used in astrometry. axis mundi- an imaginary line passing through the center of the world, around which the celestial sphere rotates. The axis of the world intersects with the surface of the celestial sphere at two points - north pole of the world And south pole of the world. The rotation of the celestial sphere occurs counterclockwise around the north pole when looking at the celestial sphere from the inside.

Celestial equator— ba large circle of the celestial sphere, the plane of which is perpendicular to the axis of the world. The celestial equator divides the celestial sphere into two hemispheres:northern And southern.

The two points at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator are called the equinox points. IN vernal equinox The sun in its annual movement moves from the southern hemisphere of the celestial sphere to the northern; V autumnal equinox- from the northern hemisphere to the southern. Two points of the ecliptic, separated from the equinox points by 90° and thereby maximally distant from the celestial equator, are called solstice points. Summer solstice point is located in the northern hemisphere, winter solstice point- in the southern hemisphere. These four points are designated by zodiac symbols corresponding to the constellations in which they were located at the time of Hipparchus: the spring equinox - the sign of Aries (♈), the autumn equinox - the sign of Libra (♎), the winter solstice - the sign of Capricorn (♑), the summer solstice - the sign of Cancer (♋)

Ecliptic axis- the diameter of the celestial sphere, perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic. The axis of the ecliptic intersects with the surface of the celestial sphere at two points - north pole of the ecliptic, lying in the northern hemisphere, and south pole of the ecliptic, lying in the southern hemisphere.

As a result anticipation of the equinoxes - processions(read below) these points have shifted and are now located in other constellations.

*

We become aware of the path of the Sun's apparent annual movement in the sky by observing the various stars that appear on the horizon week after week before sunrise and after sunset. In other words, you can trace the annual path of the Sun against the background of “fixed” stars, accepting with your mind the fixedness of the situation (that is, neglecting the small displacement values ​​of individual stars in outer space). However, the line of intersection of the equator and the ecliptic moves very slowly. It follows from this that the Sun overtakes this line as it moves along the ecliptic. The position of this line at a certain point in the year (“equinox point”) shifts relative to the fixed stars from year to year. The change in position is slow, a little over 50 seconds per year, or one degree over a 72-year period (a little less). Thus, the equinoxes return to the same point on the ecliptic, and (theoretically, at least) to the same star, after approximately 25,868 years have passed. We divide the entire period by 12, and we get the duration of any of the twelve precessional eras. Without a doubt, we are now at the very end of the Age of Pisces, and since the movement of the equinoxes is “retrograde” (that is, in the opposite direction to the movement of the Sun and Moon), the next period will be the Age of Aquarius.

To describe the spiral movement of the north pole, we have to talk about the polar stars, since if we want to clearly imagine the movement, it must be correlated with some relatively stationary point in the sky. Stars do move, but their motion is so slow that for rough practical purposes we give them the name "fixed stars." Planets, in contrast, move across the sky very quickly; so much so that primitive man, looking at the evening celestial performance, called them “wandering stars.” For the same reason, when trying to establish and measure the slow movement of the equinoxes, it is necessary to correlate the changes with the visible "fixed" reference system.

This means that in our time, when the Sun has a longitude of 0° (that is, it crosses the astronomical equator from south to north, and the sunset point will now begin to move to the northwest), it is not aligned with the same “fixed star”, with which coincided during the spring equinox two thousand years ago. For this reason, we say that the Sun moves retrograde from one group of stars (that is, a constellation) to the next group of stars. Sometimes (unfortunately) they express it this way: the Sun is entering, or will soon enter, the constellation Aquarius - while “entering” this constellation Not The sun is the point of the vernal equinox. That is why it is stated that we exist “next to” the beginning of the “Age of Aquarius”.

Anticipation of the equinoxes(lat. praecessio aequinoctiorum)- a historical name for the gradual shift of the points of the spring and autumn equinoxes (that is, the points of intersection of the celestial equator with the ecliptic) towards the apparent annual movement of the Sun. In other words, each year the spring equinox occurs a little earlier than the previous year.

The main reason for the anticipation of the equinoxes is precession, a periodic change in direction, (displacement) of the earth's axis under the influence of the attraction of the Moon, and also (to a lesser extent) the Sun.

The Earth is like a giant top, under the influence of the gravity of the Sun and Moon, it makes a slow circular rotation. The Moon and the Sun, by their attraction, tend to rotate the Earth's axis, resulting in the phenomenon of precession.

The projection of the earth's axis, as it were, outlines a giant circle in the North of the celestial sphere, covering the constellations Draco and Ursa Minor. At the edge of the circle are Vega, Alpha Draconis and Polaris. This movement of the earth's axis along a circular line, a kind of swaying of the axis of rotation, is called precession.

The rotation of our planet's axis has various consequences. First of all, it shortens the length of the tropical year, which becomes 20 minutes shorter than the sidereal year.

“Tropical year” is the time interval between two successive passages of the Sun through the vernal equinox; it is equal to 365.2422 days. This year is the basis of the calendar. “Stellar year” is the period of revolution of the Earth around the Sun relative to the stars, or the period of time during which the Sun returns to the same point in the sky relative to the stars. A “sidereal year” is equal to 365.2564 average solar days, i.e. 20 minutes longer than the normal "tropical year".

During the process of precession, the appearance of the starry sky, visible at certain latitudes, changes, as the declinations of certain constellations, and even the time of year of their observation, change.

Some constellations, now visible in the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere of the Earth (for example, Orion and Canis Major), gradually sink below the horizon and in a few thousand years will be almost inaccessible from the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere, but the constellations Centaurus and the Southern Cross will appear in the northern sky, and also a number of others.

Observe precession simple enough. You need to launch the top and wait until it starts to slow down. Initially, the axis of rotation of the top is vertical. Then its top point gradually lowers and moves in a diverging spiral. In more detail:

You can get the effect of precession without waiting for the rotation of the top to slow down: push its axis (apply force) and precession will begin. Another effect shown in the illustration below is directly related to precession - this is nutation - oscillatory movements of the axis of a precessing body. The speed of precession and the amplitude of nutation are related to the speed of rotation of the body (by changing the parameters of precession and nutation, if it is possible to apply force to the axis of a rotating body, you can change the speed of its rotation). A similar movement is performed by the axis of rotation of the Earth, which was noted by Hipparchus as anticipation of the equinoxes. According to modern data, the full cycle of earthly precession, as already mentioned, is about 25,765 years.

Oscillation of the Earth's rotation axis entails a change in the position of the stars relative to the equatorial coordinate system. In particular, after some time, Polaris will cease to be the bright star closest to the Earth's north pole, and Turais will become the South Polaris around 8100 AD. e.

Presumably, periodic changes in the Earth's climate are associated with precession.

Most scientists believe that the Sumerians’ identification of the constellation Taurus as the first constellation in the zodiac series testifies to the antiquity of the Zodiac. The ancients (including the Sumerians) considered the spring equinox to be the beginning of the year, and the 30-degree celestial segment in which the Sun was located at that moment was the first in a series of zodiac signs. During the heyday of the Sumerian civilization and the emergence of astrology (IV-V millennium BC), the point of the vernal equinox was in Taurus, which served as the basis for identifying this zodiac sign as the reference point in the annual movement of the Sun along the ecliptic. The summer solstice at this time occurred under the sign of Leo, which was endowed with bright solar qualities due to the highest position of the sun during the year in this zodiac sign. A researcher of Sumerian culture, Hartner drew attention to the motif of a bull fighting a lion, often repeated since ancient times in Sumerian drawings, and hypothesized that it is a reflection of the relative position of the constellations Taurus and Leo, marked by the spring equinox and summer solstice in 4000 BC.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight lions and bulls.

But the point of the vernal equinox does not have a stationary position on the ecliptic; it slowly shifts in the direction opposite to the daily rotation of the celestial sphere. In addition to the rotation of the Earth around its own axis, our planet, under the influence of the joint influence of the Sun and the Moon, performs oscillatory precessional and nutational movements, similar to the movements of a top, the axis of rotation of which is tilted relative to the horizontal plane. Due to the precession of the earth's axis, the equinox and solstices moved year after year in the direction opposite to the direction of the earth's rotation at a rate of fifty seconds per year, or 1 degree of celestial arc in 72 years, that is, one complete zodiac sign in 2160 years."

1 The phenomenon of precession is the result of the vibration of the Earth's axis, which connects the Earth's poles and describes a large circle in the sky. The time it takes the earth's axis to complete a full circle of 360 degrees is 25,920 years. So many years must pass before the North Pole again points to the same Polar Star.

In 2003, the point of the vernal equinox moved to the sign of Aquarius, and therefore, along with it, the beginning of the zodiac circle should move to the sign of Aquarius. But nevertheless, this did not happen - the “Sumerian” order of astrological signs and the system of abodes and exaltations of the planets remained unshakable. The Sun still has its abode in the sign of Leo, although the summer solstice now falls not in the sign of Leo, but in the 30th degree of Taurus. The Moon, which influences plant growth, still has its exaltation in Taurus, although during the spring flowering period these days the Sun moves not through the constellation Taurus, but through the constellation Pisces.

projection onto the constellations of rotation of the precessional axis

Time passes, the equinoxes move along the ecliptic, the zodiac signs no longer coincide with the zodiac constellations to which they were once “attached,” but astrological patterns, nevertheless, still remain very relevant. People born under the sign of Leo still stand out from those around them with their brightness and regal manners, typical Pisces still prefer the illusory world of fantasies and dreams to objective reality, and Taurus still tries to create a solid material foundation for the realization of their very specific goals. What is the secret of such a strange discrepancy between the immutable astrological system of signs, houses, abodes, etc. real movement of the precession point from sign to sign? After all, astrological patterns objectively manifest themselves regardless of whether we know about them or not. How can this happen if the zodiac constellations corresponding to the astrological signs have long since moved away from their original places?

There can only be one answer - in astrology are primary not at all constellations crossed by planets in their movement along the ecliptic, but luminaries- The Sun, dividing the year into four seasons by the equinoxes and solstices, and the Moon, dividing the year into 12 months. The zodiac signs, reflecting the division of the solar year into 12 lunar months, exactly corresponded to the zodiacal constellations only in the times of Ancient Sumer. The Sumerians used the celestial sphere only as a scale for marking the year into 4 seasons of 3 months each. Those stars that fell into the 30-degree segments of the celestial arc marked by the Moon and the Sun were united into zodiacal constellations. For groups of stars coinciding with sunrises during 12 different months, ancient astronomers assigned astrological names: Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo and that which have remained with them to this day.

As a result, confusion arose: from the beginning of astrology to the present, the zodiacal constellations have shifted along the ecliptic by almost 90 degrees, the vernal equinox point has moved to the sign of Aquarius, while the beginning of the Zodiac corresponds to the picture of the 1st century BC, when the vernal equinox point was in sign of Aries. With all this, the system of rulers of the zodiac signs remained the same as in the times of Ancient Sumer, when the point of the vernal equinox, the beginning of the year and the zodiac circle fell on the sign of Taurus. Such a discrepancy between astrological constructions and the real movement of the heavens was the result of a number of errors, each of which was due to objective historical circumstances.

In the era of Pisces - the era of Christianity, astrology, condemned by the church, was in a “frozen” state, which led to the fact that the vernal equinox along with the zodiacal constellations moved forward, and the sequence of astrological signs with the beginning of the zodiac circle in Aries still corresponded to the level of development of astrology Hellenistic times. However, it appears that the initial mistake was made much earlier.

Most likely, the Akkadians misunderstood the essence of the zodiac astrology of the Sumerians. The inhabitants of Akkad, having conquered the more advanced Sumerians in the 22nd century BC, adopted the writing, mathematics and astrological science of the Sumerians, but, unfortunately, took it literally. They correlated astrological signs with the zodiacal constellations, which, in principle, could not be done, since the signs should be strictly linked to the solstices and equinoxes, and not at all to the areas of the celestial sphere along which the Sun moves throughout the year. Astrological signs and zodiacal constellations could be identified only if the celestial sphere were unshakable and did not undergo precessional movement.

Even the Sumerians knew about the phenomenon of precession (the anticipation of the equinoxes), but during the heyday of their civilization, the zodiacal constellations exactly corresponded to the zodiacal signs. The successors of the Sumerians - the Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians and Hellenes - developed astrological science, supplementing basic Sumerian astronomy with new discoveries. One of these “innovations” was Hipparchus’s discovery of the phenomenon of precession, which was known to the Sumerians 3,000 years earlier. By the time of Hipparchus, much ancient knowledge had been lost, including knowledge of such a phenomenon as the anticipation of the equinoxes. But during the times of Assyria and Babylon, astrologers carried out a correction of the zodiac circle, moving the beginning of the Zodiac from the sign of Taurus to the sign of Aries. The astrologers could only be prompted to such a reform by the fact of the transition of the vernal equinox point from the zodiac sign of Taurus to the sign of Aries, and therefore, they knew about the precessional movement planets.

The Sumerians' deep knowledge of the movement of the Earth and the stars is confirmed by many modern researchers. “Professor Langdon’s research has shown that the Nippur calendar, compiled approximately 4400 BC, that is, in the era of Taurus, speaks of awareness of the phenomenon of precession in general and of the displacement of the zodiacal houses in particular, which took place 2160 years earlier than the indicated time. Professor Jeremias, who correlated the Mesopotamian texts on astronomy with similar Hittite texts, was of the opinion that the ancient clay tablets contained information about the transition from the constellation Taurus to the constellation Aries, and also came to the conclusion that Mesopotamian astronomers predicted and expected the movement of the Sun from the house of Aries to the house of Pisces” Sitchin Z. 12th planet. M, 2002".

Apparently, the Sumerians knew about the phenomenon of precession long before the second discovery of this phenomenon by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus. However, they, who created a surprisingly harmonious system of the zodiacal hierarchy, knew that precession influences events of an epochal nature, while for human life the solar cycle of 12 zodiac signs, divided into 4 groups by the points of solstices and equinoxes, dividing the year by 4, is much more important seasons of 3 months each. Each zodiac sign is associated with one or another lunar month, successively replacing each other 12 times throughout the year. Even the mythological images of the zodiac signs are associated with the calendar cycles of sowing, plowing, harvesting, the rainy season, and so on. If the zodiacal circle shifted along the ecliptic adequately to precession, then now we would have to recognize the zodiac sign of Aquarius as the first sign, and the entire system of planetary abodes would have to shift along the ecliptic by 90 degrees. In this case, from February 2003, the sign of the abode of the Sun should be considered Taurus, the sign of the abode of the Moon - Aries, and so on to the point of complete absurdity. Of course, this should not happen, since the entire system of astrological patterns becomes conventional and loses all meaning.

The zodiac is adapted for the geocentric system, for people living on Earth, and therefore more acutely aware of the changing phases of the Moon and seasons of the year than the transition of the vernal equinox from one zodiac sign to another due to the phenomenon of precession of the earth's axis. Therefore, let us establish once and for all the most important astrological position: the Zodiac and the constellations along which the Sun moves throughout the year are not the same thing. Constellations shift along the ecliptic at a speed of 1 degree of the celestial arc in 72 earthly years. The Zodiac is unshakable, because it embodies the cosmic law of proportionality between the annual solar and monthly lunar cycles.

The influence of the Sun and Moon dominates all other cosmic influences, and this was perfectly understood by the ancient astronomers who created the universal system of the zodiacal hierarchy. The zodiac circle is based on 4 pivot points of the solar and lunar path along the celestial sphere. These points and their corresponding zodiac signs symbolize the 4 hypostases of the sun and the 4 hypostases of the moon. The sun in the monastery symbolizes the greatness of the Sun at the time of the summer solstice, the winter solstice shows the qualities of the expelled Sun, the lack of its life-giving energy in the winter months. The spring and autumn equinoxes correspond to the exaltation and fall of the Sun, reborn in the spring and “dying” in the fall. The four zodiac signs in which the Moon exhibits special qualities correspond to the four phases of the Moon during the month. The expulsion of the Moon is nothing more than the new moon, the abode of the Moon - the manifestation of the maximum lunar qualities at the moment of the full moon, the exaltation and fall of the night luminary correspond to the growing and aging Moon, mythologically associated with the images of Selene and Lilith.

The signs of the selected position of the Sun and Moon form an unshakable framework of the zodiacal circle, on which the entire edifice of planetary abodes, exiles, exaltations and falls is built. Zodiac signs under the patronage of the Sun and Moon have only one ruler, which sets them apart from other signs, each of which is ruled by two planets.

The Sun and Moon form a pair of luminaries, symbolizing the cosmic harmony of the masculine and feminine principles. That is why the signs of the monastery, exile, fall and exaltation of the Sun are in immediate proximity to the signs of the monastery, exile, fall and exaltation of the Moon. A lion symbolizing the power of the Sun at the moment
solstice, adjacent to the sign of Cancer, which embodies the qualities of the full moon. Capricorn, in which the exiled Moon exhibits the qualities of the new moon, is adjacent to Aquarius, in which the Sun is in exile at the time of the winter solstice. The founders of the zodiac circle adhered to this logic 6000 years ago.

Over time, such astrological views have not become less relevant. The Sun and Moon have a much greater influence on the Earth's biosphere than other planets, and even more so distant stars, which makes clear the priority of the Sun and Moon in the astrological system compared to all other celestial bodies. The Moon's diameter is 400 times smaller than the Sun's, but the fact that it is 400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun makes its apparent angular diameter almost equal to the Sun's diameter, making total solar eclipses possible. The equivalence of the visible angular diameters of the day and night luminaries served as the reason for ancient astrologers to give the Sun and Moon equal status in the zodiacal circle.

The zodiac circle is a sequence of signs expressing the idea of ​​evolution and formation of the cosmos. The belonging of zodiac signs to one or another element is due to a strict pattern, which involves dividing the zodiac circle not only into elements, but also into zones, quadrants, hemispheres and crosses. The twelve-part Zodiac can be divided into several prime numbers, as a result of which zodiac crosses, zones, elements, etc. arise. The prime numbers into which 12 is divisible without a remainder are 2, 3, 4 and 6, but since these numbers have different occult and mystical meanings, the division of the zodiac circle into 2 hemispheres, 3 zones, 4 quadrants, 4 crosses and 6 dyads, allows you to look at the “circle of life” (zodiacos) from different angles.

The refraction of the zodiac circle into 2 equal parts (northern and southern hemispheres) is the primary of the possible divisions of the Zodiac, since it expresses the original duality - the equal size of day and night during the day and the equal size of the warm and cold seasons. Two is the number of primary duality, the presence of opposites, and therefore any even number (divisible equally without a remainder) is dual, ambivalent by definition. Each even number, and therefore the 12-digit zodiac circle, contains two necessary opposites: male and female, light and dark, obvious and secret sides. The annual circle of 12 months is divided by the spring and autumn equinox into two halves - warm and cold, which is due to the tilt of the earth's axis relative to the ecliptic. A decrease in the tilt of the planet's axis would lead to a noticeable reduction in seasonal climate changes and the elimination of climatic differences between the Southern and Northern hemispheres of the Earth. An increase in the angle of inclination of the planet relative to the ecliptic plane, on the contrary, would lead to a pronounced temperature and climatic contrast between the hemispheres of the planet. An example of this is Uranus, which moves in orbit almost lying on its side, resulting in eternal day in the hemisphere facing the Sun, while eternal cold and darkness reigns beyond the equator of the planet.

Earthlings are spared such a pronounced polarity of climatic conditions, but nevertheless, in terrestrial conditions, the contrast between the cold and warm seasons is felt the more acutely, the closer the observer is to the pole of the planet. Beyond the Arctic Circle, time flows according to different laws, and the daily rhythm of day and night takes on the scale of the annual rhythm of changing seasons. The polar night, which lasts six months, replaces the equally long polar day. In the Arctic, the struggle between light and darkness, day and night, summer and winter, life and death becomes the main idea of ​​nature. The life of people living in the polar regions is completely subordinated to the natural rhythm of the dark and light seasons, which could not but affect the psychology, mythology and religious views of the northern peoples. According to the Iranian Avesta and Indian Rig Veda, the oldest written monuments of the Indo-Europeans, the ancestors of the Aryans came from the distant North, from where they brought the doctrine of the struggle between light and darkness, as well as the cult of the Sun - the giver of life, light and warmth. Lunar cults are the product of the southern peoples, for whom the coolness of the night and the soft light of the Moon seemed more valuable than the sizzling heat of the southern sun. The difference in climatic conditions of residence of individual ethnic groups led to the formation of different psychotypes, national cultures, mythological and religious ideas.

Most researchers agree that the ancestral home of the Aryans could have been the Arctic in the distant times of the Halouene optimum, when the life of people, animals and plants in the extreme northern latitudes was possible. For residents of the North, winter and night are identical, inextricably linked concepts, which cannot be said about residents of more southern latitudes. Near the equator, there are no seasonal changes in nature at all, and the biological tuning fork of living organisms is tuned only to the daily rhythm. If the pole is the focus of opposites, the concept of the eternal struggle between light and darkness, then in the equatorial regions of the planet all opposites are erased, the balance of night and day is established with absolute climatic constancy and the absence of seasons.

Everything is much more complicated in the middle latitudes, where the length of daylight directly depends on the time of year, and the main rhythm of nature is not an annual one, as at the pole, and not a daily one, as at the equator, but a monthly cycle, which is of enormous importance for agricultural crops. The poles and equatorial regions of the planet are completely subject to the solar rhythm, with the only difference being that the equatorial day marks the revolution of the Earth around its axis, and the polar day, equal to a year, marks the revolution of the Earth around the Sun. In both cases, nature is characterized by constancy: at the equator, during the year, “Groundhog days” replace each other 365 times, no different from each other, while at the poles, endless polar days and nights last for six months. And only in the middle latitudes does the nature of the earth manifest itself in maximum diversity, due not only to the change of day and night, but also to the change of seasons. For residents of mid-latitudes, the lunar-solar calendar is very relevant, combining in its structure the rhythms of the day and night luminaries. New moons occurring every 30 days (the synodic month) gave rise to the division of the year into smaller periods of time, reflecting the different stages of the vegetative annual cycle. The years marked by the coincidence of new moons and the spring equinox were considered supporting, “basic”, since it was in these years that the solar and lunar months arrived simultaneously, which symbolized the heavenly harmony and beauty of the established world order.

For elementary orientation in time, it is enough for a person to know three time indicators: day, month and year, associated with the movement of the Earth around its axis, as well as with the movement of the Moon around the Earth and the Earth around the Sun. The annual macrocycle has a solar nature, the monthly one has a lunar nature, and the daily microcycle of day and night has an earthly nature and is associated only with the speed of rotation of the Earth around its axis. Each of the three time cycles (annual, monthly and daily) is divided into four parts. The day is divided into 4 times of day: morning, afternoon, evening and night. The year is divided into 4 seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The month is divided into 4 phases of the moon, which became the prototypes for dividing the month into 4 seven-day weeks (the word “week” emphasizes the indivisibility and integrity of the sacred number 7, since any numbers ending in 7 are not divisible by any divisors other than 1). Thus, there are 3 main time cycles, but each is divided into 4 components, which together amount to 12 forms of time: 4 times of day, 4 seasons of the year and 4 weeks of the month, symbolically associated with the four phases of the night star.

The three zodiac zones include 4 signs each, which makes up a complete set of primary cosmic elements, consisting of fire, earth, air and water. The division of the Zodiac into zones occurs between the signs of fire and water - elements that are mutually exclusive. Each zodiacal zone - a section of the ecliptic at 120 degrees - represents a model of the evolution of cosmic matter. The first sign of each Zodiac zone is associated with the cosmic element of fire, which corresponds to the idea of ​​​​the primacy of the fiery principle.

According to the concept of the origin of the Solar System, well-established in the scientific world, the Sun was the first to arise in the center of the gas-dust nebula - a fiery star, a source of heat and light. Further, grains of solid matter rotating around the center of the gas and dust cloud were grouped into protoplanes (tel. planetesimals), from which solid terrestrial planets with a rocky core subsequently emerged: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. This second stage of the genesis of the solar system fully correlates with the element of earth, with which Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are associated - the second signs in the zodiac zones. Further in the zodiacal zones follow the signs of the air element, and in the solar system behind the solid “terrestrial” planets are the gaseous giant planets Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus, formed from gas - a light substance, and therefore displaced further from the Sun compared to the terrestrial planets. Closer to the periphery of the Solar system there are “water” planets: Neptune, Pluto, Proserpina, which are spherical clumps of frozen liquid. An ammonia ocean moves under the icy surface of Neptune, while Pluto receives so little solar heat that almost all the liquid on it has turned into ice. Nevertheless, the distant planets can be quite reasonably correlated with the water signs of the Zodiac, which close the evolutionary sequence of the elements in each zodiacal zone.

Thus, it can be established that the sequence of the four elements in the zodiacal circle (fire, earth, air, water) is due to the evolution of the solar system, and not to any other process, since gradation according to the density of matter would give a completely different picture. The four states of matter, depending on its density: plasma, gaseous, liquid and solid, exactly correspond to the four alchemical elements: fire, air, water and earth. However, in the zodiacal model we observe a different sequence, from which we can conclude that the Zodiac is a more complex structure, built not on the involutionary principle of the transition of energy into the state of matter with a further increase in its density, but on the evolutionary principle of the formation of the Solar system and the origin of life in it .

Life is symbolized by the element of wood - the fifth element, which is the quintessence of the four elements. The system of Chinese medicine is based on the doctrine of the five elements, which, in addition to the usual zodiac elements, also includes the element of wood, which is an integral part of the Chinese universe. The fifth element of Greek astrology was considered ether - a subtle substance that permeates the entire Universe and connects it into a single whole. At the material level, the ether corresponded to the element of wood, as Plutarch popularly expressed in his work “On the “E” at Delphi.” A tree is a carrier of life, embodying the principle of evolutionary growth and connection of the lower, middle and upper worlds. It is no coincidence that in almost all traditions there is an image of the World Tree, which is the axis on which the entire Universe is based. Therefore, not to include the “fifth element” in the Zodiac would mean leaving it as a lifeless model of the aimless development of the cosmos, because the true goal of the evolutionary cosmic process is the development of life, and it is the World Tree that is the main carrier of vital energy. Plants arose before living organisms and subsequently became the basis of the diet for more highly organized forms of life. It is no coincidence that the tree has become a symbol of eternal life.

The evolution of nature and the emergence of life is reflected in the sequence of the five elements that make up the integrity of the Universe in the understanding of the ancient Chinese. The Chinese pentagram evolves from fire to earth, from earth to metal (corresponding to the element of air in the European tradition), from metal-air to water, from water to wood. As you can see, the sequence is the same as in the zodiac circle, with the only difference being that a fifth element has been added to the circle of life - the element of wood. This diagram accurately reflects the sequence of processes that led to the formation of life on planet Earth. First, the Sun (fire) is born in the chaos of a gas and dust cloud, then a material planet (the element of earth) is molded from solid particles. Next, the Earth - Gaia gives birth to the sky - Uranus (the element of air), i.e. Geological and volcanic activity of the planet leads to the formation of an atmosphere. The next element in the evolutionary sequence of elements is water, born from the air. Water vapor in the earth's atmosphere, cooling, condensed into water that fell to the ground in the form of rain. And water, as we know, became the medium in which life originated, symbolically represented in the five-ray evolutionary model by the element of wood

Why do the equinoxes fall on different dates from year to year?

The interval between two equinoxes of the same name is called the tropical year, which is used to measure time. Our normal everyday calendar contains an equal number of days - 365 days. A tropical year has approximately 365.2422 solar days, so the equinox occurs at different times of the day, moving forward by almost 6 hours each year. Over the course of four years, the date of the equinox shifts by almost a day and, if not for the intercalary day of a leap year (February 29), the moment of the equinox would continue to float further along the calendar. To compensate for this shift, the concept of a leap year was introduced, which returns the equinox to the previous date of the year. We also do not forget that the date of the equinox may differ due to differences in time zones.

Dates and times of the autumn equinoxes in 2012-2018 (Universal Time UTC-0)

2012 22 14:49
2013 22 20:44
2014 23 02:29
2015 23 08:20
2016 22 14:21
2017 22 20:02
2018 23 01:54

According to the folk calendar, golden autumn begins on this day, which will last until October 14. On the day of the autumnal equinox, the second half of Indian summer begins and, according to popular belief, what the weather will be like on this day, so will autumn be. Other folk signs say: the drier and warmer September is, the better the autumn will be, the later the real winter will come.

Painting by V.D. Polenov "Golden Autumn"

In Rus' The day of the autumn equinox was considered a holiday and was always celebrated with pies with cabbage, lingonberries and meat, as well as folk festivities. On this day, rowan tassels along with leaves were inserted in the evening between the window frames, believing that from that day on, when the sun began to weaken, the rowan tree would protect the house from the forces of darkness.

In Japan The autumn equinox is considered an official holiday and has been celebrated since 1878. On the day of the autumn equinox, the Japanese perform the rituals of the Buddhist holiday Higan, which go back to the depths of history, families go to bow to the graves of their ancestors, order prayers and provide the necessary ritual honors

In Mexico On the day of the autumn equinox, many try to visit the famous pyramid of Kukulkan (in the Mayan language - “feathered serpent”) in the ancient city of Chichen Itza. The pyramid is oriented in relation to the Sun in such a way that it is on the days of the spring and autumn equinox that the rays project the shadows of the platforms onto the edge of the main staircase in the form of alternating triangles of light and shadow, reminiscent of the contours of a snake.