Quest Update

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Though the Zodiac is described by some as a “circle of animals”, that description is best suited for the constellations which appear, to us on Earth, as circling around the Earth’s ecliptic.  The signs of the Zodiac, according to the Greeks, are more accurately described as a dodecahedron around the Cosmos. Dion Fortune describes the creation of the Zodiac in the Sphere of Chokmah, in which a series of rays are alternately pulled out from the Center by the Ring Chaos and pushed in toward the Center by the Ring Cosmos.  After leaving the Center, traveling to the Circumference, and then returning to the Center, the Ray leaves the Center on the opposite side, travels to the Circumference, and then returns to the Center.  The motion of Ring Cosmos, Ring Chaos, and Ring-Pass-Not causes the Rays to precess, so eventually, there are six pairs of in/out loops.  (See My Metaphor for more.)

In the readings I have done, the Path of Manifestation is counter-clockwise; the Path of Initiation (or Ascension) is clockwise.  Herakles' Labors are frequently referred to as a metaphor for the Zodiac and as a Path of Initiation.  I happened across an article (The Zodiac Dodecahedron) that referenced the mathematician Paul Schatz, who mapped the constellations of the Zodiac on a 2D net that could be folded into a dodecahedron.  Since I had been unsuccessful in determining a sequence of the Zodiac constellations to correspond with the Labors, I thought I would try aligning the Labors to the signs instead.  The instructions for constructing the dodecahedron from that article were rather confusing and I searched the Internet for an alternative and found another article (Time for Provocative Mnemonic Aids to Systemic Connectivity).

This site provided a much simpler 2D net of the dodecahedron:




I printed it out, then cut, folded, and taped it to make a dodecahedron of Zodiac signs to study.  (It was much easier for me to "see" the following having a 3D version I could hold and turn.)

Compare the dodecahedron of signs to a map of the constellations:

from https://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs10s/blackhux.php


from https://www.maclab.sk/clanky/zverokruh/en-ring.png

The author of Provocative Mnemonic Aids commented,

"Curiously the signs which are opposite in the image on the left [2D map] are contiguous as coloured in the central pattern [3D dodecahedron] (when folded into the 3D form on the right). There is however one exceptional set of opposites -- coloured turquoise. Although opposite in the image on the left, they are on opposite sides of the 3D version and are therefore not contiguous."

In other words, even though Gemini and Sagittarius are opposite each other as constellations, they are adjacent to each other as signs.  If a path started at Sagittarius, then travelled to Gemini, the next constellation (precessing counter-clockwise) would be Capricorn.  (Notice that Capricorn is adjacent to Gemini on the dodecahedron.)  Opposite Capricorn is Cancer, then precess to Aquarius, then Leo, then Pisces.  But with Pisces, our opposite constellation is not an adjacent sign on the dodecahedron.  That is because Pisces immediately preceeds the Vernal Equinox, one of the Pillars of the Heavens which divides the hemispheres of the Cosmos and the seasons of the year (winter/summer).  (And note how the path on the 2D map aligns with Fortune's description of the formation of Chokmah!)

Similarly, a clockwise path is possible, traveling from constellation to opposite constellation, with the corresponding signs on the dodecahedron being contiguous.  That is, until the path reaches one of the Equinoxes.  The signs of Virgo and Pisces (which both immediately preceed the Equinoxes in the calendar year) are opposite each other on the dodecahedron.  And there is one path (traveling clockwise) and one path (traveling counter-clockwise) that touches each opposite constellation/contiguous sign in order, ending with the Equinoxes.  (And we can thank the Herakles' myth for providing an explanation why the Pillars are separated.  :-) )

Have fun finding the Paths!