Signs of the Zodiac: A Reference Guide to Historical, Mythological, and Cultural Associations

by Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Raymond Miller Barrett (Illustrator)

The zodiacal signs impact art, advertising, literature, history, mythology, psychology, health, and language with their evocative imagery, symbols and scientific and religious lore. This fact-filled reference guide pulls together applications of the zodiacal signs in those fields and others. Each sign is explicated in a separate chapter which discusses its origin and importance in diverse cultures, including its history, artistic applications, traditions, literary and religious interpretations, psychological significance, and application to notable historical and contemporary figures. An organized overview with cross-references and indexing allows the zodiac to be studied from numerous points of view. Artistic representations of each of the 12 houses accompany the text.

Introductory chapters on the origins of the zodiacal signs, the historical foundation of astrology, the zodiac in the first millennium A.D., and the zodiac in the arts and sciences provide a thorough overview and comparative examination of the influence of the zodiac in human history and thought. A detailed timeline synchronizes discoveries and development of zodiacal associations and thought around the world. Appendices list planetary correspondences in jewels, metals, herbs, color, flavor, form, shapes, food preferences, and senses, and the symptoms and pathologies associated with birth signs. The work also contains an extensive bibliography and index.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 1997

About the author

Mary Ellen Snodgrass is an American educator and writer of textbooks and general reference works.

Reviews

[Thesaria]

I'm not going to give a star rating for this book because my reaction was based on the fact that it wasn't what I was looking for or expecting.

I wanted a book that was careful with evidence while remaining at only a semi-scholarly reading level to give an overview of how zodiac signs have originated and changed with the cultures they have been passed through. Although the writing style of the book was engaging, I found it far too lax with its history and analysis. Although the author is not a historian, she holds multiple degrees and has written textbooks so I was expecting a more academic approach, but this book seems to be aimed at a New Ager digging a bit deeper, not at all for anyone looking at history or social science.

The biggest disappointment for me was how much modern symbolism was listed without any indication of sources. I didn't expect in-text citations, but when correspondences are given for zodiac signs, are they from a particular author, or are they an average that is well accepted as standard by all sorts of New Age philosophies today? That's fine, but did the author make her own judgement on what is standard by surveying a wide variety of sources, or did she take them from one widely-used source?

The author was evidently very well versed on ancient Greek and Roman mythology, history, literature and artwork which is what holds this book together as historical background, since our current conception of the zodiac is so closely related to Greek and Roman interpretations. She gave many specific examples of each sign's appearances in ancient art and literature, mainly Greek and Roman with some other examples, which I found useful. However it was not always clear whether the appearance of these animals and objects were actually connected to their zodiac symbolism.

I particularly wanted more of a story about how each symbol changed as it passed through cultures and was affected by cultural values. There was a section on the history of the zodiac itself that I particularly enjoyed, but the main part of the book was composed of entries for each sign that were more piecemeal. I suppose the level of analysis I wanted really needed to come from a historian.

The biggest peeve I had was that there were far too many vague statements about what symbols represented 'in ancient times', without any indication of when, where, or how we know this. I don't personally have the historical background to shoot holes in the facts without looking them up individually, but I have a feeling the fact-checking was less than stringent even for more specific facts (except maybe the Greek and Roman references).

Luckily I also wanted some more background on how the zodiac signs are viewed generally in New Age philosophies today, so I did read the book to the end for this information. For each sign it went into detail on the personality type associated, their strengths and weaknesses, compatibility, career, love life and health information based on esoteric correspondences to body parts, as well as a lot of bits and pieces about the constellation and symbol that are good starting points for further reading.

So I'll let this be a lesson to me - when I went looking for a totally aloof, external academic text and got suckered in by a the words 'reference guide' and a couple of Amazon reviews, I ended up with something coming from a much more internal New Ager's perspective and a totally different set of information to what I expected.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is kind of ridiculous and kind of awesome.

My favorite ridiculous line so far: Libra tempers progressivism with conventionality and humdrum bourgeois aims" (157). That combination of words! Together! In one sentence!

The awesomeness comes from information I have never read elsewhere. For example, a list of the stars in my constellation and what colors there are. Also, information about astral healing, although that broached the ridiculous again, "Gemini's health is projected to improve by supplementing the diet with potassium chloride and by drinking goat's milk and consuming compounds of licorice, tansy, vervain, yarrow, and marigold" (110).

I prefer Linda Goodman (who is also awesome+ridiculous).