The mystery of the Zodiac Man
"The small after the manner of the great and the great after the manner of the small.”
The “Zodiac Man” is a depiction of astrological signs of the Zodiac corresponding with parts of the human body.
There is a universality of these depictions across cultures and time.
The earliest known origin is an undated ancient cuneiform Zodiac Man description. Depictions seem to have existed for thousands of years.
“In a word, all things were arranged in a body, in a fashion, comfortable to itself, by fire, a copy of the whole, the small after the manner of the great and the great after the manner of the small.”
- Hippocratic treatise, 400 - 500 B.C.
Below are the Western Zodiac signs and the associated body parts:
ARIES: head, eyes, adrenals, blood pressure
TAURUS: neck, throat, shoulders, ears
GEMINI: lungs, nerves, arms, heads, fingers
CANCER: chest wall, breasts, some body fluids
LEO: heart, spine, upper back, spleen
VIRGO: abdomen, intestines, gallbladder, pancreas, liver
LIBRA: lower back, hips, kidneys, endocrines
SCORPIO: reproductive organs, pelvis, urinary bladder, rectum
SAGITTARIUS: thighs, legs
CAPRICORN: knees, bones, skin
AQUARIUS: ankles, blood vessels
PISCES: feet, some bodily fluid
In every depiction, you’ll find the same signs correspond to the same body parts every time, at least the ones representing the Western Zodiac.
Zodiac Man depictions are widely found in the medieval period, and served as medical guides to help time treatments to correspond with astrological positions.
Other versions
Versions of Zodiac Man seem to appear all over the world, even if the symbols are unique to a particular Zodiac.
The tradition of depicting Zodiac Man carried on through modern history, and surely beyond that, even. I stumbled upon one in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack from the 18th century:
Zodiac Man has been written about, wondered about, and studied throughout history, even prompting psychological analysis.
- Joe
Further reading:
The Zodiac Man (Public Domain Review)
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