Sometimes depicted in writings and drawings from ancient classical, medieval, and modern times, the Zodiac Man (Homo Signorum or "Man of Signs") represents a roughly consistent correlation of zodiacal names with body parts. The Zodiac Man appeared most frequently in calendars, devotional

Books of Hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

, and treatises on philosophy, astrology, and medicine in the medieval era. Before the emergence of scientific empiricism in the 17th century, medieval physicians looked to the skies for guidance. Having observed that the overhead moon brought high tides, they theorized the dangers of letting blood from a body part whose zodiacal sign was occupied by the moon since a tide of blood might gush out uncontrollably.

Table of correspondences

The association of body parts with zodiac signs remained relatively consistent during antiquity and into the medieval period. The "primary" associations are both the oldest and the most common.John Z. Wee, "Discovery of the Zodiac Man in Cuneiform"; ''Journal of Cuneiform Studies'' 67, 2015
JSTOR
See also
photograph of BM 56606
in Wee (2016).

Ancient origins

The concept of the Zodiac Man dates to the

Hellenistic era In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roma ...

in which the earliest exposition appears in Manilius's Astronomica (II. 453–465; IV. 701–710).C. P. Goold, Introduction to ''Manilius: Astronomcia'', Loeb Classical Library; Harvard University Press, 1977; p. xlvi. See also '' Astronomica''
Book 2
lines 2.453–465. However, a

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

tablet of unknown date gives a nearly identical list of bodily divisions that possibly but not certainly could have been created before Manilius. A Greek text (περὶ μελῶν ζωδίων - ''On the limbs of the zodiacal sign'') describing the subdivision of zodiac signs into dodecatemoria (signs within signs) suggests that Zodiac Man (or Zodiac Animal, modified slightly to suit each sign) could also be associated with the idea of this "micro-zodiac". Overall, the idea of Zodiac Man goes back thousands of years to Babylonia where the body was considered to work in tune with the heavenly bodies. The general system of zodiac signs relating to healing is thought to predate Manilius by several centuries and has been attributed to philosophers such as

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

Democritus Democritus (, ; , ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, Thrace, Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, and

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

Astrological medicine

The Zodiac Man was used in medieval medicine to determine the correct time for surgery, medication,

bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) was the deliberate withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and othe ...

, and other procedures. The foremost rule was to avoid interfering with a body part when the moon could be found in its corresponding sign. This injunction was attributed to

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and ...

: "Membrum ferro ne percutito, cum Luna signum tenuerit, quod membro illi dominatur."Clark (1979), pp. 1–2. Wherever the moon and stars are aligned with a certain

astrological sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up ecliptic, Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the Equinox (c ...

, they correlated with a body part, bodily system, or the four humors. The

four humors Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 17th ce ...

separate the body into four parts just as there are four elements. The four humors of the human body are yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood; it was believed that these all needed to be in balance in order to keep up with your health. These humors were used directly to treat illness alongside Zodiac Man and were also used to explain and simplify concepts to patients. Europe was, at the time, required by law to calculate the moon’s positioning before taking action on a patient or any kind of medical procedure. If the moon was not in its correct positioning, nothing was able to be performed because it was deemed unsafe. They used a

volvelle A volvelle or wheel chart is a type of slide chart, a paper construction with rotating parts. It is considered an early example of a paper analog computer. Volvelles have been produced to accommodate organization and calculation in many diverse ...

, a rotating calendar, to calculate the moon’s position as well as multiple

almanacs An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

which described different phases of the moon. Most of the ways that illnesses were determined and diagnosed was through the four humors, especially through blood and yellow bile, better known as urine. This was one of the main ways people were diagnosed. Many pictures of Zodiac Man solely depict the main body parts correlating with the astrological signs, but others go more in depth to then match the signs with internal bodily systems. Over time leading into the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the belief of the Zodiac Man slowly faded out due to new scientific discoveries. While physicians, scientists, and doctors may have become wearier on the diagram and

medical astrology Medical astrology or astrological medicine (traditionally known as iatromathematics) is an ancient applied branch of astrology based mostly on ''melothesia'' (Gr. μελοθεσία), the association of various parts of the body, diseases, and ...

, the people did not. The ordinary public stood by their belief of the signs the way they depicted the human body and its dependence on the moon.

Religion

The Zodiac Man is read and created off the skies and stars or most commonly labeled as the moving heavenly bodies. This suggests a clear pathway to a religious aspect in zodiacal readings. Astrology was united with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

during the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and medicine also tended to work hand in hand with the prevailing Christian customs at the time. The signs of the zodiac are considered very spiritual but of course not only associated with Christianity, they are also associated with countless other religions as well including

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Related Figures

Coppens, Christian. “‘For the Benefit of Ordinary People’: The Dutch Translation of the Fasciculus Medicinae, Antwerp 1512.” Quaerendo 39.2 (2009): 168–205. EBSCOhost. Web. 14 Sept. 2014. Besides Zodiac Man, other human figures and diagrams are also well known and were used in ancient time. There is the Vein Man, the Woman,

Wound Man The Wound Man is a surgical diagram which first appeared in European medical manuscripts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The illustration acted as an annotated table of contents to guide the reader through various injuries and diseases ...

, Disease Man, and the Skeleton. These figures are all using different models and although it is difficult to say if there is any direct relationship between all of these, they are all focused on the human body, which is a large factor in the Zodiac Man’s history. There are other figures among them as well, but these are all most similar to the Zodiac Man. There are also several different Zodiac Man adaptations made such as Dutch, German, and Venetian.

References

Sources

* Clark, Charles West. ''The Zodiac Man in Medieval Medical Astrology''. PhD dissertation accepted at University of Colorado, 1979.

External links

* Zodiac Man Exampl

*https://earlychurchhistory.org/medicine/the-zodiac-man/ {{Authority control Astrology History of anatomy