- Ophiuchus (pronounced off-ee-YOO-cuss) represents a man grasping a huge snake with both hands, the head of the snake in his left hand and its tail in his right hand. The snake is represented by a separate constellation, Serpens, which is unique among the 88 constellations in being divided into two halves, the head on one side of Ophiuchus and the tail on the other. The mythologists such as Aratus and Hyginus described the snake as being coiled around the waist of Ophiuchus, and that is how it was shown on early illustrations, including Dürer’s hemisphere of 1515; but from Bayer’s chart onwards it was usually shown passing either across his body or between his legs.
passage through the ecliptic
- Star Tales - Sagittarius (ianridpath.com)
Sagittarius is depicted in the sky as a centaur, with the body and four legs of a horse but the upper torso of a man. He is shown wearing a cloak and drawing a bow, aimed in the direction of the neighbouring scorpion, Scorpius. Aratus spoke of the Archer, Τοξότης (Toxotes), and his Bow, Τόξον (Toxon), as though they were separate constellations. Most likely this is because the stars of the bow and arrow are the most distinctive part of the figure. They form the asterism that we now know as the Teapot…