Feet of Clay?: You can read elsewhere on the internet that the problem of Ophiuchus was invented by the Royal Astronomical Society several years ago to bedevil we astrologers. Alas, if it were that simple! The problem of Ophiuchus is very old: at least nineteen hundred years old, if not more. It dates back to at least the time of Claudius Ptolemy, the Classical father of astrology [c 130 - 170 AD].
Ptolemy produced two great works, Al Magest, which charted the heavens, and Tetrabiblos, the seminal work of astrology - a compendium of essentially all the astrological knowledge of the Ancient Greeks. Al Magest contains the earliest Star Catalogue that we still possess.
In Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy treats Ophiuchus as a non-zodiac constellation; he follows the simple, inherited tradition of the twelve part, equal-sign zodiac. However, in Al Magest, Ptolemy actually charts Ophiuchus in the heavens. He looks at the reality of the stars above. He catalogues 29 stars in the constellation. 24 of these he measures to have a latitude above the Ecliptic. But 5 of these he observes have a latitude below the Ecliptic. In other words the figure of Ophiuchus crosses the Ecliptic [the path of the Sun] making it by definition a Sun Sign. The five stars which lie south of the Ecliptic are:
Ptolemy's Al Magest Star Catalogue c 130 - 170 AD:
Modern Star Name Number Ptolemy's Description Location Ecliptic Latitude*
36 Ophiuchi star 247 Praecedens de quatuor quae sunt in pede dextro Ophiuchus' right foot -02 15'
42 Theta Ophiuchi star 248 Quae istam sequitur Ophiuchus' right foot -01 30'
44 Ophiuchi star 249 Quae adhuc istam sequitur Ophiuchus' right foot -00 20'
51 Ophiuchi star 250 Reliqua de quatuor quae omnes sequitur Ophiuchus' right foot -00 15'
5 Rho Ophiuchi star 257 Quae tangit plantam sinistri pedis Ophiuchus' left foot -00 45'
*The negative sign indicates that these stars have a position below the Ecliptic. Ecliptic latitudes taken from the on-line version of Al Magest held at: cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cats/Cats.htx.
