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LibraStar Lore |
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| Libra is faint Zodiac constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for scales. |
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Ancient Babylon
In Babylonian star catalogues, the constellation later known as Libra
was listed as MUL.ZIB.BA.AN.NA, meaning "The Balance of Heaven." The scales were held sacred to the sun god
Šamaš, who was also the patron of truth and justice.
Gavin White explains: "The constellation of the Scales, which was formed from
the Scorpion’s Claws long ago, is held to be particularly sacred to the sun god Šamaš. In the first place, the Scales symbolize the autumn
equinox, when the watches of day and night are held to be of equal duration and the sun rises due east and sets due west. And secondly, the Scales
symbolize the idea of judicial prudence, as in the phrase "weighing up the evidence", which is particularly appropriate to the sun god as his
principle role within the Babylonian pantheon was to act as the arbitrator of truth and justice. For these reasons the Scales are thought to be the
special station of the sun in Babylonian astrology, where they are purposefully set opposite to the moon’s station in the Star Cluster (the Pleiades)."
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Over 4,000 yars, the star δ Librae, now mostly known by its Arabic name Zuben Elakribi (Claws of the Scorpion), has also preserved the name Mululizu. The name is derived from the Akkadian Mulu-izi, which was a Lunar Mansion called "Man of Fire." Sources: Wikipedia, R.H. Allen |
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Ancient Egypt
Egyptian constellations are still very controversially discussed. Gyula Priskin
suggests that in the decanal procession of strip B on the astronomical ceiling of Esna, the brightest stars of Libra,
α, β and
γ Librae were seen as a boat.
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Libra in theastronomical ceiling of Esna Source: Gyula Priskin |
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Ancient Greece
At the end of the Babylonian era, the stars of Libra became the claws of neighboring Scorpius. One reason for the transition can be the similarity of the
Babylonian zib.ba.an.na with the word zubānā, which in Arabic and other Semitic languages
means "scorpion's claws."
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Ancient Rome
Libra is perhaps Rome's biggest contribution to the otherwise Mesopotamian and Greek Zodiac constellations. In ancient Greece, the stars of Libra were
seen as the claws of Scorpius. In the Almagest, written about 150 AD,
Ptolemy still referred to this constellation as "The Claws".
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When the perception of the constellation switches from "Claws" to "Scales", it was no longer associated with
Scorpius, but rather with
Virgo, which in Greek mythology was depicted as
Astraea, the goddess of justice. Astrea was an epitaph of the actual Greek goddess of justice,
Dike.
In Roman mythology, Dike became Justitia, an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems, which was always depicted with a blindfold and sword and a beam balance (the Scales). Source: Wikipedia |
Justitia holding the scalesCourt of Final Appeal, Hong Kong Source: Wikipedia |
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Arab Astronomy
Although al-Sufi portrayed the constellation as a scale, the most common Arabic names
of its main stars are all related to the constellation being seen as the scorpion's claws.
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Ancient India
In Hindu astronomy, the stars of Libra are part of the
16th Nakashtra, called Visakha, meaning "forked, having branches."
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Visakha statueSource: buddha-heads.com |
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Ancient China
In Chinese, Libra is written
天秤座.
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Di is also visualized as either the paw or the chest of the Blue Dragon.
θ and 48 Librae were part of a line of four stars leading into northern Scorpius that formed Xīxián, one wall of an area used for investigating and penalizing dishonest traders in the celestial market nearby; the other wall, Dōngxián, was in Ophiuchus. [Wikipedia refers to Xīxián and Dōngxián as the "Western Door" and "Eastern Door", respectively. Xīxián is located in Fáng (meaning Room), the Fourth Lunar Mansion. The Lunar Mansion got its name from an asterism named Fáng, which according to Wikipedia consists of stars around λ Librae]. In southern Libra were a couple of Chinese constellations forming part of a cavalry camp spread over a large area south of the ecliptic. Zhènchē, consisting of a triangle of stars (probably σ Librae and two to the south in Lupus), was a formation of battle chariots, while Tiānfú (probably υ and τ Librae) was a convenient pile of spare spokes for mending broken wheels. |
Azure Dragon of the EastSource: theworldofchinese.com
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[Wikipedia puts σ Librae into an asterim called Shéwēi, meaning "Execution." While Zhènchē and Tiānfú are both part of Dī, the Third Lunar Mansion, Shéwēi is part of the Second Lunar Mansion, called Kàng, the Neck of the Blue Dragon]. A star in Libra on or close to the ecliptic, near the border with Scorpius, was known as Ri, the Sun star; it lies on the opposite side of the sky from the Moon star, Yue, in Taurus, in recognition that the Sun lies opposite the full Moon in the sky. The identification of Ri is uncertain; κ Librae seems most likely, although some sources identify it as either 1 or 2 Scorpii. Sources: Wikipedia and Ian Ridpath |
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