[4-1 



fishes, although, for astronomical purposes, the sign of 

 the ram is always placed in that position, and will, for 

 the future, always be considered as the first sign of the 

 zodiac, no matter what sign may really occupy that posi- 

 tion. Thus there is now what is called a fixed zodiac, 

 which never changes, and which is an arbitrary arrange- 

 ment made for scientific purposes, and a real zodiac 

 whose figures move steadily and slowly year by year, until 

 at the end of rather more than two thousand years the 

 vernal equinoxial point is occupied by the sign imme- 

 diately following the one which occupied it during that 

 period of time. 



Although now the fixed zodiac is an established fact, 

 such an arrangement was undreamed of by the ancients, 

 who regulated their almanacks from the actual sign at 

 the time occupying the vernal equinoxial point ; so that 

 between the years 4340 B.C. and 2188 B.C. the sign of 

 the bull was the first and chief sign of the zodiac, while 

 during the two thousand years following that is, until 

 36 B.C. the sign of the ram or lamb took its place. 

 The vernal equinox falls on March 2ist each year, at 

 which time the sun, having ascended from its lowest 

 point of declination (December 2ist), arrives at that 

 portion of its annual course at which the equator and 

 the ecliptic cross each other; and thus during the period' 

 when the sign of the bull was the vernal equincxial sign 

 the sun was said to be in Taurus, while in the following: 

 period, when the sign of the ram took the place of that 

 of the bull, the sun was said to be in Aries. In order to 

 understand thoroughly the apparent annual march of the, 

 sun round our earth, it will be necessary to observe the 

 actual double motions of our earth round the sun and 

 upon its own axis. Let us suppose that we are again in 

 the period when the sun was in Aries at the vernal; 

 equinox; on the 2ist of March our earth, in travelling 

 round the sun (annual motion), has reached a point 

 at which the sun is placed between us and the first stars 

 of Aries, which are then, of course, invisible, because 

 when the sun is visible it is daytime that is, the part of 

 the earth on which we stand is opposed to the sun,, 

 which renders all the stars in that part of the heavens 

 invisible; but, as the earth continues to turn upon its- 



