Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode we will be delving into the belief that personality traits are influenced by the position of planets, at the time of one’s birth.

Astrology has been used by many ancient civilisations which have included the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks. They used this study of celestial bodies to help them make many decisions which included their farming practices, people in government, and of course their personal lives.

These astrological star signs otherwise known as zodiac signs are divided up into twelve signs which correspond to a specific period of the year that makes up 30 degrees in the Earth’s 360-degree orbit around the Sun.

I will finish off the introduction by naming the 12 signs in order and a very brief summary of their supposed traits.

Aries (March 21 - April 19): Known for their leadership, courage, and energetic nature.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20): Practical, reliable, and fond of comfort and stability.
Gemini (May 21 - June 20): Curious, adaptable, and communicative, often seen as social butterflies.
Cancer (June 21 - July 22): Emotional, nurturing, and deeply connected to home and family.
Leo (July 23 - August 22): Confident, creative, and often the centre of attention.
Virgo (August 23 - September 22): Analytical, detail-oriented, and perfectionistic.
Libra (September 23 - October 22): Diplomatic, balanced, and focused on relationships and harmony.
Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): Intense, passionate, and mysterious.
Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21): Adventurous, optimistic, and philosophical.
Capricorn (December 22 - January 19): Disciplined, ambitious, and hardworking.
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): Innovative, independent, and humanitarian.
Pisces (February 19 - March 20): Compassionate, artistic, and intuitive.

Today’s mnemonic will be on the 12-star signs, otherwise known as the Western zodiac.

So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zodiac_German_Woodcut.jpg

Wikipedia Summary

In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up 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 vernal equinox.

The astrological signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. The Western zodiac originated in Babylonian astrology, and was later influenced by the Hellenistic culture. Each sign was named after a constellation the sun annually moved through while crossing the sky. This observation is emphasized in the simplified and popular sun sign astrology.

Over the centuries, Western astrology's zodiacal divisions have shifted out of alignment with the constellations they were named after by axial precession [1] of the Earth while Hindu astrology measurements correct for this shifting.[2] Astrology (i.e. a system of omina based on celestial appearances) was developed in Chinese and Tibetan cultures as well but these astrologies are not based upon the zodiac but deal with the whole sky.

Astrology is a pseudoscience.[3] Scientific investigations of the theoretical [4] basis and experimental verification of claims[5] have shown it to have no scientific validity or explanatory power. More plausible explanations for the apparent correlation between personality traits and birth months exist, such as the influence of seasonal birth in humans.

According to astrology, celestial phenomena relate to human activity on the principle of "as above, so below", so that the signs are held to represent characteristic modes of expression.[6] Scientific astronomy used the same sectors of the ecliptic as Western astrology until the 19th century.

Various approaches to measuring and dividing the sky are currently used by differing systems of astrology, although the tradition of the Zodiac's names and symbols remain mostly consistent. Western astrology measures from Equinox and Solstice points (points relating to equal, longest, and shortest days of the tropical year), while Hindu astrology measures along the equatorial plane (sidereal year).

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_sign]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_zodiac_in_a_round_dance_around_the_world,_from_Les_etoilles_anim%C3%A9es,_by_J.J._Grandville,_1847,_coloured_engraving.jpg

Mnemonic

The 12 Astrological Star Signs Mnemonic – A Twin Gemini Called Leo Virgo LoSeS CAP

(Picture a twin who has the star sign of Gemini who loses his cap so people stop confusing him with his twin brother)

1. Aries

2. Taurus

3. Gemini

4. Cancer

5. Leo

6. Virgo

7. Libra

8. Scorpio

9. Sagittarius

10. Capricorn

11. Aquarius

12. Pisces

*Mnemonic Options: CAPAT GC Lakes Virtually Lie Side by Side or Le Virgin LoSeS CAP AT Golf Club

Five Fun Facts

1. The English word zodiac derives from zōdiacus, the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek zōdiakòs kýklos (ζῳδιακός κύκλος), meaning "cycle or circle of little animals". In astrology terms, a zodiac sign is an imaginary belt in the heavens that includes the apparent paths of most of the planets and is divided into 12 star groups or signs

2. The Western zodiac used to have an additional sign! Earth travels through 13 signs. Now that 13th sign was called Ophiuchus, which was the snake charmer or the serpent bearer. However, some 3,000 years ago the Babylonians thought that 12 was neater so they excluded this 13th zodiac sign.

3. The 12 zodiac signs can be further divided into Air, Earth, Water, and Fire. Earth signs are supposed to be grounded and practical; fire signs are exuberant and passionate; air signs are curious and intellectual; and water signs are emotional and intuitive.

Now just speaking about emotional people. My closest friend stopped talking to me because of all my zodiac puns. Yeah, it was very sad. It really Taurus apart!

4. The modern-day Western zodiac originated in Babylonian astrology in the 5th Century BC however the original idea of zodiacs emerged from pre-historic paintings and carving in caves and on rocks showing the interaction between humans and animals. Interestingly, as opposed to the Chinese Zodiac, not all star signs represent animals on the Western zodiac.

5. In the 19th century, astronomers believed that there was a hidden planet between the Sun and Mercury due to irregularities in Mercury’s orbit. They named this supposed planet Vulcan and it was said to influence the zodiac signs. It wasn’t until Albert Einstein released his general theory of relativity which explained the irregularities and thus Vulcan did not exist.