The Zodiac --- The Constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion

Scorpius The Scorpion is the eighth constellation of the Zodiac. It is a large constellation with numerous bright stars and deep sky objects, shaped something like a capital J. 

Almost all of the stars that form the asterism have ancient names: Antares, the so-called "rival of Mars," one of the largest red giants we know of (see my post on Antares, Number 42 in the Nautical Almanac); Dschubba, which forms the forehead of the Scorpion; Sargas, which may be a mistranscription of "Sargon" the name of the first Akkadian emperor; Jabbah, which likely lent its name to a Star Wars character (thus are myths made); Girtab, simply Arabic for "The Scorpion"; Iclil, which again could be a mistranscription of Enki or Enli the God-Brothers of ancient Mesopotamia ; two stars both traditionally called Alniyat "the arteries" and Shaula (Number 45 in the Nautical Almanac) and Lesath (both names mean "The Sting", both are in the tail, and they make a visual pair called "The Cat's Eyes"). 

Scorpius not only crosses the ecliptic, it also lies superimposed on the Milky Way, making it the home of scores and scores of deep sky objects. 

Scorpius is one of the constellations painted on the walls of the Lascaux Caves, which means that Man has been aware of the Scorpion in the Sky for at least 30,000 years. It included the constellation Libra The Scales as the claws of the scorpion until Classical times. 

The Sumerians called Scorpius Mulgirtab, "The Creature With The Burning Sting." It has remained a scorpion in most places ever since then. 

A large scorpion. As a rule, the larger the scorpion the less deadly its sting, but these creatures --- who resemble gangland lobsters --- inspire unease in humans, many of who have the same response to the mythologically-related snake.

In China the asterism was known as "The Boar", with its dangerous man-killing tusks. In North America it was called "The Snake" with its deadly fangs. Only on Pacific Islands is Scorpius not a dangerous creature. In Java, Scorpius is known as "The Leaning Coconut Tree" and in Polynesia as "Maui's Fishhook." 

Scorpius and Sagittarius against the backdrop of the Milky Way.

Scorpius has an entire volume of mythos surrounding it: 

It is one of two Zodiacal constellations (Capricornus is the other) whose name does not correspond exactly to its astrological sign, Scorpio; however, even most astronomers do not make the distinction except in formal scientific circles. The abbreviation is "Sco" or a glyph shaped like an m with a pointed tail.

In the best-known Greek myth, Artemis The Huntress decided that Orion The Hunter had slain too many animals, and so she set the Scorpion at his heel to sting and kill him. This also echoes the the story of Achilles. It's likely that this myth is as old as time itself, and has its roots in the Pleistocene Extinctions when human society was matriarchal and hunters were punished for overculling the seemingly-endless herds of animals they pursued. If so, we could stand to send a box of scorpions to every poacher and wasteful game hunter. (My personal feeling on the subject is "If you're going to kill it, you had better eat it.") 

A Sea Scorpion or Euryptid. This is a model. Euryptids became extinct over 400 million years ago. They ranged in size from millimeters to 2.5 meters in length --- nearly eight feet!

The Sea Scorpion is the official fossil of New York State.

Scorpions are ancient creatures. They existed as far back, and perhaps further back than the Silurian Period (about 443 to 415 million years ago). The earliest true fish were evolving, large marine Sea Scorpions preyed the waters, and the first true scorpions were among the creatures staking a claim on the land. 

Scorpions on the whole are not dangerous to man despite their frightening appearance as homicidal crayfish. Of the 1700 known species of scorpions only 25 can give a sting that is more than irritating to humans, and of those only about half are truly poisonous to man. However, some can paralyze, and some can indeed kill. Many of the life-threatening species live in the Middle East.

Their presence in Mesopotamia and in Egypt gave rise to Scorpion Cults. The Mesopotamians worshiped Ishara as the Scorpion Goddess or Scorpion Queen. She was a Mistress of Healing (even today scorpion venom is used as an analgesic) and as a dispenser of justice, considered both kind and fair to humans, though she was known to punish by sending both scorpions and snakes to wreak justice on wrongdoers. At the same time, wearing an amulet with her image protected against scorpion and snake bites. 

Ishara was also a goddess of love. To be in love was to be "Afflicted by Ishara," which may have a great deal to do with the astrological sign's noted connections to passion and sex. The Vedic equivalent to Ishara was Chelama. Malinalxochitl was the Aztec Scorpion Queen. The Egyptian equivalent of all three was Serket. Serket had a powerful community ordained to her, and she was renowned for being one of the protectors of Pharaoh. At least two Pharaohs styled themselves as "The Scorpion King." As both god and man, these Pharaohs married Serket in elaborate rituals. Scorpions therefore had positive connections to family and home. 

Serket the Scorpion Queen of Egypt. Hers was a large and important cult, and it had corresponding cults throughout the world.

The Mekeo of Papua-New Guinea to this day use an image of a scorpion as a doorpost amulet in much the same way as Jews use the mezuzah --- to bless and guard the inhabitants of a house.

These scorpion goddesses / scorpion queens of course had retainers --- a whole army of them. 

 Sumerian Scorpion Men

The Scorpion Men were said to be the force that kept the evil dead from rising. The Scorpion Queens were known as they who ordered reincarnation of the deserving, and were said to be able to return the recently dead to life --- some varieties of the coma-inducing and breath-suppressing chemical curare are distilled from scorpion venom, and those so stung who survived undoubtedly appeared to return suddenly from death. The priesthood / priestesshood of the Scorpion Queens also used venom to enter altered states of consciousness, linking Scorpius (and Scorpio) to the mystical, the occult, and the afterlife. They were also said to be the guardians of Shamash the Mesopotamian sun god. 

An Egyptian image of a Scorpion Man. Note he has two legs. Although they were mostly mythic creatures, rulers created special squads of soldiers called "Scorpion Men" who might be considered the SEAL teams of their time. Also, notice the similarity between the Scorpion Man and the constellation Sagittarius --- was the Centaur in the Sky once the consort of the Scorpion in the Sky?

Scorpion Men were not just mythical. They were feared warriors who used poison-tipped weapons in battle, and their mere presence of the field could cause an enemy to flee. It was said of Scorpion Men, real and mythic, that their "terror is awesome and their glance is death." They were used, literally, as shock troops in war.

Every culture that had a Scorpion Cult had Scorpion Men among its people. Scorpius was a very important cultural constellation. So, surprisingly for such a large, prominent and well-known constellation, astronomically the sun is actually in Scorpius for a very short time, only seven days, from November 23rd to November 29th. However, if Libra is added to Scorpius, as it once was, that number of days increases to a very respectable 30.

Scorpion Men are still fascinating creatures and often appear in gaming and in modern "Sword and Sorcery" stories.