SIGN
, in Algebra, a symbol or CHARACTER.
Signs, like, positive, negative, radical, &c. See the adjectives.
Sign, in Astronomy, a 12th part of the ecliptic, or zodiac; or a portion containing 30 degrees of the same.
The ancients divided the zodiac into 12 segments, called Signs; commencing at the point where the ecliptic and equinoctial intersect, and so counting forward from west to east, according to the course of the fun; these Signs they named from the 12 constellations which possessed those segments in the time of Hipparchus. But the constellations have since so changed their places, by the precession of the equinox, that Aries is now found in the sign called Taurus, and Taurus in that of Gemini, &c.
The names, and characters, of the 12 Signs, and their order, are as follow: Aries , Taurus , Gemini *p, Cancer , Leo , Virgo , Libra , Scorpio , Sagittarius , Capricornus , Aquarius , Pisces ; each of which, with the stars in them, see under its proper article, Aries, Taurus, &c.
The Signs are distinguished, with regard to the season of the year when the sun is in them, into vernal, æstival, autumnal, and brumal.
Vernal or Spring Signs, are Aries, Taurus, Gemini.
Aestival or Summer Signs, are Cancer, Leo, Virgo.
Autumnal Signs, are Libra, Scorpio, Sagittary.
Brumal or Winter Signs, are Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
The vernal and summer Signs are also called northern Signs, because they are on the north side of the equinoctial; and the autumnal and winter Signs are called southern ones, because they are on the south side of the same.
The Signs are also distinguished into ascending and descending, according as they are ascending toward the north, or descending toward the south. Thus, the
Ascending Signs, are the winter and spring signs, or those fix from the winter solstice to the summer solstice, viz, the Signs Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini. And the
Descending Signs are the summer and autumn Signs, or the Signs Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittary.
Signs, Fixed, Masculine, &c; see the adjectives.
