Global hard times generally mean good times for those who claim to predict the future.

Faced with uncertainty, humans have always looked to the stars for guidance. And these days, it seems there are astrology charlatans to be found under almost every rock.

As for me, I prefer to seek comfort among other fossils: the lines in the sand that “no winds erase”.

I was born under the Sign of the Scorpion.

Here on Earth, scorpions have had a special place in mythology for a very long time. The scorpion has always been a totem creature for warriors who admired its resilient armor, its deadly sting and its tenacity despite its relatively small size. It has long  been linked with death and rebirth - a profound symbol of wisdom and initiation.

Scorpions are eight-legged archnids related to spiders and mites. Their bodies are comprised of a prosoma, mesosoma and metasoma. The prosoma (head) includes the carapace, eyes, mouth parts, pedipalps/pincers (claws) and four pairs of walking legs. Scorpions have two eyes on the top of the head, and usually two to five pairs of eyes along the front corners of the head. The tail (metasoma) has a barbed venom injector at the end, and the mesosoma is made up of six armored segments covered in a thin but very tough layer which shines fluorescent green under ultraviolet life. This fluorescent hyaline layer has been found intact in fossils that are hunderds of millions of years old.

Scorpions use their pincers (chela) to catch other small arthropods and insects. Depending on the toxicity of their venom and size of their claws, they will then either crush the prey or inject a neurotoxic venom to kill or paralyze the victim. Scorpions have two types of venom: a translucent, weaker mixture designed to stun, and an opaque, more potent brew designed to kill heavier threats.

It was on 30 November 2005, that Nature - the international weekly journal of science - published an article about the discovery of literally a 330 million year old line in the sand made by a huge sea scorpion. The evidence, found in West Lothian, Scotland - the birthplace of many of my ancestors - shows that these 6 foot long arthropods were among the first to begin the transition from water to land.

The Hibbertopterus - Scots sea scorpion - was part of the larger family of Eurypterids (from the Greek eury “broad”/pteron “wing”). In November 21, 2007 it was announced that a 390 million year old giant claw belonging to a 2.5 metre (8.2 ft) sea scorpion had been discovered in Germany near the town of Pruem - making it the largest arthropod ever found. Arthropod’s are creatures with hard external skeletons and include spiders, insects and crabs.

Today there is continuing debate among scientists as to whether the Eurypterids are directly related to modern scorpions - even though they share considerable physical similarities. The only supposed surviving relative of the giant Eurypterids is the horseshoe crab, called a living fossil and most commonly found in North America.

Horseshoe crabs possess the rare ability to regrow lost limbs and can also breathe on land for short periods of time as long as their gills remain moist. They are the original “blue bloods” with a copper-based circulatory system that turns their blood blue when exposed to oxygen. The blood of horseshoe crabs contains a coagulogen which isolates and contains bacterial infections within its circulatory system. Enzymes from horseshoe crab blood have even been used by astronauts in the International Space Station to test surfaces for unwanted bacteria and fungi.

So I guess it really is a case of scorpions in space.

But if you look further out you will find the constellation and the particular star that has always been associated with the “stinging one”. The Persians called it Kazhdum (scorpion), to the Akkadians it was Gir.tab - the Seizer, or Stinger, and the Place Where One Bows Down. According to Polynesian mythology, the curving shape of this pattern of stars represents the jawbone that Maui used to fish the North Island of New Zealand - where I was born - from the Pacific Ocean. Even today the North Island is known as Te-Ika-A-Maui (the Great Fish of Maui).

The red giant Antares - Alpha Scorpio - is known in many cultures as “the heart”. In the West its modern name is derived from Ptolemy who thought it similar to “Ares” (Mars) due to its red glow. It was known among the desert dwellers as Kalb al Akrab - the scorpion’s heart. The Romans also called it by the same name Antares Cor Scorpionis (Antares - Heart of the Scorpion).

Antares has also been known as Bilu-sha-ziri - Lord of the Seed, and Dar Luga - the King. It is one of four royal stars sometimes characterized as horses - one of the four guardian watchers.

In Chinese mythology, Antares (Ta-Ho - the Great Fire) is the “heart” of the great Azure Dragon - the Guardian of the East and the heavenly home of the Blue Emperor. In some charts Antares - and the two bright stars nearby - are labeled the Temple of Light (Ming-Tang) of the Emperor’s Palace.

In reality the constellation we call Libra never existed until recent times. Libra is really formed by the pincers of the scorpion. There is a good reason why, in mythology, these pincers are also associated with the scales of justice. Zubana in Arabic and zibanitu in Akkadian, mean both ‘weighing scale‘ and ‘scorpion‘.

The binary system they call Alpha Librae today is more correctly known as Zubenelgenubi (al-zuban-al-janubiyy) - the southern claw. The variable star Beta Librae is better known as Zubeneschamali (al-zuban-al-samaliyyah) - the northern claw.

But even further back in time these stars were known as Sarur and Sargaz - those which reap the multitude. As well as the claws of the Scorpion they represent the battle maces of Lord Ninurta - Sarur in his right hand and Sargaz in his left.

Here’s a prediction for you:
“When Sarur and Sargaz are brilliant, the onslaught will commence.”
From The reports of the magicians and astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon (1900) by Reginald Campbell Thompson.

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