Fig. 176.—Constellations of the Lion and Big Dipper.
Virgo, the Virgin.—This constellation is of interest, because the Sun again crosses the point where the equator and ecliptic meet, and the days and nights are again of the same length everywhere on the Earth, just as they were at the spring, or vernal equinox.
But this time, when the Sun is in Virgo, it crosses the equator from north to south about September 21 and so this equinox is called the autumnal equinox, which means equal autumn days.
By drawing a line from Polaris through Mizarin through the handle of the Big Dipper and producing it beyond Arcturus, and on until it reaches a big, bright, white star you will have reached Virgo, as shown in [Fig. 177]. This big, white, bright star is Spica, and it is the chief star in Virgo.
The ancients always represented Virgo, the Virgin, with a sheaf of wheat in one hand and a sickle in the other. The Virgin and the harvest always went together in the minds of the ancients and this accounts for the pictures of Virgo in the almanacs of the present time.
Libra, the Balance.—A small constellation named for the ancient Roman pound weight.
The constellation of Libra is not nearly as old as the others in the zodiac, in fact it is thought that there were only eleven constellations in the zodiac when they were first mapped out thousands of years ago, although there were twelve signs or spaces in the zodiac. Its position is shown in [Fig. 178].