Scorpio, Virgo and Libra Symbols: Zodiac Meanings and Hebrew Mem

The symbols for Scorpio and Virgo are based on the letter M.

Scorpio's symbol is an M with an upward arrow,

which is a reference to the scorpion

stinger, and reminds me of two related symbols.

The first is the glyph for Mars, which is its ruler under classic systems of

astrology. The second is the symbol for Sagittarius,

which follows

Scorpio. If you look at the Sagittarius

constellation, you'll see that

the centaur aims its arrow towards Scorpio's stinger, and in some older

depictions of the sign, he even has a scorpion's tail.

The other M symbol in astrology represents Virgo.

Her symbol is an M with an embedded fish, not unlike the Jesus fish.

Virgo relates to the story of Mary, who births Christ by way of

Immaculate Conception. Opposite Virgo is Pisces, which

corresponds with Christ in a number of ways.

Jesus is linked to the age of Pisces, and there's multiple parables about fish

in

the Bible. The two Ms of astrology sit on opposite

sides of Libra's

scales. My understanding is that what we now refer to as Virgo, Libra,

and

Scorpio was considered one massive constellation ages ago,

and somewhere along the way, Libra's formation split this huge sign

into

three parts. In this illustration, you can see how Libra's scales could have

been previously part of Scorpio's claws.

Even today, the stars that make up the pans of Libra

are referred to as the

northern and southern claws. At the beginning of Libra, there's a

natural balance of light, with equal parts day and night,

which its symbol

encodes. It's largely thought that the symbol represents the sun in

transition, either a sunset or perhaps sunrise.

A lot of ancient cultures viewed the sun as having two personalities, one light

and one dark. Similarly, there's two halves of the zodiac.

The first six signs are day constellations,

and the last six are night.

We transition to the night side with Libra and return to the day side with Aries.

This means that on one side of Libra we have Scorpio, a night side constellation,

and on the other side we have Virgo, a day side constellation.

The two Ms of astrology are a pair in balance and contrast.

In the tarot, the thirteenth card is death, which is ruled by Scorpio.

In English, the thirteenth letter of the alphabet

is M.

In Hebrew, the thirteenth letter of the alphabet

is Mem, which corresponds

with M and means water, the element of Scorpio.

I was interested to learn that Mem has two variations, one open

and one closed. Take it for what it's worth,

but this dynamic reminds

me of the Scorpio symbol which is open and Virgo symbol which is closed.

Fittingly, Mem is linked with the feminine creative

waters.

I leave you with a quote from the book Astro Music regarding this connection.

Mem represents the deep mysteries of water in all of its symbolic permutations.

Streams of consciousness, ocean waters, fountains of youth,

amniotic fluids of the womb, and undulating waveforms.

Mem, in Hebrew, is spelled without a vowel

and could thus be

pronounced mom in English. Though as Mem, it also

connects to the English words memory and remember.