The 28 lunar mansions · 16th of 28
Al-Zubānā الزبانى
The claws. A theme of weighing and holding: measuring what to keep and what to release.
- Its stars
- Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali (α and β Librae), the Scorpion's claws
- Where it lies
- 12°51′ Libra to 25°43′ Libra, as Baghdad counted it
- How often
- The Moon passes through about every 27⅓ days and stays roughly a day
- Next visit
- Calculating…
Born with the Moon in Al-Zubānā
You weigh things. 'The claws' of the Scorpion became the scales of Libra, and you are careful, fair and slow to commit.
Gifts
Judgement, fairness, a good sense of value
Watch for
Indecision and holding on to what has gone
A theme your life returns to. Your path asks you to choose what to keep and what to release. Each wise letting-go makes room for something better.
A night in Al-Zubānā
The astrologers of Baghdad chose the night for a task by the Moon's mansion. For Al-Zubānā the old lists say:
Good for
- hiring staff (Picatrix)
Better left for another night
- journeys
- trade and deals
- starting a course of remedies
- sowing
- marriage
A thought for the night I weigh one decision calmly before I act.
The readings are modern, drawn from each station's traditional name and meaning. They describe tendencies, not events, and are offered for reflection and fun.
Sources
- Al-Bīrūnī, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (1029), the chapter on the lunar mansions. Translated by R. Ramsay Wright (1934).
- Picatrix (Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm), Book I, chapter 4: the 28 mansions and the works begun in each.
- Ibn Abī l-Rijāl (Haly Abenragel), The Distinguished Book on the Judgements of the Stars, Book VII: elections by the Moon's mansion.
- Star identifications follow Paul Kunitzsch, Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber (1961), and the usual modern lists.
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