Observations placeholder
Totem group – Picts – Sign of Zodiac - Archer
Identifier
026496
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
This symbol has only been found once and although the symbolism of the bow and arrow is known, it is still debated whether this is a bow and arrow. It appears on one of two stones found at Congash Farm near Grantown on Spey.
Original negative captioned Sculptured Stone at Congash, Grantown, Inverness Aug 1910 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
In contrast the picture below is clear and it is on a stone with other Totem groups on it, indicating that the Archer was a Totem group and a symbol and was also be definition a Sign of the Zodiac. This is one of the few Pictish stones whose symbol may tie in with an existing constellation - that of Sagittarius. Note that this is only speculation.
Sagittarius - is one of the constellations of the modern zodiac, it is visible from the northern hemisphere. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for the archer.
Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur pulling-back a bow, but that takes a lot of stone carving and we suspect that the symbol was simplified in order to make the stone and job of creating it easier. The constellation lies between Scorpius and Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus to the east. The center of the Milky Way lies in the westernmost part of Sagittarius.
