The quarters are likewise of irregular size. There are 4 quarters or palaces of the sky, each with 7 lunar mansions, starting with the east and going counterclockwise, with a central palace in the middle. The portion of the heavens that each covers varies widely, so that the moon takes less than two hours to cover some and more than two days to cover others. In other words, the pole star and lunar constellations in the heavens are like the north pole and equator on the earth and, in keeping with the Confucian worldview, the constellations revolve around the pole star in the way the ministers and territories revolve around the emperor at the center of the traditional Chinese imperial court.įurthermore, the 28 Chinese lunar mansions do not make an equal division of the sky. The lunar mansions consist of slightly different clusters of stars located along the stellar equator and are likened to the imperial ministers and feudal territories. Instead, the Chinese system emphasizes the pole star, Polaris, which is likened to the emperor. The Chinese are not particularly concerned with the belt of the zodiac or with the ecliptic or apparent orbit of the sun. In the Indian and Tibetan systems, these clusters of stars, like those of the constellations of the 12 signs, are located around the zodiac which, as was explained, is the belt through which the sun, moon and planets rotate around the earth in a geocentric scheme. Sometimes 28 lunar constellations are specified, but while in the Hindu system the zodiac would then be divided into 28 equal portions, in the Tibetan system one of the 27 equal portions, namely the 21st, would be divided into two.Ī system of 28 lunar constellations is also found in ancient Chinese astronomy, however there the approach is different. This scheme is not found in the ancient Greek or modern European systems but was shared in common with the classical Hindu ones. Each of the 12 signs covers 2 ¼ lunar constellations.

Thus, there are 1620 degrees in the zodiac in this system, rather than 360. Just as 12 prominent constellations can be noted in this belt, so can 27. nakshatra) or lunar mansions, each divided into 60 degrees. For most calculations, the belt of the zodiac is divided into 27 lunar constellations ( rgyu-skar, Skt. Let us go on with some further general features.

The study of heavenly bodies