Rewilding the Zodiac: An Introduction to Animal Symbolism in Astrology

Did you know that the word zodiac really means circle of animals? And that each sign of the Western zodiac wheel has an animal totem or representative - including the ones you might not expect, such as Gemini (the twins), Virgo (the harvest maiden) and Libra (the scales)?

Zodiac is a Late Middle English word borrowed from the Old French zodiaque. This was derived from the Latin zodiacus, which in turn came from the Greek zōidiakós kýklos - a phrase translating as “cycle” or “circle of little animals”. Originally, the zodiac wheel included only living creatures, and it would seem that the only inanimate object, Libra’s weighing scales, was actually a later addition (although that’s definitely a discussion for another time!).

It all seems quite obvious when one starts thinking about it, as of course zodiac and our modern word zoo share the same etymological origin - both are born of the Greek word zōion, meaning "animal" or "living being” - and in hindsight, this should have occurred to me much sooner than it did. But when the penny finally dropped, the realisation coupled with my divinatory background in zoomancy spawned an exciting personal project and practice which I have now come to call Rewilding the Zodiac. 

An Invitation to the Animal Spirit

I began to see that the various interpretive techniques I had honed over my years of experimenting with zoomancy (you might’ve guessed by now that this term refers to divination with animals) could also be put to use in the art of astrology. It was possible to introduce alongside more traditional methods of chart analysis a consideration of animal symbolism, archetypes and mythology, and so reveal a new understanding of the zodiac animals as living beings: both as creatures which are very much alive in our physical world, as well as those which might be described as dwelling deep within our own psyches. Rewilding the Zodiac is therefore in simplest terms an invitation to the animal spirit to be more openly present in the zodiac circle, in a way that I hope feels very much alive, and goes beyond mere symbolism alone.

I found that understanding the animals of the zodiac like this in turn opened the door for seeing an astrology chart (which many astrologers already think of as a web of interconnected shifting and flowing energies) as something akin to an ecosystem. It provided a picture of an inner landscape in which each celestial animal has a unique role to play. Some animals are more dominant and others less so, but the balance eternally changes and evolves in relation to factors such as astrological transits, the external happenings of our day to day lives and our fluxing inner emotional and spiritual states.

Needless to say, I became somewhat enthralled by all of this, and it now feels time to offer it out to the world in the hope that you too might become enamoured with this journey of astrological rewilding. And I hope that through it, you might discover a new means of personal growth and a new understanding of astrology which offers the potential to bring you into alignment with nature and the fellow beings we share our precious world with.

So, Who are the Animals of the Zodiac?

You are probably familiar with many of the zodiac's animals already; most of us have heard of Leo the lion and Taurus the bull, among others. However, some may surprise you! Below are the animals that I generally propose working with for each sign, and you will see that they are for the most part the traditional animals of the Western zodiac wheel, with a handful of additions for the signs that are not usually given an animal representative. 

• Aries - the ram

• Taurus - the bull

• Gemini - the butterfly

• Cancer - the crab

• Leo - the lion

• Virgo - the fox

• Libra - the dove

• Scorpio - the scorpion

• Sagittarius - the horse

• Capricorn - the goat

• Aquarius - the human (for we are animals too, and must not forget this fact)

• Pisces - the fish

It is perhaps worth including the personal note that for some of these animals, I have over time developed preferences for certain breeds or subspecies; for example, for Cancer, I like to work with the hermit crab who carries her house upon her back; for Capricorn, my go-to is the stoic Welsh mountain goat who is native to the land I call home; for Pisces, as a follower of the Celtic spiritual tradition I tend to turn to the salmon; and for Sagittarius, I am often drawn to the Przewalski horse who is considered to be the only truly wild horse left.

If all of this inspires you to begin working more closely with animal symbolism in the zodiac, you too will almost certainly find that particular animals appear to you in guises that are unique to you, often based on your own life experiences, cultural context or personal associations. You will also likely discover that some animals begin to speak to you more readily than others, or are perhaps more easily relatable.

I should also add that the above list is far from exhaustive. There are many other lesser-known animals associated with the signs, or which you might feel drawn to invite into the circle on behalf of a sign in your own practice. For example, I have heard the tiger suggested as a totem of Aries - admittedly a very different contender than the traditional ram, but I can see the resonances (although I will wait for my Aries post to get into those) and I do rather like the idea of bringing in Tiger energy every so often when the moment calls for it!

Interpreting Animal Symbolism

Our ancestors understood animals to be divine messengers or omens offering insight into the past, present and future, and into the will of the gods. In the ancient world, meaning was sought in events such as the migratory movements of animals, their physical appearance and behaviour, as well as interactions with animal beings in inner/spiritual contexts such as dreams, visions and shamanic journeys. Today, many diviners also seek meaning from animals encountered in oracle cards and tarot decks, and here right now, we can turn to the zodiac animals in a similar way.

But just how is meaning derived from these various practices?

In answer, many modern diviners will often throw around the word ‘intuition’; it has become a bit of a spiritual buzzword, and so we don’t always tend to give it much further thought. However, the truth can actually be rather more interesting.

Whilst intuition (an 'inner knowing' which offers us a kind of instant interpretation) certainly does play a significant role in many kinds of divination, more rational thought processes and conscious knowledge often also play a part* - just as it does when we interpret an astrology chart in more conventional ways (if indeed astrology can ever be considered conventional!) or when we read the tarot. In short, we bring different ways of knowing together to create overarching interpretations.

In the context of animal symbolism then, whether in broader divinatory practice or within astrology specifically, we could take a combination of the following into account:

• intuited significances grown out of our individual personal experiences - whether those be physical, emotional and/or spiritual in nature;

• the animal’s archetype as shaped by old stories, folklore and myths - perhaps giving more attention to those tales which are most relevant to our culture, ancestry and/or spiritual path;

• the apparent outward form and behaviour of animals that we encounter in the world, or in dreams, reverie and visions;

• and what we know of the nature, biology and instincts of the real-life physical animal.

There are of course many ways of working with and interpreting symbolism (perhaps as many as there are practitioners, for it is often a very personal endeavour), and much more that I could say here about how we might undertake such a thing - from simply mulling over possible meanings, to meditating, rituals or creative exploration. However, I hope you will forgive for me for choosing to keep this introduction as straight-forward as possible on this occasion. I intend to write in much more depth on the ways in which we might interpret animal symbolism (and apply it to astrological analysis, of course!) in further posts, which I will link to here as and when they are published.

In the meantime though, I encourage you to experiment! Choose an animal from your astrology chart that you’d like to know better (it doesn’t matter if all this is new to you and you only know your Sun sign - use that!) and use the bullet points above as prompts to get you thinking and/or to write some notes, and just see what comes up for you.

Hint: Don't stress about 'getting it right'! Remember, this is a personal process and exploration; the same animal might represent something very different to you than it does to me, or to anyone else!

* If you’d like to read more on this topic, I recommend the writings of Barbara Tedlock, who is a cultural anthropologist as well as an initiated shaman - in particular, look out for her 2006 paper Toward A Theory of Divinatory Practice published in the Anthropology of Consciousness journal (Volume 17, Issue 2).

Rewilding & Reconnecting

It is no secret to those of us who love animals and find solace in nature that humanity has largely lost its connection with the natural world. Those with power and influence are seemingly content to violate our lands and our waters in the name of profit and so-called progress, and as for the rest of us? Too often, we live in concrete boxes and spend our days behind electronic screens, surrounded by plastic and artifice, rather than wandering the forest with earth under our toes and birdsong in our ears. And somewhere along the path of our human journey, the earth came to be seen as dirty and the animals grew scary - unknown entities to be avoided rather than embraced, and exploited rather than respected.

There are of course those living in our concrete jungles who do lament the absence of nature, but many also feel it is out of reach from them. And I can’t help feeling that therein lies the beauty of this kind of spiritual work; whilst the animals of our physical plane of matter may feel far away, those residing in the realms of spirit are as present as they have ever been. All that is needed is for us to open our minds and our hearts to them, and welcome them back into our circle of awareness... And in this case, back into the circle of the Zodiac. It is named for them, after all.

In essence then, I suppose Rewilding the Zodiac is an attempt not just to understand the stars by seeing them reflected in life upon the Earth, but to reconnect us with the Earth through our love of the stars. And somewhere along the way, I hope it can also reconnect us with a forgotten part of our own selves, too.

“Our Judeo-Christian culture has taught us to be afraid of animals - our own animal nature and the animals of the wild. In teaching us to “subdue the earth” it also taught us to “subdue” our own instinctual selves. …Our inner animals were caged, frightened and forgotten. They appeared only in our dreams - they became the beasts that lurked at the fringes of our civilised world - werewolves and dangerous predators that symbolised the “bestial” urges of men too “civilised” to acknowledge the sacredness of the body and the animal. But paradoxically, as long as we reject the animals within us, we can never be truly human. To regain our humanity we must embrace them.”

Phillip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm, The Druid Animal Oracle

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A Final Note

In writing this introduction to this Rewilding the Zodiac project, I can’t help wondering if I have left you with as many questions as answers! It is the very first time I have dared to put this out into the world, beyond brief conversations with trusted friends and colleagues. So, you’ll have to let me know in the comments: how does this land with you, what thoughts does it evoke, what questions do you have?

If you’ve read this far, I thank you for taking the time. I hope you’ve enjoyed it - hopefully enough so that you’ll look out for more writings on Rewilding the Zodiac in the not-too-distant future! And if you enjoyed it enough to want to make sure you don’t my next post, please do sign up for my newsletter - you can find the form at the very bottom of this page.

With love and magic,

Merry x