Taurus, the Bull:(marked thus, [symbol for Taurus])—­The second sign in the zodiac, which by the Arabians is called Ataur.  This constellation was worshipped for ages by the idolatrous Egyptians as the heavenly representative of their god Osiris; and derives its name, according to Grecian fable, from the bull into which Jupiter transformed himself in order to carry Europa over into Crete; but the constellation was probably so named by the Egyptians to designate that period of the year, (April), in which cows mostly bring forth their young.

“The Rev. Mr. Maurice in his work on the antiquities of India, has shown that the May-day festival and the May-pole of Great Britain with its garlands, etc., are the remains of an ancient festival of Egypt and India, and probably of Phoenicia, when these nations, in countries very distant, and from times very remote, have all, with one consent, celebrated the entrance of the sun into the sign of Taurus at the vernal equinox.”

Gemini, the Twins:  (marked thus, [symbol for Gemini])—­A zodiacal constellation, visible in May, containing the two bright stars Castor and Pollux, the fabled sons of Leda and Jupiter, who during their lives had cleared the Hellespont and neighboring seas of pirates, and were therefore deemed the protectors of navigators and sailors.

Cancer, the Crab:  (marked thus, [symbol for cancer])—­Is the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters on the 21st day of June, and is thence called the summer solstice.  According to Grecian fable, the crab was transported to heaven at the request of Juno, after it had been slain by Hercules during his battle with the serpent Python, but the evident design of the name is to represent the apparent backward motion of the sun in June, which is said to resemble the motions of a crab.

Leo, the Lion:  ([symbol for Leo]).—­Is the fifth sign in the zodiac, and contains one star of the first magnitude, called Regulus, or Cor Leonis—­the Lion’s Heart.  The fervid heat of July, when the sun has attained its greatest power, is now symbolized in our almanacs by the figure of an enraged lion; and the feasts or sacrifices formerly celebrated among the ancients during this month, in honor of the sun, (which they also represented under the form of a lion,) were called Leonitica.  The priests who performed the sacred rites were called Leones.  This feast was sometimes called Mithriaca, because Mithra was the name of the sun among the Persians.  The sacred writings abound with references to the “king of beasts;” among the most interesting of which is the story of the battle between the lion and Samson, the Jewish Herculus; while the most wonderful example of animal evolution on record is found in the sixty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, where we are gravely informed that “the lion shall eat straw like the bullock.”