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Articles -
Miscellaneous
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 13 June 2009 23:06 |
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The
present paper deals with a question of symbolism: what is so special about the
number 12? Historically, the preference for the number 12 goes back to the
Zodiac. Thus, the twelvestar flag of the European Union was designed, in a
public contest, by a devotee of the Virgin Mary, who thought of the Apocalypse
passage where a celestial virgin appears in a circle of twelve stars; and these
"twelve stars", in Hebrew mazzalot (whence mazzel!, "good
luck", originally "lucky star", "beneficial stellar
configuration"), were a standard expression referring to the Zodiac, the
division of the Ecliptic in twelve equal parts, each one of them represented by
a symbol: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius,
Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 30 September 2007 12:34 |
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Read more... [Why Twelve?]
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