MY VIEW OF ASTROLOGY
Firstly my observations and comments are not because I believe in astrology. I am however interested in how the ancients perceived how and why their world worked like it did. They didnt know about germs, so they made up the idea of evil spirits, curses and other nonsense. The Bible itself shows us these same ideas, which again shows the Jews were not that different from their neighbours. They also of course shared stories about floods, angels, a big sky daddy and more.
@LEO
Firstly most of your mistakes are simply because you have limited knowledge of astrology as perceived by the ancients.
The concept of astrology as presented in todays papers is very much a product of that media and the masses it targets. Simply because it targets large numbers of people in an impersonal way there is no way for the astrologer to cold read and so on the subject which most likely did happen when rich kings and the like asked their astrologer for advise from the stars. Its not accurate to assume our modern view is the same as the past. For example the Jews today take a very and customs than their ancient forefathres even though they supposedly read the same Bible. I wont bore people about how times change perceptions of some fixed subject be it the sky, the world or even a book.
Your commentary makes too many assumptions, that the animals and characters of the zodiac today are the same for all cultures in the past. The zodiac of today is not a perfect representation of the one in Egypt, Israel or Babylon. Just like the solar hero stories in each culture share many common themes, they each add their own distinctive flavour to the story. The stories of Samson and Hercules are both personifications of the Sun and its apparent journey across the sky. Each culture has for whatever reason, has explained the Sun in its own way. The zodiac signs are just random collections of stars. Different cultures see different things, none are right and it certainly doesnt matter for the pruposes of this discussion. The characters are just memory aides that capture role of that sign. Aires is about springtime, Leo the middle of the hot summer, Libra is the harvest.
NOT ALL ASTROLOGY IN CULTURES ARE THE SAME.
Below is a snippet showing the Chinese see a Dragon while the west sees a Ram as the sign representing the spring equinox. I dont want to get into procession and the movements of the signs, so lets keep this simple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(zodiac)
| Zodiac Location | 5th |
| Ruling hours | 7am-10am |
| Direction | East-southeast |
| Motto | “I Reign” [2] |
| Season and month | Spring, April |
| Fixed element | Wood [3] [4] |
| Stem | Positive |
| Lunar Month Dates | April 5 – May 4 |
| Birthstone | Bloodstone |
| Colors | Red and Violet |
| Roughly equivalent western sign |
If we attempt to read Genesis 49 using our modern signs there are of course not perfect matches as you have attempted to point out. Its also important to note that the Hebrews did not use a 12 month year but instead used lunar months which means their calendar is a not a perfect match for ours in a simple way. These flavours of course add to the variation.
JEWISH VIEWS
In the interests of completness i have added a few notes, that astrology was not completely foreign to the Jews. They actually like many other peoples believed in its powers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_views_on_astrology#Hebrew_calendar_correlation_to_zodiac
In addition to its display in synagogues from the most ancient, such as Beth Alpha, to relatively modern, such as the Bialystocker Synagogue in the Lower East Side of New York City, the zodiac has been shown to correspond to the months of the Hebrew calendar.
...
Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières , in his critical notes to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah , Teshuvah , 5:5, asserts the influence of the stars upon destiny, while also contending that by faith in God man may overcome this influence.
Maimonides is perhaps one of the most famous rabbical commentators in all jewish history and he himself asknocledges astrology as being real. I wont comment on whther he was a fool because thats immaterial to my original assertion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_astronomy
Chronology and the zodiac
Main article: Hebrew calendar Chronology was a chief consideration in the study of astronomy among the Jews; sacred time was based upon the cycles of the Sun and the Moon. The Talmud identified the twelve constellations of the zodiac with the twelve months of the Hebrew calendar. The correspondence of the constellations with their names in Hebrew and the months is as follows:
- Aries - ?aleh - Nisan
- Taurus - Shor - Iyar
- Gemini - Teomim - Sivan
- Cancer - Sar?on - Tammuz
- Leo - Ari - Av
- Virgo - Betulah - Elul
- Libra - Moznayim - Tishrei
- Scorpio - 'A?rab - Cheshvan
- Sagittarius - ?asshat - Kislev
- Capricorn - Gedi - Tevet
- Aquarius - D'li - Shevat
- Pisces - Dagim - Adar
The first three are in the east, the second three in the south, the third three in the west, and the last three in the north; and all are attendant on the sun. According to one account, in the first three months (spring) the Sun travels in the south, in order to melt the snow; in the fourth through sixth months (summer) it travels directly above the earth, in order to ripen the fruit; in the seventh through ninth months (autumn) it travels above the sea, in order to absorb the waters; and in the last three months (winter) it travels over the desert, in order that the grain may not dry up and wither.
According to one conception, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius face northward; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricornus westward; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius southward; and Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces eastward. Some scholars identified the twelve signs of the zodiac with the twelve tribes of Israel.
The four solstices (the Te?ufot of Nisan, Tammuz, Tishrei, and Tevet) are often mentioned as determining the seasons of the year and there are occasional references to the rising-place of the sun ('Er. 56a). Sometimes six seasons of the year are mentioned (Gen. R. xxxiv. 11), and reference is often made to the receptacle of the sun (ναρθ?κιον), by means of which the heat of the orb is mitigated (Gen. R. vi. 6, and elsewhere). The Moon was also a part of the calendar: "The moon begins to shine on the 1st of the month; its light increases until the 15th, when the disk [(δ?σκοσ)] is full; from the 15th to the 30th it wanes; and on the 30th it is invisible" (Ex. R. xv. 26).
MORE PROOFS
http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi27.htm
Table IIBreastplate Jewels of the High Priest
The Twelve Tribes
Zodiac, Month, Tribe, Settlement
by F. Graham Millar
Halifax Centre, RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada)
Website use with permission of the late copyright-holding author. 
MY COMMENTARY
So why am i giving all these examples ? What im saying is some of the "differences" are simply because YOU are not aware of the character and attributes of the ancient Hebrew signs.
@Leo
Nope. How about the identification of Issachar with Taurus? Even you admit that this is a stretch. But you generalize the sign from "bull" to "beasts of burden" in order to get a match with Issachar's donkey
MP
I am not generalising, I dont know the animal that represented Taurus in the Hebrew system. But given T is a bull which is all about plowing in spring time its not unfair to assert a donkey is a reasonable match.
LEO
Lastly, let's look at another "hit": the "bow" mentioned in relation to Joseph (v. 24). Gotta be Sagittarius, the Archer, right?
MP
Sure, what else is the purpose of that thought ? Does it make any sense in any other context ? Say what you want of the authors of the Bible, they may were not fools, every word, pun, symbolism had meaning to them and their audience. Unfortunately we have lost much of that.
Somehow i think your just nit picking on some of your other critiques. Yes Gen 49 is all nonsense, but it was placed there for a reason and has meaning. THe best fit in light of the rest of the OT is its a chapter filled w/ astrological motifs. Just beause you have limited knowledge on the matter and cant see it does nt make it wrong. Other more learned scholars and identities think otherwise.
The OT is nothing more than astrotheology, im not sure if you believe that but nature was the source of all religions and their myths. Appreciate this and its not hard to seee how so much of the weird and nonsense is explained ina aconsistant manner.
JOSEPHUS AND PHILO
My comments have little weight as I am not a scholar and I have the disadvantage of not living 2000 years ago like Josephus and Philo. Whatever we say about the temple is commentary, Josephus for all his faults himself said the twelve tribes are reprseentations of the zodiac. He also states that there was a zodiac wheel in the temple. Its strange for all of Jesus rants about the evils in and aroound the temple there is not a single note about a zodiac wheel being present.
See Exodus 39:9-14: "...they made the breastplate... And they set in it four rows of stones... And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve...according to the twelve tribes."
As Josephus says (Antiquities, 3.8 ): "And for the twelve stones, whether we understand by them the months or whether we understand the like number of the signs of that circle which the Greeks call the zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning." (Josephus, 75.)
Earlier than Josephus, Philo ("On the Life of Moses," 12) had made the same comments regarding Moses: "Then the twelve stones on the breast, which are not like one another in colour, and which are divided into four rows of three stones in each, what else can they be emblems of, except of the circle of the zodiac?" (Philo, 99.)
As we can see, by the first century it was well known that the theme of "the 12" was astrological in nature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_symbolism
The priests
The Hebrew for priest is Kohen; the Kohanim (plural) mediated between God and man by offering sacrifices, and by other services in the Temple. The leader of them the Kohen Gadol, the high priest.
The vestments of the high priest were interpreted in three ways. The explanation of Philo is as follows ("Vita Mosis," iii. 209): His upper garment was the symbol of the ether, while the blossoms represented the earth, the pomegranates typified running water, and the bells denoted the music of the water. The ephod corresponded to heaven, and the stones on both shoulders to the two hemispheres, one above and the other below the earth. The six names on each of the stones were the six signs of the zodiac, which were denoted also by the twelve names on the breastplate. The miter was the sign of the crown, which exalted the high priest above all earthly kings.
Josephus' explanation is this [1] : The coat was the symbol of the earth, the upper garment emblemized heaven, while the bells and pomegranates represented thunder and lightning. The ephod typified the four elements, and the interwoven gold denoted the glory of God. The breastplate was in the center of the ephod, as the earth formed the center of the universe; the girdle symbolized the ocean, the stones on the shoulders the sun and moon, and the jewels in the breastplate the twelve signs of the zodiac, while the miter was a token of heaven.
