Introduction to the tzirufim

Rabbi Ḥanina said to his students who heard all this: Go and tell the son of Leiva’i, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: It is not the constellation of the day of the week that determines a person’s nature; rather, it is the constellation of the hour that determines his nature.
One who was born under the influence of the sun will be a radiant person; he will eat from his own resources and drink from his own resources, and his secrets will be exposed. If he steals he will not succeed, because he will be like the sun that shines and is revealed to all.
One who was born under the influence of Venus will be a rich and promiscuous person. What is the reason for this? Because fire was born during the hour of Venus, he will be subject the fire of the evil inclination, which burns perpetually.
One who was born under the influence of Mercury will be an enlightened and expert man, because Mercury is the sun’s scribe, as it is closest to the sun.
One who was born under the influence of the moon will be a man who suffers pains, who builds and destroys, and destroys and builds. He will be a man who eats not from his own resources and drinks not from his own resources, and whose secrets are hidden. If he steals he will succeed, as he is like the moon that constantly changes form, whose light is not its own, and who is at times exposed and at times hidden.
One who was born under the influence of Saturn will be a man whose thoughts are for naught. And some say that everything that others think about him and plan to do to him is for naught.
One who was born under the influence of Jupiter [tzedek] will be a just person [tzadkan]. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: And just in this context means just in the performance of mitzvot.
One who was born under the influence of Mars will be one who spills blood. Rav Ashi said: He will be either a blood letter, or a thief, or a slaughterer of animals, or a circumciser. Rabba said: I was born under the influence of Mars and I do not perform any of those activities. Abaye said: My Master also punishes and kills as a judge.

I have already pointed out that the universe was created in the month of Tishrey, a month under the influence of the zodiac sign מאזנים, "scales." This is also the meaning of the second verse in Genesis, that the wind of the Lord was hovering above the deep." We know that the zodiac sign governing the wind is "scales," whereas the zodiac sign governing water is עקרב, "scorpion." The correct interpretation of our verse is therefore: "When did G'd create heaven and earth? At a time when the רוח אלוקים rises develops and rises in the morning, i.e. at the time when the zodiac sign "scales" which is the zodiac sign pertaining to the רוח, "wind" hovers "above the face of the waters" which is close to the zodiac sign "scales," the sign pertaining to the waters.
The reason why these respective zodiac signs are called "scales" and "scorpion" as well as the reason for the names of the remainder of the zodiac signs is because a cluster of stars form a shape reminiscent of such objects or animals in the sky. According to tradition, at the time the deluge occurred the constellations of the seven fixed stars was as follows: There was a cluster of stars resembling the shape of a lamb; there was a similar cluster of stars resembling the shape of an ox; the same was the case with the zodiac signs "twins," both of whom resembled human beings. There was a constellation resembling a lobster (cancer), a constellation resembling "scales," a constellation resembling a scorpion, a constellation resembling a bucket, i.e. a human being drawing water; All these horoscopes or zodiac signs were named after their appearance in the sky at the time of the deluge.
It may be true that the reason these signs appeared in that fashion in the sky at the time of the deluge was meant to remind man of Divine supervision of his fate by his recalling the names of the horoscopes. Our sages in Pessikta Rabbati 2,9 as well as in Tanchuma have explained this in the manner we have outlined.

Another approach to help us understand the line ‎ועשית בגדי ‏קודש לאהרן אחיך לכבוד ולתפארת‎: We know that of the twelve ‎months of the year 6 months belong to the season known as ‎‎“winter”, whereas the other 6 months are known as “summer.” ‎The twelve months correspond to the 12 lunar cycles each of ‎which is identified by star patterns described as ‎מזלות‎, ‎‎“constellation of stars in the sky.” Each month another one of ‎these constellations carries out its assigned tasks. The twelve ‎constellations may be summed up as 6 holy attributes, part of the ‎mystical ‎אור ישר ואור חוזר‎, “direct light emanating from the ‎source, and reflected light carrying the spiritual input by the ‎creatures who had encountered it. The six holy attributes are: 1) ‎man’s love for his Creator, and his desire to serve Him out of love ‎so as to provide Him with pleasure from His creatures. 2) The awe ‎in which man holds G’d; his dread of transgressing rules that ‎outlaw certain activities and defy His wishes. 3) the glory of G’d ‎that man must experience when he sees how G’d “boasts” of ‎man’s good deeds, compare Isaiah 49,3: ‎עבדי אתה ישראל אשר בך ‏אתפאר‎, “You are My servant Israel in whom I glory.” 4+5) the ‎faith Israel displays. These are two virtues, even though they ‎have a common heading. [The author had on a previous ‎occasion distinguished between faith which is totally oblivious of ‎any advantage one might personally gain from it, and faith which ‎is tied to certainty that G’d will reward one tangibly. Ed.] ‎‎6) The attribute of negating self interest by linking oneself ‎unreservedly to G’d and being completely content with whatever ‎it is that He has in mind for him.‎
The 12 constellations are represented in the gemstones of the ‎breastplate of the High Priest where they symbolize the 12 tribes ‎of the Jewish people, the holy nation.‎
The month of Adar corresponds to the tribe of Joseph ‎from whom 2 of the twelve tribes emerged. This is why when ‎there is a need to insert an extra month in the calendar to ‎compensate for the 11 days plus, that the lunar “year” is shorter ‎than the solar year, this month appears in our calendar as both ‎Adar I and Adar II. The appropriate zodiac sign for this month is ‎therefore that of ‎דגים‎, fish, which are a symbol of fertility as we ‎know from Genesis 48,16 where Yaakov blessed Joseph by ‎predicting that his sons’ offspring would be as numerous as that ‎of fish. Another example of Joseph’s numerous offspring is ‎alluded to in the words ‎בן פרת יוסף‎ “Joseph is a fruitful son.” ‎Genesis 49,22. Just as fish are safe from the evil eye, seeing they ‎are not visible on the earth’s surface, swimming beneath the ‎surface of the oceans, so the Talmud in B’rachot 20 ‎understands the words ‎עלי עין‎, in the same verse as the protection ‎afforded Joseph’s offspring from the potential damage from the ‎evil eye of people envious of them.‎
When the letters of the word ‎דג‎, “fish” are inverted, the result ‎is ‎גד‎, a word related to ‎מזל‎ in the sense of good fortune. (compare ‎Talmud Shabbat 67) There the sages accuse people who wish ‎themselves “that their mazzal, ‎גד‎ (protective star), not be ‎tired either by day of by night,” as uttering idolatrous phrases. In ‎the case of Joseph, whose two sons were called ‎מנשה‎ and ‎אפרים‎ ‎respectively, the former is an allusion to historically negative ‎phenomena, whereas the word ‎אפרים‎ is symbolic of historically ‎favourable occurrences. Joseph already presaged this when ‎naming his sons (Genesis 41,51-52) when he saw in the birth of ‎his first son a reminder of his years of suffering, whereas he ‎predicted a better future as being associated with the birth of his ‎second son. The month of Adar similarly symbolizes hard times ‎for the Jewish people during the first half, until after the 14th ‎when the nation during the reign of Ahasverus had been saved ‎from Haman’s wicked plots.
According to the Talmud Shabbat 104, where ‎positioning of the letters and its symbolic significance is ‎discussed, the symbolism of the letters of the Jewish calendar ‎telling us something through the sequence in which they appear, ‎our sages see in the sequence ‎גד‎ an abbreviation of the words ‎גומל ‏דלים‎, “G’d at work in reversing the fate of the poor, (Jews in ‎exile)” The letter ‎ד‎ is understood to refer to the initial ‎subjugation of the Jewish people, whereas the letter ‎ג‎ is ‎understood as the subsequent turn for the better in the fortunes ‎of this people. This is used as a reversal of the normal ‎interpretation of such pairings of letters when the letter that is ‎later in the alphabet appearing first, is considered as a bad omen. ‎It was reserved for G’d to demonstrate that when He, as opposed ‎to astrological factors, i.e. mazzal, is involved, He can ‎reverse the predictions of the astrologers based on idolatry. ‎Besides, we must never forget that even when G’d subjects us to ‎harsh measures, the ultimate objective is to bring about our ‎repentance and subsequent redemption. The Purim story is the ‎best example of this, although it was unique in that not a hair of ‎a single Jew was touched on that occasion, the disaster having ‎been warded off by the people’s repentance in time.‎