Aries was originally the leader of the zodiac, but the Precession of the Equinoxes has now thrown it into second place, and brought Pisces to the front, the twelve signs of the zodiac being like a fixed circular framework through which the constellations drift toward the east. The _sign_ Aries remains the first of the zodiac, but is occupied by the constellation Pisces. Is there in any language a word more mysteriously impressive than “zodiac”? Astrological superstition, perhaps, partly accounts for this. The word comes from the Greek for “animal,” because nearly all the constellations of the zodiacal circle are representations of animals. It surrounds the sky with a great menagerie of starry phantasms, through the midst of which the sun pursues his annual round. When he enters the sign of Aries spring commences; when he enters Cancer summer reigns; when he reaches Libra it is the beginning of autumn, and when he is in Capricorn winter is at hand. We have nothing quite equal to the old Greek story of Phaeton begging from his father, Phœbus Apollo, the privilege of driving the Chariot of the Sun, and losing his way through terror of the threatening forms amid which lay his course--the “Scorpion,” with his fiery sting uplifted to strike; the huge “Crab,” sprawling across the way; the fierce “Ram,” with lowered head; the great “Bull,” charging headlong upon him; the terrible “Lion,” with bristling mane; the “Archer,” with bow bent and arrow aimed; the “Goat,” with crooked, threatening horns; the sturdy “Waterman,” emptying his vast urn in a raging flood; the balance of “Libra” extended as if to weigh his fate--even the benign aspect of the “Twins” and the gentle look of the sedate “Virgin” could not restore his equanimity. It was the wildest of all wild rides, and Phaeton was the precursor of the modern chauffeur gone mad with the speed of his flight, and crazed by the pursuit of phantoms which rise remorselessly in his path. It was probably in Aries that the inventors of the story imagined the beginning of the adventure.