Virgin

It appears in Judaism as early as the verse in Genesis, referring to Eliezer's encounter with Rebekah: 'And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her' (Genesis 24:16) and is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, especially with regard to the laws governing betrothal, marriage and divorce.
. One of the most fundamental aspects of Jewish tradition—which also may be going the way of other Victorian virtues—is the great significance attached to virginity.
. However, that is not the punishment according to Islamic Law or Sharia', and is more often viewed as a primitive traditional and cultural norm found in rare societies.
. In Islamic communities it is sometimes, but very rarely, known for sexually active but unmarried young girls to be killed by relatives protecting the family's honor.
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However, in many conservative Muslim societies an individual who is not a virgin may be looked upon unfavourably for a possible marriage. In the symbolism of alchemy, Leo denoted the absorption or assimilation of one substance by another. Despite this, people who are not virgins may still be allowed to marry each other. Leo rules the heart and spine. Quotes such as 'Do not even go near Fornication' (Al-Israa 17: 32), are testament to this. Each astrological sign is assigned a part of the body, viewed as the seat of its power. Islam provides very strict conditions that sexual activity must occur between married individuals. The Egyptian pharaoh Nechepso, and his priest Petosiris, taught that at the creation of the world the Sun rose here near Denebola, and hence Leo was Domicilium Solis, the emblem of fire and heat, and the "House of the Sun".

There are terms such as a "born again virgin", where a person who has had pre-marital sex may regain a state which they consider to be pure. It is the domicile of the Sun. Some theologians hold that once virginity is lost in a pre-marital context then one is polluted or defiled from that state through the consequence arising from the corruption of retaining unlawful carnal knowledge through experience. Leo is also one of the Fixed signs (along with Taurus, Scorpio, and Aquarius). For example, some believe the New Testament of the Christian Bible forbids pre-marital sex of any form. In some cosmologies, Leo is associated with the classical element Fire, and thus called a Fire Sign (with Aries and Sagittarius). Some Christian observers say that virginity indicates a requisite state of holiness in terms of sexuality before marriage. The Western astrological sign Leo of the tropical zodiac (July 24 – August 23) differs from the astronomical constellation and the Hindu astrological sign of the sidereal zodiac (August 10 – September 15).

This has been termed technical virginity or hot virginity. In Greek mythology, it was identified as the Nemean Lion (and may have been a source of the tale) which was killed by Herakles during one of his twelve labours, and subsequently put into the sky. Some historians and anthropologists note that many societies that place a high value on virginity before marriage, such as the United States before the sexual revolution, actually have a large amount of premarital sexual activity that does not involve vaginal penetration, e.g., oral sex, anal sex and mutual masturbation. Lajard's Cultes de Mithra mentions the hieroglyph of Leo as among the symbols of Mithraic worship, but how their Lion agreed, if at all, with ours is not known. Continuing virginity after a certain age is even regarded by some to be a negative thing, implying that the person is unattractive, prudish or sexually immature. But the International Dictionary says that this symbol is a corruption of the initial letter of Λεων (Leon). The increasingly-common belief of some western youth that virginity is no longer to be regarded as a virtue has become a matter of considerable debate, especially related to controversies involving sexuality among young people. Gaius Julius Hyginus's writing published in 1488 and Albumasar's in 1489 showing this latter member of extraordinary length, twisting between the hind legs and over the back, Hygnus's manuscript properly locating the star Denebola in the end.

Some elements within western culture no longer regard premarital virginity as a virtue and may allude to it disparagingly. The astrological symbol has been supposed to portray the animal's mane, but it also might be the animal's tail. This may even hold true for women who are assumed to be non-virgins (for example, those involved in a second marriage), but the practice is not universal. Kircher gave its title there as Πιμεντεκεων, Cubitus Nili. It is unclear the extent to which this symbolism is accurate given that some women may choose to wear white even if they are no longer virgins. The Egyptian stellar Lion, however, comprised only a part of ours, and in the earliest records some of its stars were shown as a knife, as they now are as a sickle. Traditionally in western marriage ceremonies, a veil is taken as a symbol of the bride's virginity; it is a popular misconception that the white dress indicated virginity. Distinct reference is made to Leo in an inscription of the walls of the Ramesseum at Thebes, which, like the Nile temples generally, was adorned with the animal's bristles, while on the planisphere of Dendera its figure is shown standing on an outstretched serpent.

Traditionally in some cultures (especially those dominated by Christianity, Islam and Judaism, as also Hinduism and the other Indic religions) there has been a widespread belief that the loss of virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame. For the same reason the Sphinx is said to have been sculptured with Leo's body and the head of the adjacent Virgo, although Egyptologists maintain that this head represented one of the early kings, or the god Harmachis. Female virginity is closely interwoven with personal or even family honor in many cultures. Pliny wrote that the Egyptians worshipped the stars of Leo because the rise of their great river was coincident with the Sun's entrance among them. The constellation Virgo represents a wide selection of sacred virgins. The adoption of this animal's form for the zodiac sign has been attributed to the fact that when the Sun was among its stars in midsummer the lions of the desert left their accustomed haunts for the banks of the Nile, where they could find relief from the heat in the waters of the inundation. The Maiden or Virgin is one of the three persons of the Triple Goddess in many Neopagan traditions. In Euphratean astronomy it was additionally known as Gisbar-namru-sa-pan, variously translated, but by Bertin, as the Shining Disc which precedes Bel, "Bel" being our Ursa Major, or in some way intimately connected therewith.

The Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate priestesses of Vesta. The Persians called it Ser or Shir; the Turks, Artan; the Syrians, Aryo; the Jews, Arye; and the Babylonians, Aru — all meaning a lion. Virginity has been often considered to be a virtue denoting purity and physical self-restraint and is an important characteristic of some religious figures such as the Virgin Mary (often called simply the Virgin), the Ten Virgins and the Greek goddesses Athena, Artemis, and Hestia. But Manilius had it Jovis et Junonis Sidus (Star of Jove and Juno), as being under the guardianship of these deities, perhaps appropriately considering its regal character, especially that of its lucida. The word "chastity" (or "celibacy," when referring to the lifestyle choice) is sometimes used for men in place of virginity, although these terms are usually applied to women. Bacchi Sidus (Star of Bacchus) was another of its titles, the god always being identified with this animal, and its shape the one often adopted by him in his numerous transformations, while a lion's skin was his frequent dress. There is no obvious physical indicator of virginity in human males, though there may be social indicators, including possible sexual anxiety and a lack of sexual experience or prowess. Ovid wrote it as Herculeus Leo and Violentus Leo.

There are even women who take this "spiritual" conception of virginity to its maximum, considering "born again" Christians to be virgins, regardless of their past sexual conduct. Early Hindu astronomers knew it as Asleha and as Sinha, the Tamil Simham but later, influenced by Greece and Rome, as Leya or Leyaya, from the word Leo, as the Romans commonly called it. Traditionally, women were not regarded as virgins after a sexual assault, but some people disavow this notion. Leo contains many bright galaxies, of which the twins (Spiral Galaxy M65, Spiral Galaxy M66) and (Spiral Galaxy M95, Spiral Galaxy M96) are the most famous. Conversely, in rare cases a woman's hymen is imperforate, and as menstrual discharge cannot then escape, surgical intervention to break it is necessary to protect her health. [1]. Also, the hymen can be broken before a woman engages in sexual intercourse, for example during strenuous exercise or during the insertion of a tampon. Gliese 436, a faint star in Leo about 33 light years away from the Sun, is orbited by one of the smallest extrasolar planets ever found.

The absence of one, however, is not necessarily an indication of participation in sexual intercourse, since in some women the hymen is either absent from birth, or sufficiently vestigial not to be affected by sexual penetration. The star Wolf 359, one of the nearest stars to Earth's solar system (7.7 light-years), is in Leo. The presence of an intact membrane is therefore often seen as physical evidence of virginity in the broader technical sense. A former asterism representing the tuft of the lion's tail has since become its own constellation, Coma Berenices. Among human females, the hymen is a membrane, part of the vulva, which partially occludes the entrance to the vagina and which is often physically torn when the woman first engages in vaginal sexual intercourse. These stars represent the head and the mane of the lion. . Regulus, η Leonis, and γ Leonis, together with the fainter stars ζ Leo (Adhafera), μ Leo (Ras Elased Borealis), and ε Leo (Ras Elased Australis), make up the asterism known as the Sickle.

The term maiden is also sometimes used to mean a virgin, although that can also refer to an unmarried or merely young woman. Many other fainter stars have been named as well, such as δ Leo (Zosma), θ Leo (Chort), κ Leo (Al Minliar al Asad ), λ Leo (Alterf), and (ο Leo (Subra). The status of "virginity" is sometimes respected and valued in certain societies, especially in relation to views of many religions on sexual conduct before marriage. This constellation contains many bright stars, such as Regulus (α Leonis), the lion's heart; Denebola (β Leonis); and γ¹ Leonis (Algieba). Also, someone can be referred to as an "anal virgin," being a virgin to anal sex (specifically receiving anal sex). . This use is traditionally restricted to a person who has not yet engaged in vaginal intercourse, but it is sometimes used to describe someone who has not engaged in sexual activities in general. Leo lies between dim Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east.

Traditionally, virgin is used to describe a person who has not engaged in sexual intercourse. Leo (Latin for lion, symbol , Unicode ♌) is a constellation of the zodiac. In its most general sense, virginity is characterized by a state of unimpacted purity, usually stemming from a lack of experience (for example, newcomers to game Bingo could be referred to as virgins). ISBN 0393312364. Norton & Company. W.

Liungman, W. Dictionary of Symbols, by Carl G. ISBN 0486210790. Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, by Richard Allen Hinckley, Dover.

(1/κ Leo) 4.47 Al Minliar al Asad. (78/ι Leo) 4.00 Tsze Tseang