Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer) represents Aesculapius, the mythological healer of the sick. Ophiuchus might be considered the 13th Zodiacal Constellation. Over the centuries this constellation has move over the line known as the Ecliptic due to a wobble in Earth's rotation known as 'procession'. (The Ecliptic is the imaginary line that the Sun, Moon and all the planets except Pluto seem to move along. It represents the edge of the solar system.) Originally, the constellations Ophiuchus and Serpens were considered all part of the same 'Snake-Holder' constellation. Located inside Ophiuchus are the following interesting astronomical objects: Bernard's Star, several Messier Objects including (M9, M10, M12, M14, M19, M62, M107) and other open clusters like IC-4665, NGC-6633, also the nebula IC-4603-4604, and The Starfish galaxy (NGC-6240), a double galaxy.

The Serpent-Bearer, the so-called "13th Sign" of the Zodiac. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, but was never considered a Sign of the Zodiac. The zodiacal Signs are particular divisions of the circle of the ecliptic into 12 equal parts of 30° each, based on the seasonal changes marked by the Equinoxes and the Solstices. Despite their names, the positions of the stellar constellations nowadays have no direct connection with the Signs, at least not in Western Tropical Astrology (compare Sidereal Zodiac).

Ophiuchus , sometimes referred to as Serpentarius , both meaning "serpent-holder", is one of the 88 constellations, and was also one of the 48 listed by Ptolemy. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way, between Scorpius to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Of the 13 zodiacal constellations (constellations that contain the Sun during the course of the year), Ophiuchus is the only one which is not counted as an astrological sign.