The zodiac calendar is an astrological theory that divides the path that the sun seems to follow around the earth into twelve equal sections, each of which is associated with a sign, a symbol and a type of personality. John Gardner embraces this astrological theme in his parallel novel, Grendel, connecting each of the twelve chapters to its coinciding zodiac. Grendel's astrological journey begins with Aires. The beginning of this new zodiac cycle disturbs Grendel due to its cyclicality. The symbol of Aires, the ram, disgusts Grendel because he repeats the same movements he had repeated without even realizing that fate is repeating itself. While Grendel possesses the physical attributes of a beast, he does not succumb to the same anomalous urge to mount anything. The ram's stupidity and lack of dignity separate Grendel from the community of beasts. In chapter two, while innocently adventuring, Grendel traps his foot in a crevice between two old trees, and suddenly, a bull defending a calf begins to attack Grendel. After a successful knee strike, Grendel finds an easy way to avoid almost all of the bull's lunges. Before long, the repetitive mechanical bull can barely upstage Grendel. The bull, unlike Hrothgar and his men, incompetently charges against Grendel's tree in the same way he would fight anything. Like the ram, the bull's stupidity contrasts Grendel with the common beast who does not “even know that the calves he defends are their own. " (20) The “brute enmity” of the bull (22) is compared to the competence of humanity when Hrothgar and his men attack Grendel. Although the men are smaller and less physically capable than the bull, Grendel calls them “the most dangerous things that [he] has ever met” (26) simply because… of the medium of paper… .xo nihilo, I always say” (150) meaning that nothing comes from nothing. Aquarius, or the bearer of water, is typically defined by its unpredictability. The deep and complex cave is the first symbol of Aquarius because the underground river carries water through itself. Because the cave is so deep and intricate, it will certainly be unpredictable symbol of Aquarius is Beowulf's ship because, through the water, it carries the destroyer of Grendel. Similar to Arie which marks the beginning of the zodiac in the first chapter, the purpose of Pisces marks the end of the astrological cycle fight, after Grendel and Beowulf realize that Grendel is about to die, Beowulf makes a connection between fish, the zodiac sign of Pisces, and human resistance. This connection instills the same theme of repetition that Grendel heard in the chapter because it implies that humanity will continue, cycle after cycle.