Zodiac signs

The word "zodiac" comes from a Latin word that means "circle of animals." The zodiac is a circle of constellations that line the ecliptic path of the sun. It is divided into twelve equal segments. The moon and planets are also included in the zodiac. Many people draw significance from their zodiac sign, which corresponds to the constellation the sun aligns with at one's time of birth. A list of the twelve zodiac signs and their meanings can be found at psychicguild.com.

A zodiac chart: credits to minglecity.com

The Babylonians are usually credited with the origin of the idea of zodiac signs. They believed that a person's birth month influenced their personality and noticed that the stars were in certain positions at the same time each year. They used astrology to predict and explain wars and natural disasters. The Egyptians divided the ecliptic into twelve sections which are now the twelve zodiac signs. The Greeks discovered astrology around the 4th century. It later spread to the Romans, who gave the constellations of the zodiac the names they have today. Throughout the next century and a half, astrology fell in and out of popularity. Many religious groups disliked it. Today, astrology is not considered an actual science but is still studied thoroughly by some people. Many people enjoy reading their horoscopes though they may not take them seriously. There are many beliefs on how zodiac signs can shape one's personality and on how compatible different zodiac signs are with each other. A zodiac sign compatibility analysis can be found at eastrolog.com. For a complete astrological analysis of one's birth date, one must not only consider one's sun sign but also the constellations to which the moon and each planet correspond. According to twelveplanets.com, one's sun sign represents one's character, a moon sign represents one's thinking process and manner of communication, and Venus represents artistic abilities and love. Outer planets represent an entire birth generation rather than an individual. The rising sign, which corresponds to the constellation that was rising in the east at a person's time of birth, represents how a person approaches new things. A free astrological chart analysis can be found at alabe.com.

The zodiac does not lie perfectly in a plane with the ecliptic. Due to this fact, the time of year traditionally corresponding to each zodiac sign does not correspond with that sign's constellation. It takes about 2000 years for the ecliptic to shift over one constellation. During the time of the ancient Babylonians, the sun rose against Aries during the spring equinox (which is considered the beginning of the zodiac.) However, throughout the next two millenniums it began to rise against Pisces and is now beginning to rise against Aquarius. The current astrological age is referred to as the Age of Aquarius. It will take around 26000 years for the ecliptic and the zodiac to line up perfectly again, according to astro.com. This difference between the sun's path and the zodiac has led to two forms of astrology: tropical astrology, which is based on the seasons in the year, and sidereal astrology, which is based on the actual positions of the stars. The sidereal zodiac has a thirteenth constellation, Ophiuchus, between Scorpio and Sagittarius. The tropical zodiac is used in Western astrology and is the zodiac used in horoscope charts. The sidereal zodiac is used in Indian and Vedic astrology.

The zodiac can be divided into three groups of four signs. Cardinal signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, represent the equinoxes and solstices and stand for dynamic change. Fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, stand for stability. Mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, stand for more gradual change. Zodiac signs can also be divided into four groups of three signs: earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn,) air signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius,) fire signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius,) and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.) Additionally, zodiac signs can be divided into male and female groups.

Birthday shoutouts to Joseph and Uncle Andrew