What Is The Zodiac?

The zodiac, the sign a person was born under, is a band of constellations that Earth’s moon, the sun, and the other planets move through during the course of the year. In Western astrology, the twelve main constellations were named and are considered the most important. Chinese zodiac, however, uses twelve animals and is based on calendar cycle. Regardless of which form of astrology a person practices or believes in, twelve is the magic number as it corresponds with the twelve cycles of the moon, something that is found in every form of astrology.

In Western astrology, the zodiac divides the sky into twelve pieces the same size – 30 degrees – and starts with Aries. Aries is where the earth’s celestial equator and the Sun’s path through the sky meet during the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. Because of the way the Earth’s rotation is slowly changing, the zodiac signs no longer have anything to do with the constellations in the sky. It’s quite possible to look up in the sky and see the constellation Virgo where Aries should be. Instead, the twelve zodiac signs stay attached to the months and seasons. Some Western astrologists use a technique called the sidereal zodiac which allows the zodiac sign to stay with the constellations with the same name. It follows a different ecliptic that allows this and is mostly found being used by practitioner’s of Vedic astrology, a form that originated in India.

The twelve zodiac signs that are stilled used today were named by the Greek astronomer and astrologer Ptolemy. They are: Aries, the ram (March 21 – April 19); Taurus, the bull (April 20 – May 20); Gemini, the twins (May 21 – June 21); Cancer, the crab (June 22 – July 22); Leo, the lion (July 23 – August 23); Virgo, the virgin (August 24 – September 23); Libra, the scale (September 24 – October 23); Scorpio, the scorpion (October 24 – November 22); Sagittarius, the centaur (November 23 – December 21); Capricorn, the sea-goat (December 22 – January 19); Aquarius, the pitcher (January 20 – February 18); and Pisces, the fish (February 19 – March 20). Keep in mind that these dates have been known to fluctuate a day or two depending on which astrologist is developing the horoscope.