About Zodiac
Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude. The zodiac is recognized as the first known celestial coordinate system. Babylonian astronomers developed the zodiac of twelve signs.[citation needed] The term zodiac comes from the Latin zodiacus, from the Greek ??d?a??? [??????] (zodiakos kyklos), meaning "circle of animals", derived from ??d??? (zodion), the diminutive of ???? (zoon) "animal". The American Heritage Dictionary(1970) derives the word further from Indo-European 'gwei-', 'to live'. 'zoe', 'life' is listed as the suffixed form of this Indo-European word. However, the classical Greek zodiac also includes signs (also constellations) that are not represented by animals (e.g., Aquarius, Virgo, Gemini, and—for some—Libra). Another suggested etymology is that the Greek term is cognate with the Sanskrit sodi, denoting "a path", i.e., the path through which the Sun travels.
The zodiac also means a region of the celestial sphere that includes a band of eight arc degrees above and below the ecliptic, and therefore encompasses the paths of the Moon and the naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The classical astronomers called these planets wandering stars to differentiate them from the fixed stars of the celestial sphere (Ptolemy). Astrologers understood the movement of the planets and the Sun through the zodiac as a means of explaining and predicting events on Earth.
Zodiac in astrology
Astrologers use astronomical observations of the movements of the night sky for divinatory purposes. The zodiac remains in use in modern astrology, though the issue of tropical astrology (used mainly by Western astrologers) and sidereal astrology (used mainly by Indian astrologers) is central. At issue in the debate is whether the signs should be defined in terms of zones derived from nodal points defined by Earth's motion during a tropical year, or whether the signs should be defined in terms of signs roughly aligned with the constellations of the same name (for sidereal astrologers). This matters because of an astronomical phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes, whereby the position of the stars in the sky has changed over time. The axis of rotation of the Earth slowly changes direction, making one complete turn approximately every 26,000 years. Originally, Aries corresponded to the summer equinox for the Northern hemisphere, but after about 1/4 of a cycle since the zodiac was invented, Aries now corresponds to 1/4 of the year, roughly April. Likewise, over the centuries the twelve zodiacal signs in Western astrology no longer correspond to the same part of the sky as their original constellations, or their Indian counterparts. In effect, in Western astrology the link between sign and constellation has been broken, whereas in Indian astrology it remains of paramount importance.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac
Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude. The zodiac is recognized as the first known celestial coordinate system. Babylonian astronomers developed the zodiac of twelve signs.[citation needed] The term zodiac comes from the Latin zodiacus, from the Greek ??d?a??? [??????] (zodiakos kyklos), meaning "circle of animals", derived from ??d??? (zodion), the diminutive of ???? (zoon) "animal". The American Heritage Dictionary(1970) derives the word further from Indo-European 'gwei-', 'to live'. 'zoe', 'life' is listed as the suffixed form of this Indo-European word. However, the classical Greek zodiac also includes signs (also constellations) that are not represented by animals (e.g., Aquarius, Virgo, Gemini, and—for some—Libra). Another suggested etymology is that the Greek term is cognate with the Sanskrit sodi, denoting "a path", i.e., the path through which the Sun travels.The zodiac also means a region of the celestial sphere that includes a band of eight arc degrees above and below the ecliptic, and therefore encompasses the paths of the Moon and the naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The classical astronomers called these planets wandering stars to differentiate them from the fixed stars of the celestial sphere (Ptolemy). Astrologers understood the movement of the planets and the Sun through the zodiac as a means of explaining and predicting events on Earth.
Zodiac in astrology
Astrologers use astronomical observations of the movements of the night sky for divinatory purposes. The zodiac remains in use in modern astrology, though the issue of tropical astrology (used mainly by Western astrologers) and sidereal astrology (used mainly by Indian astrologers) is central. At issue in the debate is whether the signs should be defined in terms of zones derived from nodal points defined by Earth's motion during a tropical year, or whether the signs should be defined in terms of signs roughly aligned with the constellations of the same name (for sidereal astrologers). This matters because of an astronomical phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes, whereby the position of the stars in the sky has changed over time. The axis of rotation of the Earth slowly changes direction, making one complete turn approximately every 26,000 years. Originally, Aries corresponded to the summer equinox for the Northern hemisphere, but after about 1/4 of a cycle since the zodiac was invented, Aries now corresponds to 1/4 of the year, roughly April. Likewise, over the centuries the twelve zodiacal signs in Western astrology no longer correspond to the same part of the sky as their original constellations, or their Indian counterparts. In effect, in Western astrology the link between sign and constellation has been broken, whereas in Indian astrology it remains of paramount importance.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac
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