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History of The Zodiac: The 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 the first known celestial coordinate system. There are two apparently independently created zodiacs. Babylonian astrology, inherited by Hellenistic and Indian astrology, developed the zodiac of twelve signs familiar in the West. In Chinese astrology, months and years pass through a cycle of twelve animals that imply certain fortunes or misfortunes related to events occurring within those signs. The Chinese zodiac is not linked to constellations, however.
By 2,000 BC, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians marked the seasons by the constellations we now call Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. However, the marking of seasons by constellations may go back to 5,000 BC. The division of the ecliptic into the zodiacal signs originates perhaps in Babylonian (”Chaldean”) astronomy as early as the 1st millennium BC. The Babylonian calender assigns each month a constellation, beginning with the position of the Sun at vernal equinox. Babylonian astronomers at some point during the 1st millennium BC divided the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude to create the first known celestial coordinate system: a coordinate system that boasts some advantages over modern systems (such as equitorial coordinate system or ecliptic coordinate system).
The precise origins of the twelve constellations of the zodiac are unknown. In particular the reasons for the prominence given to animals is unclear (it is in fact a feature of all the constellations, not just those of the zodiac). The shape of the constellations themselves were probably not the main factor, as most of them bear little or no resemblance to the mythical characters after which they are named. Their origins are more likely to be in the belief of early peoples that events on earth were mirrored in the heavens above them. It followed then, that important mythical beings in the earth's affairs must have a matching image in the sky. Therefore over time a process probably developed whereby various important archetypal characters in ancient myth were linked to the sky by the 'discovery' of a pattern of stars (or 'constellation') in their image.
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.
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