This November is the Wikipedia Asian Month. Come join us.

Zodiac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the East Asian zodiac based on the Jovian orbital cycle, see Chinese zodiac.
For other uses, see zodiac (disambiguation).

The Earth in its orbit around the Sun causes the Sun to appear on the celestial
sphere moving over the ecliptic (red), which is tilted with respect to the equator
(blue-white).

The zodiac is the circle of twelve 30 divisions of celestial longitude employed by western
astrology and (formerly) astronomy. The western zodiac is centered upon the ecliptic, the
apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the
Moon and visible planets also remain close to the ecliptic, within the belt of the zodiac, which
extends 8-9 north or south of the ecliptic, as measured in celestial latitude. Because the
divisions are regular, they do not correspond exactly to the boundaries of the twelve
constellations after which they are named.
Historically, these twelve divisions are called signs. Essentially, the zodiac is a celestial
coordinate system, or more specifically an ecliptic coordinate system, which takes the ecliptic as
the origin of latitude, and the position of the Sun at vernal equinox as the origin of longitude.
Contents

1 Name

2 Usage

3 History
o

3.1 Early history

3.2 Hebrew astrology

3.3 Hellenistic and Roman era

3.4 Hindu zodiac

3.5 Middle Ages

3.6 Early modern

4 Twelve signs

5 Constellations

6 Table of dates

7 Precession of the equinoxes

8 In modern astronomy

9 Mnemonics

10 Unicode characters

11 See also

12 References

13 External links

Name

The English word zodiac derives from zdiacus, the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek
zidiaks kklos ( ), meaning "circle of little animals". Zidion () is the
diminutive of zion (, "animal"). The name reflects the prominence of animals (and
mythological hybrids) among the twelve signs.
Usage

The zodiac was in use by the Roman era, based on concepts inherited by Hellenistic astronomy
from Babylonian astronomy of the Chaldean period (mid-1st millennium BC), which, in turn,

derived from an earlier system of lists of stars along the ecliptic.[1] The construction of the zodiac
is described in Ptolemy's vast 2nd century AD work, the Almagest.[2]
Although the zodiac remains the basis of the ecliptic coordinate system in use in astronomy
besides the equatorial one,[3] the term and the names of the twelve signs are today mostly
associated with horoscopic astrology.[4] The term "zodiac" may also refer to the region of the
celestial sphere encompassing the paths of the planets corresponding to the band of about eight
arc degrees above and below the ecliptic. The zodiac of a given planet is the band that contains
the path of that particular body; e.g., the "zodiac of the Moon" is the band of five degrees above
and below the ecliptic. By extension, the "zodiac of the comets" may refer to the band
encompassing most short-period comets.[5]
History
Further information: Former constellations
Early history

Wheel of the zodiac: This 6th century mosaic pavement in a synagogue

incorporates Greek-Byzantine elements, Beit Alpha, Israel.

Zodiac circle with planets, c.1000 - NLW MS 735C

Further information: Babylonian star catalogues and MUL.APIN

The division of the ecliptic into the zodiacal signs originates in Babylonian ("Chaldean")
astronomy during the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The zodiac draws on stars in earlier
Babylonian star catalogues, such as the MUL.APIN catalogue, which was compiled around 1000
BC. Some of the constellations can be traced even further back, to Bronze Age (Old Babylonian)
sources, including Gemini "The Twins", from MA.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL "The Great Twins", and
Cancer "The Crab", from AL.LUL "The Crayfish", among others.[citation needed]
Around the end of the 5th century BC, Babylonian astronomers divided the ecliptic into twelve
equal "signs", by analogy to twelve schematic months of thirty days each. Each sign contained
thirty degrees of celestial longitude, thus creating the first known celestial coordinate system.[6]
Unlike modern astronomers, who place the beginning or the sign of Aries at the place of the Sun
at the vernal equinox; Babylonian astronomers fixed the zodiac in relation to stars, placing the
beginning of Cancer at the "Rear Twin Star" ( Geminorum) and the beginning of Aquarius at
the "Rear Star of the Goat-Fish" ( Capricorni).[7]
Because the division was made into equal arcs, 30 each, they constituted an ideal system of
reference for making predictions about a planet's longitude. However, Babylonian techniques of
observational measurements were in a rudimentary stage of evolution[8] and they measured the
position of a planet in reference to a set of "normal stars" close to the ecliptic (9 of latitude) as
observational reference points to help positioning a planet within this ecliptic coordinate system.
[9]

In Babylonian astronomical diaries, a planet position was generally given with respect to a
zodiacal sign alone, less often in specific degrees within a sign.[10] When the degrees of longitude
were given, they were expressed with reference to the 30 of the zodiacal sign, i.e., not with a
reference to the continuous 360 ecliptic.[11] In astronomical ephemerides, the positions of
significant astronomical phenomena were computed in sexagesimal fractions of a degree
(equivalent to minutes and seconds of arc).[12] For daily ephemerides, the daily positions of a
planet were not as important as the astrologically significant dates when the planet crossed from
one zodiacal sign to the next.[13]
Hebrew astrology

Knowledge of the Babylonian zodiac is also reflected in the Tanakh, but is the first recorded
astrological division into 12 constellations, elaborated on in the Talmuds, books of the Midrash
Rabba, and other minor works. E. W. Bullinger interpreted the creatures appearing in the book of
Ezekiel as the middle signs of the four quarters of the Zodiac,[14][15] with the Lion as Leo, the Bull
is Taurus, the Man representing Aquarius and the Eagle representing Scorpio.[16] Some authors

have linked the twelve tribes of Israel with the twelve signs. Martin and others have argued that
the arrangement of the tribes around the Tabernacle (reported in the Book of Numbers)
corresponded to the order of the Zodiac, with Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan representing the
middle signs of Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio, respectively.Such connections were taken up
by Thomas Mann, who in his novel Joseph and His Brothers attributes characteristics of a sign
of the zodiac to each tribe in his rendition of the Blessing of Jacob.
Hellenistic and Roman era

The 1st century BC Dendera zodiac (19th-century engraving)

The Babylonian star catalogs entered Greek astronomy in the 4th century BC, via Eudoxus of
Cnidus.[17][18] Babylonia or Chaldea in the Hellenistic world came to be so identified with
astrology that "Chaldean wisdom" became among Greeks and Romans the synonym of
divination through the planets and stars. Hellenistic astrology derived in part from Babylonian
and Egyptian astrology.[19] Horoscopic astrology first appeared in Ptolemaic Egypt (305 BC30
BC). The Dendera zodiac, a relief dating to ca. 50 BC, is the first known depiction of the
classical zodiac of twelve signs.
The earliest extant Greek text using the Babylonian division of the zodiac into 12 signs of 30
equal degrees each is the Anaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria (fl. 190 BC).[20] Particularly
important in the development of Western horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer
Ptolemy, whose work Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition.[21] Under the
Greeks, and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, and signs of the zodiac were rationalized
and their function set down in a way that has changed little to the present day.[22] Ptolemy lived in
the 2nd century AD, three centuries after the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes by
Hipparchus around 130 BC. Hipparchus's lost work on precession never circulated very widely
until it was brought to prominence by Ptolemy,[23] and there are few explanations of precession
outside the work of Ptolemy until late Antiquity, by which time Ptolemy's influence was widely
established.[24] Ptolemy clearly explained the theoretical basis of the western zodiac as being a

tropical coordinate system, by which the zodiac is aligned to the equinoxes and solstices, rather
than the visible constellations that bear the same names as the zodiac signs.[25]
Hindu zodiac

The Hindu zodiac uses the sidereal coordinate system, which makes reference to the fixed stars.
The Tropical zodiac (of Mesopotamian origin) is divided by the intersections of the ecliptic and
equator, which shifts in relation to the backdrop of fixed stars at a rate of 1 every 72 years,
creating the phenomenon known as precession of the equinoxes. The Hindu zodiac, being
sidereal, does not maintain this seasonal alignment, but there are still similarities between the
two systems. The Hindu zodiac signs and corresponding Greek signs sound very different, being
in Sanskrit and Greek respectively, but their symbols are nearly identical.[26] For example, dhanu
means "bow" and corresponds to Sagittarius, the "archer", and kumbha means "water-pitcher"
and corresponds to Aquarius, the "water-carrier".[27]
Middle Ages

Angers Cathedral South Rose Window of Christ (centre) with elders (bottom half)
and Zodiac (top half). Mediaeval stained glass by Andre Robin after the fire of 1451

The High Middle Ages saw a revival of Greco-Roman magic, first in Kabbalism and later
continued in Renaissance magic. This included magical uses of the zodiac, as found, e.g., in the
Sefer Raziel HaMalakh.
The zodiac is found in mediaeval stained glass as at Angers Cathedral, where the master
glassmaker, Andr Robin, made the ornate rosettes for the North and South transepts after the
fire there in 1451.[28]
Early modern

The zodiac signs in a 16th-century woodcut

A volvella of the moon. A volvella is a moveable device for working out the position
of the sun and moon in the zodiac, 15th century

17th-century fresco, Cathedral of Living Pillar, Georgia of Christ in the Zodiac circle

An example of the use of signs as astronomical coordinates may be found in the Nautical
Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for the year 1767. The "Longitude of the Sun" columns
show the sign (represented as a digit from 0 to and including 11), degrees from 0 to 29, minutes,
and seconds.[29]
The zodiacal symbols are Early Modern simplifications of conventional pictorial representations
of the signs, attested since Hellenistic times.
Twelve signs
Main article: Astrological sign

What follows is a list of the twelve signs of the modern zodiac (with the ecliptic longitudes of
their first points), where 0 Aries is understood as the vernal equinox, with their Latin, Greek,
Sanskrit, and Babylonian names (but note that the Sanskrit and the Babylonian name equivalents

(after c.500 BC) denote the constellations only, not the tropical zodiac signs). Also, the "English
translation" is not usually used by English speakers. The Latin names are standard English usage.

Symb Lon Latin

ol
g. name

Aries

30 Taurus

English
translatio
n

Greek
name

Sanskri
t name

Sumero-Babylonian
name[30]

The Ram

(Krios)

Mea
()

The Bull

(Tavros)

Vabha MULGU4.AN.NA "The Steer

of Heaven"
()
MUL
MA.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL
Mithuna
"The Great Twins" (Castor
()
and Pollux)

MUL

LU.U.GA "The
Agrarian Worker", Dumuzi

60 Gemini

The Twins

(Didymoi)

90 Cancer

The Crab

(Karkinos)

Karkaa
()

MUL

AL.LUL "The Crayfish"

120
Leo

The Lion

(Len)

Siha
()

MUL

UR.GU.LA "The Lion"

150
Virgo

Kany
The Maiden
(Parthenos) ()

180
Libra

The Scales

MUL

AB.SIN "The Furrow";

"The Furrow, the goddess
Shala's ear of corn"
MUL

(Zygos)

Tul ()

ZIB.BA.AN.NA "The
Scales"

210
The
Scorpio

Scorpion

o
(Skorpios)

Vcika
()

MUL

The
240 Sagittari
(Centaur)

us
Archer

(Toxots)

Dhanuh MULPA.BIL.SAG, Nedu

a () "soldier"

"Goat270 Capricor horned"

n
(The SeaGoat)

Makara

(Aigokers) ()

Kumbha MULGU.LA "The Great One",

300
The WaterAquarius
(Hydrokhoo

Bearer
later q "pitcher"
( )
s)

330 Pisces

The Fish[31]

Mna

GIR.TAB "The Scorpion"

MUL

SUUR.MA "The GoatFish" of Enki

MUL

SIM.MA "The Tail of

(Ikhthyes)

()

the Swallow", later

DU.NU.NU "fish-cord"

18th century star map illustrating how the feet of Ophiuchus cross the ecliptic
Constellations

Equirectangular plot of declination vs right ascension of the modern constellations

with a dotted line denoting the ecliptic. Constellations are colour-coded by family
and year established. (detailed view)

The zodiacal signs are distinct from the constellations associated with them, not only because of
their drifting apart due to the precession of equinoxes but also because the physical constellations
take up varying widths of the ecliptic, so the Sun is not in each constellation for the same amount
of time.[32]:25 Thus, Virgo takes up five times as much ecliptic longitude as Scorpius. The zodiacal
signs are an abstraction from the physical constellations, and each represent exactly one twelfth
of the full circle, or the longitude traversed by the Sun in about 30.4 days.[33]
The path of the Sun actually passes through thirteen constellations recognized by ancient
Babylonian, Greek, and Roman astronomers (including in Ptolemy's Almagest)[34][35] and the
modern International Astronomical Union. Because the Babylonians had a 12-month lunar
calendar, they chose twelve and divided the year up evenly. The thirteenth was left out:
Ophiuchus, the bottom part of which interjects between Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Occasionally this difference between the astronomical constellations and the astrological signs is
mistakenly reported in the popular press as a "change" to the list of traditional signs by some
astronomical body like the IAU, NASA, or the Royal Astronomical Society. This happened in a
1995 report of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and various reports in 2011 and 2016.[36][37][38][39]
Professional astronomers generally consider astrology a pseudoscience which has been disproven
by scientific experimentation. For example, in drawing a distinction between astrology and
scientific astronomy, NASA notes that "No one has shown that astrology can be used to predict
the future or describe what people are like based on their birth dates."[40]
Some "parazodiacal" constellations are also touched by the paths of the planets, leading to counts
of up to 25 "constellations of the zodiac".[41] The ancient Babylonian MUL.APIN catalog lists
Orion, Perseus, Auriga, and Andromeda. Modern astronomers have noted that planets (not
including Pluto) also pass through Crater (constellation), Sextans, Cetus, Pegasus, Corvus,
Hydra, and Scutum; with Venus very rarely passing through Aquila, Canis Minor, Auriga, and
Serpens.[41]
Some of constellations are also mythologically associated with the zodiacal ones: Piscis
Austrinus, The Southern Fish, is attached to Aquarius. In classical maps, it swallows the stream
poured out of Aquarius' pitcher, but perhaps it formerly just swam in it. Aquila, The Eagle, was
possibly associated with the zodiac by virtue of its main star, Altair.[citation needed] Hydra in the Early
Bronze Age marked the celestial equator and was associated with Leo, which is shown standing
on the serpent on the Dendera zodiac.[citation needed] Corvus is the Crow or Raven mysteriously
perched on the tail of Hydra.
Table of dates

Sculpture showing Castor and Pollux, the legend behind the third astrological sign in
the Zodiac and the constellation of Gemini

Southern hemisphere constellations from a western scientific manuscript c.1000

The following table compares the Gregorian dates on which the Sun enters

a sign in the Ptolemaic tropical zodiac

a sign in the Hindu sidereal system

the astronomical constellation of the same name as the sign, with

constellation boundaries as defined in 1930 by the International Astronomical
Union.

The theoretical beginning of Aries is the moment of vernal equinox, and all other dates shift
accordingly.
The precise Gregorian times and dates vary slightly from year to year as the Gregorian calendar
shifts relative to the tropical year.[42] These variations remain within less than two days'
difference in the recent past and the near-future, vernal equinox in UT always falling either on 20
or 21 March in the period of 1797 to 2043, falling on 19 March in 1796 the last time and in 2044
the next.[43]
Sign[44]
Symb Tropical Sidereal
Name
ol
zodiac
zodiac

Constellation
Name

Solar
IAU
Brightest
[45
[45] stay
boundaries
star
]

Aries

21 March
15 April

Aries
15 May
20 April

19 April 13
May

25
days

Hamal

Taurus

21 April 16 May
Taurus
21 May
15 June

14 May 19
June

37
days

Aldebaran

Gemini

22 May 16 June
Gemini
21 June
15 July

20 June 20
July

31
days

Pollux

Cancer

22 June 16 July
Cancer
22 July
15 August

21 July 9
August

20
days

Al Tarf

Leo

16 August

23 July
15
Leo
22 August
Septembe
r

10 August 15 37
September
days

Regulus

Virgo

23 August 16

Septembe
23
r
Virgo
Septembe 15
r
October

16 September 45
30 October
days

Spica

24
16
Libra
Septembe October

31 October
22 November

Zubenescha
mali

Libra

23
days

r
23
October

Scorpio

Ophiuch
us

15
November

16
24
November
October
23 November

Scorpius
7 days Antares
22
29 November
15
November
December
n/a

Ophiuchu 30 November 18
s
17 December days

Rasalhague

Sagittari
us

23
16
November December
Sagittariu 18 December 32

s
18 January
days
21
14
December January

Kaus
Australis

Capricor
n

22
15
December
January Capricorn 19 January 15 28

14
us
February
days
20
February
January

Deneb Algedi

Aquarius

21
January
19
February

24
days

Sadalsuud

Pisces

20
15 March
February

Pisces

14 April
20 March

38
days

Eta Piscium

15
February
16 February
Aquarius

11 March
14 March
12 March 18
April

Because the Earth's axis is at an angle, some signs take longer to rise than others, and the farther
away from the equator the observer is situated, the greater the difference. Thus, signs are spoken
of as "long" or "short" ascension.[46]
Precession of the equinoxes
Further information: Axial precession, Epoch (astronomy), Sidereal and tropical
astrology, Astrological age, and Ayanamsa

Path taken by the point of vernal equinox along the ecliptic over the past 6,000
years

The zodiac system was developed in Babylonia, some 2,500 years ago, during the "Age of
Aries".[47] At the time, it is assumed, the precession of the equinoxes was unknown, as the system
made no allowance for it. Contemporary use of the coordinate system is presented with the
choice of interpreting the system either as sidereal, with the signs fixed to the stellar background,
or as tropical, with the signs fixed to the point of vernal equinox.[48]
Western astrology takes the tropical approach, whereas Hindu astrology takes the sidereal one.
This results in the originally unified zodiacal coordinate system drifting apart gradually, with a
clockwise (westward) precession of 1.4 degrees per century.
For the tropical zodiac used in Western astronomy and astrology, this means that the tropical sign
of Aries currently lies somewhere within the constellation Pisces ("Age of Pisces").
The sidereal coordinate system takes into account the ayanamsa, ayan meaning transit or
movement, and amsa meaning small part, i.e. movement of equinoxes in small parts. It is unclear
when Indians became aware of the precession of the equinoxes, but Bhaskar II's 12th-century
treatise Siddhanta Shiromani gives equations for measurement of precession of equinoxes, and
says his equations are based on some lost equations of Suryasiddhanta plus the equation of
Munjaala.
The discovery of precession is attributed to Hipparchus around 130 BC. Ptolemy quotes from
Hipparchus now lost work entitled On the Displacement of the Solstitial and Equinoctial
Points in the seventh book of his 2nd century astronomical text, Almagest, where he describes
the phenomenon of precession and estimates its value.[23] Ptolemy clarified that the convention of
Greek mathematical astronomy was to commence the zodiac from the point of the vernal
equinox and to always refer to this point as the first degree of Aries.[49] This is known as the
tropical zodiac (from the Greek word trpos, turn)[50] because its starting point revolves
through the circle of background constellations over time.

The principle of the vernal point acting as the first degree of the zodiac for Greek astronomers is
also described in the 1st century BC astronomical text of Geminus of Rhodes. Geminus explains
that Greek astronomers of his era associate the first degrees of the zodiac signs with the two
solstices and the two equinoxes, in contrast to the older Chaldean (Babylonian) system, which
placed these points within the zodiac signs.[49] This illustrates that Ptolemy merely clarified the
convention of Greek astronomers and did not originate the principle of the tropical zodiac, as is
sometimes assumed.
Ptolemy also demonstrates that the principle of the tropical zodiac was well known to his
predecessors within his astrological text, the Tetrabiblos, where he explains why it would be an
error to associate the regularly spaced signs of the seasonally aligned zodiac with the irregular
boundaries of the visible constellations:
The beginnings of the signs, and likewise those of the terms, are to be taken
from the equinoctial and tropical points. This rule is not only clearly stated by
writers on the subject, but is also especially evident by the demonstration
constantly afforded, that their natures, influences and familiarities have no
other origin than from the tropics and equinoxes, as has been already plainly
shown. And, if other beginnings were allowed, it would either be necessary to
exclude the natures of the signs from the theory of prognostication, or
impossible to avoid error in then retaining and making use of them; as the
regularity of their spaces and distances, upon which their influence depends,
would then be invaded and broken in upon. [25]
In modern astronomy

Astronomically, the zodiac defines a belt of space extending 9 either side of the ecliptic, within
which the orbits of the Moon and the principal planets remain.[51] It is a feature of a celestial
coordinate system centered upon the ecliptic, (the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun's
apparent path), by which celestial longitude is measured in degrees east of the vernal equinox
(the ascending intersection of the ecliptic and equator).[52]
The Sun's placement upon the vernal equinox, which occurs annually around 21 March, defines
the starting point for measurement, the first degree of which is historically known as the "first
point of Aries". The first 30 along the ecliptic is nominally designated as the zodiac sign Aries,
which no longer falls within the proximity of the constellation Aries since the effect of
precession is to move the vernal point through the backdrop of visible constellations (it is
currently located near the end of the constellation Pisces, having been within that constellation
since the 2nd century AD).[53] The subsequent 30 of the ecliptic is nominally designated the
zodiac sign Taurus, and so on through the twelve signs of the zodiac so that each occupies 1/12th
(30) of the zodiac's great circle. Zodiac signs have never been used to determine the boundaries

of astronomical constellations that lie in the vicinity of the zodiac, which are, and always have
been, irregular in their size and shape.[51]
The convention of measuring celestial longitude within individual signs was still being used in
the mid-19th century,[54] but modern astronomy now numbers degrees of celestial longitude from
0 to 360, rather than 0 to 30 within each sign.
The use of the zodiac as a means to determine astronomical measurement remained the main
method for defining celestial positions by Western astronomers until the Renaissance, at which
time preference moved to the equatorial coordinate system, which measures astronomical
positions by right ascension and declination rather than the ecliptic-based definitions of celestial
longitude and celestial latitude.[53]
The word "zodiac" is also used in reference to the zodiacal cloud of dust grains that move among
the planets, and the zodiacal light that originates from their scattering of sunlight.
Mnemonics

There are many mnemonics for remembering the 12 signs of the zodiac in order. A traditional
mnemonic:[55]
The ram, the bull, the heavenly twins,
And next the crab, the lion shines,
The virgin and the scales,
The scorpion, archer, and the goat,
The man who holds the watering-pot,
And fish with glittering scales.
A less poetic, but succinct mnemonic is the following:[56]
The Ramble Twins Crab Liverish;
Scaly Scorpions Are Good Water Fish.
Mnemonics in which the initials of the words correspond to the initials of the star signs (Latin,
English, or mixed):
All The Great Constellations Live Very Long Since Stars Can't Alter Physics.[57]
As The Great Cook Likes Very Little Salt, She Compensates Adding Pepper.
All That Gold Can Load Very Lazy Students Since Children Are at Play

Modern mnemonics which use calendar order (January to December order) are arbitrary. For
example,
"Capped aqueous poisons are tainting good crab legs vaguely like scorched sage" corresponds to
Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio,
Sagittarius.
Or, for astronomical IAU boundaries, "Sadly, capsized, aqueous pollutants are tainting good
crabs leaving via liberally scorched Oregon" starts with Sagittarius in January and includes
Ophiuchus in December.
Unicode characters

In Unicode, the symbols of zodiac signs are encoded in block Miscellaneous Symbols:[58]
1. U+2648

ARIES (HTML ♈)

2. U+2649

TAURUS (HTML ♉)

3. U+264A

GEMINI (HTML ♊)

4. U+264B

CANCER (HTML ♋)

5. U+264C

LEO (HTML ♌)

6. U+264D

VIRGO (HTML ♍)

7. U+264E

LIBRA (HTML ♎)

8. U+264F

SCORPIUS (HTML ♏)

9. U+2650

SAGITTARIUS (HTML ♐)

10.U+2651

CAPRICORN (HTML ♑)

11.U+2652

AQUARIUS (HTML ♒)

12.U+2653

PISCES (HTML ♓)

In Unicode 6.0 the sign for Ophiuchus has been added, too:
U+26CE

OPHIUCHUS (HTML ⛎)

See also

Astrology portal

Astronomical symbols

Chinese Zodiac

Circle of stars

Cusp (astrology)

Elements of the zodiac

References
1.
See MUL.APIN. See also Lankford, John. History of Astronomy, Routledge, 1996.
ISBN 978-0-8153-0322-0. p. 43, books.google.co.uk
Ptolemy, Claudius (1998). The Almagest. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press. ISBN 0-691-00260-6. Translated and annotated by G. J. Toomer;
with a foreword by Owen Gingerich.
Shapiro, Lee T. "Constellations in the zodiac." NASA. 27 April 2011.
B. L. van der Waerden, "History of the zodiac", Archiv fr Orientforschung 16
(1953) 216230.
OED, citing J. Harris, Lexicon Technicum (1704): "Zodiack of the Comets,
Cassini hath observed a certain Tract [...] within whose Bounds [...] he hath found
most Comets [...] to keep."
Britton, John P. (2010), "Studies in Babylonian lunar theory: part III. The
introduction of the uniform zodiac", Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 64 (6):
617663, doi:10.1007/S00407-010-0064-Z, JSTOR 41134332, [T]he zodiac was
introduced between 408 and 397 and probably within a very few years of 400.
Steele, John M. (2012) [2008], A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle
East (electronic ed.), London: Saqi, ISBN 9780863568961
Sachs (1948), p. 289.
Aaboe, Asger H. (2001), Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy, New
York: Springer, pp. 3738, ISBN 9780387951362

 Rochberg, Francesca (1988), Babylonian Horoscopes, Transactions of the

American Philosophical Society, 88 (1), p. 7, doi:10.2307/1006632, JSTOR 1006632
Rochberg, Francesca (1988), Babylonian Horoscopes, Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, 88 (1), p. 17, doi:10.2307/1006632, JSTOR 1006632
Aaboe, Asger H. (2001), Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy, New
York: Springer, pp. 4145, ISBN 9780387951362
Rochberg, Francesca (1988), Babylonian Horoscopes, Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, 88 (1), p. 8, doi:10.2307/1006632, JSTOR 1006632
E.W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars
D. James Kennedy, The Real Meaning of the Zodiac.
Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Vol. 1 (New York:
Dover Publications, 1899, p. 213-215.) argued for Scorpio having previously been
called Eagle. for Scorpio.
Rogers, John H. "Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian
traditions." Journal of the British Astronomical Assoc. 108.1 (1998): 928.
Astronomical Data Service.
Rogers, John H. "Origins of the ancient constellations: II. The Mesopotamian
traditions." Journal of the British Astronomical Assoc. 108.2 (1998): 7989.
Astronomical Data Service.
Powell, Robert, Influence of Babylonian Astronomy on the Subsequent Defining
of the Zodiac (2004), PhD thesis, summarized by anonymous editor, Archived 21
May 2009 at the Wayback Machine..
Montelle, Clemency (2016), "The Anaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria", in
Steele, John M., The Circulation of Astronomical Knowledge in the Ancient World,
Time, Astronomy, and Calendars: Texts and Studies, 6, Leiden: Brill, pp. 287315,
ISBN 978-90-0431561-7
Saliba, George, 1994. A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During
the Golden Age of Islam. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-81478023-7. Page 67.
Derek and Julia Parker, Ibid, p16, 1990
Grahoff, Gerd (1990). The History of Ptolemys Star Catalogue. Springer.
p. 73. ISBN 9780387971810.
Evans, James; Berggren, J. Lennart (2006). Geminos's Introduction to the
Phenomena. Princeton University Press. p. 113. ISBN 069112339X.

 Ashmand, J. M. Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos. Astrology Classics. p. 37 (I.XXV).

Schmidt, Robert H. "The Relation of Hellenistic to Indian Astrology". Project
Hindsight. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India.
p. 89. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
King, David. 'Angers Cathedral, (book review of Karine Boulangers 2010 book,
Les Vitraux de la Cathdrale dAngers, the 11th volume of the Corpus Vitrearum
series from France), Vitemus: the only on-line magazine devoted to medieval
stained glass, Issue 48, February 2011, retrieved 17 December 2013.
Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for the year 1767. London:
Board of Longitude, 1766.
MUL.APIN; Peter Whitfield, History of Astrology (2001); W. Muss-Arnolt, The
Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents, Journal of Biblical
Literature (1892).
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 3rd ed., s.v. "Pisces."
James, Edward W. (1982). Patrick Grim, ed. Philosophy of science and the
occult. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0873955722.
30.4368 SI days or 2629743 seconds in tropical astrology and 30.4380 SI days
or 2629846 seconds in sidereal astrology on average (the time spent by the Sun in
each sign varies slightly due to the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit).
Peters, Christian Heinrich Friedrich and Edward Ball Knobel. Ptolemy's
Catalogue of Stars: a revision of the Almagest. Carnegie Institution of Washington,
1915.
Ptolemy (1982) [2nd cent.]. "VII.5". In R. Catesby Taliaferro. Almagest. p. 239.
Ptolemy refers to the constellation as Septentarius "the serpent holder".
Kollerstrom, N. (October 1995). "Ophiuchus and the media". The Observatory.
KNUDSEN; OBS. 115: 261262. Bibcode:1995Obs...115..261K. Reproduced online at
SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS), retrieved 13 July 2011.
Kollerstrom, N. (October 1995). "Ophiuchus and the media". The Observatory.
KNUDSEN; OBS. 115: 261262. Bibcode:1995Obs...115..261K.
The notion received further international media attention in January 2011,
when it was reported that astronomer Parke Kunkle, a board-member of the
Minnesota Planetarium Society, had suggested that Ophiuchus was the zodiac's
"13th sign". He later issued a statement to say he had not reported that the zodiac
ought to include 13 signs instead of 12, but was only mentioning that there were 13

constellations; reported in Mad Astronomy: Why did your zodiac sign change? 13
January 2011.
Phil Plait (26 September 2016). "No, NASA Didn't Change Your Astrological
Sign".
NASA (20 September 2016). "Constellations and the Calendar".
John Mosley, Griffith Observatory (2011). "The Real, Real Constellations of the
Zodiac".
The Gregorian calendar is built to satisfy the First Council of Nicaea, which
placed vernal equinox is on 21 March, but it is not possible to keep it on a single day
within a reasonable system of leap days.
See Jean Meeus, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, 1983
published by Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, Virginia Archived 9 April 2009 at the
Wayback Machine.. The date in other time zones may vary.
Jackson Swift (2015). "Astrology: Tropical Zodiac and Sidereal Zodiac".
goarticles.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 24
March 2016.
The Real Constellations of the Zodiac. Dr. Lee T. Shapiro, director of Morehead
Planetarium University of North Carolina (Spring 1977)
Julia Parker "The Astrologer's Handbook", pp 10, Alva Press, NJ, 2010
Sachs, Abraham (1948), "A Classification of the Babylonian Astronomical
Tablets of the Seleucid Period", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 271
290
Rochberg, Francesca (1998), "Babylonian Horoscopes", American Philosophical
Society, New Series, Vol. 88, No. 1, pp i-164
Evans, James; Berggren, J. Lennart (2006). Geminos's Introduction to the
Phenomena. Princeton University Press. p. 115. ISBN 069112339X.
"tropo-". Dictionary.com. Random House, Inc. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
Encyclopdia Britannica. "Zodiac". Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Retrieved
7 May 2015.
Encyclopdia Britannica. "Ecliptic". Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Retrieved
7 May 2015.
Encyclopdia Britannica. "Astronomical map". Encyclopdia Britannica
Online. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

 G. Rubie (1830). The British Celestial Atlas. London: Baldwin & Cradock. p. 79.
Retrieved 7 May 2015.
Project Gutenberg ebook "An Alphabet Of Old Friends"; see Z for Zodiac.
Rey, H.A. (1952). The Stars, Houghton Mifflin.
Mnemonic: Zodiac Signs "Mnemonic: Zodiac Signs"
1.

"Zodiacal symbols in Unicode block Miscellaneous Symbols" (PDF).

The Unicode Standard. 2010.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Zodiac (category)

"A Treatise on Zodiacal Signs and Constallations: Unique Jewels on the

Benefits of Keeping Time" is a manuscript that dates back to 1831 with a
focus on Arabic, Coptic and Syriac calendars.

Zodiac Constellations at Constellation Guide

Zodiac Signs
[show]

The Zodiac
[show]

Ancient Greek astronomy

[show]

Astrology
Authority
control

GND: 4117221-8

Categories:

Ancient astronomy

Astrological signs

Astrology

Celestial coordinate system

Constellations

Early scientific cosmologies

History of astrology

Navigation menu

Not logged in

Talk

Contributions

Create account

Log in

Article

Talk

Read

View source

View history

Search

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikimedia Commons

Languages

Afrikaans

Alemannisch

Asturianu

Bn-lm-g

Bosanski

Brezhoneg

Catal

etina

Cymraeg

Dansk

Deutsch

Eesti

Espaol

Esperanto

Euskara

Franais

Gaeilge

Galego

/Hak-k-ng

Hrvatski

Ido

Bahasa Indonesia

Interlingua

slenska

Italiano

Basa Jawa

Kurd

Latina

Latvieu

Ltzebuergesch

Lietuvi

Lumbaart

Magyar

Malti

Bahasa Melayu

Mng-dng-ng

Nederlands

Norsk bokml

Norsk nynorsk

Occitan

Ozbekcha/

Polski

Portugus

Romn

Scots

Sicilianu

Simple English

Slovenina

Slovenina

/ srpski

Srpskohrvatski /

Suomi

Svenska

Tagalog

/tatara

Lea faka-Tonga

Trke

Ting Vit

Walon

Winaray

Edit links

This page was last modified on 20 October 2016, at 10:59.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use
and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policy

About Wikipedia

Disclaimers

Contact Wikipedia

Developers

Cookie statement

Mobile view