Tags
astro201, astrological signs, blog2, constellations, history, me, zodiac
Lots of people are aware that they have a Zodiac sign – a symbol associated with the time of year that they were born. “I’m a Capricorn,” or “Watch out for him, he’s a Leo,” are phrases that we use without really understanding what they mean. So what exactly does it mean to have a Zodiac sign?
The twelve astrological, or Zodiac, signs originate with the Babylonians around 2,000 B.C. (American Federation of Astrologers). These early astrologers had a thorough understanding of how the Sun seemed to move throughout the sky and how constellations – groups of stars – seem to circle the Earth during the course of one year. Though they believed that the contents of the universe rotated around the Earth, they observed correctly that certain groups of stars seem to return to the same place in the sky at the same time each year. The Sun appears to be closest to one of the twelve constellations at predictable times throughout the year. For example, the Sun is closest to the constellation Leo from mid-July to mid-August. The Babylonians assigned each constellation a name and designated each a period of days on the modern calendar, so that every day of the year was associated with a certain constellation.
In short, the astrological sign associated with a certain period of time on our calendar, a phase of thirty days at the end of one month and beginning of another, is derived from the constellation to which the Sun is closest during those days.
There is a twist in this story that the Babylonians did not consider, however. Since 2,000 B.C., astronomers have discovered that the Earth precesses on its axis, wobbling slightly like a top spinning on a table that stars to shake after a few seconds of spinning. This wobble actually occurs in a predictable cycle of 26,000 years, which slowly causes the time at which we see certain constellations in the sky to change. Halfway through the cycle, 13,000 years after the constellations were first observed, their locations will actually be completely reversed. Leo will be closest to the Sun in late January to early February. 26,000 years is a very long time, but it has been nearly 3,000 years since the Babylonains first delineated certain Zodiac signs. The effects of precession are already being seen, so some Zodiac signs really do not represent their true times on the calendar. People born at the beginning or end of an astrological period may, in fact, have a different Zodiac sign, as the Sun is closest to a different constellation during that time of year (Wikipedia).
Because this cycle will just continue to change as time goes on, it may just be easier to stick with the Zodiac signs determined by the Babylonians. For this reason, Z
odiac signs actually give us a peek into the cultural and astronomical history of our world!
You must be logged in to post a comment.