| Zodiac signs are a belief that particular time periods | | | | The Assyrians originally had eighteen constellations but |
| like twelve months of the year or the cycles of the | | | | reduced to only twelve by the time of Alexander the |
| moon have special value and can be used for the | | | | Great. The knowledge of the Babylonian constellations |
| prediction of life and fortunes of a person who is born | | | | was brought back by the Greek warriors to the |
| in the time period of that sign. Astrologists are those | | | | ancient Greece whose priests found them as a |
| people who study the signs and they usually do it for | | | | superb addition to their existing knowledge of gods. |
| several years for having an insight of the meanings | | | | The constellations of Babylonian zodiac were twelve - |
| behind the zodiac. | | | | Aquarius, Capricornus, Pisces, Sagittarius, Libra, Scorpio, |
| During ancient times even before the human race | | | | Leo, Spica, Praesepe, Pleiades, Gemini and Aries. |
| started in villages and before writing was invented, the | | | | The Greek astrologers changed the names of |
| ability to predict the passage of the moon, sun and | | | | Capricornus, Spica, Praesepe and Pleiades to |
| other objects in the sky was mainly useful because | | | | Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus and Cancer. These names |
| the only way was memorizing the positions of the | | | | have stayed till today. Every constellation was |
| stars and planets in relation to the moon for predicting | | | | assigned to a god or hero has a special importance |
| the changing of seasons, determining their path and | | | | related to each zodiac sign depending on the magic or |
| position and appeasing the gods who were constantly | | | | strengths of the sake of its name. |
| inconsistent against each other and sometimes against | | | | The birth of a person had enormous importance for |
| people. | | | | Greeks. With the new constellations, the strengths of |
| The stars and planets are seen in modern times as | | | | person at birth was now possible to determine, this |
| celestial objects having mass and their own orbits | | | | would perhaps prepare their parents it was hoped that |
| rather than gods. However, the value of the ancient's | | | | the individual would be aware of the challenges ahead |
| observations should not be discounted as they were | | | | by knowing which god or hero would be their |
| the ones who made the first calculations and | | | | protector. The Greeks later started believing that a |
| calendars that are still in use today for tracking | | | | person's life was already ordained and the knowledge |
| movements of outer space objects. The need for | | | | of horoscopes could help in predicting every major |
| predicting other celestial objects like comets helped in | | | | event. |
| base for the modern astronomy. | | | | The modern astrology revived mostly from the |
| As early as around 6000-7000 years back, the | | | | writings of Ptolomy who was a Greek astronomer |
| Mesopotamian priests of the summer valley used to | | | | and mathematician. We don't know any relation of it to |
| track the movements of the Venus, moon and the sun | | | | the Egyptian pharoahs of the same name. However |
| in relation with the stars as they appeared during the | | | | he was the head librarian at the Alexandria's great |
| year. The moon, Venus and soon were considered as | | | | library and has access to every writings of the civilized |
| gods and their path in the space was used for | | | | world on the passage of the outer space objects. The |
| indicating the changing seasons, the winter and the | | | | Tetrabiblos was his fourth volume work on astrology |
| summer solstices. The pattern of the stars were not | | | | which explained every detail about the astronomy |
| of extreme importance, however the events like | | | | known to the ancient Greeks. |
| shooting stars were considered as a sign of good luck | | | | The succeeding Arabic and Roman knowledge of |
| or as a sign of impending doom depending on the | | | | astronomy directly came from the writings of Ptolemy. |
| priest's reading at that time. | | | | The Romans were not too much interested in |
| The passage of the sun was used by the Indian | | | | astronomy than the medieval people and the Greeks, |
| astronomers in Vedic times for understanding the | | | | they tended to disagree that a person's life was |
| changing of seasons and the sun was identified with | | | | already ordained and they instead preferred to place |
| Vishnu who was said to have three aspects, the bull, | | | | their fate in the hands of gods and their own actions. |
| the lion and the ram. They were coincidently the | | | | When the Roman Empire fell, the medieval society |
| symbols that continued into the shifting political scenery | | | | reverted to local folklore and the astrology was lost to |
| of India and Near East during the reign of Alexander | | | | the western society until later Ptolomy's writings were |
| the Great. | | | | rediscovered by the Arab world around the turn of the |
| The ancient Egyptians were the first to identify signs | | | | first millennium. From the times of Greek into the |
| relating to the individual in the stars passage of the | | | | renaissance period, astrology was mostly unchanged |
| moon, sun and other outer space objects. According | | | | despite disappearing from daily use for several |
| to the records, the astrologers as early as 2750 BC | | | | hundred years. Astrology was rejected by puritan and |
| wrote horoscopes for prominent people of Egyptian | | | | protestant Christians and was termed as un-Christian. |
| society. However, they were not based on zodiac | | | | However in Catholic parts of Europe, the zodiac signs |
| signs hence they are not direct ancestors of the | | | | and horoscopes were regularly identified with the |
| horoscope readings of today. | | | | power of the saints. |
| During the 1300 BC or perhaps earlier, the Assyrian | | | | Astrology found new converts in the 20th century in |
| people in the Near East started gaining power and | | | | the western world, particularly in the US where people |
| control of the region and conquered most of their | | | | sought more meaning of life as a traditional community |
| neighboring territories. They noticed that the more they | | | | around the local church was disappearing. People |
| travelled further away from home, the stars remained | | | | investigating other faiths like buddhism, kaballah, wicca |
| always the same, perhaps a bit lower or higher in the | | | | and other mysterious traditions easily adopted |
| space but were essentially the same. This led to the | | | | astrology. Astrology was found to have great synergy |
| development of constellations, this was an act that | | | | among many tarot readers and have been helpful in |
| made more precise calendars. Some symbols for their | | | | keeping the ancient art of astrology alive in the 21st |
| constellation were borrowed by them from their own | | | | century. |
| religion and from the legends of the conquered people. | | | | |