Zodiac Signs – An Overview

There are twelve signs of the zodiac, which most of you will be familiar with. These signs all come from names of constellations, of which there are 88 officially recognised to date. The twelve signs on which horoscopes are based upon are:

Aries	March 21st - April 19th
Taurus	April 20th - May 20th
Gemini	May 21st - June 20th
Cancer	June 21st - July 22nd
Leo	July 23rd - August 22nd
Virgo	August 23rd - September 22nd
Libra	September 23rd - October 22nd
Scorpio	October 23rd - November 21st
Sagittarius	November 22nd - December 21st
Capricorn	December 22nd - January 19th
Aquarius	January 20th - February 18th
Pisces	February 19th - March 20th

The birthdate boundaries do change from site to site and magazine to magazine, so if you fall on the boundaries, then I guess the choice is yours as to which zodiac sign you’d like to adopt! Most of us will know which sign we are, and some of us feel strongly that our traits are ‘typical’ of our sign. To read more about traits please have a peek here.

 

A Brief Look Into the History of the Zodiac

I have been doing a bit of reading on the origins of the zodiac signs and found this site really interesting, as it delves into the history and looks at different countries/religions interpretations. It is great to look into the history of something that interests you, as it gives you a wider insight and a more in depth knowledge of the subject.

 

Babylonian

The Sumerians (Babylonians) were the first to use astrology, with the twelve signs we know today, as a divinatory tool. They called the set of constellations “The Shiny Herd” and the translations of the names for each sign were more descriptive of the shapes these constellations formed:

Aries	Field dweller
Taurus	Heavenly bull
Gemini	Twins
Cancer	Pincers, tongs
Leo	Lion
Virgo	Her father was Sin
Libra	Heavenly fate
Scorpio	Which claws and cuts
Sagittarius	Defender
Capricorn	Goat-fish
Aquarius	Lord of the waters
Pisces	Fishes

Chinese

As well as this zodiac, there is the Chinese zodiac which features twelve animals. The Chinese zodiac works in cycles of 12 years with an animal which is celebrated at each Chinese lunar new year, which falls from 21st January to the 20th February. The date is based upon the lunar cycle and when the new moon appears in our skies.

To find our your own Chinese zodiac sign, check out your corresponding animal based upon your year of birth. Like the common zodiac, each animal sign has it’s own traits; which you can read about here!

Rat	2008	1996	1984	1972	1960
Ox	2009	1997	1985	1973	1961
Tiger	2010	1998	1986	1974	1962
Rabbit	2011	1999	1987	1975	1963
Dragon	2012	2000	1988	1976	1964
Snake	2013	2001	1989	1977	1965
Horse	2014	2002	1990	1978	1966
Goat	2015	2003	1991	1979	1967
Monkey	2016	2004	1992	1980	1968
Rooster	2017	2005	1993	1981	1969
Dog	2018	2006	1994	1982	1970
Pig	2019	2007	1995	1983	1971

Back to the Modern Day Zodiac

The zodiac signs are the basis for horoscopes which are a divinatory tool based on astrology. Horoscopes can give us hints, clues or blatant information about our lives and what to expect in the near future. Sometimes they can seem to hit the nail on the head and are scarily correct, but other times they just don’t ring any sort of bells. I do believe it is too hard to split the entire population into 12 groups who are all living similar life stories, but on the other hand I still really enjoy reading my horoscope and have had freaky moments where I can’t believe what I am reading.

Our sign can show our traits as well as give advice for our vocation, love life and suggest compatible signs. I have actually written a post about the traits of each of the twelve signs, so if you’d like to read more, pop here.

 

Astrology is more specific

When astrologers work, they take into account your place and time of birth as well as the date. This allows for a more specific plan to be created. An astrologer can create a map of sorts; your very own chart, which tells you the positioning of planets and in which signs they were at the time of your birth. These charts can be interpreted by using how the planets represent what you do, the signs how you do them and the houses relate to specific areas of your life. Read more on astrology charts here.

 

There will always be skeptics and non-believers

Not everyone is a fan of astrology, with many people completely shunning the practice and having no good words to say about it. I recently went to an observatory where I met some astronomers whom when I asked “are there any astronomers that have an interest in astrology?” they made a sound which I could only spell as “Pffft” and apparently astrology is a dirty word amongst astronomers.

Quick story: The moon image used in the logo for Earthborn Echo is actually the photo I took through the telescope on that exact night!

What are your thoughts about astrology? Do you think you match the traits of your zodiac sign or do you think you were born at the wrong time? I’d love to hear your thoughts!