What is the Zodiac?
What we call a “zodiac sign” doesn’t have much to do with the stars. The tropical zodiac - used by most Western astrologers - is actually a calendar created by the Greeks 2,000 years ago.
It doesn’t follow the position of the Sun or the planets on the background of the stars. The only thing it shares with them is… the names ✨🚫
This system was made to measure the seasons. It has 12 signs, each 30 degrees - just like 12 months of 30 days. In this strange calendar, the new year always starts around March 21st, on the day of the spring equinox.
When you say, “I’m an Aries,” it only means that you were born in the first 30 days of spring - not that the Sun was in the Aries constellation. Aquarius? 30 days of the middle of winter.
And that’s basically it. No magic, no stars - just a calendar 🌸🌞🍂❄️
Does it work? Maybe. It's some kind of system - related to the Earth's tilt relative to the Sun and the seasons.
Some people like this system. But we should remember that it’s fortune-telling based on the month and season when you were born.
Once, the zodiac was connected to the stars: the ancient Mesopotamians had a zodiac based on the moving stars. But now it is stuck in time.
So what happened?
Let's talk about the precession - a movement of the Earth that makes it point to a slightly different place in space every year. Because of this, it looks like the stars in the sky are… moving backwards.
Two thousand years ago, on the day of the spring equinox, the Sun really was in the Aries - the astronomical constellation on the sky in this case.
And where is it today, in reality?
In Pisces 🐟
In 250 years, spring will begin with the Sun in Aquarius constellation - that’s the famous “Age of Aquarius”. After that, it will be in Capricorn. Then in Sagittarius.
This process can’t be stopped. It’s the future - whether we like it or not.
But what will Western astrology say in that future? It will say: “Spring? Aries begins, just like every year!” 🐑😎
The funny thing is - the Greeks knew about precession. They borrowed the mesopotamian solution at first, but after some time they decided the Mesopotamian solution is not a trend anymore.
Greeks decided to separate the zodiac from the stars and create their own system, the mathematical calendar. Why? Tbh nobody knows, lol.
So the Greek math stayed, and the stars… moved on, with their precession.
Homonyms were accidentally created: in the tropical zodiac, 'Aries' means the beginning of spring, while in astronomy it refers to a constellation, a cluster of stars.
That’s why, when you look out the window or use a stargazing app on your phone, you’ll always see the planets in totally different constellations than Western astrology says.
Why don’t many people know this, and confuse the zodiac with the stars?
Newspaper horoscopes are to blame - they tell you your zodiac sign based on your birth date using the tropical calendar. It was simple and convenient: check the date - read the description. We didn’t even notice that something was wrong with these horoscopes because during the day we can’t see the stars, and at night there is no Sun ✨☀️
Besides, nowadays we don’t want to look at the stars anyway- we’d rather stare at our phone screens and watch TikTok.
Does this mean the tropical zodiac is false? 🤔
Well, no. It’s a system that reflects the Earth’s tilt and divides the year into 12 phases.
Four of them are events that actually really happen from an astronomical point of view: the spring equinox (Aries sign), autumn equinox (Libra sign), summer solstice (Cancer sign), and winter solstice (Capricorn sign).
There is order and rhythm in this.
It’s a way of looking at time from Earth’s point of view. So maybe it wasn't suposed to be about the stars. Maybe this whole system is not about the whole universe - but about us, the Sun and our planet.
In fact, this is exactly what we need to exist: our own planet and the right distance from the sun for life to appear on it.
Who knows, maybe this is why Western astrology places such emphasis on the importance of the Sun.