What is meant by Zodiac?
If you could observe the motion of the Sun against the stars for an entire year, it would appear to trace out a large circle in the sky that we call the "ecliptic". This circle also happens to be the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The zodiac is a thin band of the sky on either side of the ecliptic. The word "zodiac" literally means "circle of life", since most of the zodiac signs are animals or people.
· Aries March 21 - April 20
· Taurus April 21 - May 21
· Gemini May 22 - June 21
· Cancer June 22 - July 22
· Leo July 23 -August 21
· Virgo August 22 - September 23
· Libra September 24 - October 23
· Scorpio October 24 - November 22
· Sagittarius November 23 - December 22
· Capricorn December 23 - January 20
· Aquarius January 21 - February 19
What is meant by Zodiac Signs?
The zodiac is divided into 12 signs, each 30 degrees long. The cycle of zodiac signs starts with Aries, which begins at the spot on the ecliptic where the Sun is on the first day of spring. These 30 degree sections of the sky are actually blocks of space, not time.
Zodiac signs are often confused in the popular mind with "sun signs". When a person says, "I'm an Aries!", what they're really saying is they were born at a time of the year when the Sun is in the zodiac sign of Aries. Because our calendar is designed to mimic the motions of the Sun around the zodiac, the Sun is in Aries at nearly the same time period each year (roughly March 20th or 21st to April 19th or 20th). Hence the 12 sun signs are like months of a calendar based on the zodiac. They represent time, not space.
Zodiac signs are often confused in the popular mind with "sun signs". When a person says, "I'm an Aries!", what they're really saying is they were born at a time of the year when the Sun is in the zodiac sign of Aries. Because our calendar is designed to mimic the motions of the Sun around the zodiac, the Sun is in Aries at nearly the same time period each year (roughly March 20th or 21st to April 19th or 20th). Hence the 12 sun signs are like months of a calendar based on the zodiac. They represent time, not space.
