according to location, determines not alone the seasons but the general
nature and character of persons born at that time. The Zodiac is a circle of space surrounding the Earth. It may be
imagined as a belt in the heavens about 15 degrees wide in which the
planets travel. It is the Sun's apparent path, called the ecliptic. The
zodiacal circle is divided into twelve parts, each part containing 30
degrees of space called the Signs of the Zodiac. Thus a sign is a
one-twelfth division of the zodiacal circle and is defined as containing
30 degrees of celestial longitude: 12 signs each measuring 30 degrees
constitute the circle of the zodiac or 360 degrees. In this circle the
planets travel each in its own orbit, one outlying beyond the other. The
zodiac, then, is a circle divided into twelve signs through which the
planets travel or transit from west to east, going through one sign after
another in their order from Aries to Pisces. Although the zodiac is
generally referred to as a circle it is, in fact, elliptical. Each sign
possesses a certain specific influence of its own. The motion of the Earth
around the Sun once a year causes the Sun to appear to pass through one of
the 12 signs each month. Its influence,
according to location, determines not alone the seasons but the general
nature and character of persons born at that time.
The signs in order are:
The signs of the zodiac do not correspond to the constellations of the same names, although the mythologies of the signs and the constellations are related.
The word zodiac comes from the Greek zodiakos meaning a circle. It is often assumed that the connection is with animals (living creatures, from the Greek zoe "to live" and the English zoo. However, the root meaning of zodiakos has nothing to do with living creatures, but instead comes from the primitive root zoad, meaning a path or way or going by steps. In this connection, it is used to denote the way along which the sun appears to move through the stars in the course of the 12 months. This course is repeated every year as the apparent position of the sun returns to almost the exact spot that it occupied on the same date a year before. So the path through the sky along which the sun travels (or appears to travel) is called the zodiac and is divided into 12 segments.
Each of these segments is marked by a group of stars which is easily recognized. These 12 groups of stars (constellations) have names that are familiar to most people and are known as the "signs" of the zodiac. Please keep in mind that the star groups (constellations) do not necessarily look like the objects for which they are named, but each is associated with the picture of the object.
The fact that the signs of the zodiac bear little resemblance the pictures associated with them should be of great interest to observers of the night-time sky. Every ancient culture with any knowledge or tradition concerning the stars recognizes the same 12 star groups and the same names or meanings of names. Examine the star knowledge of whatever ancients you choose (Babylonia, China, India, Persia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Central America.....) and everywhere the same constellations are identified and associated with the identical or similar meanings and names.
Answer for yourself: How can we explain this?
The only explanation for this fact is that there was one original Source who identified the constellations with their meanings before the dispersion of the peoples of the earth. God is that Source. The 12 signs as originally given by God were a prophetic outline of the purpose of God in the history of salvation.
Answer for yourself: What is the role of the Zodiac in God's salvation of mankind? What is the message we are to hear and have we heard it yet? It is to these issues we continually turn in the next articles.
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