In attempt to make sense of the cosmos, our ancestors came to the conclusion that the heavens mirrored the Earth- which was assumed to be the center of the universe- and the skies were home to the gods and other creatures whose shapes could be recognized in the stars. Over many centuries and then millennia of heaven-watching, people gathered & passed on huge body of lore that encompassed precise measurements of stellar movements and planetary cycles, as well as myths and legends surrounding individual parents, stars and star patterns (constellations). Because the astronomical cycles that scholars measured were seen from Earth to repeat in predictable patterns; it was considered that the heavenly bodies were also directly related to what went in here (“as above, so below”). In effect, the stories of the stars and planets became the stories of our ancestors’ lives. 

 

The key constellations (Zodiac or Signs) were those that touched the ecliptic, for within these celestial latitudes the Moon and the visible planets also moved. There were 12 such constellations, which gave their names to the signs of the zodiac. The word zodiac itself comes from the Greek zodiakos kuklos, “circle of animals”, as most of the constellations are represented by creatures. However, the constellations and signs are not exactly the same. We may give local name to a world time zone (for example, Greenwich), but that zone is much more than the place it is after. The zodiac is not simply the constellations, but a reference framework that divides the celestial sphere into 12 equal segments or signs, of 30 degrees each. Also given for each sign a list of “associations”, which adds further depth and color for the seeker who is interpreting their own or someone else’s birth chart. Bizzare though it may seem, those born under a specific sign are prone to repeating a particular significant phrase. Example, Aquarians tend to say, “I know”, Scorpion, “I want” and Taureans “ I have”. 

 

Achieving our signs aspiration (things we can learn to master) is a key stage in the process of personal evolution. The fully evolved person will attain all 12 aspirations and so come closer to Divine.