I've been reading into the history of zodiacs and star signs and found this article written by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. I've taken the main points that I found interesting and that I think would be good to refer to:
- Astrology is the theory that the position of the stars and planets has an affect on our daily lives. Because of that, our birthdate determines quite a bit of our personality. Because of that, the waltz these celestial bodies dance across the heavens provides us with both opportunities and obstacles.
- Most folks who know about these things agree that the Babylonians were the first to develop this idea, some say as far back as 2500 B.C. Like most humans, they were likely trying to make sense of the world around them, to find order in the chaos. Like most humans, they looked up to do that.
- The idea took. The Babylonian zodiac calendar, which originally had 13+ horoscopes signs (see below), seeped into other cultures. Egyptians adopted the idea. Egyptian decans were star clocks of sorts, depicting 36 constellations that rose and fell, each marking a new phase. Decans were associated with diseases and healings, and each new phase held positives and negatives for health. They have been traced as far back as 2100 B.C., appearing on coffins from around that time.
- Indian cultures welcomed these theories, too. Hindu nakshatras divide the ecliptic into 27 or 28 sectors. Each sector is governed by a lord who is fated with forecasting the life path of individuals within that sector. Hindu astrologers believe that children should be given names that please their nakshatra. These calendars started appearing around the beginning of the last millennium B.C. The Chinese zodiac is based on the lunar calendar and appoints one of twelve animals to guide the children of that year. Pottery crafted in China depicts the Chinese zodiac as early as 475 B.C.
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