Don’t we all love to read about zodiac signs, their character traits and personalities? They help us know why some people behave the way they do. It is also common to find people that are ooking for their compatible zodiac signs, especially those that are single and want to settle down sometime.
It is said that Babylonians are the people who invented the zodiac signs. Babylonians divided the eclipse into zodiac signs during the first millennium BC. Ancient astronomers didn’t understand how the Earth, stars and the moon moved or how vast the universe is. However, they keenly observed the sky and tried hard to make sense of it.
Therefore Babylonians who lived 3,000+ years ago divided the zodiac into 12 equal parts or signs that we see today. Learn more about the history of zodiacs below.
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People That Created the Zodiac Signs
The Babylonians are the people that first invented the zodiac signs. They created them during the first millennium BC. It’s the Babylonians that divided the celestial longitude that is centred on the eclipse.
Before this division, people believed that the constellations could be important symbols that are connected to their deities and other myths. It was thus easy to believe that the changing constellation positions at various times of the year might be of significance to people and events.
How They Divided the Zodiac
The Babylonians that lived over 3,000 years ago cut the zodiac into 12 equal parts, just like cutting a pizza. They then chose 12 constellations, one for each part. As the Earth moves around the sun, the sun seems to pass through each of the 12 zodiac signs.
The Babylonians already followed a 12-month calendar that was based on the moon phases, each month was allocated a ‘slice’ of the zodiac to itself. However, there were some Babylonian’s own ancient stories the believed that the zodiac had 13 constellations.
The Babylonians decided to leave out one, Ophiuchus the 13th constellation to only use 12 constellations. The 12 chosen constellations don’t always fit well into the assigned pie and slopped into the next piece. For instance, when they first invented the 12 signs, a birthday between July 23rd and August 22nd meant you were under Leo constellation. But now (about 3000 years later), a birth date of August 4th means you are under Cancer sign, not Leo.
Cultural Significance
Chinese Culture
The animals’ signs used in the zodiac have also been used in folklore and stories, which means the Chinese zodiac is an essential part of the Chinese culture. These animal stories developed various personality traits denoted by each animal. Through the years, lots of Chinese believe the superstitions and predictions described in the Chinese zodiac and some base their relationships on them.
For instance, some people in China will look for mates and friends by considering those with a similar zodiac sign like themselves. They make choices based on which signs are compatible with them. Therefore the zodiac signs influence the Chinese community and culture by guiding them on how to live life and who to relate with.
Western Culture
Western astrology believes that planets and other different heavenly bodies influence our daily lives to some extent. Much as this culture is considered pseudoscience today, a number of its people believe that studying their birth charts and zodiac signs gives the insight to help them make wise decisions daily.
Vedic Astrology
Believes in the karma concept, which says that all your actions whether bad or good will come back to you. The Karma subject suggests that everything you do is based on your intention or motive which comes with outcomes or repercussions. Most Indians today take verdict astrology as a science whereby many universities in India are offering advanced astrology courses.
Bottom Line
Babylonians first invented astrology in the first millennium BC. Babylonians divided the celestial line into 12 equal parts that correspond with the 12 calendar months. The Zodiac signs still influence our cultures till to date.
For instance, Indians believe your actions, whether good or bad, will come back to you (Karma) that is influenced by your motive or intention. The Chinese culture is also influenced by the different animals that make up the zodiac signs.