top of page
Writer's pictureChristina Guo

Western Zodiac and Its Origins

Almost everyone is aware of their zodiac sign and the personality traits that go along with it. Many people read their daily Western astrology horoscope as a kind of enjoyment and entertainment as well as a daily planner.


Through the daily horoscope, people can learn if they will have good fortune for the day. A person's horoscope predicts what will happen to them on that particular day, so it can also be utilized as a day's schedule.


This indicates that the horoscope provides precise Western astrology predictions for each zodiac sign's health, money, and love. Let's dig a little deeper into the origins of the Western Zodiac.



Origin

People have relied on the sky and the planets for wisdom since the beginning. Initially, astrology was created as a method of divination to predict people's futures and the Gods' desires.


Mesopotamia is where modern Western astrology first emerged. The Mesopotamians thought there was a link between celestial movements and terrestrial occurrences. By the fifth century B.C., they had created the Western zodiac and the idea of natal astrology.


The zodiac and natal astrology claim that it is possible to predict a person's life based on the planets' positions at the time of birth.


Around the sixth century B.C., astrology gradually spread from Mesopotamia to ancient Greece. The introduction of astrology to Greece took place at the same time as the emergence of the Greek state and culture and the beginning of the first great philosophers in Greece.


Western astrology is typically reduced to sun sign astrology in popular culture, which takes into account the person's birthdate or the precise position of the sun at that time.


Western Zodiac History

Evidence suggests our prehistoric predecessors worshipped the heavenly bodies as Gods and were aware of the planets and their motions as early as 15,000 B.C. The meanings in horoscopic astrology were formed by assigning a God to each world.


People in ancient times utilized the sun and moon to measure time and determine when to plant, produce, and harvest crops. Observing the sun and moon for holidays and even reproduction was essential to prehistoric people's daily lives.


But the Mesopotamian people didn't begin to shape the earliest forms of astrology as we know it now until they had mastered mathematics and astronomy (the study of planets, stars, and the physical cosmos).


The Sumerians developed the first writing system, called "cuneiform," in Mesopotamia. These cuneiform tablets reveal that astrology and divination were essential to the Sumerians.

The ancient Greeks used the zodiac constellations to keep track of time throughout the night when they began studying astrology alongside astronomy.


When the sun sets, six zodiac constellations are visible above the horizon. They were aware that six other constellations would emerge precisely at those times. Every constellation that rose over the horizon was determined to equal two hours. So they could determine how many hours had gone since sunset by viewing those constellations as they advanced.


For every month of the year, there are twelve zodiac signs. A month is given to each symbol. The months were initially divided into thirty days to represent the sun's thirty positions.


Plato and Aristotle, two highly famous philosophers, each had a different philosophy regarding how they perceived the universe at the time the Greeks were creating horoscopic astrology.


Since they obey mathematical laws, Plato thought that the motion of the planets, or celestial bodies as he called them, was a manifestation of divine reason. Aristotle believed that the planets' circular motion, or luminaries as he named them, was perfect, eternal, and superior to the earth (Rochberg-Halton, 1984).


The analogy of the macrocosm notion was developed due to the impact of these divergent points of view. It indicated that the cosmos directly controlled human lives and that our souls were mirrors of the cosmic souls.


Horoscopic astrology, also known as genethlialogy, was created as a result. Genealogy, or the science of births, claimed that the positions of the planets and constellations at the time of delivery could predict a person's destiny, fortune, and character.


There are 12 signs in the zodiac for each month, beginning with Aries (March 21-April 19), Taurus (April 20-May 20), Gemini (May 21-June 21), Cancer (June 22-July 22), Leo (July 23-August 22), Virgo (August 23-September 22), Libra (September 23-October 23), Scorpio (October 24-November 21), Sagittarius (November 22-December 21), Capricorn (December 22-January 19), Aquarius (January 20-February 18), and Pisces (February 19-March 20).





The Uniqueness in the Stars

Everyone wants to feel special in their respective places, and the Western zodiacs enable them to believe this fact.


It shows them various personality traits, correlates them with their sun and moon, and decides on the kind of people they are. No one states that everything the zodiacs claim must be part of who you are. Even if there is one thing that you relate to, it automatically makes you an exception in your eyes.


From bringing together lovers to creating bonds of friendship that last a lifetime, astrology has indeed found its way to people's hearts by creating a way for them to build relationships according to their zodiacs.


KEY TAKEAWAY!

Zodiacs are one way to figure out more about yourself as a human being and to remember that you are unique. If the constellations in the northern and southern sky claim to know who you are, then there is no question that you are unique in the eyes of the universe.

87 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page