From ancient times, the starry sky attracted people with inexplicable magic and magnificent charm. The myriad of stars with their mysterious radiance attracted the eyes of the prayers and the dreamers, the afflicted and seeking knowledge. To
navigate in the starry sky, people united the stars in the constellations and gave them names. During the year, the earth revolves around the sun. Living on it, it seems that this Sun is moving through the sky, alternately moving from one constellation to another. If you look at the astronomical atlas, you can see that the number of constellations into which the sun enters along the ecliptic (the circle of the celestial sphere along which the sun moves throughout the year) is 12, like the months of the year. This belt of constellations is the zodiac. Many
zodiac constellations and zodiac signs are called animal names, as in ancient times they were invented by shepherds, hunters and sailors.
Why the zodiac signs do not coincide with the constellations
It is customary to begin the counting of the zodiac signs from the point of the vernal equinox, namely, from March 22. As it is also called, “Aries points”. Aries and the zodiac constellations following it in the order of their visiting by the sun coincided with the constellations of the same name in the sky (although the boundaries of the constellations are not clearly defined and are considered conditional). However, century after century, over the course of more than three thousand years of the development of astronomy, an error of about 1 degree was accumulated due to the displacement of the earth's axis for every 72 years. The accumulated error is such that now the position of the Sun and stars does not correspond to the originally determined dates. Because of this, incidents often happen in the lives of ordinary people. Everyone will easily answer who he is according to the zodiac sign. But, it’s bad luck, it may turn out that Leo is not Leo at all, but Cancer according to the horoscope, and a person who has considered himself Aquarius his whole life turns out to be Capricorn.
Characteristics of signs
Let us consider alternately the zodiac constellations in the order they are visited by the Sun.
The constellation Aries, which was the first to visit the Sun during Greek astronomy, consists of stars of the 2-5th magnitude. Hamal's main star was considered navigational. This constellation is named after the mythical Aries with the Golden Fleece, which the Argonauts were looking for.
Calf. This is a large constellation where Aldebaran is the brightest star. Around it are the star clusters of Hyades and the Pleiades, and there is also a crab-shaped nebula.
The constellation Taurus among the peoples of the ancient world was recognized as the most important. Many revered the bull, in Egypt there was a bull Apis, considered sacred, and in Greece - the Minotaur.
Further, after Taurus, if we consider the constellations of the zodiac in the order they were visited by the Sun, Gemini follows. The Gemini head in the sky is marked by two stars Castor and Pollux. The stars got their name in honor of the sons of Zeus, the fearless Argonauts of Dioscuri. The twin brothers patronized the sailors caught in the storm.
Cancer in the sky is subtle. This constellation used to have the time of the summer solstice, after passing through the peak point the sun shone as it were “backing away”.
The lion is a symbol of fire, strength and courage. The luminosity of Regulus (the brightest star of this constellation) is 150 times higher than the sun. The ferocious lion was associated with the ferocious summer heat.
If we further trace in what order the Sun visits the constellations of the zodiac, Leo is followed by the constellation Virgo. Her image was painted with the spike or rod of Mercury in her hands. It is considered a symbol of the emergence of life.
Libra, a small constellation with a double star, as if balanced in antiquity day and night, because the autumnal equinox was held for a time when the Sun was staying in this sign.
Scorpio in the sky looks very beautiful, new stars often appear in this constellation. The opinion of astrologers is that Scorpio is the most sinister sign.
The centaur Heron, according to ancient mythology, was the creator of the first celestial sphere, where he took a place for himself. But he was treacherously overtaken by the centaur Krotos, taking a strange place. Sagittarius is even afraid of Scorpio, on which the bow of a centaur is pointed.
The constellation Capricorn is considered the ruler of the waters and the ruler of the storms. According to legend, a goat-footed god named Pan, frightened of Typhon, ducked into the water. There he grew a fish tail.
Moving further and studying the constellations of the zodiac in the order they were visited by the Sun, you can see that Aquarius is located in the sky behind Capricorn. In Egypt in ancient times, the constellation of Aquarius was clearly visible in the days when the water level in the Nile rose above all. It was believed that the god of water overturns a huge bucket into the river.
The constellation Pisces in the sky is located in the northern hemisphere. Through the boundary of this constellation, the Sun entered the time when rich fishing began.
Drawing up horoscopes
One way to predict events is to draw up a horoscope. The astrological chart is taken as a basis, on which the constellations of the zodiac are reflected in the order they are visited by the Sun. The astrologer's solution to the problems depends on visiting each house with planets or the Moon, starting with the passage of the brightest first star and ending with the last. It is this order of influence of the constellations through the moon and planets that allows you to take into account the ongoing changes. Although the sign itself often acts as a combination of encoded messages.