Zodiac sign
A zodiac sign is each of the 12 30° divisions of the zodiacal circle through which the Sun and the planets traverse during the year. In the Western zodiac they are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Each one has its own archetype, element and modality.
Origin and etymology
"Zodiac" comes from the Greek zōdiakos kyklos ("circle of little animals"), because ten of the twelve zodiacal constellations represent animals (hence also the expression "circle of living beings"). The division of the sky into twelve sectors was systematised by the Babylonians in the first millennium BC and inherited by Greeks, Hellenistics and Romans. Western tropical astrology, the most used today in the West, bases the signs on seasons (Aries begins with the spring equinox), not on real constellations.
Each sign covers 30° of arc in the zodiac (12 × 30° = 360° of the complete circle). The Sun spends approximately one month in each sign. Since the zodiacal belt is the strip of sky where the Sun, Moon and planets move (the ecliptic plus a few degrees on each side), all the bodies of the solar system traverse the twelve signs at different speeds.
The keys of each sign
Each sign has four identity keys: element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), modality (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable), polarity (Yang/masculine or Yin/feminine) and ruler (governing planet). These keys combined define the archetype. For example, Taurus: Earth + Fixed + Yin + ruled by Venus = archetype of the stable and sensual builder. Gemini: Air + Mutable + Yang + ruled by Mercury = archetype of the agile communicator.
The four elements group signs with common sense: Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) = energy, action, spontaneity. Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) = practicality, structure. Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) = communication, ideas. Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) = emotion, intuition. The three modalities describe how each element manifests: Cardinal initiates, Fixed maintains, Mutable transforms.
Your solar sign and beyond
In popular usage, "your sign" refers to the sign where the Sun was when you were born (solar sign), determined by your month and day of birth. But your complete natal chart has 10 planets in different signs, all relevant. Your Moon in one sign, Mercury in another, Venus in another, and so on. That is why a "Gemini" person may not match the cliché if their other planets are in other signs.
Also known as
- Sign of the zodiac
- Astrological sign
- Solar sign (popularly)