The History Behind Zodiac Signs

By Emily Junaedi, 2027

Published 11/30/2023

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

People always have fun with their zodiac signs whether it be discovering your personality, finding others with the same sign, or exploring their "fate." Astrologers have long used zodiac signs to predict the future. Some believe in this concept and others scoff at the thought of it, but many do not know the history. 

Babylonians believed that there was something special about celestial phenomenons and that there were messages being delivered from them. They theorized that the positioning of the celestial bodies could be deciphered. Around the second millennium BC, the Babylonians split the sky into twelve parts based on their calculations. They named each piece of the sky, gave it a sign and a meaning. This created the zodiac signs.

• Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

• Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

• Aries (March 21 - April 19)

• Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

• Gemini (May 21- June 20)

• Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

• Leo (July 23 - August 22)

• Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

• Libra (September 23 - October 22)

• Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

• Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

• Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

The sign is determined by the placement of the sun “in” a specific constellation. As the earth orbits the sun, a constellation will be behind the sun. That constellation is the zodiac sign. Astrology first surfaced during the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950 - 1651 BC) and spread to other places. Astrology bases fate off of the positioning of the celestial bodies, like planets, moon, sun, stars, and predicts your future by looking at your zodiac sign. The zodiac signs are heavily influenced by the ancient Babylonians and ancient Greeks.

Astrology also has a strong link with ancient Greece. Many of the signs were associated with gods or goddesses in Greek mythology and there were many myths. For example, the myth of Leo the Lion was in the story of Heracles (Hercules), when Heracles was tasked with killing the lion. The lion was transformed into a constellation by Zeus for his bravery. Another zodiac that takes part in this story is Cancer, symbolized by the crab.

An interview was conducted on October 12, 2023, with three students in Cheshire High School, asking them what their zodiac sign was and then revealing their horoscope of the day from a horoscope website.

Rishika Adukondala, a junior, said that she was a Sagittarius. Her horoscope was “Surliness on the part of a partner could catapult you into a gloomy mood.” She replied, “What does that mean?”

Gianna Romandetti, a freshman and a Scorpio, was given the prediction that “something unexpected will happen that will cause you to spend money, like a house repair.” “I definitely own that house,” she responded skeptically.

“I’m Virgo, the best one,” Hana Berseneva, another freshman, claimed. When told her horoscope was that the public eye would be on her, she said, “Oh, um, sure.”

Clearly based on these lighthearted interviews, the zodiac signs are taken less seriously in the modern times than back in the ancient days. They are now mostly used for entertainment. Sometimes, however, people can find that whatever is associated with their symbol can coincidentally happen.