Back 1

Brandi Back
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 Honors
29 October 2015
Essential Question: How does astrology create zodiac signs?
Working thesis: Astrology is studied in many forms, one of which is how it creates the ever so
popular zodiac signs.
Refined Thesis: Although Zodiac signs are studied worldwide, their origin lies in astrology,
causing them to be affected by the sun, moon, and planetary alignments.
Annotated Bibliography
"Astrology." Religion Book (2004): 54. MAS Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
As people began to consider the seemingly infinite universe, they wondered whether the
stars could foretell future events and exercise control over human lives. Astrologers as far apart
as Egypt, China, Peru, and England were building stone structures to aid in foretelling times and
seasons based on the stars. Chinese mythology makes mention of comets and stars that are now
followed by astronomers. Such age-old wonder at the heavens perhaps naturally gave rise to
astrology, the study of the stars. Astrology, a form of which is found in nearly all cultures, is a
vast field of study that focuses on the correlations between celestial events and humanly
meaningful events. The positions of other heavenly bodies also make up one's so-called natal

Back 2

chart, which most astrologers are careful to note does not so much predict a person's future as
describe possible influences.

Buckland, Raymond. "Zodiac." Fortune-Telling Book (2003): 512. MAS Complete. Web. 29 Oct.
2015.
This article is an early history of the formation of the idea of zodiac. As early as 3,000
BCE Mesopotamia, the various configurations of the fixed stars were grouped into constellations
representing animals and objects. Since the majority of the constellations that were crossed by
the paths of the planets represented animals, the Greeks called this zone "zdiakos kyklos," or
"Circle of animals." From this comes the name "Zodiac." It was in Mesopotamia, some time
before the Hellenistic period that the development of mathematical astronomy resulted in
accurate definitions of the boundaries and the number of zodiacal constellations. The symbols for
these signs first began to appear in Greek manuscripts of the late Middle Ages. The concept of
the zodiac reached Egypt around the third century BCE, when that country was under Greek
domination. A rapid development of astrological doctrines occurred at that time, combining
Egyptian, Greek, and Babylonian elements into a system regarding the powers of celestial bodies
and their relationship to THE FORTUNE-TELLING BOOK 513 Zodiac Zener cards, used in
testing for Extrasensory perception. This article supports my research by stating the history and
naming of the zodiac and all included signs.

Murphy, Finbarr. "Zodiac Signs, Zodiac Constellations." Lilipoh 17.69 (2012): 32. Alt
HealthWatch. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

Back 3

This article discusses the modern connection between the zodiac and astronomy. Zodiac
constellations are twelve unequal segments along the ecliptic the dividing points between the
constellations were decided by a scientific convention in the early 1930s. Once a year, at the
spring equinox, the Sun returns to the same point on the ecliptic, but not quite; after 72 years, an
average human lifespan, the Sun slips back about 1 degree in relation to the constellations of the
zodiac. The average size of one constellation is 30 degrees, and therefore it would take about
2.160 years before the spring Sun rises in the next constellation back. The amount of time that
the Sun takes to traverse all 12 constellations is called a platonic year. The inner ring shows the
zodiac signs and the outer ring shows the zodiac constellations. Most Western astrologers work
with the zodiac signs, and in India, where astrology is widely practiced, they use the zodiac
constellations. This article is supportive to my thesis because it tells the modern scientific
correlation between astrology and the zodiac signs.

Shamos, Geoffrey. "Astrology As A Social Framework: The 'Children Of Planets', 1400-1600."

Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture 7.4 (2013): 434-460. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
In this article the connections between astrology and zodiac are referred back to medieval
Europe and the children of the planets. Such concepts were depicted by late medieval and
Renaissance artists in a series of seven images commonly referred to in scholarly literature as the
'Children of the Planets'. As a union of scientific knowledge and popular imagery, the 'Children
of the Planets' helped shape a general understanding of the cosmos for a wide range of society in
Renaissance Europe. Such imagery precluded elaborate astrological calculations by reducing

Back 4

celestial forces to the dominance of a single planet in the formation of an individual's disposition
and constitution. In depicting the planets' influence over humankind, the convention offered a
visual distillation of the complex correspondences between the macrocosm and microcosm. As
several scholars have noted, the 'Children of the Planets' played an important role in the
popularization of astrology. In addition to elucidating the origins of personal identity, the
'Children of the Planets' also served as a means of defining societal relations. The series grouped
diverse figures according to mutual planetary affiliations, parsing individuals based on their
common behaviors and characters. In establishing correlations between various classes, ranks,
and professions, depictions of the planets' children offered a system for categorizing corporate
identity. This article is important to my research because it discusses the system for categorizing
zodiac signs, and their medieval relations.

Shastri, Pandit Vamadeva. "Jyotisha, Hindu Astrology." Hinduism Today 37.4 (2015): 38-52.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
The astrological effects of the zodiac are studied worldwide this article analyzes the
comparison between Hindu and U.S. zodiacs. Like its Western counterpart, jyotisha employs a
system of planets, signs, houses and aspects. The main ayanamsa currently used is around 24
degrees less than positions in the tropical zodiac, causing most planetary positions to go back one
sign from the Western to the Hindu chart. It can be confusing for those accustomed to their
Western chart, particularly for the Sun sign, so emphasized in Western astrology. An Aries in
Western astrology might be a Pisces according to jyotisha. Jyotisha rests upon a complex system
of calculations that takes into consideration a massive amount of data about planetary and stellar

Back 5

influences, including the mathematical and geometrical relationships between heavenly bodies.
Jyotisha includes nuanced sub-systems of interpretation and prediction, including numerous
divisional charts, several systems of dashas, or planetary periods, and other factors like
ashtakavarga and muhurta. It determines signs, houses and planetary aspects differently than
Western astrology and has a sophisticated system of yogas, or planetary combinations. This
article is useful to my research because it analyzes how astrology affects the zodiac worldwide.

Steele, J. M. "A Late Babylonian Compendium Of Calendrical And Stellar Astrology." Journal
Of Cuneiform Studies 67.(2015): 187-215. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 29
Oct. 2015.
This article discussing the late Babylonian time period when the first discoveries of the
correlations between astrology and zodiac were founded. The zodiac is an abstract division of
the band through the stars in which the sun, moon, and planets move into twelve equal parts each
containing thirty degrees. The structure of the zodiac parallels the schematic or ideal calendar of
twelve months of thirty days and it was surely developed following the model of this calendar. In
astronomy, the zodiac had two main applications: it provided the framework for defining the
position of the sun, moon, and planets utilized within mathematical astronomy, and it provided
an alternate method of tracking the motion of the moon and the planets to the use of unevenly
distributed reference stars. This article is important to my research because it discusses the first
discovery of the astrological effects on the zodiac.