Which nation and civilization first put forward the concept of the zodiac? ? The more detailed, the better!

In astrology, the zodiac 12 is synonymous with the orientation of the universe. Zodiac 12 represents 12 basic personality archetypes. When a person is born, the position of the stars on the ecliptic just shows a person's innate character and talent. Zodiac 12 symbolizes the psychological level and reflects a person's behavior.

So the ecliptic is divided into 12 constellation, which is called 12 constellation. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Each constellation has its symbolic meaning, but the best way to understand constellations is to understand how constellations are classified.

Constellation attribute (dichotomy)

Everything in the universe can't escape the changing law of Yin and Yang. Everything is difficult at the beginning. From the birth of Yang, the anode turns into Yin and the cathode regenerates Yang, and so on. The earth moves according to the ecliptic, resulting in changes in cold and summer, as well as changes in Yang to Yin and Yin to Yang. According to the law of Yang Qi Yin Couple, the order is odd, such as Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius. And the order is even, such as Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces, which are all negative constellations.

Positive constellations usually have positive characteristics and active characteristics; Negative constellations are just the opposite of positive constellations and positive constellations, and usually have negative and passive characteristics.

Constellation attribute (trisection)

The earth moves according to the ecliptic. Besides the so-called changes of Yin and Yang, each season can also be divided into three stages. This is like a thing, there must be three stages: beginning, process and end.

Therefore, the first sign of each season, such as Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, is called the active constellation. They are the beginning of the season, represent a new beginning, and are the cause of things, so they have factors that affect the results and have the characteristics of affecting others, so they are groundbreaking.

The second constellation of each season, such as Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, is called the fixed constellation. They are the middle of seasons, representing the development of succession, and are limited by reasons and affect the development of results. Therefore, they have the characteristics of connecting the past with the future, and are regarded as stubborn and conservative because of their nature of obeying the first norms, so they are easy to satisfy and appear stubborn.

The last constellation of each season, such as Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, is called the changing constellation. They are the end of the season and represent the final result. They are completely influenced by the causes and the development of the process, and have no autonomy to accept the influence of other reasons, so they are easily influenced and have the characteristics of adapting to changes, so they are easily influenced and represent the end of things.

Natural elements (quartering)

Ancient western philosophers believed that the four elements that constitute natural objects and derive everything are water, fire, earth and wind. The movement of the earth along the ecliptic is actually the flow and change of the four elements, so the zodiac 12 can also be divided into water signs, such as cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Fire signs, such as Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; Earth signs, such as Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo; Air signs, such as Libra, Aquarius and Gemini.

Water symbolizes spring and emphasizes emotion; Fire constellation symbolizes summer, emphasizing behavior; The earth sign symbolizes autumn and represents pragmatism and stability; The weather vane symbolizes winter, emphasizing wisdom and communication; Earth, water, fire and wind represent the images of the four seasons.

We can arrange the list of constellations according to their attributes, characteristics and natural elements as follows:

Constellation Name Active Constellation Fixed Constellation Variable Constellation

Fire sign Aries Leo Sagittarius

Air signs Libra Aquarius Gemini

The minus sign is Capricorn Taurus Virgo.

Water sign Cancer Scorpio Pisces

When we talk about constellations, we must first understand what constellations are.

If the vast universe is regarded as a celestial sphere, then the 88 constellations in the universe divide the whole celestial sphere into two parts: the northern celestial sphere and the southern celestial sphere. According to the fact that most of each constellation is in the northern sky or the southern sky, it is called Polaris or South Star respectively. According to this classification, Polaris has 28 constellations, South Star has 48 constellations, and the ecliptic has 12 constellations.

So what does the ecliptic mean? What does the zodiac mean?

We all know that the earth goes around the sun once a year. When the earth rotates, the sun can be seen from the earth. The sun moves slowly on the celestial sphere and among the stars, and the direction of movement is the same as that of the earth's revolution, that is, from west to east, it also moves in a big circle every year, which is called solar annual apparent movement. The path of the sun's annual apparent motion on the celestial sphere is the ecliptic. In other words: the earth's orbital plane expands infinitely, and the great circle intersecting the celestial sphere is the ecliptic.

The ecliptic passes through 13 in 88 constellations. Except for a small number of Ophiuchus, they are Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius, which are collectively called the zodiac signs. The names of the zodiac have indeed undergone many changes, many of which are related to myths, and most of them are named after animals.

Why should we distinguish the zodiac in particular? What is their particularity?

The sun runs on the ecliptic, and the orbits of other planets around the sun intersect with the orbit of the earth at a small angle, that is, the planets intersect with the ecliptic at a small angle, which is called orbital inclination. Among the nine planets, except Pluto, Mercury has the largest orbital inclination of 7. The orbital inclination of other planets is generally between 1 ~ 3, while Pluto exceeds 17.

This shows that all other planets except Pluto, no matter where it runs, their positions in the sky are always in the sky not far from the ecliptic. They often appear or pass through this or that constellation and never go to other constellations. The celestial sphere with a width of 8 on each side of the ecliptic, * * * 16, is called the zodiac, also known as the zodiac. The zodiac is the place where the sun, moon, planets and other celestial bodies haunt and the corridor through which they pass.

In addition to this feature, the size of the zodiac is also different. Virgo, the largest zodiac sign, occupies an area of 1294 square degrees on the celestial sphere, which exceeds the total area of the celestial sphere of 4 1253 square degrees 1/32. Leo is also a relatively large constellation, with an area of about 947 square degrees. The last two constellations are Aries and Capricorn, which are 44 1 and 4 14 respectively. The smallest zodiac sign is less than the largest 1/3.

The representation of the ecliptic is similar to the representation of the equator of the earth. The equator of the earth is expressed by the longitude in the east-west direction. From Greenwich Observatory in Britain, the longitude is 0, from 0 to 180, and the east is the east longitude. West longitude, from 0 to180; East-west longitude 180 coincides. The east-west direction is represented by the "ecliptic", the circle from east to west is 0 to 360, starting from vernal equinox, the intersection of the ecliptic and the celestial equator, and the ecliptic is 0. The ecliptic circle around the celestial sphere is 360, but 12 zodiac signs are not all generally long in the east-west direction, and some are long and some are short. The longest is Virgo, which is 44 on the ecliptic, which is almost1/8 of the total length of the ecliptic; The shortest is Cancer, only 20.

As I said before, the sun runs on the ecliptic and moves less than 1 from west to east every day. These constellations on the ecliptic are long or short, and the time required for the sun to pass through each constellation is long or short. This is inconvenient to calculate the date according to the position of the sun. This introduces the concept of the zodiac.

It is generally believed that in ancient Babylon and Greece, astronomers decided to divide the ecliptic into 12 segments, each segment being 30, in order to show the movement and position of the sun on the ecliptic. After long-term practice, this means that the sun moves and stays in a palace every month. In this way, in 12 months of a year, the sun passes through 12 house in turn, * * * 360 degrees, that is, every Sunday, and the next year starts from the vernal equinox, and it goes on and on.

12 What's the name of "Sun Palace"? Naturally, we should refer to the name of the original 12 zodiac. We introduce the zodiac signs, together with their starting and ending degrees, and the date when the sun enters the constellation every year (because the solar calendar has 365 days and 366 days, and the date when the sun enters each constellation changes around 1 day). The solar terms when entering the constellation are as follows:

signs of the zodiac

Palace Name Yellow Sutra Solar Term Date Solar Term Remarks

Aries Palace 0 ~ 30 March 2 1 the first point of Aries Palace at the vernal equinox

Taurus Palace 30 ~ 60 April 20th, Grain Rain.

Twins will be full on may 2 1 60 ~ 90.

Cancer Palace 90 ~120 The first stop at Cancer Palace from summer to Sunday on June 22nd.

Lion Palace120 ~150 July 23rd, hot summer.

The virgin palace is in the summer of August 23rd, 150 ~ 180.

Libra Palace180 ~ 210 The first point of Libra Palace in the autumn equinox on September 23rd.

The first frost of Scorpio Palace 210 ~ 240 65438+1October 23rd.

Sagittarius 240 ~ 270165438+1Xiaoxue on October 22nd.

Capricorn Palace 270 ~ 300 65438+February 22 winter solstice Capricorn Palace first point

Aquarius Palace 300 ~ 330 065438+1October 20 Great Cold

It rained in Pisces Palace from 30 to 0 February 2009.

Before 2000, the positions of the zodiac and the zodiac were basically one-to-one, that is, Aries corresponded to Aries, Taurus to Taurus, and Pisces to Pisces. The reason why we say "basically" is that although the zodiac is named after the zodiac, after all, each constellation is 30 years long, and the zodiac is long and short. At that time, the vernal equinox was in Aries Palace, which was called the first point of Aries Palace, that is, the first point when the sun just entered Aries Palace. Because the house basically corresponds to the constellation, the vernal equinox is naturally in Aries, but it is not the "first point of Aries", so there is no such thing.

The zodiac is generally heard of, but far fewer people have heard of it. They are two different concepts. In order to make them understand, we need to repeat it simply.

-each house of the zodiac is 30 degrees long on the zodiac, without exception. The zodiac animals are different in length.

-The names and numbers of the zodiac are the same as the corresponding zodiac, but the zodiac is not equal to the zodiac.

-The zodiac signs have their own internationally unified symbols, but their corresponding zodiac signs and even all the 88 constellations have no prescribed astronomical symbols.

-The zodiac is used to indicate the position and movement of the sun in the zodiac. Therefore, the date when the sun enters and leaves each zodiac and the corresponding solar terms are clearly defined. Because the length of the Gregorian calendar year we are using now is 365 days and 366 days, with an average of 365.24220 days (365 days 5: 48: 46), the date when the sun enters the palace will change about one day a year. None of this has anything to do with zodiac.

-The first point of each of the four constellations Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, that is, the position of the sun at the moment it enters this constellation, is the special position of the sun on the ecliptic. The first point of Aries Palace is one of the two intersections between the ecliptic and the celestial equator. When the sun passes this point from south to north on the ecliptic, it is the vernal equinox. Since then, the position of the sun has moved from south to north. When the sun reaches the first point of Cancer Palace, that is, the northernmost part of the ecliptic, it is the summer solstice. At this time, the sun's declination is the largest, and it begins to move from south to north on the ecliptic. None of this has anything to do with zodiac.

There is another completely different place between the palace and the constellation, that is, the "precession" problem. Because our earth is not a right sphere, but a rotating elliptical sphere, the equatorial radius is more than 2 1 km larger than the polar radius; In addition, there is an included angle between the equatorial plane of the earth and the ecliptic plane, with an average of 23.5 degrees, so celestial bodies like the earth will change their autobiographical axes under the gravitational force of the sun, the moon and the planets, which is the so-called earth axis movement. This change, called precession, is very slow, with a period of about 25,800 years. It was first discovered by the Greek astronomer Hippocrates around 65,438+050 BC.

Precession causes vernal equinox to move about 50.2 "westward along the ecliptic every year, which is a very small angle. For example, the second hand of our watch rotates on the surface once a minute, and it rotates in a small space every second, which is 1/60 of the circumference. One circumference is 360, and the second hand rotates 6 per second.

Due to precession, it takes more than 400 years for the vernal equinox to run on the ecliptic, which is very inconspicuous. But from a historical point of view, the influence of precession is not small. From ancient Babylon and ancient Greece to the present more than 2,000 years, the vernal equinox has moved westward by more than 30 degrees on the ecliptic.

If more than two thousand years ago, the vernal equinox was the first point of Aries Palace, it was naturally in Aries Palace at the same time because of the one-to-one correspondence between the house and the constellation; After more than 2,000 years, the precession phenomenon made Aries Palace move westward by more than 30 degrees with the vernal equinox, while the position of the zodiac constellation with the same name remained unchanged. In this way, Aries Palace is separated from Aries. It is now roughly equivalent to Pisces west of Aries. Of course, the vernal equinox is still in Aries, or the first point of Aries. This one hasn't changed, but it's in Pisces now.

Similarly, the phenomenon that the original palace corresponds to the constellation no longer exists. Generally speaking, the palace matches the constellation on the west side of the same name constellation, such as Taurus Palace, Twin Uterus and Cancer Palace, which are generally in the position of Aries, Taurus and Gemini, and so on.

Traditionally, when it comes to the position of the sun, especially the solar terms, we often say that the sun is in a certain house or the sun enters a certain house, which is the solar terms. When talking about the position and movement of planets, moons and other celestial bodies in the Heavenly Palace, they all say that they are in a certain palace. Of course, others will find out their positions, but generally they will not say so. It is customary to say that celestial bodies, ephemeris and astronomical books and magazines are all in a certain constellation.

In astrology, the zodiac 12 is synonymous with the orientation of the universe. Zodiac 12 represents 12 basic personality archetypes. When a person is born, the position of the stars on the ecliptic just shows a person's innate character and talent. Zodiac 12 symbolizes the psychological level and reflects a person's behavior.

So the ecliptic is divided into 12 constellation, which is called 12 constellation. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Each constellation has its symbolic meaning, but the best way to understand constellations is to understand how constellations are classified.

Everything in the universe can't escape the changing law of Yin and Yang. Everything is difficult at the beginning. From the birth of Yang, the anode turns into Yin and the cathode regenerates Yang, and so on. The earth moves according to the ecliptic, resulting in changes in cold and summer, as well as changes in Yang to Yin and Yin to Yang. According to the law of Yang Qi Yin Couple, the order is odd, such as Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius. And the order is even, such as Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces, which are all negative constellations.

Positive constellations usually have positive characteristics and active characteristics; Negative constellations are just the opposite of positive constellations and positive constellations, and usually have negative and passive characteristics.

The earth moves according to the ecliptic. Besides the so-called changes of Yin and Yang, each season can also be divided into three stages. This is like a thing, there must be three stages: beginning, process and end.

Therefore, the first sign of each season, such as Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, is called the active constellation. They are the beginning of the season, represent a new beginning, and are the cause of things, so they have factors that affect the results and have the characteristics of affecting others, so they are groundbreaking.

The second constellation of each season, such as Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, is called the fixed constellation. They are the middle of seasons, representing the development of succession, and are limited by reasons and affect the development of results. Therefore, they have the characteristics of connecting the past with the future, and are regarded as stubborn and conservative because of their nature of obeying the first norms, so they are easy to satisfy and appear stubborn.

The last constellation of each season, such as Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, is called the changing constellation. They are the end of the season and represent the final result. They are completely influenced by the causes and the development of the process, and have no autonomy to accept the influence of other reasons, so they are easily influenced and have the characteristics of adapting to changes, so they are easily influenced and represent the end of things.

Ancient western philosophers believed that the four elements that constitute natural objects and derive everything are water, fire, earth and wind. The movement of the earth along the ecliptic is actually the flow and change of the four elements, so the zodiac 12 can also be divided into water signs, such as cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Fire signs, such as Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; Earth signs, such as Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo; Air signs, such as Libra, Aquarius and Gemini.

Water symbolizes spring and emphasizes emotion; Fire constellation symbolizes summer, emphasizing behavior; The earth sign symbolizes autumn and represents pragmatism and stability; The weather vane symbolizes winter, emphasizing wisdom and communication; Earth, water, fire and wind represent the images of the four seasons.

We can arrange the list of constellations according to their attributes, characteristics and natural elements as follows:

Constellation Name Active Constellation Fixed Constellation Variable Constellation

Fire sign Aries Leo Sagittarius

Air signs Libra Aquarius Gemini

The minus sign is Capricorn Taurus Virgo.

Water sign Cancer Scorpio Pisces Cancer

Ruling planet from June 22nd to July 22nd: Moon Attribute: Water sign.