Zodiac
The word "zodiac" comes from the Greek ζῳδιακός (zōdiakos) — meaning "circle of little animals" or "animal belt in the sky." It got its name from the constellations resembling animals (or living beings) along that path. In other words, the zodiac is the celestial stage visible from Earth. To us it appears as if this stage is slowly turning, even though the opposite is true. We are the ones riding on a gigantic carousel called Earth, which spins around the Sun — and the effect is the apparent movement of the celestial dome. To make navigation easier, we divided this belt into 12 equal parts — zones — and named them after the constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and so on. Each constellation has one or more bright, prominent stars that help us recognize its shape. So now we have a background: a celestial stage that turns slowly and predictably, giving us a way to orient ourselves. In times without GPS, television, mobile phones, or telescopes — when calen...