The origin of the meaning of the zodiac signs.

Italian version

The attitude stems from the analogy between the seasonal cycle and the corresponding zodiac sign. The western zodiac, contrary to what is often believed, is not an image of the actual constellations but is based on the subdivision of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun as seen from the Earth – into twelve signs, each of which represents a third of the seasonal phase.

For example, Aries’s sign (21 March – 20 April) opens the cycle of the seasons with the spring equinox, the origin of the creative movement. The shoots sprout from the ground, and the fruits rise towards the sunlight. The vegetable forms are still immature and undifferentiated; however, they grow rapidly, manifesting their immense life potential. Likewise, the Aries individual makes spring spontaneity a distinctive way of being. In its existence, secondary considerations do not play a relevant aspect. What matters is to act in the linear direction of one’s energy, the uninterrupted flow of the vital movement. Psychologically their behaviour is relatively unambiguous: impulsiveness and decision-making capacity, little weight given to the accessory elements of existence.

The affixing of animal figures, of the human sign of Aquarius (the water bearer) and the only inanimate sign (Libra) on the zodiacal circle dates back to the Hellenistic and then Roman civilisation, hence the name (Lat. zodiăcus, Gr. ζῳδιακός, the circle of animal figures). These figures were associated with the personifications of the planets and deities and, in Christian times, the images of the prophets and apostles. But the substance does not change because all the myths and symbolisms are consistent with their reference model, which is the astronomical one in this case.

That is the rule, which, of course, applies to a generalisation and not to a specific individual. Many factors combine to create a unique horoscope, that is, one that represents a person as faithfully as possible. The zodiac sign of birth represents specifically the nature of the individual, i.e., the type of primary life vital impulse that drives him.

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