But is this true? The fact that the Babylonians used the zodiac does not necessarily mean that they were the ones who created astrology. Nor that it was from Babylon that it spread to Greece, Egypt and India and later to more countries. The oldest archaeological finds often become the “cradle” of a certain phenomenon, but we do not really know whether that is true or not.

There are other methods that can be used to derive the origins of astrology and the zodiac. Astrology is a form of energy system where people’s personal qualities and characters are mapped.

Astrologers make use of a theoretical model called the zodiac and then calculate how different celestial bodies move in relation to the model. The part of the earth where the theoretical model and the various calculations best match what happens in the sky should also be the place on earth where astrology originates. In order to understand where that place is, we first need to understand what the zodiac looks like and how it moves, as seen from different places on earth.

The celestial bodies move from east to west in a clockwise direction

Seen from earth, the sun, moon, all planets and stars move in a clockwise direction. Since the human eye cannot see that far, it appears as if all these celestial bodies and constellations rise in the east, reach their highest point in the south and then set on the horizon in the west.

These twelve constellations move just like the sun, moon and planets from east to west across the sky in a great circle.

Since the sun, moon and planets move across these constellations, it is no wonder that they have held extra significance for many people throughout history. Of course, there are other constellations of stars that have also been important, such as Orion or the Big Dipper.

The twelve constellations that move along the same path in the sky as the sun, moon and planets have been very important for the creation of astrology.

This is how you can study the movements of the celestial bodies and constellations during the year and how their relations to each other change over time.

The ecliptic is higher or lower in the sky depending on where you are

The ecliptic will be in different positions in the sky depending on where on earth the viewer is. If we are near the equator, it will appear as if the sun and all the constellations rise straight up on the horizon in the east, then go straight over our heads, then go straight down in the west.

Exactly how low varies throughout the year. During the summer (in the northern hemisphere) the sun and the constellations of the ecliptic will be higher and during the winter lower in the sky.

The changes of the year in the north and at the equator

The further north, the more dramatically the sun and nature change during the year. In the winter, the days are very short, and the sun can even disappear completely. Nature goes into hibernation; everything is cold and frozen.

In the summer, however, the days are long and bright, and far enough north the sun never sets. Nature is in full bloom, in extreme contrast to the winter.

At the equator, everything is the opposite. The changes of the seasons are basically not noticeable at all. At winter solstice, the sun is still very high in the sky but its path tilts slightly to one side across the sky. At summer solstice, it is the same, but the sun’s path tilts slightly in the other direction in the sky. However, contrary to how it is far north, the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox will be very special. At exactly these times, the solar path will go directly over the viewer’s head. At that moment, a perfect symmetry prevails.

A gigantic celestial clock

One could liken the movement of the sun and the constellations across the sky to a gigantic celestial clock with the help of which we can measure the passage of time.

Further north, the ecliptic is not like an arch straight over the observer’s head but is leaning toward the horizon. In addition, the ecliptic is slightly skewed in the sky so that the constellations rise at different lengths of time.

The zodiac, a division of the energy field into twelve zones

Astrology uses a concept called the zodiac. The zodiac is a division of the sky into twelve equal zones, 30 degrees each. 30 degrees multiplied by 12 is 360 degrees, i.e. a full circle.

However, what we can see and have as a frame of reference are the constellations in the sky. Like the sun, they move from east to west in the same path and at almost the same speed.

The 30-degree zones of the zodiac, like the sun, moon and planets, rise in the east, reach their highest point in the south and set in the west. At the equator, and only there, these zones move at a uniform speed, from the viewer’s perspective. Each zone of the zodiac rises every two hours. In all other places on earth, the zones of the zodiac rise at slightly different speeds depending on the fact that they do not move over our heads but in a lower path in relation to the viewer.

The same applies, of course, to the other times of the year. A child who was born when the zone of Virgo and the sun rose simultaneously on the horizon in the east and then moved together across the sky was said to be born under the sign of Virgo. Since then, however, things have happened in the sky.

The movement of the constellations shows the passage of millennia

The constellations of the ecliptic shift position very slowly in what is called the astrological age, which is a time period of just under 26,000 years. This slow shift can be measured by studying which constellation it is that rises together with the sun on the horizon in the east on the morning of the vernal equinox.

Before the time of Jesus, 4000-2000 years ago, it was the constellation of Aries that rose together with the sun in the east on the morning of the vernal equinox. As some may know, Jesus spoke of a new age that would come and he wore a ring with the symbol of a fish. It was because the starry sky had shifted slightly so it was no longer Aries but the constellation of Pisces that was visible on the horizon in the east on the morning of the vernal equinox. Since then, the sky has continued to shift, so it is soon the constellation of Aquarius that will be visible on the horizon in the east at the vernal equinox and thus we will be in the age of Aquarius.

That is why astrology still says that it is the zodiac sign (or zone) of Aries that rises at the vernal equinox and that the sun is in the sign of Aries from approximately March 21 to April 20.

Astrology thus follows what has come to be known as the tropical zodiac, where the year begins with the sun rising in the sign of Aries at the end of March. If, on the other hand, the movement of the stars is taken into account, which is done in Indian astrology, the so-called sidereal year is used.

However, it is important to point out that it is not the stars themselves that send out any kind of energy. It is the energy that prevails in a certain place on earth precisely at the time of a person’s birth that is important. The constellations are only used as metaphors to explain what energy prevails at a certain time. The fact that the constellations in the sky have moved slightly does not change the energy on earth at, for example, the vernal equinox. This is why astrology has kept the traditional designations.

From constellations to zodiac signs

In other words, constellations are constellations of stars, which have moved slightly over the millennia. Zodiac signs correspond to twelve 30-degree zones in the energy field around us and these zones were once named after the constellations that were at the same place in the sky. Nowadays, the constellations have shifted, but the zones retain their old names.

The ascendant, the rising sign in the east

As you may know, the rising sign (or zone) in the east at a person’s birth is extremely important in astrology. It is called the ascendant and determines what your sunring looks like, which is fundamental to a deep self-understanding. (Unsure about your own ascendant? Here is how you find it out.)

The closer we get to the equator, the better the clock will work. As we get closer to the equator, the more even the ascendant times become.

However, the ascendant times are still a bit uneven at the equator. We actually have to be some miles (about 125 miles or 200 kilometers) south of the equator for the ascendant times of the different zodiac signs to be exactly the same, that is, two hours each, on the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox when there is perfect symmetry.

Where on earth…?

Which candidates can we find just south of the equator? What cultures or countries may have once created astrology with the zodiac? We can probably rule out East Asia because Western astrology has had its strongest position in Egypt, the Mediterranean, the area around the Euphrates and Tigris as well as in India. We do not know about South America, but there, too, as far as we know, astrology has not had as strong position as in the previously mentioned regions. So, we need to find a place somewhere in Africa, a good distance south of Egypt.

Countries on the equator in Africa are, from the east, southern Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, northern Tanzania, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon. We do not know of any ancient culture in these areas that used the astrological system, meaning that astrology may have a much longer history than has been assumed.

In science and in modern archaeology, there is a general idea that civilizations have developed from primitive to advanced in a straight line, but this need not be the case. Even in recent centuries and millennia, we can see that civilizations have come and gone. We humans have looked the same for about 300,000 years (scientists disagree on exactly how long) and we actually know very little about what happened, for example, before the last ice age.

From ancient Greece, we know that there have been discussions about a long-gone golden age, when civilization reached a pinnacle that has never returned since. There are also myths about, for example, Atlantis. In the Bible and in other scriptures there are flood myths. From Tibet there are legends that the monasteries have knowledge that is more than 50,000 years old.

Since then, the starry sky has moved and the constellations that rise on the horizon no longer correspond to the zodiac signs described in astrology.

The zodiac signs described by astrology only match what happens in the sky on occasions that occur every 26,000 years. This is called the precession of the equinoxes.

The last time Aries was on the eastern horizon on the morning of the vernal equinox was about 4,000 years ago. It was at the same time that the Babylonians used the zodiac and it could indicate that it is precisely in Babylon that Western astrology has its origins. However, Babylon was located in Mesopotamia, an area that is in present-day Iraq. Iraq is well north of the equator, meaning that if the zodiac had originated there, we should have a clock that looks different.

Therefore, in sunring astrology Babylon is not considered to be the time and place of the origin of astrology. We need to go much further back in time when Aries had this placement last time and that would be around 30,000 years ago (that is, a full astrological age of 26,000 years plus 4000 years for the last shift from Aries to Pisces and then from Pisces to Aquarius).

Another option is that we go halfway, when the zodiac sign of Virgo rose on the horizon in the east on the morning of the vernal equinox, and Aries descended directly in the west. That could also show why Aries is so essential in astrology. One can imagine that Aries signaled not only the symmetry but also the time when you could start to glimpse the stars when darkness fell at the vernal equinox. In that case, it means a period of time of about 17,000 years (that is, half of an astrological age, 13,000 years, plus 4,000 years for the last shift from Aries to Pisces and then from Pisces to Aquarius).

Another hypothesis is that the clock has been reset several times. That is to say, the designations of the zones of the sky were changed one or more times, depending on which constellation rose in the east at the vernal equinox.

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