If you want to know about your Zodiac sign, here are 3 great resources for learning about your Zodiac sign online.
Ever wonder about, mentions of Astrology, what all of those horoscopes mean, and what it means to have a Zodiac sign? Well, the good news is that they are all relatively easy to research on the internet. Starting with Wikipedia is totally fine to get access to simple charts and their long list of resources, but after getting the glossy explanations there, it’s time to find more in-depth resources that can really help understand and learn about your own Zodiac Sign.
Three great resources to learn about your Zodiac Sign online include:
The Zodiacs, along with Astrology in general, can be really complicated topics to figure out. They have so many different little points that can be changed based on who, when, where, and why they are being done that it can make your head spin. So, it’s critical to find quality information that isn’t being presented in a biased sense. Keep reading to find out more about the older Chinese Zodiac and the more mathematical Western Zodiac.
Article Contents
What Is a Zodiac Sign?
Simply put, a Zodiac Sign is part of Astrology, a method of predicting traits, fate, future, compatibility, and other aspects based on the positioning of celestial bodies at the time of birth.
There are two Astrological traditions, Chinese and Western. The Chinese Zodiac cycles between signs every year for a 12-year period and finding the animal sign is as simple as knowing which one is reigning over the year itself.
The Western Zodiac is a more mathematical approach, utilizing exact coordinates of the sun, moon, and planets at the time of birth to calculate certain aspects including Zodiac Sign. In Western traditions, the signs cycle in 4-week phases and go through the reigning constellations at the time of birth.
Where Do the Zodiac Signs Come From?
The Zodiac Signs are determined through Astrology, which typically uses the stars and other celestial bodies in order to try and determine traits of people, futures, fates, and other factors. Depending on the tradition being used, these predictions can be meant as a mere guide to betterment, or a cut-and-dry determination about how someone is at their most pure, heavenly level.
The Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese Zodiac is a very old system of determining a person’s sign based on a lunar cycle observed for generations, as well as considering that a person’s fate is more or less in their own hands and tied closely to their character.
There are records of the Chinese Zodiac being used as far back as the Qin Dynasty, which took place between 221 – 207BC. The complete set of 12 animals used in the Zodiac appears within the Eastern Han Dynasty around 25 – 220AD, meaning this particular tradition has thousands of years of use.
The Western Zodiac
Alternatively, the Western Zodiac is from a collection of western Astrologers using more precise measurements of the sun, moon, and planets within the solar system to calculate on a more individual level, suggesting that fate is pre-mapped for the person at hand.
The Western Zodiac first started to appear in the Hellenistic and Babylonian eras and spread out from there, with more modern traditions being as varied as there are people.
How are Zodiac Signs Determined?
Zodiac signs are determined differently based on the Astrology being used. The much older Chinese Zodiac is based on more mystical means when determining their predictions, whereas the newer Western Zodiac which uses actual solar, lunar, and planetary positioning at the time of birth to determine someone’s individual sign(s).
It is also imperative to know that Zodiac Signs, while being easy to find and are unchangeable, should be viewed more as guidelines to betterment than absolutes. Astrology is a pseudoscience, which means that it is just a theory, methodology, or practice that has no scientific backing, despite the fact that Western traditions use very real calculations and positioning of celestial bodies to determine.
Chinese Zodiac Signs
The Chinese Zodiac is based on a 12-year lunar calendar cycle. Each year is assigned a different animal which gives everyone born into it a number of very particular traits which then can then be used to determine heavenly secrets about them. Within the Chinese Zodiac, fate goes hand-in-hand with a person’s individual character, so changing this character is necessary in order to change fate.
The 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac and some recent years are:
| ANIMAL | RECENT YEARS |
|---|---|
| Rat | 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032 |
| Ox | 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033 |
| Tiger | 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034 |
| Rabbit | 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035 |
| Dragon | 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036 |
| Snake | 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037 |
| Horse | 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038 |
| Sheep | 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039 |
| Monkey | 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040 |
| Rooster | 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041 |
| Dog | 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042 |
| Pig | 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043 |
Now, let’s move on to the Western zodiac signs.
Western Zodiac Signs
The Western Zodiac is based on the actual position of the sun, moon, and planets at the time of one’s birth. This leads to people occasionally having different solar and lunar signs if they happen to be born near the cusps, and thus can make it a little trickier to determine without a calculator.
Unlike the Chinese Zodiac, the Western Zodiac has four-week constellations that govern the sign. However, they still follow more of a lunar calendar instead of a solar calendar, meaning that they don’t line up perfectly with the months but instead are more seasonal.
Here are the 12 Western Zodiac signs and their date ranges:
| CONSTELLATION | SYMBOL | DATE RANGE |
|---|---|---|
| Aries | Ram | March 21-April 19 |
| Taurus | Bull | April 20-May 20 |
| Gemini | Twins | May 21-June 21 |
| Cancer | Crab | June 22-July 22 |
| Leo | Lion | July 23-August 22 |
| Virgo | Maiden | August 23-September 22 |
| Libra | Scales | September 23-October 22 |
| Scorpio | Scorpion | October 23-November 22 |
| Sagittarius | Archer/Centaur | November 23-December 21 |
| Capricorn | Goat | December 22-January 19 |
| Aquarius | Water-Bearer | January 20-February 18 |
| Pisces | Fish | February 19-March 20 |
Now that we know about the different types of zodiac signs, let’s move on to how you can learn more about yours.
Can I Learn About My Zodiac Sign Online?
You absolutely can learn about your own Zodiac Sign online. The internet is a great place for searching and finding information. Just about anything someone could ever want to know about is somewhere on the internet. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to find the good stuff hidden in all of the pieces from the delusional or self-righteous, which is an unfortunate side effect of any pseudoscience such as Astrology.
There is nothing wrong with starting a search on Wikipedia and running through their charts, graphs, and resources to find other places to go, look into, and research. However, as just about any collegiate research class will explain, Wikipedia should always just be a springboard for finding more reliable information.
Additionally, there are various tools and calculators out there that will help determine Zodiac Signs, especially those that are very close to a cusp. Some will even get more in depth, adding both a lunar and solar sign, or adding elements to the animals to further help with predictions about someone in particular.
3 Great Resources for Learning About Your Zodiac Sign
Finding and learning about your own Zodiac Sign can be a complicated mess very quickly. That being said, here are three good resources to at least start the journey with. Each one will give in-depth explanations from an unbiased perspective and gives many tools and resources for educational purposes.
1. Astrology Club
Astrology Club is a beautiful website that is extremely easy to navigate with detailed explanations that are also written in a simple, understandable tone.
This site gives out horoscopes and even explains Numerology, another pseudoscience field utilizing similar themes and points from Astrology, tying together two very close means in one simple resource.
While this one does not give as many tools to look at as some other websites, the ease of understanding makes it an excellent choice for getting basic information regarding Astrology, Zodiac Signs, Numerology, and other explanations in a way that doesn’t expect the reader to be an expert themselves already.
2. Astrolibrary
Astrolibrary is not the prettiest website to look at, however it is well-organized and has extremely in-depth explanations and resources to utilize.
The best part about it is that it has a tool to help generate entire charts based on Western Astrology to determine a wide range of factors that other sites don’t. Then, from there, they have extremely long, well-researched pages to give as much information about the results as possible. It also has a very clear Resources page to add to the site’s credibility.
3. Astrology
Astrology is a simple site that is also extremely easy on the eyes. The website is a little less user friendly than the other two previously mentioned, but it is still clean and to the point.
What makes this site stand out is that they also have an active newsletter, to the point explanations on their pages, horoscopes, and more. While they have a shop, everything to find out about both of the Zodiacs, including obtaining a birth chart, is completely free. They give paid, personalized options as well.
Conclusion
There are two different Astrological traditions, one going back with the oldest surviving civilization and thus having some more mystical aspects to it, and the other more modern and mathematical in determining signs based on actual placements of the sun, moon, and planets. Both are methods of predicting the future, compatibility, and aspects about a person based on when they were born and the location of specific celestial details that were present at the time of birth.
Finding good resources to help explain these and what someone’s personal signs are is extremely easy with the use of the internet. Starting with Wikipedia is fine, as it has many graphs, charts, and tables to explain as well as a long list of resources for a reader to sift through. However, Wikipedia should always be used more as a springboard for starting research rather than as the end-all be-all explanation of any topic, Zodiacs included.
