Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude.Babylonian astrology, inherited by astrology, developed the zodiac of twelve signs familiar in the West. The etymology of the term zodiac is that it comes from the Latin zōdiacus, from the Greek ζῳδιακός [κύκλος], meaning "circle of animals", derived from ζῴδιον, the diminutive of ζῷον "animal". Another suggested etymology is that the Greek term is cognate with the Sanskrit sodi, denoting "a path", i.e., the path through which the Sun travels.Moon and the naked eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The classical astronomers called these planets wandering stars to differentiate them from the fixed stars of the celestial sphere (Ptolemy). Astrologers understood the movement of the planets and the Sun through the zodiac as a means of explaining and predicting events on Earth.
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