As I entered a date in my appointment calendar the other day, a thought about common origin of that practical notebook and astrology came to my mind. The calendar developed from the same astronomical observations as the astrology and out of the need to measure and plan the time and the experience, which was decidedly more important for the survival in the antique times than today. As soon as our forefathers learned to count and to work with numbers, they learned about the regularity of the Sun and the Moon movement.
The Day and the Month
The calendar is ordered by days. One day is the time that Earth needs to rotate once around its axis. From the human perspective, looking from a place on Earth, that is the time that Sun needs to return to the same point in the skies.
Months are based on the motion of the Moon, as it moves around the Earth. It takes 29,5 days for the Moon to, looking from the Earth, return to the same point in relation to the Sun.
The Year and the Zodiac
A year is based upon the cycle of seasons and upon the time that it takes for the Earth to go once around the Sun. From the human point of view, that is the time that Sun needs to move through the full circle on its seeming path around the Earth, measured against the background of the star constellations.
The seeming path of the Sun around the Earth is called ecliptic or celestial sphere and its division in 12 segments against the background of star constellations is Zodiac.
Your individual calendar
Horoscope actually means “watching the time” , derived from Greek hora "hour; season; period of time" and skopos" watcher. In astrology, it is a diagram of the planetary positions in the specific moment in time, as the moment of birth is. Starting from the birth time and from the natal horoscope, astrology maps the individual time and rhythm in life and acts as a truly personal calendar.