But from what is herein stated, an inference may
fairly be drawn that, like so many other philosophical myths and
allegories, the invention of the Zodiac and its signs owes its origin to
ancient India.
What then is its real origin, what is the philosophical conception which
the Zodiac and its signs are intended to represent? Do the various
signs merely indicate the shape or configuration of the different
constellations included in the divisions, or, are they simply masks
designed to veil some hidden meaning? The former supposition is
altogether untenable for two reasons, viz.:--
I. The Hindus were acquainted with the precession of the equinoxes, as
may he easily seen from their work on Astronomy, and from the almanacs
published by Hindu astronomers. Consequently they were fully aware of
the fact that the constellations in the various Zodiacal divisions were
not fixed. They could not, therefore, have assigned particular shapes
to these shifting groups of fixed stars with reference to the divisions
of the Zodiac. But the names indicating the Zodiacal signs have all
along remained unaltered.
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