Page 233 - Foundations

The familiar word “Zodiac” does not come as we have long been told from the Greek word zoe
meaning life, and does not refer to either animals or a “zoo.” Simple logic utilizing internal evidence
within the Zodiac itself bears this out, since it contains inanimate objects such as an arrow, balancing
scales, a lyre, a cup, a ship, a cross, an altar, and a crown. One sixth of the constellations are
inanimate, and therefore, a word denoting animals or life could not adequately describe the
constellations.

Instead the word “Zodiac” comes to us from the Hebrew root word zodi or sodi, for A Way. This
latter word actually appears on some of the old star charts. “Zodiac” itself comes directly from the
Greek word “zodiakos,” derived from this Hebrew word and therefore denotes The Way or The Path
(lit. a way of steps) which the sun appears to follow through the heavens.

In the previous chapter I cited George Smith’s translation of the ancient Chaldean Account of
th
Genesis. In the 5 tablet of that writing it is recorded “Stars, their appearance [in figures] of animals
he arranged.” This would seem to lend support to the common understanding that defines zodiac as
a circle of animals. The entry for the word zodiac at the Online Etymology Dictionary provides this
further information.

Libra is not an animal, but it was not a zodiac constellation to the Greeks, who reckoned 11 but
counted Scorpio and its claws (including what is now Libra) as a "double constellation." Libra was
figured back in by the Romans.

This information is certainly pertinent to any discussion of the origin of our English word zodiac.
Note that the entry states that “Libra was figured back in by the Romans.” Libra did exist as a
constellation in cultures older than that of Greece. It appears in the Dendera and Esne Zodiacs of the
Egyptians. The question is largely one of where our English word originated. If it came from the
Greeks, then a very good argument can be made that it originally meant “a circle of animals.” If it
came through the Hebrew “zodi” or “sodi” for “A Way,” then a different meaning is understood. It
would not be unusual for the Greeks to have adopted a Hebrew word, and over time to ascribe an
entirely different meaning to it. Language tends to be very dynamic and fluid.

Perhaps it is not all that important to clearly identify the origin of the word zodiac. The reason I
suggest this is that there have been many different words and phrases used to describe the circle of
constellations throughout history. The word zodiac (or the root from which it derives) is not
necessarily the original, or the most authentic. In the Old Testament, when Yahweh speaks to man
of the constellations, the Hebrew word “mazzaroth,” or “mazaloth” is used. Mazzaroth is generally
understood to mean “constellations,” and is considered to be an ancient Hebrew equivalent to the
word zodiac, but its actual meaning is uncertain. Perhaps mazzaroth is the more authentic word, or
closer to the original that Yahweh conveyed to Adam and his descendants. Not knowing what
language man spoke before the division of language at Babel, we can do little more than offer
conjecture.

Some other ways in which people have historically referred to the constellations of the zodiac are as
follows.