August, _Libra_ in September, _Scorpio_ in October, _Sagittarius_ in November, _Capricornus_ in December, _Aquarius_ in January, _Pisces_ in February. This was precisely what occurred in the zodiac during the years from B.C. 2188 to B.C. 36; but in the period of two thousand years immediately preceding this, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the order was changed, so that _Taurus_ was the sign of March, _Gemini_ of April, and so on, each sign being a month earlier; while at the present time _Pisces_ is the sign of March, and each other sign one month later than when _Aries_ was at the vernal equinoxial point. Each of these signs occupies 30 degrees of the zodiac, the whole twelve making up 360 degrees, which is the total length of the imaginary sphere of the heavenly vault; and the ancients again divided each of these signs into three portions of ten degrees each, called decans making 36 decans for the complete zodiacal circle. When the sun was passing through a sign the astrologers publicly proclaimed the exact moment of its entry upon the first decan, which they called the upper room, the whole sign being called the house of the sun; the second decan they called the middle or inner room, and the third the lower room. On each side of the zodiacal band there are also a number of what are called extra-zodiacal constellations, which never vary their position with regard to the zodiacal signs, the constellations on either side of _Aries_ always rising and setting at the same time with that sign, those on each side of _Taurus_ doing likewise, and so on through all the signs.