The _signs_ of the zodiac are somewhat different from the constellations. They are simply twelve equal divisions of thirty degrees each, making in all three hundred and sixty degrees, which is the whole number of degrees in any circle. They are so divided for convenience in scientific observation and reckoning. About two thousand years ago the signs and the constellations in the main coincided, and they still bear the same names. The point of the vernal equinox was then at the beginning of the sign and the constellation Aries. But, owing to certain motions of the earth, this point shifts backward, or toward the west, about one degree every seventy-two years. In two thousand years it has shifted about twenty-eight degrees, until now the sign Aries, with the vernal equinox at its western boundary, lies almost wholly in the constellation Pisces, the sign Taurus corresponds approximately to the constellation Aries, and so on around the circle. It is important to know this in following the planets, because all almanacs and scientific publications deal mainly with the _signs_ of the zodiac, and not with the _constellations_. When a planet’s place is said to be in Aries, Taurus, or Gemini, one will find it in Pisces, Aries, or Taurus, respectively. And so it is with all the other signs; they are each one constellation behind the one bearing the same name. And this is why, beginning with the vernal equinox, Pisces is the first constellation in the zodiac, while Aries is the first sign. The following is a list of the signs of the zodiac, with the corresponding constellations. The symbols given in parenthesis are the ones used for these signs in all almanacs: SIGN CONSTELLATION { Aries (♈) Pisces Spring { Taurus (♉) Aries signs { Gemini (♊) Taurus { Cancer (♋) Gemini Summer { Leo (♌) Cancer signs { Virgo (♍) Leo { Libra (♎) Virgo Autumn { Scorpio (♏) Libra signs { Sagittarius (♐) Scorpio { Capricornus (♑) Sagittarius Winter { Aquarius (♒) Capricornus signs { Pisces (♓) Aquarius[6] [6] For those who find rhymes an aid to memory, the following list may prove useful: