What are all the zodiac signs called?

Answer 1

First, let's discuss a bit what the word zodiac actually means. It comes from a Greek phrase meaning "circle of animals" ("zodiac" is actually the "animals" part of that) and represents the constellations, half of which are named after animals (the others are people, mythological beasts, or objects) through which the Sun appears to pass over the course of a year.

The twelve traditional "signs" (constellations) of the zodiac are:

Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

However, astronomers call the path the Sun appears to trace in the sky the ecliptic. The ecliptic actually passes through a thirteenth constellation (using the modern definition of constellation, i.e. a particular defined patch of sky, not just an asterism, a pattern formed by bright stars). This constellation is Ophiucus. It also "just misses" a constellation called Cetus. Some people therefore consider Ophiucus and Cetus part of the zodiac as well, which kind of messes up the term, because Ophiucus represents a man and Cetus represents a sea monster, dropping the proportion of "animals" below one-half. If it helps any, Ophiucus is a man holding a snake (so it's partly an animal), and Cetus is usually called "the whale" today even though its name refers to a specific mythological sea monster which was not, in fact, a whale.