Overview

This book considers various aspects of the meanings and functions of zodiacal systems, including how they affect belief systems, and how they have evolved over time. It explores the cultural significance of the Zodiac as a semiotic code for interpreting personal destinies as manifestations of stellar influences and as affirmations of the logic that governs the cosmos as a whole. The book traces the international history of Western astrology, from its origins in Babylon to its decline after the Enlightenment, up to its resurgence today as “pop astrology” in an era where social media and predictive algorithms can deliver customized personal horoscopes. Bringing together examples from the Western and Chinese zodiacal systems, it examines how the Zodiac semiotic enabled individuals across the world to interpret the date of their birth and the events that marked their daily lives in terms of the constellations and celestial conjunctions. It offers an engaging contribution to Zodiac scholarship by spanning various aspects of the meanings and functions of zodiacal systems.

Full Product Details

9781350522244

Table of Contents

Reviews

The fact that the Zodiac still functions as a meaning-making system, despite its lack of scientific validity, is a clear testimony to its semiotic importance. Prof. Danesi presents the semiotics of the Zodiac in a clear, scholarly, and accessible style. A must-read for scholars and students of semiotics. * Yair Neuman, Head, The Functor Lab, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel *

Author Information

Marcel Danesi is Professor Emeritus of Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto, Canada.

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