Editing Zodiac (section)

=== Hindu zodiac ===

According to mathematician-historian [[Jean-Étienne Montucla|Montucla]], the Hindu zodiac was adopted from the [[Ancient Greek astronomy|Greek zodiac]] through communications between ancient India and the Greek empire of [[Bactria]].<ref name="Mill1817">{{cite book | first=James | last=Mill | author-link=James Mill | title=The History of British India | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQAMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA402 | year=1817 | publisher=Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy | page=409}}</ref> The [[Hindu zodiac]] uses the [[Sidereal astrology|sidereal coordinate system]], which makes reference to the fixed stars. The tropical zodiac (of Mesopotamian origin) is divided by the intersections of the [[ecliptic]] and [[equator]], which shifts in relation to the backdrop of fixed stars at a rate of 1° every 72 years, creating the phenomenon known as precession of the equinoxes. The Hindu zodiac, being sidereal, does not maintain this seasonal alignment, but there are still similarities between the two systems. The Hindu zodiac signs and corresponding Greek signs sound very different, being in Sanskrit and Greek respectively, but their symbols are nearly identical.<ref name="Schmidt">{{cite web |last1=Schmidt |first1=Robert H. |title=The Relation of Hellenistic to Indian Astrology |url=http://www.projecthindsight.com/articles/vedic.html |publisher=Project Hindsight |access-date=4 July 2016 |archive-date=3 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703034617/http://www.projecthindsight.com/articles/vedic.html |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, ''dhanu'' means "bow" and corresponds to Sagittarius, the "archer", and ''kumbha'' means "water-pitcher" and corresponds to Aquarius, the "water-carrier".<ref name="Dalal2010">{{cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA89 |year=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6 |page=89 |access-date=20 October 2016 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307164318/https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA89 |url-status=live }}</ref>