The Ecliptic

The Ecliptic. The ecliptic is the apparent path the Sun traces through the sky over the course of a year. From Earth, the Sun seems to move steadily against the background stars, and the great circle it follows is the ecliptic. The zodiac is the band of sky that runs along this path, which is why the signs are tied to it. The Moon and planets all stay close to the ecliptic too, because the solar system is shaped roughly like a flat disc and the planets orbit in nearly the same plane. This is why every planet in a chart can be placed somewhere along the same circle of signs. A body's distance above or below the ecliptic is called its latitude, while its position along the ecliptic gives its zodiac sign and degree. The ecliptic is tilted relative to Earth's equator, and the two points where the two circles cross mark the equinoxes. One of these, the spring equinox, is the starting point of the tropical zodiac. The ecliptic is the basic highway of astrology, the line along which the Sun, Moon, and planets all appear to travel.