Even though today the Zodiac/Horoscope is relegated to the realm of esoteric pseudoscience & paganism, Astrology is the foundational basis of most modern religious thought, especially the Judeo-Christian faith. Here's a thread about Astrolatry & why your religion is bullshit.

While some form of Astrolatry is present in almost every single prehistoric culture & continues to this day in some form, I'll focus primarily on Prehistoric African Astrolatry & it's influence on modern spiritual thought.

We can trace the origins of this branch of Astrolatry to the region of what is now the Sahara desert. Up until about 12,000 years ago, the Sahara was a lush, fertile & relatively populated Savannah. The exact causes of the desertification have not been conclusively determined.

Prior to the desertification, the Prehistoric Africans of the region were primarily Hunters-Gatherers. They depicted themselves in rock art, hunting animals such as Gazelle, Giraffes & other animals which can no longer be found in North Africa.

Around 12,000 years ago, the Sahara began to dry up. As the desert expanded, the animals also began to migrate southward. Some of the Prehistoric Africans followed the migrating animals South, while others stayed behind. Those who stayed turned to agriculture & cattle herding.

***Note that this migration southward was not instantaneous or smooth, but spread out across vast periods of time. There's also evidence showing that Africans routinely migrated back & forth & some even returned from the south to resettle in the Sahara again

Anyway, back to the Sahara. As the desertification persisted, the rains became more & more infrequent. These Africans had to figure out exactly when & where the rain will be, otherwise they, their crops & cattle would all perish. So they turned to astronomy.

They developed complex & intricate astronomical methods to track the seasons. They built numerous megalithic calendars on the ground, the most notable one being Nabta Playa, believed to have been built around 8000 BC, & remains the most complete such calendar discovered to date

Because their survival & livelihood depended on the seasons, they began observing the skies with great intensity & passion. These prehistoric sky watchers became the of the first organized sectors of society & would eventually evolved into astronomical cults & secret societies.

As they continued to observe the skies, they soon realized that the movement of the Sun across the sky seems to be the best predictor of changes in the seasons. They also realized that the motion of the Sun followed a predetermined & uniform cycle.

In other to better understand & predict the motion of the sun, they began to use the stars as guides & astronomical markers. They took special note of which stars were in a specific region of the night sky just before the Sun rose in that exact same region at dawn.

They soon realized that, every couple dozen & some odd days, the sun would rise in a different region of the sky & in front of a different group of stars. They also noted that there were 12 such groups of stars before the sun resets & repeats the cycle.

They also marked the reset of the cycle as the moment when light & darkness were equal lengths. After that, we get longer days-shorter nights, then shorter days-longer nights....Rinse & repeat. This reset moment is know as the equinox today.

To easily remember & share knowledge of these groups stars, they began depicting & representing them as familiar objects in their everyday lives. They even crafted intricate & elaborate stories about lives & identities of these 12 group of stars & the Sun.

While most of these stories & depictions of the Sun & stars are lost today, some have evolved & survive into present day in some form as some very popular myths & stories. These 12 groups of stars still survive today as what we know as the signs of the Zodiac.

Back to the Sahara. One of the oldest representations Sun as a man is the figure known as the Egyptian God Horus/Heru (take special note of this fella, he is everywhere).

Though Horus is mostly associated with the Nile Valley civilizations (Ancient Egypt & Ancient Nubia), the depiction, reverence & worship of Horus as the Sun predates the Ancient Egyptians & Nubians by several millennia & is almost ubiquitous across Africa.

Anyway in the Egyptian version of the Horus myth , Horus represents the Sun & daylight. He has a sister/wife Hathor (Het Heru) who represents the moon, & a crazy & evil brother/uncle named Set, who represents night, darkness & evil (I know; very weird & complicated family)

According the Ancient Egyptians, Horus, the Sun, rises every morning, he is then attacked by his crazy brother/uncle Set, the darkness, who wants to rule the world. Set subdues Horus & sends him to the underworld. Horus rises again & duke it out all over with Set each day.

Take Note that Heru, known to the Ancient Greeks as Horus, is the root of the words Hour, From the Greek Hora meaning Time & Horoscope also from Greek Hora Skopos mean Time Obsever/Keeper aka the Sun, which is used to keep track of time.

Long Story short, this ancient story of Heru/Horus & his crazy Brother/Uncle Set & their fight to rule the world, is the foundation of the Abrahamic faith, especially Judaism & Christianity. They all incorporate & retell the Horus myth & the Zodiac in some form

I feel like I've been typing forever. Stay tuned, I'll be back to explain the astrological/astronomical roots & foundation of the Judeo-Christian religion soon...