The Semiotics of the Zodiac - (Bloomsbury Advances in Semiotics) by Marcel Danesi (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"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

"A brilliant, deeply original exploration of astrology's cultural, medical, and cosmic dimensions-from the Black Death to modern AI horoscopes. Semiotics of the Zodiac masterfully reveals how celestial patterns shape human meaning, myth, and memory across centuries. A must-read for seekers of insight at the crossroads of science and symbolism. The book is a formidable achievement." --Geoff Beattie, Professor of Psychology, Edge Hill University, and Yosef Wosk Visiting Scholar, University of Oxford, UK

About the Author