Astronomy for Astrologers
The Band of the Zodiac
In fact, this great plane divides the entire universe in two
sections or hemispheres, one containing the
constellations of stars above (north) of the zodiac plane
and the other containing the constellations of stars
below (south) of this plane. The ecliptic plane is also
commonly divided into twelve equal 30° sections—
called the signs of the zodiac. We will ignore, for now,
the argument as to whether the 12 signs of the zodiac fit
the star constellations bearing their names. Of the 89
common constellations, these 12 zodiac signs have
received much more attention than the remaining 77 or
so other constellations that are scattered about—both
above and below the ecliptic plane.