Zodiac signs "circle of small animals"

The zodiac is a circular band of the celestial sphere. Zodiac comes from the Greek word 'zodiakos', which means "circle of small animals". This name comes from the fact that all the constellations of the Zodiac (except Libra, formerly part of Scorpio) represent living creatures. The path of the Sun on the celestial vault is called the ecliptic. The signs of the zodiac are known by astrologers but the zodiac is the name of the area of the heavens located around and in alignment with the ecliptic, where we observe the movements of the Sun and the planets. The zodiac is traditionally divided into twelve constellations corresponding to twelve signs. In fact, the ecliptic passes through thirteen constellations in the sky but one of them, Ophiuchus (Serpentaris), is not part of the traditional Zodiac.