Key difference: A zodiac sign is the position of the sun on the ecliptic, at the time of a person’s birth. A horoscope can be understood to be a heavenly map depicting the alignment of planetary bodies such as the sun, the moon, the stars, star constellations, planets, etc., at the time of a person’s birth or another significant time in his/her life.

Zodiac is a form of western astrology, where the movement of the sun at the time of a person’s birth brings forth revelations about his/her physical traits, characteristics, state of mind, etc. To understand the zodiac signs conversantly, one has to first know what zodiac is, and the way it functions. In simple terminology, zodiac can be defined as a circular path comprising of twelve 30 degree segments, known as the various signs of zodiac. This circular path is also known as the ecliptic, the path that the sun takes to revolve around an imaginary sphere around earth, known as the celestial sphere. The point where the sun begins its 360 degree journey is at zero degrees, or the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox also marks the beginning of the first sign of zodiac, which is the Aries. As the sun moves along the ecliptic, it passes the various signs of zodiac, occupying each for a while, in order to pass through it completely. A Person born in a time that is the same as the duration of sun’s occupation of a particular sign, will fall under that specific sign of zodiac. Consequently, his/her traits, habits, behavior, etc. will be determined by this movement of the sun, which is what the zodiac signs are all about.

The zodiac is also called as the circle of life, which is why the signs of zodiac carry the names and depictions of living beings such as animals and humans. The twelve signs of zodiac are as follows:

Horoscope is an astrological tool of prediction used by astrologers around the world. Like all the elements of astrological science, horoscope is also considered as a pseudo science because there have been no substantial theories or a solid background to substantiate this subject. In simple terms, a horoscope can be understood to be a heavenly map depicting the alignment of planetary bodies such as the sun, the moon, the stars, star constellations, planets, etc., at the time of a person’s birth or another significant time in his/her life. The word horoscope is a contribution of the Greek language to English, and roughly translates to “a look at the hours”. In essence, horoscope is nothing more than that. Based on the positions taken up by the planetary bodies at a particular point of time in a person’s life, the astrologers make interpretations and predictions his life and future. Besides the positions of the stars and planets, specially calculated aspects such as the zodiac signs and the relationship between planetary angles are also taken into consideration while predicting over a horoscope. Horoscope is also known by different names such as, radical chart, radix, chart wheel, sky-map, star-chart, vitasphere, etc.

Hence, the zodiac signs and horoscope complement each other, but are not interchangeable in nature.

Comparison between Zodiac Sign and Horoscope:

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