In this compelling and controversial book, Charles M. Houck shares what nearly three decades of research and study have taught him about the original meaning and purpose of the Zodiac.  Rejecting popular culture's notions of the Zodiac as a guide for fortune telling, Houck shows how the Zodiac was intended as a serious teaching device for cosmology and life lessons.  He explains that the Zodiac and the study of constellations are at the foundation of every major modern day religion and shows hoe, over the centuries, an uninformed and often self-serving priest-class has struggled to suppress any signs of the connection between religion and astrology.