Zodiac celestial coordinate system, or more specifically an ecliptic coordinate system, which takes the ecliptic as the origin of latitude and the Sun's position at vernal equinox as the origin of longitude. The English word ' derives from ', the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek "zōidiakòs kýklos" (), meaning "cycle or circle of little animals". "Zōidion" () is the diminutive of "zōion" (, "animal"). The name reflects the prominence of animals (and mythological hybrids) among the twelve signs. The zodiac was in use by the Roman era, based on concepts inherited by Hellenistic astronomy from Babylonian astronomy of the Chaldean
A Common Word Between Us and You East, and the West has run at least an article on the initiative. There is a long list of press cuttings about the initiative on the A Common Word website. The website for A Common Word was launched on 10 October 2007. The site includes a popup box which asks visitors to endorse the letter. As at 26 August 2010 the site had recorded 8,109 endorsements of the message, out of around 350,172 visitors to the website. The official website contains the full text of "A Common Word between Us and You," a list of signatories, addressees, responses, media resources