Where does the zodiac constellations have to be in the sky for it to be that zodiac?

Do they have to line up with the sun at a certain angle in the sky? Will all people in the northern hemisphere see the same constellations at the same time?Where does the zodiac constellations have to be in the sky for it to be that zodiac?
The Zodiac (or circle of animals) are the constellations through which the sun seems to move. There are actually 13 now, and they don't each occupy 1/12 (or even 1/13) of the sky. The dates used for astrology are the approximate dates from a few thousand years ago, but even then the dates were made up - as the constellation are all different sizes and shapes.



The only way to see with your eye what constellation the sun is actually in is during a solar eclipse when the moon blocks out the sun's light and you can see the stars near the sun. You can see the constellation at night six months later or before a date. The constellation that is at the on the ecliptic and south (as apposed to east and west) will be where the sun will be six months later.



The reason the stars seem to move around the sky (or the sun) is that we orbit the sun. So the sunlight blocks different parts of the sky, and a little more is revealed each day/night. The stars rise/set about four minutes earlier each day/night and so seem to move westward across the sky over the course of the year.



The 13th constellation in the zodiac? Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer sometimes referred to as the Doctor. (Just a bit sneaks in)Where does the zodiac constellations have to be in the sky for it to be that zodiac?
There are always the same constellations of the 'zodiac'. The 'zodiac' is the line which the sun follows between the stars in 1 year time. Actually, it is earth riding around the sun in 1 year, but on our own sky it appears like the sun is traveling 1 full turn around the sky, 1 turn along the 'zodiac' line.



Do all northern persons see the same constellations? Yes, but everyone maybe has to wait until it is night. On a particular day of the year, the sun sits in a constellation X. The stars left of this constellation X shall be visible in the evening hours. All stars ride further during the night. Just before sunrise, the stars right of the constellation X have just risen.Where does the zodiac constellations have to be in the sky for it to be that zodiac?
The zodiac is the set of constellations that contain the ecliptic plane. The ecliptic plane is the path that the sun seems to take across the background stars as the earth revolves around the sun.



Most planets and the moon follow fairly close to the ecliptic as well.