Over the past week, a panic has broken out across all believers in astrology and the zodiac. People are tweeting about it. It’s all over the news and the Internet. Your friends are freaking out. They are no longer the person they thought they were because their sign has changed. Before you panic along with the rest of the world, it’s important to understand what’s really going on.
You are still the same person you always were. Astrology can be extremely difficult to understand. It doesn’t help that there are several different types of astrology. However, if you are a westerner, you most likely believe in the tropical zodiac. If this is true for you, everything is still the same. These signs will not change and are exactly as they were before. What has changed is sidereal astrology, astrology that focuses on the placement of stars. Most westerners use tropical astrology, astrology that focuses on seasons and the placement of the sun. So what exactly does all this mean?
The main difference between sidereal and tropical astrology is that tropical astrologists believe your star sign is determined by where the earth is in the solar system. This means, the proximity of earth to the sun and other planets. Sidereal astrologists believe signs depend on where the earth is in the galaxy, adding the constellations into the mix. This is where the earth is in proximity to the sun, planets and stars. Sidereal astrology is usually practiced by Hindus and various other cultures. Western astrology is mostly confined to the United States and Europe. It is thought to be discovered by the Babylonians.
So why has sidereal astrology changed and not tropical astrology? The seasons happen at the exact same time every year. Tropical astrology begins at the vernal equinox, which is when the sun passes over the equator. That’s when the sign of Aries begins, which is why Aries is the first sign of the tropical zodiac. It’s also when spring arrives. This has to do with the sun and earth, not the stars. The stars, on the other hand, change positions because of the precession of equinoxes. The earth has moved or “wobbled” westward along the constellations, so the position of earth to the stars changed. This was first noted by Hipparchus around 130 BC, so this is not a new discovery. This is a change that has been happening for years, not just recently.
For several reasons, there has often been debate between astrologers of sidereal and tropical astrology. Your sign will be different in tropical than it is in sidereal. Both types of astrologers want to point out why their beliefs are right because the signs will change dramatically based on which you choose to believe. Tropical astrology doesn’t take the stars into account, so sidereal believers consider that to be a fault. Sidereal, however, is more approximate because the signs do not always match up exactly to the constellations. The feud will probably never be solved, and most likely both sides will continue with their respected beliefs.
If you choose to change your astrology beliefs, it is true that your sign will change. If this is too much to handle, continue on with what you’ve always believed. Nothing has really changed. The only difference is, now more people know about it. You still have the same personality, the same history, the same fate. Don’t panic because you think your sign has changed. If you’re a westerner, it hasn’t changed, so continue reading those horoscopes just as you did before. No need to remove star sign tattoos or get a divorce because you think you’re no longer compatible with your mate. You are still who you are, and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.
Sources
Astrology.com
Britannica.com
Revealer.com
Wikipedia.com
