Astrology has run into a few wobbles of its own, with the unsteady nature of the earth’s axis leading to horoscope signs being off by as much as a month. What this means is that your astrological sign may not be what you think it is.
Astrological signs were determined over 2000 years ago by taking into consideration the position of the sun relative to certain constellations on a person’s day of birth. The wobble of the earth has led to a shift in the night sky to the extent that horoscope signs are now off by nearly a month. This has led to a contradiction whereby the position of the sun as determined by astrology is different from where astronomy tells us it is.
All of this, however, does not constitute something new that has come to our attention. The earliest instance of an astronomer identifying this phenomena caused due to the wobble of the earth dates back to as far as 280 B.C. Precession, as it is called, results from the gravitational attraction of the moon to the earth’s equator. It results in the spinning of the earth in a manner similar to a wobbly top. As the earth rotates, the axis swings in a circle, pointing in different directions. This change in the earth’s position leads to a change in our perspective of the night sky.
As it turns out though, this shift in the zodiac signs does not apply to most Westerners, who follow the tropical zodiac. This version of the zodiac is fixed to the seasons, and is based solely on dates. The sidereal zodiac, followed more in the East, is the one which is linked to constellations and affected by all this.
All this controversy, however, has not gone down well with people who use astrology as a means to remove uncertainty and add a layer of predictability to their lives. The existence of two forms of zodiac has only just come to the knowledge of a lot of people, and this has thrown doubt over the methodology used in astrology to determine signs.
The existence of a 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus, has been a particular cause of concern for the more ardent believers of astrology. The arbitrary manner leading to the removal of this sign by the Babylonians simply on the basis of a desire for having only 12 stars has led many to question the methodology employed in the belief system.
The “real” dates of astrological signs, with the wobble of the earth taken into consideration, have been provided by astronomers and are as below.
Capricorn – Jan 20 to Feb 16
Aquarius – Feb 16 to Mar 11
Pisces – Mar 11 to Apr 18
Aries – Apr 18 to May 13
Taurus – May 13 to Jun 21
Gemini – Jun 21 to Jul 20
Cancer – Jul 20 to Aug 10
Leo – Aug 10 to Sep 16
Virgo – Sep 16 to Oct 30
Libra – Oct 30 to Nov 23
Scorpius – Nov 23 to Nov 29
Ophiuchus – Nov 29 to Dec 17
Sagittarius – Dec 17 to Jan 20
Most analysts believe, however, that the majority of people who believe in astrology will continue to believe in the “old” zodiac system, the tropical zodiac. This is because embracing a new zodiac sign would serve to negate all the previous beliefs formed while under a different zodiac sign, and many people would have a problem reconciling a new zodiac sign with their personal image of themselves.
