We are all aware of the 12 Zodiacs Signs which are basically the 12 constellations in our sky. Ancient astrologers arrived at these 12 zodiacs based on calculations of their view of the sky during their times.
Our view of the sky has changed since - in fact we now have 13 Zodiacs. There is a new constellation called Ophiuchus.
The zodiac you knew all along could just be off by a month or you could be in a brand new zodiac too. How about that?
Precession of the Equinoxes
We are all familiar with the first 2 motions of earth The Earth orbits the Sun in a 365 day cycle
The Earth rotates on its axis in an approximate 24 hr cycle.
But there is a third and less known motion of the Earth known as the Precession of Equinoxes. The axis of Earth itself wobbles /gyrates like a top in a 26,000 year cycle. It stands to reason that our view of the night sky will change as a result over time.
Polaris, our current north star for instance, is 1 degree off the North Celestial Pole. In around 12,000 years, our north star will be Vega. We will be back to Polaris again when the cycle completes.
Celestial Sphere and Ecliptic: For an observer on earth, our visible sky seems to move around us in a counterclockwise fashion on the inner surface of a giant imaginary Celestial Sphere. The Ecliptic is basically the apparent annual path of the sun against the background of the stars or the projection of Earth’s orbital place on the celestial sphere.
Traditional Western Astrology, gives us the 12 zodiac signs. The zodiac sign corresponds to the position of the sun relative to constellations on the Ecliptic. ie: which constellation was the sun in the day you were born. Ancient Astrologers calculated that each constellation was approx 30 degrees in the ecliptic, 30 deg for Aries, 30 degrees for Taurus etc… starting in around 600 BCE. Under this system
Aquarius Jan 20- Feb 18, Pisces Feb 19 - Mar 20, Aries Mar 21 - Apr 19, Taurus Apr 20 - May 20, Gemini May 21 - Jun 20, Cancer Jun 21 - July 22, Leo July 23 - Aug 22, Virgo Aug 23 - Sep 22, Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22, Scorpio Oct 23-Nov 21. Sagittarius Nov 22- Dec 21, Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19
That is, a person born on Feb 22 (me) would fall under the Pisces astrological sign. The same method of calculation has however continued over the millennia without taking into account the Precession of the Equinoxes. The celestial equator (projection of our equator on the celestial sphere) has also moved due to the Precession of the Equinoxes. (Where the celestial equator meets the ecliptic are the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.) The intersection of the celestial equator and the ecliptic has moved off west by almost 36 degrees (approx 1/10 of its cycle) currently. So all the zodiac signs have slipped off by around a month. So when we correct for the Precession of the Equinoxes, the correct zodiac sign for the Feb 22nd born per today’s sky is Aquarius.
In fact there is a 13th constellation visible in the ecliptic now. The southern part of constellation Ophiuchus or the Serpent bearer appears between Scorpius and Sagittarius during spring and summer.
Capricorn - Jan 20 - Feb 16, Aquarius - Feb 16 - Mar 11, Pisces - Mar 11 - Apr 18, Aries - Apr 18 - May 13, Taurus - May 13 - Jun 21, Gemini - Jun 21 - Jul 20, Cancer - Jul 20 - Aug 10, Leo - Aug 10 - Sep 16, Virgo - Sep 16 - Oct 30, Libra - Oct 30 - Nov 23, Scorpius - Nov 23 - Nov 29, Ophiuchus - Nov 29 - Dec 17, Sagittarius - Dec 17 - Jan 20
The zodiac you knew all along could just be off by a month or you could be in a brand new zodiac too. How about that?
