You May Not Be Who You Think You Are

We’re going to have to talk a little science here, but bear with me because you’re in for a bit of a surprise.

Astronomers and Astrologers alike know that the Vernal Equinox marks the first day of Spring and occurs where the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator intersect. The Vernal Equinox also marks the Zero Point of the Zodiac.

If you were born between March 21 and April 19, you expect your astrological sign to be Aries. But this was only true back when the system was set up around 600 BC. Today, the Sun is no longer in the Constellation of Aries during a whole lot of that time. Currently, from March 11 to April 18, the Sun is actually moving through the Constellation of Pisces!

Back around 600 BC, the intersection of the Ecliptic and Celestial Equator was in Western Astrology’s sign of Aries and marked the Vernal Equinox. Now, in the 21st Century, the intersection is in Pisces.

Remember that great conversation starter: "What's your sign?" Well, before you even think of asking or answering that question, remember this: your Zodiac sign has everything to do with the position of the sun relative to the Zodiac’s Constellations as they appeared well over 2600 years ago!

Even though the science behind Astrology has its roots in Astronomy, don’t confuse the two disciplines. Astronomy can explain the position of the stars in the sky but it’s up to the Astrologer to determine what their alignments mean.

The Constellations of the Zodiac

The Ecliptic, or the position of the Sun as it’s seen from the Earth, passes through the band of Constellations that forms the Zodiac – starting with Aries, and ending with Pisces. Zodiac signs were originally assigned by where the Sun was, in which Constellation, the day you were born.

Early Astronomers observed that the Sun traveled through the signs of the Zodiac during the course of one year. The saw that it spent about one month in each Constellation. From these observations they calculated that each Constellation takes up roughly 30 degrees of the Ecliptic.

Okay, now it gets dicey. Science has this little phenomenon called Precession and it has dramatically altered the position of the Constellations we see today.

Precession and How It Affects Astrology

The first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere was once marked by the Zero Point of the Zodiac. Astronomers call this the Vernal Equinox and it happens once a year when the Ecliptic and Celestial Equator intersect.

Around 2600 years ago, the Zero Point was in Aries and was called the "First Point of Aries."

Back around 600 BC, Astrologer/Astronomers said the Constellation Aries encompassed the first 30 degrees of the Ecliptic. After that, the next sign, Taurus, occupied; from 30 to 60 degrees. It went on like that, allowing 30 degrees for each of the twelve Constellations of the Zodiac.

Unbeknownst to most of the ancient Astrologers (except for the Mayans and possibly the early Egyptians and Babylonians), the Earth actually wobbles around its axis like an unsteady top in a 25,800-year cycle. This wobble—called Precession—is caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon on Earth's equatorial bulge.

Over the past two-and-a-half thousand years, the Earth wobble has caused the intersection point between the Celestial Equator and the Ecliptic to move west along the Ecliptic by 36 degrees, or almost exactly one-tenth of the way around (1/10 of 360 degrees). This means that the signs have slipped one-tenth—or almost one whole month — around the sky to the west, relative to the rest of the Universe’s stars beyond.

Let’s go back to our original example: Those born between March 21 and April 19 like to consider themselves to be Aries. Today, the Sun is no longer in the Constellation of Aries during a lot of that time. From March 11 to April 18, the Sun is actually in the Constellation of Pisces!

What’s Your “Real” Sign?

The table I’ve included lists the dates when the Sun is actually traveling inside the astronomical Constellations of the Zodiac. These dates are calculated according to modern Constellation boundaries and corrected for Precession (these dates can vary a day from year to year). This is considered the Sidereal Zodiac corrected for that nasty little wobble.

You'll most likely find that once Precession is taken into account, your Zodiac sign is different.

And one more surprise: If you were born between November 29 and December 17, your sign is actually one you never saw in the newspaper: you are an Ophiuchus! The eliptic now passes through the Constellation of Ophiuchus after Scorpius.

Now you really have something to start that conversation!

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

You may contact StarzJC at: starzjc@planetstarz.com