If you're a fan of horoscopes...life decided to get all confusing on us and stir up this trouble that our zodiac signs are probably not what we've thought they were (sucks for the people who got their zodiac signs tattooed on them).
There are different types of astrology. An Eastern form, called Sidereal astrology, looks to the famous constellations as its guide. On the other hand, Western astrology has its zodiacs fixed to the seasons. These signs follow what early astrologers called "star signs," whose reference points are the tropics that form a ring around the earth. The zodiac is based on our relationship to the sun, not the stars.
About 2,000 years ago, the astrological signs and the astronomical ones were the same. But not anymore. That location in the sky has slowly moved westward, because of something called "precession" (the earth continually tilts every 26,000 years). Since the constellations were first identified, they have shifted roughly 30 degrees. The signs have slipped about a month westward, relative to the stars.
If you follow astrology that is linked to the constellations, your sign would go from say, a Gemini to a Taurus; I would go from a Cancer to a Gemini....and better yet, some of us could even have a 13th sign, called Ophiuchus, which would be birthdays from November 29 - December 17 (lucky you guys!).
"It's a huge point of confusion for the public," says Bing Quock, assistant director of Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences. I believe it; I was on Twitter and everyone was going psycho over the fact that they may or may not be a Scorpio or an Aquarius anymore, and that all this time those suggestions they've been reading every day on romance were all lies, lies, lies! Haha.
HOWEVER, if you follow Sidereal astrology, the Eastern branch, your sign may have shifted...but most of us follow the Western astrology anyways. So phew, our signs have NOT changed. Don't trip. =)
I have never been a firm believer of horoscopes actually; I read my horoscope sometimes and try to relate it to my present life...but I can never find any enlightening moments. How about you guys, do your zodiac signs represent an actual "you"?
Here's a link to the changed zodiac signs birthdays:http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/entertainment&id=7896643
4 comments:
Excellent post Rita! When I first heard about this, I was astonished. I heard that your zodiac sign only changes if you are born after 2009. Is that true?
Actually, I read a book on horoscopes. I skipped directly to mine, which is Capricorn, and the book described my personality almost on the dot. Also, it identified my strengths and weaknesses and showed me how I acted in relationships. I definitely believe in horoscopes, but I can't help but wonder how could my sign change? I know Sagittarius, my new sign, is not who I am.
I have never really relied on my horoscope but it was still unsettling to think that I had changed from a Leo to a Cancer. Anyways, according to the updates (scroll to the bottom) from http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/01/new_zodiac_sign_dates_dont_swi.html , the zodiac signs aren't changed? If the changes prove to be true, I believe the change only applies to those born after 2008.
I don't really check my horoscope daily or even weekly. Often times my daily horoscope doesn't even fit with my daily life, but maybe that's just me. With that being said, I still wouldn't want my sign to be changed. It's something I can identify with. Even if people say that my sign has changed, I'm still going to identify myself as my original sign.
So many people were worrying about their zodiac sign being changed! I was a bit skeptical about the whole idea. Could a mistake like that really be overlooked for so many years? Good thing none of us have to worry about our signs changing...
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