The whole day today I was wondering why people were talking about their sun signs changing, now I know…..and I’m absolutely not liking it! So I set out to figure what all the hoopla was about.
The 12 signs were designated to different periods of the year almost 3,000 years ago, when astrology began, and since then the Earth’s position in relation to the sun has changed. “Because of this change of tilt, the Earth is really over here in effect and Sun is in a different constellation than it was 3,000 years ago. Ophiuchus, the new sun sign which bears as its symbol – the Rod of Asclepius, is for those people born between November 29 and December 17. As a result, many people have also got their zodiac signs shifted.
It all began when Parke Kunkle, an astronomer who teaches at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College, gave an interview to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The story, which can no longer be found in its original form on the newspaper’s website, failed to distinguish between constellations and the signs named for those constellations. It led to many news outlets, including the Star-Tribune, printing fake lists of fake new sun sign dates.
Astrology guru Rob Brezny of Free Will Astrology agrees with Paul Kunkle’s findings that the astrological signs as we know them don’t line up with the constellations they’re named after. “Modern Western astrologers understand this perfectly. It ‘s irrelevant to their work because the information upon which they base their hypotheses does not involve a study of distant stars or constellations. Rather, their data have to do with the movements of the planets in our own solar system within a zone of influence defined by the relationship between the Earth and Sun” adds Brezny. “We’ve known about this for ages. The constellations don’t suggest what’s coming up, it’s the planets! The constellations are (just) a measuring device,” popular astrologer Susan Miller told ABC News in an interview.
There are two reasons that western astrologers say the wobbling of Earth doesn’t change anything. Firstly, most westerners rely on what’s called the tropical zodiac. Under this tradition, what matters is when you were born in relation to the equinoxes, not the position of the stars. The constellations simply were used to label the sections of the year millennia ago. Other astrologers (read, Indian astrologers) still base their predictions on the stars, relying on their recorded locations at the time of someone’s birth. People who subscribe to this belief don’t rely on the fixed calendar anyway, so there’s no change.
So what does all this mean for us Indians? I don’t know! But something that I’ve always wondered about is why Hindus celebrate their birthdays twice, one as per the Hindu calendar and the other one according to the global calendar. I used to be a Libran according to the global calendar and a Virgo as per the Hindu calendar and now with the introduction of Ophiuchus, i’m a Virgo as per the global calendar as well! Could it be that the methods of determining the Zodiac by the Hindu astrologers have been right all along? Well we’ll just have to wait a little longer to find out.
In the meanwhile, why don’t you check the following image to see which is your new sun sign.
For the benefit of the Ophiuchusans, here’s your personality traits:
* Many people are envious about your progression throughout life.
* A seeker of wisdom and knowledge.
* A flamboyant dressing sense, favoring bright colors.
* Authority looks upon you well.
* Would make a great architect or builder.
* Number 12 is the lucky number.
* Will have a big family but will leave home at an early age.
ragsnair.com 