New Zodiac??? Has My Astrological Sign Changed???
By Bob Mulligan
There has been a lot of buzz about a “new zodiac,” one with 13 signs. This is not a new theory, just a bad one. In the 1970’s there were a couple of books written about “Ophiuchus” being the 13th sign of the zodiac. Well, there are only 12 signs but the confusion is compounded by not understanding the difference between signs and constellations. The constellations have the same names as the signs but they are different.
Constellations are star patterns lying along the path that the earth makes around the Sun each year. This path is called the ecliptic. We usually agree that this circle is a Zodiac of 12 Constellations. But the earth changes its orientation against this backdrop of stars due to its wobbling on its axis. This is called the precession of the equinox. The equinox moves backwards through this pattern of constellations making a complete circle every 26,000 years. The equinox is the point where the sun is when we have equal hours of daylight and darkness. Every so often someone gets the idea that because of this motion another constellation gets inserted into the zodiac. But, it just isn’t the case.
Now, the constellations are of many different sizes and shapes. Some take up very little space; some take up a lot of space. But there is a second zodiac. This is the Zodiac of 12 Signs. The Zodiac of signs is an equal division of the circle of 360 degrees that the earth makes around the sun into 12 equal parts, of 30 degrees each. The signs of the zodiac start with vernal equinox which we refer to as the first day of spring; this is the beginning of the sign Aries.
In the western world we primarily use this zodiac of signs. In India, most astrologers use the zodiac of constellations. As the vernal equinox moves backwards in the sky, the signs and constellations move out of alignment with each other, agreeing once every 26,000 years. Right now the vernal equinox is moving from the constellation of Pisces to the constellation of Aquarius. “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” Remember this song from the musical “Hair?” Well this tune was referring to this change in orientation. And the world is changing, we are moving into the age of Aquarius… but your Sun sign remains the same. I don’t know whether you consider this good news or not, but that’s the way it is.
