Questions about a 13th Zodiac Sign!
So! Has Your Beloved and Comfortable Astrology Sign Really Changed?
By Dikki-Jo Mullen
Astronomer Parke Kunkle of the Minnesota Planetarium has been in a state of shock during the second week of January, 2011, a recent newspaper report states. So have the many professional astrologers around the world. Kunkle upended what many who follow astrology knew about their birth signs when he announced to the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the stars are no longer aligned in the heavens as they were 5000 years ago. Major news networks picked up on this and every TV talk show and news cast in the country and in most of the rest of the world has been abuzz. Astrologers have been perplexed, bemused and amused at the volume of response and many questions this has generated. Kunkle is glad to have people noticing the stars he says. The general consensus among astrologers of course is that this is invalid and hardly a surprise. Every so often there has been a similar news flash saying that astrology as we all practice it has changed. We cant be the signs we always thought we were anymore. The Sun Sign (familiar birth signs) has changed to the one preceding it and/or the Zodiac has been invaded, perhaps by Cetus the Whale or Orphicus the Serpent Slayer. Like the Wheel of the Year, the solstices and equinoxes in season shocking headlines create waves for a few days. Then suddenly, they fade, becoming yesterdays news for another decade or so.
Is there any real problem here? Well, not in this star gazers opinion. Consider this the moment your life began, that place and time in the cosmos when you took your first breath, is when your horoscope is calculated. It hasnt changed. Actually in the pattern of the seasons, the astrological calendar which oversees the flow of life, nothing has changed. We can however look at the sky picture from different perspectives, there are numerous zodiacs used to chart the heavenly wisdom which have been developed by different cultures around the world.
Has Your Sun Sign Really Become Different?
Sun Sign or popular astrology, like we use in the familiar columns, uses the Tropical Zodiac, based on the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the midsummer and midwinter solstice points. Yes, the first degree of the sign Aries has gradually shifted backward a fraction each year against the starry backdrop of deep space and the constellations in the sky. This effect is called the precession of the equinoxes. The length of time required for the Earth to swing its axis in a full circle backward through the zodiac is a period of about 26,000 years. So each of the world ages takes about 2000 years or a little more to move around the Galactic Center of The Milky Way. This Great Age Circle is illustrated as we refer to the end of the Age of Pisces which began with the rise of Christianity. We are now beginning of the Age of Aquarius. Metaphysical and magical people will find this concept familiar.
Is this a source of concern about the validity of astrology? Well, I wouldnt think it is. Human nature (Yes, thats you!) is about who you are and the external world doesnt change that essence of the essential self. There are diverse opinions about the zodiac. Where do we draw and measure the signs/constellations? If, like most mystics, you are in tune with the summer and winter solstices as well as the spring and autumn equinoxes then you can breath a sigh of relief. The Zodiac cycle starts with the springtime and Aries. What you read in astrology columns and books will relate to you and your life and character.
In India there is a type of astrology called sidereal astrology which does allow for the shifting vernal point in the Great Year. There is about a 23 to 24 degree difference, with some controversy as to how this is calculated, from the familiar tropical zodiac. This is called the Vedic Astrology. On some level both zodiacs will work, the life style and philosophy of the seeker can be a deciding factor. Try subtracting 24 degrees from each placement in your natal chart to see if the chart seems to have more clarity for you, then go from there.
Meanwhile there is no need to mess up the beautiful pieces of the cosmic pie by awkwardly inserting an Orphicus, a (shudder) Serpent Slayer, into the line up, creating a division of 13. Who knows, it might even be unlucky! Auriga The Spider and Centus the Whale are other constellations hovering nearby. They might could get jealous and each want a chunk of the celestial pie too. No, I feel comfortable with the classical twelve signs of the year. In harmony with the seasons of our lives, each watching over the yearly rising of buds and falling of leaves, imparting wisdom to guide humankind just as they have for the past five thousand years.
I love your explaination. It is easy to understand and makes sense of all this garble.
Adrienne
Makes sense, thanks!