The Truth About Your Zodiac Sign

Well here it is. I finally did it. I’m doing a blog and it will be available on my website. I plan to write on a variety of subjects; healing, spirituality, astrology, hypnotherapy and perhaps even current events as they relate to the great evolutionary changes taking place on the planet at this time. I plan to make it fun and informative.

Imagine my surprise when I got a call a few days ago from Fox News 34 in Lubbock, Texas. They wanted me to comment on the changed signs of the “New Zodiac.” (What, there aren’t any astrologers in Texas? Are they all in the closet?) You may have noticed the buzz last week on the internet, news and social media about people’s zodiac sign changing. Astronomer Parke Kunkle of Minneapolis stated that the Sun was not in the same position that it was 3,000 years ago when the study of the stars began, so individuals weren’t the same zodiac sign as they thought they were. So I’ve decided to set the record straight and clear up any confusion.

There are actually two zodiacs that astrologers use, the more common Western Tropical Zodiac and the Sidereal Zodiac used more by Eastern astrologers. No one’s sign is changing in the Western Tropical system. It’s based on the seasons and the Sun’s movement along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun in the sky. In the spring, the Sun moves into Aries. In the winter it is in Capricorn.  This doesn’t change. Here are the general dates for that system:

Aries – March 21/22 – April 20     
Taurus – April 21 – May 21      
Gemini – May 22 – June 21/22       
Cancer – June 22/23 – July 22/23   
Leo – July 23/24 – August 23/24       
Virgo – August 24/25 – September 23
Libra – September 24 – October 23/24
Scorpio – October 24/25 – November 22/23
Sagittarius – November 23/24 – December 21/22
Capricorn – December 22/23 – January 20/21
Aquarius – January 21/22 – February 18/19
Pisces – February 19/20 – March 20/21  

However, the Sidereal Zodiac is based on the constellations of the fixed stars. Because the Earth wobbles on its axis a bit, the position of the fixed stars in relationship to the Earth changes, moving about 50 seconds a year or one degree every 72 years. This is known as precession. Two thousand years ago, the Tropical Zodiac and the Sidereal Zodiac were exactly aligned and the signs of both zodiacs were based on the constellations. However, after two thousand years of precession at one degree every 72 years, the constellations have backed up about a whole sign. So, basically, if you are an Aries in the Tropical Zodiac, you’re probably a Pisces in the Sidereal Zodiac, although this is only a generalization and it’s best to see an astrologer to have a chart drawn up to know specifically.

Now, where the problem really came up was when Mr. Kunkle showed another thirteenth sign based on the constellation Ophiuchus (Nov. 29 – Dec 17) after Scorpio and before Sagittarius. This had people confused and in some cases upset. In reality, the ancient Babylonians dropped this sign to have the constellations fit into a 12 sign year and it’s not used in charts unless you are specifically looking at the influence of the fixed stars themselves. The fact is there are actually 88 constellations available to us, but we only use twelve, not 88 and not 13. So, the thirteenth sign is a bit of a hoax. According to astrologer Sandra – Leigh Serio, this thirteenth sign business was put out several years ago by an astronomer and keeps resurfacing. It was a slow news day.

So, never fear, your sign is still the same. For a professional astrological consultation, either in the Tropical or Sidereal Zodiac, go to http://www.soultranceformations.com/ If you want to hear the Texas News interview, go to http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/search/sitesearch.aspx?q=zodiac and click on “The stars have aligned” above the zodiac. There will be an article and video screen come up. Just click on the video screen. However, don’t get confused. The anchor woman makes an error in saying the Sidereal Zodiac has 13 signs!