So all those born today, November 29, or celebrating their birthdays from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17 will come under the new zodiac sign Ophiuchus, which falls between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Some traits of Ophiuchus people are said to be honest, intellectual, sexually magnetic, prone to change and, of course, jealous.
But astrologers from the days of Babylonian era have been steadfast denying the new sign that was last but one in their proposed zodiac calendar of 12 signs. It was, however, not clear why they have left out the unique sign of Ophiuchus for Sagittarius, and even NASA pointed it out in its pages meant for education as shown below:
NASA, anyway, disagrees with the whole concept of the zodiac, while some astronomers questioned its validity citing the changed axis of the Earth or North Pole considerably in the last 3,000 years since Babylonians drew the lines of constellations in zodiac signs.
NASA explains how astrology came into being
The Babylonians had imagined a straight line from Earth through the Sun and out into space connecting the brightly visible stars in the night and each resembled a known image of their knowledge, which they called constellations. Each was imagined as a sign and given certain traits though many stood away from them significantly. Modern science dismisses it as "pareidolia" phenomenon whereby the human brain is tuned to connect lines to a known form and hence these zodiac signs have emerged.
Since these imaginary lines would rotate, pointing to different stars throughout the year or one complete trip around the Sun, accordingly, ups and down in life cycle have been associated with the rotation to signify certain forthcoming events.
While Babylonians called them zodiac signs, astrologers have improvised upon it with their own interpretation reflecting their geographical location and culture. Whether Chinese or Hindu or Babylonian calendar, all these zodiac signs came to be closely associated with astrologers who thrived ever since.
Ophiuchus in new Zodiac
One astronomer Parke Kunkle in Jan 2011 had set the world of astrology on a storm claiming in an NBC show that the Earth's position has changed vis-a-vis the Sun in the last 3,000 years and hence the new sign called Ophiuchus should be accommodated to correctly relate the course of many events. Kunkle, who is a board member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, was taken seriously though astrologers vehemently opposed it. See the video here:
Parke Kunkle explains how the Astronomy behind Astrology has Changed with Wendy Meadley from Minnesota High Tech Association on Vimeo.
Whether the world of astrology ever accepts the new zodiac sign Ophiuchus or not, here are some of the features associated with this sign. Ophiuchus is taken from the Greek word for 'serpent-bearer', who is portrayed by a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. In fact, during the 2nd century, Ptolemy had included it as part of the 48 constellations he proposed. It was earlier known as Serpentarius.
If taken into account, the new sign would cover those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17 while Sagittarius will move into the 13th position covering from Dec. 17 to Jan. 20. Here's the new zodiac calendar with Ophiuchus included as the 12th sign:
- Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
- Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11
- Pisces: March 11- April 18
- Aries: April 18- May 13
- Taurus: May 13- June 21
- Gemini: June 21- July 20
- Cancer: July 20- Aug. 10
- Leo: Aug. 10- Sept. 16
- Virgo: Sept. 16- Oct. 30
- Libra: Oct. 30- Nov. 23
- Scorpio: Nov. 23- Nov. 29
- Ophiuchus: Nov. 29- Dec. 17
- Sagittarius: Dec. 17- Jan. 20.
But astrologers are not willing to buy the new argument. Famous astrologer Susan Miller is quoted to have told ABC News in Jan 2011, when the debate was raging across the media, that astrologers were aware of the 13th sign for ages. More than the constellations, it is the respective planet that suggests what's coming up.
The constellations are merely a measuring device, she said pointing out that the original number of 50 constellations were brought down to 18 and later to 12 as they are now and the insertion of a new sign would mean reversal of the entire process.
Another astrologer Rick Levine told dailyhoroscope.com that Ophiuchus had nothing to do with Astrology. Ophiuchus has something to do with constellations and not stars which foretold our future, he insisted.
