Early astronomers witnessed the Sun passing through the Zodiac signs in a year’s time, spending roughly a month in each. As a result, they determined that each constellation covers 30 degrees of the ecliptic.
However, due to a phenomenon known as precession, the positions of the constellations we see now have changed.
The zero point of the Zodiac used to designate the beginning day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The vernal equinox happens when the ecliptic and celestial equator collide, according to astronomers.
The zero point existed in Aries around 600 BCE, and it was known as the “first point of Aries.” (See Figure 1). The constellation Aries covered the first 30 degrees of the ecliptic; Taurus covered the next 30 degrees; Gemini covered the next 60 degrees; and so on for all twelve constellations of the Zodiac.
The Earth wobbles around its axis in a 25,800-year cycle, which ancient astrologers were unaware of. The gravitational attraction of the Moon on Earth’s equatorial bulge causes this wobble, which is known as precession.
This wobble has led the junction point between the celestial equator and the ecliptic to migrate west along the ecliptic by 36 degrees, or nearly one-tenth of the way around, over the past two and a half millennia. This indicates that, in relation to the stars beyond, the signs have moved a tenth of the way across the sky to the west, or about a month.
For example, persons born between March 21 and April 19 are considered Aries. During much of that time, the Sun was no longer in the constellation of Aries. The Sun is actually in the constellation of Pisces from March 11 to April 18! (See Illustration 2) See also Figure 3, which depicts the equinox precession from 600 BCE to 2600 CE.
The dates when the Sun is truly within the astronomical constellations of the Zodiac, as defined by contemporary constellation borders and corrected for precession, are listed in the table below (these dates can vary a day from year to year).
When precession is taken into consideration, your zodiac sign will most likely be different. And if you were born between November 29 and December 17, your zodiac sign is one you’ve never heard of before: Ophiuchus! After Scorpius, the eliptic crosses across the constellation of Ophiuchus.
Check out your “actual” zodiac sign below, and visit the Birthday Sky program to see what the sky looked like on your birthday.
In This Article...
How did the zodiac signs come to be?
Babylonian astronomers split the ecliptic into 12 equal “signs” at the end of the 5th century BC, analogous to 12 schematic months of 30 days each. The first known celestial coordinate system was created when each sign contained 30 degrees of celestial longitude. According to contemporary astronomical estimates, the zodiac was first used between 409 and 398 BC, during Persian dominance, and most likely within a few years of 401 BC. Unlike modern astrologers, who place the beginning of the sign of Aries at the position of the Sun at the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (March equinox), Babylonian astronomers fixed the zodiac in relation to stars, placing the beginning of Cancer at the “Rear Twin Star” ( Geminorum) and the beginning of Aquarius at the “Rear Star of the Goat-Fish” ( Capricorni).
Since Babylonian times, the time of year when the Sun is in a certain constellation has altered due to equinox precession; the point of March equinox has moved from Aries to Pisces.
They formed an appropriate basis of reference for formulating predictions about a planet’s longitude because the divide was made into equal arcs of 30 each. However, Babylonian observational measurement techniques were still in the early stages of development. They used a group of “normal stars” near the ecliptic (9 degrees latitude) as observational reference points to help place a planet within the ecliptic coordinate system.
A planet’s location in Babylonian astrological journals was usually stated in terms of a zodiac sign alone, rather than particular degrees within a sign. When degrees of longitude were given, they were stated in relation to the 30 of the zodiacal sign, rather than the continuous 360 ecliptic. The positions of prominent astronomical phenomena were estimated in sexagesimal fractions of a degree in astronomical ephemerides (equivalent to minutes and seconds of arc). The daily locations of a planet were less important in daily ephemerides than the astrologically significant times when the planet moved from one zodiac sign to the next.
Who is the zodiac’s designer?
The ancient Egyptians developed the concept of constellations, which allow the sun to appear to “travel” at various periods during the year. All of these ideas are supposed to have come together when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in roughly 330 BC.
What was the very first zodiac?
Egypt was invaded by the Persians in 525 BC, hence Egyptian astrology was likely influenced by Mesopotamian astrology. In support of this, historian Tamsyn Barton cites the Dendera Zodiac, which shows what appears to be Mesopotamian influence on the Egyptian zodiac, which shared two signs – the Balance and the Scorpion (the Balance was known as the Scorpion’s Claws in the Greek version).
Egypt came under Hellenistic power and influence after Alexander the Great conquered it in 332 BC.
After the conquest, Alexander created Alexandria, and the Ptolemaic intellectuals of Alexandria were prolific writers in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Horoscopic astrology was created in Ptolemaic Alexandria when Babylonian astrology was combined with the Egyptian tradition of Decanic astrology. This included the Babylonian zodiac, which included a system of planetary exaltations, sign triplicities, and eclipse significance. It also included the Egyptian concept of dividing the zodiac into 36 decans of ten degrees each, with a focus on the rising decan, as well as the Greek system of planetary Gods, sign rulership, and the four elements.
The decans were a system for calculating time based on the constellations. The constellation Sothis, or Sirius, led them. In the night, the risings of the decans were utilized to split the night into ‘hours.’ The last hour of the night was defined as the rising of a constellation right before daybreak (its heliacal rising). Each constellation rose for ten days immediately before sunrise over the course of the year. Each decan was associated with 10 degrees of the zodiac when they became part of Hellenistic astrology. Predictions relating to the locations of planets in zodiac signs at the time of the rise of certain decans, particularly Sothis, can be found in texts dating back to the 2nd century BC. The Dendera Zodiac, Egypt’s oldest Zodiac, dates from the 1st century BC.
Ptolemy, a Greco-Roman astrologer and astronomer who resided in Alexandria during Roman Egypt, was particularly influential in the creation of horoscopic astrology. Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos set the foundation for Western astrology, and it is claimed to have “enjoyed virtually the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more” as a source of later reference. After Plato of Tivoli (Tiburtinus) in Spain translated it from Arabic into Latin in 1138, it became one of the first astrological manuscripts to circulate in Medieval Europe.
According to Firmicus Maternus (4th century), an Egyptian king named Nechepso and his priest Petosiris were given the system of horoscopic astrology early on. The Hermetic texts were also compiled at this time, and in his description of Egyptian holy ceremonies, Clement of Alexandria, writing in the Roman era, demonstrates the extent to which astrologers were expected to comprehend the texts:
This is mostly demonstrated through their sacred rituals. For the first time, the Singer appears, carrying one of the musical symbols. Because it is said that he must learn two of Hermes’ books, one of which includes the gods’ hymns and the other the king’s life laws. After the Singer, the Astrologer enters, holding a horologe and a palm, both of which are astrological symbols. He must always keep the four Hermes astrology books in his lips.
What does the Bible have to say about the zodiac signs?
I believe that God created astrology as a tool for us to better understand ourselves and to use as a spiritual tool. Numerous bible texts, in my opinion, support astrology. As a Christian, I try to remember what Jesus said. “There shall be signs in the sun, moon, and stars,” Christ predicted in Luke 21:25, referring to the importance of astrology. He explains the value of astrology with his pupils, as well as how it might be used as a sign of his return. Why would Jesus provide us this critical knowledge if we are not intended to understand the energies of the planets and signs, and if he was actually against it? Just as the three wise men knew Jesus would be born under the star in the sky that led them to him lying in the manger, Jesus warned us that when he returns, there will be signals in the sky.
Why is Aries the first sign in the zodiac?
On the first day of spring, also known as the vernal equinox, the Sun used to be “in” the constellation Aries. We should explain that while the Earth revolves around the Sun, the latter appears to travel through the “zodiac,” which consists of thirteen constellations. When Hipparchus of Nicea (190-120 BCE) discovered that the Sun was within the constellation Aries during the spring equinox, he coined the title “First Point of Aries” (or “Cusp of Aries.”) However, due to precessional wobble, the Sun’s apparent vernal equinox location has changed along the ecliptic by around 1 degree every 73 years. Every 26,000 years, the wobbling, which is mostly caused by interactions with the Sun and Moon, forces our planet’s pole to describe a 47-degree round through the sky. As a result, during this 26,000-year cycle, all thirteen zodiac constellations will “host” the vernal equinox point. The vernal equinox crossed the Aries-Pisces line in 68 BCE, according to astronomer Jean Meeus. This transition happened, ironically, less than a century after Hipparchus’ death. Since then, the vernal equinox has been traveling westward across Pisces. The vernal equinox will shift into Aquarius, the Water Bearer, in AD 2597. Or, to be more precise, it will enter the rectilinear region known as the Aquarius “region” by the International Astronomical Union. Astronomers may continue to refer to the vernal equinox as the “First Point of Aries” even after that.
The vernal equinox point moves around the ecliptic once every 26,000 years due to Earth’s precessional wobble. The term “First Point of Aries” comes from the fact that this point was previously in Aries the Ram. The vernal equinox point is now in Pisces and will change towards Aquarius in the late 26th century. It’s worth noting that the symbol for the vernal equinox is the astrological sign of Aries.
What is the age of the Zodiac killer?
- Joseph aka Giuseppe Bevilacqua, former manager of the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, was named as a suspect in both the Zodiac and Monster of Florence murder cases by Italian journalist Francesco Amicone in 2018. According to Amicone, Bevilacqua confessed to being the killer in both incidents on September 11, 2017. The investigations into Bevilacqua emanating from Amicone’s inquiry were closed in 2021 at the request of the Attorney in charge of the Monster investigation, Pm Luca Turco. “This journalistic inquiry is marked by ideas, assumptions, stated intuitions, and it does not contain any factual element likely to rise to the dignity of a clue,” Turco said in defending his request. Pm Turco also filed a lawsuit against Amicone for defamation of character against Bevilacqua.
- Richard Gaikowski, a newspaper editor, was the subject of a 2009 episode of the History Channel television series MysteryQuest. Gaikowski worked for Good Times, a San Francisco counterculture publication, at the time of the murders. His look matched the composite sketch, and a tape of Gaikowski’s voice was identified as the Zodiac’s by Nancy Slover, a Vallejo police dispatcher who was contacted by the Zodiac immediately after the Blue Rock Springs Attack.
- In his book The Black Dahlia Avenger, retired police investigator Steve Hodel claims that his father, George Hodel, was the Black Dahlia perpetrator, who murdered Elizabeth Short. The book prompted his father’s Los Angeles district attorney’s office to produce previously concealed files and wire recordings, revealing that the senior Hodel was certainly a main suspect in Short’s murder. In a letter published in the amended edition, District Attorney Steve Kaye stated that if George Hodel were still alive, he would be prosecuted for the crimes. In a follow-up book, Hodel suggested that his father was also the Zodiac Killer, based on a police sketch, the Zodiac letters’ closeness to the Black Dahlia Avenger letters’ style, and a questioned document study.
- Kathleen Johns, who claimed to have been kidnapped by the Zodiac Killer, identified Lawrence Kaye, afterwards Lawrence Kane, in a photo lineup. Don Fouke, a patrol officer who may have seen the Zodiac Killer after the death of Paul Stine, said Kane looked a lot like the man he and Eric Zelms saw. Kane worked at the same Nevada motel as Donna Lass, a suspected Zodiac victim. After sustaining brain injuries in a 1962 accident, Kane was diagnosed with impulse control disorder. He was arrested for prowling and voyeurism. In 2021, Fayal Ziraoui, a French-Moroccan business expert, claimed to have cracked the Z13 cipher, claiming that the solution reads “My name is Kayr,” a possible misspelling for Kaye. Others questioned Ziraoui’s ability to crack the code.
- Richard Marshall was accused of being the Zodiac Killer by police informants who claimed he had informally hinted at being a killer. Marshall lived in Riverside, California, in 1966 and San Francisco, California, in 1969, close to the Bates and Stine killings. He was a silent film fan and projectionist who screened Segundo de Chomn’s The Red Phantom (1907), a picture whose title was allegedly borrowed by the author of a 1974 Zodiac letter. “Marshall makes good reading but not a very good suspect in my judgment,” Detective Ken Narlow said.
- Louis Joseph Myers confessed to a friend in 2001 that he was the Zodiac Killer after learning that he was dying of liver cirrhosis, according to a story in February 2014.
- Upon his death, he demanded that his friend, Randy Kenney, report to the police. Kenney apparently had trouble getting cops to participate and take the allegations seriously after Myers died in 2002. Myers went to the same high school as victims David Farraday and Betty Lou Jensen, and apparently worked in the same restaurant as victim Darlene Ferrin, therefore there are multiple possible links between him and the Zodiac case. Myers was stationed overseas with the military from 1971 to 1973, at which time no Zodiac letters were received. According to Kenney, Myers admitted that he targeted couples because he had a horrible split with a partner. While cops involved in the investigation are suspicious, they believe Kenney’s allegation is plausible enough to examine if he can offer reliable proof.
- Robert Ivan Nichols, also known as Joseph Newton Chandler III, was an identity thief who killed himself in Eastlake, Ohio, in July 2002. Investigators were unable to identify his family after his death, and it was determined that he had stolen the identity of an eight-year-old kid murdered in a vehicle accident in Texas in 1945. The efforts to which Nichols attempted to conceal his identity fueled speculation that he was a dangerous criminal on the run. On June 21, 2018, the US Marshals Service announced his identification at a press conference in Cleveland. Some Internet sleuths speculated that he was the Zodiac Killer because he looked like the Zodiac in police sketches and had resided in California, where the Zodiac operated.
- Ross Because of the suspected link between the Zodiac Killer and the death of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside, Sullivan became a figure of suspicion. Coworkers suspected Sullivan, a library assistant at Riverside City College, after he went absent for many days after the murder. Sullivan wore military-style boots with tracks similar to those found at the Lake Berryessa crime site and matched sketches of the Zodiac. Sullivan was admitted to the hospital several times due to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
- Dennis Kaufman claimed his stepfather Jack Tarrance was the Zodiac back in 2007. Kaufman handed up many artifacts to the FBI, including a hood identical to the Zodiac’s. According to news reports, the FBI’s DNA analysis of the objects in 2010 was judged inconclusive.
- Former California Highway Patrol officer Lyndon Lafferty claims the Zodiac Killer was a 91-year-old man named George Russell Tucker from Solano County, California. Lafferty located Tucker and presented an alleged cover-up for why he was not pursued using a group of retired law enforcement personnel known as the Mandamus Seven. Tucker died in February 2012 and was not identified because authorities did not believe he was a suspect.
- Gary Stewart claimed in his book The Most Dangerous Animal of All, published in 2014, that his quest for his biological father, Earl Van Best Jr., led him to the conclusion that Van Best was the Zodiac Killer. The novel was converted into a documentary series for FX Network in 2020.
Is astrology based on any scientific principles?
Is astrology accurate? Reading horoscopes is a popular pastime, but is there any scientific evidence that they are accurate?
When you’re enticed by a familiar interruption and your willpower weakens, problems can occur.
Every day, up to 70 million Americans consult their horoscopes. At least, that’s what the American Federation of Astrologers claims. According to a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life poll conducted twenty years ago, 25% of Americans believe that the positions of the stars and planets have an impact on our daily life. In 2012, the General Social Survey indicated that 34% of Americans think astrology is “extremely” or “kind of scientific,” and that the percentage of individuals who think astrology is “not at all scientific” has decreased from two-thirds to about half.
Astrology is the concept that astronomical phenomena, such as the stars over your head when you were born or the fact that Mercury is retrograde, have the potential to influence our daily lives and personality traits. Of course, this is distinct from astronomy, which is the scientific study of celestial objects, space, and the physics of the cosmos.
A particular branch of astrologyforecasting a person’s future or providing advice on everyday activities through horoscopesis gaining in popularity. The Cut, for example, recorded a 150 percent rise in horoscope page views in 2017 compared to 2016.
Clearly, a lot of people are trying to figure out how to read the stars for guidance. Understanding the positions of the stars is the foundation of astrology, which appears to be a scientific discipline in and of itself. Is there any scientific evidence that astrology has an impact on our personalities and lives?
But, since I still have five minutes of this six-minute podcast to fill, let’s take a look at how astrology has been put to the test.
What was the motivation for the creation of astrology?
The original objective of astrology, on the other hand, was to predict the course of a person’s life based on the positions of the planets and zodiacal signs (the 12 astrological constellations) at the time of conception or birth.
