An old report was the catalyst for everything. The 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus, or the serpent-bearer, was “found” by NASA. Anyone born between November 29 and December 17 would now be an Ophiuchus instead of a Scorpio or a Sagittarius. Scorpio’s window would be reduced to just seven days, and the entire astrological chart would move, changing the star signs of some Pisces, Leos, and Libras. As astrology enthusiasts online began to freak out, NASA subtly entered the conversation to clarify.
In This Article...
What makes the zodiac signs unique?
NASA
as in, real NASA, of course
have demonstrated that the sky has changed significantly since the Babylonians first created the 12 zodiac signs, over 3,000 years ago.
The sky has changed because Earth’s axis (North Pole) doesn’t point exactly in the same direction, they said. Now because Mimi was born on August 4, she was not born in Leo but rather “under the sign” of Cancer, which is one constellation “early.”
Is the zodiac sign Ophiuchus the rarest?
Aries is the second-rarest zodiac sign, followed by Sagittarius, both of which are fire signs, according to Stardust.
Stardust claims that Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and that this sign is known for having an inspirational jolt that “gets everyone going and moving. The third-rarest sign of the zodiac, Sagittarius, “falls during the autumn season and are renowned to be adventurous and free-spirited,” according to Stardust.
What led to the creation of the zodiac signs?
By analogy to 12 schematic months of 30 days each, Babylonian astronomers around the end of the 5th century BC divided the ecliptic into 12 equal “signs.” The first known celestial coordinate system was created because each sign had 30 celestial longitudes. The zodiac was first used between 409 and 398 BC, while Persia was in control, and most likely within a very short period of time after 401 BC, according to calculations made by current astrophysics. 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.” This is in contrast to modern astrologers who place the beginning of the sign of Aries at the position of the Sun at the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere (March equinox) ( Capricorni).
Since Babylonian times, the March equinox point has shifted from Aries into Pisces due to the equinoxes’ precession, which alters the time of year the Sun is in a certain constellation.
The split was made into equal arcs of 30 degrees each, which gave them the perfect frame of reference for predicting a planet’s longitude. However, Babylonian methods of observational measuring were still in their infancy. In order to help locate a planet inside this ecliptic coordinate system, they calculated the position of a planet in relation to a group of “normal stars” nearby the ecliptic (9 of latitude).
A planet’s position was typically given in relation to a single zodiacal sign in Babylonian astronomy diaries, and less frequently in terms of particular degrees within a sign. The degrees of longitude were stated in relation to the 30th of the zodiac sign rather than the continuous 360 ecliptic when they were supplied. The positions of prominent astronomical occurrences in astronomical ephemerides were calculated in sexagesimal fractions of a degree (equivalent to minutes and seconds of arc). The astrologically significant dates when a planet crossed from one zodiacal sign to another were more significant for daily ephemerides than the planet’s daily locations.
how to pronounce Ophiuchus
Ophiuchus is pronounced /fijuks/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). People pronounce Ophiuchus as “oh-FEW-kuss” in plain old English.
What makes Pisces unique?
The 12th and final sign of the zodiac calendar is Pisces. It is controlled by the planet Neptune and symbolized by a pair of fish (as well as Jupiter). Pisces is a water sign, just like Scorpio and Cancer, however they are distinguished from the other water signs by their reputation for being more relaxed and amicable personalities. However, all water signs are renowned for having strong emotions and occasionally acting indecisively.
One of the most sympathetic zodiac signs, Pisces personalities are noted for being compassionate and will go to any lengths to ensure the happiness of those around them. They are creative as well, and they generate concepts that many people wouldn’t.
When things don’t go their way, these kind people might get cranky, and because of their generosity, less unselfish people can easily take advantage of them. If they have been wounded too frequently, Pisces may even become emotionally distant. However, Pisces are often kind, considerate, and sensitive to their own feelings as well as those of people around them.
Justin Bieber, George Harrison, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jack Kerouac are a few well-known Pisces.
How can I determine if I am an Ophiuchus?
These signals are not accurately calibrated, though. Using a celestial planisphere, we can see that from November 30 to December 18, the Sun is located in Ophiuchus, sometimes known as the serpent bearer or snake charmer, one of those lesser-known constellations. Of necessity, everyone born during these dates belong to the zodiac sign of Ophiuchus.
If we continue to look at how the Sun’s position relates to the background of stars, we will notice that very little matches the zodiacal signs to which we are used in horoscopes:
Based on the boundaries between constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1930, the following table depicts the actual zodiacal signs.
Why does Ophiuchus not appear in the horoscope as a zodiacal constellation? Why are the dates different? The Sun travelled across each of the zodiacal constellations on different dates than it does today, or roughly four weeks earlier, when the horoscope was first created 2,500 years ago in ancient Babylon.
According to calculations made by contemporary astronomers, the Sun now enters Aries on April 19 of every year without fail. But because of the Earth’s axial precession, the Sun is like a clock that is off by around 30 minutes annually. This delay has been building up over many centuries, and today it is over a month after when the Babylonians recorded it and when the horoscopes say it should.
The horoscope for each individual would then be considered to correlate to the sign that comes before the one that their modern horoscope represents. But this is also untrue. The Sun only spends a week crossing Scorpio and a month and a half in Virgo; these times of passage are identical to those of 2,500 years ago and greatly differ from the Babylonian astrologers’ arbitrary division of one month for each sign of the horoscope, who decided to omit Ophiuchus and maintain a rounder number of 12 signs, as in the 12-month calendar.
By using that calendar, Babylonian astrologers could forecast when summer would arrive or when it would be best to reap their crops. Because of the social influence this gave them, they began to broaden their forecasts to include things like war outcomes or a person’s characteristics based on their zodiac sign.
How does Ophiuchus appear?
Northwest of the Milky Way’s nucleus, between Aquila, Serpens, Scorpius, Sagittarius, and Hercules, is Ophiuchus. Between Sagittarius to the east and Scorpius to the west is where the southern portion is located. It is most noticeable in the summer in the northern hemisphere. It stands against Orion. In the image of Ophiuchus, a man holding a serpent, Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda are separated from the Serpens constellation by the man’s body. Ophiuchus is an equatorial constellation having most of its surface in the southern hemisphere. Its brightest star, Rasalhague, is located close to Ophiuchus’ northern boundary with a declination of approximately +12 30. The constellation reaches 30 declination in the south. Ophiuchus contains portions of the ecliptic that are south of 20 declination.
The most uncommon sign, Aquarius, why?
If you’re wondering, why do I feel like I’ve never even met an Aquarius, you’re not alone. The reason is that there’s a good probability you haven’t. According to Jaime Wright, our in-house astrologer, there are fewer births during Aquarius season, which interestingly comes nine months after early spring and Taurus season. “During the Scorpio season, births are more common; conception is typically around Valentine’s Day, ha!
However, they are not the rarest sign of the zodiac, which, in case you’re interested, is the ambitious Capricorn.
Saturn, the planet that is closest to the Earth and still visible to the human eye, rules both Aquarius and Capricorn. According to Wright, Saturn is related to responsibility, discipline, and isolation. Another reason you may not be familiar with many Aquarians? They may not be the kind to draw attention to themselves, including by sharing their sign. According to Wright, Aquarians frequently come out as more distant or reserved because they are a social air sign with Saturn as their ruling planet. But in all seriousness, they are simply astute observers who are always aware of what is happening in any social scenario. I compare Aquarians to the wise grandmother whom everyone seeks counsel from but who only offers it to those who (in their eyes) truly require it.
In conclusion? A Capricorn is harder to discover than a needle in a haystack in terms of population. However, Aquarians top the list of unusual zodiac characteristics.
Can you have two zodiac signs?
Not quite. People who are born on a zodiac cusp are distinct individuals whose date of birth combines the energy and characteristics of two different signs, rather than formally being born under two signs. This results in a unique astrological personality with a fusion of attributes.