New Delhi: If the star doctors are to be believed, there is a new Zodiac sign jostling for space with its 12 more popular brothers in the astrological chart. Say hello to Ophiuchus, Zodiac No. 13.
Ophiuchus is a rarely used astrological sign that is not included in most versions of the Zodiac calendars. It is also known as 'Serpentarius' with its dates falling between November 29 and December 17.
The ancient Babylonians based zodiac signs on the constellation the Sun was 'in' on the day a person is born.
However, during the ensuing millenniums, the moon’s gravitational pull has made the Earth 'wobble' around its axis, creating about a one-month bump in the stars' alignment, Parke Kunkle, a board member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, told the Star Tribune in Minnesota, US.
According to Kunkle, when astrologers say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces.
"Most horoscope readers who consider themselves Pisces are actually Aquarians," he said.
The Earth is currently in a different spot in relation to the Sun, and its equatorial alignment has changed from 3,000 years ago when the study of astrology began -- back when 12 zodiac signs were assigned to 12 different periods of the year.
Ophiuchus used to be counted between Scorpio and Sagittarius. But it was discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year.
If this is true, then the popular understanding of the zodiac is off by about a month. People vented on the internet about losing the signs with which they have identified themselves for years.
Which basically means that the signs people were born under are different now because the Earth's wobble on its axis created a one-month bump in the alignment of stars.
According to a CNN blog, the tropical zodiac - which is fixed to seasons, and which Western astrology adheres to - differs from the sidereal zodiac - which is fixed to constellations and is followed more in the East, and is the type of zodiac to which the Star Tribune article ultimately refers.
The Internet was buzzing with questions over how the new sign which was not in the old Zodiac system used by the Babylonian astrology will change their zodiacs.
Taken from the Greek word for 'serpent-bearer', the sign is portrayed by a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations proposed by Ptolemy in the second century. It was earlier known as Serpentarius, a Latin word for serpent-bearer.
The new sign will cover those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17 while Sagittarius will move into the 13 th position covering from Dec. 17 to Jan. 20.
What are Ophiuchus character traits?
Those born in Ophiuchus are said to be honest, intellectual, sexually magnetic, prone to change and jealous.
If recognized, the new sign has potential to cause major upsets, including changes in star signs of celebrities. The number 13 is also considered inauspicious worldwide and astrologers are agog at the buzz around the 13th sign with doomsayers predicting a disastrous 2011.
This is the chart reflecting where the stars currently are aligned:
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
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