Friday June 16
Your Real Astrological Sign
It's well known that President Ronald Reagan used a color-coded calendar to keep track of his astrological predictions. (Is this a good day for nuclear annihilation?) Scary stuff, especially considering that these predictions were based on the wrong sign! In fact, except for some slight overlap, almost no one's zodiacal sign is related to the actual position of the sun.
Modern astrologers -- a term that may constitute an oxymoron -- classify an Aries as someone born between March 21 and April 19. You may see some significance in the first date. It marks the vernal equinox, the beginning of spring. Another, older name for the vernal equinox is the "first point of Aries." This spot in the sky is marked by a great "X" where the celestial equator (the imaginary projection of Earth's equator into space) crosses the ecliptic (the annual path of the sun). Spring in the Northern Hemisphere occurs when the sun moves north of the celestial equator after spending the winter months south of it.
Some 2,600 years ago, this important point in the sky was indeed in the constellation Aries. Today, however, it has shifted to the west and now resides in Pisces. The mechanism responsible for this shift is the slight wobble in Earth's axis due to the gravitational tugs of the moon and sun.
Over a period of 25,700 years, the wobble causes the vernal equinox to drift through the entire zodiac. After Pisces, the vernal equinox's next home constellation, around 2614 AD, is Aquarius. That's when the real "Age of Aquarius" begins.
Traditional or "tropical" astrologers ignore this shift. They argue that where the vernal equinox is today is not as important as where it was. They claim that the areas of sky where the sun was over two thousand years ago still possess the same power and virtues. Thus Leo continues to represent strength, Aries determination, and so on.
Another group, the sidereal astrologers, does take the shift into account, but they are largely considered mavericks by traditionalists.
In the interest of promoting proper prognostication, I've used the Starry Night software to update the periods when the sun truly occupies each member of the zodiac (Ophiuchus included). Armed with this knowledge, you can now stop living the wrong future.
Aries 4/19 to 5/13
Taurus 5/14 to 6/20
Gemini 6/21 to 7/20
Cancer 7/21 to 8/10
Leo 8/11 to 9/15
Virgo 9/16 to 10/30
Libra 10/31 to 11/22
Scorpio 11/23 to 11/29
Ophiuchus 11/30 to 12/17
Sagittarius 12/18 to 1/19
Capricorn 1/20 to 2/15
Aquarius 2/16 to 3/11
Pisces 3/12 to 4/18
Current Moon Phase
Updated every 4 hours, courtesy USNO
** Put the sky in the palm of your hand.
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