“Then they assigned each of those 12 constellations equal amounts of time. To make a tidy match with their 12-month calendar, the Babylonians ignored the fact that the Sun actually moves through 13 constellations, not 12. “The line from Earth through the Sun points to Virgo for 45 days, but it points to Scorpius for only 7 days. “The constellations are different sizes and shapes, so the Sun spends different lengths of time lined up with each one,” a spokesperson explained.

On the other hand, all of those who feel as if they just don’t connect with their own horoscope (we’re thinking of you, Scorpios), then this could be very good news indeed.Įven stranger, however, is the fact that NASA has added a brand-new 13th zodiac sign into the mix: Ophiuchus. So while we might consider ourselves to be a well-balanced Libra, or a headstrong Aries, or a “total Gemini”, that is most likely not the case. But in the more than 3000 years since our zodiac system was invented, constellations have drifted and the sky has changed. Zodiac signs were originally determined by which constellation the Sun was ‘in’ on the day we were born. The position of the Sun as it’s perceived from the revolving Earth passes through the constellations that formed the zodiac - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. They used to be seen as two sides of the same coin and hopefully they will be again.”Īs reported in 2016: If Gerosa’s words haven’t stopped you from struggling to make sense of NASA’s bombshell, don’t despair: it’s all very simple when you break it down.Įssentially, the date that fixes our star sign corresponds to the position of the Sun relative to constellations of stars appearing behind the Sun on our birth date. Astrology is a symbolic language, a philosophy, a multidimensional concept. “Astronomy is a scientific concept based on 3D material reality. “It’s important to remember that astrology is NOT astronomy,” she adds. Hence the move from Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius.” Western astrology (tropical) sticks with the unchanging positions and accounts for the apparent shift via the great ages (around 2,500 years in each sign). Eastern astrology (sidereal) reads the planets against the current view of the constellations. The constellations have not shifted, the wobble of the earth’s axis creates the impression that they have. When I ask her if NASA’s comments about shifting stars has any impact on the zodiac signs, Gerosa explains: “ is due to the precession of the equinoxes. It just wasn’t selected by the ancient astrologers to be one of the 12 zodiac signs.” Pauline Gerosa, the consultant astrologer behind Astrology Oracle, tells me: “Ophiuchus has always been one of the constellations that fall along the ecliptic.

However, astrologers have a word of warning to all those frantically casting the old zodiac aside. Essentially, they reckon that the stars have shifted, we’ve been reading the wrong horoscope all this time, and there’s a new star sign – Ophiuchus – in the mix (more on that later).

Star chart for specific date