So what sign were you actually born under?

http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/bill-nye-on-astrology/

Astrologers are off by one whole sign - thanks to Earth's wobbling over the past 2000 years.

So what's your actual sign (one month back from the one you think you are), and do you think you fit that better than your "official" sign?

Oh, this makes so much sense! I'm a Cancer, but I've always felt like more of a Gemini, so I guess that's my real sign! Cool.

Now if only I could find a way to explain how I fit the Virgo mold so well...:lol:

Oh, this makes so much sense! I'm a Cancer, but I've always felt like more of a Gemini, so I guess that's my real sign! Cool.

Yeah! I thought it would be cool to compare. I wonder why astrologists never changed it.

If it's off by 1 full sign then I am a Taurus instead of a Gemini, which I always thought fit me very well, but I wonder how many days off is it exactly? My birthday is June 20th, the last day of Gemini, so I am on the Cancer cusp. Wonder if I'm still a Gemini?

If it's off by 1 full sign then I am a Taurus instead of a Gemini, which I always thought fit me very well, but I wonder how many days off is it exactly? My birthday is June 20th, the last day of Gemini, so I am on the Cancer cusp. Wonder if I'm still a Gemini?
I guess wait until your birthday and see which constellation the sun rises over. There's probably a way to check on the internet. It might be in between though.

Saggitarus instead of Capricorn.

Eh, I'll accept half and half :)

Cancer instead of Leo? I'm just going to stick with Leo because that describes me better :p

Well depending on what site, paper etc I look I can be either Virgo or Libra

Leo instead of Virgo
Virgo instead of Libra

This just confuses me even more, I still don't know what sign I really am :hmm:

I fit Cancer to a "T". I don't want to go back one month. Gemini doesn't fit me at all.

If it's off by 1 full sign then I am a Taurus instead of a Gemini, which I always thought fit me very well, but I wonder how many days off is it exactly? My birthday is June 20th, the last day of Gemini, so I am on the Cancer cusp. Wonder if I'm still a Gemini?
The Sun's ingress into Cancer generally doesn't occur until June 22, so I'd say you're still a Gemini.

http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/bill-nye-on-astrology/

Astrologers are off by one whole sign - thanks to Earth's wobbling over the past 2000 years.

So what's your actual sign (one month back from the one you think you are), and do you think you fit that better than your "official" sign?

The classical zodiac of Greek astronomy as defined by Ptolemy is tropical in nature, defining the signs relative to vernal equinox regardless of the position of constellations. Western astrology traditionally uses this system.
Sidereal astrology ties its signs of the zodiac to the actual constellations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidereal_astrology

That makes me a Gemini. I really don't think thats right.

Unless you go backwards instead of forwards, which is aries, I think that suits me more.

I'm a taurus and I'm only 4 days past the first day so I suppose I have a few aries traits.

I'm Capricorn by the conventional reckoning, and it fits me fine. (1-1-55)

The Sun's ingress into Cancer generally doesn't occur until June 22, so I'd say you're still a Gemini.


Although - that will vary from year to year, based on the fact that Earth's slight elliptical orbit 'round the sun varies a bit.
It quite frequently occurs on the 23rd of July, actually.

Tables from 1900 to 2012 here:
http://www.librarising.com/astrology/tables/sunsigns.html

( I guess they figure the world will end in 2012 so why bother projecting farther forward :rolleyes:)

By the way: as I have a penchant for all things odd, weird, and occult (I always have) and having looked into Astrology a bit, I found that a person's sun sign really isn't the be-all end-all; just as much significance is also accorded to one's ascendant sign, midheaven (medium coeli), as well as planetary aspects (angular relationships) and other stuff. It's complex and quite mathematical. It also looks fun, to me. Like I said, I'm weird.

Looks like nothing has actually changed for those in the west.
But before astrology fans scrape the ink from their arms because they think they're now a Virgo instead of a Libra, they should consider this: If they adhered to the tropical zodiac - which, if they're a Westerner, they probably did – absolutely nothing has changed for them.
That's worth rephrasing: If you considered yourself a Cancer under the tropical zodiac last week, you're still a Cancer under the same zodiac this week.
That's because 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.

Looks like nothing has actually changed for those in the west.
But before astrology fans scrape the ink from their arms because they think they're now a Virgo instead of a Libra, they should consider this: If they adhered to the tropical zodiac - which, if they're a Westerner, they probably did – absolutely nothing has changed for them.
That's worth rephrasing: If you considered yourself a Cancer under the tropical zodiac last week, you're still a Cancer under the same zodiac this week.
That's because 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.

Quite true.
Here's another excerpt/response, from the bobmarksastrologer.com website page entitled "Astrology for Skeptics":


Argument:
“Your sign continually changes every 26,000 years because of the cosmological phenomenon called precession of the equinoxes (try asking an astrologer to explain that -- any beginning astronomy student knows what this is). What it means is that everybody’s sign is off by one zodiac position. For example, if your astrological sign is Aries, then you were really born under the sign of Pisces. Funny, huh?”

Response:
This is an old red herring of a question. First of all... signs shift about every 2,200 years, not 26,000. The 26,000 year figure is the time period required for the Earth’s orbit to completely precess around the Sun. Secondly, there are TWO zodiacs, the tropical and the sidereal. The vast majority of astrologers use the tropical. In that zodiac, the signs have not changed. Thirdly, constellations do not really exist at all. Astrologers know this. Constellations are used as place markers, nothing more. ...


I wonder why this is big news all of a sudden. This really isn't anything new at all.
But like I said above, people also make way too big a deal out of their sun sign, when that's only one element of a natal chart -a crucial one, but not the only crucial one. I guess because it's just simple.

That said, I don't give any credence whatsoever to daily horoscopes, as that would imply that 1/12th of the people all over the world are having the exact same kind of day. The vast majority of astrologers don't buy it either.
From the same page:
Question 1: “What is the likelihood that one-twelfth of the world’s population is having the same kind of day?”

Answer: Well this one I agree with. Those so-called horoscope columns in the newspapers were designed as a publicity stunt to increase circulation. Unfortunately, that worked. As a result, most people think that all there is to astrology is to know about your “sign”. Absolutely untrue. Sun-sign columns are most emphatically not real astrology. I denounce them at every turn, and I do so again here.

What if you border two signs according to the change in the zodiacs?
For example, I have always been an Aquarius and now my birthday borders both Aquarius and Capricorn according to the new system. Am I an Aquarius (which I feel describes me a lot better) or a Capricorn?

I was a Gemini/Cancer cusp before, still am. Tropical zodiac, you know...

Just seen this on Yahoo. I am now a Pisces ;)

I remember the uproar over the "change" two years ago...I know it's fairly unimportant, but how soon some people forget.

What if you border two signs according to the change in the zodiacs?
For example, I have always been an Aquarius and now my birthday borders both Aquarius and Capricorn according to the new system. Am I an Aquarius (which I feel describes me a lot better) or a Capricorn?
You're still an Aquarian. End of story.

Although - that will vary from year to year, based on the fact that Earth's slight elliptical orbit 'round the sun varies a bit.
It quite frequently occurs on the 23rd of July, actually.

Tables from 1900 to 2012 here:
http://www.librarising.com/astrology/tables/sunsigns.html
Thanks for the correction. (I ought to have stated that it does vary from year to year.)


By the way: as I have a penchant for all things odd, weird, and occult (I always have) and having looked into Astrology a bit, I found that a person's sun sign really isn't the be-all end-all; just as much significance is also accorded to one's ascendant sign, midheaven (medium coeli), as well as planetary aspects (angular relationships) and other stuff. It's complex and quite mathematical. It also looks fun, to me. Like I said, I'm weird.
I guess I'm weird, too, as I've been studying astrology for over 15 years now, but not as much as I used to.

well i was a Taurus so i am not sure what that would make me know . But i fit the Taurus so well .

Hey! I was born under an Alkaseltzer sign. What does that mean?

Oh, this makes so much sense! I'm a Cancer, but I've always felt like more of a Gemini, so I guess that's my real sign! Cool.

Now if only I could find a way to explain how I fit the Virgo mold so well...:lol:

haha! I feel the same way you do. I fit Gemini a lot better than Cancer. Which is very relieving.

My sister has to be an Aquarius, my dad is a total Pisces, and my mom a total Taurus! I don't believe that their signs are different, and I still believe the old horoscopes.