Why changed zodiac signs

When the Babylonians invented the constellations 3, years ago, they chose to leave out a 13th sign. So, we did the math. The page also explains that the Babylonians, who lived over 3, years ago, divided the zodiac into 12 parts and chose a constellations for each one, corresponding with 12 months of the calendar.

So they picked one, Ophiuchus, to leave out. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. Need help? Visit our Help Center. They used to be seen as two sides of the same coin and hopefully they will be again. Essentially, 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.

But in the more than years since our zodiac system was invented, constellations have drifted and the sky has changed. Even stranger, however, is the fact that NASA has added a brand-new 13th zodiac sign into the mix: Ophiuchus. To make a tidy match with their month calendar, the Babylonians ignored the fact that the Sun actually moves through 13 constellations, not Besides the 12 familiar constellations of the zodiac, the Sun is also aligned with Ophiuchus for about 18 days each year.

Unsurprisingly, Ophiuchus shares many of the same characteristics as Sagittarius, and people with its sign are described as healers and light-bearers. The BBC previously speculated that ancient astrologers perhaps ignored Ophiuchus because they wanted to chart the degree path of the Sun in a mathematically pleasing way of 12 equal parts, each one of 30 degrees.

As such, Ophiuchus is considered a healer of men, a doctor of medicine, or a scientist who seeks higher education and enlightenment. As NASA themselves explain, no one has shown that astrology can be used to predict the future or describe what people are like based only on their birth date. United States. Type keyword s to search.

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