Every so often a new discovery in the field of astrology professes to change the ancient art forever. And yet even now as a particularly virulent rumor is going around suggesting a number of people are undergoing a massive change in the system, there may be more than a small reason to suggest why you as a Leo, a Sagittarius, or any of your favorite astrological signs need not go through any real changes. According to professional astrologers you are the same sign you always were. But how did this rumor start in the first place?
Well it all started with an astronomer named Parke Kunkle. Astronomers, as most people know follow the movement of the stars by themselves with no accompanying interpretation of their effects on Earth. Astrologers on the other hand use an ancient art to project the future based on the movement of astrological charts and those charts have been around for quite some time with their future movements projected into the future up to thousands of years.
But today astrology makes changes based on the movements of the planet in relation to the seasons of the year. First the seasons are divided up into four quadrants and then those quadrants are divided up three times a piece for a total of twelve astrological signs. That’s why astrology is based on the month you were born in and from year to year the date doesn’t change depending on the presence of the planets each month.
But how did the idea of Ophiuchus come up this time? Ophiuchus, also known as the ‘serpent-bearer’ was discovered long ago and even has a legend attributed to it in Roman Mythology. Ophiuchus was a great healer who discovered that if humans were to consume a specific medicine they would live forever. Zeus, upon seeing this, slew Ophiuchus so the human race would not become immortal and overrun the Earth. But upon seeing the healer’s work and the incredible strides in science he achieved, he then immortalized Ophiuchus in the stars as the serpent bearer. He is so called because he bears the forbidden knowledge he discovered from snakes healing one another on Earth. Of course in mythology snakes are commonly used as harbingers of forbidden knowledge as could also be seen in the story of Eden.
But how did the constellation become a major astrological sign? Since 1970 there has been a push from a few who have submitted suggestions to either change the current form of astrology or embrace a new system that includes Ophiuchus in it. And now that an astronomer has backed the position, it has been getting at least temporary mainstream attention. But the push for astrological change has been around for quite some time.
But what does this mean for the average astrology reader? Very little. Astrology has been around for some time, and while the shift in the Earth’s poles is significant in our own time, the change has been expected for some time with no real need to change how we view astrology. And so for the most accurate astrology readings, astrologers still have overwhelmingly suggested we use the old system.