Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer
Last week npr/WHYY radio interviewed me about the recent zodiac scare. It’s due to run during Morning Edition on January 31st.
Oddly, I didn’t feel that I had much to add to the discussion at large. In my book, this didn’t exactly qualify as news.
Is it news that mainstream media/science is throwing cheap shots at astrology, mother of all sciences?
Not really !
During the interview, I was asked a few things that I hadn’t given much thought to before. Things like, what I can do as an astrologer to prevent blatant misinformation in my field. The truth is, we don’t have much of a voice & I was lost for words when asked what I could do to alter the situation. I spent a good part of the hour trying to phrase things in a personal way for the broadcast that hadn’t affected me or my practice much at all. My considerations as an astrologer remain completely unaltered by the recent claims that we might add constellations to the zodiac- or even more outrageous-that we are unaware of the phenomena known as precession of the equinoxes.
We have known about the constellations & precession for nearly 2,000 years now, K ?
Science doesn’t believe in astrology and I get it completely, since I used to consider myself one of their group.
What I did take away from the past few weeks, is that people are scarily (panic! ) invested in their sun sign and have little/no comprehension of what they are clinging to, how the zodiac was derived, etc.
Professor Whomever can come onto the scene with outdated, incorrect statements and have folks questioning or even doubting their foundation.
I want to take this opportunity to tell everyone that you have much more going on in your chart than what ever is (or isn’t) happening with your sun sign. much, much more. Also- if you were a Virgo before last week, you are still a Virgo. If in doubt, find a good astrologer and pay them to go over your chart with you. (my services )
Below is a brief outline of my response to the recent media buzz.
Hopefully, it can answer some of the questions piling up in my inbox :
1. There are a few zodiacs in existence. Each is valid.
Tropical Zodiac- popularized in the West, it is not based on the constellations, rather on the seasons. Ptolemy devised this framework about 2, 000 yrs ago & it’s been working for us ever since. The zodiac begins with zero Aries on the Vernal Equinox/ first day of Spring. The apparent path of the sun around the earth (ecliptic) is divided into 12 segments of 30 degrees each yielding 12 signs.
Sidereal Zodiac- Practiced primarily by Vedic or Indian astrologers, this is also a 12 fold division of the ecliptic with 12 signs of 30 degrees each. They do attempt to locate zero Aries within the constellation itself, though each sign is still given 30 degrees despite the fact that the constellations vary greatly in size… and they also calculate for precession of the equinoxes(in case you were still wondering if they know how to do that ).
Constellational- a system not widely in used based on the actual size and location of 12 constellations.
2. The 13th Constellation: There are more than 12 constellations floating around out there?
Yes-about 14 of them touch the ecliptic. We include the 12 that the planets appear to travel through. Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, does kind of have a toe in, and you could include him but it still wouldn’t turn a Libra into a Virgo. It would be more like adding an hour to our day- you’d probably still eat lunch at about the same time-possibly calling it something different. Plus, we like the number 12 and base many things on it. It’s a deliberately chosen system & one that works. To speak to the idea of expanding our zodiacal pantheon–counseling astrologers add stuff to charts as they see fit, according to their knowledge base, preferences, and the needs of the client. Some add in a bunch of asteroids, varying mythologies, fixed stars, or if they’re really out there, count Pluto as a planet.
Please tune in Monday morning during Morning Edition for the rest !
This page is taken from my BLOG. Thanks for reading : )