Serpentarius
It is said that we learn something new everyday. And of course, technically, it’s true. We discover all sorts of trivial things like “Aunt so and so can’t cook” or “Some people wear Obscure Band X” T-shirts. But who cares about any of that? Do we learn things everyday that are actually of any interest or real consequence? I would like to. It doesn’t have to be major – I won’t finish a book everyday or do a research paper, but it’d be nice to take away some little worthwhile nugget of information at the end of each day. At the very least, I should have something to talk about here everyday – if I remember to do so.
So today’s interesting tidbit is that there seems to be a fundamental flaw with modern (especially Western) astrology – beyond the obvious criticisms of its general authenticity. The different signs correspond to the “ecliptic” – which is the path of the sun as perceived by us here on Earth – as it aligns with the different constellations. The first problem is that in the Western system, the dates for each sign do not at all align with the constellations. For example, the sun is in Virgo well into October, but the dates for Virgos are August 23 – September 22nd.
More interesting than that, however, is that there are actually 13 constellations along the ecliptic – not 12 – and that thirteenth constellation, for whatever reason, is ignored in most astrological practices. It is called Ophiuchus or Serpentarius and the sun enters it from November 30th to December 17th. So if astrology is based on the position of the sun, there is an entire 30 degree arc that is ignored. One would think that such a discrepancy would cause all kinds of inaccuracies with regards to “readings”. I don’t place much stock in astrology at all, but at the same time, I’m not willing to summarily dismiss it as nonsense. Still, this indicates to me that what we call astrology today – and even historically – is subject to scrutiny, for yet another reason. So all of you Scorpios and Sagittarii born from November 30th to December 17th, you’re actually Serpents! And you don’t even get a sign. Sucks for you.