An astrological controversy erupted online recently after a newspaper article mistakenly suggested that the dates that determine the Zodiac signs had shifted by about a month. This threw off millions of believers into self-doubt and panic. Fear not: your zodiac sign remains the same. The tilt of the Earth's axis has gradually shifted since the ancient times when the Babylonians determined the dates of the Zodiac. This re-figuring also re-introduced a sign discarded by the Babylonians: Ophiuchus.
But astrologers and astronomers, two groups who usually don’t see eye-to-eye, agree that this news is about 3,000 years old. Western astrologers included the wobble of the Earth's axis in their calculations centuries ago. The Zodiac we are all familiar with is still perfectly valid. Astrologer Susan Miller called the news "ridiculous” and in an interview with ABC News, she said the constellations don't suggest what's coming up, the planets do. She explains that the constellations are a measuring device.
According to CNN, there have always been two zodiacs; the tropical zodiac and the sidereal zodiac. The tropical zodiac is fixed to seasons, while the sidereal zodiac is fixed to constellations and is followed more in Asia. The new reports that the sun is no longer aligned with constellations at the same time of year as it did a long time ago are irrelevant for the tropical zodiac which we follow. The seasonally based astrology was never oriented with the constellations, which is why there is no reason to worry because your zodiac sign has not changed.
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