The 13th Sign of the Zodiac (Ophiuchus)

Ophiuchus

It is a large constellation located around the celestial equator. Its name is from the Greek Ὀφιοῦχος "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpents,Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomerPtolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It was formerly referred to as Serpentarius (Anguitenens), a Latin word meaning the same as its current name.

There are numerous arguments between astronomy and astrology camps, all of them are essentially pointless and none more so than the one that has just reared up once again - the Ophiuchus Issue. 'The Zodiac is out of date,' says a Minnesotan astronomy lecturer. There is a lot of technical explanation given concerning Earth's 'wobble' - due to the gravitational influence of The Moon - which causes what we know as 'precession'.

Simply put, 3000 years ago Earth's spin axis pointed north towards the star called Thuban, not as it does now towards Polaris, the 'North Star'. The precessionary shift takes around 26000 years - in another 23000 Thuban will again be the North Star.

For both astronomers and astrologers, the Zodiac constellations line the ecliptic which is the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and planets lie (roughly) within the ecliptic, and so are also within the constellations of the zodiac. In astrology, the zodiac denotes those signs that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude. As such, the zodiac is a celestial coordinate system, or more specifically an ecliptic coordinate system, taking the ecliptic as the origin of latitude, and the position of the sun at vernal equinox as the origin of longitude. In astronomy, 13 constellations are recognised, the 13th being Ophiuchus. Our astronomer in Minnesota has not, as has been misreported, said that the traditional Zodiac needs to be redrawn with the inclusion of Ophiuchus, thus causing all of us to reconsider the personality and behaviour traits we believed to be conferred by our sun signs - he is not an astrologer and has no such concerns, but should anyone who does subscribe to astrology reconsider their celestial heritage?

Here's how Ophiuchus would fit in:

Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16

Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11

Pisces: March 11- April 18

Aries: April 18- May 13

Taurus: May 13- June 21

Gemini: June 21- July 20

Cancer: July 20- Aug. 10

Leo: Aug. 10- Sept. 16

Virgo: Sept. 16- Oct. 30

Libra: Oct. 30- Nov. 23

 

Scorpio: Nov. 23- Nov. 29

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29- Dec. 17

Sagittarius: Dec. 17- Jan. 20

Ophiuchus as a sign might, had it made the cut centuries ago, be called Serpentarius, which is the Latin form for Ophiuchus, classical Greek for The Serpent Bearer. It has been associated with Asclepius, the healer in mythology, and the Rod of Asclepius - well known as a medical insignia - would likely have been adopted as its glyph.

Some, perhaps unconvinced by how their sun sign describes them will find their new label more to their liking - see the dates above and check on your birthday. If you fall within The Serpent Bearer itself some of the characteristics have been suggested as follows:-

An interpreter of dreams, who attracts good luck and fruitful blessings. Holds lofty ideals and is a seeker of peace and harmony. Inventive in nature, with expanding qualities. Will often seek higher education and wisdom and can end up as an overseer, or supervisor of work. Can rise to fame - either grand, or completely misunderstood. Tends to enjoy longevity and has aspirations of healing the ills of man. Will reach for the stars, figuratively and literally. For many a large family is indicated, but apt to be separated from them when young. The number twelve holds great significance. Has foresight and good fortune to benefit from hard times. Has secret enemies in family or close associations, with many jealous of this subject. Often thought of as apple of father's eye when young. High position in life expected.

So, should we all now reconsider our personality and behaviour traits in the light of this long overlooked constellation? Bear in mind that this is not a new argument. Precession was observed and calculated by societies as long as 5000 years ago and all classical astrological systems differ in how they label both the heavens and us beneath them. Ophiuchus has been a known quantity for centuries and does feature in Japanese astrology. Astrology gives us convenient labels for generic traits associated with astronomical locations in space and time - the GSP fix comprised of our hour, date and place (longitude and latitude) of birth. That we should perhaps consider thirteen constellations instead of twelve does not alter where in time and space that point is. Our character and behaviour in terms of our 'sun sign' may owe more to our seeing ourselves as our sign is described than in our 'true nature', but remember that sun sign characteristics are generic, broad brush strokes.

For a more personal take, take a look at the decan in which you were born - a decan is approximately a week, it's a sub-division into four parts of each sign. This approach is more akin to Chinese astrology which has a far more individual focus with personal traits down to the hour itself than our Western acceptance of generalised traits by the month - or look at the individual day of your birth itself, which can be done with western astrology but rarely is - its much easier to deal with large groups of people at a general level than on a one to one basis. Ophiuchus may affect you in the way that a West Ham supporter who follows the club because he was born in East London will be affected by discovering that Millwall is actually closer to his place of birth.

Remember that with or without Ophiuchus, your 'sun sign' is a broad, generic label - for 'fine tuning', visit my website to find out your decan, and it's name/image, and also where you can get an in depth reading for your specific day of birth.

Jez Rogers is a professional Astrolopger & Tarot reader and is the author of two books currently available through Amazon. Find out much more about Astrology, including relationship and composite charts, at his website http://www.heart-shapedworld.com
(c) Jez Rogers 2009

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