Thirteen Signs of Astrology, Really?

By Sarah Delamere Hurding

The Orphiuchus Panic… something and nothing?

You would have had to be hiding under a rock in the last while to miss the recent controversy stirred up by American astronomer Parke Kunkle.

Apparently, according to this well informed member of the Minnesota planetarium society our well known twelve Zodiac signs are completely out of sync and the sun is not in Pisces when we say it is. Astronomers also argue that we should be using an additional thirteenth zodiac sign named Orphiuchus.

The Orphiuchus ‘scandal’ has caused a major storm in the States and an identity crisis amongst body art fanaticists who now of course have the wrong zodiac sign tattooed on their butts. Not to mention all the relationships which must now go back to the drawing board for a review of the compatibility ratio…

Of course, I jest. But this is not to deny that Mr Kunkle has caused quite a panic if not a major identity crisis amongst a large percentage of Americans who take their zodiac status very seriously indeed.

So what is the truth of the matter?

The reality is yes, there IS a second form of astrology called Sidereal astrology. It is largely practiced by eastern and mystical cultures although some astrologers here in the west do also take it into account.

I personally use the Sidereal system to more fully understand a person’s spirituality and karmic evolution. If you are big into past lives and karmic astrology this might be the system you would use.

In the west though we mainly use the Tropical form of astrology. This was established by the ancient Babylonians who discarded the use of Orphiuchus and decided to stick with the twelve zodiac signs that we know today.

So what of this ‘new’ discovery the constellation of Orphiuchus?

To be honest the spin put on this story is grossly misleading. Orphiuchus is most definitely NOT a new discovery. It was amongst the 48 constellations recognized by Ptolemy (AD 90 to AD 168); and of course the Babylonians must have been aware of it in order to discard its use astrologically.

It is also very misleading to imply that western astrologers are not aware of the Sidereal system and how it works. They most definitely are. But the reality is it was discarded by the Tropical system for a reason. It does not really work in a mathematically precise way and it does not facilitate the intricate natal charts which are drawn up under the western system.

We are all individuals born in a specific time and place. These details can be interpreted to create your personal natal chart which is unique to you and which reflects the very specific planetary alignments at the time you were born. None of this has changed with this recent news.

OM Times Magazine » syndicated