Oh My God, What's Your Sign?

I’m a Leo sun, A Capricorn moon, and a Virgo rising. But I’m also known as a Leo/Virgo cusper since I’m born on August 23. Have I lost you, or are you rolling your eyes because I’m one of those astrology junkies? Astrology is something that for years has been disputed. There’s some who base their lives on it, those who refuse to consider it, and the many who are just unsure what to think. Here we will break down what the zodiac really is, and why so many are intrigued by it.

Astrology defined by Oxford Dictionary says, ‘as the branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole.’ It’s the study of the movements of planets and stars and how they affect human affairs. When we track back the history of the zodiac signs it seems like they’ve been around forever. Though they are based on astrology they have been! The 12 zodiac signs that we’ve all come to know were created by the Babylonians in 1894. They mapped out the different constellations in the sky and named them. They tracked the movements of them before eventually assigning one each to one of the 12 months. Below are the 12 signs:

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

Aquarius (Jan. 20 -Feb. 18)

Pisces (Feb. 19 -March 20)

The Greeks also followed the same 12 zodiacs while also attaching one of the four elements to it. In Greek the zodiacs mean animals. Thanks to them we also have a living thing (human or animal) attached to the zodiacs. For example we associate Aries with the ram. The only exception to this is Libra. There also ties from the zodiac to Greek mythology. Each one has their own god or goddess to go along with it.

There are two different astrology's used either sidereal or tropical. In the United States we base the zodiacs on tropical, which is a fixed map, also using the seasons to distinguish zodiacs. While sidereal is based on the current positions of the constellations. As Earth moves so does our view of the constellations. This means there is a twenty-four degree variance between the tropical system and sidereal. The main difference is sidereal has one extra zodiac joining the list, Ophiuchus, falling between Scorpio and Sagittarius. This zodiac was left out by the Babylonians since they followed the 12 month calendar. Below are the zodiacs based on sidereal astronomy:

Aries (Apr 21-May 12)

Taurus (May 13-Jun 19)

Gemini (Jun 20-Jul 16)

Cancer (Jul 17 -Aug 6)

Leo (Aug 7 -Sep 14)

Virgo (Sep 15 -Nov 3)

Libra (Nov 4 -Nov 22)

Scorpio (Nov 23 -Dec 6)

Ophiuchus (Dec 7 -Dec 18)

Sagittarius (Dec 19 -Jan 19)

Capricorn (Jan 20 -Feb 13)

Aquarius (Feb 14 -Mar 9)

Pisces (Mar 10 -Apr 20)

It’s up to your preference if you use sidereal or tropical astrology. In Hindu astrology they focus on the sidereal. They believe it to be more precise due to the constellations being ‘fixed’. However, they follow their astrology believing it's the gods way of telling humans what’s best for them. While western cultures look at tropical zodiacs it helps for personal growth. They help us to work on ourselves to find improvement.

There’s no right or wrong way to look at one's astrology. It’s mainly based on preference. You could refer to both if you wanted to! Your astrology is supposed to help get to know yourself, not how you should be. Don’t rely solely on what the stars have to say about you; it's there merely to help lay down the groundwork.

Join us for zodiac week! For the next few days we’ll be posting a zodiac and their traits. Starting tomorrow with Aries!

Check out some of our other articles!

WORKS CITED

Authors Jamie Frank, and Jamie Frank. The Fanscotian, 4 Feb. 2020, www.thefanscotian.com/2020/02/04/the-history-of-zodiac-signs-where-do-they-actually-come-from/.

MacKinnell, Terry, et al. “The Sidereal Zodiac in Astrology, Its Strengths and Weaknesses.” Time Nomad, 3 May 2019, timenomad.app/posts/astrology/philosophy/2019/03/23/sidereal-zodiac-in-astrology-its-strengths-and-weaknesses.html.

Myths of the Greek Zodiac, www.igreekmythology.com/greek-zodiac.html.

Updated January, and About the authorJanuary Nelson is a writer. “Everything You Need To Know About Sidereal Astrology.” Thought Catalog, 20 Jan. 2019, thoughtcatalog.com/january-nelson/2019/01/sidereal-astrology/.

“Your Astrological Sign May Not Be What You Think It Is.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/www.space.com/amp/4477-astrological-sign.html.