The Big 13th Sign Astrology Myth and Your Horoscope

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Ever since 1931, the same rumour has been circulating that astrologers have your horoscope all wrong, and the new discovery of a 13th sign means your personality just changed – not to mention your predictions. Apparently, science is telling you that you have the wrong star sign. In September 2016, NASA was dragged in and the myth went viral again, but how?

The BBC asked, “How did one of the world’s most respected aeronautics institutions get dragged into the topic of astrology – the study that claims to predict the future through the position of the stars? Well, it started when Cosmopolitan magazine discussed a Nasa post that was aimed at children.”

As the former astrologer for Cosmopolitan UK and the current astrologer for Cosmopolitan Australia online, I also found myself dragged in. And this is what all the fuss is about. A NASA web page which tries to explain astrology to young children and makes a very old mistake (below). Fortunately The Guardian gave me and other astrologers a chance to explain, here.

 

 

 

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO CONFUSED ABOUT THE NON-EXISTENT  13TH ZODIAC SIGN?

Everyone knows that the constellations – the patterns of the stars –  have slowly moved position, over the centuries, from our point of view. Even very young children know this, and those who don’t – quickly learn, from places like NASA.

The earth wobbles, very slowly, over time,and as a result, the sky we see today is very different to the sky astrologers saw over 2000 years ago. This does not mean anything about your star sign or horoscope has changed, however.

The Sun spends a period of time in each Zodiac constellation but the dates it does so, no longer correspond with those given to astrological signs.  That’s fine. Astrologers knew it was coming. The stargazer (below) was working with a Zodiac system created in the second century AD by Claudius Ptolemy. It was based on the sign Aries, the season of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and it was never designed to move, although Ptolemy knew full well that the constellations would.

How out of date is this 2016 ‘shock’ story about NASA and astrology? It goes back even further than the second century AD. Ptolemy was drawing on the work of Hipparchus in around 150 BC, the first to spot the fact that owing to the earth’s wobble, one day the constellations would shift.

I don’t wear a silly hat like the astrologer below, but I do use the same system. Most astrologers in the USA, Europe, Australia and New Zealand do too.

 

 

HOW YOUR SUN SIGN IS BASED ON THE SEASONS, NOT THE CONSTELLATIONS

The 12 signs of the zodiac are based on the seasons, not the constellations – including your own. The constellations are moving wallpaper. They’re decorations.

Some astronomers don’t know this, because they are not astrologers. If they were, they would not publish myths about the astrological 13th sign. And that’s just what it is. A myth.

It’s almost as if they didn’t bother to see this CBS News story a few years back, about the changing sky and Vedic astrology, hugely popular in India.

In the astrology system we use, here in the West, which millions of people have also trusted for thousands of years, there is no 13th sign, and never was, even though it was listed by  Cosmopolitan as  Ophiuchus: November 29th – December 17th. 

I am not sure why other online magazines like Teen Vogue, Elle and Glamour ran with this falsehood about the astrological Zodiac signs. And just so you know I have written horoscopes for all of these lovely people – but nobody fact-checked with me.

I am going to quote scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock at this point (she also co-presents The Sky at Night for the BBC) in her excellent new book, The Stars, published by Dorling Kindersley.

“The astrological zodiac is divided into 12 equal segments, called “signs” and excludes the constellation Ophiuchus.” She goes on, “The dates the Sun passes through the 13 zodiacal constellations are completely different from the dates associated with the astrological signs of the zodiac.”

The Sun might spend late November through mid December moving against the constellation Ophiuchus (between Scorpio and Sagittarius) but it does not mean there is a 13th zodiac sign.

Astronomers practise astronomy and astrologers practise astrology. Different things. And nothing’s changed for you.

 

 

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ASTROLOGY, ASK AN ASTROLOGER. 

When Gizmodo contacted the National Aeronautics and Space Administration after the story went viral around the internet, they were informed, “NASA studies astronomy not astrology,” according to NASA spokesperson Dwayne Brown (Planetary Exploration, Heliophysics).

And that says it all. 

I am not sure why anyone thinks that NASA astronomers would be the go-to source for horoscope information. It’s like asking an astrologer like me about heliophysics.

 

 

 

THE HOT MESS THAT GOES BACK TO 1931 AND WHY YOU CAN BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF

Hello Giggles (the website started by Zooey Deschanel that I now consult for) commented: “Not only have our astrological signs not changed, but this isn’t the first time the rumour has surfaced with such ferocity. According to the myth-debunking site Snopes, threads for this topic date back to 2002!”

Actually, it goes all the way back to 1931, in a long feature in Popular Science magazine which screamed, FAMOUS SCIENTISTS TELL WHY ASTROLOGY IS A FAKE.

Same wrong information about astrology, but served up 85 years ago. The Popular Science story came down to one  argument, just as it does today.

“The signs of the zodiac and the constellations they represent no longer coincide.”

To which astrologers no doubt replied, back in 1931,  ‘Yes, we know. We’ve known about it since Ancient Greece.”

And that’s it. An embarrassing mistake about astrology, made in Popular Science, is still doing the rounds. If you want to know what the Precession of the Equinox means in plain English – it’s an earth wobble.

The astrologer Anne Whitaker was explaining this a long time ago on her website.  Every time astrologers set the record straight, though, it only takes one stand-up comedian at the BBC  or  one young social media assistant on a women’s magazine, to send the myth viral again.

You have to wonder why. Especially when astrology is part of history and now studied at university/college level around the world. And especially when space scientists and astronomy icons like Maggie Aderin-Pocock set the record straight. My friend, the astrologer  and author Deborah Houlding, has a few theories.

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR ZODIAC SIGN – IT’S SEASONAL

The 12 Sun Signs of the zodiac are based on the seasons, not the stars. They are based on different segments of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, not the constellations. The constellations were useful labels or memory-joggers, for these time segments, thousands of years ago.

Nobody should confuse the constellations with the signs. There is no Ophiuchus (pictured below) in the astrological zodiac and there never was. I do not use Ophiuchus to predict the future and I never will. Neither does any other astrologer I know.  Can I give you a really good example of why there is no 13th sign?

Because, quite simply, from around 30th November to 17th December the Sun is in the astrological zodiac sign of Sagittarius, which rules travel. That’s holiday season. It’s vacation time. In Australia and the Southern Hemisphere people quit work to go on holiday. In Europe, the USA and the Northern Hemisphere people go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas – or just wind down from their jobs.

Sagittarius has been associated with travel in astrology for centuries. The sign works. The system works. It’s seasonal.

The astrologer and author Steven Forrest, who counts Sting among his fans, says:

“Forget about Ophiuchus! Western astrology is hooked to the equinoxes and solstices, not to the constellations. In 1929 the International Astronomical Union formalized the constellation boundaries and decided to include Ophiuchus. This has absolutely zip to do with your birth sign! It is basically a cheap shot at astrology.”

 

 

WHAT ASTROLOGERS SAY ABOUT THE 12 SIGNS OF THE ASTROLOGICAL ZODIAC

My friend, the astrologer, businessman and author Robert Currey explains astrology this way: “Western zodiac signs are based on archetypes that evolved from prehistoric times that were projected onto constellations and not vice-versa.”

I hold in my hand a little book published in 1910, which cost one shilling and was written by Alfred H. Barley and published by Alan Leo. This section been underlined by an unknown hand from the past in black fountain pen which tells you how long the argument about a 13th sign has been going on.

“It is the Vernal Equinox which constitutes the commencement of the sign Aries and the constellations of the same name has nothing whatever to do with it. This fact cannot be too strongly insisted on, as there is an impression current that the non-coincidence of the Zodiacal Constellations with the Zodiacal Signs must necessarily falsify all astrological premises.”
What Do We Mean By Astrology? Alfred H. Barley, Alan Leo’s Astrological Manuals, London, 1910

“Though the stars of Aries or the Ram are no longer in the background when the sun rises on the spring equinox, the sign or sector of Aries is still positioned at the spring equinox point. For Ptolemy indicates that this zodiac should always be positioned with the beginning of the sign of Aries at that same fixed point, even though out in space, the starry background is gradually shifting.”
The Origin and Nature of the Tropical Zodiac, Damien Pryor, Threshold Publishing, 2011.

If you are told that your Sun sign is Aries – which means that the Sun was in that particular sign when you were born between March 21 and April 20 – this does not mean that you were born under the actual group of stars known as Aries.
Astrology, Louis MacNeice, Bloomsbury, London 1989

 The astronomical year begins at the Spring Equinox on or about March 21^st, when the sun is at 0 degrees of Aries and is exactly overhead at the Equator…and the signs follow in order, changing between the 19^th and 23^rd of the month. (The signs should not be confused with the distant constellations of stars, which have similar names.)
Learning Astrology, Faculty of Astrological Studies, Doreen Tyson D. F. Astrol. S. and Pauline Hayward D. F. Astrol. S. (Wiltshire 1982).

The First Point of Aries, the Spring Equinox, is an indisputable reference point for both astronomy and astrology.
The Spindle of Meaning, Ronald Harvey. The Urania Trust, London, 1996

The familiar signs of the zodiac everybody associates with astrology today are not the same as the constellations of the night sky…This is because the signs are pegged to the equinoxes and solstices, points which mark the changing yearly relationship between the earth and sun.
Cosmic Loom, Dennis Elwell, The Urania Trust, London, 1999

 

 

Each seasonal quarter is divided up into three to make the familiar twelvefold divisions of the 360 degree dial of the zodiac with its 30 degree divisions.
The Zodiac Explorer’s Handbook, Helen Hess, The Aquarian Press, Northamptonshire, 1986

Astrology’s underlying structure is not built on the constellations but on the four seasons. Each season begins at a “turning point” of the Sun during the year: the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the fall equinox and the winter solstice. Every spring, around March 21, when the Sun crosses the equator going north, at the spring equinox, the sign of Aries begins in astrology.

 The Sun’s northernmost point, the summer solstice, marks the sign of Cancer, around June 21. The sign of Libra, around September 22, begins when the Sun crosses the equator going south, at the fall equinox. And the Sun’s southernmost point, the winter solstice, marks the sign of Capricorn, around December 21.
The Astrology Sourcebook, Shirley Soffer, Lowell House, Los Angeles 1998

 Much confusion of thought exists because the constellations have the same names as the signs of the Zodiac. Those who look into astrology in a casual way have often been known to remark that astrologers are ridiculous since they do not reckon with the fact that, because of the precession of the equinoxes, the signs do not now correspond with the constellations of of the same name and that therefore astrology must be wrong. Such remarks can only come from those who do not understand that, in the main, astrologers are dealing with the Zodiac and its signs and NOT with the constellations.
The Modern Text-Book of Astrology, Margaret E. Hone D.F. Astrol. S. Principal of the Faculty of Astrological Studies 1954-1969, L.N. Fowler & Co. Ltd, Essex, 1951

After some confusion, classical Graeco-Roman astrology settled for a zodiac measured from the Equinox point, and therefore aligned with the annual seasonal rhythm. This is called the tropical zodiac. Indian astrology stayed with the sidereal zodiac.
Astrology for Beginners, Geoffrey Cornelius, Maggie Hyde and Chris Webster, Icon Books, Cambridge 1995

Astrologers continue to apply the old constellation names like Aries, Taurus, etc. to the zodiac signs simply as a mnemonic device, enabling them to fix the character of each sign clearly, remember it, and communicate it to others.
In Defense of Astrology, Robert Parry, Llewellyn, Minnesota 1991

Ophiuchus is central to a controversial claim by anti-astrologers that it is the thirteenth sign of the zodiac, and that people born between November 30 and December 17 or 18 each year are not Sagittarians, but Ophiuchians!…Owing to precession the twelve signs long ago departed from alignment with their constellations, a fact accounted for by astrologers…As propaganda, however, the thirteenth sign is an easy stick with which to beat astrologers.
The Secret Language of the Stars and Planets, Geoffrey Cornelius and Paul Devereux, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1996

HOW ASTROLOGY ACTUALLY WORKS – AND WHAT ARIES TELLS US 

The sign of Aries the Ram (your Sun Sign if you were born March 21^st to April 19^th)  is based on the start of the season we link to the Spring Equinox, around 22^nd March. (In New Zealand, Australia and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, it’s called the Autumn Equinox).

Writing in Tetrabiblos, Claudius Ptolemy noted “The moistness of spring forms a primary beginning in the zodiac, similar to the beginning of all animal life.”

Is is typical of astrology that even today, March and April are tied to the reproductive cycle of rams and sheep, not only in the Northern Hemisphere where moist spring begins, but also in the Southern Hemisphere, where autumn unfolds.

March and April and the early Spring days are peak lambing times in Great Britain. In New Zealand, when March and April means Autumn, it’s mating season, when ewes and rams are put together. 

Astrology works on synchronicity, first identified by Carl Jung. Powerful connections and correlations. Cosmic coincidences, if you like. This is the perfect example of it.

Aries the Ram, according to my 1910 copy of What Do We Mean By Astrology? is fiery and active. It is impulsive and ardent. “More ready to begin than to continue.” The ram has a pioneering spirit.

The Los Angeles Rams sum up this pushing, thrusting, aggressive, fiery quality of Aries very well. In fact, rams are often adopted by football teams because of the ancient association with being first, winning and coming first. This old ticket from 1937 is for a Cleveland Rams game. This is not science. This is astrology. This is synchronicity.

 

ARIES – THE PERFECT SPRING AND AUTUMN EQUINOX SYMBOL

The reproductive cycle of the ram is tied to the Spring Equinox in England and the Autumn Equinox in New Zealand, as we’ve seen.  This gives us more synchronicity about the sign. Rams settle fights by ‘ramming’ their heads together. When we lock horns we are expressing our Aries side (if we have other planets there). Sheep depend on fights, threats and competitions to work out who dominates. Butting heads and headbutts are associated with aggression.

Believe it or not, sheep played a role in several historical conflicts like the Highland Clearance in Scotland, when people were evicted from their homes, the American range wars, and the English “enclosing of the commons.”

In the U.S. range wars, violent conflicts erupted between cattle ranchers and sheep herders. Britain’s close of the commons displaced farmers.  It’s textbook Aries.

History and astrology tell us that important battles commence during Aries season. This applies no matter if it’s Spring in the Northern Hemisphere or Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

Anzac Cove became famous as the site of the World War I landing of the ANZACs  (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) on 25th April 1915.  The  famous Siege of Tobruk began on April 10^th, 1941 and the decisive  1918 Spring Offensive by Germany along the Western Front during the First World War began on 21st March 1918.

This image of a man riding a ram comes to us from Ancient Rome. This reveals another side of Aries the Ram.

 

ARIES – HEAD BUTTS AND BATTERING RAMS

A headbutt  (coup de tête) is a good symbol for Aries. During the Autumn Equinox season, when astrologers mark the start of Aries birthdays, New Zealand rams begin ‘butting heads’ in order to compete for breeding supremacy. This strangely Aries phenomenon is often seen in football. The head-to-chestbutt  famously used by Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup is proof. The headbutt is also known as the Glasgow Kiss.

The ancient military use of the battering ram is tied to Aries the ram.  Naval rams have been used in battles for centuries. Air ramming was famously suggested on 9/11 when Major Heather Penney was sent to intercept United Airlines Flight 93.

Head butts turn up in some forms of martial arts like judo and karate. Martial is a word which has its roots in Mars, the Roman God of War who is associated with the red planet Mars in astrology. The ruler of Aries.

All these associations and connections come to us from the Ancient World but are still relevant today, for the very first sign of the zodiac – Aries the Ram – which we still think of, even after centuries, in connection with the American and European Spring Equinox and the Australian and New Zealand Autumn Equinox. Nothing to do with the constellation of Aries! All to do with the fact that at both ends of the world, the same month is crucial to ram/ewe reproduction.

 

 

THE EQUINOX AND SOLSTICE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Aries pins the seasons down, along with Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. It is through these ancient associations with the changing seasons, that the horoscope is constructed. These are the dates – you can see how the zodiac signs correspond.

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
Spring Equinox – Around 20^th March (Aries Season)
Summer Solstice – Around 21^st June (Cancer Season)
Autumn Equinox – Around 22^nd September (Libra Season)
Winter Solstice – Around 21^st December (Capricorn Season)

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Autumn Equinox – Around 20^th March (Aries Season)
Winter Solstice – Around 21^st June (Cancer Season)
Spring Equinox – Around 22^nd September (Libra Season)
Summer Solstice – Around 21^st December (Capricorn Season)

As the shifting constellations are no good for predictive astrology (Jonathan Cainer once wrote, “They’re unreliable and unequal”) it’s the equinoxes and solstices that we turn to in astrology to pin our system down.

 

PREDICTING THE FUTURE WITH ASTROLOGY

Jonathan Cainer made predictions every day using the 12 signs of the Zodiac. He was a Sun Sign columnist. Astrologers use many different techniques based on the Zodiac to look at the future. The Sun Sign horoscope is just one.

NASA claims, “No one has shown that astrology can be used to predict the future or describe what people are like based on their birth dates.”

Actually they have. On the public record. Many times.

At the UAC  conference of American astrologers in 2012, Barack Obama was forecast to become the next U.S. President.

On May 29^th, 2012, USA TODAY claimed ‘Panel of Astrologers Predicts Obama Victory’

On November 7th, 2012 USA TODAY announced ‘President Obama is heading back to the White House after a hard fought race.’

I make predictions as far in advance as possible. Using the 12 signs of the astrological zodiac (not 13) I forecast Brexit on July 5th, 2015, on a story you can read on this website. Specifically, “England will eventually leave the European Union…Europe is breaking apart and this is the start.”

Almost one year later, on June 23^rd, 2016, the New York Times confirmed, Britain Votes to Leave the E.U.

 

CAPRICORN THE MOUNTAIN GOAT – THE EXTREME WINTER/SUMMER SIGN

Here is another example of the way the 12 signs of the astrological Zodiac are tied to seasons, not drifting constellations. Capricorn is the extreme winter/summer sign in both parts of the world. Why are both seasons tied to the mountain goat? This is an ancient symbol of climbing to the top. The mountain goat starts at the bottom and slowly, carefully and cautiously makes his way to the summit.

The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. You can even see part of the Capricorn zodiac sign name hidden in the title of the breed.

Mountain goats like the Alpine ibex breed from December to January.  Capricorn season. The mating game starts in December, and typically lasts around six weeks.

Astrologers centuries ago made the connection between the extreme cold of the Winter Solstice and these famous goats. They also began noticing Capricorn stories and themes, unfolding all around them.

The goat is the ambitious creature who waits his turn until he can climb to the top. It frequently means someone else has to step down or even be toppled.

It’s rather like being in the line of succession to the throne in the Royal Family and waiting your turn to succeed one of your parents as King or Queen.

 

THE QUEEN’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE IS A CAPRICORN SEASON MESSAGE

The Queen’s Christmas Message goes out in Capricorn season, reminding us that one day Prince Charles will succeed Queen Elizabeth II and one day, Prince William will succeed him, followed by Prince George. That’s classic Capricorn.

Our attention turns to Kate Middleton, now Duchess of Cambridge, who rose from the middle classes by marriage.

Turning to my 1910 copy of What Do We Mean By Astrology? again I find this description of Capricorn. “Slow, steady and persistent. Intensely ambitious and gradually rising in the social scale by own efforts.”

It is possible that centuries ago, the extremes of winter cold – freezing – also increased the likelihood that older rulers or senior authorities would face death. This is a rather bleak message, typical of Capricorn (ruled by serious Saturn, Old Father Time) – however it may also be an historic fact. The pyramid shifted. The hierarchy reshaped itself.

It is entirely possible that extreme heat in the Southern Hemisphere, also on the December solstice, had the same effect.

Today, the end of the year coincides with resignations, redundancies, promotions, hirings and firings. Same principle. The pyramid or hierarchy shifts. The old Capricorn symbol of the mountain goat, climbing to the top, holds strong.The Queen’s Christmas Message goes out to millions on television and again, we are reminded of a very old Zodiac theme.

 

CANCER THE CRAB AND THE JUNE-JULY SEASON

If Capricorn the mountain goat is about climbing to the top, ending up further and further away from your family and class, then Cancer is the opposite. In fact, it is Capricorn’s opposite sign. Cancer is about home, roots, belonging, family, property, culture, history and origins. Cancer the crab carries his home on his back and hides with his tribe on the sand.

We have Cancer season at the Summer Solstice in America and England, which is the Winter Solstice in Australia, New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere. We associate the Tropic of Cancer with the June solstice too. Even though according to International Astronomical Union boundaries, the Sun is now in Taurus at this time, astrologers use the seasons, not the shifting constellations, to guide them. And the seasons work in an uncanny way to show what Cancer the crab is all about. Again, this is astrology. Synchronicity.

 

HOW THE CRABS OF DELAWARE BAY PROVE JUNE-JULY IS CANCER SEASON

Why has Cancer been associated with family, home and property for centuries? The clue is there in the seasons. If you go to Delaware Bay in late Spring, during the Full and New Moon of June (Cancer season) you will see horseshoe crabs breeding. They have been doing this for over 300 million years. I am sure you know that the zodiac sign Cancer is ruled by the Moon as well. These are very old associations between June and the crab.

Crabs fight for caves, crevices and hiding holes. They dig burrows to rest, mate and defend themselves. Our astrologer ancestors watched and noted this. People born in June-July are passionate about their homes.

Horseshoe crabs are not the only members of the species to reproduce in Cancer season, in June. In Chesapeake Bay, blue crabs spawn that month. 

 

CANCER THE CRAB IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Spider crabs in their masses make their way to southern Australia in June and July each year (Cancer season) as the ocean cools down. It is fascinating for astrologers to see the way the BBC describes this natural event. Why? Because it’s astrology, channelled through a nature program.

“When crabs shed their hard outer shell in order to grow, they are vulnerable to predators such as cormorants and stingrays. Bunching together in large numbers provides a level of protection against being eaten.”

My little 1910 copy of What Do We Mean By Astrology? tells me that Cancer is “Strongly attached to country, home, relatives and family.”

Crabs  work together to provide food and protection for the family, and go to great lengths to find the right place for the female to release her eggs. They are not like other creatures. Cancer is not like any other zodiac sign. It has long been associated with sanctuaries, defence, caring, nurturing, safety, accommodation and other key ‘crab’ concepts. It’s about feeding the family – with food or emotional sustenance. In June and July, mass crab behaviour across the world reminds us of this fact.

 

HERMIT CRABS, CANCER AND THE PROPERTY CHAIN

Hermit Crabs provide more clues to the meaning of this famous zodiac sign. When they grow in size, they must find a larger shell and abandon the previous one. These crabs live in secondhand shells, the way real Cancerian people move into old apartments and houses, ready to renovate. Cancer rules the Fourth House in astrology, and real estate.

Hermit crabs form a vacancy chain to exchange shells. Just like vacancies in hotel chains during the June-July summer vacation/holiday season in the United States and the June-July ski season in Australia.

 

LIBRA THE SCALES – HOW ANCIENT SYMBOLS ARE PROVED BY MODERN SCIENCE

From Aries, Capricorn and Cancer we now turn to Libra, which pins down the last of the solstice/equinox patterns for us. 

Libra is associated with marriage, love and sex. “Ever desiring partners,” is the verdict in What Do We Mean By Astrology? The scales symbolise two partners. Usually a man and woman. The scales of justice traditionally show the legal union of marriage between a male and female. This beautiful illustration of Libra scales shows the balance. 

The Libra Season in astrology is September-October. This is Spring in Australia and New Zealand and Autumn in Europe and America. The Independent newspaper in Britain recently published the news that September has been the most popular birthday month in England and Wales for 20 years. Happy husbands and wives welcome their children’s births during Libra season.

In the USA, it has been found that more children are born in late September early October than in any other time of the year.  The New York Times published a long table graph in 2006 that proved it.

The fact is, couples make babies, and eventually babies make couples. The ancient symbol of Libra the Scales covering the approximate period of 22nd September-22nd October in the astrological Zodiac holds good.

 

LIBRA SEASON IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE – DOES THE PATTERN HOLD?

Libra Season is Spring in Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere. Spring is traditionally a popular time for weddings – an eternal Libra symbol.

Beyond the Libra/Spring association with brides, in 2012 Australia found itself with the following eye-opening statistics. As The Daily Telegraph in Sydney reported, in eight of the previous twelve years, September had produced the highest daily rates of babies. It is so true of astrology that these statistics should have come from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Astrology is not astronomy, but that does not mean you cannot be impressed by the way the signs and seasons correspond, just as they always did – and just as they always will.

 

ASTROLOGY IS ALTERNATIVE TIMEKEEPING

History repeats and astrologers noticed. The clock and calendar do not show it, because they only show time moving in one direction – forward –  but the horoscope does. Astrology is alternative timekeeping, and it works. 

Just as I was writing this story about the dreaded 13th Sign in September, 2016, a fascinating story by Professor Robert Lanza, working with physicist Dmitry Podolsky at Harvard University, appeared here.

 

I believe these two scientists have nailed why astrology has flourished for over 2000 years and why it has never been more popular, than it is today. I should point out that at no stage in his fascinating story does Professor Lanza even mention horoscopes. But science has now given you and I, the astrologer and the astrology fan, an explanation for all we know to be true.

 

THE ARROW OF TIME AND A THEORY TO EXPLAIN ASTROLOGY – AT LAST!

This story about the arrow of time is the best current theory (in September 2016) I have seen, to explain the accuracy of horoscope predictions like the famous UAC forecast of the Obama election victory.

Lanza writes:

“In a new paper just published in Annalen der Physik — which published Albert Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity — Dmitry Podolsky, a theoretical physicist now working on ageing at Harvard University, and I explain how the arrow of time ‒ indeed time itself ‒ is directly related to the nature of the observer (that is, us).”

He goes on:  “Our paper shows that time doesn’t just exist “out there” ticking away from past to future, but rather is an emergent property that depends on the observer’s ability to preserve information about experienced events.”

Now, Robert Lanza is a professor at Wake Foreset University. One of Time magazine’s most 100 influential people in the world.  To my knowledge, he’s never mentioned astrology once in any of his online articles, and neither has theoretical physicist Dmitry Podolsky. I have no idea what they think about a horoscope – if anything!

Yet, when they conclude that time depends on the person observing it – that’s you. And from my point of view, that’s you, reading your horoscope.

If you’re observing it with 12 Zodiac signs and not 13 signs, then it works for you. And that’s that.

Now, what do you think?