By Allegra Simpkins
As somebody who secretly checks her horoscope just after Facebook and Instagram in the morning, you could consider me a zodiac consumer.
I tend to vibe very deeply with the idea of being a Virgo; I display many of the traits that Virgos often do — a bit of a perfectionist, analytical and an over-thinker. I also semi-seriously take in consideration who I am most compatible with when I have the time — Tauruses, Cancers, Scorpios and Capricorns, feel free to come find me on campus.
As you can probably conclude, my s!*t would hit the fan if I found out that I had been reading the wrong horoscope unintentionally my entire life. In fact, some individuals throughout the Western world are panicking about just that.
In a semi-recent article released by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in 2011, it was stated that “due to the wobbling of the earth’s axis, the dates at which the sun appears to move in front of each constellation has altered by a few days.” Not only that, but it seems as though a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus, was discovered along the ecliptic plane (the path the sun follows) thereby shifting the other signs’ dates by a few weeks.
Now, before you run to your nearest tattoo parlor to cover up the scorpion you tattooed where the sun don’t shine, take a deep breath and relax. For us Tropical zodiac followers, the shift is actually completely irrelevant, and this isn’t the first time news of a zodiac shift has been presented. The so-called hoax originated in London in 1995 and has been circulating every decade or so since, more frequently with the rise of the internet.
More than 2,000 years ago when Babylonian culture first depicted the Tropical zodiac, they split the ecliptic plane into 12 sections, casting well-known constellations into each section to create the signs. These signs were associated with the traits and energies experienced at each specific time of the year.
In the East, however, Vedic astrology was also developing and within it, their own Sidereal zodiac – based on where the stars are in the sky as opposed to when the sun passes through them – was created. Because the Sidereal zodiac is based upon the position of stars, the wobbling of the earth upon its axis would in fact require adjustments throughout the years.
It is also relevant to note that there are not only 12 constellations surrounding the ecliptic plane at any given time anyway. Several other constellations were left out of the Tropical zodiac including one of the most well-known, Orion, but nobody has ever had anything negative to say about that.
So, to those who have thought of calling their ex and possibly giving them a second chance because your horoscope now says you’re compatible, I urge you to reconsider.
I, however, will continue to check precisely how I should handle my daily activities as a Virgo while fielding negative presumptions about having plagued my right arm with a constellation tattoo.