Let's talk about the stars. Specifically, constellations, the zodiac and astrology. I have always been fascinated by the night sky, by the mysteriousness of space. When it's dark, I can look up at the sky and imagine that I am floating among the stars, one with the universe. Maybe I find the subject of space so appealing because there is still so much that is not known, that is undiscovered? There is still a mystery in that humans will never be able to travel the universe in their current form because there are limits with this type of beingness. However, part of what humans
do know is how to classify things and box them up.
Linear thinking.
A constellation is basically a formation of stars that make a design in the sky. With a great amount of imagination one can see in them an ancient mythological god, animal/creature or random object. There are officially 88 of these, ranging from a crab to a sea goat to a queen. How completely terrestrial of us to label the sky based on our limited perspective of the universe! For example, in the constellation, Capricornus, two stars that look close together (Alpha) are actually hundreds of light years apart from one another. Meaning that if one were to travel into space, the constellation would completely lose it's shape. And any supposed meaning associated with it.
Next, the zodiac. Here is what's actually happening:
Earth orbits around the
Sun every 365 1/4 days. But from our (limited!) viewpoint on Earth, it
appears that the
Sun is following a path around a celestial sphere, the ecliptic. Meaning, the dozen constellations that are in the background of the Sun's path on this imaginary band are called the zodiac.
Here is where astrology comes in. Ancient astronomers believed that the position of the Sun within the constellations held special importance. Based on which constellation the sun was in at the time of a person's birth, determined personal characteristics and what kind of life that person would lead. Currently, because of the Earth's precession (the slight gyration of the axis in space), the sun actually passes through this supposed celestial path of constellations a month earlier than it did over 2,000 years ago! Today's astrology is based on a cycle that is outdated by two milleniums!
For sheer entertainment purposes, I will list each zodiac constellation by the actual dates the sun "passes" through them in the current year:
ARIES: April 19-May 14
(formerly March 21-April 19)
TAURUS: May 14th-June 21(formerly April 20-May 20)
GEMINI: June 21-July 21(formerly May 21-June 21)
CANCER: July 21-August 11(formerly June 22-July 22)
LEO: August 11- September 17(formerly July 23-August 22)
VIRGO: September 17-October 31(formerly August 23-September 22)
LIBRA: October 31-November 23(formerly September 23-October 22)
SCORPIO: Novermber 23-November 30 (only 7 days!)(formerly October 23-November 21)
*OPHIUCHUS: November 30-December 18SAGITTARIUS: December 18-January 19
(formerly November 22-December 21)
CAPRICORN(US)
: January 19-February 16(formerly December 22-January 19)
AQUARIUS: February 16-March 12(formerly January 20-February 18)
PISCES: March 12-April 19
(formerly February 19-March 20)
(Please note that each cycle varies by a day or two depending upon the leap year.)
*OPHIUCHUS is the thirteenth constellation. This constellation became a part of the celestial ecliptic because of the precession of the Earth.
In conclusion: To hold truth in constellations, the zodiac and astrology is to believe that the universe is FLAT!