No matter the walk of life, it seems almost everyone is interested in their astrological sign to some degree. People are often just told what sign they are, and never learn WHY their birthday falls within one of the 12 zodiac constellations. To add insult to injury, what many do not know is that the astrological dates are outdated by 2,000 years!

Before you go and get a tattoo of your zodiac sign, READ THIS FIRST!

Let’s Go Over the Dates We Know and Love

How your Zodiac Date, or “Sun Sign” is Determined…

The Zodiac is a family of constellations in the sky along the ecliptic – where from Earth’s perspective, the Sun’s changing position traces a path throughout the year. It’s also where you find the Moon and planets.  You can learn more about the ecliptic by clicking here!

Let’s say for example your birthday is August 11, and according to the chart, you know you are a Leo, thanks to your birthday falling between July 23 and August 22.

But have you noticed that you don’t see Leo in the night sky on those summer dates, instead the best times to see Leo at night are during the late winter – spring months? That is because around your birthday, our Sun has moved in front of the constellation in the Zodiac; so from your perspective on Earth, you cannot see it at night – the Sun’s glare blocks it. This applies to every Zodiac date or “Sun Sign”

Sounds good, right?

The Star Dates Were Assigned 2,500 Years Ago, and The Positions Have Slowly Shifted Since Then!

Astrologers in Babylon DID assign Sun Sign dates based on the sun’s position among the stars as they were seen at the time, 2500 years ago. With planetarium software you can see they weren’t 100% accurate, but still very close. Not to discredit them, but they didn’t know that their assignments were not permanent. 

Since the dates were assigned, the positions of the Sun in front of a respective zodiac constellations on  all dates have shifted over the past two millennia.

Through no fault of their own, Babylonian astrologers still believed Earth was fixed in the universe, not knowing about precession – where Earth’s rotational  and orbital parameters slowly change with time.

Imagine Earth having a wobble when it spins. It is this wobble, which repeats every 26,000 years, that causes this shift.

From your perspective on Earth, the Sun’s position in the sky on a particular date gradually shifts from east to west each year… basically moving towards the previous Zodiac constellation along the ecliptic. The shift is so small, about one degree every 72 years or so, that in your lifetime, you won’t really notice it. How small is that shift? it’s the width of your pinky finger held at arms length!

We call this shift “Precession of the Equinoxes” due to the shifting position of the Sun on Vernal Equinox. 2,500 years ago, on Vernal Equinox the Sun was in front of Aries, but now the Sun is actually in front of Pisces on the first day of Spring! 

Contrary to what flat earthers may think, the precession cycle has been recorded and documented by observations over the last couple millennia, and is NOT something made up in the 20th century by NASA schills… Just because visible astronomical phenomena don’t conform to within your lifespan doesn’t make them fake! 

Click here to learn more about the Earth’s precession cycle!  

The Sun Passes In Front of 13 Constellations, not 12!

You heard me right! Most do not know about the missing 13th constellation, Ophiuchus (O-fye-a-cuss) – The Snake Bearer. The official boundaries actually dip between Scorpius and Sagittarius.

Refer to the constellation boundary map in at the beginning of the post. Notice that the ecliptic passes in front of Ophiuchus – which is still shaded green while the Zodiac constellations are shaded white. The Snake Bearer constellation is not necessarily a “new sign,” it was always there.

Why did astrologers leave out Ophiuchus?

It’s not entirely sure, but there’s two possible reasons:

1. To the naked eye, long before modern constellation boundaries were defined, it would have been tough to see the Sun’s position as in front of Ophiuchus.
2. Astrologers most likely wanted to divide the zodiac signs into 12 equal parts, 30° across to go with a 12 month calendar (30° x 12 = 360°) beginning every Vernal Equinox.

Uh oh, that may screw with your dates a bit more, doesn’t it?

Therefore, Here are The Dates as They SHOULD BE …

Most people have had their sign changed to the one prior. However, some people have “lucked out” and their birthday still falls within their original sign. They can thank their constellation covering a larger portion of the sky than others.

If you don’t believe me, use any star app and go to your day. Tell me which zodiac constellation the Sun is in front of!

Remember that the Sun shifts a full degree over the average human lifespan. If the Sun is right next to the boundary on your birthday then yes, it is possible that on your actual birthday you were the Zodiac sign you identify as, but over time those born decades later are no longer that sign. But the only way you can confirm this is by consulting a stargazing or planetarium app. 

What About “Moon Signs” And “Rising Signs?”

Just like Sun signs, you’re asking if this changes what constellation the Moon was in front of on your actual birthdate, and what constellation was rising at the moment you were born?

Yes, this might affect it. But the only way you can check for sure is by consulting a stargazing app or planetarium software. You can check out the Astronomy Apps I Personally Use to get directed towards that information. ALL OF THIS IS EASILY CHECKABLE!

By the Way… This Is NOT a Permanent Change!

The Sun’s position on your birthday is slowly shifting west through the ecliptic – or as many would say, “to the zodiac constellation that comes before it.” Using my birthday, December 22 as an example, the following are the approximate years when the Sun on December 22 will be in front of a different constellation!

500 BC – Capricorn
250 BC – Sagittarius
2,300 AD – Ophiuchus
3,700 AD – Scorpio
4,250 AD – Libra
6,000 AD – Virgo
9,100 AD – Leo
11,950 AD – Cancer
13,500 AD – Gemini
15,900 AD – Taurus
18,800 AD – Aries
20,800 AD – Pisces
24,000 AD – Aquarius
25,807 AD – Capricorn

If You Feel Strongly Against This…Take This Information How You Please!

As expected, some of you have looked at this chart, have found that your “true” zodiac date has changed and do not like your new sign. Well, chances are you are going to have to wait over 20,000 years before the signs go back to the dates they were originally assigned.

I’m sure some of you have strong feelings and would much rather identify with your old sign. When it comes to the astronomy side of things, the zodiac sign you identify with really does NOT matter at all! This article just served to give you that information! If you’d rather say you’re {your old sign} then who does it harm? It doesn’t hurt anyone.

Science doesn’t care what you believe. I am a big proponent of belief based on the right information, but also respect that  mysticism is completely different playing field – after all, you don’t wear cleats and shorts in an ice hockey game!

If you are reading this and happen to genuinely believe in astrology, but understand the science of astronomy is completely different and still enjoy learning about the cosmos, then I have no issue whatsoever. Some of the genuine astrologers that I have chatted with (and even sold some of my astrophotography prints to) have either told me “oh, well there is a form that takes into account for all the changes” or were fascinated to learn of the changes, and tell me “It makes more sense now; I need to tell the others their information is incorrect.”

What Do I Think About Astrology? – Editorial

Just remember I didn’t change the Zodiac dates, NASA didn’t change them, the Earth itself did! If you want to blame something, blame the Earth’s 26,000 year precession cycle!