To Have Been or to Not Have Been? That is the Question.

Since I was old enough to understand language, I have been told that I am a Cancer. I would hold conversations with my friends as to how we could definitely see how some of our personality traits held true to the astrology that influences it. It has always been a fun thing for me to talk to girls about how compatible or incompatible we were based on our birthday. Here’s the funny thing though: a lot of us believed it. We were so confident that the stars influenced who we are, or at least we accepted the rules that govern astrology as some immutable thing that will always be. The joke’s on us!

Apparently, the same wobble that creates the seasons is also responsible for the relative position of the stars changing over the course of five millennia when the dates were first established. Also Ophiuchus is being added to the collection of patterns in the sky that we recognize as part of our identity.

Some astrological authorities claim that this only affects babies born after 2009, and that we get to keep our old signs, but let’s examine what astrology is before we readily accept any of this. We are born on a certain day under certain stars that affect our personality. Therefore, any of us born under what is now recognized as Ophiuchus would have to be influenced at the time of our birth, not the time of our recognition of its validity.

According to the new chart, this is what we should have been:

• Capricorn - Jan 20 to Feb 16
• Aquarius - Feb 16 to Mar 11
• Pisces - Mar 11 to Apr 18
• Aries - Apr 18 to May 13
• Taurus - May 13 to Jun 21
• Gemini - Jun 21 to Jul 20
• Cancer - Jul 20 to Aug 10
• Leo - Aug 10 to Sep 16
• Virgo - Sep 16 to Oct 30
• Libra - Oct 30 to Nov 23
• Scorpius - Nov 23 to Nov 29
• Ophiuchus - Nov 29 to Dec 17
• Sagittarius - Dec 17 to Jan 20

Astrology has always been just fun and games to me, but some people take this stuff seriously. I can’t help but wonder how those of you that follow this closely feel about all of this.