New Zodiac sign upsets horoscopes, millions 'lose' identity

Twitter, that great measure of the general human feelings, was ablaze all weekend with people lamenting that they have lived their whole lives believing themselves to be one thing, only to be told that they are another thing entirely. Many refused to accept the news altogether while others defiantly called the bluff of the fates, declaring boldly that they have been hard-working Capricorns all their lives and would definitely not meekly submit to be called Sagittarians.

Most of the West can comfort itself in the knowledge that they follow the tropical Zodiac. This is a system that depends on the sun and the seasons, not the stars. It only uses the symbols of the zodiac as placeholders, so things are pretty much unchanged for them.

But for most Hindus, who follow Jyothisya or the side reel Zodiac, things have changed dramatically. In this system everything is dependent on the stars, since the horoscope is created based on the physical position of the stars at the time of birth.

But apparently our fickle friends in the sky gave no indication that they were slyly shifting shop even as millions of horoscopes were being busily drawn.  

As for the new sign, it is Ophiuchus (pronounced Ooh-FEE-yew-kus, November 29 - December 17). The dots in the heavens are deemed to be a man holding a snake, and the leading trait of those born within its influence is a strong healing ability. But it may be a small comfort to Scorpios, whose reign in the sky has been cut down to a mere six days to make space for the snake charmer. After all, many might prefer the sting to the snake.

A general calm is being asked for by astrologers across the planet. They have pointed out (rightly) that this new system is not accepted by most and even then would only affect those born after 2009. They also caution that there are many complex methods and logics that need to be applied before one can jump onto the snake bandwagon.

Also, they confirmed that they have been applying calculations for hundreds of years to compensate for the stubborn refusal of the stars to stay put and hence old horoscopes are not affected. But mostly they are angry that the world would pay so much heed to the utterance of an astronomer on what is, in all fairness, their speciality.

Most of us need not fear. It will be quite sometime before such a dramatic shift in belief will be accepted, assuming it is ever accepted to be true at all.

Even then, all you need to do is shift allegiances to the tropical Zodiac and you can go back to your cosy old Zodiac.

After all the stars have been drifting for a long, long time and if the news made no difference to you yesterday then it probably will not result in a dramatic personality change tomorrow.

And if it does, think of it as the first day of the rest of your life.


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