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Middleman
Registered: 07/11/99
Posts: 8,399
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Are You An Ophiuchus?
#2413817 - 03/10/04 06:10 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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One tidbit of "astronomical" information that most people seem to know is their "sun sign." But few people know what it means. Fewer still know that it doesn't mean that at all, or at least that it hasn't for the past few thousand years.
If asked, most people would say that a "Gemini" is a person who was born when the sun was in front of the stars of the constellation Gemini the twins. That might have been true about 2,600 years ago, but it isn't today-for two reasons.
First, when the astrological sun sign system was set up more than two thousand years ago, the sun's path was divided into twelve equally spaced "signs," each 30 degrees wide, and these signs only approximately coincided with the constellations. Cancer, for example, is a small constellation, and Pisces is huge, but both are accorded onetwelfth of the sun's annual path. The constellation Cancer -- which is made of stars - never coincided exactly with the sign of Cancer -- which is a 30 degree wide zone along the sun's path. And each astronomer/astrologer had his own idea of where the constellation Cancer began and ended, and even of how many constellations there were.
Astronomers finally settled this nagging problem about 60 years ago when the international Astronomical Union said these are the official constellation boundaries, and published a set of specifications that reads like a surveyor's plot of irregular parcels of land. This, for example, is the true location of the constellation Cancer:
Trace along declination 7? 0' from right ascension 9h 15m to 7h 55m 30s Then go north from declination 7? 0' to 10?. Turn west and continue on 10? from right ascension 7h 55m 30s to 7h 48m 30s Now head north again from 10? to 20? 0' Then double back east from right ascension 7h 48m 30s to 7h 53m Again go north from 20? 0' to 28? 0'. Along declination 28? 0', go east from right ascension 7h 53m to 8h 0m Again cut north to 33? O'. Along declination 33? O', 90 east from right ascension 8h 0m to 9h1 5m Then close the boundary by turning south and continuing south on right ascension 9h 15m from declination 33? O' to 7? O'.
This redrawing of the boundaries added a constellation to the zodiac. According to the official modern constellation boundaries that all astronomers use, the sun passes through 13 constellations, not 12. The "thirteenth constellation" of the zodiac is Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, and the sun is in front of its stars during the first half of December. About one person in twenty is an "Ophiuchus," but few of them know it.
Second, the dates that the sun spends in each constellation have shifted by a few weeks. Originally the sun was in front of the stars of Gemini during the first two weeks of May, for example. Now in 1988, the sun is in front of the stars of Taurus during the same two weeks. What happened?
The earth is wobbling as it spins. Because the moon and sun are constantly pulling on the earth's equatorial bulge, the earth wobbles like a top that is slowing down. This wobbling is called precession, and it's so slow that the earth takes 25,800 years to complete one wobble. The most familiar way to think of this motion is to visualize the earth's axis as sweeping out a huge circle in the sky that includes Polaris and a point near the star Vega (which will be the pole star in 12,000 years). Another way to think about it is to imagine that the position of the sun on the first day of spring (the vernal equinox) slowly drifts around the sky. Five thousand years ago the sun was in Taurus, near the Pleiades star cluster, on the first day of spring. By the time of Christ, the earth's wobbling had caused the sun to be on the boundary between Aries and Pisces on the same date. Six centuries from now the sun will be in Aquarius as spring begins (and the "Age of Aquarius," a longoverdue age of universal peace and brotherhood, will finally dawn).
Not only has the position of the sun on the first day of spring shifted over the past few thousand years; so has the position of the sun on every date. For example, the sun used to enter Cancer at the moment of the summer solstice (hence the term tropic of Cancer for the latitude where the sun is overhead on that date). This year [1988] the sun is in Gemini on the summer solstice. Next year is the last year that this is true. Beginning in 1990 the sun will be in Taurus at the summer solstice, two, constellations off of its "original" position.
When the earth's wobbling was discovered by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in the second century B. C., astrologers had a problem. The sun was supposed to be in Aries as spring began, but it was really in front of the stars of Pisces. The astrologers took this bombshell in stride and declared that the signs drifted with the sun and that the sun was still in the sign of Aries, even though it was in front of the stars of Pisces. Hipparchus, by the way, is the northeastfacing astronomer on the Astronomers Monument on the Observatory's lawn.
So the constellations have stayed in the same direction, but the signs have drifted to the west (relative to the fixed stars), and they no longer coincide. If you were born during the first two weeks of May 2600 years ago, you were born when the sun was in both the sign and constellation of Taurus. Now during those weeks the sun is in Aries. Astrologically speaking, you are still a Taurus; astronomically speaking you are an Aries. Likewise, most Libras are really Virgos, and so on. (And to add insult to injury, most Sagittarians are really Ophiuchi.) Of the 366 possible birthdates, the sign astrologers use corresponds to the astronomical constellation 14 percent of the time. The astrological sign is off by one constellation for 84 percent and by two constellations for the other 2 percent.
So much for the effect that the stars have on our lives. The astrological effect that "Aries" is supposed to exert follows the drifting sun, not the stars. If astrology works, its mysterious forces come from arbitrary directions in space that have nothing to do with the stars that lie in those directions.
The table below lists the dates when the sun is in the real astronomical constellations of the zodiac. The dates fluctuate by a day from year to year.
Now, will an Ophiuchus please stand up!
Astronomical Constellations of the Zodiac
Constellation Dates
Capricornus January 19 to February 15 Aquarius February 16 to March 11 Pisces March 12 to April 18 Aries April 19 to May 13 Taurus May 14 to June 19 Gemini June 20 to July 20 Cancer July 21 to August 9 Leo August 10 to September 15 Virgo September 16 to October 30 Libra October 31 to November 22 Scorpius November 23 to November 29 Ophiuchus November 30 to December 17 Sagittarius December 18 to January 18
John Mosley Griffith Observatory
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2413829 - 03/10/04 06:21 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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So I'm not a Libra at all, but a Virgo? My god.
When I read that I changed my entire personality to fit Virgo instead of Libra.
Tusen takk! Peace.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Frog
Warrior
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 4,284
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2413903 - 03/10/04 07:03 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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I'm not an Ophiuchus, but I'm not a Gemini, either.
I was born July 9th, and although there's recently been discussion around here that astrological signs mean nothing, Cancer describes me perfectly.
I just read the horoscope for Gemini, which your chart shows me to be in actuality, and while it describes a Gemini, whom I know, perfectly, it doesn't describe me at all.
If your chart is correct, then it may be true that signs don't really describe us correctly, or they get lucky.
-------------------- The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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Middleman
Registered: 07/11/99
Posts: 8,399
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Frog]
#2413928 - 03/10/04 07:14 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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huh, i thought i was Cancerian, but i'm really a Gemini. and when i read about it, Gemini described me much better.
anyway, it's not my chart, and it is correct.
btw, John Mosley and the Belgian astronomer Jean Meeus found that the planets (minus Pluto) actually pass through these 21 constellations,
(using IAU boundaries):
Aquarius Aries Cancer Capricornus Cetus Corvus Crater Gemini Hydra Leo Libra Ophiuchus Orion Pegasus Pisces Sagittarius Scorpius Scutum Sextans Taurus Virgo
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Adamist
ℚṲℰϟ✞ЇѺℵ ℛ∃Åʟḯ†У
Registered: 11/23/01
Posts: 10,211
Loc: Bloomington, IN
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2414118 - 03/10/04 08:32 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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I was, and still am, an Aquarius.. (Feb17th)
Interesting post, tho. I had read about this before, but I was under the impression that the 13th zodiac sign Ophiuchus was after Pisces.
-------------------- { { { ṧ◎ηḯ¢ αʟ¢ℌ℮мƴ } } }
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Adamist]
#2414133 - 03/10/04 08:38 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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Long time no see, man.
Welcome back! Peace.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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kaiowas
lest we baguette
Registered: 07/14/03
Posts: 5,501
Loc: oz
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so I'm not a scorpio!!! I'm a libra!!!! **** that!!!! that's hella hella hella hella lame
-------------------- Annnnnnd I had a light saber and my friend was there and I said "you look like an indian" and he said "you look like satan" and he found a stick and a rock and he named the rock ooga booga and he named the stick Stick and we both thought that was pretty funny. We got eaten alive by mosquitos but didn't notice til the next day. I stepped on some glass while wading in the swamp and cut my foot open, didn't bother me til the next day either....yeah it was a good time, ended the night by buying some liquor for minors and drinking nips and going to he diner and eating chicken fingers, and then I went home and went to bed.
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Spokesman
The HighPhilosopher
Registered: 08/05/03
Posts: 847
Loc: New Jersey U.S.
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2414252 - 03/10/04 09:14 AM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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I'll just tell people im half Cancer half Gemini now.
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Alan Stone
Corpus
Registered: 11/23/02
Posts: 986
Loc: Ten feet up
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2415466 - 03/10/04 02:13 PM (20 years, 23 days ago) |
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I don't believe in astrology anyway, though Aquarius fits me fairly well (January 21st).
-------------------- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
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Middleman
Registered: 07/11/99
Posts: 8,399
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Adamist]
#2418189 - 03/11/04 05:09 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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nice to see ya Adamist.
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2418287 - 03/11/04 06:39 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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aw $#&%!
I got a dozen Scorpion Tattoos for NOTHING!?? ARRGH!!!!!!
-------------------- Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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Frog
Warrior
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 4,284
Loc: The Zero Point Field
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2418309 - 03/11/04 06:49 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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in order to survive implosion, our MerKaVa must be Phi. Phi is Perfect Compassion. How does one know if one's MerKaVa is Phi?
And, uh, what's a MerKaVa?
-------------------- The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Frog]
#2418380 - 03/11/04 07:17 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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A stab in the darkness:
MerKava = Soul, Spirit, etc
How does one know if one's Soul/Spirit posesses 'perfect compassion'?
How do you know if you're a completely evil and uncompassionate soul?
-------------------- Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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ergot
MydriasicVisionary
Registered: 09/25/03
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I would know because my name would be George W. Bush.
-------------------- "Remain a learner, never become a knower." - Osho
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Frog
Warrior
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 4,284
Loc: The Zero Point Field
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Well, then, in conjunction with Jinx's talk about 2012...
We're supposed to be strengthening ourselves to be ready for 2012. I think part of that getting ready process is having a strong Merkava.
Assuming that there's going to be some major ordeals to endure when the changes occur, we will need to be strong people to survive. Not physically strong, but spiritually, mentally and emotionally strong.
I'm not saying that for sure that 2012 is real, but it might be. I would be doing all the things I'm doing even if nothing happens as a result of 2012, but if 2012 occurs, then I'll be ready for it, I think.
-------------------- The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. -Teilard
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Middleman
Registered: 07/11/99
Posts: 8,399
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Frog]
#2418428 - 03/11/04 07:47 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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...
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SkorpivoMusterion
Livin in theTwilight Zone...
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,954
Loc: You can't spell fungus wi...
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2418446 - 03/11/04 08:04 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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Question: What is the "Wyrd"?
I notice you and Alan Stone have the Wyrd word somewhere around your title/avatar. Is it in any relation to Belgium?
-------------------- Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.
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lukeboots
fresh futuristic
Registered: 02/04/04
Posts: 19,728
Loc: Grand Ole Operating Syste...
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Re: Are You An Ophiuchus? [Re: Middleman]
#2418564 - 03/11/04 09:00 AM (20 years, 22 days ago) |
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damn, im a scorpio
and here i was always mad at my friend cuz he got to be a scorpio and i was stuck bein a sagitarius! true victory is mine!
-------------------- funky ass music: Planet of Dinosaurs // Rich Whiskey
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