I'm a Saggitarius Now?

I've been hearing a lot about this Zodiac change business lately. Half of the facebook statuses I read are about their new zodiac signs. I'm not a believer in zodiac signs. I believe that the positions of stars and planets do affect us, but I don't think they can decide what's going to happen in my life. I'm a capricorn cusp, but I don't really care about that. My horoscope for the day is not something that I turn to first thing when I pick up the newspaper. There are people who believe in astrology. I just don't happen to be one of them. But the whole buzz about this zodiac change got me curious. So, I did a little bit of googling. 

Astronomer Parke Kunkle claims that the position of the Earth with respect to the Sun has changed in the last 3000 years since the zodiac signs were first decided by Babylonian astronomers. This has resulted in the introduction of a new sign called Ophiuchus (which, by they way, I can't even pronounce). 


Not many believe in this change though. But it's also true in a sense if you see the difference between Sidereal Astrology and Tropical Astrology. 
According to wiki, "Sidereal astrology is the system of astrology used by some Western and all Jyotish astrologers who base their interpretation around the use of the sidereal zodiac. Its primary feature is that the signs of the sidereal zodiac approximately align to the sky constellations of the same name."
and
"Tropical astrology is based on the idea that early astrologers (mid-to-late first millennium BCE) defined the star signs according to the seasons in which the sun rose in them. For tropical astrologers therefore it is irrelevant that the solsticial points (tropics) have drifted from one constellation to another over the millennia, due to the precession of the equinoxes. The underlying philosophy remains unchanged in spite of precession, because it is based on the Earth's (and therefore our) relationship to the sun, not to the stars."


This article from cnn explains it: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/13/no-your-zodiac-sign-hasnt-changed/


So, if you're Indian, this has most likely effected you. But if you follow the more common Tropical astrology used by westerners, then you have nothing to worry about. 


A little bit of info on the new sign: Ophiuchus is derived from the Greek word for 'serpent-bearer' The sign is portrayed by a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations proposed by Ptolemy in the second century. It was earlier known as Serpentarius, a Latin word for serpent-bearer.

The symbol for Ophiuchus

The personality traits of those born in the sign of Ophiuchus are said to be honest, intellectual, sexually magnetic, prone to change and of course, jealous. This covers those born between Nov. 29 and Dec 17. 


The rest of the zodiacs have shifted as follows: 


Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18- May 13
Taurus: May 13- June 21
Gemini: June 21- July 20
Cancer: July 20- Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10- Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16- Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30- Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23- Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29- Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17- Jan. 20


I'm now a sagittarius apparently. What's YOUR new sign?


P.S. If you're wondering why I spent the last hour writing a post on a topic that I don't believe in, then the answer lies in the word boredom. Unfortunately, even though its a weekend, I have no plans because I'm lazy and had no inclination to step out of the house.