Taurus or Aries: Has your astrological sign actually changed?

Once upon a time, a bunch of rich guys in Egypt stayed up at night and watched the planets, known to them as asteres planetei or “moving stars,” move around very slowly. They were wealthy and educated, and had the wine and time to stay up late.

They thought about the moving and afixed stars. They drank and probably argued over what the stars were doing up there. And — perhaps drunkenly — horoscopic astrology was born.

There was meaning behind the fixed stars and planets in their wanderings. At first, astronomy and astrology actually grew up together — but their unhappy divorce is a longer story.

Today, we read the meanings of the stars in newspapers and in widgets and apps on our phone and desktops, in search of guidance in our own wanderings. But last week, when news broke that our astrological signs are not actually our signs, people lost it.

The stable, abiding Taurus is actually a fiery and impetuous Aries. The poor Pisces, always convinced it was pulling in two directions, is actually the topless Aquarius maiden sitting above everyone else in the clouds, deciding when it will rain. Mayhem broke out. Or did it?

With everyone running amok over who’s telling the truth over what sign we actually are, American astrologer and astronomy teacher Parke Kunkle brought up the issue in an interview with his Minneapolis local ABC news.

He pointed out that, according to the Eastern (sidereal) form for astrology, the Western (tropical) signs are all wrong. The thing is, East and West are both right, as far as astrology goes. It’s up to us to decide which side we believe in.

In Western, or tropical, astrology, our signs don’t change. They are determined according to the time of year, not according to the actual location of our galaxy in the universe.

When the Western astrological year begins in Aries, it is springtime and everyone is doe-eyed and new. However, Eastern astrology takes into account the exact location of the earth among the stars, and the stars in the heavens.

The astronomical fact is that the stars are always moving. As a result, tropical astrology is defunct in the perspective of some Eastern astrologers, like Parke Kunkle, who also happens to teach astronomy.

So if you would like, keep your star sign. The newspapers will still print astrology readings for the days and weeks. Your sign is still applicable in the same static way in which they are almost always recognized in Western astrology.

However, if you care to dig deeper and learn a bit more about astronomy (and perhaps apply it to astrology) then the sidereal zodiac is your thing. And yes Leo, it does mean that you’re really a Cancer, longing for a partner always within reach and that Snuggie with the footpocket to share.