Pedro Braganca is a writer for Live Science. His piece, “Astrology: Why Your Zodiac Sign and Horoscope are Wrong,”“Astrology: Why Your Zodiac Sign and Horoscope are Wrong,” was also published for them as well in late 2017.
Without knowing anything about astrology or horoscopes, I would be willing to bet that almost everyone knows what their zodiac sign is regardless… or so they think. Braganca explains that the wobble of the earth, or “precession,” has realigned differently over time and the planet’s position is not the same that it used to be—hence the signs changing in correlation.
The concept dates to the time of the Babylonian empire. The way astrological signs are determined are by observing “which constellation the sun was in on the day you were born.” Back then, astronomers were unaware of how the “gravitational attraction of the moon” affected the planet.
Before reading further to see what my sign should (?) be, I skimmed through articles—exploring positive and negatives for each of the other signs to see which, other than my own, would best fit.
I was born a Virgo. I relate to almost every trait and aspect presented, but that is beside the point right now. After my research, I concluded that I would probably otherwise be a Leo (if we’re going simply off personal characteristics). And guess what? With the way that the sun and Earth shifted together, that is technically what I am… maybe?
It all seems dicey. The traits for each are explained so simplistically that anyone could make them applicable to some area of their life if they tried hard enough to connect the dots. I wish I wasn’t skeptical—I love the idea and concept—but I cannot seem to get past all the “what ifs” and lack of scientifically-based information.
Stars, Signs, and States of Mind 