Every year or so, another astronomer erupts into the mainstream media with a portentous announcement about how the astrological signs aren't aligned with the actual constellations. Often the supposed 13th sign, Ophiuchus, is also invoked as a further proof of how delusional astrologers are.Interesting note (from the RationalWiki link above) regarding exactly what effect, say, Mars might have:
What it means, according to the astronomers, is that astrology is invalid. Most of the people who think they're Tauruses are actually Aries. Most Scorpios are really Libras. And so on.
That latest misguided authority is Parke Kunkle, a board member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society. "When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces," he intoned, "it's really not in Pisces." His ravings hit the Internet yesterday, on Gawker (http://bit.ly/i1VxqE) and the Minneapolis Star Tribune (http://bit.ly/f7hWwW), among other places.
I understand that scientists like him don't like to lower themselves to the task of actually doing research about how astrology works. But if they're going to snidely cast aspersion against it, they should at least learn it well enough to know what they're talking about.
Here, briefly, is the lowdown on what certain astronomers are too lazy to find out for themselves.
Thousands of years ago, when astrological and astronomical thinking were based on insufficient data, the names of the constellations happened to be paired with the astrological signs. Today, those pairings are no longer in sync: Due to the precession the equinoxes, astrological signs do not line up with the constellations in the same way they did way back then.
But that 's irrelevant to the majority of modern Western astrologers. In our work, the astrological signs are not defined by, nor do they have anything to do with, the stars or constellations. We're completely focused on what happens in our own solar system. Our relevant data are the movements of the planets within a zone defined by the relationship between the Earth and Sun.
The key demarcation points in that relationship are the equinoxes and solstices. At the Northern Hemisphere's vernal equinox, which occurs on about March 20th of each year, the Sun enters into the sign of Aries. At the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice, the sun enters into the sign of Cancer. The locations of the constellations are irrelevant; the "influence of the stars" isn't considered at all.
When Parke Kunkle triumphantly says, "There is no physical connection between constellations and personality traits," as if he has finally stamped out the delusions of us astrologers, he doesn't realize that we agree with him completely.
As distance increases, gravitational pull decreases very dramatically; something that moves to twice as far away exerts a quarter of the gravitational pull, something three times further away exerts a ninth of the gravitational pull. Newton's law of gravitation can be used to show that, at its closest approach to Earth, the planet Mars exerts approximately the same gravitational force on a person as a 50 ton fully-loaded big rig placed 15 yards from that same person.posted by abulafa at 3:20 PM on January 13, 2011 [5 favorites]
Ophiuchi may be quiet and reserved, but their outward reticence masks a deep pensiveness and knack for patient planning. When an Ophiuchus speaks up, however, watch out! Their words can either be charming and diplomatic (sometimes to the point of duplicity) or else strike to the bone. While some may come across initially as "cold-blooded," in reality they mostly just need the warmth and support of those around them in order to thrive, making this a highly social sign, even if they aren't always at the center of the action.2. Just take a bunch of different adjectives and slam them together as long as they don't directly contradict one another.
A truly selfless sign, Ophiuchi are highly thrifty when spending for themselves, and yet quite generous to those around them. Warm hearted and loyal, they can still be easily led to resentment over petty indignities. Creative energies abound within this sign, though they are best utilized in groups, as Ophiuchi tend to get frustrated and distracted when working alone. Ophiuchi are also open to new ideas and ways of thinking, but will want to know everything they can before changing their minds.3. This is more of a long game here, but is designed to send any potential mates who actually buy into Astrology running for the hills.
Materialistic and rational to a fault, the Ophiuchus will tend to get explosively violent when confronted with anything imaginative or outside of his realm of understanding, especially if it involves children. He will generally only bother to clean himself for a first date, the better to present a false version of himself which he mistakenly thinks will impress others. Depending on the success of this tactic, the Ophiuchus may well be carrying one or more communicable diseases. Unemployable in the commonly accepted sense of the word, when the Ophiuchus does manage to come into money, it will usually be blown over the weekend on drugs, booze and deviant pornography. Prone to public urination.posted by Navelgazer at 3:41 PM on January 13, 2011 [7 favorites]
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posted by ged at 7:24 AM on January 13, 2011