THE PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES
Let's return to the subject of astrology today. A few days ago, we demonstrated how there should actually be thirteen zodiac signs because of Ophiuchus. Today, we will demonstrate how all the zodiac signs no longer correspond to their corresponding constellations. This is due to a natural movement of the Earth known as the precession of the equinoxes.
The orientation of the Earth's axis of rotation is not fixed, but varies slowly over time in a constant manner. In particular, the axis of rotation performs a slow rotation, called precession, around the perpendicular to the ecliptic axis, a bit like a spinning top. This precession is caused by the Earth's imperfect sphericity and the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon, which try to align the Earth's axis of rotation with the perpendicular to the ecliptic.
Perspectively, the Earth's axis of rotation describes a circle on the celestial sphere, which is shown in the figure for the northern hemisphere. At present, the axis of rotation points towards the North Star, but in the past, around 3000 BC, it pointed towards Thuban, the brightest star in the Dragon, while in 12,000 years' time it will point towards Vega, the brightest star in Lyra.
As a result of the precession of the equinoxes, not only does the star indicating the North Pole vary over time, but the position of all the stars along the celestial vault slowly shifts. Consequently, the position of the constellations relative to the zodiac has also changed. Astrology uses the zodiac signs as they were defined in ancient times, but our current sky is obviously very different from that of two or four millennia ago.
To put it in numbers, there is a 26-degree difference between the zodiac signs defined in Ptolemy's time (around 150 AD) and the current constellations.
Remember that the zodiac sign is defined as the constellation in which the Sun is located at the moment of birth. For example, according to traditional astrology, if you are born on April 1, you are born under the sign of Aries, because this was the constellation in which the Sun was located at that time of year in Ptolemy's time.
But today, astronomically speaking, due to the precession of the equinoxes, the Sun is in the constellation of Pisces.
So not only does astrology reason with one zodiac sign less (Ophiuchus), but all the signs are wrong because they are behind the true position of the Sun.
If you point this out to an astrologer, they are likely to respond with some excuse such as, “These are details; what matters are the positions of the planets.” In the coming days, we will see why, scientifically, it makes no sense that planets or stars influence our lives.
Post a Comment