"Ophiuchus," means "Snake Bearer"
September 28, 2016 6:38 AM Subscribe
NASASpacePlace : "When the Babylonians first invented the 12 signs of zodiac, a birthday between about July 23 and August 22 meant being born under the constellation Leo. Now, 3,000 years later, the sky has shifted because Earth's axis (North Pole) doesn't point in quite the same direction.
Now Mimi's August 4 birthday would mean she was born "under the sign" of Cancer (one constellation "earlier"), not Leo. " The new 13-sign calendar plays out like this.
As a lover of the stars I've always been impressed that people know what constellations are in the night sky when the sun is up. I like this change in zodiac because I've always though the Snake Handler got short shrift from the zodiac. I like to imagine that the other signs kicked her out for always causing snake-based pranks and hi-jinks (Draco eating Polaris, etc).
But in the end Bootes is hands-down my favorite constellation. Proletariat worker sitting back with a pipe. Yeah, there's no accountants or sales people in the sky, that's for sure.
posted by rebent at 6:49 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
But in the end Bootes is hands-down my favorite constellation. Proletariat worker sitting back with a pipe. Yeah, there's no accountants or sales people in the sky, that's for sure.
posted by rebent at 6:49 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
http://www.snopes.com/ophiuchus-zodiac-change/
posted by slater at 6:54 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by slater at 6:54 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
Omg final fantasy tactics was right
posted by clockzero at 6:54 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by clockzero at 6:54 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy): No, NASA Didn’t Change Your Astrological Sign
So no, NASA didn’t add in Ophiuchus, or change the zodiac, or anything like that. It’s been around this whole time, but it’s been ignored by astrologers.posted by Rangi at 6:55 AM on September 28, 2016 [17 favorites]
[...]
Finally, why is this suddenly news? This is the final irony here. This new foofaraw got started, apparently, due to an article on a NASA site for kids called SpacePlace. I like this site a lot and refer quite a few parents and teachers to it. It has simple explanations written at a level for children to understand, and it’s fun and accurate.
The SpacePlace article, Constellations and the Calendar, has been around a while but was recently updated in January 2016, which may have caught some astrology believer’s eye. The article—well worth your time to read—talks about how the zodiac constellations are defined, and how, over time, they’ve changed (as I described above). Apparently, someone didn’t read it very carefully, or didn’t understand it, and wrote that NASA had changed the zodiac. So, yeah. Wow.
But this isn’t even the first time this sort of thing has happened: Almost exactly the same story bubbled up in 2011!
So I'm not an Aries. Good work NASA. Now, please, prove I'm not really a Hufflepuff.
posted by adept256 at 6:56 AM on September 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 6:56 AM on September 28, 2016 [11 favorites]
So, I've gone around all proud that I share a birthday with Jimmy Carter and that we're both justice-loving Libras, but now I've got to see us both as Virgos? What does this even mean?
I've always been surrounded by folks who laugh off the whole Zodiac thing as arbitrary and random and geared toward selling "personalized" keychains and amulets; this latest just hands the whole thing over to that argument, snake-bearer and all.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:57 AM on September 28, 2016
I've always been surrounded by folks who laugh off the whole Zodiac thing as arbitrary and random and geared toward selling "personalized" keychains and amulets; this latest just hands the whole thing over to that argument, snake-bearer and all.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:57 AM on September 28, 2016
I've always been surrounded by folks who laugh off the whole Zodiac thing as arbitrary and random and geared toward selling "personalized" keychains and amulets; this latest just hands the whole thing over to that argument, snake-bearer and all.
As opposed to the rigorously-defined, peer-reviewed, completely predictive and falsifiable field of study we all recognize it to be.
posted by Mayor West at 7:06 AM on September 28, 2016 [12 favorites]
As opposed to the rigorously-defined, peer-reviewed, completely predictive and falsifiable field of study we all recognize it to be.
posted by Mayor West at 7:06 AM on September 28, 2016 [12 favorites]
As opposed to the rigorously-defined, peer-reviewed, completely predictive and falsifiable field of study we all recognize it to be.
Oh, Mayor, you're suchan Aquarius a Capricorn.
posted by Etrigan at 7:09 AM on September 28, 2016 [9 favorites]
Oh, Mayor, you're such
posted by Etrigan at 7:09 AM on September 28, 2016 [9 favorites]
One unexpected bonus of having been born in the first week of December is that I can completely shut down any attempt to start up a conversation about astrology.
posted by pipeski at 7:13 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 7:13 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
I like being able to tell people that my astrological sign is very obscure, you probably haven't heard of it.
posted by adamrice at 7:15 AM on September 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by adamrice at 7:15 AM on September 28, 2016 [6 favorites]
I am, and always will be, Aquarius. I'll be damned if I'll be schlepped-off into that low-rent Capricorn dump.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:15 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:15 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
This stupid click-bait story has been ALL over social media. I can't even!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:20 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:20 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Hey! I WAS one of those low-rent Capricorns, until this shifted me over to Sagittarius. Not sure if that's an upgrade or down.
posted by easily confused at 7:20 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by easily confused at 7:20 AM on September 28, 2016
NASA: We Didn’t Change Your Zodiac Sign, Astrology Isn’t Real
posted by lalochezia at 7:23 AM on September 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 7:23 AM on September 28, 2016 [5 favorites]
Remember when astrology meant something?
posted by fairmettle at 7:23 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by fairmettle at 7:23 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
As opposed to the rigorously-defined, peer-reviewed, completely predictive and falsifiable field of study we all recognize it to be.
Having recently been through the very-basic-philosophy-of-science section of yet another year's version of introductory research methods, it's not so much that astrology is inherently unfalsifiable; it makes lots of clear and explicit predictions in addition to the intentionally-vague stuff. It's more that (a) astrology is so frequently falsified because its predictions are for shit, and (b) it reacts to falsification by circling the wagons and pretending that it wasn't falsified.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:29 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Having recently been through the very-basic-philosophy-of-science section of yet another year's version of introductory research methods, it's not so much that astrology is inherently unfalsifiable; it makes lots of clear and explicit predictions in addition to the intentionally-vague stuff. It's more that (a) astrology is so frequently falsified because its predictions are for shit, and (b) it reacts to falsification by circling the wagons and pretending that it wasn't falsified.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:29 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have an acquaintance from college (in my social group, didn't know her that well personally) who writes horoscopes. Hers are not "predicting the future" so much as they are about acknowledging your feelings and practicing self-care; they're really quite lovely. (I thinks she has a following - she's moved the column to a couple of different publications). Although what she's doing is qualitatively different than what I think most people think of astrology as doing, it's sort of softened my eye-rolling a bit; she's sort of transformed the BS aspect of it into a vehicle for remembering to treat yourself well, and I kind of get the point now.
anyway i'm a leo and i'm glad my sign didn't change. 🦁
posted by dismas at 7:29 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
anyway i'm a leo and i'm glad my sign didn't change. 🦁
posted by dismas at 7:29 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
Does this mean all that advice Reagan received from astrology was based on faulty premises? I'm not sure how to feel about this because I can't find any information on what Ophiuchus says about my political leanings or credulousness.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 7:32 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by [expletive deleted] at 7:32 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
As a Leo I don't really believe in astrology anyway so I don't really care about this.
posted by MartinWisse at 7:37 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by MartinWisse at 7:37 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Although what she's doing is qualitatively different than what I think most people think of astrology as doing, it's sort of softened my eye-rolling a bit; she's sort of transformed the BS aspect of it into a vehicle for remembering to treat yourself well, and I kind of get the point now.
I feel like there are better vehicles for this, like the tarot or other forms of randomness-based divination, but I guess newspapers don't print a regular tarot column.
(I used to like the Nerve horoscopes when they were written by Em & Lo of sex advice fame (maybe they still are? I haven't followed either in a while). But my favourite horoscopes have always been The Onion's.)
posted by tobascodagama at 7:44 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
I feel like there are better vehicles for this, like the tarot or other forms of randomness-based divination, but I guess newspapers don't print a regular tarot column.
(I used to like the Nerve horoscopes when they were written by Em & Lo of sex advice fame (maybe they still are? I haven't followed either in a while). But my favourite horoscopes have always been The Onion's.)
posted by tobascodagama at 7:44 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
If you're the sort of person who will instantly believe that NASA has changed your astrological sign because you read it on Ars Technica, you may be the perfect candidate for some genuine astrological education. Contact your local AFA-certified astrologer about how astrology can help you navigate the mysteries of the stars.
posted by sfenders at 7:54 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sfenders at 7:54 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
I thought this was mildly interesting when I learned about it in freshman astronomy in 1997. There's an important lesson buried in here about the difference between "news" and "news to me."
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 7:55 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 7:55 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
While it's good advice to generally avoid reading the comments section on most websites anymore, this caught my eye at the bottom of the second link:
We lost a planet but gained a zodiacal sign. So we got a constellation prize.
-pr0t0
posted by darkstar at 8:05 AM on September 28, 2016 [23 favorites]
We lost a planet but gained a zodiacal sign. So we got a constellation prize.
-pr0t0
posted by darkstar at 8:05 AM on September 28, 2016 [23 favorites]
Is this something I would have to look up at the night sky to understand?
posted by chavenet at 8:25 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 8:25 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
As an atheist cynic, I need to know, what are the parameters here?
Clearly, mocking metaphysics is allowed, and I find many of the jokes in this thread quite amusing. But other experiences inform me that mocking the Christian god isn't allowed here.
So is it about popularity? Does Christianity have some empirical grounding that Astrology lacks? What's going on here?
posted by idiopath at 8:27 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
Clearly, mocking metaphysics is allowed, and I find many of the jokes in this thread quite amusing. But other experiences inform me that mocking the Christian god isn't allowed here.
So is it about popularity? Does Christianity have some empirical grounding that Astrology lacks? What's going on here?
posted by idiopath at 8:27 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
I would guess that it's a matter of insulting people's identity, but astrological signs are all about identity.
Or maybe there is no difference, and we'll shortly be seeing a MetaTalk thread about unacceptable "lolastrology" mockery. (Posted by a Virgo.)
posted by Rangi at 8:35 AM on September 28, 2016
Or maybe there is no difference, and we'll shortly be seeing a MetaTalk thread about unacceptable "lolastrology" mockery. (Posted by a Virgo.)
posted by Rangi at 8:35 AM on September 28, 2016
While I was being raised protestant (Midwest ELCA Lutheran) my family was heavily invested in the local religious community. Church was potlucks and funerals and making meals for people in need and so on. There was a safety to it, even if it was a white safety in a white community, that mattered in the way that human social fabric always matters.
Astrology, too, the way I have experienced it, matters as an ad-hoc emotional orienteering device. I'm a Scorpio. Of course I am! I'm aloof, intense, prideful and sensitive. I'm other things too, but so is everyone. Human life isn't particularly interesting when you mush it all together and call everyone the same. It's interesting in the differences. Different genitals, different skin tones, different outlooks and outcomes and flavors and fears.
People might say Astrology is fake the way Fictional Novels are fake but it's not like that. Astrology is more like a concept of fiction itself: the idea that we can ascribe meaning to the world in shared ways that bring us closer to each other and make sense of all this desolate chaos we've been thrown into.
posted by an animate objects at 8:40 AM on September 28, 2016 [9 favorites]
Astrology, too, the way I have experienced it, matters as an ad-hoc emotional orienteering device. I'm a Scorpio. Of course I am! I'm aloof, intense, prideful and sensitive. I'm other things too, but so is everyone. Human life isn't particularly interesting when you mush it all together and call everyone the same. It's interesting in the differences. Different genitals, different skin tones, different outlooks and outcomes and flavors and fears.
People might say Astrology is fake the way Fictional Novels are fake but it's not like that. Astrology is more like a concept of fiction itself: the idea that we can ascribe meaning to the world in shared ways that bring us closer to each other and make sense of all this desolate chaos we've been thrown into.
posted by an animate objects at 8:40 AM on September 28, 2016 [9 favorites]
Although what she's doing is qualitatively different than what I think most people think of astrology as doing, it's sort of softened my eye-rolling a bit; she's sort of transformed the BS aspect of it into a vehicle for remembering to treat yourself well, and I kind of get the point now.
ismas
But why use or need this vehicle at all? Plenty of people provide advice about "acknowledging your feelings and practicing self-care" without ascribing meaning to the stars. It just perpetuates the nonsense, and while your friend may be using it for good it just helps the people who aren't.
Astrology is more like a concept of fiction itself: the idea that we can ascribe meaning to the world in shared ways that bring us closer to each other and make sense of all this desolate chaos we've been thrown into.
an animate objects
Except astrology and other woo has long been a prime tool to con the gullible and the desperate. Astrology and the like is poison and should not be tolerated except if presented entirely and completely as entertainment without even the slightest hint of the legitimacy it entirely lacks.
posted by Sangermaine at 8:49 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
ismas
But why use or need this vehicle at all? Plenty of people provide advice about "acknowledging your feelings and practicing self-care" without ascribing meaning to the stars. It just perpetuates the nonsense, and while your friend may be using it for good it just helps the people who aren't.
Astrology is more like a concept of fiction itself: the idea that we can ascribe meaning to the world in shared ways that bring us closer to each other and make sense of all this desolate chaos we've been thrown into.
an animate objects
Except astrology and other woo has long been a prime tool to con the gullible and the desperate. Astrology and the like is poison and should not be tolerated except if presented entirely and completely as entertainment without even the slightest hint of the legitimacy it entirely lacks.
posted by Sangermaine at 8:49 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
STRUGGLE AGAINST ASTROLOGY!
CAST OUT THE BOURGEOIS MYSTICISM OF THE STARS!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:55 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
CAST OUT THE BOURGEOIS MYSTICISM OF THE STARS!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:55 AM on September 28, 2016 [7 favorites]
This really doesn't impact me much, but I am worried about it might affect my past lives.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:58 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:58 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Does anyone remember the Ophiuchus horoscope? It was like: "Today is full of opportunity for handling snakes" "You may feel a passionate attraction for someone while handling snakes" "The arrival of a surprise visitor could generate mixed feelings for you while handling snakes."
posted by leotrotsky at 9:10 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 9:10 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Even with the different version, I'm still born under the sign of Taurus in the lunar year of the Rooster, so my cock-and-bull joke still works.
posted by ckape at 9:11 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ckape at 9:11 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm honestly shocked that astrology people aren't really into this. It's like a football team changing up their kit - now all the fans have to rush out and buy the new one. Spin it as "Now we have to re-calibrate all our old readings - this explains why we weren't exactly correct 100% of the time. Click here to subscribe to The New Astrology and find out what your new sign says about your new future!"
posted by Rock Steady at 9:13 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 9:13 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
i will never not be a pisces and anyone who says otherwise is a heretic and must be burned
posted by burgerrr at 9:13 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by burgerrr at 9:13 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Maybe the reason Ophiuchus has been widely ignored is because "Snake Handler" makes an okay euphemism for "wanker".
posted by aubilenon at 9:34 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by aubilenon at 9:34 AM on September 28, 2016
That makes me a snake-person born under the snake-handler sign. That's pretty ok, actually. Thanks, NASA/Obama!
posted by librarylis at 9:34 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by librarylis at 9:34 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
So, I'm now a white-magic spell eh? *I see your elemental weaknesses!*
posted by TrinsicWS at 9:54 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by TrinsicWS at 9:54 AM on September 28, 2016
The zodiac constellations are kind of silly and arbitrary anyway. If they actually cared about the patterns in the stars Virgo would be 2-3 months long and Aries would be like, a week if it was lucky.
posted by Mitrovarr at 10:15 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Mitrovarr at 10:15 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Phila Plait's excitement is about as cringeworthy as the astrological hype he thinks is happening. Calm down, guy, we know you have to fill up column space.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:20 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:20 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Poor Scorpio, reduced down to only 6 days. And I'm a Sagittarius that has suddenly been turned into a Scorpio. I do think being a Sagittarius is what draws me to the centaur in general. Definitely my favorite mythological half-beast.
I never remember what my sign is supposed to mean but I like both:
"...what Sagittarius wants most is to know the meaning of life, and to accomplish this while feeling free and easy." Uh, who doesn't?
Scorpio: "Those born under this sign are dead serious in their mission to learn about others." Yup!
They're both about learning! Awesome!
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:22 AM on September 28, 2016
I never remember what my sign is supposed to mean but I like both:
"...what Sagittarius wants most is to know the meaning of life, and to accomplish this while feeling free and easy." Uh, who doesn't?
Scorpio: "Those born under this sign are dead serious in their mission to learn about others." Yup!
They're both about learning! Awesome!
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:22 AM on September 28, 2016
I'm honestly shocked that astrology people aren't really into this. It's like a football team changing up their kit - now all the fans have to rush out and buy the new one. Spin it as "Now we have to re-calibrate all our old readings - this explains why we weren't exactly correct 100% of the time. Click here to subscribe to The New Astrology and find out what your new sign says about your new future!"
The impression that I get is that this is kind of like the idea that Jesus probably wasn't born in December. Christians who are willing to be at least minimally rational can acknowledge that the choice of December 25 is at best arbitrary, and at worst a cynical way of undermining previously existing traditions. But that doesn't mean that it makes sense to start celebrating Christmas in April all of a sudden.
Similarly, people who take astrology seriously already know that the chosen zodiac signs (and their dates) are arbitrary/based on convenience. They don't need the constellations to line up with the zodiac model in order for their models to work the way they expect.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:33 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
The impression that I get is that this is kind of like the idea that Jesus probably wasn't born in December. Christians who are willing to be at least minimally rational can acknowledge that the choice of December 25 is at best arbitrary, and at worst a cynical way of undermining previously existing traditions. But that doesn't mean that it makes sense to start celebrating Christmas in April all of a sudden.
Similarly, people who take astrology seriously already know that the chosen zodiac signs (and their dates) are arbitrary/based on convenience. They don't need the constellations to line up with the zodiac model in order for their models to work the way they expect.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:33 AM on September 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
Phila [sic] Plait's excitement is about as cringeworthy as the astrological hype he thinks is happening. Calm down, guy, we know you have to fill up column space.
Yeah, something that eventually turned me off the skeptical community -- other than the rampant sexism and harassment and the taboo on discussions of ~liberal~politics~ enforced by the extremely vocal libertarian subset -- is the feeling that they often would take certain things, like astrology, way more seriously than the allegedly credulous non-skeptics who consume them. That and a non-evidence-based belief in the idea that light nonsense like astrology serves as gateway woo for harder nonsense like homeopathy.
BUT ANYWAY, snakes.
posted by tobascodagama at 10:34 AM on September 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
Yeah, something that eventually turned me off the skeptical community -- other than the rampant sexism and harassment and the taboo on discussions of ~liberal~politics~ enforced by the extremely vocal libertarian subset -- is the feeling that they often would take certain things, like astrology, way more seriously than the allegedly credulous non-skeptics who consume them. That and a non-evidence-based belief in the idea that light nonsense like astrology serves as gateway woo for harder nonsense like homeopathy.
BUT ANYWAY, snakes.
posted by tobascodagama at 10:34 AM on September 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
Similarly, people who take astrology seriously already know that the chosen zodiac signs (and their dates) are arbitrary/based on convenience. They don't need the constellations to line up with the zodiac model in order for their models to work the way they expect.
No, that makes total sense. I think maybe my comment was more cynical and harsh than it should have been. I was thinking more that it represents an opportunity to re-examine the models under the new framework. Though it is weird that this became so viral now when I'm sure that anyone who is serious about astrology or astronomy has known about this discrepancy for years - I mean, I've known about this since I was a kid, and I'm not really into either.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:50 AM on September 28, 2016
No, that makes total sense. I think maybe my comment was more cynical and harsh than it should have been. I was thinking more that it represents an opportunity to re-examine the models under the new framework. Though it is weird that this became so viral now when I'm sure that anyone who is serious about astrology or astronomy has known about this discrepancy for years - I mean, I've known about this since I was a kid, and I'm not really into either.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:50 AM on September 28, 2016
I'm sure that anyone who is serious about astrology or astronomy has known about this discrepancy for years - I mean, I've known about this since I was a kid, and I'm not really into either.
Well, the serious astrologers that popped up in my googling are not pleased about the lamestream media's ignorance of astrological traditions.
they often would take certain things, like astrology, way more seriously than the allegedly credulous non-skeptics who consume them.
Given that major world leaders have relied on the advice of astrologers to make governing decisions, I think a certain amount of vigilance is necessary. I'm sure that astrology's purported connections to the actual science of astronomy makes it even more of a sore spot.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:03 AM on September 28, 2016
Well, the serious astrologers that popped up in my googling are not pleased about the lamestream media's ignorance of astrological traditions.
they often would take certain things, like astrology, way more seriously than the allegedly credulous non-skeptics who consume them.
Given that major world leaders have relied on the advice of astrologers to make governing decisions, I think a certain amount of vigilance is necessary. I'm sure that astrology's purported connections to the actual science of astronomy makes it even more of a sore spot.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:03 AM on September 28, 2016
What if Reagan consulting an astrologer was a scaled back version of Nixon's Madman Theory? Make the Soviets think you're likely to do something really stupid any moment now, to keep your upper hand.
posted by idiopath at 11:31 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by idiopath at 11:31 AM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Gipper: Crazy like a fox.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:49 AM on September 28, 2016
posted by sparklemotion at 11:49 AM on September 28, 2016
I've always been an eerily archetypical Virgo. This chart puts me in the Leo range,so maybe it's time for a mid-life shakeup.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:27 PM on September 28, 2016
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:27 PM on September 28, 2016
Arguing for the validity of Astrological signs is like declaring your Ouija Board is defective.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:31 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:31 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The only sense in which astrology is real is a social-epistemic sense: people's behavior and sense of identity can be subtly molded by things they are told are true. So if you've always believed you're an Aries and that means anything to you, nothing has changed.
posted by clockzero at 1:38 PM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by clockzero at 1:38 PM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yep, clockzero, that's always been my view on astrology. There's got to be something to the self-fulfilling prophecy of being told you're a Leo, for instance, and even absentmindedly looking up your horoscope now and then. I'd posit it probably works the same way for those whose culture involves being immersed in the Chinese birth-year zodiac system. I don't doubt it describes some people who have been absorbing it bit by bit their whole lives.
Therefore, I'm still a Leo, and not a crab like my dad :P
posted by fiercecupcake at 2:38 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Therefore, I'm still a Leo, and not a crab like my dad :P
posted by fiercecupcake at 2:38 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ophiuchus, is that like Scorpio on viagra? Yeah, I'm still a Leo.
posted by Oyéah at 3:29 PM on September 28, 2016
posted by Oyéah at 3:29 PM on September 28, 2016
I remember seeing Famous Astrologist Russell Grant talking about the same "new" star sign Ophici-whatevs on Richard And Judy (read: mid-morning magazine TV) back in the late '90s. He said then that it's one of those things that the casually-interested rediscover every so often and nothing really changes. I mentally pair it with the brief popular revelation that we should use the word "anorectic" not "anorexic". And that coin in Final Fantasy IX obvs.
posted by comealongpole at 6:05 PM on September 28, 2016
posted by comealongpole at 6:05 PM on September 28, 2016
I'm a terrible Virgo, just the worst, and this new chart... I'm still a Virgo. Fuck my life.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:33 PM on September 28, 2016
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:33 PM on September 28, 2016
" He said then that it's one of those things that the casually-interested rediscover every so often and nothing really changes."
True dat. This comes up periodically and literally NOBODY CARES ABOUT OPHTI-WHATEVER IT'S CALLED. No one cares.
I'm honestly shocked that astrology people aren't really into this.
Disclaimer: I know some astrologers (I don't want to hear the inevitable crap for this, thanks in advance!) and I happened to be around those folks on Sunday when this hit the news again. They were pretty much, "Oh yeah, someone brought THAT up again. Your sign still hasn't changed." The super vague nerdy explanation of this is that astrology is kind of a hobby for hippie math nerds, and there are a lot of different mathematical systems people have worked out in order to attempt to figure out what the universe is up to. What we call "traditional astrology" or the one most of y'all have heard of doesn't particularly give a crap about signs moving, or Pluto's "demotion" (same crowd said, "Pluto's still a planet even if it's a dwarf planet."). Doesn't really affect whatever they've got worked out to deduce whatever they deduce.
I really don't get or understand Vedic astrology worth a damn, but supposedly that's a system that IS based on how the stars have moved in the last 3000 years or whatever. I don't think Vedic uses Opthi-whatever it's called (I don't even care enough to look up the spelling on this page), but if you don't like your astrology sign in traditional astrology, Vedic has moved things over some so most people (unless you're born at the end of your sign period) are, according to them, the sign ahead of what you think you are. So for those of you grumbling about not liking your signs, hey, there's a way you might change it! Or if you're me thinking, "I'm still not that much of an Aries by comparison really," ignore it! If you're not into astrology, why would you care anyway?
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:52 PM on September 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
True dat. This comes up periodically and literally NOBODY CARES ABOUT OPHTI-WHATEVER IT'S CALLED. No one cares.
I'm honestly shocked that astrology people aren't really into this.
Disclaimer: I know some astrologers (I don't want to hear the inevitable crap for this, thanks in advance!) and I happened to be around those folks on Sunday when this hit the news again. They were pretty much, "Oh yeah, someone brought THAT up again. Your sign still hasn't changed." The super vague nerdy explanation of this is that astrology is kind of a hobby for hippie math nerds, and there are a lot of different mathematical systems people have worked out in order to attempt to figure out what the universe is up to. What we call "traditional astrology" or the one most of y'all have heard of doesn't particularly give a crap about signs moving, or Pluto's "demotion" (same crowd said, "Pluto's still a planet even if it's a dwarf planet."). Doesn't really affect whatever they've got worked out to deduce whatever they deduce.
I really don't get or understand Vedic astrology worth a damn, but supposedly that's a system that IS based on how the stars have moved in the last 3000 years or whatever. I don't think Vedic uses Opthi-whatever it's called (I don't even care enough to look up the spelling on this page), but if you don't like your astrology sign in traditional astrology, Vedic has moved things over some so most people (unless you're born at the end of your sign period) are, according to them, the sign ahead of what you think you are. So for those of you grumbling about not liking your signs, hey, there's a way you might change it! Or if you're me thinking, "I'm still not that much of an Aries by comparison really," ignore it! If you're not into astrology, why would you care anyway?
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:52 PM on September 28, 2016 [4 favorites]
Unless you want to use this occasion to make some kind of millenial Snake People joke, anyway.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:53 PM on September 28, 2016
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:53 PM on September 28, 2016
Someone in Oakland just named their pug Ophiucus. In ten years that's going to be a great obscure ironic name choice for an old dog.
If you're that person, I both forgive you and want you to have a hug. Hugs not pugs.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:20 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you're that person, I both forgive you and want you to have a hug. Hugs not pugs.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:20 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ophiuchus, is that like Scorpio on viagra? Yeah, I'm still a Leo.
No it's a snake-bearer or handler or something. Something with snakes.
posted by clockzero at 3:42 PM on September 29, 2016
No it's a snake-bearer or handler or something. Something with snakes.
posted by clockzero at 3:42 PM on September 29, 2016
Get these MF snakes off my MF astrological chart!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:56 PM on September 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:56 PM on September 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
« Older If you think these events sound far-fetched, I... | Battery is a really, really bad sport anime. Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Etrigan at 6:47 AM on September 28, 2016 [4 favorites]