Has NASA Changed My Star Sign?

In recent years there has been buzz over a new sign in the Zodiac, Ophiuchus, often referred to as a discovery by NASA. The constellation has actually been known about for thousands of years and cropped up in modern news after a NASA blog post about the ancient Babylonians and their creation of the Zodiac chart. The ancient people chose 12 signs to correspond with the months of the year and ignored a 13th, Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. So, have we been searching for a glimpse into our futures in the wrong place? What happens to the zodiac if Ophiuchus takes its place?

The new dates look like this:

Capricorn: 20 January to 15 February

(Originally 22 December to 19 January)

Aquarius: 16 February to 11 March

(Originally 20 January to 18 February)

Pisces: 11 March to 18 April

(Originally 19 February to 20 March)

Aries: 18 April to 13 May

(Originally 21 March to 19 April)

Taurus: 13 May to 21 June

(Originally 20 April to 20 May)

Gemini: 21 June to 20 July

(Originally 21 May to 20 June)

Cancer: 20 July to 10 August

(Originally 21 June to 22 July)

Leo: 10 August to 16 September

(Originally 23 July to 22 August)

Virgo: 16 September to 30 October

(Originally 23 August to 22 September)

Libra: 30 October to 23 November

(Originally 23 September to 22 October)

Scorpio: 23 November to 29 November

(Originally 23 October to 21 November)

Ophiuchus: 29 November to 17 December

Sagittarius: 17 December to 20 January

(Originally 22 November to 21 December)

With a mid-October birthday, this new zodiac would shift me from a Libra to a Virgo. So, let’s see which of these signs I best fit into.

Libra Strengths: Cooperative, diplomatic, gracious, fair-minded, social

Virgo Strengths: Loyal, analytical, kind, hardworking, practical

I’ve been accused of being diplomatic like it’s a bad thing, usually by someone who is itching for a confrontation that I refuse to give them, but it’s mainly my fear of being wrong that makes me analyse all sides of the argument. Does that make me fair-minded or analytical?

Being kind and being gracious are similar traits, but if being kind means actively supporting people in a selfless fashion, and being gracious is merely being polite, then I think I’m leaning more on the side of graciousness than kindness, driven by my usual desire to avoid social interaction, which makes identifying with a particular sign difficult in this case. I will certainly be cooperative when it’s called for but I will work hard whether or not it’s for myself or for a team.

Libra Weaknesses: Indecisive, avoids confrontations, will carry a grudge, self-pity.

Virgo Weaknesses: Shyness, worry, overly critical of self and others, all work and no play.

When your sanity depends on avoiding confrontations, I fail to see it as a weakness. Someone starts shouting? I’m out. Swearing? I’m out. Questioning my intelligence because they don’t agree with me? See ya! I personally find arguing in this manner to be excruciating and fruitless. Not only will I go to extreme lengths to avoid it but I’ll hold a strong grudge against anyone who puts me in a situation like that. The total aversion I feel to this kind of confrontation has me relating strongly to the Libra star sign. And if my life depended on choosing between McDonald's, Domino's and Chinese takeaway, then I’d be in a fair bit of trouble. Indecision is rife in my life, but once the decision is made, I’m happy with it and will munch merrily into a pizza even if I’d been craving McNuggets all day. A typical Libra trait.

Libra Likes: Harmony, gentleness, sharing with others, the outdoors.

Virgo Likes: Animals, healthy food, books, nature, cleanliness.

Libra Dislikes: Violence, injustice, loudmouths, conformity

Virgo Dislikes: Rudeness, asking for help, taking centre stage.

This is certainly going to make me indecisive. I like everything on the Likes lists, particularly books and harmony, and dislike everything on the Dislikes lists, especially injustice and taking centre stage. A few key words are easy to relate to, I’m sure any star sign could spot themselves in these limited descriptions, as I have done, but when I examined the elemental nature of the signs, some key ideas jumped out at me.

Air signs (Libra, Aquarius, Gemini): Their main goal in life is often just to stop pleasing others and worrying about their opinions, so they can be able to follow their brightest and most liberating ideas.

I feel like this is all I think about, how I could be so happy and satisfied with everything if I stopped imagining that other people are judging me about my home, my job, my relationship status and my lack of achievements. My logical side reminds me that people are too busy and caught up in their own lives to stop and judge mine, but whenever I find myself comparing my situation to a friend’s, I wonder if they do the same, and if they find themselves pretty pleased that they have come out on top. But I have everything I need to be happy. If I could shut out the thought of other peoples’ opinions, and the occasional voiced or veiled opinion from a relative, then I’d truly be liberated.

Earth signs (Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn): Strongly set in their ways, individuals with this element accented have a tendency to give in to an unchangeable routine for years, sometimes too scared to get out of it. In a challenging mode, they will stick to habits that don’t make them happy just because they are convinced they have to, or stay at a job because of financial security, while completely neglecting their intelligence and creativity.

This couldn’t be further from me. As soon a routine starts to feel stale, I change something. I made a deliberate move to change my career because it wasn’t pushing me to use my knowledge and skills enough and because it was stealing too much of the time I needed for creativity. It could be the reason that I’m writing this now.

Overall, I think it’s safe to say that I’m a Libra, and maybe the ancient Babylonians knew what they were doing when they left Ophiuchus out of the Zodiac.

Would the new Zodiac change your sign? Which one do you relate to most?