Ophiuchus Article

Here is an article I wrote for Northeastern Illinois University's newspaper. I had to revise it since it was too long unfortunately... I wish I had the original. The editor said it was left with fragments... anyway I have faith any fool can still make sense of it without having to fill any blanks. Especially if you have done your homework. Anyway it was never published (screw you), but oh well enjoy. :)

For thousands of years the archaic night skies influenced man in their discoveries. Whether it be navigational purposes or perhaps just a symbol of hope far off in the distance, it is something that has been apart of our culture. It seems that astronomer Parke Kunkle finds it valid to include a new zodiac symbol. After thousands of years of the same system used by astrologers why is it that an astronomer thinks to change the system?

Astrology is coined by Carl Jung to be a language of synchronicity. It is a symbolic way to understand the facets of life on our planet. Kepler, to paraphrase, said the music of the spheres are perceived by the intellect. It is coincided with fractals. Chaos theory demonstrates the interconnectedness of the universe. It is balancing of free will and destiny. It appears as a mathematical model of self-similarity proportions that is infinite. The fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio are examples. They are found everywhere in nature such as motions of waves, flowers, trees, etc. Evidently being a process of unfolding and becoming. Astrology is said to be the algebra of life.

The axis tilt of the earth’s wobble has shifted and this is said to be the reason for the constellation of Ophiuchus. Due to the moons gravitational pull we have here what is called the precession.

The reason why this does not matter is because the zodiac was divided up into twelve constellations that lie upon the plane of ecliptic. The plane of ecliptic is the sun’s path that forms in our sky as the earth rotates around the sun. Now the problem with Ophiuchus is that it is not aligned within the ecliptic plane like the other twelve zodiac signs. The constellation of Ophiuchus barely touches this plane of ecliptic with just his foot. The bablyonians recognized eighteen constellations at one point, but five of them were omitted once the constellation borders were more clearly defined.

One purpose of astrology was to divide the sun cycles up into equal portions and seasons. The zodiac perfectly aligns with each of the four equinoxes and solstices. The twelve zodiac signs are equally divided up by thirty degrees along the ecliptic plane. A circle is made up of 360 degrees and when divided up by thirty there’s a number of twelve, which are represented by fixed constellations. When the zodiac was made it was used as an astronomical mathematical unit to understanding the planets and the stars corresponding to the annual circuit of the sun. Astrologers saw it as a way to understand what was going on our planet by observing the cycles of the bodies along the ecliptic plane, which assisted them in following the seasons.

It seems as though that this whole 13^th zodiac sign is a publicity stunt. Astrologers will continue using the traditional model. Many astrologers seem to think that it is another attempt at giving astrology the label of a pseudo-science. From our understanding of quantum mechanics such as wave and particle experiments, the ebb and flow of energy in the universe, and viewing its interconnectedness helps us to see that maybe some scientists have yet to shift some paradigms. Is it simply that people want us to lose our ability to predict and see patterns in life by understanding this cosmic fractal universe?

www.geocosmic.org