NASA stars signs: Experts claim your zodiac actually hasn’t changed

The revelation of a 13th star sign sent the astrology world into a spin, but turns out there’s a good reason why we shouldn’t be too worried.

The astrology world got itself into a bit of a spin this week when it emerged there was a 13th constellation.

Called Ophiuchus and symbolised by a snake bearer, the star sign is for people born between November 29 and December 17.

Despite the existence of Ophiuchus not being new, it sparked mass panic from people who had been convinced they were a Scorpio all their life only to discover they were actually a Libra.

But astrology devotees shouldn’t be too worried – your star sign will stay the same.

Ophiuchus is symbolised by a snake bearer. Picture: iStock.

Western astrology has known about the existence of the 13th constellation since the time of ancient Greece, however, has always followed the pattern of 12 star signs because of the symbolism behind it.

This means that Ophiuchus or any additional constellations won’t change the 12 star signs that already exist.

UK astrologist Sally Kirkman told British newspaper The Telegraph that “anyone who does tell you that it is a new star sign doesn’t understand their craft”.

“No one is going to have Ophiuchus as their star sign, it means nothing. All the star signs remain as they have since ancient times,” she said.

“In brief, Western astrology, which is the standard in many countries in the world, is based on the tropical zodiac.

Astrologers say the 13th sign isn’t recognised in Western astrology. Picture: iStock.

“There is a beautiful symmetry in the 12 signs of the zodiac which ancients knew about and their hidden knowledge has been passed down throughout time.”

It’s also important to note (although it should go without saying) that NASA has no role in deciding what star signs exist.

A spokesman for the space agency said the now-viral article about Ophiuchus, which appeared on NASA’s kids website Space Place, was about proving astrology wasn’t science.

“We didn’t change any Zodiac signs, we just did the math. The Space Place article was about how astrology is not astronomy, how it was a relic of ancient history, and pointed out the science and math that did come from observations of the night sky,” NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown said in 2016, according to Science Alert.

Astrology is based on ‘static zones’ of planetary movement. Picture: iStock.

HOW DOES ASTROLOGY WORK?

Breaking it down further are professional astrologers and identical twin sisters Ophira and Tali Edut, aka The AstroTwins, who explained on their website why NASA’s findings have little bearing on astrology.

“The actual constellations HAVE shifted over the ages, but Western astrology follows a different system, which uses ‘artificial’ constellations,” they wrote.

“Rather than following the movement of the visible stars, Western astrology is based on the apparent path of the Sun as seen from our vantage point on earth.

“Within that path, astrologers have carved out static zones, and we track the planetary movements against these. That is why zodiac sign dates remain the same even as the heavens keep shifting.”