What the heck is an Ophiuchus?

Buzzing in the news this past week was a story about the change in Zodiac signs. The change not only completely readjusts the order of which sign you fall under, but it also introduces a completely new sign called Ophiuchus.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “the ancient Babylonians based the zodiac on which constellation the sun appeared to be in when a person was born. Since then, the moon’s has exerted a gravitation pull on Earth, causing a “wobble” on its axis that has shifted the stars’ alignment by about a month.

“Because of this change in the tilt, the Earth is over here and the sun is in a different constellation than it was 3,000 years ago when this study of the stars began,” astronomer Parke Kunkle told the Twin Cities’ KARE-TV.

Here are the new signs below:

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11
Pisces: March 11-April 18
Aries: April 18-May 13
Taurus: May 13-June 21
Gemini: June 21-July 20
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23-Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17 *My Birthday is Dec 16
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20

Now personally, I could care less about this hogwash, but having learned that I was no longer a Sagittarius but now a word/thing I can’t even pronounce properly, I have to admit I was a slightly protruded by this news. I mean think about it, it’s like one of those “Guess what, you thought you were a Gentile? Nope you’re Jewish!” stories that rabbis tell in dvar torahs… except in this case it’s for something completely useless and inconsequential.

And it’s not like I was reading the wrong sign for all years… How could I, when my sign never existed?

Or even worse: I could be one of those crazies who decided to get a tattoo of their sign, when guess what? It wasn’t really my actual sign anyway… (oh shucks…)

That’s what I like about the Torah – Unlike other fads/religions/followings, it doesn’t change. And if you really care enough to understand what the Torah is all about, you too will come to learn that while it doesn’t change, it remains relevant regardless of time and circumstance.

(Oh and for those who do care, Ophicuchus comes from the Greek  word “serpent-bearer”, and it is commonly represented as a man grasping the snake that is represented by the constellation Serpens. Meh… its no different than a centaur shooting arrows into the sky… except when you add an “N” to the start of the word, it sounds like “Nosepickius“…hardy har har har…)