Astro-Lie

Yes. And possibly everything else about you now, too. After all the years you spent thinking you were a particular sign and sharing your zodiac's attributes like a form of personal patriotism, you may have, in fact, been completely wrong. All the horoscopes you read in magazines and the traits you were sure perfectly described you may simply be a misconception of, well, your entire existence. There's a grave chance your sign is not what you think it is. 

Discoveries are made every year announcing that either the stars have shifted or the stars were initially mis-aligned, making it difficult to accurately assign the traits we believed to perfectly describe ourselves. Additionally, our misinformation can be attributed to the fact that the signs of the Zodiac are often confused with the constellations of the Zodiac. In reality, our zodiac corresponds only to the constellations relative to the position of the sun. The position of the planets is measured by of the path of the Sun passing through the constellations of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.

Image credit: Creative Commons/Remko van Dokkum

The constellation the Sun was in on your date of birth is your sign; however, the constellation's positions have gradually grown out of line with the year's seasons due to a process of shifting called precession. Therefore, a new school of thought was introduced, the Tropical Zodiac, in order to bring a static formation to the planets, and help us truly define ourselves. However, this static system originally comes from what is known as the Sidereal Zodiac. In the Sidereal Zodiac, the process of precession actually plays a major role--this shifting is observed and considered in our definitions of ourselves. Today, this process has progressed as far as shifting the constellations one-tenth of the way (a a major difference!), or about a month, therefore changing the dates of the Sun's position in each constellation. Precession has even resulted in the recognition of a brand new constellation in astrology, Ophiuchus, which has been acknowledged as a constellation between Scorpio and Sagittarius. 

Image credit: Creative Commons/Atlas Coelestis and Johan Cammayo

Be sure to check your Sidereal Zodiac sign against these dates to see if your sign–and entire personality–has changed!

Capricorn - Jan 20 to Feb 16
Aquarius - Feb 16 to Mar 11
Pisces - Mar 11 to Apr 18
Aries - Apr 18 to May 13
Taurus - May 13 to Jun 21
Gemini - Jun 21 to Jul 20
Cancer - Jul 20 to Aug 10
Leo - Aug 10 to Sep 16
Virgo - Sep 16 to Oct 30
Libra - Oct 30 to Nov 23
Scorpius - Nov 23 to Nov 29
Ophiuchus - Nov 29 to Dec 17
Sagittarius - Dec 17 to Jan 20

To go even further, calculate your Zodiac sign to the slightest detail.