The 13th Sign: Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer And The Lost Constellation
by Maria
You were born a Taurus, but you exhibit more of the flightiness of an Aries than an obstinate bull. Maybe you're supposed to be a chatty Sagittarius, but boy do you brood like a scorpion. Not everyone identifies entirely with their Sun sign, and one of the reasons why is already written in the stars. It's a 13th sign!
Number 13
For the sake of simplicity and neat mathematics, 2300 years ago, astrologers divided the Sun's path into 12 neat slices affording each constellation 30° of the heavens. That's all well and good, but some constellations are far larger than others, and they left someone out! Ophiuchus (funny name, we'll get to that later) is the forgotten sign of the zodiac. We know that astrologers (all the way back to the days of Ptolemy) knew about Ophiuchus, however, due to the ever changing heavens, the sky we see today isn't the same as the skies of yesteryear.
Enter Ophiuchus
Taking up 18° of the Sun's path, and sitting comfortably between Scorpio and Sagittarius is Ophiuchus (O-fee-Yoo-cuss). According to Greek tradition, Ophiuchus (a.k.a. Serpentarius, the serpent bearer) was Asclepius, the half mortal son of Apollo. After killing Asclepius' mother in a vengeful rage, Apollo sent the boy to be raised by Chiron. Chiron taught Asclepius the secrets of healing and medicine. Worried that Asclepius' knowledge would lead to the immortality of humans, Zeus killed Asclepius and gave him a place in the heavens as thanks for his noble deeds.
True empathy
Those born between November 29 and December 17 may see in themselves a natural empathy toward others and are particularly drawn to the healing of the mind, body and soul. They are kind to the point of naïveté and are blessed with dramatic powers, this however can be to their detriment if they allow themselves to empathize too much with the pain of others.
Star power
Some notables born under Ophiuchus: Winston Churchill, Woody Allen, Jim Morrison, Walt Disney, Jane Austen, Bette Midler, Ludwig van Beethoven and Emily Dickinson.
Now that the myth of the 13th sign has been dispelled, it doesn't mean that you aren't the same person that you were before. It's important to remember that while our Sun sign tells us something about our ego, we were born with all of the planets in our charts, and therefore have a little bit of everything in us all at once!
by Jen Tartaglione
| 04/23/08
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Astrology
