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YOUR SIGN HAS NOT CHANGED ~ THERE IS NO 13TH SIGN!!

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 Your sign has not changed.  Ophiuchus is a constellation, NOT an astrological sign.  

Back in 1929, the International Astronomical Union formalized the constellation boundaries and decided to include Ophiuchus.  If every constellation were a sign of the zodiac, do you know how many "signs" there would be!  What if instead of a Libra you were suddenly a Little Dipper?  Astronomers bring up the Constellation Ophiuchus every couple years.  It's just a publicity stunt. They love to confuse people by pretending not to be aware of the difference between constellations and the the Ecliptic.  The Ecliptic is the 360° band around the earth wherein each of the twelve zodiac signs occupy a 30° segment (360 ÷ 12 signs = 30° each).  Astrologers and astronomers use the exact same measurement: Longitude to measure where planets and objects are out in space.  Longitude or the " tropical ecliptic coordinate system" is the same reference system that measures objects/planets in longitude degrees.  

Seen in this picture below, the "feet" of the constellation Ophiuchus just graze the ecliptic, under which you can see the signs Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Precession ~ the Earth's wobble

 In Western astrology, the earth's wobble has been known about since Ptolemy (170 AD) and is taken into account, in particular when forecasting in "planetary return" charts.  This adjustment is calculated mathematically to the exact degree and minute for the slight shift of where the Sun enters into Aries each year along the Ecliptic (the band around the earth around which the Sun appears to travel)..   But remember, we are not going by the constellations here, we are still measuring in longitude.  Western astrology is not based on where the constellations fall, it is more exact as it is determined by exactly where the Sun is on each Equinox and Solstice.  

Astrologers are well aware of the shift due to the earth's wobble (precession). Eastern or Hindu astrology correlates with the constellations, and although in that system some of your planets align with a different constellation, their relationship to each other remains identical. 

Scientists and reporters who repeat this ruse of a 13th sign without asking astrologers, and presume any constellation can be inserted as a "new sign" because an astronomy teacher from Minnesota says it is one, are not doing their homework.  As far as the press goes, presuming answers without doing basic investigation is bad journalism and even worse science.

In sum, Tropical Astrology (what is practiced in the West) is based on the position of the Sun on the Equinoxes and Solstices. The Ecliptic (the band around the earth around which the Sun appears to travel from our viewpoint) is divided into twelve 30 degree segments using the signs (of the same names as some of the constellations).  The confusion is over "Precession" which is caused by the axial rotation (or wobble) of the earth, not by any movement or shift of the Fixed Stars in relation to us.  Tropical measurement (based on the seasons) is actually the measure of the Earth's revolution around the Sun.  When either or both of these are seen as having something to do with constellations, or with the signs, it causes confusion. Tropical measurement is based on the Equinoxes (Earth-Sun Nodal points) or where the Sun is at the beginning of each of the four seasons.

Here's what Ptolemy had to say about it:
Footnote 3, page 21 in the preface to Ptolemy's "Tetrabiblos", 170 AD
"... Ptolemy's astrology is just as applicable to modern and improved astronomy as it was to his own."
 Ptolemy was aware of this "motion" and refers to it in the 25th Chapter of the 1st Book of Tetrabiblos.  He designates the twelve signs (or divisions of the zodiac) to refer to the positions they occupied, and not to the stars or constellations.  He repeatedly said that the point of the vernal equinox is the beginning of the zodiac, and that the 30 degrees following it retain the same virtue as that which he attributed to Aries, although the stars forming Aries may have left those degrees, and the next 30 degrees are still Taurus, etc. Throughout Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy considered the constellations of the zodiac separate from those of the positions they occupied.

For a humorous satire on a new 13th Chinese Zodiac Sign from PlanetWaves, go here

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