Overview
- The latest wave of confusion followed a New York Times report asserting the zodiac is thousands of years out of date and promoting Ophiuchus as a 13th sign.
- Astrologers including Aliza Kelly, Chani Nicholas and the AstroTwins counter that modern tropical astrology anchors the zodiac to the equinoxes and solstices, so people’s sun signs have not changed.
- Astronomical precession shifts the apparent positions of constellations by about one degree every 72 years, which affects star-based sidereal systems but not the season-based tropical framework used in most Western horoscopes.
- Reporters and practitioners note that Ophiuchus has long been known as a constellation near the ecliptic and was historically excluded from the 12‑sign symbolic system, so it is not a new or widely adopted sign.
- Coverage this week emphasizes that the story resurfaces periodically with little context, with some astrologers pointing out that versions of the claim date back to at least 2011.