A new star sign has been announced – and it’s altered the whole zodiac

The zodiac has been thrown into a spin with the discovery of a new star sign, but it wasn’t astrologers who made the find, but NASA.

It turns out there’s actually 13 star signs in the zodiac, instead of 12, with a newly found sign Ophiuchus prompting the creation of a whole new zodiac calendar. Ophiuchus is Greek for ‘serpent bearer’ and the sign falls between November 29 and December 17 – meaning some people who thought they were a Sagittarius, aren’t.

But it’s not just Sagittarians who have changed signs, it has caused a knock-on effect with all signs altering slightly. For example, many Cancerians are now Geminis, while Virgos may now be Leos.

However, Ophiuchus has actually been around for a while – people just haven’t taken much notice. Apparently, the ancient Babylonian race chose to ignore the 13th sign, because the zodiac calendar was better suited to 12 months.

“They picked 12 constellations in the zodiac, one for each of the 12 ‘slices’,” a NASA blog explained. “So, as Earth orbits the sun, the sun would appear to pass through each of the 12 parts of the zodiac. Since the Babylonians had a 12 month calendar (based on the phases of the moon), each month got a slice of the zodiac all to itself.

“But, even according to the Babylonians’ own ancient stories, there were 13 constellations in the zodiac. So the Babylonians picked one, Ophiuchus, to leave out. Even then, some of the chosen 12 didn’t fit neatly into their assigned slice of the pie and slopped over into the next one.”

Plus, the Earth’s axis has also altered since the zodiac signs were first created, so all the constellations are in slightly different places. But, now Ophiuchus is slowly “weeding” its way into the zodiac due to the “uncertain times”.

“Ophiuchus is on the cusp of the ecliptic,” Australian astrologer Milton Black told The Daily Telegraph. “Which means it’s not part of the zodiac, more like a weed creeping into the zodiac rose garden.”

This means for those who follow astrology, it might be time to read up about your new sign – and perhaps it fits your personality better. People born under the Ophiuchus are said to be complicated, passionate and flamboyant. While Virgos are organised, fussy and like to please people and Sagittarians are optimistic, independent and restless.

According to Black, this change in star signs has to do with Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto being in Capricorn for the first time since 1248. All those years ago it resulted in mountains collapsing, royal couples drowning and a siege in Seville. And this year, we have the outbreak of the coronavirus. But, there’s good news. According to Black, an eclipse on November 30 would “open the gate for us to get rid of it”