Definition: [Zodiacs] The thirteen signs / constellations against which the
Sun is seen to move, as seen from the Earth.
Real Solar Zodiac Dates - Sun Sign Dates:
Real Sun Signs Conventional* Sun Signs
Pisces 12- to the 18-Apr 19-Feb to the 20-Mar This table is Mar accurate for 2002 AD. Aries 19- to the 13- 21-Mar to the 19-Apr * Conventional if Apr May you follow the Taurus 14- to the 19-Jun 20-Apr to the 20-May Western Tropical May Zodiac, not the Eastern Sidereal Gemini 20-Jun to the 20-Jul 21-May to the 20-Jun Zodiac. Cancer 21-Jul to the 9-Aug 21-Jun to the 22-Jul NB If you were Leo 10- to the 15-Sep 23-Jul to the 22-Aug born on the cusp Aug of a Real Solar Zodiac sign you Virgo 16-Sep to the 30-Oct 23-Aug to the 22-Sep should note that Libra 31- to the 22- 23-Sep to the 22-Oct these dates vary Oct Nov - by a maximum of a day - within Scorpius 23- to the 29- 23-Oct to the 21-Nov the four yearly Nov Nov leap year cycle. Ophiuchus 30- to the 17- The Real Solar Nov Dec Zodiac dates also move Sagittarius 18- to the 18-Jan 22-Nov to the 21-Dec forward by about Dec one full day Capricornus 19-Jan to the 15-Feb 22-Dec to the 19-Jan every 70 years because of the Aquarius 16- to the 11- 20-Jan to the 18-Feb Movement of the Feb Mar Ages.
If you follow conventional Western astrology, the Tropical Zodiac dates on
the right of the table will form the Zodiac Wheel you are used to. Unfortunately the dates are not correct. The real Sun Sign dates are given on the left hand side of the table. As you can see there is not much overlap between the two. In fact for 326 days each year the Sun does not appear against the constellation that the Tropical Zodiac says it is in. If you always felt that your Sun Sign doesn't really describe you, there is an 89% chance that you are right! This also means that the Moon and Planets are not usually in the sign that the Tropical Zodiac says they are, and thatRising Signs are inaccurate 326 times out of every 365 if the Tropical Zodiac is used to find them. Why are there Two Zodiacs in the Table and Why is One Real?: To answer that question I'll define exactly what the Real Solar Zodiac is. As to why it is described as real, this is because it is based on an accurate description of the heavens as seen from Earth.
What is the Real Solar
Zodiac?: The heavens contain many constellations. Many of the ones we use today were originally mapped, perhaps three millennia ago, by the Ancient Greeks. The Sun, as seen from Earth, passes in front of thirteen of these constellations in one year. So the wheel of the Real Solar Zodiac contains these thirteen signs: the real Sun Signs. The sign we are not used to seeing in the Tropical Zodiac Western tradition is Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, 30 Nov to 17 Dec.
Why are the Dates so Different
Between Reality and the Tropical Zodiac?:There are three reasons for this.
Firstly, the Greek constellations -
the figures the Greeks saw in the stars - are all different shapes and sizes. Hence these thirteen constellations are not all the same size. Scorpius, for example, is very small and the Sun takes only seven days to pass across it, as seen from the Earth. Virgo is much larger.
Secondly, because of the
Movement of the Ages, the Tropical Zodiac is now shifted by almost a month in comparison to the heavens - the Tropical Zodiac is tied to the calendar.
Thirdly, the Babylonians never included Ophiuchus within their Zodiac. See theZodiac Wheels link for a description of how the Zodiacs evolved.