‘Don’t worry, your star sign is safe’

The events of 2020 have been a talking point among astrologers for as long as I have been a professional. Since 2016, I have been attending talks explaining the magnitude of the planetary clashes this year – so watching 2020 unravel as predicted has been astounding – and the tale continues.

At the beginning of lockdown, I was receiving hundreds of messages a week and lots of people wanted consultations. Perhaps more importantly, people were asking me to teach, because they wanted to learn how astrology worked.

This increased interest can largely be attributed to a rise in people seeking answers in these difficult times. Millennials, raised on the internet, have learnt astrology via memes and jokes online and feel very connected to their astrological definitions.

I think this is the reason that stories about the “13th star sign”, Ophiuchus, are blowing their minds, as this astrologically fluent generation is confronted with the news that their celestial identity could be under threat.

The reality is that our character is only decipherable in full via our complete birth chart. This “natal chart” is a map of the sky taken from the moment and precise location that we were born. It illustrates the position of all the planets in our solar system and astrologers use this to write horoscopes and articulate events.

The zodiac constellations are simply markers in the sky – think of them as road names. The zodiac gives a name to segments of the sky that can be used to pinpoint the location of planets as they move through it.

What’s more, in Western astrology the zodiac does not exactly match the constellations in the sky, so Ophiuchus elbowing his way into the story will not impact you or your star sign. You are safe. Your star sign hasn’t changed.

That said, if you are curious and feel that your “new star sign” describes you more accurately than your “old” one, then assessing the position of the Moon when you were born might be more illuminating.