Ophiuchus (; grc, Ὀφιοῦχος, , Serpent-bearer;

astrological symbol Historically, astrological and astronomical symbols overlapped. Frequently used symbols include signs of the zodiac and classical planets. These originate from medieval Byzantine codices. Their current form is a product of the European Renaissan ...

16px, ⛎&xFE0E;) has sometimes been suggested in

sidereal astrology '' Sidereal'' and ''tropical'' are terms used to describe two different definitions of a year, applied in sidereal solar calendars or tropical solar calendars. In astrology, they refer to two different systems of ecliptic coordinates used to di ...

as a 13th

astrological sign In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30-degree sectors that make up Earth's 360-degree orbit around the Sun. The signs enumerate from the first day of spring, known as the First Point of Aries, which is the vernal equinox. ...

in addition to the 12 signs of the

tropical zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths ...

. The constellation

Ophiuchus Ophiuchus () is a large constellation straddling the celestial equator. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "serpent-bearer", and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. The serpent is represented by the constella ...

, as defined by the 1930

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

's constellation boundaries, is situated behind the sun from November 29 to December 18. The idea appears to have originated in 1970 with Steven Schmidt's suggestion of a 14-sign zodiac, also including

Cetus Cetus () is a constellation, sometimes called 'the whale' in English. The Cetus (mythology), Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay. Cetus is in the region of the sky that contains other water- ...

as a sign. A 13-sign zodiac has been promulgated by Walter Berg and by Mark Yazaki in 1995, a suggestion that achieved some popularity in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where Ophiuchus is known as . However, in sidereal and tropical

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

(including

sun sign astrology Sun sign astrology, or star sign astrology, is a modern simplified system of Western astrology which considers only the position of the Sun at birth, which is said to be placed within one of the twelve zodiac signs, rather than the positions of t ...

), a 12-sign zodiac is based on dividing the

ecliptic The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic again ...

into 12 equal parts rather than the IAU constellation boundaries. That is, astrological signs do not correspond to the

constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

which are their namesakes, particularly not in the case of the tropical system where the divisions are fixed relative to the

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

, moving relative to the constellations.

History

The constellation is described in the astrological poem of

Marcus Manilius Marcus Manilius (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman poet, astrologer, and author of a poem in five books called '' Astronomica''. The ''Astronomica'' The author of ''Astronomica'' is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. Even his n ...

as the one that winds in loops: "But, bending its supple neck, the serpent looks back and returns: and the other's hands slide over the loosened coils. The struggle will last forever, since they wage it on level terms with equal powers". Later in his poem, he describes the astrological influence of Ophiuchus, when the constellation is in its rising phase, as one which offers affinity with snakes and protection from poisons, saying "he renders the forms of snakes innocuous to those born under him. They will receive snakes into the folds of their flowing robes, and will exchange kisses with these poisonous monsters and suffer no harm". A later 4th century astrologer, known as Anonymous of 379, associated "the bright star of Ophiuchus", Ras Alhague (α Ophiuchi), with doctors, healers or physicians (ἰατρῶν), which may have been because of the association between poisons and medicines. Based on the 1930 IAU constellation boundaries, suggestions that there are "13 astrological signs" because "the Sun is in the sign of Ophiuchus" between November 30 and December 18 have been published since at least the 1970s. In 1970, Steven Schmidt in his ''Astrology 14'' advocated a 14-sign zodiac, introducing Ophiuchus (December 6 to December 31) and

(May 12 to June 6) as new signs. Within 20th-century

, the idea was taken up by Walter Berg in the form of his book, ''The 13 Signs of the Zodiac'' (1995). In January 2011, a statement by Parke Kunkle, an astronomer at the Minnesota Planetarium Society, repeated the idea of "the 13th zodiac sign Ophiuchus" which made some headlines in the popular press. Howard Chua-Eoan
Welcome to the Zodiac, Ophiuchus. But Who Are You?

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

, 14 January 2011

References

{{Zodiac Astrological signs 13 (number)