Zodiac cover ups......

[LUX PUNX]

Huge in 2011. Some people are getting there sick ass scorpion replaced

[Lochlan]

Oh yeah? You care to elaborate Jeremy? Or is this some Blackheart Tattoo joke of the day that you had to be hanging out in order to get it?

[MsRad]

oh no, Jeremy is right. here ya go Loch.

[Lochlan]

FUCKKKKKKK, I went from an Aries to a Pieces!

Here's the article for those who don't want to click an outside link:

If you're the type of person who relies on mysterious-sounding locations of stars to determine your personality and outcome in life, get ready to be shocked.

The field of astrology, which is concerned with horoscopes and the like, felt a major disruption from astronomers, who are concerned with actual stars and planets. The astronomers from the Minnesota Planetarium Society found that because of the moon's gravitational pull on Earth, the alignment of the stars was pushed by about a month.

(More on TIME.com: See the best pictures of 2010.)

"When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces," noted Parke Kunkle, a member of the group's board. Your astrological sign is determined by the position of the sun on the day you were born, so that means everything you thought you knew about your horoscope is wrong.

It turns out that astrology has had issues from its inception. (Aside from the fact that it tries to link personality traits with positions of the stars.) Ancient Babylonians had 13 constellations, but wanted only 12, so threw out Ophuchicus, the snake holder. Libra didn't even enter the picture until the era of Julius Caesar.

(More on TIME.com: See the most surprising pictures of 2010.)

According to the Minnesota Planetarium Society, here is where the real signs of the Zodiac should fall. Get ready for your world to change forever.

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.

Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.

Pisces: March 11-April 18.

Aries: April 18-May 13.

Taurus: May 13-June 21.

Gemini: June 21-July 20.

Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.

Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.

Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.

Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.

Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17. (Yep, this one is new — read all about the Ophiuchus way of life here)

Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Read more: New Zodiac Sign Dates: Earth Rotation Changes Horoscope Signs - TIME NewsFeed

Thanks Jeremy and Robin you guys are lifesavers!

[Jake]

I'm still a taurus and that's all still a load of crap. I like how they tossed a whole sign out originally though. "Well we make the rules so screw science; we'll just pretend there's 12 signs instead of 13 and people will believe that story for millennia!"

[Tight-Lines]

I like seriously had to pop like 3 ativan in order to deal with this today. Like, Ive been living my life by my facebook daily horoscope. Now, Im like, totally lost. Now that I am not an Aries Im just not the same person.

[maxx1221]

Didn't change that i'm a Sagittarius! But I feel like this could be detrimental to the large amount of people who live their lives by their astrological sign... being in college right now, I have talked to an overwhelmingly amount of people who won't get involved romantically with someone because they are not of their compatible sign.

[Jake]

being in college right now, I have talked to an overwhelmingly amount of people who won't get involved romantically with someone because they are not of their compatible sign.

wow. the naivete of people really blows me away sometimes. you'd think people of an intellectual domain (i.e. college) would stop to think that maybe the day you were born has very little to do with interpersonal compatibility. ohhhhh wellllll.

[MsRad]

and now there's this. it doesn't really matter if i am or if i'm not, i still have the traits of a scorpio.

[Jake]

meh. sounds like drama damage control to me...

[maxx1221]

wow. the naivete of people really blows me away sometimes. you'd think people of an intellectual domain (i.e. college) would stop to think that maybe the day you were born has very little to do with interpersonal compatibility. ohhhhh wellllll.

I know, right? It truly is funny, some of the stuff I've heard that really gets me going. Once a friend of mine was telling me that him and one of his "former" best friends got into a fight that could never be solved... his explanation was that he was a certain sign and his friend was different sign, which he said explains why they would not be able to ever get along. I can't remember the signs, but seriously I was dying of laughter. I mean i personally never made my sign a huge part of my life, but to each their own!

[RockelMan]

Astrology aside I personally have noticed that that in my area Winter does not really start until about the first or second week of January. When previously (when I was a kid) There was always a white Christmas, thus indicating that the seasons are about a month behind. I always had the theory that the seasons would slowly regulate themselves till the temperature was basically on an even keel.

[Lochlan]

And the counter articles begin:

Tattoo parlor owners must be salivating. An assertion in a Minneapolis Star Tribune article that our understanding of the zodiac is off by about a month - and that therefore people have been identifying themselves with the wrong sign - caught fire on the internet Thursday, and many folks are in an absolute panic on social media.

"If my zodiac symbol has been changed to a Libra, what am I supposed to do with my Scorpio tattoo?!?!," read one tweet Thursday.

Some vowed to get their tats removed. Others groaned about losing the sign with which they’ve identified themselves for years. The zodiac and related terms - including Ophiuchus, said to be a 13th and neglected sign - were trending Twitter topics much of Thursday.

But before astrology fans scrape the ink from their arms because they think they're now a Virgo instead of a Libra, they should consider this: If they adhered to the tropical zodiac - which, if they're a Westerner, they probably did – absolutely nothing has changed for them.

That's worth rephrasing: If you considered yourself a Cancer under the tropical zodiac last week, you're still a Cancer under the same zodiac this week.

That's because the tropical zodiac – which is fixed to seasons, and which Western astrology adheres to – differs from the sidereal zodiac – which is fixed to constellations and is followed more in the East, and is the type of zodiac to which the Star Tribune article ultimately refers.

Two zodiacs. That's nothing new.

"This story is born periodically as if someone has discovered some truth. It's not news," said Jeff Jawer, astrologer with Tarot.com.

The hubbub started with Sunday's Star Tribune article, which said the following: "The ancient Babylonians based zodiac signs on the constellation the sun was 'in' on the day a person was born. During the ensuing millenniums, the moon’s gravitational pull has made the Earth 'wobble' around its axis, creating about a one-month bump in the stars' alignment."

"When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it’s really not in Pisces," Parke Kunkle, a board member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, told the Star Tribune.

"Indeed," the article continued, "most horoscope readers who consider themselves Pisces are actually Aquarians." The article also asserts Scorpio's window lasts only seven days, and that a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus, used to be counted between Scorpio and Sagittarius but was discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year.

True enough, Jawer says, the sun doesn't align with constellations at the same time of year that it did millennia ago. But that’s irrelevant for the tropical zodiac, codified for Western astrology by Ptolemy in the second century, he says.

In the tropical zodiac, the start of Aries is fixed to one equinox, and Libra the other.

"When we look at the astrology used in the Western world, the seasonally based astrology has not changed, was never oriented to the constellations, and stands as … has been stated for two millenniums," Jawer said.

People who put stock in astrology can ask whether they should adhere to the tropical zodiac or the sidereal zodiac. Jawer argues for the tropical.

"Astrology is geocentric. It relates life on Earth to the Earth’s environment, and seasons are the most dramatic effect, which is why we use the tropical zodiac," he said.

Source

Are there no more valid sources? So which is it?

[deaddreamnation]

the magic 8 Ball!

[hogg]

Tropical zodiac for life!

Also, it's nice to know that there are so many other Aries here. I wonder which sign is most likely to get heavily tattooed? I'll go with Aries for now. :)

[A.Sanchez]

I think a street shop owner started this madness. I'm fittin to draw up some Ophiuchus designs right now.

[MsRad]

sorry Loch for being lazy!

[AlannaCA]

im thinking along the same lines as A.sanchez up there that some dude just created this mass rumor to throw people off and cause panic all around America. i know it said hes from the observatory or something but i dont believe it for a second because my personality traits still identify with Scorpio!

[deaddreamnation]

No, your zodiac sign hasn't changed – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

false alarm

[MsRad]

No, your zodiac sign hasn't changed – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

false alarm

this was the second link i posted.

[gougetheeyes]

being in college right now, I have talked to an overwhelmingly amount of people who won't get involved romantically with someone because they are not of their compatible sign.

Are you going to college in the 70s?

[maxx1221]

Overwhelming amounts of people may be an exaggeration....