Friday, January 14, 2011

Zodiac signs updated

Zodiac in a 6th-century synagogue in Beit Alpha, Israel

Accommodating millenia of subtle shifts in earths axis, astronomers are claiming to have restored the original zodiac, shifting the Gregorian dates corresponding the when the sun is in each 'house':
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.
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.
* Discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year.
The months of the Jewish calendar, which synchronizes the lunar and solar cycles, are named according to the month names of the Babylonian calendar, dating back to the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people which began in 586 BCE.

In Jewish sources, the zodiac is first mentioned in Sefer Yezirah, a mystical text traditionally attributed to Abraham, in which the names of the 12 signs are Hebrew translations of the Latin names. In the midrash anthology Yalkut Shimoni,  the 12 signs of the zodiac are associated with the 12 tribes of Israel. The zodiac also corresponds to the 12 months of the Jewish calendar, and the 12 attributes of the soul.

Calculate your Hebrew birthday here and the parallel zodiac month below (courtesy of Shirat Devorah):

Nissan = Aries
Iyar = Taurus
Sivan = Gemini
Tamuz = Cancer
Av = Leo
Elul = Virgo
Tishrei = Libra
Cheshvan = Scorpio
Kislev = Sagittarius
Teves = Capricorn
Shevat = Aquarius
Adar = Pisces

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