Josephine P. of Shirley, N.Y. asks: “The news reported that two new constellations were added and now my Sun sign has changed. Is there any truth to this?”

Josephine your Sun sign is safe and not changed. This is not news, even though several national news programs reported this recently.  It’s been a debate for over 30 years. It seems to rear its ugly misinformed head every decade or so.

For one thing, constellations and zodiac signs are not the same. Most would agree that Zodiac signs are named after astronomical constellations and refer to seasons on the Earth.  The Zodiac is a measured belt along the ecliptic which is a projection or visual line of the Earth’s orbit. It’s made of twelve segments, each segment equaling 3o degrees, which total 360 degrees. 0 degrees Aries is the Vernal Equinox, 0 degrees Cancer is the summer solstice. We view these from the Earth to the position of the Sun along the Zodiac belt.

Lastly, the other two constellations that a minority of astrologers feel should be included in the Zodiac belt are Ophiuchus , the Serpent bearer and Cetus, the Whale.  They do not completely fit into the Zodiac belt that a majority of astrologers consider significant. It’s like saying one corner of an entire block crosses into the next county - would you then consider the entire block part of that county or would you consider the one corner not significant enough to even argue the point?

And Pluto is still a planet!!!!

Cindy M. wrote: “When we 're-incarnate', do we choose a chart that follows the sequence?  In other words - if I am a brand new soul, would I choose a chart that begins with heavy influences of Aries/Cardinal Fire?  Then the next life, I would I choose a chart with heavy influences of Taurus/Fixed Earth, etc...  Then keep going around as I reach new levels of enlightenment?”

 

I think discerning re-incarnation through the chart will be a subject of debate and interest for most Astrologers, especially Evolutionary Astrologers, for a Millennium! I do not believe the Soul begins with Aries and follows a sequence but I do believe the Soul uses a sequence to evolve emotional patterns. A person’s Sun in one life may be their Moon in another, but it may not follow a specific this-life-to-the-next-life sequence.
Each sign provides an energy that relates to certain issues. For instance, Cancer tends to concern itself with protection and abandonment; the soul can then add a sign to enhance what kind of fear someone has over abandonment. An example would be a chart with a Cancer Moon and then a Libra Venus may be concerned with a mate abandoning them.  The soul  may choose planets and signs based on what its intention is for the life time and it will consider how the entire chart works in unison, how the parts work as a whole.  I’ve come to these ideas as I’ve experienced what my clients have been told in readings about their issues from past lives coming into the present incarnation. It’s certainly one of the most interesting and intriguing subjects in astrology.