The Fault in My Star Signs

I've never really been massively interested in astronomy.

My Dad believes in it and often tries to guess people's star signs after brief meetings. He's always very excited when he gets it right. My Dad would have said to me well you do that because you're a Libra or you feel that way because you're a Libra and when I was old enough to find out for myself what the particular traits pertaining to the Libra Zodiac sign were, I had to agree with my Dad that I did seem to fit the general profile.

Some of the most 'obvious' Libra traits.

1. Realistic
2. Clever
3. Vain
4. Non confrontational
5. Self pitying
6. Can't make a decision to save their lives
7. Social
8. Fair

These traits I thought, seemed to describe me perfectly. I was quite happy to be a Libra. It made sense after all. I was personable, I was into my appearance, I rarely went over my door without feeling like I had the perfect outfit choice and matching makeup, I had been classified by family and friends as a social butterfly since I was five years old, I didn't like to argue and I had always been particularly hard on myself when I got something wrong and enjoyed wallowing in a world of self pity with chocolate and sad Indie girl music. Not to mention that I was such a realistic individual I could easily be accused of being cynical. So there you have it, I was a Libra through and through and then...

Last year my partner's phoned dinged. It was his mother with some strange news. The Zodiac signs had changed and it was all NASA's fault. There was some conflicting information. The blogs were exploding with stories of some mystery 13th Zodiac sign that NASA had somehow discovered and this had changed everything. As far as I can make out however, the science behind these changes is somewhat simple. When Zodiac signs were first invented by the Babylonians, if you were born between the 23rd of July and the 22nd of August, then you were a Leo, because you were born under the constellation of Leo. Now however, almost a good three millennium later, the sky is in a slightly different position than it was in Babylonian times and the Earth's Axis doesn't quite point in the same direction. Long story short, the Earth has moved and because of that if you're born on certain dates now you will be born under different constellations than the generations before you.

So, like many people, we headed straight to google to find out what our 'new' Zodiac signs were. Mario's was the same as ever and he was delighted, having always believed he embodied the true essence of a Leo. I on the other hand found that I was no longer a Libra and to my surprise, I was actually a little disappointed. Now, I was a Virgo.

"There's no way I'm a Virgo," I told Mario. "I am such a Libra. Like I am all the Libra things."

"Tell you what," he said in reply. "I'll read out the traits for both and we'll see which one fits you better."

I agreed to this, quite certain that this minor experiment would clear this whole business up once and for all and prove that I was in fact in Libra. It did not.

Some of the Virgo Traits

1. Reliable
2. Hardworking
3. Creative
4. Patient
5. Kind
6. Stubborn
7. Critical
8. Overthinking

Bare in mind, I was quite convinced that this simple little test would reveal my true Libra nature, but the more that Mario read to me about the Virgo Zodiac sign the more I realised that it described me just as well. At least it described who I was now as well as the Libra traits described who I once was in my youth. Maybe it wasn't just the sky that had shifted.

Now of course I realise that when I was born I was born under the Libra constellation. They sky had not yet shifted so I am, a Libra. It's only those born after the shift that really have different star signs to the generations before them. It did however make me think about my life in general. I feel much more akin to the Virgo sign now in my twenties than to the Libra sign. I never would have considered myself a patient person when I was younger and would never have been described as one. Now as an adult with two children with additional needs, I have a reputation among friends and families alike for my ability to exercise a seemingly endless amount of patience. I am a patience camel. I've become less the social butterfly and more the hardworking, sturdy and reliable type. I've swapped the perfect appearance for any outfit that's clean and that fits, which might I add, is not an awful lot after two children. In truth I don't really recognise the girl I was, nor do I identify with the decisions she made or many of the things that she did. I often think that if she could see me now she would be convinced that she had slipped into a future from an alternate reality, rather than staring at her own.

As it turns out, I'm not only person that felt that they had changed with the sky. Quite a few of my friends felt that they had identified with their original sign in their youth and now as time has passed felt more of a connection to the changed Zodiac signs.

I'm no astronomer and I don't really understand how everything works or how when we are born affects our personalities, but I do understand how time may affect them and what is the change in the sky, but the affects of time? The sky changed and so did I.

I like to think of myself as a Virgo now. Like a snake shedding its skin, I've shed my old life and the Zodiac sign that went with it. Sometimes when I look up at the stars on a clear night now, it gives me such comfort to know that I am not the only one who has changed.

The Old Zodiac Signs and Their Dates

• Capricorn: December 22-January 19
• Aquarius: January 20-February 18
• Pisces: February 19–March 20
• Aries: March 21–April 19
• Taurus: April 20–May 20
• Gemini: May 21–June 20
• Cancer: June 21–July 22
• Leo: July 23–August 22
• Virgo: August 23–September 22
• Libra: September 23–October 22
• Scorpio: October 23–November 21
• Sagittarius: November 22–December 21

The New Zodiac Signs and Their Dates

• 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 – Nov 29
• Ophiuchus: Nov 29 – Dec 17
• Sagittarius: Dec 17 – Jan 20