Zodiac Theme
What’s your sign? Mine is cancer. Hopefully not malignant. =)
This theme pops up once each month, usually the first day of the sign. However, since zodiac signs last for a full month (more-or-less), the exact date the theme shows up might be adjusted if there’s a conflict with another holiday theme. This theme is lower on the ‘pecking order’ of themes given how flexible the dates can be.
| Sign | Symbol | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Aquarius | Water Bearer | January 20 – February 18 |
| Pisces | Fishes | February 19 – March 20 |
| Aries | Ram | March 21 – April 19 |
| Taurus | Bull | April 20 – May 20 |
| Gemini | Twins | May 21 – June 20 |
| Cancer | Crab | June 21 – July 22 |
| Leo | Lion | July 23 – August 22 |
| Virgo | Virgin | August 23 – September 22 |
| Libra | Scales | September 23 – October 22 |
| Scorpio | Scorpion | October 23 – November 21 |
| Sagittarius | Archer | November 22 – December 21 |
| Capricorn | Goat | December 22 – January 19 |
As I learned it, the Zodiac signs, roughly speaking, match up with what constellation the sun is in at high noon on a given date. If you’re a leo, then—in theory—the sun will be in the constellation Leo at high noon on your birthday. The sun follows the ecliptic across the sky—kind of like the equator of the heavens.
That’s the theory, at least. In practice, it’s not quite accurate. The zodiac signs came into being thousands of years ago, and the procession of the equinoxes throws them off over time. The procession follows a period of about 26,000 years. Originally, Aries corresponded to the summer equinox for the Northern hemisphere, but after about one-quarter of a cycle since the zodiac was invented, Aries now corresponds to one-quarter of the year, roughly April. Likewise, over the centuries the twelve zodiacal signs in Western astrology no longer correspond to the same part of the sky as their original constellations. Essentially, in western astrology, the dates are all wrong. =)
Need to check your horoscope? We predict you’ll have a lot of fun if you just go out and find some letterboxes!