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Atlas Quest

Zodiac Theme

Marjorie with a star globe on her back

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.

SignSymbolDates
AquariusWater BearerJanuary 20 – February 18
PiscesFishesFebruary 19 – March 20
AriesRamMarch 21 – April 19
TaurusBullApril 20 – May 20
GeminiTwinsMay 21 – June 20
CancerCrabJune 21 – July 22
LeoLionJuly 23 – August 22
VirgoVirginAugust 23 – September 22
LibraScalesSeptember 23 – October 22
ScorpioScorpionOctober 23 – November 21
SagittariusArcherNovember 22 – December 21
CapricornGoatDecember 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!

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