Sun sign astrology

Sun sign astrology is the form of astrology most commonly found in many newspaper and magazine columns. It is a simplified system of astrology which considers only the position of the Sun, which is said to be placed within one of the twelve zodiac signs depending on the month of birth. This sign is then called the sun sign or star sign of the person born that month.

Sun sign astrologers take this basic twelve-fold division and relate all the current movements of all the planets to each other, using traditional rules to divine meanings for each sign separately. Paradoxically, because the Moon has the fastest apparent movement of all the heavenly bodies, it is often used as the main indicator of daily trends for sun sign astrology forecasts.

Despite its vast popularity with the general public (e.g. in the UK over 60% of adults are said to read their "stars" first on opening a newspaper, a slightly higher proportion in the USA), there is much argument about the validity of sun sign astrology, particularly amongst astrologers of different persuasions. The more traditional the astrologer, the more likely they are to dislike sun sign astrology.

As with all astrology, it is considered pseudoscience by astronomers and most other scientists.

History

Although William Lilly in the 17th century was the first newspaper astrologer (in fact some people believe that newspapers began as largely astrological prediction-sheets), sun sign astrology was not invented until 1930. The astrologer R. H. Naylor was claimed by his newspaper to have predicted the crash of the R101 airship. This led to pressure on Naylor to come up with a simplified system of astrology suitable for a newspaper column. After some experimentation, Naylor decided on sun signs.

Sun signs

The following table shows the zodiac names in Latin, with their English translation and the individuals' names. It also shows the element and quality associated with each sign. The starting and ending dates of the sun sign are approximate, as they may differ from one year to another (by a day or so), due to the fact that the earth's orbit around the sun is not synchronous with earth's rotation (one year does not comprehend a whole number of days). The exact date and time of sign entrance/exit must be obtained with appropriate software or with the help of an ephemeris.

Symbol	Sign names	Individuals' names	English name	Element	Quality (Modality)	Polarity	Associated Celestial Body	Aprox. period of Sun sign 1/2 days variation
	Capricorn	Capricorn	The Goat	Earth	Cardinal	Negative	Saturn	December 22 – January 20
	Aquarius	Aquarian	The Water-Bearer	Air	Fixed	Positive	Uranus	January 20 – February 18
	Pisces	Piscean	The Fish	Water	Mutable	Negative	Neptune	February 19 – March 20
	Aries	Arian/Arien	The Ram	Fire	Cardinal	Positive	Mars	March 21 – April 19
	Taurus	Taurean	The Bull	Earth	Fixed	Negative	Venus	April 20 – May 20
	Gemini	Geminian	The Twins	Air	Mutable	Positive	Mercury	May 21 – June 20
	Cancer	Cancerian	The Crab	Water	Cardinal	Negative	Moon	June 21 – July 22
	Leo	Leo	The Lion	Fire	Fixed	Positive	Sun	July 23 – August 22
	Virgo	Virgo	The Maiden	Earth	Mutable	Negative	Mercury	August 23 – September 22
	Libra	Libran	The Scales	Air	Cardinal	Positive	Venus	September 23 – October 22
	Scorpio	Scorpio	The Scorpion	Water	Fixed	Negative	Pluto	October 23 – November 21
	Sagittarius	Sagittarian	The Archer	Fire	Mutable	Positive	Jupiter	November 22 – December 21

Criticisms

Owing to the popularity of horoscope columns in many newspapers and magazines, it is sometimes erroneously believed that sun sign astrology is the whole extent of astrology. Some horoscopic astrologers view these predictions as highly generalized and of little value.

For example, each person also has a Moon sign, a Mercury sign, a Venus sign, etc. These do not conform to the above dates and change greatly from year to year. Sun sign astrologers are unable to take these and many other variables into account.

See also

• Sun sign
• Horoscopic astrology
• Horoscope