17 January,2011 07:26 AM IST | | Sudeshna Chowdhury
As the earth's wobbling axis has astrologers debating the import of the 13th zodiac, Ophiuchus, fortune-tellers in the country predict that it will not really affect anyone or anything, just not as yet
While many turned away from the news in apathy, others were greeted with a starry-eyed surprise, when one fine morning they woke up under a different sun sign.
As you may already have heard, the earth's wobbly axis has engendered the need for a new zodiac.
The new sun sign, called Ophiuchus, to script the destinies of those born between November 29 and December 17 in and after the year 2009, has soothsayers disputing its relative importance in the supreme scheme of things. While some horoscopists are making new calculations based on it, most are unperturbed.
Top astrologers in the country, grounded in the oldest astrological tradition in the world, believe that the new zodiac sign is not such an earth-shaking phenomenon.
"We astrologers knew about it 20 years ago. This is not a new phenomenon at all. And the new sign will not make a difference whatsoever," says renowned astrologer Bejan Daruwalla.
Mired in controversy, the astrological world is fiercely debating whether Ophiuchus rightfully deserves to be in the zodiac calendars.
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"This is the Age of Aquarius and hence there will be development in the field of science, space, technology, medicine, and so on.
Many such discoveries will be made in the years to come. It doesn't make any sense to change the old Zodiac calendar," said Daruwalla.
Concurs tarot card expert Shirley Bose. "I had read about Ophiuchus five years ago. At that time it did not make a difference. Why now?"
People born under the sun sign are said to be honest, sexually magnetic, prone to change, and require special attention to understand.
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While some couldn't care less about what the stars of the new sign bode for them, those who swear by the heavens firmly believe that their life is set to change, as the sign shifts all the existing sun signs.
Astro-numerologist
Bhavikk Sangghvi believes that the sign, if at all it does, will matter to western astrologers, not the Vedic ones. "The 18-day cycle will not affect the Vedic astrologers because they go by the moon sign," Sangghvi said.
"In 2009, people actually started talking about this constellation because that is when the geological changes began showing.
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So those born before that year need not worry at all. This sign will not influence their life in anyway," said Sangghvi.
With discussions and debates raging on the 13th constellation, a word of caution from many astrologers: It is too early to predict anything. So hold on until it is official.
Ophiuchus: November 29 - December 17
