The 13th House

The Thirteenth House

Had some eighteen and a half centuries back Claudius Ptolemy while writing his volumes on astronomy and astrology not excluded the constellation of Ophiuchus by ignoring it from the epicyclical path of the Sun, today our astrologers would not be facing this dilemma of what to do with the 13th house.

The astronomers and physicists seem unanimously firm in the observation that the Sun's celestial path falls along the constellation of Ophiuchus which can no longer be ignored owing to measurable clouds of helium coming from that side.

As the serpent holder snatches away full 18 days from the Scorpio, it will surely upset the astrology applecart. Astrologers - the practitioners of dogma of foretelling future by casting star charts have so far been assigning equal segments of 30 degrees each to the12 signs of zodiac. The fact, however, is altogether different. The Sun doesn't take the same time in traversing all the constellations (or a sign as the astrologer calls it). Its duration varies from a minimum of 8 days in Scorpio to the maximum 44 days in Virgo.

Now the issue is what will happen to those to be born between December 1 and 18. The Western system of astrology based on the Sun will have to make adjustments accordingly and assign new dates to various signs including this new entrant. The followers of the so called Vedic system will continue with their business undeterred as theirs is the Moon based system.

However, one wonders how the practicing astrologers will fit the 13th house in a square chart. This mythical serpent holder of the Greeks, by claiming a place in the zodiac circle, is not only embarrassing the 12 so called Olympian gods already sitting there but also putting the charlatans and practitioners of the dogma in a bind by turning the pseudo-science of astrology upside down.