Is There Actually A 13th Zodiac Sign?
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I’ve always been very Aquarius. With five Aquarius placements in my birth chart, it would be difficult to find someone with more water-bearer energy than yours truly (in my humblest of opinions). So, when I first heard of Ophiuchus—the secret 13th sign that would shift the Zodiac dates as we know it—back in 2015, I knew right away it wasn’t right. I’m no Capricorn, people.
This discourse of the dreaded and forgotten 13th sign pops up every once in a while on the internet (possibly when nothing else exciting is happening, astrologically speaking). While there are definitely some Ophiuchus fanatics out there, most people would rather stick to the familiar twelve Zodiac signs they know and love.
Still, I’m always open to learning more about astrology. So, I can't help but feel intrigued about this not-so-little constellation that could: What is it? Why is it not included among the traditional Zodiac signs? And is there a future in which it might be? Keep on scrolling to read all the juicy deets on this forgotten constellation.
What is Ophiuchus?
As an astrological sign, Ophiuchus is hotly debated. But in astronomy, it does exist.
Also known as the Serpent Bearer, Ophiuchus is a large constellation that can be spotted near the southern horizon during our summer months. It fills the area above the constellation Scorpius and below the constellation Hercules. “It is a constellation. It is a thing,” says Narayana Montúfar, an astrologer and author of Moon Signs. But astrology is something else entirely, she adds: “Western astrology, [which involves] horoscopes and forecasting, is not no longer based in that system [of constellations].”
Everyone knows all the Zodiac signs are based on constellations, so why isn’t Ophiuchus included among the lucky twelve? Is this another Pluto situation? Not quite.
Why do people think Ophiuchus is a zodiac sign?
You might've heard whispers that Ophiuchus is the secret 13th sign, and it *kind of* makes sense as to why people think that. Modern western astrology is based on the sun’s path across specific constellations (or the ecliptic); these constellations were already picked out and chosen thousands of years ago by ancient astrologists during the Hellenistic period. But Ophiuchus, the constellation, wasn’t in the ecliptic when the 12 classic signs were chosen. It moved into the ecliptic relatively recently, Montúfar explains.
Because the universe is in constant motion, Western astrology doesn’t reflect the actual route of the sun today. “We fixed it at zero degrees of Aries, and that's not really how the Universe is,” she says. “Everything is always moving, always changing.”
In contrast to Western astrology, Vedic astrology reflects the movement of the sun among its zodiac signs in real time. (Although it's worth noting that Vedic astrology doesn't account for Ophiuchus, either.) While Western astrology might not reflect the truth of the universe, humans enjoy order—and that’s what this zodiac system provides.
TL;DR: As far as Western astrology is concerned, Ophiuchus is not a sign, and probably won’t be for a very long time.
If Ophiuchus were real, what would the zodiac dates be?
The dates in which the sun passes by Ophiuchus are November 29 through December 17. So, this sign would fit snugly between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Hypothetically, this would be the new order of Zodiac signs and their amended dates:
Capricorn: Jan 20th–Feb 16th
Aquarius: Feb 16th–March 11th
Pisces: March 11th–April 18th
Aries: April 18th–May 13th
Taurus: May 13th–June 21st
Gemini: June 21st–July 20th
Cancer: July 20th–Aug 10th
Leo: Aug 10th–Sept 16th
Virgo: Sept 16th–Oct 30th
Libra: Oct 30th–Nov 23rd
Scorpio: Nov 23rd–Nov 29th
Ophiuchus: Nov 29th–Dec 17th
Sagittarius: Dec 17th–Jan 20th
There’s no need to panic about your sign changing, though: this is all hypothetical. The truth is that astrology is based on thousands of years of observations and (once you’re well-informed on the topic!) intuition. So, if you don’t vibe with your “new” sign, chances are... that’s because it's not your sign.
What are Ophiuchus’ traits?
Because Ophiuchus doesn't exist in Western astrology, it's hard to discern its associated personality traits. “We wouldn't know what planet rules it, because it hasn't been decided—and that's where the characteristics come from,” Montúfar says. “My intuition is that it would be a hybrid between Scorpios and Sagittarius.” And who needs that, am I right?
Its element is also unknown. But if astrologers were to add a 13th sign to the already-established twelve, there wouldn’t be a perfect three of each element (water, air, earth, and fire). “Years and years and years of observations [showed] that people that were born during a certain time had certain characteristics, and that related to a certain planet,” Montúfar says. “Before the zodiac signs, there were just planets—because the zodiac signs are technically imaginary, but the planets are real.”
That being said, if Ophiuchus were to become a real sign in Western astrology, it would be after thousands of years of observing and documenting the characteristics of people born between Ophiuchus’ dates. And that probably won’t happen in this lifetime.
So… is the 13th zodiac sign real?
The quick and easy answer is: “No,” according to Montúfar. “I think it's a quick debate, honestly.” That’s really the gist of it.
“It's kind of cool to have different systems because you can have many different points of view, but the Ophiuchus is not [an astrological sign],” she says. “And all the people that are gonna say that it is, they probably have no proof of it. I mean, have they really done all this work to figure it out?” No. Astrology wasn’t invented from nothing but constellations we thought were cute and interesting; it took centuries of documentation, observation, and folklore.
While Ophiuchus isn’t a sign right now, that doesn’t mean it won’t someday become one. “I'm not fighting that astrology should change,” Montúfar clarifies. “I think that it should because everything's changing.” In fact, she predicts there will be more scientific discoveries that will shake the astrology world in the next few years as our technology keeps evolving. Still, it’s comforting that the very basics of astrology won’t be changing any time soon, at least—and I can rest easy knowing that I’m truly as Aquarius as they come.
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