Did you notice that the first day of spring is early this year?

The dates of the equinoxes change from one year to the next, which means that the dates of the astrological Sun signs also change. If you’d like the scientific explanation of this phenomenon, there’s a great article on Live Science.

The equinoxes and solstices are the cusps of the four cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. But the cusps of the other signs change, too, so if you were born around the dates when the signs change, you can’t rely on the dates given in newspaper horoscopes to get your correct Sun sign. Not that any our sophisticated readers would do such a thing, but I just thought I’d mention it, as this is a bit confusing.

For those born around the dates that the Sun changes signs, including the equinoxes and solstices, the only way to be sure of your Sun sign is to have your chart done. Fortunately, there are some good online astrology sites that let you do this for free. By far the best is the Swiss Astrodienst, which I highly recommend.

What if you were born on a day when the Sun changed signs? Hopefully, you know what time you were born. If not, you may want to get a chart rectification, a technique astrologers use to try to determine or fine-tune birth times. Then you will need to test it over time to see if it corresponds to current transits.

Can you imagine going through you life thinking you’re a Libra, only to discover you’re really a Scorpio? Just think of the psychotherapy you’d need to undo that trauma …

Happy Equinox!

Pat

Image: Spring crocuses. Neith captured these little lovelies turning their faces up to the equinox sun yesterday. I found this bit of trivia on Wikipedia and thought it was appropriate: The financial community sometimes refers to companies or economic sectors that rise early after an economic downturn as “Crocuses” in reference to the flower’s ability to thrive in the late winter or early spring.