For example, pisces birthdays are from Febuary 19th-March 20th. Would the sun be near or at the pisces constellation during Mid febuary to mid march? Basically, I was wondering whether the astrology we use now is related to the sun's position relative to the zodaic constellations.
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$\begingroup$ Roughly speaking, yes. $\endgroup$– ProfRobMar 5, 2017 at 14:08
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Yes, but no.
The basic idea behind the zodiac is as you stated what constellation the Sun is located in during the year. But the time assigned to each constellation (1/12 of the year) is not accurate, for several reasons. Firstly, because of modern constellation borders, some constellations are larger than others. This has also caused the ecliptic to pass through Ophiuchus, not in the zodiac. Secondly, axial precession has rotated the zodiac by almost an entire constellation over the last 2000 years. That is not accounted for in astrological dates.
answered Mar 5, 2017 at 15:35
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$\begingroup$ By looking at what you said...will your astrological sign be different from the one percieved by looking at the sun? Since there is an "extra" constellation, Ophiuchus, will your astrological sign be off by one? For example, instead of being a pisces a person will be aquarius. $\endgroup$– NJHMar 5, 2017 at 16:08
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$\begingroup$ @NJH The inaccuracy is mostly due to that the axis of the Earth has rotated a little. Also that the Sun is spending a different amount of time in each constellation due to their different size. $\endgroup$ Mar 5, 2017 at 16:12
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1$\begingroup$ There are different ways to measure precession; one way is accumulated precession (symbol: p with an A subscript). That would be about 38 degrees from the years 1 to 2000, not almost 720 degrees. That's enough to move from the constellation Aries to the constellation Pisces. $\endgroup$ Mar 5, 2017 at 18:42