New Zodiac Sign Dates: Ophiuchus The 13th Sign?

Your zodiac sign may not actually be your zodiac sign anymore.
Astronomer Parke Kunkle says that due to changes in the Earth's alignment the dates of many zodiac signs have changed, according to NBC. In addition, there may be a 13th Zodiac sign: Ophiuchus.
Kunkle says that as the Earth and Sun slowly move the signs gradually change, as expected.
The change didn't happen over night either. The 12 signs were designated to different periods of the year almost 3,000 years ago, when astrology began, and since then the Earth's position in relation to the sun has changed.
While the sign many people were born under may now be different, it shouldn't affect horoscope readings, according to NBC.
See if your Zodiac sign has changed below.
The New Dates:

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Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18 - May 13
Taurus: May 13 - June 21
Gemini: June 21 - July 20
Cancer: July 20 - Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10 - Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16 - Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30 - Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23 - Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 - Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17 - Jan. 20

Westboro Baptist not traveling to Tucson for funeral protests

Renee Bracamonte-Stewart/TucsonSentinel.com

Hundreds lined the roads near the funeral of Christina Taylor Green, including people dressed as angels to shield the grieving family from a threatened appearance by the Westboro Baptist Church.

 

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church will not be coming to Tucson to protest at the funerals of those killed in the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, police said.
Tucson Police Department investigators confirmed Wedneday that the group, noted for its slogan, "God hates fags," is not coming, spokeswoman Diana Lopez said Thursday night.
Some members of the church did have plane tickets to travel to Tucson on Thursday, but Tucson police "worked closely with Tucson International Airport authorities today to confirm they did not arrive in Tucson via those previously purchased flights," she said.
The tickets went unused Thursday, she said.
The state legislature, acting with unprecedented speed, passed a law Tuesday prohibiting protests near funerals.
"We need to protect our grieving families from having to go through the pain of being exposed to protesters," said Steve Farley, D-28, the House minority leader.

Westboro Baptist

Hate missionary Fred Phelps and his Topeka, Kan., followers issued a statement Sunday that said they "thank god for" alleged shooter Jared Lee Loughner and planned to picket the funerals of those killed in the attack.
"Thank god for the violent shooter, one of your soldier heroes in Tucson," Phelps said in a video posted on Youtube.
"However many our dead, Westboro Baptist Church will picket their funerals," Phelps said.
The church is known for picketing military funerals with signs saying "God hates fags" to draw attention to its view that the deaths are divine punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuals.
The group issued a second press release Sunday with an attack on the youngest victim, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Greene.
It references Greene's birthdate, Sept. 11, 2001, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying "God mercifully gave this nation a fair warning on 9/11 - but you despise His mercies, so you get no more mercy - man, woman or child. That how God the Avenger rolls!"
In 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, prohibiting protests within 300 feet of the entrance of any cemetery under control of the National Cemetery Administration.
Also in 2006, the family of slain Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder sued the Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress after the group had picked Snyder's funeral.
While a federal jury found Phelps and the WBC liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress and awarded the Snyders a total of $10.9 million, the award was later reduced, and the verdict itself later overturned by a federal appeals court.
In March 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and arguments were presented in October. A ruling is pending.

Have Our Zodiac Signs Changed? It’s Up to You.

Have Our Zodiac Signs Changed? It’s Up to You.

Don’t panic. If you’ve spent a lifetime identifying yourself as a Capricorn or Pisces, you can continue to do so – Thursday’s hoopla over new astrological signs spurred by a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribunesuggesting our signs may not really be what we think they are, is not really new. That’s because there are two versions of the zodiac – sidereal and tropical – the first practiced more in the east, and the latter more popular in the west. If you’re wondering about Ophiuchus, new astrological signs for 2011, a horoscope change or a revised arrangement of the zodiac charts, sleep well – according to CNN, your zodiac sign hasn’t changed. (Unless you want it to.)

All this talk of stars being in or out of alignment has reminded me of one of my favorite munchables: cheddar stars, which I’ll be making Friday night and nibbling with a glass of feisty red wine, enjoying the fact that I can still consider myself a Scorpio.

These could be made using an aged Gouda, Asiago or any firm, flavorful cheese. For a twist, try blitzing a teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary into the dry ingredients in a food processor, in place of the cayenne.

Cheddar Stars
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated old or extra-old cheddar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch cayenne pepper or paprika (sweet or smoked – optional)
2 Tbsp. milk
Put the cheddar, flour, butter, salt and cayenne into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well combined and crumbly. (If you don’t have a food processor, grate the cheese and toss it with the dry ingredients, breaking it up as much as you can with a whisk, pastry cutter or fork.) Add the milk and pulse until it starts to come together. Remove the dough from the food processor and gather it into a ball. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an oval or rectangle about 1/8” thick and cut crosswise into stars or other small shapes. Transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet and if you like, twist them a few times for dramatic effect. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until pale golden on the edges.
Makes lots.

Photo credit: istockphoto/pamspix

New zodiac sign dates are ruining my life! And what's an Ophiuchus?

Dear Minnesota Planetarium Society,
I'm losing it here.
Today you emerged with the information that we've been off on our Zodiac signs all these years. The dawning of the age of Aquarius is not where it used to be. All the dates are slightly different (there's a list of them here), and there's a neglected 13th sign -- Ophiuchus, the snake-holder -- that was dropped before the horoscope got big. I bet Pete Best was an Ophiuchus. They figured this all out by comparing it to the horoscopes of the ancient Byzantines.
Don't you realize how disruptive this is? I have to rethink my entire life. And all because you had to go and peer into the minds of the Byzantines. Well, if the Byzantines were so great, why aren't they still around? I haven't run into any ancient Byzantines lately, and I bet if I did they wouldn't be having career success.
Minnesota Planetarium Society, did you have to do this?
Do you realize just how much stock I have put into this over the years? I have spent hours likening myself to a limpid turquoise lagoon when I should have been out identifying with fire and goats.
I heard that Pisces liked color and ambergris, and that if I didn't bring my dreams to pass I would be crippled with disappointment. Now I find I'm supposed to be into spices and adventure, and I have to get rid of all these gemstones, poppies, presents wrapped in magical paper, large, visible clocks (recommended for Pisces) and framed photos of Liza Minnelli (notable Pisces).
If I had known that I was brassy and take-charge, the direction of my life until this point would have been vastly different. Instead of coddling my sensitivities and sitting near a sun lamp, I would have been going out and doing brassy, take-charge things.
"I should find a job in a creative industry," I told myself for years, writing my aspirations in my dream-journal. (Pisces are supposed to keep dream journals.) "Pisces are shy and avoid the spotlight, but if they don't bring their creative dreamworlds to fruition, they will be crippled with a sense of failure."
This is how I organize my life! I voted for McCain because he was a Virgo and they are supposed to be steady and reliable and put all their energy into their children. Now I find out he's a Leo. Leos are, frankly, jerks!
For the past twenty years, I've torn the newspaper open to the horoscope pages each day to see what I should be doing. You told me I was ready for commitment; I committed! You told me I should spend time around children to unleash my creative energies; I dredged up some children and unleashed so much creative energy that their parents tried to have me committed. You told me I needed more pizazz; I obtained more pizazz!
Now I find that I'm not, in fact, the creative, empathetic, contemplative individual they have been telling me I was for all those years. I didn't even know my flaws. All those years I thought I was secretive, vague, and easily led, and it turns out that I'm impulsive, selfish, and intolerant!
And don't get started on what this is going to do to my love life.
I don't know how I'm going to break this to my fiance.
"Sorry, I am supposed to be with a Gemini," I will explain. "They are adaptable, versatile, intellectual, and lively, and apparently I crave this. I know, it's a surprise to me, too! I thought I was supposed to be into stability and consistency."
"Also, you are an Ophiuchus," I will add. "I have no idea what that means. Apparently, you like to hold snakes, which is something you should have delicately broken to me before we reached this point."
"Don't ask," I'll add, because apparently I am supposed to be fun-loving, vivacious, and able to make a joke out of anything.
I have to go ponder my new flaws now and take some more job quizzes. I need a leadership-driven-teamwork-position-thing. I don't even know what that means! What career path suits me now? I have no idea. I'm going to go yell at people in the park because going outdoors and asserting myself is supposed to enhance my job prospects.
Don't you see what you've done? I'm not overreacting! 31 percent of the country believes in this sort of thing!
And my new horoscope didn't say I might be gullible.