The 12 used zodiac constellations seen in the night sky
It’s old news, but it probably went viral this time because of social media. The dates of the zodiac used for telling horoscopes that so many people in the Western world follow are completely off! Astrology has been using a system that has been constantly changing for 3,000 years so that it’s about a month off now. But now that the world knows about it, what are people going to do about it? An explanation and some things to consider follows.
The Babylonians invented the zodiac system about 3,000 years ago. They noticed the sun passed through 13 constellations of the many they had mapped in the night sky. Passing through is a visual perspective as the Sun does not literally pass through any of the constellations. That needs another whole article if you don’t get that so I’ll pass given it doesn’t have relevance here. Yet, despite the 13 constellations the Sun looks to pass through, the Babylonians opted for 12 in creating the zodiac system we know today. Guess trisdekaphobia, the fear of the number 13, has been around for a while. The Babylonians left out Ophiuchus, with the Greek name given later to be the “serpent-bearer”, that is placed between Scorpio and Sagittarius.
After a life time of achievements, a long public battle with anal cancer, and a “love” story that was never allowed to be completed, Farrah Fawcett died today (June 25 2009).
However, before Farrah’s body even became cold, news broke of the death of larger than life pop star icon Michael Jackson. Jackson collapsed in his home in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles at about noon Pacific Standard Time. He died of what is known as sudden cardiac arrest. That’s when the heart stops beating and quivers because an artery is blocked, which could be caused by substance abuse. “Substance” includes prescription drugs, with which Michael was suspected of having trouble. An autopsy is scheduled for June 26, which should be telling. He is survived by three children and two ex-wives. [ CNN story, CNN Larry King Live interview, CBC, June 25 2009]
Now, everything from Twitter to all the news network to Facebook and such is flooded with nothing, and I mean nothing, but the life and death of Michael Jackson. Nobody gives a damn about Farrah Fawcett any more, it seems. Just like that. Forgotten within hours with one piece of news.
Such a shame. Death can be just as unfair as life.
On a different note, though. Despite Michael Jackson’s death being a big shock to the world, the scenes I’m seeing on TV is of people dancing in joy, smiling and laughing to MJ’s music. They’re not crying like the memory I have of John Lennon‘s death, having been in Canada just months when it happened and having no idea who he was at the time because children were so deprived of information in Viet Nam. Lennon’s death was a completely mysterious phenomenon to me trying to figure out what was going on, seeing repeated pictures of all those people crying and pictures of this gentle looking man with those round spectacles.
There are many reasons why people would mourn the deaths of John Lennon and Michael Jackson differently, but I’ll leave that to you. It’s definitely interesting to analyze. I just didn’t expect what I am seeing of people “mourning” Michael’s death, though I am glad to see they are celebrating his life more than mourning his death. Below is a video of Billie Jean, my favourite Michael Jackson song to dance to, and I’m going to go do that like those other people.
In the meanwhile, though, give Farrah Fawcett a thought or two, eh?
And don’t forget all those protesters in Iran, who are dying without mention but whose cause is also now lost on the media for a while. It is about the worst thing that could have happened to them and their cause, to have a pop star steal the media from them. Michael Jackson is still impacting the world like nobody can!
Digital Citizen 