September 22, 2018 – Equinox
Equinox – Twice each year, the path of the Sun across the sky crosses the equator.
Those are the March and September Equinox. From March until September, the Sun’s path is in the Northern Hemisphere. From September to March, it is in the Southern Hemisphere. The four seasons are caused by the Sun’s influence in areas outside of the tropics. In the Tropics, seasons have less meaning and little change as the solar influence mainly causes wet and dry seasons.
Our Calendar has been adjusted to follow the Sun.
Due to long term effects of precession of the poles, the stars drift through the seasons over a 26,000-year period. Stars and constellations of winter and summer drift to swap places every 13,000 years. The equinox in March was deemed the first point of Aries about 4,000 years ago. Today that Equinox is in Pisces. In about 579 years (2597 A.D.), the March Equinox will cross into Aquarius. The March Equinox marks the beginning of Spring in Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
Classical Astrology does not observe precession of the poles.
Currently, the Zodiac Sun Signs are about one sign off from reality. An astronomer would observe the Sun one Zodiac sign to the west of the Astrological named constellation. People born in Astrological Sun Sign of Aries actually have the Sun observed in the Astronomical constellation of Pisces. Also, the boundaries between Astrological signs and Astronomical constellations are different. Astronomy is an empirical science where observation is paramount. Astrology is not observational but based on man-made internal belief systems. Historically, Astrologers were able to predict motions in the heavens to approximate accuracy with the crude tools available. This led to a belief system where Astrologers could predict the future of men and tell their fortunes. Predicting orbital motions of the Sun and Planets does not transcend into predicting the fates of mankind.