Walter Mercado Says Signs 'Remain the Same'

By Michael Lopez

Daily horoscope readers were horrified to discover Friday that their “signs” might not be correct.

Astronomer Parke Kunkle, a professor and Minnesota Planetarium Society board member, ruffled quite a few feathers when he pointed out that the traditional dates of the zodiac may be off by as much as a month because of a wobble in Earth's rotation.

But don't go changing your sign just yet. Astronomers worldwide, including Puerto Rican mystic Walter Mercado, say the traditional zodiac signs aren't going anywhere.

The zodiac is based on a system of celestial coordinates that associates birth dates with the positions of the sun, the moon and various planets. Astrologers attribute each of the 12 signs with unique personality traits, iconic symbols based on their constellations and elements such as water, fire and air.

For western cultures, the signs of the zodiac have always been assigned to specific calendar dates. Kunkle claims that lunar gravity fields and changes to the Earth’s axis may have set those numbers off by several weeks, meaning Libras are now Scorpios, Geminis are now Cancers, and so on. He even added a 13th sign, Ophiuchus, for those born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17.

“The sun has been going through Ophiuchus for thousands of years,” he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Still, astrology enthusiasts have nothing to worry about. Mercado assured the Miami Herald that the traditional dates of the zodiac will "remain the same.''

"The dates we use in the horoscope are known from the time of the Chaldeans'' and are based on the equinoxes and solstices," he said. "Spring Equinox marks the beginning of Aries and thus begins the account."

Hilary Young, CEO of AstrologyDating.com, agreed.

“Everyone can relax," she said. "People ask me what does it mean for their personality. I expect it will be the same as it was yesterday. You probably didn’t wake up with a new personality.”

What's your sign? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Astrology, Chisme, Horoscopes, Hot Stuff, Ophiuchus, Parke Kunkle, Walter Mercado, Zodiac