Today is the Spring or Vernal Equinox with Spring officially
beginning at 1:27pm EST (Eastern Standard Time). The
Spring Equinox and the Fall Equinox are the two days of the
year that day time and night time are of equal duration.
If you were to plot the position of the Sun relative to the
backdrop of the stars (an impossible feat since the stars can't
be seen in the day) on the Spring Equinox you would observe
that the Sun rises is in a slightly different position every
year. The Sun actually moves backward through the zodiac at
a rate of about 50 seconds per year or 1 degree every 72 years.
This is called the Precession of the Equinox and is due to the
earth's wobble on its rotation axis.
It takes approximately 2160 years for the Equinox to precede
through a sign. Currently, on the Spring Equinox the Sun rises
in the constellation of Pisces at 6 degrees and 3 seconds.
In about 430 years it will begin to rise in the sign of Aquarius.
Prior to the year 270 B.C. it rose in the sign of Aries.
India's system of Vedic astrology has always accounted for
the Precession of the Equinox throughout its long 4000+ year
old history. The fact that India's astronomers were able to
make this infinitesimal calculation is testimony of India's
rich heritage of advanced astronomers, mathematicians, and
astrologers.
Copyright 2006. Vaughn Paul
Manley. All Rights Reserved.
|
