Comment on I have to be knowledgeable about a particular superstition in order to sign in to access a government form

AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  While the wording is stupid, and “astrological” indeed refers to the superstitious bullshit, the zodiacs are not a believer/non-believer thing, but based on an astronomical(!) constellation being at a particular position in the sky in the period of said zodiac. That said, however, and without checking, I am sure that this does not align with the dates assigned to the zodiacs at all anymore because the Earth wobbles on it’s orbit & also because the zodiac cycles could never possibly align precisely with a year on Earth, simply because the dates are fixed and don’t account for leap years (the ~0.25 day extra each year).

  Why did I make this point? Because it appears that in Europe at least, everyone knows their zodiac - I would be surprised if it’s any different in countries that use the same calendar.

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  • kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I don’t think zodiac cycles need to account for leap years, since it’s the leap years that account for things to make dates align. If by wobble you mean something like the tilt of the axis of rotation changing, then yeah, that’d mess things up - otherwise, I think the constellations are basically just based on where the sun is, and this which direction your part of the earth is facing during the night. If I’m correct, then I suspect the zodiacs do still align, but the constellations will differ depending on your latitude…

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    • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      By saying wobble, I was referring to:

      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_precession

      For identical reasons, the apparent position of the Sun relative to the backdrop of the stars at some seasonally fixed time slowly regresses a full 360° through all twelve traditional constellations of the zodiac, at the rate of about 50.3 seconds of arc per year, or 1 degree every 71.6 years.

      Re leap years: On second thought you might be correct about that one.

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• tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  It probably relates to your age. When I grew up there were still newspapers (and dinosaurs) and you probably ran across a small horoscope section somewhere in there (especially on or near the comics page), so for me seeing the dates was virtually unavoidable. But I haven’t run across a random horoscope in over 20 years, so if you’re born after the millennium I’m sure it was much less prominent in your life.

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  • zipzoopaboop@lemmynsfw.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I remember those little scrolls at supermarket check outs. Always thought zodiacs were dumb but the fact that it was a scroll made me want it

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    • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Oh I’d totally forgotten about those, and I had the exact same sentiment as a kid. They seemed somehow mystical just because they were in scroll form.

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      • zipzoopaboop@lemmynsfw.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I blame baldurs gate

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  • Buffalox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Absolutely, sharing horoscopes during lunch break used to be very common.

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• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Do most nonbelievers know their sign, or do they have no idea?

  In the very rare case where it comes up, I almost always have to look up the answer. Why would I have the signs and their date ranges memorized? This is like asking someone whose only tangentially heard of D&D to name his favorite first level spell.

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  • gladflag@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    What? You don’t need to remember the ranges. Just look it up once and remember the single one for your DoB. Or am I missing something.

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  • tomi000@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    That example is very unfitting. Its more like your shoe size, just a single fact about yourself to remember. If you never wear shoes and dont talk to ppl about it you may forget, but it doesnt change throughout your life.

    I have absolutely 0 connection with astrology and dont believe in any of it, but I still know my sign because I was probably told a few times as a kid.

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    • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Its more like your shoe size…it doesnt change throughout your life.

      Actually for some people it does. Especially through pregnancy

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      • tomi000@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Youre right, also for old people

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    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Asking your shoe size would just be asking your birthday. It’s more equivalent to asking an American what their European shoe size is or the other way around.

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    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Its more like your shoe size

      I buy shoes a lot more often than I check my horoscope.

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      • tomi000@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        You do but others might not. Most people have way more interaction with zodiac signs than D&D

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• daggermoon@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I don’t know what my zodiac sign is despite several people having told me. I never seem to remember. That’s how insignificant it is in my life.

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• viking@infosec.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I have no idea what sign I am. Never cared, was never asked.

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  • Buffalox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Ah you must be a lion then, they are always so aloof.
    Just kidding, it’s nonsense and I don’t believe it one single bit…

    But ARE you a lion?

    If yes: I KNEW IT! It was so obvious!
    If no I’m x: Ah that explains why I mistook you for a Lion. They have many of the same traits.

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• captainlezbian@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I know mine because my personality is the stereotype of my sign. It’s just a coincidence, but it’s one that comes up from time to time

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  • agelord@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    it’s just a coincidence.

    Typical cancer.

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• Kuma@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Yes, everyone around me knows (I think most like I saw it in a news letter), but most of us do not know what it actually means. Some just know a few things about their own sign because those attributes was told to them and actually fit. So it is more like a way to give compliments if someone who knows tells you “oh you are x, no wonder you are so great at y!”. So I have no negative feelings about it. I just don’t believe in it.

  The only attribut i know that isn’t for my own sign is that Scorpions are horny ppl, my Scorpion friends brag about that. I don’t know why.

  As a kid was it common to use it more like a group name just like some use the seasons like winter, summer, spring, autumn child. Many tv series, games and cartoons used it (not in a serious way). I actually bought as a kid the wrong sign from a glas smith and didn’t know it was wrong for many years, apparently it wasn’t even close to mine 😂

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• 3dogsinatrenchcoat@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I know mine but only because of homestuck

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