When I woke up last Thursday, I knew something felt different.

For the past 21 years, I have been imaginative and sensitive, compassionate and kind, selfless and unworldly, intuitive and sympathetic. I was a Pisces – a fish. It could have been worse. I could have been Cancer, the crab who was killed when Hercules stepped on it, or Libra, the only zodiac sign that is an inanimate object: scales. Okay, sure, a lion (Leo) was mightier, and the centaur (Sagittarius) seemed more magical (only because of Harry Potter though), but at some point in my life, I became content with being a fish.

That was, until I learned from the Minnesota Planetarium Society that I was no longer. Though there are conflicting interpretations – apparently – because the moon’s gravitation pull makes the earth wobble on its axis, there has been a one-month shift in the stars’ alignment, causing our whole zodiac calendar to be off by about one month. How are we just figuring this all out? I thought this whole gravity and orbit business was figured out a long time ago by Galileo and Newton. And I was just getting used to the fact that Pluto was no longer a planet.

Now, I find myself as an Aquarius, the water carrier. What the heck is a water carrier anyway?

I wake up. Do I wear blue jeans or khakis? I walk to class. Do I greet strangers I walk by or look the other way? I’m at Norbucks. Do I get my regular iced coffee, go for decaf, or try something new all together? My day was a muddle.

I grabbed a paper to read about myself. I am friendly and humanitarian, honest and loyal, original and inventive, and independent and intellectual. Okay, I can live with this. I’m compatible with Gemini and should stay away from Scorpio. Not that I know what sign anybody is any more anyway.

It could be worse. Some woke up on Thursday only to learn they are now something new altogether. Apparently, they can do this too. For those of you born from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, the sorting hat has put you into Slytherin. You are now Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer.

So what is an Ophiuchus like? Like any Slytherin, Ophiuchuses (Ophiuchui?) probably have magical tendencies, mostly using it for bad. They are sneaky, sly, serious and just about everything else that begins with an “s.” Just like every other sign, if you describe them vaguely enough, you can interpret their personality any way you want.

But what does this all mean really? For the approximate 31 percent of people who strongly believe in their zodiac signs, this change might rock your world, no pun intended. However, I wouldn’t take too much stock in this recent discovery. Perhaps embracing your new zodiac sign could be a way to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Besides, isn’t the purpose of the zodiac sign to make us think about what our life could be like or what our day could hold?

So there you have it. Now, instead of 12 signs, there are 13. I hope you aren’t superstitious.

Ben Rothschild is a Weinberg senior. He can be reached at [email protected].